"You're joking, right?" Evadne stared at Hades in disbelief. "Stone, like literal stone stone? Not gem stones?"
"No, baby. Stones. Like actual rocks," Hades said with a laugh, one hand on the wheel, the other holding her hand, as he drove toward the Cavendish Luxury Group's private auction for art and antiques.
Evadne cringed. "And who in their right mind bids on rocks?"
"Well, it's not just rocks. Sometimes those rocks have gems inside," Hades explained with a grin.
"Sometimes?" Her voice sharpened. "What are we talking here, fifty percent? Thirty?"
"Try one in ten," he replied, still smiling.
Evadne looked horrified.
Moments later, they arrived at Cavendish's designated private parking lot. Hades parked, stepped out, and moved around the car to open her door.
"Baby, please… check your facial expression. It's got subtitles," he teased as he helped her down.
"I can't control my face subtitles," she huffed. "You're telling me people spend millions bidding on a chance that they might get something inside a rock? Why?"
Hades handed their invitation to the receptionist. "Well, your dad doesn't join these things for a reason."
"I can imagine," she muttered. "Every time someone places a bid, I bet his eyebrow rises higher. By the time it hits a million, he's probably rolling his eyes into another dimension."
Hades chuckled. "Sometimes you do get lucky. Did you know Ryzel scored a one-of-a-kind purple diamond from this exact auction? He bid a million. It turned out to be worth fifteen."
"Really?" Evadne looked interested. "So what did he do with it? Sell it?"
"No. Word is he had it made into an engagement ring."
Her expression darkened. "Who told you that? Cieryl?"
Hades groaned. "Baby, please don't…"
"Don't what?" she raised a brow, her tone dangerous.
"Start a fight about my past choices again," he said in a small voice. "I'm sorry, okay?"
Evadne made a show of thinking. "I'll consider it. Hmph." She turned on her heel and ascended the grand staircase, heels clicking against marble.
Hades scrubbed a hand over his face. They'd been together for eight months now, but Evadne never missed a chance to torment him over anything connected to Cieryl. She wasn't even mad most of the time, just messing with him. But the mere possibility that she might be genuinely upset still sent him spiraling.
"Baby, wait up!" he called, catching up to her at the landing.
Evadne smirked. "Speak of the she-devil, and she appears."
Across the auction hall, Cieryl Clark had just walked in, flanked by two other high-society daughters. Perfect makeup, designer gown, and that same practiced smile meant to look serene, but Evadne could see through it.
"The Clarks are regulars at events like this," Hades said quietly, taking her hand and placing it over his arm as they walked. He wore a classic midnight-blue suit. She matched him in a long, midnight-blue halter gown, sleeveless and backless, elegant yet provocative.
Last year, just three months after the Monteverdes had returned to New York, Evadne had rapidly become the new darling of the high-society scene. It was as if the role had always belonged to her, just like it had once belonged to her sister Ceres.
And Cieryl hated every second of it.
Even worse for her, Evadne hadn't even tried. She simply was. She had the name, the beauty, the pedigree, and now, she had Hades.
Cieryl's loyal circle of snakes still hung around her, but Evadne wasn't impressed. If anything, she admired their collective delusion. Proof that even among the rich, "the enemy of your enemy is your friend" stayed true.
"No wonder Cas passed on this event," Evadne whispered to Hades, her voice laced with amusement and disdain. "This place feels like a nest of snakes."
"And it's boring," she added, wrinkling her nose as her eyes scanned the crowd.
"Baby, you promised to come with me tonight," Hades reminded her, trying to keep the edge out of his voice.
"Hello?" Evadne rolled her eyes. "Exactly. I said I'd come with you. I didn't promise I'd behave." She puckered her lips toward him teasingly.
Hades bent down and kissed her softly, unable to resist.
He guided her toward the centerpiece of the auction room, an island-like display where several stones were showcased under glass domes and subtle lighting. Evadne's face twisted further in confusion. They looked like ordinary rocks to her. Until they reached the far end of the table.
There, in a dimly lit section, were smaller, rougher stones, none of them impressive by human standards. But Evadne felt it immediately. Her eyes narrowed.
Three of the stones were faintly glowing to her eyes. Not visibly, but internally. She could feel them pulsing. Mana, she realized. It was subtle, but it was there.
Before she could say anything, a familiar voice approached.
"Hades, bro," said Rion as he walked up to them. He was from one of the Cavendish subfamilies. "Good evening, Evadne."
"Good evening," she replied politely, offering him a measured smile.
It had been months since Hades's now-infamous confrontation with his so-called "friends," and yet many of them still crawled back to him like dogs, desperate for proximity and favor.
He tolerated them, for now, but made it clear, one wrong move and he would isolate them completely.
Thatcher, for example. Once arrogant and smug, he had all but turned into Hades's lapdog. Hades had systematically cut ties between the Falcons and the Kingsley family, terminating long-standing contracts with penalties that were modest compared to the billions the Kingsleys stood to lose.
Thatcher begged.
In exchange for even a chance to regain Falcon contracts, he groveled. The Falcons eventually reinstated a version of their deal, but now it was renewed annually, at the Falcon Empire's discretion. Every year was a silent audition.
But nothing compared to what Hades did to Alaric Duval, the guy who once called him deadweight.
Hades didn't just cut ties with the Duval family. He blacklisted them from every Falcon-affiliated business. Within three months, they filed for bankruptcy.
When Alaric confronted him in a rage, even challenging him to a fistfight, Hades dismissed him like he was nothing. The next day, the Duvals made headlines, tax evasion, bribery scandals, embezzlement. Alaric's father, who had been preparing for another run at the Senate, was suddenly behind bars.
That was the last time anyone dared talk down to Hades Falcon.
But the whispers didn't stop. Not from the women.
They couldn't touch him, so they went after Evadne instead. Calling her a slut. A manipulative bitch. Saying she played Hades and Casadin at the same time.
But those whispers died fast.
For every girl who uttered something vile about her, scandal followed. One had her affair leaked. Another had her drug use exposed. Another was caught cheating on her fiancé.
Even when they whispered only among themselves, the rumors still got back to Hades.
That's when everyone realized. Hades had a mole inside their circle. Someone who fed him every detail of what was said about Evadne, and Hades retaliated, quietly but ruthlessly.
Her first school year at NYE had been a resounding success. As President of the Student Body Organization, her projects were ambitious and flawlessly executed. Even the most powerful families couldn't help but take notice.
She wasn't just a pretty face or a rich girl with bipolar disorder. She had substance.
"This is the first time I've seen you attend something like this," Rion said casually, trying to charm his way into Evadne's good graces. Everyone knew Hades wasn't the easiest man to please. But there was one shortcut, and that was Evadne.
Unfortunately, that shortcut was a double-edged sword.
Try too hard to impress her, and Hades would take it as a challenge. And unless you were part of Evadne's inner circle, whom Hades merely tolerated with deep, exhausted sighs, he would crush you like an insect.
Evadne arched an eyebrow at Rion.
"Do I look like someone who enjoys auctions?" she said, gesturing toward her own face, which was wearing a mask of pure disinterest. "Especially one where people fight over rocks?"
Rion scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.
Noticing that Rion was now comfortably talking to Hades and Evadne, a few other people from their social circle cautiously approached, weaving their way into the conversation. Some came willingly, others clearly pushed by their eager, ambitious parents trailing just behind them.
"You'll never really appreciate events like this, Vee," came Cieryl's syrup-sweet voice. She stood just a little too close, smile as polished as a diamond with a jagged edge. "If I remember correctly, Grandpa never liked them either. Said it was a waste of money."
After being threatened by Romos, who made it clear he would not hesitate to throw her in jail if she ever tried to destroy Evadne's reputation again, Cieryl had shifted tactics. Now, she was all smiles and passive-aggressive remarks, every compliment laced with venom.
Evadne immediately tapped into her thoughts. Yes, it was cheating, her psychic ability made that easy. But what was the point of having an advantage if she didn't use it?
She could see where Cieryl's mind was going. She saw the jab before it could be spoken, and blocked her path before she reached it.
"Yeah. It really is a waste of money," Evadne said with a bright, unbothered smile. "My father's a very practical man. He already has two women in the house burning through his bank account, he can't afford to be reckless."
That earned a few awkward laughs from the surrounding crowd.
"He could outbid everyone here if he wanted to," she went on. "But he knows how to recognize real gold when he sees it. He doesn't waste time, or money, chasing after nothing. He's done that once before. Took in a charity case who turned out to be a backstabbing bitch. Learned his lesson the hard way."
Cieryl's face flushed. She knew exactly who Evadne was referring to, her and her mother, Ciena. The words hit their mark like a slap.
She turned desperately to Hades, eyes pleading the way she used to during their relationship. Begging him to defend her. To look at her the way he once did, when she was his entire world.
But Hades wasn't even glancing in her direction.
He reached out gently and turned Evadne to face him, catching the slight furrow beginning between her brows. His thumb brushed along her forehead, massaging the crease before it deepened.
"Baby," he murmured, voice soft and coaxing. "How about we play a game?"
Evadne blinked at him, cautious.
"We'll bid for one of the stones later," Hades said. "You get to pick. And if the one you choose has a gem inside, we'll go on that one-month road trip you've been begging for, before the school year starts."
Evadne's expression immediately brightened.
She had been pestering him for weeks to go on that road trip, with Casadin, of course. But Hades kept refusing, his mind drowning in worst-case scenarios. Accidents. Illness. Sabotage. He had every excuse not to go.
But now, the possibility made her giddy.
Her eyes lit up with mischief. "Really? You swear?"
Hades smiled. "I swear."
"No take-backs," Evadne narrowed her eyes at Hades playfully, a teasing threat behind her smirk. "You know what happens if you break your promise."
"When have I ever broken a promise to you?" Hades asked with a quiet hurt in his voice, pressing a kiss to her temple.
The others around them exchanged glances. The couple was locked into each other's world, sweet and intimate, so much so that the rest of the room blurred around them. It was impossible not to look… or compare. Naturally, eyes flicked toward Cieryl. Some pitied her. Others merely snorted, amused by the poetic justice of it all.
"Anyway," Evadne turned to Rion, breaking the tension, "where did these stones come from?"
"They're from Ireland," Rion answered with a grin, then leaned closer and whispered like it was a secret, "Six of them have gems inside."
"Just six?" Evadne's brows lifted as she swept her gaze over the island table filled with nearly fifty rough stones. "Which ones?"
She reached out with her mind, subtly scanning Rion's thoughts, just to be sure. Even if he didn't say it aloud, he'd think it if he knew. But all she got was honesty.
"No one really knows," Rion said, echoing his exact thought. "The process starts by retrieving the stones from decommissioned mines. They run them through a scanner that can detect presence, not visibility, of precious minerals. Then they're sealed and sent here for bidding."
"So basically," Evadne said dryly, "you know some of them are completely empty. And still sell them?"
"Well… yes," Rion admitted with an awkward chuckle. "But it's not a scam. The bidders are informed ahead of time that only a few hold actual gems."
Evadne's lips curled into a playful smile. "Relax. I was just messing with you."
With that, she leaned in closer, asking more questions, this time sincerely. She had a reason. Of the dozens of stones on display, she'd sensed three pulsing with faint traces of mana. How that was possible in Earth, which had no natural magical current, she didn't know. But she intended to find out.
Rion, oblivious to her real interest, was more than happy to answer everything she asked.
Of course, Evadne didn't let on which specific stones intrigued her. With people like Cieryl and her so-called friends lurking, she wasn't about to invite sabotage. Even if they couldn't outbid the Falcons, it was always smarter to move like shadows in this world.
As usual, Evadne quickly and effortlessly became the center of attention.
People gravitated toward her, offering their insights on gemstone sourcing, Irish mining, auction lore, anything that might make them sound relevant. She listened. Sometimes indulged them. A few facts caught her attention, most, she dismissed as social noise disguised as contribution.
Soon, the conversation turned to Hades's promised reward, their one-month road trip.
Where would they go? What would they do? The questions came naturally. Not because anyone truly cared about the answer… but because they noticed something.
Hades only lit up when the conversation involved Evadne.
He barely spoke unless it was about her. And when he did, his tone softened. Protective. Indulgent. Intimate.
It was a stark contrast to how he used to act with Cieryl. Everyone whispered about their past, yes, there had been feelings once. But this? This was not the same. Not even close.
With Evadne, Hades was patient with her tantrums, tolerant of her teasing, and completely ensnared by her presence. He spoiled her, worshipped her, and despite the occasional public eye roll or pout from her, it was clear, she owned him.
Then came the announcement.
The auction was about to begin.
Naturally, as the official representative of the Falcon Empire, Hades led Evadne to the front-row seats reserved exclusively for them.
As they took their place, the crowd behind them buzzed with anticipation. Not just for the auction, but for the drama that always seemed to trail in the wake of the Monteverde heiress and her dangerously devoted fiancé.
Tonight, Evadne would gamble on stones.
But as always, she would be the one everyone else watched.