"How was I supposed to figure it out when you implied it was someone else the whole time and I couldn't even remember you?!" Miguel shrugged.
"Dami is the one who created the terms... I couldn't speak against it if I wanted to see you..." His contract with Hell?
"What do you get out of this?" I asked. He rolled his shoulders and said,
"Why are you still standing? Please, come sit with me." After his request, I took my seat beside him and, as expected, he immediately started kissing my neck and groping me.
"Miguel, wait! I... want to know... please." He pouted a little, then removed his hands from me and turned away.
"I get complete possession of my soul and... she has to accept that you have real feelings for me and stay out of my life. I kinda became her pet—or slave, of sorts—in hell. It was hard convincing her to let me come here..." So... if I couldn't figure out he'd been in love with me this whole time, he'd end up dragged back to hell...
"I see... so that's why you left me?" Miguel turned back to face me, then kissed my lips tenderly and replied,
"I was distracting you, and we were almost out of time... You had to figure it out in half a year or less." The room went quiet as I rummaged through my thoughts, trying to process what he'd just said.
"So... you're... still my boyfriend?" I asked timidly, just to be sure.
"I never broke up with you... and I kissed you on national television more than once..." He noticed tears forming in my eyes and poked my forehead, saying, "I went through all this trouble because I wanted to be with you. There's no way I'd leave you that easily."
"I...!" I noticed I was yelling, so I cleared my throat and calmed down. "I want to remember you... how did you fall in love with me?" My heart fluttered with anticipation for what he might say.
"...You were with Jack, so our memories aren't especially intimate. I just... lived with him, so I saw how much you went out of your way to take care of him—prepare his meals, clean up after him, take care of him when he was sick. I think what I liked most was how you looked at him with so much admiration... I was jealous. I was amazed by how sweet you were. There have been lots of women interested in me, maybe even hundreds, but no one ever looked at me the way you looked at him. All our conversations were about Jack—you asked me his favorite food or cake flavor when you wanted to surprise him—but that didn't bother me. I just wanted someone to look at me like you... I didn't want to steal you from him. That's the basics."
"Then things changed?" He frowned.
"Well... he started cheating on you. No... I finally found out about it. I don't know how long he'd been doing it. So I confronted him about it, and he got mad, saying I shouldn't care and that it was weird I cared so much about his relationship with you." Miguel cleared his throat. "I don't know if it was weird or not, but... I started to pity you whenever you came over and talked to me more. Whenever you asked about Jack, I changed the subject to find out more about you. Eventually, I started to care for you, so I had to tell you the truth. I knew he was planning on meeting some girl that very day, so we had another argument. I left our room to meet up with you, and I very bluntly told you Jack was cheating on you. You cried immediately... I still remember your face, and my thoughts were, how can someone look so beautiful even in tears? I thought about hugging you and wanted to comfort you, but you yelled that I was wrong and Jack would never do that to you—and then you ran from me. Your reaction hurt me, and I didn't have the right to chase you, so I took a walk. I was a few miles down the road when it started raining, but I kept walking anyway. That's how I ended up on the bridge where you hit me." That... sounds like a horrible day. "The last thing I saw was you crying over me, and I... it's embarrassing to admit, but I wanted to comfort you again, tell you it was okay. Then you pushed me into the river and I drowned... Drowning is much more painful than it looks."
"I'm awful," I muttered to myself.
"Maybe... but there's nothing you can do that would make me stop loving you or... wanting you to love me." I sniffled and hugged him tight. He sighed again. "I didn't just invite you to my room so we could hug and vent... It's been a month since I got to be alone with you." I wiped my eyes as I released him.
"I don't understand... You said I gave you the right answer," I replied, confused. Miguel rolled his eyes and then laughed lightly.
"Of course, you'd say that..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring box. He placed it on my lap. "The first thing I wanted to do after winning was open a new restaurant... the second was become your husband." I felt my eyes widen and then opened the box to see a gold ring with a large white diamond.
"Are you... proposing to me?!" My hands trembled as I held the box.
"Don't get me wrong, that ring is a family heirloom. My father gave it to me once I told him there was someone I wanted to marry... and I had to promise to introduce you to him and Mom after the competition." I tried on the ring; it was a little loose but so beautiful I never wanted to take it off. "We'll have to get it resized for you... I mean... if you say yes."
"Yes! But you gotta promise not to disappear on me again!" He laughed.
"Alright."
"And you have to let me cook for you sometimes..." Miguel nodded.
"Sounds fair." I hugged him again, then jolted when I felt his lips on my neck and his hand slide down my back. "You're so tense," he commented.
"It's been so long since you touched me and... you feel so warm now," I explained. "I'm nervous." When I looked at his face, he kissed my lips and said,
"I'm nervous too," he murmured with a slow, wicked smile—completely at odds with the fierce way his hands immediately began peeling my clothes off. Every touch was electric, sending shivers down my spine as he pressed into me like he wanted to become one being. I matched his hunger, my fingers tracing over his skin, burning to memorize every inch of him. Our breaths mingled, ragged and shallow, as desire took over—urgent, relentless. Clothes scattered across the floor, and the world outside faded until there was only the heat between us, the racing of our hearts, and the softness of his skin beneath my fingertips.
When it finally slowed, exhaustion wrapped around us like a warm blanket. We tumbled into a tangled mess of limbs and whispered promises, my body pressed impossibly close to his. I clung to him, afraid to let go, terrified this was just a beautiful dream—and that when I woke, he'd vanish.
"You're coming back with me!" A woman yelled, jolting me awake, but my body was too groggy to sit up right away. When I cracked my eyes open, they stung from the smoke.
"I'm not going back! Why is that so hard for you to understand? She passed your f**king test, so move on!" Miguel yelled back.
"Fine... but if you and that woman die together, you'll return to me. And you'll have no reason to come back."
"You honestly think I'll want to be with you after you kill Lemon?!" he asked, enraged.
"Well..." she began, "maybe not at first, but after a thousand years or so, you'll let it go."
"No... Dami! Come back! Put this fire out!" Dami... I coughed and forced myself to sit up, but the room was spinning.
"Lemon... are you okay?" Miguel asked while throwing a wet towel over my head. I nodded, but truthfully I wasn't okay. I felt like I could barely move, my skin stung from the heat... and even though I knew I needed to leave right now, all I could do was sleep... He picked me up in his arms, wrapped a sheet around me, and rushed out of the room. I heard his frantic footsteps and saw a blur of fiery walls as we rushed down the hallway. When he finally got to the stairs, part of the roof caved in, blocking the pathway down. Miguel cursed and ran off in another direction. At that moment, we were surrounded by a blinding light.
"I worked too hard to repair that body to let it go up in flames." That's... Kiel's voice. I closed my eyes and when I woke, I was in the hospital, still wearing the ring Miguel gave me, with him crying at my bedside.
"You're awake?!... I'm so sorry, Lemon... I screwed up." I touched his cheek and said,
"It's not your fault and... even if it was, there's nothing you could do to make me stop... loving you." It was a direct quote of his own words, and he laughed in response, but his face still looked sad.
"I'm glad you're okay..." Then he stroked my cheek... "You're safe now, I promise." He kissed my hand and held it gently.
"You're worth a little danger," I muttered. He eased up and laughed loudly this time.
"You're so... stupid sometimes." After his comment, Kiel stepped into sight, saying,
"That's not very nice, Miguel. This woman sacrificed half her life for you." Miguel scoffed,
"Well, I've given my whole life for her, so I can call her dumb if I want." I pouted, but his teasing restored some of my energy, so I sat up in bed.
"Did... Dami set fire to the hotel? Did anyone get hurt?" I looked at Miguel first, then Tzadkiel.
"Yes, Damien was the cause of the fire... but I extinguished it and no one was severely injured. You inhaled a lot of smoke—that's why you're here. Damien is forbidden from entering the mortal realm, and if he sends anyone to harm you or Miguel, his existence will be... erased." I was shocked and relieved all at once.
"Okay... good... I was so worried she'd hurt Miguel." I replied tearfully while lying back down. Miguel sighed and said,
"Worry about yourself..." before kissing and wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. "You've gone through so much because of me... I don't know if I can ever make it up to you."
"You... just have to stay with me. That'll be more than enough." Miguel laughed, and Kiel joined in.
"Since the terms of our contract are now complete, you may see me less, but... I'll always be here for you both... as your friend." Kiel chimed in, "I feel like a third wheel right now though, so... bye-bye." He disappeared from the room in a blinding light. Miguel sighed, shook his head, then began asking me about my life while we were apart, and I asked him about his. I liked catching up... but I couldn't shake the anxiety I felt—that he'd disappear. I hope it's not too soon for us to discuss living together again. I don't want to go home without him.
"Let's move in together." I blurted while he was still speaking. He paused and looked down at me lying in my hospital bed. I felt so dumb—I could've at least waited till he finished his sentence!
"... Yeah... I'd like that." His reply filled me with so much relief that I couldn't hide it if I tried. I'll never be done being haunted by my feelings for this man.
—End of Part 1—