"The saddest thing about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies."

As the clock struck 7pm, I desperately tried to calm my raging nerves. My stomach tied in anxious knots, anticipation coursing through my veins as I stared blankly at the door.

Taehyung was supposed to be here any minute now.

I turned my eyes away from my wrist watch, silently vowing not to glance down at it again. After a nerve-wracking session of pacing through the vast living room, I somehow managed to sit myself down on the soft beige carpet. I even tried doing some subtle breathing exercises, something I never thought I'd do while waiting for a man.

The doorbell rang.

I stood up almost too quick, the numbness of my legs causing me to almost trip down. The distance to the front door of my apartment seemed almost non-existent as my mind filled with millions of possibilities of what could go wrong.

Was he here to tell me that he hates me? That I'm disgusting and vile, that he never wants anything to do with me again?

I hated to admit it but Jin was right. I was afraid of rejection, terrified even. Especially if it came from one man in particular who was now standing on the other side of the door.

I found myself biting hard on my lower lip as I twisted the door knob.

"Hey Faye."

The words that left his mouth were almost inaudible as the buzzing in my brain intensified. I somehow snapped myself out of it and put on the largest grin on my face.

"Hey."

"These are for you." he said shyly, extending his arm out stiffly and handing me a small bouquet of roses just like he had done on our first date.

"Thank you," I accepted them, inhaling the sweet scent. "I love them."

My focus was scattered and filled with nervous anticipation. Even so I couldn't help but notice Taehyung didn't seem utterly terrified of me. Yes, maybe he was a little bit uncomfortable but he wasn't running around in circles and screaming upon looking me in the eye. He had brought me roses, so I took that as a good sign.

"Come in," I invited him, motioning for him to enter my apartment. A subtle blush covering his cheeks, he stepped in. I scurried to the kitchen to quickly grab a vase and put the flowers in water.

I placed the crystal vase neatly on the table and ushered him to sit down. He installed himself on the carpet across from me, folding his legs in front of him.

"I was going for something a little bit more casual tonight," I explained apprehensively, worried that maybe he wouldn't like it. "I didn't know whether you'd be hungry but I made you your favorite pasta and I figured we could have some Chardonnay..."

"You look beautiful." He cut me off with an earnest expression on his face.

I released a shaky breath, my eyes flashing up to meet his.

"Thank you." I offered him a brief nervous smile.

"Everything is perfect," he said. "It's very thoughtful of you to make something for me, I know cooking isn't your favorite thing but you did it anyway. For me." his gaze dropped to his lap as he fidgeted with his fingers. His voice entangled in an emotion I couldn't yet identify.

"Well of course." I smiled softly, lighting up the candle I had placed in the middle of the table. The little flame sparkled happily, the light bouncing off of the crystal wine glasses.

Something was off but I was too anxious to see it I guess. Normally Taehyung never avoided my eyes but right now he seemed weirdly taken with his fingers in his lap. His chest collapsed in a deep sigh, but I deemed it natural that he'd seem troubled as perhaps he was struggling internally with accepting me and the fact that the devil's daughter personally made him dinner. What a lucky guy, huh?

See Faye, you're already making jokes about it. Good job!

"Oh, I almost forgot!" I chirped, slapping my hands on my thighs. "I made you a playlist."

"You did?" his dark chocolate orbs flew wide open as his jaw slacked.

"Mhm," I nodded excitedly, standing up and walking to one of the speakers placed in every corner of the room. I connected my phone to it and pressed play as the gentle tune of H.E.R.'s 'Every Kind of Way' filled the room.

[a/n: btw this is legit one of Tae's favorite songs and artists]

Bewildered, Taehyung's jaw dropped as he offered me a look of pure astonishment.

"Is that-"

"Yes it's H.E.R.," I nodded happily, plopping back on the floor in front of him.

"You remembered my favorite artist?"

"Well of course I did Tae," I frowned a little. "I know how much you like her music, we've talked about this."

"I, um," he cleared his throat. "Thank you Faye, this is truly splendid. You put so much thought into all of this. I'm speechless." His eyes darted to the side almost guiltily.

"It's nothing," I waved it off, taking the bottle of Chardonnay and pouring us each a glass. "You've made so many sweet gestures towards me, I want you to know how much I appreciate that. And the fact that you're here with me now, Taehyung... it truly means a lot to me." my voice lowered as I placed the bottle back on the table. My gaze cast over him as he watched me almost entranced in my speech.

"Uh... it means a lot to me too." He gulped thickly. He was getting kind of clammy, constantly biting and chewing on his lip, but I figured it was normal that he still felt a little bit anxious. With the way we ended things last time, it was bound to be a little awkward.

I handed him over one of the glasses, smiling brightly at him. My smile was genuine, I was truly so happy to see him again. I was still upset about the other night but I was willing to move on from it if it meant Taehyung and I would reconcile. Because that's how much he means to me. Maybe him reaching out to me was the start of a positive transformation in our relationship. I was genuinely hopeful that maybe something good was coming our way.

We peered deeply into each other's eyes as I raised my glass. But then Taehyung's hand moved abruptly on the table as he knocked down his fork.

"I'm so sorry-" he started apologizing. I was surprised, Taehyung was never this clumsy.

"Don't worry about it, I got it," I cooed, shooting down to grab the silverware from the floor. "I'm going to get you another one, you stay here." I grinned fondly at him.

"Okay." He deadpanned, fumbling with his collar. He wasn't normally this clumsy but maybe it was because of his nerves.

When I was back with a clean fork, I caught a glimpse of Taehyung readjusting the wine glasses on the table.

"They were about to fall off too, I just positioned them towards the center of the table in order not to knock them down and stain your beautiful carpet." He explained hastily. A muscle twitched involuntarily at the corner of his eye.

"Okay." I smiled, not paying too much attention to it.

I sat down again, wrapping my fingers around my glass.

"Taehyung, there is something I'd like to say to you."

"Hmm?" he seemed dazed, looking up from his plate.

"I admit what happened these past few days was very upsetting for the both of us," I started in soft voice. "And I also acknowledge it must be a lot more difficult for you that it is for me. Nevertheless, I feel relieved that there's no more secrecy between the two of us."

He was bemused. "Is- is that so?"

"Yes," I nodded. "Keeping secrets from you was tearing me up on the inside. It's liberating to finally be able to be honest with you, Taehyung... And I imagine you must have a lot of questions. You should know I'd be more than happy to answer absolutely all of them. No secrets anymore."

"No secrets." He mumbled absentmindedly.

"You mean a great deal to me, Taehyung. I didn't lie when I said I cared about you... or when I told you I'd never do you any harm. I was over the moon when you texted me saying you wanted to talk. It made me... hopeful. And seeing you here now, sitting in front of me, is making my heart beat faster than ever before."

Taehyung hummed, rubbing his palm on his thigh.

"I – I'm glad to be here too." He stammered.

"Let's drink to that then." My lips curled into a smile as I extended my arm out, giving him an expectant look.

Taehyung gave a dry swallow, wide eyes pinned at my glass. Then his eyes darted to his wine, and back to mine. My brows pulled together as I wondered why he was being like this.

"Taehyung?" I looked at him questioningly.

"Actually you know what, let me have that one," he reached out to grab the glass from my hand but I reeled back.

"Um. What exactly is happening?"

"Nothing, I just-" he grunted, standing up on his knees and stubbornly reaching from across the table, desperate to take my glass away as if it was a matter of life and death.

"Taehyung, what-"

His fingers brushed over the crystal but he was too far away to grasp it, so instead he just smacked it. He knocked it out of my hand abruptly and the glass landed on the floor, the wine spilling down and forming a small puddle.

My eyes bulged, staring down at the broken glass as my mouth fell slack. My gaze shifted to Taehyung weaving his fingers in his hair and pushing it back anxiously, cold sweat glistening on his forehead. Breathing shallow and irregular, his eyes were large and watery, as if he was as shocked as I was by his own bizarre behavior. His responses were short, he was really tense and he kept knocking things down.

"It- it's just, the wine smelled funny." He mumbled, scooting closer to the shards of glass and reaching down to pick them up.

"No, I've got it," I said softly, trying to make sense of it all. Why was he so insisting that I don't drink from that wine?

"No, let me." he insisted darkly.

"Taehyung really, it's alright, just stop-"

My fingers brushed against his, shuddering at how cold they were. Somehow in the chaos of collecting the broken glass particles, one of it managed to notch into my skin.

"Ouch!" I hissed upon the painful contact. I retracted my hand abruptly.

"You're bleeding." Taehyung uttered in disbelief.

"It's fine." I plastered another smile on my face, reaching down to grab a tissue to wipe the blood with. "It's not that deep, just a scratch really-"

"You're bleeding." He repeated as if in a trance.

"I said it's fine," I said in a sweet voice, removing the blood from my finger.

"N-no, no, it's not fine!" he suddenly lashed out, the veins of his neck protruding as he clenched his jaw.

My eyes became even more prominent, threatening to jump out of my sockets as I stared back at him shell-shocked by the sudden shift in mood.

"You- you know what, Faye? Y-yes, I do want to ask you a question!" he pointed at my chest, his unsteady voice booming in the room. "How is it that you are the freaking daughter of Lucifer, an immortal being, and yet you bleed?"

"Tae..." I whispered, my face creasing in despair as I saw how much pain he had been masking.

"No, listen to me!" he silenced me, his enlarged eyes pinned at me. "How is it that you knocked out five grown ass men who are twice your size without a scratch, you survived a downpour of bullets, but right now you are bleeding!" he reiterated slowly, fixating me with wild eyes.

My eyes filled with tears at how much he was struggling to wrap his mind around it. My chin trembled but I didn't look away from him.

"You are immortal. You are supposed to be invincible. Why are you bleeding, Faye? What is this? Is anything real with you? Is this some grand plan you designed to manipulate me, to make me fall into your web of lies? To make me fall in love with you?" every word that left him was like a needle notching my skin as his voice was shaking, the muscles of his face screwing into a grimace.

"No!" I exclaimed softly, my heart aching.

"Then what is it?" Taehyung went on. I had never seen him so shaken. "Why is it that you're this invulnerable celestial being but right now you are bleeding! What makes the difference?!"

"You." I breathed.

Taehyung gasped audibly, his head reeling back. His eyes were teary, quivering as they bore into mine.

"You do," I repeated as my eyebrows dipped slightly. "You make me vulnerable, Taehyung. I'm like this when I'm around you."

His gaze slumped down at my hands as he gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He stared down with empty eyes before he turned around very slowly and placed a hand over his forehead. I gave him a moment to process the information, holding my breath involuntarily.

"You're vulnerable when you're close to me..." Taehyung said very slowly, his back still turned to me. "And yet you choose to be around me?"

"Yes. I do." I sniffled.

"You mean to tell me that..." Taehyung crouched down and picked up one of the bigger shards of glass, and then turned around to face me. "If I try to hurt you now you could die?"

"Yes." I admitted.

He dropped the glass back down on the floor.

"Tell me more. I need to know more. What other changes are there when I'm around you?"

"I, uh..." I looked around, frantically searching my brain for something that could help me win his trust back. "There's something that has been going on for a while now, but I don't think it's connected to you. The other night after we talked, my full Devil form started spreading over my body. When I'm in it not only my face looks like... you saw it, I don't need to explain it," I glanced over at him briefly. "But my whole body too. Then for some reason it stopped."

"Why do you think this might be?" he questioned sternly. "Is it maybe tied up with your wings?"

"I guess it could be," I chewed on the inside of my cheek. "There's this... prophecy."

"What prophecy?" Taehyung furrowed his brows.

"Just this stupid gibberish some old fanatic predicted seventy years ago in Rome," I said nonchalantly. "Or at least I thought it was gibberish. It says that when the devil's daughter walks the Earth and meets her first true love, evil shall be released. Which could explain why my full Devil, thus evil, form is coming back and taking over my body. It all falls into place considering my ex just landed back here on Earth." I mumbled.

Taehyung frowned even more deeply, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Who is your ex?"

***

Jin's POV

I stared down at the swirling amber liquid in my glass and brought it to my lips, savoring the burning taste. The jangle of the voices reached my ears as I sat on the stool, slumped over the bar counter.

"Good evening, my child."

Someone swung on the stool to my right. My hooded eyes traveled to the stranger and I scoffed a laugh when I saw a tall bearded man dressed in a long black robe with a white collar.

A priest.

" 'm not your child." I snickered, taking another sip of my drink.

"We're all children of our Creator." He smiled warmly.

"Yeah? Weeeell I'm the firSSt one, thus the mosttt important one." I puffed my chest defiantly.

"That is true." The priest said calmly.

"Anywayyy, what's a religious man like you doing in a seedy *hiccup* pub?" I hiccupped, trying to focus my blurry gaze on the man beside me.

"I'm just here to help," he smirked. "Love problems?"

"You could sssay so." I sneered bitterly.

"May I ask, does it have anything to do with a certain lovely lady called Faye?" he questioned curiously.

"Aand whAt do you know about Faye?" I shot a cross-eyed glare his way.

"I know a lot," he confided. "I've dedicated my life to preventing her prophecy from coming true."

"Pffft, the proh- prup- prophecy!" I let my hand fall heavily on the counter. "That's just a pile of ssshit, you know that 'aight?"

The priest laughed quietly, entertained by my reaction.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, Jin. But the prophecy you claim to be 'a pile of shit' has been set into motion already."

"It has?"

"Oh yes," he nodded convincingly. "Your beloved Faye isn't safe. You need to protect her."

"I do?" I hiccupped, my last brain cell that wasn't yet drowning in alcohol was trying to make sense of this strange man's words.

"Of course. Who else is going to protect her apart from her one true love?"

"Hmmmmmmmmpf." I pouted.

"And I can help you do that," he leaned in, his voice was lower now. "I can help you win her back."

"Annd how are ya gonna do that, huh?" I asked crossly.

"I know of a place you can go with her."

I squinted my eyes at him, trying to focus on his face but it was all a blur.

"What place?"

"Somewhere she could be rid of all the negative influences she's had here," he confided. "Where she could go back to the old Faye."

"Ahhhh, the ol' Faye," I sighed. "She was soooo much more fun back then! Reckless, devilish and sexy and just so exciting, ughhhhhhh..."

"You could be together with her for all eternity there."

"An' what is that place?" I questioned, frowning.

"The place where she would be a Princess again."

"You mean Hell?" my frown got deeper. The thought somehow sobered me up a little "Yeah, I... I don't know. I'm not sure Faye wants to go back there."

"Maybe she needs a reason to go back. A Prince to return to her kingdom with. Someone worthy to be a King by her side one day when she takes her father's throne and becomes a Queen."

I narrowed my eyes at him disapprovingly. " 'Ion know man."

"All you have to do to convince her is remind her of who she truly is. Of how adored she would be down there. The warm welcome she'd be greeted with. Her father would be so proud of her, finally. I bet he's eagerly awaiting his beloved daughter's return."

"No, no, he... he isn't like this, dude. Besides, Faye wouldn't be happy like this."

"She would be if she was with you," he said. "You're the right man for her, Jin. You fled your home and your wife to be with Faye because you two are the definition of true love. You can overcome it all. What you both have transcends Heaven and Hell. You need to do this for her, you need to understand that's what's best for her. You're all she has."

I sighed deeply, feeling conflicted as my eyes cast down on my drink.

"Bring Faye Starlighter back to Hell where she belongs."

author's note:

I love you to the moon and back 😻🌛🌜🌝💕