Chapter 13: One Confession and One Broken Heart
Damon took the elevator down to the ground floor, then entered the enormous hotel lobby and approached the reception desk.
"Good morning, sir." the receptionist greeted him with a broad smile, fixing her blonde hair, pinned up in a high bun.
"Hello. I'd like to check out." Damon said with a smile as he placed the key on the front desk.
"Ah... of course." the girl replied, slightly disappointed, took the key and started doing something on the computer hidden under the counter.
Damon knew how his charm worked on women, just like of any demon, but it was the first time he felt bad about it.
The receptionist printed the bill and put it on the counter.
"You're paying $80." she added, trying to smile charmingly despite the sadness clearly visible in her eyes.
Damon glanced briefly at the bill—everything was fine. He only used the room, didn't eat dinner or breakfast, not even used the minibar. As a demon, he did not need human food, but at times consumed it for pleasure, especially alcohol, but now was simply unable to swallow anything. From the inside pocket of his jacket, Damon took out a slightly crumpled hundred-dollar bill, which he had procured after stealing some businessman's wallet yesterday. Any demon on the surface, during a mission, not wanting to return to the Underworld to rest, had to take care of his affairs in this way.
"Keep the change." Damon said, putting the money on the counter, tweaking the leather jacket he had on a bit. Seeing the sad face of the girl, he said as a goodbye, "I will definitely come here again sometime." Then he smiled and left.
~~~~~~
In the afternoon, after Selene had finished her lesson with Rita, Johnathan, and Isabelle, Eleazar, Rita's brother, came to visit them with Tess and Deborah. Teresa, as usual, went somewhere with her sister to talk in peace. Deborah, along with Maria, Isabelle, Johnathan, and Rita, sat in the living room. As they were discussing some serious topics, Eleazar and Selene went to the kitchen, not wanting to disturb.
"Nice to see you again." Eleazar spoke up as soon as the kitchen door closed behind them.
"Nice to see you too." Selene replied, sitting down at the table.
"And how are your lessons going?" Eleazar asked, taking the seat across from her.
"Rita didn't tell you?" Selene was surprised, looking into his eyes.
"She did, but I want to know what you think of yourself." Eleazar grinned.
"Well, I'm doing fine, I'm pleased with myself. But honestly, I wasn't expecting such quick progress." Selene replied.
"That's good." said Eleazar, looking at her. His eyes showed a lot of interest, but also something more. Selene looked down, guessing what it might be, but refusing to know it by looking into his eyes.
"And how are you doing?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence that fell between them for a longer moment.
"Pretty well, I can't complain. I really only miss one thing to complete happiness..." Eleazar began, looking at her, then grabbed by the chin and lifted her head up so that she would look at him.
"Eleazar, I didn't...." Selene began, but suddenly stopped, felling as if voice was literally stuck in her throat, so before continuing her speech, she swallowed hard. "I don't feel what you feel towards me." Selene gasped at last and sighed loudly.
"I understand." replied Eleazar, moving back from her.
"Don't be angry, please. I'm really sorry I have to hurt you, but I can't lie. I want to be completely honest with you." Selene whispered. She seriously felt bad having to tell him this, but didn't want to create a misunderstanding and give him false hopes.
"Oh no, I couldn't be angry with you." Eleazar smiled faintly. "Now forgive me, I have to go..." he got up and disappeared behind the door, walking into the living room, leaving Selene alone in the kitchen.
~~~~~~
Johann made his way through the portal to the surface of the Earth. He was not at all satisfied with the task assigned to him by his brother. Johann did not like people, was irritated by the delight of women when passed them on the street as if he was some kind of attraction in a circus or a zoo. Therefore, Johann avoided such missions as fire. Had it not been for the fact that his older brother had asked for it, he would have never agreed to something like this and knew very well that it will be a torture for him, but somehow had to go through it.
Johann was walking slowly across the crowded street, wearing an old-fashioned black knee-length coat, elegant black pants, and a shirt under the coat of the same color as the rest of his clothes. Undoubtedly, he stood out in the crowd of people who wore mostly bright-colored clothes, but that was not the only thing that made him stand out. The extraordinary beauty Johann possessed as a representative of the demon race attracted the attention of women. He was designed to seduce, to lure people to him, so that could later lead them astray and take their souls straight to Hell. Many demons took advantage of their beauty, full of vanity, even engaging in affairs with women, but Johann saw nothing tempting about it. Some of the men looked at him with slight envy, especially when their girlfriends looked at him with delight. Johann cursed silently because he hated to attract attention, so he quickly squeezed through the crowded sidewalk and hid in some dark alley, deciding to stay there until the evening. Back then, there were a lot less people, and in the darker light, he certainly won't draw that much attention.
~~~~~~
Selene sat in the kitchen, lost in thought, for about half an hour. She felt terrible about hurting Eleazar. Selene liked him very much, would do anything she could to make him happy, but was also sure that he only needed one thing to be happy: her. It was so clearly written all over his face and in eyes as he looked at her that she didn't need to have any special skills to know his feelings. Unfortunately, Selene could not give herself to him because she already loved someone else, the stranger who saved her life that day in the garden. She loved the demon, her natural enemy, and instead of bonding with a wizard like all generations of her ancestors did, wanted that demon to love her as well. Selene was well aware that if she were to be with Eleazar, surely the relationship would soon be approved not only by Aunt Meredith, but by everyone else too. It was a simpler path, but she still couldn't take it because would betray her own heart, which was beating for that demon.
Selene knew well what would be wiser and better for her, but felt that she would not be happy with Eleazar. She would have to pretend, lie to everyone, and in the end, it would have its consequences—and Eleazar would certainly notice how unhappy she is. Selene started asking herself why couldn't she fall in love with Eleazar? Why did her heart choose him, this demon? Why did it have to complicate things right now, when she had enough worries on her mind anyway?
Selene finally got up from her chair and walked slowly to the door leading to the garden, opened it and went outside, breathing deeply the clean air. She needed a walk now like never before to clear her mind, if only a little.