Maisara's pov

Maria is the one who opens the door. It has been almost a month since I last saw her. That's why, it makes me even more confused seeing her opening my apartment door. She looks happy seeing me where I probably look........rather different. I stare at her for a few seconds before asking, "Did I give you a key?"

She shakes her head moving out of the way. "No, I stole it. Come in."

I follow her in and close the door behind me all the while trying to guess what may bring her here. As I leave my heels, the first thing my eyes catch is the disheveled couch in the living room that's visible from the front door. Frowning I ask Maria who is on her way to the kitchen, "Did anyone else come here?"

My words make her pause abruptly. A second later, she shrugs without turning back. "Who else would be here?"

Honestly, that's my question too. But I also don't see how she could be messing the couch like that. She is more of a neat freak than me. Did I leave it that way this morning? Might be. I don't recall it though.

However, I decide to ignore it and follow her into the kitchen. I don't know how to describe it. To put it in simple words, seeing her now is putting me at ease. The reason behind her presence isn't bothering me much. I just need her here which even I haven't known until I see her.

The delicious aroma of her signature tea hits my nostrils as I step into the kitchen. I eagerly walk towards the stovetop to take a peak inside the kettle. She, however, slaps my hand away before I get a chance. I give her a scrutinizing look. "You're here? Making tea? What's the occasion?"

"There might be an occasion." She answers vaguely taking the kettle out of the oven to pour the tea into cups. Cups, I notice. Not two. There are four cups on the tray.

"Or there might be not." She continues pouring the tea. Messy couch and five cups. Either someone was here, left for something, and will be back in a few seconds or someone has been here the whole time. And it seems that Maria is lying.

"You're lying to me," I announce in a calm voice watching her filling the last cup with tea. She smiles putting the kettle back over the flame and looks up at me. There is a challenge in her gaze followed by silent rage.

"Oh, am I?" She asks, using the same tone as me and I take a deep breath. What have I done to her now?

"So what did I—" I begin and she effortlessly cuts me off. "Let me do the talking, okay?"

I nod in response. She continues, "Are you sure you're also not lying to me?"

I'm not gonna lie it's definitely very idiotic of me to reply to her right away. "When did I—" And as a result, I face a harsh backlash from her. "Do not talk back to me, young lady!"

I purse my lips. She is highly pissed and visibly fuming. It's best to not mess with her. I haven't been doing it anyway. However, I decide to keep my mouth shut. She goes on, "I told you again and again to come to me whenever you are in trouble. And you refused every time. You kept talking about how you got this and how you didn't need me. And now see where that got you. Doesn't it count as a lie?"

"And now see where that got you" hits hard but honestly I don't think she is aware of my actual current state. I haven't told her, I mean I haven't gotten the chance yet. So, unless she has hired a spy to keep an eye on me which is highly unlikely, she doesn't have any idea. Not that I'm gonna repeat the same mistake and 'talk back'. So, I just stare back at her.

She doesn't seem to mind my silence. Rather, she seems to take it as a cue to continue, "You probably, I don't know, think that I'm incapable of helping you or something. And it might sound harsh and arrogant for me to say it like this. But it was me who saved your life when you were dying and gave you a place to stay when you had nothing. It might be nothing compared to what you have now but it was my everything. I provided you with my everything. And I would do that again for you if I'm given the chance. I have said it thousands of times already and I'm saying it again. You can come to me whenever you find yourself in trouble."

I walk over to her and pull her in for a hug. Whatever she is saying is right. And I don't have the right to hurt her even if I'm hurting myself. I should have gone to her when things started going south. She doesn't have the superpower to make things right but I would at least have someone by my side. I wouldn't have to feel alone.

"Are you guys done? I would love to give you time for your heartfelt reunion. But we are kinda short in time and really need to move onto the next scene."

The voice makes me pull away from Maria instantly and snap my head in the direction. I find Ian standing in the doorway of the kitchen with his signature grin. And I see red.

Seeing me striding towards him with purpose, he jumps out of the way. "Woah, Maisara. Be careful there. I'm just a boy. And you are scaring me. Before you kill me, which you have every right to do, I suggest you......."

The rest of his words fade away because as he steps out of my way, I see another person standing behind him.

The physical reaction I feel after seeing him is involuntary. I jerk back, gripping the counter as it hits my side to keep myself from toppling to the ground. My first thought is that I've gone insane to the point that I've started hallucinating him. Then he speaks up to confirm his presence, "Hello, my dear eudaemon."

He is real. He is present. He is standing in the doorway of my kitchen and smiling at me. He is not my hallucination. I haven't missed him on the flight today. He is real. He has spoken and I have heard him. I surely can't be this crazy that I've started hearing voices. This is surely real. He must be real.

As I stand there frozen processing all this, he starts walking towards me. It takes forever for him to cross that few inches and reach me. When he finally does that and stands right in front of me, the first thing my stupid mouth blurts out is, "Are you real?"

His lips curl into a slow smile. There is a different type of serenity and maturity in that smile. He takes my hand and slips his fingers between mine. Our hands fit perfectly together as he holds tight as if he isn't planning on letting go anytime soon. He leans forward a little to whisper, "I'm very much real."

I'm holding hands with him. The usual smell of his signature cologne is engulfing me like a warm embrace. He is so close to me that I can clearly see the dark golden flicks in his eyes. I can't make up these many details in my mind. He is real, right? I cannot process the thought yet. My words come out just as messy as my thoughts. "You..... How...... I thought you left?"

"Left?" His soft and handsome features are changed by the confusion. His eyebrows furrow slightly looking back and forth between my eyes to make sense of my words. Unable to decipher the meaning, he pulls back slightly and looks at Ian, almost glaring at him. "What did you tell her?"

Nah, he is real. My mind wouldn't make up of him randomly communicating with Ian. I would be hallucinating him communicating only with me if that's the case.

Ian takes a long moment to respond and confirm Felix's presence, "That you were about to board the flight back to your country?" He pauses, possibly waiting for Felix's response. I know it's shameless and I'm not supposed to do it but I can't take my eyes off of Felix. So, naturally, I don't see Ian's expression. But I see Felix's. He looks highly annoyed at him, possibly angry. That's probably what makes Ian dramatically jumpy with his next words. "Yikes, don't give me that look. I was about to say that you wouldn't, okay? But she didn't listen to the rest of the sentence. So, what could I do?"

He was about to say what? When? I clearly remember his taunting glance when he informed me about Felix's flight. He even texted me the flight details. Surely, he could have texted me to inform that part as well if he wanted to. He simply chose not to. He was having fun in my distress.

I feel the instant wave of anger rushing back to me. Now it's my turn to glare at him. But before I can so much as turn my head, Felix grabs my chin and pulls my face towards him. Now I'm staring back into his eyes. He is smiling back at me. He says softer than before, "Forget him."

I feel my logical thoughts leaving my brain as I gaze up at him. Still, I try to speak or protest or something in between, "Felix, I-"

He puts his index finger over my lips, shushing me. I'm not sure but I think he leans more, almost hovering over me. Centimeters between our noses are waiting to be decreased. He opens his mouth to speak and at the same time, Ian whistles, no doubt at Felix's obvious flirting. Felix's words reach my ear over Ian's continuous whistling and hollering. "Not here. We have a lot to catch up. Let's go to your room to have some privacy."

I find myself nodding along with him. He takes my hand and starts leading the way to my bedroom. None of these feels real. Everything feels like a dream. Or it feels like all of these are happening in a movie and I'm watching from outside of the screen. Well, I felt something similar at the airport as well. Since when my life has turned into a movie?