You’ve been with him for five months.

Hades.

The Lord of the Underworld. The god of death. The man everyone fears—except you. Because you know what’s behind the mask of darkness. You saw it when he smiled. When he touched you gently. When he said softly, “You are the only light in the eternal night.”

You love him. With all your heart.

But the world of the gods is not kind when spring meets death.

Ever since your relationship went public, journalists, curious people, fans, and judges have been following your every move. Behind every flower, there’s a camera. Behind every smile, there’s a rumor. Every moment of yours ends up on the front page. And that’s been enough for now.

You slam the door angrily with a breeze that smells like petals. Hades follows you silently. You feel his presence, that dark, calm aura enveloping the room, but now it only suffocates you more.

“They followed me again,” he says softly, almost in a whisper.

“Yes, again!” you snap, your voice shaking with tension. “I can’t take a step, Hades! Everyone’s watching me. Everyone’s gossiping about me. They look at me like I’ve betrayed all of nature!”

He lowers his head, as he always does when something you say hurts him.

“It’s all because of you…” you blurt out. “If I weren’t with you, none of this would happen. There wouldn’t be this circus, they wouldn’t be following me, they wouldn’t be shouting after me that “spring smells like corpses”…”

“You could have thought about what would happen if they found out,” he replies quietly.

“But it still ruins me! And you know what…? I wish I had never spoken to you. I wish I had never met… a monster like you.

After that sentence, silence falls over the room. An icy, suffocating silence.

Hades looks into your eyes. There is no anger in his deep blue eyes. There is almost nothing in his eyes, only darkness. Then… he disappears. A single flash of shadow, and he teleports you to the Underworld.

Three days pass.

Three hellishly empty days.

You don’t sleep well, you have no appetite. You absolutely can’t take it anymore tonight. You step out of your room barefoot in the moonlight, and with a thought, you teleport to the Underworld.

The palace is dark and silent. Your footsteps echo on the marble, your heart beats wildly as you reach the bedroom door.

You enter.

And there he is.

Hades lies in bed, fast asleep. His body is covered only by black underpants, the silk blanket pulled up to his waist. His muscular chest is exposed as he lies on his side. His hands lie loosely, one on the pillow, the other on the sheet. His hair is undone, stuck to his forehead. You have never seen him like this: so fragile. So human.