There is silence after Maya admits her real reason for coming, and then Remi turns to me. "Can I stay over at your house?" He asks.

Maya protests and so do I, but for vastly different reasons. She cries "You can't avoid Mum and Dad! They want you to take over as the heir soon. You know that."

"Well, I don't want to take over their criminal law business."

Meanwhile, I protest "My apartment has only a kitchen and my bedroom. It's too small for you."

"No toilet?" He enquires.

"Ugh, you know what I mean!"

Maya jumps in eagerly. It seems like we are taking turns to attack Remi. I could get used to this, it's really quite funny to see Remi against two women. "They don't want to give it to me. You just have to come."

My thoughts are like this: I would suggest giving it to me...the whole business, you know...I could do well with all the money. I bet I could live like a queen with Lyra as my princess in Buckingham Palace if I had the chance to take the money. However, of course I don't say that.

The thing is, I do make quite a bit from my job. In recent years, though, I've had to pay back a tremendous sum of money to Evangeline's adoptive mother, who refused to pay for the funeral (so I did) and demanded that she get a refund for taking care of Evangeline. From that, my suspicions arose that she hadn't been a very loving mother, but I would never find out for sure, because my friend was gone. It turns out taking care of a girl is expensive, and it took me three years to repay it all, by working as hard as I could.

Then there was Lyra. I wanted to adopt Lyra, but I had no money to care for her. I knew I had to be prudent and so I decided to save up enough before adopting Lyra.

So I suppose Evangeline left me with a crushed emotional system and empty pockets. But I will always remember that she was the one who repaired my emotions years ago, and if she had to be the one to break them, I would be okay with it.

Since I don't wish Remi to come home with me- my apartment is really tiny and he probably will turn up his nose at everything- I support Maya. "Yes, go home. Be filial."

He looks at us coldly. "No. Drive to Angel's home, Maya."

Maya relents. She is a bit of a pushover, I think, very sweet, but too soft. I don't want to start a fight, though, so I content myself with glaring at Remi and muttering "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. Idiot."

Remi places a hand over mine, which gets my attention as I stare at him in surprise. He smiles brightly at me. "Angel, be good."

My instinct is to fight back but then I would look like an immature child next to dear, cool, composed Remi, so I shut up.

His hand does feel nice on mine.

Reluctantly, Maya drops us off at my apartment, but leans closer to me and whispers "Angel, please try to get Remi to come to our house tomorrow. You can come too. Just make sure he comes."

I grunt in reply. Remi is extremely stubborn, that's why we can't agree on a lot of things. It is hard to decide who is more stubborn between us. After Maya leaves, Remi and I enter the apartment, and he takes a good look around. 

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I drop my head and say quickly- "I'm sorry, it's nothing much. I told you there's nothing here."

Remi turns around then, and his different coloured eyes blaze with sincerity, one a blue topaz, the other a grey moonstone. "Having nothing is better than having everything."

Looking at him, I understand why he would say that. "Well, do you want to bathe first? Since you're a little wet."

---

Since I insist on taking the bed, Remi sleeps on the sofa. All is peaceful for a few hours in the night. Then I have another one of my vivid nightmares.

Grime covered my face as they continued to roll me around in the dirt. I was their playtoy, and nothing else, a doll to be dirtied and thrown away once it was too sullied to go near. Aurelia laughed in my face as she stood over me, watching like a proud mama. 

"Stop," I choked out, but Aurelia's minions pushed me into the dirt before I could say any more. 

Fast forward ten years, when I was eighteen. Aurelia was still there, a shadow of my past, as menacing as ever. Now she knew how to make herself pretty and popular while I continued to fade into the background. An angel without her wings was useless, and I was that angel.

It was a different type of bullying. This time it involved Evangeline. 

"Evangeline, you're gorgeous. Why do you hang out with her?"

Instead of the kind words I expected from Evangeline, her mouth turned blood red, and she spat out "I don't know why myself. She's such a disgusting girl. Let me tell you about the time she-"

"No!" I screamed. 

Oddly, I feel strong arms around me and jerk awake, faint tears running down my cheeks. Remi's eyes are bright in the night and he pulls me close to his chest, gently and slowly. "Shush, Angel, you're okay now."

I hate to show my vulnerable side to Remi. Why does he always see me in tears? I like to show my strong side to the world, the con scientist side. Not this lame, weak side. It's ridiculous.

My sobs subside gradually and I remove myself from Remi's arms. "Thank you," I exhale shakily. "Just a nightmare."

Remi sighs and reaches out to me, embracing me. His arms slip perfectly around my body and he feels good- like the feeling you get after you sip a cup of steaming hot chocolate, or the feeling you get when you kiss the love of your life. I feel safe and warm. It helps that Remi smells amazing- that's definitely my doing. (My soap is absolutely fragrant. Obviously, Remi smells great because of my soap.)

"Nightmares will never lessen, they will only grow. But you can learn to stop them from multiplying, and I can help you." His grip on me grows tighter but his gaze grows softer. "It'll be okay."

"Remi?" I think this must be one of the most impulsive decisions I've made, but who cares. I lean over and kiss his cheek.

---

We visit her grave in the morning. It isn't my first time here, but it's Remi's. She has a pale grey tombstone, with the words "Evangeline Wiay, 2006-2027. The most beautiful girl in the world" engraved on it. I chose a secluded spot in the corner of the cemetery for her, so her grave is tucked snugly among bluebells, primroses and lilacs.

"I'm sorry. The words don't do her justice. It's just that I was flustered then, and could hardly think straight-" I rush to explain.

Remi takes my hand, surprising me so much that I fall silent. "Thank you for doing this for my sister."

The wind blows and the flowers around her grave sway from side to side, vibrant and colourful. I watch Remi as he kneels at her grave and speaks to her quietly.

The sun lights up his chiselled face and I can't help admiring it more than ever. Over the past month, I've gotten to know him better. I've seen his multiple personalities: the cold and reserved one, the sarcastic and grumpy one, and the warm and sweet one. Maybe I'm insane, maybe I'm out of my mind, but his multiple personalities attract me more than any other man could. And to Evangeline, I admit this:

I am falling for your brother.