Hailie's heartbeat began a speed run, when she turned around to see Lust standing in front of them. Would you mind if I take over my partner from now on? Those words rang in her head like a spell. What was he doing here? Did he know that she'll be at this party? That's why he came? His breathtaking smile was just making her feel more thoughtful and happier at once.

"Prince of Hell. Welcome." Lucifer's voice was mocking, but Lust kept it cool. "I was wondering when you'll come. Where's Hailie Millis, there you must be too."

"I couldn't miss a party like that." Lust smirked, looking calm as never, while inside it felt like a storm waiting to burst out.

He was furious about Pride taking Hailie to Hell for Lucifer's party. But seeing no Pride around and Hailie dancing with Lucifer? That was enough. He wanted to smash something to ease his nerves. Better if he wouldn't see Pride anytime soon since he wouldn't go easy on her. That kind of irresponsibility was so not like her.

"I'm glad that the differences between us didn't make you stay away, even if it would've been for your own good." Lucifer was harsh with Lust, but only because he believed he should've been harder and cruel.

"Seems I just love to play risky. Now, might I have my dear partner back?"

Lucifer grabbed Hailie's hand gracefully and handed her to Lust. He could make the two of them more miserable tonight, but he already got bored of it. He preferred to find Greed, who disappeared somewhere with Pride.

"Risk is good, but beware who you stood up against. Believe, you wish to have me as your supporter, not enemy. There's always more enemies yet to come." He nodded at Hailie as a goodbye and slowly walked away from them, leaving Lust lost in thoughts for a moment.

"Would you dance with me, Hailie?" Lust turned to her. He wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, but one dance wasn't changing much. And they did have some things to talk about.

Hailie's eyes became brighter, but only for a moment, because then she remembered that Lust left her. She had no idea why he came back, but he had no right to leave and come whenever he wished.

"Yes," she agreed anyway, but Lust could feel the wall build between them.

They began dancing, watching out for other couples on the floor. There were so many entities that for a moment Hailie stopped gazing at Lust just to look around. She was astounded by supernatural creatures. Even though some of them were terrifying, there were also some more beautiful than she could imagine, even if they didn't look anything like humans. It was hard to believe that so fragile and calm demons were monsters waiting to rip you apart.

"Why did you come here?" he asked, realizing that it was a much better technique than accusing her of recklessness. She wouldn't have liked that.

"I had nobody to spend the New Year's Eve with, so I decided to stick with Pride. It's not like something might've happened to me here."

Only a thousand possible things you aren't even capable of thinking about since it's beyond human's imagination, thought Lust, but he said nothing.

There was no point in fighting with Hailie over that. She was already here. Making her feel bad about it was useless and cruel. Besides, he had nothing to say on that topic. She was making her own choices. Poor ones, but still hers. And since he left her, he had no right to judge her.

"Hell is dangerous. It might be fun at times, but I don't believe you enjoyed dancing with Lucifer."

"No, I didn't. I'm glad you came. Thank you for the rescue," she said with such an indifference that it sounded way too cold.

"You're better. It took a little less time to heal your leg, as I see." He decided to change the topic, because Pride's stupid plan to take Hailie to Hell was still making him nervous and edgy.

"Lucifer healed it to dance with me."

So, we're back with the Hell topic.

"At least one good thing he did. I guess, that's his limit for another hundreds of years," he joked, making Hailie smile only a little bit. She quickly came back to her stone face. "Is it what you've expected?" She looked at him with a question written on her face. "The party," he explained.

"There's no scandal yet."

"It's still the beginning. Soon, someone will die. There's always death around here. Fights, blood, collecting deeds, making pacts, challenging others. You can't escape once it'll start. But you won't be here that long."

She narrowed her eyes. It's not like she wanted to stay to see that. Too much violence. But she said back, "What do you mean? I'll stay as long as I please."

She was not going to stay here, since it was too dangerous, but Lust knew that giving her no choice might result in the wrong choice. Knowing Hailie and seeing how mad she was about him, he wouldn't be surprised if she stayed only to make him more miserable.

"Fine. Do you want to stay here that long?"

She breathed in angrily because there was no good answer to that. "No." Hailie rolled her eyes because the truth made Lust satisfied. "But I don't know when Pride's planning to come back," she added, even though Pride wasn't going to stay here for too long. Or so she thought. 

From what they've been talking, it was possible they'd be back for the Earth's New Year's Eve since Hell's party was starting early, counted by Earth's time.

"Can I be your ride back home?" he asked meekly.

"Maybe. I'll see about that."

She tried not to look at his face, because it was hard to stay mad at him. Especially when she could feel his stare the entire time. They took another spin around the room, when Lust suddenly changed the direction around their axis, gracefully bypassing other dancers. This sudden turn made her instinctively look at him because she almost lost her balance. The moment their eyes met, it seemed like everybody disappeared, leaving only them on the dance floor.

Lust's face was so straight and serious when he wasn't smiling. He kept dancing, but his eyes were set only for her, and she wondered how he managed to not bump into others. She didn't know what to say. Moreover, she didn't want to say anything, even if in her head there were thousands of thoughts about how to say it aloud how wrong she felt because of his leaving. Hailie wanted Lust to come back with all her heart, but she couldn't just forget their last encounter. The pain, the heartbreak. She wanted to get better and that's why she needed him to stay away. She doesn't want to go through that ever again. And with Lust there was no telling when he'll suddenly change his mind. He clearly wasn't paying attention to the feelings of others. To her feelings.

And yet at the same time she wished to stay in his arms forever. To dance away all her worries and uncertainty. It was wrong when he left and came back as nothing happened, but it felt so right, when he was with her again. So good that her mind was only filled with one simple wish. To kiss him and start again. To feel that overwhelming joy of knowing that they belong to each other. She wished for love, even though she was pretending she had enough of love, and problems related.

With every other spin, she was getting less irritated and angry. She slowly leaned, looking in his eyes. There was nothing else, except him, so in the first moment she didn't realize when the ballroom changed into flames and then into a well-known garden. They were back in the Bloody Mansion, which made Hailie come back to her senses. All the anger came back twice as strong since Lust transformed them back without her consent. She pushed him away and walked back. Her eyes were glistening with unspoken words, but for Lust there was no other way. He needed to keep her safe. Hell was a threatening place. Not for good girls with good hearts. Down there everybody either were already evil or were becoming evil in time.

"That wasn't fair!" she said, not knowing if she meant getting back to the Bloody Mansion or Lust leaving.

"I'm sorry, Hailie."

"What are you sorry for? Huh?!" She made a few heavy steps into his direction. "What are you sorry for?!" she yelled and pushed him back with her hands clenched into fist.

He quickly caught them, before she had a chance to hit him again. "For leaving. I'm sorry, Hailie. I shouldn't have left." But he did. He made that choice and there was no turning back.

"Hailie?!" Her mother called her from the house.

She quickly wiped her eyes, watching out for make-up. A few seconds later her mother emerged from the house. Hailie blinked, because she changed her cozy home outfit for a sparkling dress.

"Mum, you're going somewhere?" she asked, even though the answer seemed obvious.

Her parents were supposed to stay at the house for the evening.

"Oh, hello Lucien." Hailie's mother came to welcome the unexpected guest. She had no idea when or how the two of them went to the garden.

"Mrs. Millis, my pleasure." He took her hand and kissed it, bowing slightly.

"How charming." She smiled, looking at him as if she was checking out if he was the right man for her daughter. "Yes, Hailie, we're going out. There's a party in the center of the town. Shane's mother invited us."

"Shane's mother," Hailie repeated, thinking it must've been a dream, because as the time was flowing, it became more and more bizarre. "You know each other?"

Hailie's mother smiled as if there was a whole story to that, but then she only said, "We met at the store yesterday."

Lovely. She didn't even think to tell me about that little encounter.

"Oh." What else could she say?

"May I speak with you, Hailie?" her mother asked, sending warm smiles to Lust all the time.

"Sure."

"I'll wait here," Lust proposed, already walking to the garden swing.

Hailie gazed at him and then at her mother, whom she followed back to the kitchen. She felt like getting a headache from all these emotions and nervousness. She definitely would use some aspirin right now.

"Is everything okay? I thought you went to the party with Pride. What happened?"

It was nice that her mother cared, but Hailie wasn't in a mood for talking. How was she supposed to say it? Yeah, we went to Hell, then Lust appeared, and we got into flames, and that's how I got here. Hilarious.

"I didn't like it at the party. Not my kind of company, so I asked Lucien to drive me back home."

"Oh, do you want us to stay with you?" She was ready to stay home with daughter, even though she really wanted to go. It's been ages since she went for a party with her husband. This town seemed like a much better place than their hometown. So many nice people, and so interesting stories.

"No, that's fine."

"Honey?!" Hailie's father called from the hall.

"I'm coming!" Her mother replied and kissed Hailie in the forehead. "Call me if you change your mind. We'll be back in the blink of an eye."

"Sure, mum, have fun," she said, happy that her dad didn't come to the kitchen. He would have gone into full conversation with Lucien before leaving the house.

Just as her mother left the kitchen, Lust walked in, as if he knew their talk was over. They waited until the door after Hailie's parents closed. Only then Hailie turned to Lust, thinking that a distance between them was a good thing. A safe choice.

"What made you come back?" she asked, like it wasn't so obvious.

Did he get bored of being alone? Wanted to have fun again?

"You," he simply replied, but it wasn't enough for her.

"I'm tired, Lust. You're lying, then you're saying you want to start over. You're saying you don't love me, then you're saying you love me more than anything else. You're leaving, then you're coming back. I can't live all the time in between, thinking what is true and what is a lie. Being here, while you can't make up your mind. I can't do that."

Lust tried to come closer, but as soon as he made a step forward, Hailie made a step back.

No, distance was safer. She wasn't thinking rationally while close to him.

"I know. I'll understand if you never want to see me again, but I really tried to do the right thing here. It's not fair that you must be hurt because of my actions. It was wrong of me to leave, but I'm scared, Hailie. Scared of losing you." Saying that aloud wasn't an easy thing for him and she knew. "Please, could you give me just another chance?"

Tears welled up in her eyes as she answered, "Maybe. I don't know. How many second chances there might be? You might leave again when things get uneasy. You said that being apart is better for both of us. Maybe it's true. Maybe I just need time to move on, but I won't do it with you coming back all the time."

When he was gone, she wished to see him once again. To kiss him, to be with him. But she knew that time heals wounds. And she can't take another heartbreak. Another leaving.

"You're saying we're better apart than together?"

Hailie didn't get a chance to answer his question because a doorbell rang. She frowned. They weren't expecting any guests. Not ever, and definitely not on New Year's Eve. She looked at the clock. It was almost eleven. Who would've come at that time?

With a slight sight she went to open the door, Lust behind her. Maybe her mother made even more friends? Hailie pulled the handle and made a step back, full of surprise as she saw Shane standing at the threshold. Wasn't he in New York?

"Shane?" Hailie whispered, not sure if that was really him or just her hallucinations.

Apparently more unexpected things might've happened tonight.

Shane smiled at her but then he noticed Lust behind her back.

"He's back?"

"What is he doing here?" Lust asked at the same time.

"That's a long story," Hailie tried to think of a short explanation, but there was none, so she explained nothing. "But what happened? Is everything good? Why you're not in New York? Shouldn't there be an introductory party for the cops tonight?" She remembered that he wrote to her about that yesterday when they were talking about his new job and how great it seems to be.

"I need to talk to you. I, I can't leave you."

She licked her lips and looked at Lust. She felt torn, but he needed to wait. Their talk needed to wait since it seemed more problematic.

"I'll be right back," she said and took Shane outside, closing the door behind them. She hoped Lust wouldn't be eavesdropping even though it was nearly impossible. "What do you mean, Shane? That you can't leave?"

It took him a second to come back from his thoughts. Last thing he expected to see was Lust in Hailie's house. He was sure that he left forever, or at least for a longer time.

"When I came to New York I realized it was a mistake. Giving up on you that easily. I ran after my dreams, while my biggest dream was left behind. I can't lie, this job is amazing, and it'll be hard to give them my resignation. But I'll do it because that won't be as hard as living without you." He caught Hailie by her hands. "Hailie, I love you with all my heart. You did so much for me. Hell. You literally went to Hell to save me. And those few days in New York made me realize I can't live without you. There's no American Dream if you're not in it."

Her lips started trembling, as she said, "Wh-What do you mean?"

"I mean that nothing is more important than you are." He touched her cheek, making her tremble even more. He quickly noticed it and took off his jacket to give it to her. Obviously, she went outside with nothing more on her arms, and that beautiful dress was clearly not enough. "You said that I should go because it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I don't care. Maybe I'll get another one in the future. But even if I don't, being with you will be enough. You're enough, Hailie. You're my happiness." He leaned and kissed her softly on the lips, making her feeling even more mixed up. "I love you, Miss Hailie," he whispered with a sweet smile on his lips.

She looked into his green bright eyes that were making her feel so comfortable and safe. There was no doubt in them. He loved her selflessly and she knew that he would never leave her. He just proved it. She looked back at the door leading to the Bloody Mansion. The house that changed her entire life. And the demon who was waiting inside for her answer. She was sure about Shane, but she couldn't say the same thing about Lust. While with Shane there was stability and certainty, with Lust there was impulsiveness and riskiness.

Both loved her.

And she loved both as well.

But who did she love more?

The man who was always there for her, watching over her and showing his love at every step? Or the man who was driving her crazy with everything he was doing?

This moment had to come. It was time for her to choose one of them.

"You already resigned?" she asked, gasping at Shane with her eyes wide open as if she saw a ghost.

She was afraid of what the future was about to bring. Of consequences of her choices.

"No. Today was not a good day to talk about it. I'll do it tomorrow unless Elliot will be hungover," he laughed softly.

Hailie thought that he probably was already friends with this guy. That was all Shane. Everybody liked him and she wasn't surprised by it. He was amazing.

She started crying, what wasn't the reaction that Shane expected. On the other hand, Hailie was crying a lot.

"Don't turn it off." Saying it aloud was a lot harder than she thought. It felt like her whole throat was tied up just to not let these words out. "Go, Shane. I want you to be in New York. To be happy there."

"I want to be happy here with you," he replied immediately.

More tears fell down her face as she said, "But I want to be happy with someone else."

Those things were never easy to say. The moment Hailie let them out, she wished to take them away, seeing Shane's reaction. It was heartbreaking. His sudden step back, as if he was slapped. His hands, taken from hers. His mouth opened in puzzlement. His facial expression changed slowly as he realized what she meant.

"Lust," he whispered, more to himself than to her.

"I'm sorry," her voice broke into a squeak. "I didn't want to hurt you. But you can't resign from your dream job for another dream that" -she needed to take a sharp breath- "that won't come true. I'm so, so sorry, Shane. I love you, but I just-"

"You just don't love me as much as you love him," he finished the sentence for her, trying to keep his voice steady. He wasn't able and so Hailie could see how much she had hurt him, even though he was trying to hide it. To stay strong, at least until he was still with her.

"I'm sorry," she repeated once again, with more tears in her eyes.

"Don't be sorry for your emotions," he said, because even when she hurt him, when she turned him down, all he wanted was for her to be happy. "I wish you all the best," he added, while slowly stepping back.

"You too," she whispered, watching him walk away.

Before coming back to the house, she needed a few minutes to calm down and to wipe the tears. One hard talk was behind her, but there was another one waiting inside. She chose Lust, but did he choose her? Could they really find their happiness together? She was afraid to take a chance, but maybe she should. Maybe love wasn't so complicated, and it was them who made it complicated.

The door opened with a creak under her touch. It was deadly quiet in the house and Lust was nowhere to be found. She expected him to wait in the hall, in the place where she left him. But the hall was empty. Hailie slowly closed the door, feeling weird with such a silence all around.

"Lust?" she called into space, but there was no answer.

And that could mean only one thing. The one she was most scared of.

He left.

Once again, he left her.

Hailie suddenly felt so weak that she needed to lean on the table. She cried in the space, when Lust suddenly came out from the kitchen with a glass of water in his hand.

"Oh, you're here", she said with relief and breathed out hard.

He frowned and looked around as if she was talking about somebody else. "I went to get you some water. Thought you could use it." Lust narrowed his eyes. "You thought I left?"

"Do you blame me?" He already did it once. But not without a goodbye.

He put the glass at the table and came to Hailie. "This time I won't leave unless you make me." He smiled hearing her quiet chuckle. "I made a mistake and I'll understand if you want to be with Officer Perfect. I don't expect that you'll-"

"Lust?" she interrupted him and locked her eyes with his. "I want you. Now I realize that all this time I wanted you. I love you, Lust. I love you," she repeated, thinking how easy it was to say it.

Lust grabbed her hand and pulled her closer for a hug. She squeezed her eyes shut and hugged him back, feeling that now she might really never let him go. With his body so close to hers, happiness filled her whole.

"I love you too, Hailie." And that was the truest sentence he has ever spoken. "I never belonged to nobody, but I'm proud to say that now I belong to you."

"You better, because I won't share you with anybody," she joked and looked him in the eyes. Those eyes. She was so lost in them, so deep in love.

He leaned and kissed her on the lips, making her nearly lose it. Until now she didn't even realize how much she longed for them to kiss. How much she needed it. And looking at him, she could say that he felt the same. The desire grew stronger within them as they continued kissing and touching each other.

"I love you." Lust took Hailie in his arms, lifting her up and spinning around. "I love you, love you, love you!" he repeated, making her laugh with happiness.

"Want to see fireworks with me?" she asked as he put her back on the ground.

There was a charming smirk on his lips as he replied, "We might, but later I'm taking you to my bedroom and never letting out."

She climbed on her toes and placed a kiss on his mouth that was like fueling a fire with gasoline. "Maybe. I'll see about that."

Lust grabbed her before she could pull away.

"I love you." He felt like saying it a thousand times wasn't enough to describe his feelings for Hailie.

After everything he's been through, he finally wasn't ashamed of saying it aloud.

Of loving somebody.

Because it was the best thing he could do.