When I returned home, I immediately began sorting through my belongings and mailing them to the school's address where I'd be volunteering.

When Hades came back and noticed how empty the house looked, he frowned and asked, "Why is so much stuff missing?"

I answered nonchalantly, "Oh, I donated them all to the rural villages."

"What do you mean you donated them? We bought all those decorations for our new home, and Olivia handpicked every one of them!"

He was clearly upset, but his tone and expression softened as he considered my feelings. "Forget it. You're the lady of the house, so you have the final say."

With that, Hades headed into the kitchen. It turned out he had returned home to cook some soup for Olivia.

An hour later, he limped out of the kitchen with a small smile.

"Here. I made an extra bowl just for you. I shouldn't have lost my temper with you in front of Olivia. I was just so anxious about her injuries. I hope you won't hold it against me."

I knew Hades was trying to make peace. He always followed up his insults with a sweet gesture. The sad part was that I'd indeed fallen for those underhanded tactics more times than I could count.

When I didn't touch the soup, he inched closer with a playful smile. "Are you waiting for me to feed you? Are you still mad at me?"

I quickly put some distance between us, repulsed by his attempts at sweetness.

Once he realized I wasn't reacting the way I used to, his embarrassment turned to anger.

"Cassandra, are you still not over it? Don't tell me you're still suspicious of my relationship with Olivia. I've already told you countless times that Olivia's my niece!

"She only said those things on her 18th birthday because she was drunk. You were there, and you saw me reject her! I even punished her afterward!

"Olivia's still young, so of course she'll make mistakes. What matters is that she learns and grows. Are you really going to condemn her forever because she momentarily had inappropriate feelings for me?

"Cassandra, I'm not trying to preach, but you should forgive and forget. Stop making things worse. Olivia's already had a change of heart. She even helped design our wedding invitations!"

I lowered my head and scoffed. How could he have dared to bring that up?

Olivia was an art student studying design. Back then, she offered to design our wedding invitations.

But in the first draft she showed us, she'd used an intimate photo of herself and Hades. She'd photoshopped herself wearing my wedding dress and listed herself as the bride.

When I brought the invitation to Hades and questioned him, he stayed nonchalant.

"It's just a draft. We'll change the photo for the printed version, and your name will be listed as the bride. Olivia was just trying to help. She probably used her photo and name for convenience."

The wedding was close, so I swallowed my anger. But I had missed the joy on Hades' face when he saw that invitation.

Looking back now, a sharp pain pierced my heart.

He already had those feelings for Olivia, even back then.

However, it didn't matter anymore.

After all, I was leaving soon.

Hades pushed the bowl of soup toward me, clearly displeased.

"Cassandra, since when did you become so unreasonable? Don't you want to go through with the wedding ceremony? It's the wedding you've been dreaming about for five years.

"Or are you trying to push me toward Olivia so that your groundless suspicions turn into reality? Be good now and finish this soup, alright?"

I brushed him off, not wanting to start an argument or stir unnecessary trouble. I knew he was using the wedding as a threat, trying to force me to bend to his will.

He had always loved manipulating me, but I refused to give in anymore.

Still, I didn't show how I felt. I simply told him I'd drink the soup once it cooled down.

Satisfied, assuming I'd yielded, Hades got up and walked into Olivia's room. I could hear him speaking on the phone through the slightly ajar door.

"I've found the white lace and pink mesh ones. I can't seem to find the black silk set you mentioned.

"It's in the bottom drawer? Oh, found it! But when did you buy this black silk set? Why didn't I know about it?"

Olivia laughed flirtatiously on the other end of the call.

Meanwhile, Hades lifted the black silk lingerie to his nose, sniffed it, and smiled contentedly.

I stood outside the door, a wave of disgust rolling over me.

When he noticed me, he walked out looking uncomfortable.

"Don't overthink things. Olivia needs to stay in the hospital for a week, so I'm bringing her a change of clothes. She's allergic to those disposable underpants."

Then, he handed me a bag from the floor and ordered, "These are Olivia's undergarments. Wash them for me. Make sure they're clean, and hang them on her rack by the balcony."

Frowning, I didn't take the bag.

Seeing my reluctance, Hades snapped coldly, "Cassandra, I've really spoiled you! How can you be so useless? You can't even do something this simple?

"If you won't wash them, I will. I've been washing her underwear since she was a child. Honestly, I don't want your dirty hands contaminating her clothes anyway."

With that, he took the bag and limped into the bathroom.

When he emerged, he said coldly, "I'll be staying with Olivia while she's in the hospital. In seven days, we'll have our wedding do-over.

"Just stay home and behave until then. Don't cause any trouble. You know I can cancel the wedding with a flick of my fingers."

I nodded and watched him leave.

That day, Olivia posted a photo on social media. It was a picture of a pair of suggestive purple lingerie placed on the white hospital bed. The caption read, "Hades gifted me this new set. He says he knows my size like the back of his hand!"

Smiling, I liked the photo and took a screenshot of it.

For the next six days, she continued flaunting their relationship online. But on the last day, her tone shifted.

"To save me and care for me, Hades' injured leg went untreated for too long. He's now disabled for life. But it doesn't matter. I'm willing to take care of him forever."

I hadn't been sitting idle. For the past few days, I'd been slowly erasing every trace of myself from the house.

On the day of our wedding do-over, I placed the wedding dress in Olivia's room and sent all the screenshots to Hades. Then I blocked his number, grabbed my luggage, hailed a cab, and headed straight to the airport.