Hades had been seething the entire lunch period.
But, as always, he kept his expression composed, his rage buried beneath the surface.
From his seat at their usual table in the cafeteria, he had a clear view of them. Casadin and Evadne, surrounded by their friends. Laughing. Talking. Sharing food.
And it was him, Casadin, who kept feeding Evadne every few bites like she was his to spoil.
Hades wanted to break something. Preferably Casadin's face.
She should be beside me.
She was his fiancée. Not officially announced yet, but it was sealed in blood, bound by duty, written into the very reason he existed as Hades Falcon.
But she wasn't beside him.
And the truth?
He had no one to blame but himself.
Jupiter Falcon had told him, instructed him, to take care of her. To keep her company. To make sure she never felt like an outsider.
But Hades didn't listen.
He resented her.
Avoided her.
Treated her like an inconvenience.
And while he was too busy hating her… Casadin was doing everything Hades was supposed to.
Now he was the one sitting beside her. Laughing with her. Touching her.
Feeding her.
Hades's jaw tightened, knuckles whitening around the fork he was gripping.
"I'll go ahead. I have a conference call," he muttered to his so-called friends without waiting for a response.
He leaned over and pressed a kiss to Cieryl's forehead out of habit, not affection, and left the cafeteria in long, angry strides.
His phone was already in his hand.
Come to the Chess Club room. Now.
The Chess Club was located on the third floor of the Club Building. Hades had personally ensured membership was exclusive, less than ten students. Only those who understood strategy, logic, and silence.
It was his domain.
A haven.
Even Cieryl knew not to disturb him when he was in that room.
But instead of stopping in the common area, Hades walked straight to the back, toward the private chamber he'd paid extra for. A room that was soundproof, locked, and off-limits to everyone but him.
It was where he took Falcon Empire conference calls.
Where he studied global business strategies.
And where he let the worst parts of himself breathe.
The door clicked shut behind him.
And the moment it did,
"F**k you, Casadin!" Hades snarled, throwing himself onto the leather lounge sofa, slamming his fist into the cushion.
His chest heaved with the weight of jealousy, of regret.
He ran a hand through his hair, trying to breathe, trying to control the monster clawing at his throat.
He touched her. He kissed her. He gets to hold her like that in front of everyone. While I…
The door opened.
Hades sat up sharply, his eyes dark and furious.
Selena stepped inside, shutting the door behind her, fidgeting nervously as she clutched the hem of her uniform.
"You certainly took your time," Hades said coldly, his voice low, sharp, filled with venom.
Selena froze. "I'm sorry. I–I came as soon as I could. I had to make an excuse so they wouldn't suspect anything.… did you want me to… Ahh, Hades!"
She screamed as he closed the distance between them in seconds, grabbing her arm, shoving her down onto the leather sofa and bending her over it.
"H-Hades, wait, please, my body still hurts," she pleaded, panic in her voice.
But he only grabbed her hair, yanked it back, hard enough to make her cry out, and leaned down close to her ear, his breath cold, his voice colder.
"Do you think I care?"
His words were slow. Controlled. Deadly.
"Did you forget what's in the contract? Or should I read it out loud to you?"
Her breathing hitched.
"I can do to you whatever I want," he whispered darkly. "However I want. Wherever I want. Whenever I want."
Selena trembled beneath him.
"And if you have a problem with that," he continued, voice flat and merciless, "I can end the contract. Right now. I'll make sure you lose everything I gave you. Including that campaign."
"No," Selena whispered, her voice breaking. "Please… I'm sorry."
"I don't need you to be sorry," Hades said, his voice low, tightly controlled, but seething with rage. It was the kind of calm that made her blood run cold. "I need you to shut the fuck up. Not. A. Word."
Selena could only nod, swallowing back the panic rising in her throat.
"Do you want this, Selena?" he asked next, his voice sharp, mocking, as if daring her to answer wrong.
There was no right answer.
So she nodded again, biting her lip hard enough to bleed.
"Good."
With cold detachment, Hades unzipped his pants, pulling himself free. He didn't even look at her as he roughly hiked up her skirt, yanked her lace underwear to the side, and pressed himself at her entrance.
She wasn't ready. Her body wasn't responding. But that didn't stop him.
He pushed inside.
Selena gasped, choked on the pain. "H-Hades…"
Before she could say more, his hand closed around her throat, pulling her back against his chest.
"I told you, not a word," he snarled into her ear before he began to move, fast, punishing thrusts, with no rhythm, no gentleness. Just dominance. Frustration. Jealousy. Rage.
Not once did he slow. Not once did he soften. She gripped the edge of the sofa, her body struggling to adjust to the fullness, the intensity.
And still, no tears.
Because she wasn't allowed.
But something changed.
As the minutes passed and her silence held, the sharp edge of Hades's fury began to dull. His grip loosened. His movements, though still rough, lost their anger.
When he pulled her head back again, breathing hard behind her, it was no longer Selena he saw.
It was her.
It was Evadne.
"Baby…" he whispered, voice hoarse now, almost reverent. "Fuck… you're so tight for me."
His lips brushed her ear. He nibbled gently, licked the shell of it, his free hand roaming over her body with unexpected tenderness.
And though Selena knew exactly what was happening, that he was using her as a stand-in for someone else, her body betrayed her. Her hips moved with his. It responded. Reacted. Welcomed him.
"Yes… that's it, baby…" he murmured, fully immersed in the illusion. His hands found her chest, palming, kneading. When he pinched one nipple, she gasped, and he tilted her face to his.
Then he kissed her.
Mouth open. Tongue invading. His kiss was rough and hungry, an echo of desperation.
"I need you to ride me," he whispered against her lips.
He shifted them quickly, sitting back on the sofa. She obeyed without question, straddling him, sinking onto him slowly, still aching, still sore, but resigned.
He groaned, throwing his head back. "Fucking hell…"
She unbuttoned her blouse, exposing the matching lace beneath. He reached up immediately and unclasped her bra, letting it fall away, then took one breast into his mouth, biting, sucking, lavishing attention like he was worshiping the body he thought belonged to someone else.
Their rhythm found its pace. He thrust up into her, hands on her hips. She moved to match him, chasing something between pleasure and numbness.
Then he felt it, his release building.
Without warning, he flipped her over, laying her flat on the sofa and began thrusting with reckless abandon, chasing his high.
"Cum for me, baby," he whispered.
Her body tightened.
She bit her hand to stifle the sound, but her walls clenched, back arched, her orgasm undeniable.
Hades felt it, the tremble, the shudder, the raw release.
And when he knew she was done, he pulled out abruptly.
"Put me in your mouth, baby. I need to cum in your mouth," Hades said breathlessly, eyes dark with obsession as he guided himself into her waiting lips, into Evadne's mouth.
Or at least, that's who he saw.
Selena obeyed in silence, her mouth warm, lips wrapped around him as he slid in and out.
"Your mouth is so warm," he whispered, cupping her cheeks tenderly, the way he imagined doing to her. "Almost there, baby... that's it... Vee... fuck..."
His eyes never left her face, watching every flicker of her struggle, every attempt to swallow what he gave her. She tried her best to take it all, to keep from choking, from crying.
And still… he never saw Selena.
Only Evadne.
With a satisfied exhale, Hades slumped back on the sofa, eyes fluttering shut, a content smile on his lips.
He stayed like that, still, glowing with the afterglow of a fantasy.
"Hades?" Selena's voice cut through the silence, soft and uncertain.
In an instant, the warmth in his expression vanished.
His eyes snapped open.
The fantasy shattered.
And rage returned.
He turned sharply toward her, jaw tightening, and gripped her face, fingers digging into her cheeks with bruising force.
"Next time," he growled, voice low but vicious, "until I ask you to speak… don't fucking say anything. You're ruining my fantasy."
He shoved her jaw away and stormed into the bathroom.
Selena didn't move.
She sat frozen on the sofa, shame and pain creeping into every muscle of her body.
Minutes later, Hades emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed and composed again. His expression was cold, businesslike.
"Fix that," he gestured to the mess between her legs, "and fix yourself. Make sure no one sees you leaving this room. Or you're dead to me."
And with that, he walked out of the Chess Club room without another glance.
Hades checked the time as he strode down the hallway.
"Shit." It was almost 1 p.m., the SBO meeting was starting.
He quickened his pace, heading toward the SBO office, when suddenly,
Someone yanked him violently by the collar and slammed him into the wall.
"The fuck?"
Before he could react, he found himself staring into the furious eyes of Casadin.
One of Casadin's arms pressed firmly across Hades's chest, pinning him to the concrete wall.
"Casadin," Hades said coolly, though rage was boiling just beneath the surface. "To what do I owe the violence?"
"What the fuck are you pulling, you fucking dog?" Casadin spat, teeth gritted.
"I'm not sure what you're referring to," Hades replied with a calm, mocking smile.
"Don't play stupid," Casadin growled. "Calling her Vee, smiling at her like that. Supporting her causes like you give a shit. I know you're planning something."
"And what's so wrong with calling her Vee?" Hades smirked. "Almost everyone does. Besides…"
His smile deepened.
"I have every right to call her that. I'm her fiancé, remember?"
Casadin's nostrils flared. "Oh, now you want her?" he sneered. "Didn't you hate her before? She was the reason you said your life was hell. Did you forget that, Falcon?"
Hades's smile dropped.
He clenched his fists at his side.
"You're right," he said coldly. "I do have a plan."
He leaned forward until their faces were inches apart.
"I'm taking back what's rightfully mine."
Casadin went still for a moment.
Then, he laughed. A sharp, humorless sound.
"Well then…" he said, stepping back just enough to stare him down. "May the best asshole win."
He smirked.
"Here's a little heads-up for being brave, Hades. Her heart? It's already mine."
And before Hades could move, Casadin shoved him hard into the wall once more, then flipped him the middle finger as he walked away.
Hades inhaled deeply. Collected himself.
And walked toward the SBO Office.
The room was already half-full with members.
And there she was.
Evadne.
Sitting comfortably on the long sofa. Casadin's head rested in her lap as she absently scrolled through an iPad, fingers casually combing through his hair like it was the most natural, intimate thing in the world.
Hades's chest constricted.
Casadin saw him first. And smirked.
Deliberately, he took Evadne's hand and brought her wrist to his lips, kissing it gently before playfully biting it.
Evadne giggled and pinched his nose in return, her cheeks blooming with amusement.
And all Hades could do was stand at the door.
Watching.
Burning.
Smiling.
Because he already knew…
To steal a queen, one must never move like a pawn.