Love's Deception

Kapittel 2

Kapittel 2

"What's my appointment this next hour, Jarred?" Hades asked his secretary while watching the drizzle. He loves the rain since the day he was born, it made him at ease and gave him the want to forget the world and just sit back on his chair at home, witness the entertaining scene of the sky's tears descend on the Earth while sipping a cup of black coffee. A pluviophile he is, people would normally say.

His meek secretary, Jarred, hastily took a look at his notes before answering with full veneration, "Well sir, you have your meeting with the investors this 2:45," to a novice in the world of business like Jarred, he treated, looked upon and saw Hades as a saint, a genius, a prodigy. He could not imagine that someone young at the age of 31 would have a massive business empire that travels around the world, and his boss managed to take control and made it bigger of it at the tender age of 20! Jarred could imagine his boss's life back then and knew that it wasn't just all sweat. All the hard work and sacrifice of happiness were worth it.

"What time is it?" Hades asked, fixing his cuff links.

"2:08," Hades almost rolled his eyes in chagrin, mentally asking if he can't get an hour to rest. It's been almost a week since he hadn't had enough rest because of the deals that he had to grab and new branches to open. All he wanted to do now was just close his eyes and doze off to his heart's content but he couldn't. He could feel his eyes are almost shutting but he couldn't let them shut no matter how heavy they are. The familiar image of steaming black coffee on a personalized cup then came to his mind.

"Let's go to my sister's café, Hirojhit," Hades told the chauffeur who had been silent all the time. He slightly perched his head on the car's tinted window, searching for the place that offered the coffee he thought was the best. His sister's coffee was the only coffee that made him taste heaven, and no coffee would ever replace that.

They arrived after a couple of minutes. The chauffeur, Hirojhit hastily opened the car's door for Hades, who left the car with such graceful glory. The smell of the wet road came into his nose, making him grimace. 'Disgusting', he thought. Even though he loved the rain, he hated the ugly stench it gives to the road.

Hopeful, that the media wasn't waiting for him for a huge ambush, he stared at his sister's kingdom that was jam-packed with millennia of people, his powerful aura radiating off made every person who passed by him shudder and bow their heads. He then began to stride to the establishment with Jarred following him like a dog. When he opened the door, the saccharine aroma of coffee and light meal infiltrated his nose. The sweet smell made his stress scurry away and his body and mind relax. This was how Hera's coffee worked on him; it's like his haven, his only escape from work or the media.

He motioned Jarred to follow him to the counter as he continued to stride, keeping his best to ignore the awkward stares from the people. Being one of the most sought-after successful bachelors in the world, he needed to get used to this kind of lifestyle. Being stared at by everyone like he was some kind of alien, made journalists and prying media follow after him with cameras and recorders in their hands, but he had never gotten used to it. Tons of his pictures were in magazines, newspapers, and tabloids, and he hated it. As he strode, he suddenly felt a small bump and a searing hot liquid on his shoes, his newly bought shoes.

"O... oh God. I...I'm so sorry!" the little lady in front of him apologized. He hadn't noticed her presence because of her short size, the hotness of the coffee that spilled on his leather shoes only made him notice what happened. He was about to glare heatedly out at the woman but when she raised her head and he saw her lovely yet sorrowful face, his world stopped moving. Time froze. He tightened his jaw, causing his thin, red lips to shut as his voice went gone and his throat as dry as the Sahara desert.

"S...sir?" the little lady's voice rang like a tinkering bell in his ears, stunning him like he was struck by a lightning, her voice was... soft, very soft that it made him feel calm and his anger subsided. He looked at the girl who was raising her head just to see his handsome face. She looked so frightened but he was likewise frightened of her. The woman looked terrifyingly wretched, she looked like a little kitten that soaked in the rain. Nevertheless, she's still beautiful. He saw pure innocence in her eyes; she doesn't seem to know who he was.

"It's fine, darl. No one's at fault," he spoke sternly with his velvety smooth voice that made the lady's spine shiver in inexplicable pleasure. She managed to give him a nod as a response. He felt his stomach tied into complex knots when he saw the woman's face had begun to beet into the familiar shade of crimson red. She looked adorable with her face red, especially her cheeks. As he looked at her face, something busted in his mind. He needed to know her name. But how?

Meanwhile, Jarred stared at his boss in utter flabbergast. He'd never seen his boss so meek. This was the first time he didn't blame someone for an accident or mistake. Hades was the type of person who usually throws a finger at people, especially those who graduated with a master's degree in the course Bachelor of Science Major in Countless Failures. Jarred couldn't blame his boss for that though, the man grew up in a harsh life filled with pressure and expectations, carrying the principles that could crush anyone, even the strongest person in the world: always be impeccable. Something hard to achieve.

"What coffee is that?" he asked her, trying to make a move.

It took her a while to answer his question, "Uhm, white coffee." Confusion was conspicuously laced in her voice.

Hades immediately looked at his secretary who had been ignored for a long while and told him, "Jarred, order one white coffee for...?" he looked at the lady as if asking her for her name. 'Answer me! Answer me with your name!' His subconscious shouted at the top of his lungs.

The woman tried to object when she realized what was going on. "N...No, sir. No need. I'm must be the one to make up to y..."

"No please, let me. I must be the one to make up to you," he cut her off. He needed to know her name, and he had to know it no matter what. Come what may and hell would pay. He clandestinely tightened his jaw when he finally noticed the unnerving gawks and whispers of the people inside the café, agitating him. He only wanted to hear her voice, only her voice.

The lady continuously shook her head. "But, si..."

"I insist," he cut her off once again, now using his voice that he usually uses when he talked to his employees, cold, deep, and menacing. He painstakingly traveled his eyes on her face and noticed that she looked like she wasn't in the mood to argue. The inner side of him began to celebrate when she finally drew a heavy breath of undeniable defeat. She's never met someone this persistent.

"Allison," butterflies began swarming in his stomach with their flappy wings when he heard her name slip off her tongue. Allison. What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman like her. "One white coffee for Miss Allison and a black coffee for me please, Jarred," Hades told Jarred and the latter just nodded with a, "Yes, sir," before heading to the counter to buy what was asked, or ordered, rather. He was never been like this to the ladies, well except for his sister and his mother, but the lady was neither of them.

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