Page 2 of Winning Back Persephone

"Because you'rePersephone.What would people say if Hades found someone before you?"

"I highly doubt Hades is looking for anyone." I couldn't imagine that Hades had given much thought to moving on, though maybe that was because I'd been struggling with that myself rather than anything to do with him.

"Didn't he find someone last time?" my mother asked.

My hand tightened around the stem of my wine glass. "We'd been separated for longer last time."

"Ah, but you know what men are like," she said. "Your father..."

"Hades isnotZeus," I replied through gritted teeth.

"They're brothers."

"They were turned immortal by the same person. That doesn't make them brothers."

"I don't know why it bothers you so much. You ended your marriage." Mother's expression made it clear what she thought about that. I was surprised it didn't come with an addedwell done, Persephone.

"I don't want to talk about Hades," I said firmly. Though in reality, I'd never wanted to talk about him with my mother. She wasn't his biggest fan and made sure that I knew about it at every opportunity, especially when it came to her claiming he wasn't good enough for me. I didn't really understand why she was so caught up on that when it wasmychoice who I ended up with and what I wanted from a partner.

Without meaning it to, my mind slipped back to Hades. It had been two years since I'd last seen him, and it was hard to remember the reasons I wanted to leave. Instead, what was left were the reasons I missed him and our life together. He was one of the most thoughtful people I'd ever met, always aware of the impact he was having on others. If anything, I was the one who had never been good enough for him with my ambition and never being fully happy with what I had.

I picked up my wine and took a deep drink, searching for a subject that would leave us on safer grounds. "How is work?" I asked as I set my glass back on the bar.

My mother sighed in the most dramatic way possible. "It would be much better if you visited the greenhouse," she responded. "You know the plants always respond well to you being around. Maybe you should move back in."

"I'm not going to move back in, Μ?να." No one would be able to pay me enough to inflict that sort of torture on myself. I loved my mother deeply, but the last thing I wanted was to live my life with her looking over my shoulder.

She sighed dramatically. "Ah, Persephone. What can I do to convince you?"

"There's nothing, Μ?να," I responded. "I like living on my own." The lie felt heavy on my tongue. Ididn'tlike living alone, I was used to having someone else around. Both Hades and Cerberus had made my life so full in the best way. But that didn't mean I was going to move back in with my mother. Ever. At this point, the only person I'd be willing to live with was Hades, and I doubted he'd be interested considering I ended our marriage.

It was going to take a lot more wine if I had any chance of blocking my husband from my mind.

Chapter 2

PERSEPHONE

I'd been to a couple of parties hosted by the Jinx Dating Agency before, but I was surprisingly nervous about tonight. Maybe it was because I still had my mother's insistence in my ears about trying to date more. And if there was somewhere that I would try that, it would be with Jinx. But not the dating app. I didn't want people choosing to date me just because of who I was.

There was a part of me that wanted to turn around to go home, but the thought of the empty flat waiting for me was too much to take. I turned the corner and let out a sigh of relief when I saw Hel waiting for me outside the hotel. At least I didn't have to enter alone. I waved at the Norse goddess.

She smiled as she saw me approach. "No Demeter tonight?"

"Definitely not," I responded. "I will do anything I can to keep my personal life away from my mother. You know that."

"Mmm, she does tend towards the meddlesome."

"Speaking of meddlesome parents. What about Loki? Is he here tonight?"

"I think so." An affectionate smile crossed her face, making me briefly jealous over her good relationship with her father."You know what my father is like whenever he thinks he has a chance to do karaoke."

I grimaced. "Please tell me that's not going to happen tonight."

She shrugged. "From what I've heard, there's always an office memo that goes out before events reminding everyone to keep him away from it."

I shook my head in amusement and the two of us made our way into the hotel that was hosting tonight's party.

"So, are you thinking about signing up for Jinx?" Hel asked.

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