Persephone pushed her cart through the aisles of the busy Auradon shopping center, her mind drifting as she tossed a few essentials into the basket. Cereal, coffee, cat food-Hunter and Storm would riot without it. She sighed, eyeing the list on her phone, half-heartedly scrolling through her mental to-do list.
Monday had already been dull, but Tuesday? Tuesday was shaping up to be pure hell.
She rounded the corner and ended up in the aisle she always dreaded-feminine products. Pads. Great. Just what she needed to top off her week. She tossed a pack into the cart, muttering under her breath. "Fantastic. Cherry on top of the world's most boring sundae."
The fluorescent lights flickered above her, adding to her growing headache. Persephone rubbed her temple, feeling the weight of the day settling in. It wasn't that she hated being out in public-she actually enjoyed the occasional shopping trip-but today felt different. Off. Something about the air, or maybe it was just the exhaustion creeping in from restless nights of worry she couldn't seem to shake.
She shook her head, as if trying to knock the thoughts loose. It was silly, she told herself. She was just tired, maybe a bit moody-nothing more.
But as she moved toward the frozen food section to grab something quick for dinner, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She stopped in her tracks, pulling it out to check the notification.
A news alert.
She glanced at the screen, a familiar face staring back at her from a headline. Hades. *Great. Just what I needed.*
Apparently, he'd been spotted outside the palace after Mal and Ben's wedding, and now the media was running wild with speculation about his involvement in his daughter's life. Persephone rolled her eyes, shoving the phone back into her pocket without reading further.
"Of course, he shows up for the big moments," she muttered under her breath. "But where was he all those years ago?"
She tossed a frozen pizza into her cart, trying to shake the familiar pang of jealousy that surged up every time Hades' name came up. It was so ridiculous. Ancient history. She was over it. Over him.
Still, the thought nagged at her as she moved toward the checkout line. Hades had always been a sore spot-one she tried to avoid thinking about. But with Mal in the spotlight and his name all over the news, avoiding it was becoming harder and harder.
Persephone tapped her fingers against the cart handle, the noise around her fading as she got lost in thought. Maybe it wasn't just the shopping trip that was bothering her. Maybe it was the fact that, despite everything, despite how much time had passed, part of her still cared.
She let out a long breath as the cashier began scanning her items.
"Just another Tuesday," she muttered to herself, trying to focus on anything but the thoughts swirling in her mind.
But deep down, she knew this Tuesday was different. Hades was back, whether she liked it or not. And whether she was ready to admit it, part of her still wasn't over him.
YOU ARE READING
Descendants 3/4: The downfall of Persephone
Adventure"Why not me?" Persephone asked herself every day as she watched Uliana and her gang, the VKs-but not Mal. This was back when Hades, Hook, Maleficent, and the others were young. Before Auradon Prep, it was known as Merlin Academy, with Merlin himself...
