With all the energy Angelique could muster, she smiled and faced Guiltia. "I love you."

The change noticed in the male's expression was the enlargement of his eyes at the unexpected confession. Once she said those three words, the rest of the words seemed to sprout out of her mouth like a fountain.

"Umm... I-I know it's really sudden!" She started moving her hands in a panicky manner. "You probably don't feel the same way. Y-You don't have to! I just wanted to say that you're the person I have developed feelings for, Guil-san. I really l-"

Guiltia didn't reply. He simply squeezed his eyes shut and looked away. It was enough to shut her up.

"You don't have to say more, Angelique." She understood what he meant. She just got shot down.

". . .I think you're being too quick to judge your feelings. You must've misinterpreted your feelings. You're not supposed to be in love with me."

What..? No! She wanted to voice that out. But at that moment, her voice didn't want to come out.

He quietly turned away. The next words were mostly directed towards himself. "...There's no way I can love you."

She suddenly felt suffocated. She could do nothing as she watched him exit the roof. I'm not taking this lightheartedly, Guil-san. The person I love is you. . . . . Yet, I wasn't able to make it clear to him...

"But would it have made a difference?" The strength in her legs disappeared and she fell to her knees. "To become like this after being rejected.... I'm really pathetic."

I didn't expect him to feel the same. I was fully prepared to be rejected. Still...

"...It hurts.....so much..." Her broken whisper reached no one's ear and vanished into the cold air.

.  . .  . . .  .

Three days had passed since then. It was as if nothing had happened between the two. The confession remained as their own secret. Angelique didn't want to think about the pain of being rejected. On the other hand, Guiltia didn't want to remember those words that he had longed to hear before.

I hope my smile wasn't awkward. I don't want to look sad in front of him because of what happened.

The invisible rift between them seemed to be increasing. If anything, confessing her feelings resulted in him shutting himself even more. . . I don't know what to do anymore... Should I really forget these feelings for things to return as it once was? But. . . I don't think I can get rid of them so easily.

Angelique walked aimlessly on the streets, all alone. OZ was out for one of their gigs and practice for the upcoming joint live. Maybe she really needed to be alone. The feelings that she had kept bottled up behind her smile could no longer be suppressed. 

I promised myself that I won't cry. Guil-san will feel bad if he sees me like this… Yet, hot tears kept streaming down her cheeks. She knew it was futile to hold it in so she didn't try to stop herself from silently crying. Neither did she attempt to wipe her tears.

Honestly, she didn't care what passers-by would think if they saw her teary face. Right now, when no one was with her, she just wanted to cry. Keeping her head down, she wandered through the streets.

Because of not looking where she was heading, she bumped into someone's back. She quickly bowed as an apology and proceeded to move away with her head hung low.

"I'm sorry."

"You..." The voice above her was familiar. It caused her to look up.

"!! Mist-sama?" Mist wasn't alone. There was another man beside him. "Saga-sama too..."

The two men's eyes widened at her pitiful state. Her cheeks were completely wet because of those endless tears that were falling from her puffy eyes. Her eyes had also turned red from all the crying.

"Angelique," Mist questioned. "Why are you crying?"

"I-It's nothing." She tried to dismiss them and leave. "Excuse me."

"Oi, Angelique." Saga firmly held her shoulder, stopping her from running away from them. He couldn't just let this go. He had never seen this cheerful girl cry like this.

"I'm pretty sure you won't cry like this for nothing. I know it doesn't involve us but we still want to know."

"That's right." Mist agreed wholeheartedly.  "If there's anything we can do, we will try our best to help you."

".....There's nothing you can do actually." She bit her lower lip and faced them. Saga and Mist could easily identify her forced smile. "I got rejected."

"Rejected...?" Mist cocked his head. Was she seeing someone?

Angelique chuckled bitterly. "I confessed to Guil-san even though I knew there was no chance of him loving me back."

"To Guiltia?!" That shocked Mist. Saga stayed quiet. Mist knew it truly was a matter he had no control over. "....I see."

The brunette felt sympathetic for her. Leaving her like that seemed heartless to him. Just because it was a matter out of their hands didn't mean they couldn't help her. The least they could do was cheer her up.

The smile he offered her was kind. "Would you like to come to our live?"

"Huh?"

"It's White Day. I would like to compensate you for Valentine's Day with our performance." Mist cocked his head to the side. "I'm certain we sent you an invitation card for tonight. Did you not receive it?"

Is it White Day today? I completely forgot. "Oh…. um… I'm sorry. It slipped my mind that it was today."

Saga understood what Mist was trying to do. The best way to lift her spirits was their song. Knowing how big of a fan she was, even if it didn't totally ease her heart, it would at least stop her from crying. If she had lost track of the date, especially of Lost Eden's show, it showed just how much the rejection from Guiltia had affected her.

"Come with us." Saga started walking. "You'll be blown away by our song."

"B-But-" Mist held her wrist and pulled her along.

"You will like the White Day stage Lost Eden has prepared for our fans."

.  . .  . . .  .

Elizabeth and Jack were too surprised when the other two members brought the teary girl with them. Elizabeth was going to blame them for making her cry when they had arrived. After learning about her rejection and Mist's proposal, they understood the situation.

"First of all, you should stop crying. It'll ruin your pretty face," said Elizabeth. To be honest, he had no idea why Guiltia would reject her. He was pretty sure that the blonde was very fond of her. During their vacation in the resort, he knew he felt something blooming between those two.

Like the beautiful singer advised her, she wiped her eyes with the tissue offered to her. "I'm sorry for all the trouble."

"You shouldn't apologise so much. Feeling hurt isn't particularly your fault. And we're not troubled or anything of the sort." Elizabeth had his hands on his hips. "Think of it as your White Day present."

"...Okay."

Jack didn't know what he could do. Looking at her crying reminded him of a lost, crying puppy. He could just poke fun of her but she was nice enough to give him sweets on Valentine's day. So it should be fair that he did something in return.

He held out his tiny palm towards her. "You can have some candies."

"Jack-kun... thank you."

While Elizabeth,Jack and Mist were getting ready for their show, Saga sat down next to her in his stage outfits. With the corner of his eyes, he watched her fumbling with her thumbs, sniffling as quietly as she could.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "...It was pretty reckless of you to face that guy without knowing his feelings first.

". . . . You're right." She mumbled. "I knew I would be rejected. Still, I wanted to tell him my feelings so that I wouldn't regret anything. I got over my nervousness and confessed but... it looks like it didn't reach his heart."

"What do you mean?"

"He thinks I'm misunderstanding my feelings towards him. I want him to know that it's genuine." She stared at her lap. "But then again, pining over him would just cause him trouble. . . . Maybe I should just leave it alone."

She whispered, "Perhaps, as time goes, my feelings for him will turn back into admiration."

Saga had been keenly watching her expressions. Her eyes were like a mirror of her heart; so pure and clear. His voice was also quiet, "Is that what you want? Are your feelings that weak?"

"What I want...?" She repeated. Are my feelings so simple that I can easily give up on them? "No....I don't want to give up."

She raised the fingertips of her right hand up her face. This person who patiently stayed by my side... "I want to love him. And. . . .I want him to love me."

Saga smirked. "Just follow your heart. Do as your heart wishes and then you won't regret it."

"Saga-sama..." She looked up at him. "Is it alright if I keep loving him despite getting rejected?"

"If that's what your heart wants to do then do so. That's how Lost Eden does things."

"It's nice to see that you're looking better," Elizabeth suddenly appeared before the pair, "but we can't have to look like this."

He referred to the redness of her eyes. Even if the tears had stopped, her face didn't hide the fact that she had cried a lot.

"Oh...I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise when you haven't done anything wrong." The white haired male sighed. "Don't degrade yourself so easily."

"Anyways," he turned to Saga and scooted him out of his seat, "I should do something about the redness of your face. You don't want Ange and the others to worry, do you?"

.....oh no! My eyes must have swelled up because of all the crying.

Noticing her panic, Elizabeth smiled softly. "Don't worry. I'll apply makeup to cover the redness. That way, no one will notice it."

Angelique felt touched at his consideration. "Thank you very much!"

Elizabeth felt satisfied after seeing her smile. That smile suited her instead of tears. He hoped the twinkle and stars in her eyes would return soon. Hopefully their song will free her heart from the clutches of uncertainty.

.  . .  . . .  .

When Angelique returned home, she was welcomed by two big bouquets of flowers. Ange held a bouquet of pink roses while Robin held the large bouquet of white lilies. 

"What... is this?" She stared at them, dumbstruck.

"Happy White Day, Angelique." Ange wished with a sunny smile. He stepped towards her to hand over the bouquet of blooming pink roses. The soft baby pink colour of the flowers left her dazzled. "This is from all of us."

"According to the florist, pink roses convey appreciation and gratitude." Eve informed. "Thank you for always looking out for us, Angelique!" Behind him, Guiltia nodded quietly.

"You're welcome." She hugged the flowers closer as warmth spread throughout her body. "Thanks for the lovely bouquet!"

"And-" Robin interjected as he handed the bouquet of lilies to her. "This one has been delivered from Eclipse. There's a card on it."

"From Dimitri-sama and Hyde-sama..." a soft blush coloured her cheeks pink. "They didn't have to go out of their way for me."

"It proves how they really cherish you." Her green eyed friend grinned. "I've looked up the meaning of white lilies and it's just perfect for you."

"Really?" Curiosity grew inside her.

"Purity and innocence. They also mean a new start." Eve answered. "They suit you, Angelique, really."

Later that night after dinner, after Guiltia headed to his room and Ange and Robin gathered in the latter's room to work on a new song, 

"W-What? Y-You're in love with Guil?" Eve almost dropped the plate he was drying. 

"Yes." Angelique nodded.

Eve blinked. What was this odd sense of deja-vu? Both Guiltia and Angelique suddenly sprang this information on him. His heart certainly wasn't ready for the surprise attacks. 

Eve fixed his throat. Were they aware that their feelings were mutual? Who expected the cards to play out this nicely? He didn't know when or what made her realise this but Guiltia must be happy if he learned she loved him back. He began feeling happy for his friends.

"That's surprising." Eve had a cheerful background with flowers around him. He'd be delighted if they got together and their romance bloomed. "Do you plan to confess to him?"

"...I already did."

"E-Eh?! When?"

"A few days ago."

"Really?" If she had confessed then that meant they were already together! "Then-" His happy exclamation stopped midway when he noticed the sadness in her eyes. He could tell something was wrong. ". . . How did it turn out?"

She shook her head. "He rejected me."

That was a surprising blow to Eve. What did she mean by Guiltia rejecting her confession?! Something was seriously wrong here!

She ended up drying the last of the dishes and keeping them in their proper place. After opening up to Lost Eden, it seemed easier to share this with Eve as well.

"However," she smiled. Lost Eden had helped her mend her lost heart. She knew what she wanted to do. "I don't think I can give up on my feelings so easily."

"Angelique..." It was nice that she hadn't decided to forget her feelings. 

"I hope he acknowledges them and things return back to the way they were. I don't want the distance between us to increase further."

"Huh?" What was she talking about? As Angelique had suspected, Eve hadn't noticed. It couldn't be helped since Guiltia put his distance from her.

"...Eve-san, you see, I've been feeling as if he is avoiding me lately." She decided to open up one of her greatest troubles. "For the last two months, he seems closed off..."

"What...?" Wait, how was all of this so different from what it was supposed to be? Guiltia was avoiding her?!

She turned her head to him. "Do you have any idea what might have caused him to become like that? Do you know why he's mad at me?.... I thought telling him my feelings would bring us closer but….. it looks like it has done the opposite."

Eve was Guiltia's closest confidante. She hoped that perhaps he could figure out why Guiltia was acting that way.

Angelique's eyes were filled with sadness and desperation. Seeing her suffer so much saddened him. When did things go so wrong between Guiltia and Angelique?

"I'm afraid I don't have any idea." Dejected, he shook his head sideways.

"Oh..."

Eve gently put a hand on top of her head, trying to soothe her worries. "Um... I'm not sure what happened between you two. But I don't think Guil is mad at you. I know you didn't do anything wrong."

"Still, I'll do what I can to help you." Even if he wanted to tell her about Guiltia's feelings to remove the anxiety from her eyes, he couldn't expose the secret entrusted to him. He needed to have a talk with the man first.

"Thank you, Eve-san." I'm glad I talked with Eve-san. It made my heart lighter. The decision to share her thoughts with Eve after returning from Lost Eden's live turned out to be the right choice.

Meanwhile, Robin, who had gone down just for the orange juice kept in the fridge, ended up hearing their whole conversation even if he didn't intend to eavesdrop. Now, he held his face in true panic.

A secret rendezvous between Guiltia and Angelique?! He had never ever expected it! But there was some sort of conflict between them?! Was there any way for them to reconcile?

"I need to tell Ange about this," he whispered. Maybe they can help them get together.

To be continued...