Affairs No More

...xXx...

Ares stood still, shocked. Aphrodite, his long time lover, for the first time in hundreds of years, said no to him. "What?"

Irritation was clear in her voice as she repeated herself, "No. Go find someone else."

"But—"

Her hard glare made him take a step back. He may be a god of war, but even he knew when to pull back in a fight he could not win. Promising himself to ask her again when she was in a better mood, he left without a word.

Unknown to him, Aphrodite would never say yes to any of his invitations to go on a date anymore.

Aphrodite breathed out a sigh of relief when Ares finally left her alone. Her face turned morose as she pulled open the bottom drawer of her bedside table. A big lump formed in her throat while she took out a small but beautiful jewellery box. The box was made of pure rose gold, specifically crafted by Hephaestus himself. Her eyes grew misty as she opened the lid and peered inside. For hundreds of years, the box only held one item: her wedding ring. Now, it had nothing but golden dust. She wanted to believe she was dreaming, but the sight before her eyes told her otherwise. It was truly over. Two months ago, Hephaestus did divorce her.

They had been married for hundreds of years, but Hephaestus rarely came to visit her at her place. He once told her that someone as lame as him should not step foot into her beautiful place. By the time he visited, though, she just came back from her date with Ares. The look on his face was enough to let her know that he knew. Several months ago, it had brought to her attention that Hephaestus had stopped trying to catch and embarrass her and Ares for the past year, which was totally unlike the husband she knew.

A foreboding feeling formed in the pit of her stomach as he said, "I need to talk to you."

She could only nod mutely before they both left to the safety of her room for privacy. For a long moment, he said nothing. And she started getting nervous because of the silence. When she was about to open her mouth, he asked her a question that made her lose her breath for a moment.

"What?" she muttered in disbelief.

Hephaestus gazed at her. "Do you love Ares?"

When she said nothing, he sighed and turned away to look through the window at the garden, where colourful roses bloomed so beautifully.

For once, she was lost for words. Honestly speaking, she did not love Ares. He was like a fling that she wanted to have once in a while. But then, why couldn't she tell her husband that? Because it was only now that she studied him closely. The pain in his eyes was enough to knock her out if she looked into them for longer than a minute. It was when he looked away that she could gather her bearing.

"Why suddenly ask me this?" Her voice was surprisingly small.

A wan smile appeared on his face, and she knew then. The consequence of her careless acts had finally caught up with her.

"I love you, Aphrodite. Truly, I do, but I'm tired of being hurt."

His confession was enough to make her lose the ability to talk. She felt a part of her died when he said, "I came here to tell you that… I release you from our vow as husband and wife. You no longer need to hide your affairs with my brother anymore. I know how you want to keep your image and all, so the other Olympians will not know this until you tell them yourself. Until then, we can pretend we're still together."

After that, he left her standing in the middle of her room. The breaking sound from inside her drawer was what snapped her out. She could only watch in dismay as her broken wedding ring slowly turned into dust.

That night was the first night she cried. It hurt her deeply that whenever they had a meeting, Hephaestus would no longer look at her anymore. Not that she blamed him as she had done nothing but hurt him without remorse, again and again. And honestly, she acted no better than a mortal. It was ironic that she always loved a tragic love story but never thought she herself would have one as well. She clenched her fists. No. This is not the end. He will be mine again!

...xXx...

Three months had passed by since he released Aphrodite from their marriage. Though the divorce hurt him as well, he felt more relaxed now. He had nothing to worry about. Sitting at the back of his small garden of lily, tended by one of his wood nymphs, he sipped his tea. He might be a blacksmith, but he enjoyed nature as much as any satyr. The time of planning to catch his wife's affair with Ares was now used to watch over his children at Camp Half-Blood. It pleased him greatly that all of them were doing great. Thinking about his children, now might be a good time to sire another demigod. It would be a great distraction. Besides, with mortal women, he didn't have to worry about them being unfaithful.

Coming into decision, he did just that, going down to the city to look for a perfect partner. However, there was no woman that caught his eyes. It was when he decided to return that a brunette with matching eyes bumped into him. An office lady by the look of her attire, but he might be wrong. The impact of their collision made her hand bag spill everything into the sidewalk.

"I'm sorry," he said while helping her gather the scattered items.

"No, no, no." She shook her head and took the last item, a pen, from his hand. "It was me who's clumsy and—" She looked up and stared at him.

After a moment, he cleared his throat, and she blushed, realising that she was staring. "Goodness! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude and..." she trailed off.

Seeing how flustered she was, he let out a laugh. "It's okay." Looking up at the setting sun, he nodded at her. "Take care, Miss."

Before he could walk away, her hand captured his wrist. As soon as he turned his eyes on her, she flushed red and released her grip on him. "I'm sorry if this sounds too forward, but may I know your name?"

"Hephaestus." Using another name, no matter how temporary his stay was, did not sit well with him.

She blinked. "Wow. That is a name."

Smiling, he nodded. "I agree. My mother loves Greek mythology."

She returned his smile. "I can see that. Oh, my name is Ai." She offered him a hand, which he quickly shook.

For a moment, he couldn't help but think about Aphrodite since the meaning of Ai in Chinese was love. Somehow, both ended up at a restaurant for dinner. Through their conversation, he admitted that he thoroughly enjoyed his time with Ai. After walking her back to her one-bedroom apartment, he took his leave with a promise to see her again. Both became closer until there was not a day that he did not see her after her working hours at a renowned bookstore. They spent weekends by going on dates or merely spent time in her apartment.

Though it was odd, Ai didn't seem to mind that he never invited her to his place. It was almost two months after their meeting that he took her to bed for the first time. He couldn't be happier when, after they made love, she told him that she loved him. It saddened him greatly that he would have to leave her soon as there was no doubt that she would conceive his next demigod child. The morning after, he had planned to tell her about his identity, only to be shocked that the woman in his arms was none other than Aphrodite.

Shocked beyond belief, he leapt away from the bed, as if she had burned him. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping his eyes were playing tricks on him. Much to his dismay, the image stayed when he opened his eyes. Soon enough, she stirred. As she saw him staring at her, she let out a shy smile. "Good morning."

He backed away from her with pain-filled eyes. "Why must you do this to me, Aphrodite?"

Aphrodite blinked before panic rose in her chest as she quickly glanced at the mirror across the bed and realised the spell she put on herself was gone. Knowing he would leave as soon as his shock passed, she did something that was totally unlike her: she tackled him to the floor and clung to him, silently begging that he would hear her out.

To say he was shocked would be the understatement of the century as he stared at his former wife's head that was pressed against his chest. After he was sure he had calmed down, he touched her left shoulder. "Please let go, Aphrodite."

If possible, she hugged him even tighter. "No. I don't want you to leave me." Please don't leave me. Not again.

He sighed, suddenly feeling so tired. A short hesitation later, he ran his rough hand on her back and gently said, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

Assured that he would not leave, she reluctantly let go of him. Both silently dressed in their mortal clothes before sitting on the bed side by side.

"I'm willing to hear you out."

She fiddled with her mortal dress. With a sigh, she decided to be honest. "I want you back. It was low of me to use this method, but I really..." She swallowed. "My life, after our divorce, was no longer the same. I feel so miserable. I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I wish to make it up to you. I will do anything as long as you stay with me..." Tears started forming in her eyes without her knowing why. "I'm just... I'm sorry." She buried her face in her hands.

Hephaestus, for once in his life, was lost for words, but seeing her tears was enough to make him move. For many years he had known her, he had never, not even once, seen her cry. He pulled her into his arms and murmured, "I'm sorry."

She cried even harder, for he apologised when it was not even his fault.

Moments later, when he was sure she had calmed down, he released her. "To be honest, I don't know what to say." He glanced at her belly. They were not even married anymore, and now, she was pregnant with his child. To be honest, he didn't know what to feel. It was good to say that he was sad, happy and angry at the same time. Those emotions seemed to war within himself. Finally, he came into decision. "What was done is done." He looked at her tear-stained face. "For our child, I will not leave you."

This time, he was not surprised when she flung herself at him. Married or not, he would stay with her. He could not abandon her. It would be irresponsible of him as a father. Holding his ex-wife's crying form, he wondered, absentmindedly, how his brother would react after hearing this news.

...xXx...

One week later, every Olympian gaped at Hephaestus and her. Ares were stuttering before fainting away. He was probably too shocked to hear that she was pregnant with Hephaestus's child. Hera was actually eyeing her son expectantly, and she had to wonder if the queen knew that they were no longer married. Athena was the first one who congratulated them, followed by others. After the meeting, she followed after Hephaestus, for he had asked her to come with him. Once they reached his room, he offered her a golden pouch. With a nod from him, she poured out the content to her palm and gasped. It was her formerly destroyed wedding ring. She looked up at him, wide-eyed.

"If you can stay faithful to me, then I will ask you to be my wife again."

Even after all this time, Hephaestus still gave her a choice to do what she wanted, and she couldn't be any more grateful for that. Although she wanted him to declare his undying love and propose, this was better than nothing. After all, she did say that she wanted to make it up to him. She would have to earn his trust before everything else.

"I will be honoured to be your wife again."

He smiled before taking the gold band from her palm and put it on her.

Tears of happiness welled in her eyes. Lately, she had been so emotional, but it was probably because of her pregnant state. A child from a god and goddess could be born any time and any day, so she didn't know when their child would be born, but she would accept him or her gladly when the time came. She really hoped their first child would take after their father. The night she became his wife again was the first of the many nights she slept with him in his room, and sometimes, in hers.

Many years later, true to the promise she made to him and herself, she, except for the occasional affairs to create demigods, remained faithful to him. Ares was still trying to become her lover, but his effort was in vain. Furthermore, she and Hephaestus had another two children after their first son, who was a carbon copy of his father. Every day, she learned new things about her husband and admitted to herself that she had never been so happy until she became his wife again. Even the other Olympians, aside from Ares, noticed how she looked so bright and happy.

She glanced at their sons and daughter playing in her backyard with a smile before looking at her husband, who was sitting beside her, keeping a close eye on their children.

"Thank you."

Startled, he turned to her. "What for?"

"Everything."

A smile appeared on his lips as he caressed her cheek. "I love you."

She beamed at him. "I love you." She surely made him happy as he leaned down to give her a kiss that left her breathless. When they pulled apart, she felt that with Hephaestus by her side, she would have affairs no more, and Ares would have to find someone else. Maybe... just maybe she could lead a nice lady for him to settle down. For now, she would enjoy this time with her beloved family.

The End

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