Hades
Ellen was not asleep when I returned to our bedroom. No, she was sitting on the bed, her hands folded on her lap. When I stepped in, she got up.
"Welco back," she muttered. Her voice was neither monotone nor cold.
I froze in my steps, looking her over. She worried her bottom lip, her eyes straying every once in a while. She was dressed in a pale blue nightdress that contrasted with the wild, wavy red of her hair.
"You are not asleep," I muttered. Then my stomach clenched. "What did she do this ti?" I demanded, but when she flinched, I stopped myself. "Ellen..."
Ellen shook her head, putting her good hand in front of her. "She did not do anything, I promise."
I raised a brow. "What is the matter?"
Finally, her eyes stayed steady on mine, and she walked forward. "I wanted to apologize for hiding the fact that I was hurt from you and hiding what happened."
My brows could have disappeared into my hairline. Suddenly, it dawned on . "Just because you apologize does not an that I will tell you what you want to know," I told her, my voice icy.
She tilted her head, confusion taking over her face, before her brows rose in realization. "No, no, it has nothing to do with that. I am not apologizing just because I want you to tell ... that... well, whatever that was."
I tried to remain hard, but her expression was open and genuine.
"If you don't want to talk about it, then it's fine. I have no right to pry. And just because I apologize does not an that I expect sothing in return. It is not so trade by barter," she finished softly. Her gaze wavered, but she kept her chin high. "I'm apologizing because I was wrong to hide it from you. I was wrong to think I could handle it alone." She let out a shaky breath, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her nightdress. "I should have trusted my instincts instead of trying to justify so sense of loyalty, especially if it was at my expense. You were right. I was being foolish."
I looked down at her as if she was growing a second head. What the hell was this woman? She had been ready to fight just this morning to protect her help, and now she was sounding so reasonable that I could have sworn it was soone else standing before .
Ellen did not back down from my scrutiny. Her eyes were steady, though I could see the flicker of nervousness beneath her carefully constructed exterior. She was trying and I hated how much it affected .
"You think I was right?" I echoed, my voice laced with disbelief. I never thought that I would see the day. My fiery wife agreed with .
I studied her for a long mont, the tension in her small fra refusing to ease. It was not the apology that had taken off guard; it was the vulnerability that she let peek through. This ti, she did not conceal it with harsh words and a sharp tongue. Instead, she stood there unard and exposed before , and it made sothing deep and uncomfortable stir within .
"I am not used to this," I uttered truthfully.
"Used to what?" she asked, seemingly genuinely curious.
"To you agreeing with ." I never would.
She flashed one of those rare warm smiles that only Jules or Kael were worthy of. "Kael told --" her smile faded, panic filling her expression, but it was too late. She could not take it back. She had already let it slip.
Suddenly, I was snapped back to reality. Of course, Kael had convinced her. It had not been . It was never . I should have known when she agreed with that it was too good to be true. It was Kael who had been able to reach her, not .
A burning sensation crept into my veins, and I knew that I had been triggered. I could feel my fangs elongating in my mouth, and I gritted my teeth. I tried to walk away, but of course, she grabbed .
"Hades, it's not what you think. Kael just explained to ---"
My head snapped to her. "He explained to you in a way that I could not because you don't trust enough to listen," I finished bitterly. My voice ca out sharper than I intended, but I didn't care. The sting of betrayal or maybe it was inadequacy ripped through , and my claws threatened to burst from my fingertips, I did not need to look at them to know that they were turning black.
Ellen flinched at my words, her grip on my arm loosening, but she didn't let go. "That's not true, Hades," she said firmly, though her voice trembled. "I want to trust you. I—" She hesitated, her turquoise eyes searching mine. "I just… needed to hear it from soone else. Soone who wasn't... you."
Her words were honest but felt like a slap to the face. I tore my arm free from her grasp and stepped back, trying to get a hold of myself. The beast inside clawed at the surface, demanding control, but I shoved it down. Barely. She had to leave alone before she got hurt.
"Why?" I asked, my voice low and dangerous. "Why couldn't you trust ? Why did it have to be him?"
Her lips parted, but no sound ca out at first. She seed to be struggling, caught between the truth and her fear of how I'd take it. Finally, she spoke, her words quiet but piercing.
"Because with you, it feels like I can't afford to be wrong," she admitted, her gaze dropping to the floor. "With Kael, I can make mistakes and not feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. With you… I can't."
"Why?" But it ca off as a growl. It was not even —it was the contamination taking over.
But she could say nothing. It was all the answer I needed. I had bared my soul to her in that room, but it had done nothing to sway her. I wondered what Kael could have said to make her listen. Or was it simply because he was not ? Did she...
I stopped in my tracks when an arm wrapped around , a head resting on my chest, as Ellen trapped in a fierce embrace that made my mind stutter.
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