455

Thea

We arrived at our parents' place. The tension was still there between my mum and Angel, but from her actions, I could tell she was willing to give it a chance. She had restricted Angel and I from sleeping in the same room, like we were teenagers who still had to abide by their parents rule.

I couldn't understand what her reason was.

"My house my rules." She had said when I countered her about it. That was a typical mum thing to say. It made me wonder if she was trying to get on our nerves intentionally but I had other plans, and that was to sneak into Angel's room. Mum was ahead of me, though. She had surprised me when she brought an extra pillow, proudly announcing to me that she was spending the night in my room instead.

I can't even begin to tell how angry that made me be but I couldn't do anything about it either so I resorted to texting Angel the entire night.

The next day, Mum and Angel got ready for their dinner date. I was with Angel in his room, helping him with his styling for the date. This date meant a lot to both of us, and I hoped he and my mum could straighten things out.

I noticed his unease earlier on but kept silent about it. I wanted to watch him and see if he'd feel better. While I fixed his collar, I could see that he was trembling slightly. I paused and stared straight into his eyes. He gave me a nervous laugh and I finished up with his collar.

"Are you nervous?" I asked maintaining eye contact with him. He let out a sigh of defeat and said,

"Of course, I am." He said in a rather low voice like as if someone would hear him.

I smiled and weaved his hands with mine.

"You know, my mum doesn't look like some scary monster or something of the sort." I said and he chuckled.

"She's your mum, and she hates me."

I shook my head and looked at him. His vulnerability was admirable and I cupped his face.

"I don't think Mum would have invited us over if she still hated you. I'm sure she's got a soft spot for you now." I said trying to reason with him while hoping my words help calm him. Angel pulled me close and I wrapped my hands around his waist while placing my head on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, it was a bit fast.

I guess he wanted me to feel just how nervous he was. I let my hands stroke his back to soothe him and he stroked my hair in return before dropping a kiss on it.

"No one wishes for that more than I do, my love." He said and we gradually pulled away from each other's embrace. He took my hand and kissed my knuckles. It sent a chilling sensation down my spine and the way he locked eyes with me while slowly pulling his lips from my knuckles made it even worse.

I let out a shaky breath choosing to ignore his impact on me. He knew what he was doing, I felt a blush rise up my cheeks and felt shy instantly.

He was doing this to me but was very nervous to face my mum? He had some nerves....

I shook my head, snapping out of my brief trance. "You'll do great, I trust you." I said.

"I wish I believed in myself the way you do." He said and a smile curved my lips. I had watched him make efforts over the months to get on my mum's good side, it felt rewarding to see it yeilding results.

Aside the gifts, he'd randomly call the house to check on Louisa but mum never bothered about any of it and it hurt me to see his efforts wasted but at last, it wasn't in vain. Mum had finally accepted to meet him and even go on a date with him.

It would make him so happy if we could all be together as a family.

"Give me a kiss I need to calm myself." Angel said already staring down at my lips. I pushed my head forward, and his fingers found my chin, pulling me more closely as he leaned towards me. He bit his lips and I almost melted in my pants and then he locked lips with mine, kissing me deeply.

That was enough to calm him until we went downstairs.

We both went downstairs to wait for mum and after some minutes, she came down, escorted by Scott.

Angel and I stood up at once, watching her as she took the stairs. She was a breath of fresh air.

She looked absolutely stunning. She spared no efforts to look her best on this day.

Angel and I exchanged satisfied glances before returning our gaze back to Louisa. Scott handed her to Angel, and she took his hand, smiling slightly. She stood beside Angel while I stood beside Scott.

"You're stunning, Louisa," Angel complimented, his eyes agreed with his words. I could see that made mum happy. She eyed his clothes and nodded in approval as well.

"I must say the same for you," Angel smiled as well then she turned to me and Scott.

"You look amazing, Mum." I complimented as well.

"Thank you, Thea." She said in a soft voice, looking all shy from our compliments. I moved closer to mum, holding her hands in mine, with gratitude in my heart.

"Have a good time. Please," I pleaded, and the look on everyone's face showed that they understood the message beneath it. I wanted her to give Angel a chance desperately.

"Sure," she said. I nodded and focused on Angel.

"Take good care of my mum, okay?"

"Of course," and soon he left the mansion with mum's hands in his.

_______

Angel

I opened the car door for Louisa, giving her my hand for support until she could manage on her own. I went to the other side of the car, entered, and gave the driver a signal to drive.

We hit the road and soon arrived at a five-star restaurant.

A waitress led us to our VIP space. It looked serene and just perfect for Louisa.

We took our seats after I pulled Louisa's chair. I wanted to be gentle. She thanked me and got seated, then I sat across from her at the table.

The waitress came shortly to take our orders.

"Shall we?" I asked, and Louisa nodded, picking up the menu.

We made our selections, and the waitress went to get our orders. But first, we were served wine. I watched as Louisa looked out through the transparent glass. She seemed to love the place, but I could sense a little unease from her.

I was way worse, especially knowing how long of a way we'd come. It's so hard to start a conversation, and everything I practiced skipped my head.

"Thank you for accepting my invitation to this date." I said, my voice a bit shaky. This night was a very important night for what I was about to do.

Louisa smiled. It must be the best smile I'd ever gotten from her.

"You've outdone yourself with this setting. "You have good taste,"

she complimented, and I took it as her acceptance of my thanks.

"The wine is good." She added.

I smiled and said, " Thea says it's one of your favorites. I thought it suited the occasion."

Conversation still went awkwardly, but Louisa was starting to loosen up more than me.

"I must confess, I enjoyed all the boxes of chocolate you got me all these months." I paused and looked up at her. I blinked, not expecting her to admit such a thing. I chuckled uneasily.

"I didn't know you ate them at all," I said, and she stared at me before laughing.

"I watered the flowers too. They were lovely, and you write so well in your letters. I'm guessing Thea gets a lot of it." She continued, shocking me with her subtlety

"You can say that," I blushed and found Louisa watching me. I adjusted, and Louisa laughed knowingly. Silence fell over us, and Louisa turned serious.

"I don't hate you, Angel," she said, surprising me. "I used to, but you saved my daughter's life. I can't hate you after that." I was left speechless for a while before finally speaking.

"You have no idea how much your words mean to me." I said excitedly.

"I know you make Thea the happiest woman on earth. I can see it. Angel... I don't need you to impress me or try to win me over anymore. All I want is for you to love my daughter like she has never been loved. Take care of her, protect her. Never make her shed a tear in grief. Can you do that?" I could see how pure her words were. She really put her daughter's happiness before anything else.

"Louisa, I'm empty without Thea. Words would never be enough to describe just how much I love your daughter. I want to give her the world, my entire world. I want to make her feel like the most important woman alive, and that's why I needed this date," I said, and Louisa blinked. She looked curious as she stared at me.

"What is it?" she asked, and I stood up. I took a step forward and knelt down. She was shocked and looked around. "Get up. What are you doing?"

"You said you don't hate me anymore, but I want to ask for your forgiveness one more time before I take the next step."

"Angel..."

"So please, Louisa, I ask you to forgive me for every pain I've caused you. I ask that you forgive and never hold my past against me." I looked up at her. "Will you forgive me?"

She looked emotional and teary. "Oh, Angel." She stood up and took my hand, leading me to my feet. She shook her head slightly as she stared at me.

I wished she could see just how genuine I was.

"I forgive you. You don't have to feel guilty anymore. You've paid for your crimes." She pulled me into a hug and whispered, "I forgive you." We broke the hug soon and I could see the sincerity in Louisa, and I was more than relieved.

We took our seats shortly.

"So what's the next step you were talking about?" She asked, seeming curious.

I smiled and blushed heavily.

"You're thinking about Thea, aren't you?" She said watching me closely.

"How did you know?"

"It's all over you. It shows when she's on your mind. Like the entire dinner." Louisa said and she was right.

"You're right." I said and silence soon fell upon us once again.

"Now that I'm free to take the next step, there's something I'd like to ask of you." I said to Louisa and could feel the tension rising between us.

I brought out a box with a dazzling ring and a gasp left her mouth.

She was in awe.

I wondered if Louisa reacted this way, how would Thea react.

"Oh my goodness!" She said with teary eyes. "You can't be serious."

"I have never been more serious in my life, and I've never wanted anything or anyone the way I want Thea. She's my whole heart, and I would like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage, Louisa, and I promise to give her my all. To love her with everything I am made of. Would you give me your blessing, Louisa?" I said and she stared at me for longer than I was comfortable with. I was getting more nervous.

Louisa looked at me, then the ring, and she teared up before looking at me again. She smiled, and the joy within her radiated through her smile.

"Yes, Angel. I give you my blessing to make my daughter happy for the rest of her life."

And that was it, it was real yet unbelievable. Louisa had let bygones be bygones if she was giving me the permission to propose to Thea.

"Yes!" I said excitedly and didn't even realize that I had carried Louisa. Despite the realization hit quickly, I went ahead to turn her around and hug her with every ounce of gratitude I had within. She giggled at my act.

Finally, I could make Thea my wife and her mother would be there to support us.

I couldn't wait for Thea to find out as well.