"Ryzel!" Ciena screamed as soon as they entered the Clark estate's grand living room, throwing herself between her husband and their daughter, Cieryl, who had collapsed on the floor, stunned after receiving a sharp slap across the face the moment they stepped inside. "Please! Don't hurt our daughter!"
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Cieryl cried, clutching her burning cheek, her voice trembling in disbelief.
"Nothing wrong?!" Ryzel bellowed, eyes blazing with fury. "You bullied Evadne! You ordered your friends to spread that disgusting, edited sex video of her face across the school, and now you stand there and say you did nothing wrong?!"
"I didn't hold a gun to their heads!" Cieryl screamed back. "They did it because they hate her too! Is it my fault that I just wanted to protect what's mine?!"
Ryzel's rage deepened, his nostrils flaring as his hand gripped Cieryl's arm in a bruising hold and yanked her off the floor.
"Ryzel, please," Ciena pleaded desperately.
"Get out of my way!" Ryzel shouted, shoving Ciena so hard that she staggered back and collapsed on the cold marble floor with a gasp.
"Mom!" Cieryl cried, trying to run to her mother, but her father's iron grip kept her frozen in place.
"Tell me," Ryzel growled in a low, lethal voice, "what exactly were you protecting? Huh?" His face twisted in disgust. "You're not a Falcon. You're not a Monteverde. And you're definitely not a Clark! Everything you have right now, none of it is yours! I let you carry my name even though I don't know who the hell your real father is! The least you could do is protect that name!"
Cieryl's breath hitched. Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
She looked around the room, her eyes darting to her aunt Ryza and her grandparents, Rozel and Penelope, silently begging for someone to step in. But their expressions were cold, distant, seething with disappointment. No one moved.
"Truth is," Ryzel spat, "I have no responsibility over you. None. But I still clothed you, fed you, sent you to the best schools. And this, this is how you repay us?!"
"Ryzel, please… that's enough," Ciena said weakly, walking toward her daughter, her trembling hands trying to pry Cieryl's wrist from his grip.
Ryzel finally released Cieryl with a furious shove, but his wrath turned immediately to his wife.
He grabbed a fistful of Ciena's hair and yanked her head back, gripping her chin tightly enough to bruise.
"This is all your fault," he snarled into her face. "Remember this, if your bastard daughter doesn't fix the mess she caused by the end of the week, both of you pack your things and get out of this house. Go run back to the Monteverde mansion. But the real question is, will Cielo even take you back, knowing it was your daughter who sent her daughter, your very own sister, to the hospital?"
His words dripped with venom.
"That cursed brat takes after you… pathetic and poisonous," he hissed before roughly shoving her away once again.
Then Ryzel turned, storming upstairs without looking back, the echo of his footsteps pounding with every step.
"Mom!" Cieryl sobbed as she rushed to Ciena's side, helping her sit up.
No one in the house moved to help them.
Everyone knew better.
Pitying Ciena and Cieryl was a risk no one was willing to take, not when Ryzel's wrath could so easily shift direction.
"Mom… let's leave. Please," Cieryl whispered, clinging to her mother.
"No… no…" Ciena murmured, voice shaky, but her hands smoothing down her hair, trying to compose herself. "Your dad needs us. If we leave, who will take care of him?"
Her voice was hollow, distant. But then she forced a weak smile.
"We'll go to your grandmother's house tomorrow. You'll apologize to Evadne. Then you'll ask her to convince the Falcons to forgive you."
"I won't!" Cieryl hissed, tears streaking her cheeks. "I hate her. She took everything from me, especially Hades! I won't apologize to that bitch!"
"Please… Cieryl, please," Ciena said, her voice cracking as she cupped her daughter's face. "He might throw us out… I can't survive if he casts us aside. Do this, for me. Please."
Ciena didn't wait for Cieryl's answer.
Silently, she followed her husband upstairs to their bedroom, ready to soothe his temper and serve him as she always did, despite the pain still visible on her face.
Downstairs, Cieryl clenched her fists, wiped her tears away, and stormed out of the house. She didn't look back.
She hailed a cab and gave only one destination, Aurivale. She needed to talk to Hades, now.
She had to explain. She had to tell him it was all Selena's doing. That she was being set up. That he needed to believe her like he always did.
Because Hades was her last card, her final weapon, her only protection. He was the only one who had ever made her feel truly secure.
She'd do anything to bring him back. Anything to erase his anger.
He had loved her for years. That love couldn't just disappear overnight.
She tried calling him, but the call wouldn't connect.
Blocked.
Her throat tightened.
No. That wasn't him. That couldn't be him.
It had to be Jupiter's influence. Hades was scared of him, that's all. That's why he was playing nice with Evadne.
But now that he had already received a five percent share in the Falcon Empire, he didn't need to keep pleasing Jupiter. Not anymore.
She just needed to show him how much she loved him. How loyal she was. How much she still believed in him.
He had always believed her. Because to him, she was the most important.
And he would come back.
With that thought echoing in her head, Cieryl didn't even hesitate when the elevator doors opened on the second-highest floor of the tower. The penthouse level.
She had never been inside, not once since Hades's parents gave it to him. But if she could make things right tonight… she'd ask to stay. She didn't want to go back to the Clark residence. She didn't belong there anymore.
Hades would take care of her.
He would give her everything she needed.
She tried to reach out to him again through Discord.
Nothing.
No response.
She rang the doorbell, again and again, frantic, obsessive.
"Babe!" she called out as soon as the door opened, breath catching in her throat…
Only to freeze at the sight in front of her.
Evadne.
Wearing nothing but a gray sleeveless shirt she recognized all too well, it was Hades's. One of his favorites.
"What the hell are you doing here, you bitch?!" she shrieked, voice cracking. "You slut!"
But Evadne just stared at her like she was insane, then stepped aside, calm and unreadable.
"You homewrecker!" Cieryl lunged at her, hand raised, ready to grab her by the hair, but Evadne smoothly sidestepped and walked away as if she weren't even worth the effort.
"What the heck is wrong with you?" Evadne asked, her tone flat, almost amused, as if she had no clue why Cieryl was acting the way she was.
Cieryl screamed again, face twisted in fury. "Why are you here in my boyfriend's place?!"
She shrieked again and charged, only for Evadne to casually trip her mid-stride with one swift, practiced move.
Cieryl crashed face-first onto the soft carpeted floor with a thud.
"Hey," Evadne said coolly, eyes glinting. "Be careful. You might accuse me of pushing you again. You're kind of clumsy, huh?"
Her voice dripped with amusement and venom.
Then another voice rang out, calm, familiar, male.
"Baby? Why is the door open?"
Hades entered, shutting the door behind him, a puzzled expression on his face. But it turned grim the second he saw Cieryl sprawled on the carpet.
"Babe, help me!" Cieryl wailed. "She tripped me!"
Hades looked from her to Evadne, his expression unreadable.
"You tripped her?" he asked evenly.
"Yeah," Evadne replied with a small, unapologetic smile.
"Can you… not do that?" Hades said, his tone soft as he turned to Evadne, but something in his voice made Cieryl's heart leap with hope.
She tried to smile.
Was he finally defending her?
But then Hades reached out and gently touched Evadne's arm.
"Baby, what if you got hurt?" he asked, worry flickering in his eyes. "Didn't I tell you not to open the door like that? Especially when you're alone?"
Evadne rolled her eyes at him.
"You were taking too long. I thought there was an emergency, the way she was hammering the doorbell like she was going to knock down the whole building."
With a subtle roll of her eyes, Evadne snatched the paper bag from Hades' hand, food delivery he had picked up downstairs, and walked over to the island counter in the sleek, open-concept kitchen. Calmly, she began unpacking the containers one by one, the aroma of fried food filling the air.
Hades turned to Cieryl.
His eyes were ice.
Cold.
Unforgiving.
"What are you doing here?" he asked flatly, his voice devoid of warmth.
Cieryl rose from the floor on her own, refusing to show any sign of weakness. The sting of humiliation simmered in her chest, but she forced a sweet, practiced smile onto her lips, the one she used to use when she knew he couldn't say no.
"Babe," she said softly, walking toward him. "I just wanted to talk."
Her voice trembled, not with sincerity, but with rehearsed vulnerability.
"I know you're angry because I did things behind your back sometimes. But please, believe me, I was being set up. There was nothing between me and Thatcher. You know that you're the only man I've ever loved. And Selena… she's been after you for years. She only pretends to like Casadin."
She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "I get it, you were angry at me. That's why you slept with Selena, right? But I forgive you."
From across the kitchen island, a sudden laugh broke the tension like glass shattering on marble.
Both Hades and Cieryl turned toward Evadne, who didn't even try to hide her amusement as she dipped a potato wedge into the cheese sauce, casually munching like she was watching prime-time drama.
"Sorry," Evadne said with a raised brow. "Don't mind me. Carry on."
Cieryl's face twisted for a second, just a flicker of disdain, but she smoothed it out instantly, replacing it with that same sugary expression. She stepped closer to Hades, slipping her fingers around his arm.
He didn't move.
Didn't flinch.
Didn't pull away.
And that gave Cieryl hope. He's softening… He still cares…
She smiled.
Looking back at Evadne, then to Hades again, she whispered, "And I never said you were boring in bed. Whoever told you that was just trying to ruin us."
Her voice cracked. Tears spilled freely now.
"Why would I say something so awful? You were my first. I gave you everything. I love you, babe. Let's forget what happened… I forgive you for sleeping with Selena."
Another strangled laugh erupted from Evadne, this time mid-chew of a fried chicken wing, which caused her to choke slightly.
"Shit," Hades swore under his breath, immediately rushing to her side.
"I told you earlier at lunch not to talk or laugh while eating," he muttered, irritated but concerned.
He grabbed a glass of soda and held it to her lips, gently rubbing her back as she took a few shaky sips.
She was still drinking when her eyes flicked back to Cieryl, and she started laughing again.
This time, the soda went the wrong way.
"Baby! Stop laughing," Hades said in a sharp, frustrated tone, pulling the drink away. "You're gonna choke."
"W-Water," Evadne gasped, trying to suppress another giggle.
Hades turned instantly, opened the fridge, and pulled out a cold bottle of water.
"Stop laughing before you drink," he instructed as he helped her tip the bottle to her lips. When she was done, he gently wiped her mouth with a napkin like a doting lover.
"I said stop laughing," he warned again, narrowing his eyes when she looked like she was about to burst out laughing all over again.
He guided her back to the bar stool.
"It's not my fault," Evadne pouted, using an exaggerated sweet tone, mocking Cieryl's exact inflection. "It's like watching a front-row comedy skit. Why are you mad at me, hmm? I should be mad at you. Maybe you forgot all those below-the-belt things you said to me at dinner?"
"I'm sorry," Hades said softly, voice full of affection now. He cupped her face in both hands and leaned in to kiss her, slow and tender, right in front of Cieryl.
"I'm not mad. Just worried. And hey," he smiled against her lips, "weren't you the one who told me to match your performance?"
"But still! You yelled at me earlier!" Evadne's voice was sharp, her eyes blazing with indignation as she glared at Hades.
"Oh come on, baby. I already said I'm sorry," Hades tried to soothe her, his voice low and coaxing. "I even bought you this entire calorie-loaded dinner just to show how sorry I am." He leaned in and kissed her lips, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "Besides, you told me to disagree with you in front of Mom and Dad so they'd buy it."
"But you didn't have to yell at me," Evadne pouted deeper, her lips trembling just a bit, just enough to tug at his guilt.
Then, to seal the effect, a single tear slipped down her cheek.
"Baby! Shit…" Hades looked like he wanted to pull his hair out in frustration. Panicked, he wiped her tear away with trembling fingers. "I'm sorry. Please. I just got carried away. Please, baby, don't cry."
Evadne rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop a small smirk from tugging at her lips.
"It was very obvious you got carried away," she said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "It wasn't part of the plan for you to bring up the sex video issue."
"I didn't know someone else was joining us for dinner," Hades muttered, then kissed away the trace of tears from her cheeks.
Across the room, Cieryl stood frozen, her eyes wide with disbelief.
She had been humiliated tonight, thrown under the bus by Hades during that explosive dinner scene. She thought he snapped because Evadne had cornered him.
But now... she realized it was a set-up.
They had planned it all.
"Babe," she called out, her voice trembling, pulling Hades and Evadne's attention toward her.
Hades turned to her with the look one gives an unwelcome guest. Cieryl could feel it, he didn't want her there. Not in his space. Not with his woman.
Evadne smirked, tightening her grip around Hades' waist. Then she flashed Cieryl a smug look before subtly rubbing her hand against his chest possessively.
"Why is she still calling you 'babe'?" Evadne asked, her tone suddenly cool, dangerously sweet. "I don't like it. It's giving delusional ex. Do you still want her?"
"What? Of course not!" Hades said instantly, his voice sharp with offense. Without hesitation, he pulled Evadne in for another kiss. "I only want you."
Then he turned to Cieryl with narrowed, unforgiving eyes.
"Stop calling me 'babe'," he said coldly. "I don't want my baby thinking there's still anything between us. Because there's not. Not anymore."
Cieryl's mouth dropped open, heart hammering against her ribs.
"No!" she shouted. "No, I won't accept that! We never broke up!"
Evadne abruptly stood from the barstool.
"Baby?" Hades blinked, suddenly alert.
"I think you two need to talk. Alone," she said, collecting her fries, wings, and soda from the island. "Whatever this is, you need to settle it."
She looked him dead in the eyes. Her voice was low, cutting. "Fix this. I'm serious. This could turn ugly. If I actually take her seriously, crying won't be the only thing she ends up doing."
Raising a brow in warning, Evadne leaned in and pressed a kiss to Hades' lips, lingering, intimate, then turned and walked toward the master bedroom, hips swaying with pointed confidence.
"What is she doing here?! Why is she in your place?!" Cieryl screamed, already stepping forward like she meant to follow.
Evadne glanced over her shoulder and made a mocking face, then slammed the bedroom door right in Cieryl's face.
"Stay away from her," Hades growled.
He stalked toward Cieryl and yanked her arm away from the door with none of the tenderness he once showed her. There was no softness in his grip. No hesitation.
"She's my fiancée. Of course, she can be here."
His voice dropped, cold and final. "You? What are you doing here?"
Cieryl tried to respond, but Hades didn't let her.
"You really thought your fake crying would still work on me? That a few tears would make me bend and beg like before?" His voice rose, thunderous with contempt. "Wake the hell up, Cieryl. You are nothing to me now."
"No! That's not true!" Cieryl grabbed his arm, this time the tears in her eyes were painfully real. "You love me. You can't leave me because of her! I know you're just scared of your father. But you don't have to please him anymore. You don't need any of them, babe. All you need is me, remember? You said I was enough, didn't you?"
Hades's expression twisted, disgust etched into every line of his face.
"Do you even hear yourself?" he spat. "Do you honestly believe my world revolves around you?"
He snorted coldly, a bitter sound of self-loathing and regret.
"Right. This is all on me. I gave you everything. I spoiled you, even when you didn't deserve it. I was blind. I didn't see just how much of a snake you really are. And because of that, you never saw who I really am either."
He stepped closer and gripped Cieryl's arm, tight enough to make her wince.
"But hear me, and hear me well," Hades continued, his grip still tight, his tone deadly. "If you ever try to hurt Evadne again... even just upset her, I won't hold back."
He leaned in closer, voice turning into a hiss.
"I know your secret. The one you haven't told a single friend, assuming you even have any left. You're not a real Clark. Your mother got herself pregnant by someone else to trick Ryzel into thinking it was his. That's the only reason he married her. Out of guilt. Out of obligation."
Cieryl's eyes widened in horror. She stumbled backward, her breath caught in her throat.
Hades smiled.
And it wasn't a charming smile. It was something far darker, something monstrous.
"I told your grandmother, everything. That you've been stirring up shit at school. That you were the one behind the video circulating. That you were the source of Evadne's humiliation."
"I made sure she heard it from me, face-to-face. I made sure my parents knew, too."
Cieryl looked as if the floor had been ripped out from under her.
"No... no... you're lying, " she choked, her voice trembling. "You wouldn't... you wouldn't do that to me."
But then she saw it.
The smirk.
That smile on his face that wasn't really a smile at all. It was dark. Devious. Dangerous.
And suddenly, she realized...
This wasn't the Hades she used to toy with.
This wasn't the boy she had wrapped around her finger.
This was someone else.
Someone she should fear.
Then,
Click.
The door to the master bedroom opened.
The transformation in Hades was instant.
That cruel smile melted like it had never existed.
"Baby? What's wrong?" he asked gently, his tone soft, almost angelic. He turned to Evadne like she was the sun and he the loyal planet revolving around her.
The shift made Cieryl's skin crawl. It was unnatural. Terrifying.
"Langdon is outside," Evadne said calmly, ignoring the tension still heavy in the air.
"What? Why would he be here?" Hades asked, confused.
"I called him," Evadne answered, folding her arms. "It's almost eleven. I don't think it's appropriate for Cieryl to go home alone. She looks... distressed. Unless, of course, you'd rather she sleep in the other room. You know, the one where you fucked Selena?"
Her smirk was poison-laced.
Hades groaned.
"Aghhh... Baby, I already disposed of everything in that room! Down to the last piece of soap! I swear…"
"Shhhh." Evadne raised a hand to stop him, her expression bored. "Explain yourself to your lawyer. Now open the door."
Defeated, Hades turned and walked away toward the door, shoulders tense.
And the moment he was out of earshot, Evadne turned slowly to Cieryl.
Her eyes were glinting.
Sharp.
Unapologetic.
"I was the one who told him," she said coldly.
Cieryl's brows drew together, her confusion deepening.
"I told him about you going to Highway10 Club without him," Evadne continued, her tone calm but cutting. "That's when he learned the truth. He heard everything, straight from your own mouth. Every insult. Every mockery. The way you panicked when you found out his father had disowned him."
Evadne stepped closer, her presence suffocating.
"And because I knew how much it would hurt him to hear what you really thought of him, I made sure I was there when he needed someone. I was one call away. I showed up, even when he didn't ask."
Her lips curved into a cruel smirk.
"I didn't feed him any sweet words. I didn't lie or pretend. I just stayed by his side. Quiet. Steady. And that, Cieryl, is how you truly wrap someone around your finger. You don't need flattery or fake tears. You just need to know when to be there. Stay quiet. Offer your hand. They'll be the ones begging you to keep them wrapped in your fingers."
Cieryl's composure shattered.
"You bitch!" she screamed, and slapped Evadne across the face.
"Cieryl!" Hades roared, rushing forward. He shoved her away from Evadne, who stood there stunned, her hand pressed to her cheek where a red mark was beginning to bloom.
"Baby?" he said urgently, his voice tight with panic, as he gently touched Evadne's cheek.
"I hate you!" Evadne screamed at him, shoving him away.
She turned on her heel, stormed back into the bedroom, and slammed the door shut behind her.
"You bitch!!!" Hades exploded, spinning back to Cieryl. He gripped both her arms tightly, shaking with rage. "Do I look like a joke to you?! I just told you not to touch her!"
"No! Babe, please! You have to listen to me," Cieryl pleaded frantically. "She planned all of this. She's manipulating you! She wants us to break up, she orchestrated everything!"
Hades's eyes darkened. He shoved her roughly toward Langdon, who had been silently standing a few feet behind.
"Take her back to the Clarks," Hades growled at him. "And make sure they know what she did to Evadne."
He turned back to Cieryl, his voice low and venomous.
"I warned you. But you didn't listen. So now… whatever happens next, you only have yourself to blame."
And without another word, he turned away into the master bedroom.
"Baby?" he called out, his voice now heavy with pain and worry, before he shut the door behind him.
"HADES!!!" Cieryl screamed. "She's fooling you! She's lying! That bitch is lying!"
Langdon didn't flinch. "Let's go," he said coldly, grabbing her arm firmly and pulling her toward the exit.
"Let go of me!" she shrieked, thrashing against his grip.
Langdon's eyes met hers, unflinching, sharp, dangerous.
"Ms. Clark," he said icily, "you are not my boss. The son of my boss just told me to get you out of here. I like having a job. I intend to keep that job. You have two options. One, you walk out of here with dignity and I take you to the Clarks. Or two, you leave unconscious. Either way, you're getting out."
Cieryl turned pale.
Even she knew how dangerous, and ruthless, Langdon could be. As Jupiter Falcon's right hand, his reputation for brutal efficiency was infamous.
She had no choice.
Wordless and seething, Cieryl allowed herself to be led out of the penthouse and into the night.
But her silence was thick with rage. Her fists clenched at her sides.
She had lost everything because of Evadne.
Ever since that girl returned to New York, she had been quietly stealing everything Cieryl held dear.
But it wasn't over.
She would make sure the world saw Evadne for who she really was, a manipulative, scheming, two-faced bitch.
And she would take back what was hers.
No matter what it took.