Selena's fingers trembled as she pressed the doorbell to Hades' penthouse at the Aurivale Building.
It was already past nine in the evening. She had first gone to Club Olympus downstairs to try and catch him there, but the manager informed her that Hades hadn't set foot in the club for over a week.
That alone chilled her.
She couldn't afford this.
She couldn't afford to lose her connection to the Falcon Empire. If she did… everything she and her parents had worked so hard for would collapse.
People thought she was just another rich girl playing pretty.
But the truth was... they were barely scraping by.
Her parents held down multiple jobs, sometimes double, sometimes triple shifts. Her mother had placed all her hopes on her, pampering her, sheltering her from hard labor, always saying.
"Your beauty is our ticket, Selena. With your looks, you'll save us from this life."
Despite exhaustion, her mother would still accompany her to every casting call. But no one ever picked her.
Not until that one small commercial.
It was just a minor role, but for them, it was everything. Their first break. Their big chance. They were ecstatic.
Then the call came.
A day before the shoot, her agent phoned and told her they'd picked someone else.
Selena didn't know how to breathe.
She wandered alone to the school park, heart in pieces, and cried where no one could see. The grief wasn't just about her, it was the thought of how disappointed her parents would be. The burden she carried for their sacrifices.
That was the first time she met him.
Casadin Sinclair.
He approached quietly and offered her a handkerchief. His smile, boyish, kind, a little mischievous, was the only warm thing that found her that day.
He asked why she was crying.
And although he was a complete stranger, she told him everything. It felt safer that way. Strangers don't stay, after all.
Casadin had simply nodded, then made a call. She didn't hear what was said.
When he came back, he handed her a card.
"Go to this address. Tell them you're there for a photoshoot. It's not big, but it should replace what you lost."
Then he left.
That night, Selena admitted the failed commercial to her parents. She watched the hope drain from their faces… until she mentioned the new gig. The Falcon Empire.
The next day, even though they were skeptical, afraid she'd been scammed, they accompanied her to the venue.
It was real.
That photoshoot opened every door.
That's when she met Hades, young, driven, and already learning how to run the entertainment branch of the Falcon Empire. When he found out that Casadin had sent her, he smiled and treated her kindly, as if she was family.
At that time, the two boys were still like brothers.
And Hades offered her something unimaginable, a full exclusive contract.
She was fifteen.
It changed everything. For her. For her parents.
They moved into a better neighborhood. Her mother finally left her third job. Her father stopped collapsing from overwork. They could breathe again.
All thanks to Casadin.
And though Selena only saw him from afar after that, backstage at events, across a photoshoot studio, passing him in the Falcon building hallways, she never forgot.
She held on to that moment in the park. The boy with the handkerchief. The card. The smile that saved her life.
And she promised herself. Someday, she would stand beside him.
That's why she did her best. She trained. She worked. She shone.
And when she graduated middle school, she enrolled at NYE, the same elite academy Casadin attended.
Just to be near him.
Just to belong in his world.
But now, with everything slipping through her fingers… she couldn't lose the world he gave her. Not over a mistake. Not over a video. Not like this.
Her finger hovered near the bell again.
She pressed it.
Harder this time.
Desperate.
"Please…" she whispered, barely audible to herself. "Please open the door…"
"Are you planning to destroy my doorbell?" Hades asked coldly the moment he opened the door.
His hair was still wet, water dripping down his neck. He wore only loose lounge pants, his upper body bare and gleaming under the soft overhead light.
Selena swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. I tried calling, but you weren't answering your phone."
"That's because I was in the shower," he replied, tone dry and indifferent.
Selena stood frozen at the doorway. She didn't know how to approach him now. Yes, Hades had always been composed, distant, even, but he was never cruel. Tonight, though, he looked at her like she was a stranger. An inconvenience.
"Can we talk, please?" she asked, voice trembling with nerves.
Hades looked her over, eyes lingering just long enough to make her feel small. Her makeup, her carefully chosen dress, none of it mattered under that stare.
Then, without a word, he stepped aside and swung the door open wider.
"Come in."
Selena entered cautiously. The penthouse was dim, quiet, and unusually bare, his maids must have already left for the day.
"I won't be able to offer you anything. The staff's gone," Hades said flatly as he closed the door behind her. "And I'm busy, so get to the point."
He didn't even ask her to sit.
Selena stood awkwardly as he settled into a leather armchair, legs sprawled out in utter nonchalance, commanding the room like a king who had already dismissed her with his silence.
"I did what you asked," Selena said quickly. "I took the video down. I cleared Evadne's name before lunch."
"And?" Hades raised a brow.
"You said, " Her voice faltered. "You said I'd get my projects back if I did."
"No," he said, tone clipped. "I never said that."
Selena blinked, stunned.
"I said if you didn't take the video down and clear Evadne's name, the Falcon Empire would cut you off, and I'd make sure no agency affiliated with us would ever hire you again. I never promised to give your projects back. You must've heard what you wanted to hear."
He leaned back, arms resting on the chair like a throne.
"You also heard Tyla. Too many complaints about your attitude, models, directors, photographers, even the crew. You're no longer a star, Selena. You got cocky just because we were friends. But I can't afford to be sentimental anymore. I'm in serious training now. I have to be objective."
Hades gave a slow, cold smile. "And as people in the industry keep pointing out, you're not even that good. There are better girls than you."
"Hades, please… have mercy," Selena whispered, her pride crumbling.
He laughed, but there was no warmth in it. "I did show you mercy. I gave you an exclusive contract when you were still an amateur. I gave you a chance when no one else would. You think that was because you were talented?"
His voice dropped, sharp and cutting. "No. It was pity. I pitied you. You, and your parents. But look where pity got me, Selena, I almost lost everything because of your little stunt."
"It wasn't my idea," she blurted. "It was Cieryl's. She told me to hire someone to edit the video. She said if I replaced the girl's face with Evadne's, it would ruin her."
"I don't care whose idea it was," Hades said sharply. "You did it. You executed it. You spread it. I've been doing everything I can to stay civil with Evadne, and you just blew it all up. Do you think I'm supposed to thank you?"
"I'm sorry," Selena whispered, tears finally spilling down her cheeks. "It won't happen again. I'll confess everything to Evadne. I'll apologize. I'll do whatever it takes. Just… please… take me back."
Hades didn't move. He didn't blink.
"You really think she doesn't already know it was you? You think your apology would mean anything to her now?"
Selena's mouth opened but no words came. Panic settled in her throat like ice.
"I'll do anything," she said finally, desperate now. "Anything you want. Just tell me. I'll do it. Everything. Anything."
"Please do tell, Selena," Hades said, voice laced with contempt, "what exactly can you offer me that's worth fifteen million?"
He leaned back with a cold smirk.
"In fact, forget the money. Let's not even talk about that number. Let's talk about everything I've already given you. Everything. Tell me, Selena, what have you ever given me in return? Anything at all? So now," he tilted his head mockingly, "what can you possibly give me that would be worthy enough for me to save you from falling back into the life you so desperately crawled out of?"
Selena dropped to her knees.
Hades didn't flinch. He didn't blink. He would've once, felt a flicker of guilt, maybe even rushed to help her up.
But not anymore.
Not after the betrayal.
"I know a secret," Selena said suddenly.
Hades didn't move. "And why the hell would I care about your secret?"
"It's about Cieryl," she whispered, meeting his gaze with trembling defiance.
"What? That she and Thatcher are fucking?" he shot back bluntly.
Selena froze.
"You..." her voice faltered, "You know?"
Hades scoffed. "Did you really think I'm stupid? That I wouldn't figure that out?"
He clenched his fists, but his face remained stoic. He would never let her see the fire behind his eyes, the humiliation he carried, the disgust that clawed at his insides every time he thought of Cieryl's fake smiles.
"I…" Selena stammered, guilt spreading across her features.
"Did you all really believe," Hades said slowly, his tone icy, "that just because I was adopted, I wasn't a real Falcon?"
He smirked cruelly.
"I've always known. That all of you, every last one, only hung around me for my name. You were all laughing behind my back, weren't you? The secret meetups. The parties I wasn't invited to. The fake friendships. I knew, Selena. And I let you all play your game."
He checked his watch.
"Honestly, this entire conversation is a waste of my time. If you can't offer me something of actual value, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. I have a proposal to finish for tomorrow's SBO meeting. Unlike you, I still have responsibilities."
He stood up, signaling the end of their conversation.
"Please, wait!" Selena reached out, grabbing his wrist before he could pass her.
Hades raised a brow, his patience visibly thinning.
Selena swallowed hard. She had sworn to herself that she would only ever do this with Casadin… but if Hades cut her off now, she wouldn't even be able to see Casadin again. Not even from afar.
"I'm… I'm offering myself," she whispered, unable to meet his eyes.
There was a brief silence, then a low chuckle.
And then Hades laughed. Full of cold amusement.
"And what makes you think I'd accept that offer?" he asked, voice mocking. "You think you're doing me a favor?"
"I... I've never been with a man," Selena said softly, her cheeks burning with shame.
"Really?" Hades' smile turned cruel. "But didn't everyone see you give Casadin a blowjob at last year's party?"
He stepped closer, voice dropping.
"So what, Selena? You were saving yourself for him? How romantic," he sneered.
"Unfortunately," he said, his words cutting like knives, "I'm not interested. And frankly, even if I were, your offer? Still not worth the damage you caused."
She tried to stop him again, holding onto his hand as he turned away. Her grip was weak, her knees still on the floor. She couldn't meet his gaze anymore. Pride had long abandoned her. Fear and desperation were all that remained.
But when Hades finally looked at her again, there was nothing left in his eyes, no mercy, no warmth.
Only the cold, hollow stare of someone who had been used too many times… and had finally decided to become the villain in everyone's story.
"You want to sell yourself?" Hades said coldly. "Fine."
He crouched to her level, his tone like ice.
"I'll give you back the Ceres Jewelry Collection endorsement for this year… in exchange for your virginity."
No emotion. No hesitation. No humanity.
Just business.
"Don't tell me," Hades said with a slow, mocking sneer, "that a five-million contract for the jewelry line isn't enough for your virginity?"
He tilted his head, eyes cold and biting.
"Is your virginity that high value, Selena? I could get one for free. Anytime. Anywhere."
"Hades, please… I need my work," Selena whispered, tears spilling freely down her cheeks.
And for the first time, Hades stopped pretending to be calm. His hand shot up and gripped her jaw tightly, forcing her to look up at him.
"Look at me," he growled. "You want your job? That job where you were never even good to begin with? You think offering me your virginity is enough?" His voice dropped, dark with disgust. "As I said, I can get a virgin woman for a much lower price. Or nothing at all."
His grip tightened. "Stop asking for so much… when you offer so little. You're starting to piss me off."
"I'll do everything you want. Anything," Selena begged, voice shaking.
"Everything?" he asked coldly.
She nodded, desperate. "Yes."
"Even if I treat you like trash? Even if I use your body, anytime, anywhere, in any way I want? Even if I don't give you back your projects, and instead give you just a tenth of what I used to?"
"Yes. I will," she said without hesitation. Her voice cracked, but her answer was firm. Because one-tenth of her income from Falcon was still ten times better than the rest, and a hundred times better than nothing.
Hades gave a humorless grin.
He stood up and pointed toward the guest room.
"Take a shower. Fix yourself. Be ready for me."
He didn't soften his voice.
"You can imagine I'm Casadin, if that helps you." The cruelty in his voice was sharp and deliberate. "The contract isn't with Falcon Empire, it's with me. Personally."
He walked toward his own bedroom but paused.
"One more thing," he said, eyes narrow. "Make sure I don't see a single tear when I fuck you. You wouldn't want me to think I forced you, would you?"
He left her standing there.
Selena, who had thrown away all her pride, all her dignity, slowly walked to the guest room. Each step felt like dragging the remnants of her soul. She fought to calm her breathing, willing her tears to stop. She couldn't afford to cry anymore.
Meanwhile, Hades stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror of his bedroom.
He looked into his own eyes, and saw the monster he was becoming.
A flicker of guilt tried to rise.
But he crushed it.
"Erase the guilt now, Hades," he told himself coldly. "That woman doesn't deserve it. None of them do. After everything they did, laughing at you, using you, playing you like a fool? They don't deserve even an ounce of guilt from you."
If not for Evadne, he would still be blind.
She was the only one who came running to him just because he said he needed someone to talk to. He hadn't even asked her to come. She just came.
That's what changed everything.
If that's how she treated someone she hated, no wonder Casadin was so damn possessive.
Being close to her must feel like bliss.
And after what Selena and the others almost did to ruin her?
He would never forgive them.
Evadne would never believe him now if he offered her friendship, especially not after all the venom he had thrown at her. After all the thoughts she had surely heard from him.
Even he wouldn't trust himself.
But still… from this moment on, he made a promise.
He would protect her peace.
He owed her that much.
After all… she was going to be his future wife.