Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 406(@200wpm)___ 325(@250wpm)___ 271(@300wpm)
The gypsy flipped through them, wearing a dark scarf wrapped around her head and neck. She didn’t look up even though she knew I was there. “I’ve never had so much business from one client.”
“You’ve only taken my money once, so I don’t think I’m good for business.” I helped myself into the chair and watched her arrange the cards. I didn’t believe in magic or superstition. But whatever the fuck this was, I believed.
She continued to play with the cards. She would flip them over, and if she found a complementary pair, she would take them off the table. “How can I help you, Hades?”
“I need you to read my fortune again.”
She stopped what she was doing and finally lifted her gaze to meet mine. “One fortune per customer. That’s the rule.”
“Rules are meant to be broken.”
She smiled like she found me charming. “The answer is still no.”
I reached into my pocket and grabbed an envelope stuffed with money. I set it on the table in front of her. “Please help me.”
She eyed the cash but didn’t take it. “What do you hope to achieve?”
“I just need to know if there’s any chance. If there’s a chance that I can kill Maddox and get my family back.” I couldn’t take the risk when two people I loved were at stake. If I made the wrong move, I could lose the most important thing in the world. I had to be sure.
She pushed the cash back toward me. “Your money is no good here. I told you, one fortune per person. Period.” She pulled the cards toward her and then stacked them into a pile. “That’s the way this works. No exceptions for anyone.”
“Why?”
“Would you really want to live that way? To always know the outcome of every decision before you even make it? That’s a dangerous power, and it would destroy you.” She rested her hands on the table and stared at me with a fearless expression. She didn’t seem to pity me at all. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. I wish you well.”
I remained in the seat because I had a backup plan I’d hoped to avoid. It was a terrible decision, but I’d been thinking about it for a long time. It felt cheap to take the easy way out, but I didn’t see the point in suffering when there was no hope that things would change. “You said there was a way for me to stop loving her. Is that still on the table?”
She was still as a statue as she considered my question. “It’s always on the table.”
“Then that’s what I want.” I pushed the cash toward her as payment.
She didn’t take it. “Hades, do you know what you’re doing?”
It was a devastating decision to make, but I couldn’t live like this anymore. I’d worked so hard for Sofia to love me, and in the end, I got what I wanted…but not the way I wanted. I wanted to live a life where I didn’t think about her every second of the day, where I could just have a normal existence without being smothered by this devotion. I’d tried everything else first, and nothing worked. This was my last option. “Yes.”
“It can’t be reversed.”
“Good.”
“You can’t walk into this tent and ask me to give it back. It doesn’t work like that.”
“I understand.”
She was quiet for a long time as she considered the request. “But this woman loves you. You are cursing her to the same existence you’ve had to endure.”
“It’s not the same. She gave up on me. She chose this. I can’t keep fighting for her when she won’t fight for me. I can’t do it anymore—I won’t do it anymore.”
She grabbed the envelope of money and took a few bills before she pushed it back to me. “Alright…as you wish.”
14
Sofia
It’d been a month since Hades left.
It didn’t get easier. If anything, it got harder.
Ash’s words echoed in my ears long after he said them. He defended Hades and said he was the wounded one. I was the coward who’d abandoned him. I was the one who’d caused him all the pain.
It was impossible to look at my son and not think of Hades. It was impossible to sleep at night without him beside me. I wanted my husband back. I wanted a marriage. I wanted us to be a family.
Could I really end up with another man someday? Have children with somebody else? Never see Hades again?
I wasn’t sure if I could do it. Now that I had Andrew, I felt more connected to Hades than ever before. I thought of my ex-husband every time I looked into that little boy’s face. Sometimes I considered packing my things and showing up on his doorstep. I considered forgetting about Maddox and just doing what I wanted.