CHAPTER 34- PRINCESS OR PET?

The next few weeks, Allison heard nothing from him and it got her worried but she didn't care only that he'd better have a good reason for neglecting his duties to Hamilton according to the contract. Business wasn't getting any better, the company's finances wasn't looking petty either. Where is He?

Three months later and still nothing from Hades. She started to wonder if her behavior on their wedding night was that bad to have made him opt out of the deal. That couldn't be it, but if it turned out to be the reason, then she would literally bury herself alive in embarrassment.

"Good morning Miss Hamilton." Her aunt's secretary greeted her as she approached the door to the CEO's office which used to belong to her aunt.

"Yes good morning."

"You can't go in there ma'am."

"What?" She blinked, confused. "Are you okay?"

"Well..." The lady twiddled her thumbs nervously. "...you can't go in there Miss Hamilton, it was an order."

Allison scoffed. "How dare you? Whose order is greater than mine in this company? Who?" She brushed her aside and went inside anyway.

"No ma'am you can't please..." The secretary ran inside after her and Allison was shocked by the scene. The bastard was seated behind the office desk.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"I'm sorry sir, I did try to warn her."

"It's okay Anne, you can go." Hades said.

"Thank you sir." Anne bowed slightly and left the office.

"What is this Hades?" Allison asked, upset. "What are you doing in my aunt's office?"

"Taking over her position what else?"

Her eyes finally fell on the replaced tag on the office table;

"HADES LENSHAW, CEO"

"You have no rights whatsoever to this office. This belongs to my aunt and if it should go it anyone else, I would be the one." She yelled, the atmosphere suddenly tense all of a sudden.

"Vera's clearly not here anymore."

"This wasn't in the contract."

"Indeed but it was in the contract that I'm allowed to take every measure possible if it means helping this company back to its feet and that's what I'm doing."

"You monster! You know well enough that you can just work behind the scenes. This isn't necessary!"

"Maybe not but I'm one to always to take absolute charge."

"I won't allow this!"

"That's no way to address your saviour Allison." He smiled, mockingly. "If you so disagree to this new improvement, then do me the favor of restoring your company by yourself. Wasn't all this your fault in the first place?"

"Wh...what!" came her hurt voice.

"Wasn't all this your fault in the first place?" The question kept ringing in her head even as she left the premises. Those narrow golden brown eyes, those serpent eyes of his! He looked at her like she was a fool. A fumbling imbecile who brought to nothingness her own empire.

He looked at her like she was incompetent. Oh how she hated him! Why was she always finding herself bowing to that Man? Back in there she had to fight the ocean of tears that threatened to burst out. She wouldn't ever let him see the weak side of her. Never again.

I'll be overseeing things here for the time being.

What?

You know what I mean Allison, your opinions won't count from now on. What's best for you? Just stay home and focus on being a dutiful house wife.

"Screw him!" She cussed, fisting her hands on the car's steering. She sighed, stressed out as she picked up her phone.

"Karl?"

"Yes Allison?"

"Let's meet up at the Martini bar, the one from the last time."

"Why? I thought my services wouldn't be needed once you got married?"

"You call this a marriage?"

"Sounds like something went wrong."

"I'll meet you there. Don't be late."

"I won't princess, see you there."

Hangup

"Princess?" She thought, smiling faintly.

Within a few minutes after her arrival, Karl walked into the bar. She was sitting on one of the lounges with a bottle on the table and two glasses of wine.

"Drinking?" He raised a surprised eyebrow.

"I need it."

"Allison..." He sighed, taking a seat opposite her.

"He took over."

"What?"

"He took over my company. He's the Chief Executive Officer now." She said, gulping another glass of wine down her throat.

"But isn't that supposed to be Vera's position?"

"It was."

"Does she know about this?"

Allison shook her head. "Even if she does, He would have succeeded in brain washing her. What hurts me so much is that she trusts him more than me. Why?" Allison laughed hysterically. "Because he's a Man."

"What are you saying Allison? Your aunt is one of the greatest feminist I know. She wouldn't toss you aside simply on gender based reasons."

"Desperate times calls for desperate measures. That's her number one policy."

"Whatever, you shouldn't be drinking." He said, trying to take the bottle from her grip.

"No."

"Allison!"

"Don't scold me!" She yelled back, her lips forming into a small pout.

She was already drunk. He thought, smiling. It was so easy for her to get tipsy, he found her adorable.

"I'm not scolding you princess." He smiled.

"Apologize!" She frowned.

Still feisty. He thought. "I'm sorry."

"My life sucks Karl." She winced.

"It'll be fine."

Allison scoffed. "You don't know that." She said, pushing the table aside.

"What are you doing?"

"You're too far away. I need to..." She mistakenly lunged forward and fell on his chest.

"Careful now." He steadied her with both hands.

"I'm sorry."

He met her bright blue eyes with his.

"It's not like you to apologize princess."

"And it's not like you to call me princess either."

"You want me to stop?"

"No" she smiled, sheepishly, her brain foggy from all the alcohol. "I like the name."

"First?"

"No, Hades used to call me his pet."

"What?"

"Long story but I never liked the entitlement. It only reminded me of how feeble I was before him. How vulnerable and how much power he had over my life as well as the pain he caused me in the past. I thought I had finally escaped the bastard but he's still successfully causing me so much pain even now. It's like I can never escape him. I hate him so much and worse still because I can't do anything about it."

"I feel so sorry for you Allison. If only I could..." His voice trailed off as she lifted his chin with her finger. "...what is it?"

"You have green eyes." She observed.

"You're just realizing?" He asked, finding it funny.

"It's barely noticeable. They're so beautiful." She tilted her head to the side, their faces were so close that they could feel each others breaths.

"Allison..." He whispered, cautiously.

She smiled before slumping down on his shoulder, unconscious. Karl let out a sigh.

"Time to go home princess."

Allison had slept throughout the rest of the afternoon. Karl was leaving the Mansion that evening when she woke up.

"Still here?" She asked, walking down the stairs.

"You fell asleep."

"I remember. Thank you for bringing me home."

"Anytime."

"Is he back home yet?"

"Mr Lenshaw? Not yet."

"What time is it by the way?"

"It's only seven."

"I slept that long." She said, regretfully which made him smile.

"Then maybe you should take my advice and not get drunk next time."

"I'll always have you by my side when I need a drink."

"Why?"

"Because I can count on you to bring me back home safely."

"Mmm"

"Can you stay for the night?" She asked.

"What?"

"Use the guest room. I...I..."

"Say it princess." He smiled.

"I need you around goddamn it!"

He chuckled, glad that wall of ego was down.

"Bodyguard?"

"This time as a mutual who understands my plight."

"Absolutely."

An hour later, Hades had returned from the office. Not long, the dining table was set for dinner and Allison could be seen coming down the stairs with Karl behind her.

Did she really need a bodyguard while she eats? Hades thought.

"You brought Anne?" Allison asked as she sat down, taking notice of the secretary standing behind him.

"Yes, a few improvements were made today and I think it'd be best if she spelled them out for you."

"I see you're determined on ruining my dinner as well." She said. "Anne, let's hear what you have to say" She added, picking up her fork from the table and working on the meal on her plate.

"Mr Lenshaw has seen it proper to..." she hesitated, knowing this would surely set off a bomb.

"To what?"

"To cut off all our previous suppliers of diamonds and other jewel stones."

Allison dropped her fork in shock.

"Wh...what?!"

"You heard her right."

"Are you out of your mind!" She slammed both hands on the table, enraged as she got to her feet. "Do you have any idea how many years it took to build such connections with those people? For my family to build such trust in them?"

He looked at her like she was an insignificant chatterbox.

"Sit down Allison." He said unapologetically.

"How dare you Hades Lenshaw! Who do you even think you are?" She yelled, the atmosphere in the room suddenly escalated into a fiery space. "How could you make such a decision without my permission?"

"Your permission?" He asked, with a scoff. "Really now? The decisions I've made are final as well as permanent and there's nothing you can do about it."

"You slimy scumbag!" Allison cussed, losing her cool as she reached for the nearest wine glass and poured the contents on him erupting a gasp from the onlookers. Anne especially.

Hades stared at her, not even flinching from the impact but rather there was a hint of displeasure in his face.

"Satisfied?"

Without another word she turned around and left the dining room, totally losing her appetite.

Immediately she was out of sight, Hades also got to his feet and left the dining table. Dinner was obviously ruined.

"My gosh! That was horrible!" Anne said, worried.

"I could say the same." Karl replied.

"Do they fight like this all the time?"

"Husband and wife do have their times of differences."

"But there's something else isn't there? If they hate each other so much, then why even get married in the first place?"

Karl smiled, faintly. Not everyone knew this was a contract marriage and he wasn't going to let her know either.

"I guess we'll never know." He shrugged. "Who can understand the rich man and his problems?"

Anne let out a sigh. "If only madam Vera hadn't retired. Anyways I should be on my way now."

"Ofcourse."

Allison wasn't in her bedroom that night so Karl went to the garden and found her there. Sitting on a swing, staring vaguely at the flowers, her fingers clenching on her skirt. She was obviously still upset.

"Ally?"

She turned to see him standing beside her.

"You okay?" He further inquired.

"No, I'm so furious that I could burn down this damn house and Hades along with it but oh wait! He's the devil so he will most likely survive."

"I'm sorry."

"How could he do that Karl? What is he up to anyway? He won't let me in on any of his plans and now this? I can't deal with him Karl. I can't!"

"Well you made that obvious at the dining table."

"Trust me, I'm disappointed that wasn't acid."

"Oooh!" He smiled. "You need to calm down."

"Staying calm in this situation won't help. I need him out of my life and fast."

"Until then, you just have to put up with him."

"He's going to bring in new suppliers, people I don't even know. He's changing everything and it scares me. What if my aunt was wrong? What if He only intends on taking Hamilton for himself?"

She asked, staring into his eyes and he wished he could give her the answers.

"You need to go to bed Allison."

"Bed?"

"You're obviously too tensed up at the moment."

"Am I? I just don't want to end up being the one who stood by and watched everything go down in ruins again."

"And you won't."

"You don't know that!"

"And you don't know if you're going to fail either. Stop brooding over negativity Allison, it's so not like you."

"It's all his fault I'm worked up like this." She exhaled, tiredly. "I'm glad you're here."

"What would you do without me, I know." He said, pulling her in for a hug. Allison lay her head comfortably on his chest, seeking the comfort that had been stolen from her even since she crossed path with Hades.

Meanwhile, Hades caught a glance at the two of them from his window and from his judgment, their closeness was a bit too intimate than professional standards required.

"What are you doing pet? Trying to piss me off as always?"

He thought with a faint smirk.