Chapter 260

Serena’s POV

A week had crawled by since everything shattered. The walls of my room felt smaller now, pressing in on me with every breath I took. I lay sprawled on my bed, eyes fixed on the wooden door that refused to move, refused to open. The late afternoon sunlight spilled through the half-drawn curtains, cutting faint golden lines across my blanket, but even the light felt tired—like me.

Everly’s footsteps filled the silence. She had been pacing for what felt like hours, her slippers dragging against the rug in a nervous rhythm. The sound scraped at my ears, matching the restlessness in my chest that I was trying so hard to bury.

“Can you please stop pacing?” I muttered, my voice dull and heavy. “You’re making me dizzy.”

She didn’t. Instead, she let out an exaggerated sigh and threw her hands up. “I can’t help it, Serena. You’ve been lying there like a dead log for days! It’s driving me insane.”

I turned my head slightly, blinking through the blur forming at the edges of my vision. “Then maybe you should leave,” I murmured.

Everly halted mid-step, arms crossed, eyes narrowing. “You can’t just keep shutting everyone out, you know.”

“Watch me,” I said flatly and rolled onto my side, facing the wall.

The sound of her groan filled the room again. “Come on, Serena. You and Hades—your story can’t end like this. It just can’t. You two were finally happy.”

A bitter laugh escaped my lips before I could stop it. “Happy? You call what happened happiness?”

“Yes!” she shot back, her voice rising. “Before all this mess with Aeson—you were glowing! You smiled more in a week with Hades than you have in months. And now you’re just—” she gestured helplessly at me, “—this.”

“Everly,” I said quietly, closing my eyes. “Just let me be.”

She ignored me. “That stupid Aeson probably lied! He might’ve twisted everything to turn you against Hades.”

My body went still. I felt that old ache rising in my throat, the one that always came whenever someone mentioned his name. “But my parents… they can’t lie to me,” I whispered. My fingers twisted in the sheet. “My mother confirmed it herself. The girl—Shelly—she’s her daughter.”

Everly froze. “Serena…”

I finally looked at her. Her eyes were wide, uncertain, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t decide which words to trust.

She took a step closer. “Still,” she said softly, “you should give Hades a chance to explain. Unblock him, please. Just once.”

“No.” I shook my head sharply, sitting up. “He’s got no damn explanation to give, Everly. You know what he’ll do—he’ll twist the truth, apologize, make it sound like a misunderstanding. That’s what people like him do best.”

“People like him?” she repeated, eyebrows furrowing. “You make it sound like he’s a monster.”

“Isn’t he?” I asked, voice breaking before I caught it. “He lied to me. He hid something so huge from me. How do you expect me to look at him and not see betrayal?”

Everly’s gaze softened. She walked over and sat beside me, the mattress dipping slightly. Her hand reached out, hesitated mid-air, then fell onto mine. “Hey,” she said quietly. “Do you really believe that he did that to Shelly?”

I turned to her, frowning. “What are you trying to say?”

She bit her lip. “I don’t know Hades that well, but… from what I’ve seen, I don’t think he could have really done that. There’s something off about all of this.”

“Off?” I repeated, letting out a shaky laugh. “I’m only believing the obvious truths, Everly.”

“What truths?” she pressed gently.

“You see…” I exhaled, glancing away toward the curtains fluttering lightly in the breeze. “It’s been over a week, but Hades hasn’t shown up here since I sent him away that night. Not once. Doesn’t that tell you everything? He’s guilty. He can’t even face me.”

Everly frowned, shaking her head. “Or maybe he’s respecting your space.”

“Respecting?” I scoffed. “If he cared about me—if he had nothing to hide—he would have shown up the next fateful day, Everly. He’d show up, beg, explain. But he didn’t. He’s silent. And that silence…” I pressed a trembling hand to my chest. “It says more than words ever could.”

“Serena…”

I swallowed, blinking hard as my throat tightened. “I’m disgusted, Everly. Disgusted that I even fell for him. I can’t believe I let myself love someone who could do that. If Aeson hadn’t told my parents, Hades wouldn’t have. He would’ve waited—maybe until after we were married—to tell me everything. To let me find out on my own.”

Everly rubbed her temples. “You don’t know that for sure. Maybe he was waiting for the right time.”

“There’s never a ‘right time’ to hide betrayal,” I shot back.

She sighed heavily, muttering something under her breath before looking up at me again. “You keep saying you want the truth, but you’re running away from the part that doesn’t fit your pain.”

My brows furrowed. “What does that mean?”

“I mean maybe you don’t want to believe he could be innocent,” she said quietly, eyes glistening. “Because if he is, you’ll have to admit that pushing him away might have been a mistake.”

I stared at her, stunned for a heartbeat. “Are you seriously taking his side now?”

“I’m not taking sides,” she said quickly, voice trembling with emotion. “I just… I’ve seen the way he acts with you, Serena. That man’s in love with you. People don’t fake that kind of emotion perfectly.”

Her words stung—because they sounded too much like the ones I used to tell myself before everything fell apart. I looked away, biting my lip hard enough to taste blood.

“You don’t know him like I do,” I whispered. “You didn’t see the look on his face when I confronted him. He didn’t even try to deny it. He just wanted to give a daft explanation. And what next? He has been mute since that night.”

“Maybe because he didn’t know how to make you believe him.”

I snapped my gaze back to her, my patience finally fraying. “Everly, stop.”

“Serena—”

“No,” I said, voice low but firm. “For the last time… just let me be. Please.”

The words hung in the air like something heavy and final.

She stared at me for a long moment, her lips parting slightly as if to argue again—but she didn’t.

Her shoulders slumped. “Okay,” she murmured finally.

She stood, brushing her palms over her jeans, her eyes soft with something between sympathy and defeat. “I’ll go.”

The door creaked as she opened it, and for a second I thought she might look back. She didn’t. The quiet click of the latch was the only sound left behind.

And then, it was just me again.

The silence rushed back in, heavier now. I drew my knees to my chest and buried my face in the pillow. The first sob tore out of me before I could stop it, then another, and another, until I couldn’t tell if I was crying from anger, heartbreak, or both.

My body shook, my tears soaking through the fabric, muffling every sound except the ache in my chest that wouldn’t go away.

I had told her to let me be.

But as the tears kept coming, I realized…I didn’t even know how to be without him.