Chapter 363: Love and Hate: Two faces of coin


    **Capital of Cylon Empire**


    A lonesome woman sat all alone in a room. The ambiance in the cozy ce was evidence of her high social background. Sitting by herself on her couch, she poured herself a drink, then toasted to no one in particr before downing the entire ss.


    She was dressed in a figure-hugging camisole. "Ahn.." The woman groaned possibly out of boredom. While she poured the next drink for herself, one can notice the slight wrinkles on her face that denoted her advanced age.


    Even with all the strength in this world, no woman can actually stop the process of aging. And indy Sulfina''s case, only a handful of females in the country held onto powersparable to hers.


    She was the one who sat over the high heavens, spelling out decrees for the mortals. Yet, even with all this authority, there was no longsting peace in her mind.


    Now old, the thought of never being able to marry a man was something she can never get rid of. Even at this point when she was well past a suitable age for marriage, a single face will sh in her intoxicated eyes.


    He was someone she loved dearly. In her younger years, he used to be the one who can pull on her heartstrings with a single note of his voice. *Gulp* *Gulp* She downed the next ss of the strong liquor, only to fall on her back and stare into nothingness.


    Such was her fate. The one she loved. The one she can easily give her life for. He turned out to hold feelings for a different woman. *Crack* The ss in her right hand shattered into pieces but none of the exploding shards were able to break her skin.


    Staring at her undamaged hand, Sulfina felt strangely emotional. Maybe she would have been relieved had the ss injured her hands. It was a big maybe. Because it has been decades since she even had to fight it off against a real person.


    As an elder in the Royal court, her services mostly revolved around passing on her judgments. She wasn''t expected to pick her weapon and defend the subjects of this nation. That simply was not her job.


    Then she will think of a rival of hers. She was diametrically opposite to her. She didn''t like to sit in afortable room and decide on the day fates of the general masses. No, she would rather step into the bloody battlefield and defend the ce she called home.


    That must be the reason why she was able to break into the ranks of the grand mages, while Sulfina can only stay on the brink and never take that one final leap. This in turn meant she will forever be the inferior one.


    Was this a possible reason why the man chose her and not Sulfina? The third elder, as she was usually referred to, had spent countless of her evenings mulling over this single question.


    Was it fate? Or was it her cowardice that failed her in love? Who was the culprit? No one knew the answer. Not Sulfina by a long shot at least. The one person, who could have given her a definite answer, no longer drew breaths like her.


    Tears rolled down her eyes as the woman cried out for someone who could never belong to her in this life. No one knew how long she stood in her ce like that. Maybe a split second had passed or maybe hours had gone by, she had no idea.


    Gaining vignce, she abruptly wiped her eyes dry. Choosing to pour herself another ss of wine with a bitter smile. Sometimes her longing even manages to amuse herself.


    "I didn''t know madam will be spending time alone." Just as she brought the ss to her lips, Sulfina sensed a person manifesting outside her door. He knocked twice and entered without waiting for an acknowledgment from thedy of the house.


    "That should be none of your business, prince Hayden." Watching the attractive man walk in carrying his tall build with a swagger, Sulfina drew a sneer. "Hohoho.. you look like you can appreciate apany."


    "No need. Buzz off. It''s my private amodation." The man promptly ignored her words and sat next to her on the couch. Despite his actions drawing infuriated res from the older woman, prince Hayden retrieved her wine jar and poured himself a peg.


    "Haah.. Do you hate me, madam?" Gulping down the burning liquor, the man directed his charming gaze toward thedy to catch her snickering. "What do you think?"


    "Hahah.. I think you must be hating me. After all, every time you concoct one of your ns to finally bury elder sister Emily, I swoop in to either save her altogether or cut down her sentence like anything."


    "See? You had the answer to your question all along." Sulfina smiled in splendor but even a child can tell she wasn''t happy at all. Her smile was only a pretense.


    "You are so harsh, madam Sulfina. Shouldn''t you give your junior some leeway? I am invariably tied to elder sister Emily. You know I can''t sit back and watch her spend her days behind bars." Hayden dropped his face as if he was sorry for their paths cutting across every time.


    Sulfina had no answer. She just chose to pick a new liquor container and pour a ss for herself. "I guess we are bound to be on the opposite spectrum every time. You can''t stand the sight of Mrs. Emily and I can''t leave her side. Both of us are stuck in quite a sticky situation here."


    "Guess we are." For the next few minutes, silence prevailed in the room with no one speaking anything. Regardless, drinks continued to be devoured by the two individuals without any care in the world.


    "You know, miss Sulfina." Hayden put his arms out and slumped on the back support. "Love and hate are two of the strongest emotions humans are able to conjure. You love someone with a heart and you even hate someone with the same heart."


    "Both love and hate are passionate feelings I must say." Sulfina showed no interest to respond to Hayden''s mindless bbering. "Not only that, sometimes, I feel like both pr opposite emotions are like the two faces of the same coin."


    The man then turned to her as of he realized he had been going off on a tangent. "What about you? Do you think your unrequited love would have survived the test of time.. had the man you so passionately cheered continued to live?"


    If it was only the first part of the question, Sulfina would not even have to think and she could have answered with a resounding yes. But having added thest part, Hayden''s question truly turned more nuanced.


    "What do you mean to say?" Sulfina raised her eyebrows, taking offense to the question. "Haha.. no need to be mad. It''s just a hypothetical question. Why don''t you try to answer?"


    "Just think about it. While your condition was ought to remain the same, the man you loved must have had a happening life in front of him. He would have a loving life partner. A bunch of kids to take care of. And everything else a person can possibly need. Will you still keep loving him with such passion?"


    Hayden went out of his way to draw the entire sketch for Sulfina to fit herself in the description. "I.." She was stumped. Her voice cracked as she struggled to make up her mind. What will she do?


    It was an extremely thought-provoking question and Hayden saw Sulfina''s gaze flicker uncontrobly. Her hands shook and she ced the wine ss back on the table. "You got me there.. I never thought of such a scenario. It never crossed my mind."


    Hayden chuckled happily. "Then should I try to answer on your behalf?" Taking her silence as an agreement, be continued. "My answer will be no. You will not love him just like you do right now."


    "Noo.." Hayden shook his head to impress upon his answer. "You will watch him live a fulfilling life. You will watch him grow old.. have a family.. be a loving husband and a caring father.. then you will start to feel a vindication in your heart."


    "Why..? Why can''t you have the same? Why were you cast to the side? You were just as good.. it''s the fault of your rotten fate.. no, it might have been the fault of your love. If you are lucky, you will run away, far far away to nevere across the face of the person you cherished."


    "Otherwise.. if you don''t.. you will start to hate.. first hate this world. Then you will hate your fate.. but in the end, you will start to hate the very person you once loved." Hayden smiled gleefully like he had solved a big mystery while Sulfina stood in her ce, too stunned to talk.


    Although she never thought of such a possibility, there was a good chance she too might end up picking one out of the two routes prince Hayden suggested.


    "Puffff..." Sulfina sucked in a deep breath, visibly astounded even with the liquor in her system that dulled most of her faculties. "Hmph.. then what kind of lover are you? Have you started hating as well?"


    She got back at the man who in turnughed it off. "Why would I start hating anybody?" Sulfinaughed even harder. "Hahaha.. whom are you kidding, prince? Don''t both of us know each other''s situation? Your case is not very different than mine."


    "Ohh.." Hayden clicked his tongue, feigning like he just nowprehended what Sulfina wanted to convey. "This is where you and I differ, madam." She observed him put the wine jar to the side and start removing his clothes.


    "I am a smart man. I already knew what I cannot achieve and made course corrections before a crash can happen." Hayden reached out and tugged on Ms. Sulfina''s dress to bunch it up on her waist. He pulled her panties down in spite of her reluctance.


    "Unlike you, I got a life. I got a woman I love and maybe I will have children who can call me father. What more can a man need?" "Aaahh.." Sulfina shrieked at the end of his sentence because the tall man had pulled her onto the couch and separated her legs.


    "Don''t do it.." Sulfina cried out, but thanks to the strong tipsiness, her strugglescked substance. Taking the opportunity, Hayden pressed the tip of his cock on her vaginal entrance.


    "Maybe I can help you get a child of your own as well.." "Ahhhh..." Sulfina could not hear his voice since the penis had plunged into her, leaving behind a sharp pain.


    Hayden slipped Sulfina''s dress from over her shoulders to reveal her modest breasts. Hisrge hands massaged them endlessly with his hips beginning to rock back and forth, sending his little brother on the right voyage.


    "Anyhow, don''t you see how close I am with elder sister now? All this without a shred of bitterness between both of us. In the end, I can say I got a good life." At this point, Hayden was probably speaking to himself since Sulfina had broken out into loud moans.


    He pped her tits and bent over to suck on them. "You should fuck more often. Now it''s going to be just as painful as thest time." Haydenmented but his cock thrusted ever deeper into Sulfina''s dry pussy.


    It took great efforts on his part to eventually bring the woman to start leaking from her lower mouth. But once that happened, there was no stopping Sulfina''s growing lust. She embraced the man with both her arms and her nails dug into his skin.


    "Fuckk.. harder.. aaaahhhh.." She cried out in a sultry voice. Her eyes had rolled over with nothing but her insane arousal reflecting in them. "I n to do just that." Hayden used all the strength in his body to pound the open pussy beneath him.