Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine

'Them? There is no way he said that, right?'

Azrael thought with a mildly shocked expression as she stared at Leo, searching his face for answers. Her breath caught slightly, her chest tightening as though the storm clouds above were already pressing down.

Leo's slightly taken-aback and nervous expression told more than words could. His lips parted, then closed, the silence almost louder than thunder. Her mind connected the dots, faster than she wanted to, and she blinked with disbelief before muttering in a low, shaken voice,

"No way… You have been cheating on your girlfriend?"

Leo's expression turned horrified, "Of course not!" The tone almost trembled, as if he feared she would carve him into something vile with that thought alone.

Even if he wanted to lie, even if he wanted to escape this corner… There was no way Leo could imagine himself cheating on his girlfriend.

The thought burned against his chest, almost shameful that she even suspected it!!

Azrael frowned, her slender fingers loosening from the car she had been pushing. She leaned her back against the metal, strands of hair brushing her cheek as she asked, her tone sharp and low, "Then?" Her eyes stayed fixed on Leo, the seriousness of her stare almost too piercing to hold.

Leo sighed inwardly. He cursed himself for letting it go this far, 'Tsk, the fuck is wrong with you,' he scolded himself.

Finally, with a defeated tone, he muttered, "I have two girlfriends. And before you could conclude anything… no, it's not me who proposed. It's them. And they knew each other very well." His words dropped, softer now, almost weak. "And they knew I was dating them."

Azrael's eyes widened, a flicker of something unreadable crossing her gaze. Her lips parted before she gave a quiet hum, "They knew? You were two-timing?" The words carried both accusation and curiosity.

Leo's lips twitched. He wanted to correct her, wanted to deny the cruel word. Yet, deep down, it clung to him. In truth, it suited him more than he liked to admit.

Azrael's stare lingered on him, unblinking. She didn't expect people nowadays to be fine with this... Hmm...

Slowly, her lips curved into a faint smirk, and she exhaled a soft, knowing sound, 'Heh~.' "Anyway, let's go first," she said, brushing it off with a sudden calm. She tilted her chin upward when she sensed the gathering clouds thickening.

Even though Leo was surprised... He didn't push.

He wanted her to grasp it naturally, and right now, he couldn't risk destroying the delicate balance of his relationship, nor could he open the door to anything new.

But before they could reach the apartment, the rain began to fall.

SSSSsssssHHHHHHHH!!!

"Get in the car, I will move it!" Azrael shouted, her voice raised against the roar of rain. The drops poured relentlessly, soaking them both as the storm drowned out the rest of the city.

Leo shook his head, water dripping across his face. He called back with equal force, "No, you get in the car."

Azrael blinked, glancing at him with surprise. He kept pushing, muscles straining, the car rolling forward under his grip. His body trembled, his clothes plastered against his frame, drenched through.

Yet there was no hesitation in his movements.

She smiled faintly through the storm, the softness almost hidden behind the veil of water.

"What's this? Are you trying to be a man? Even though you have girlfriends? I don't want to make your girlfriends jealous, seeing you helping another woman."

Leo gave a tired chuckle, though there was warmth in it. "Don't worry… they are the most understanding ones." His words trailed before his eyes shifted, his voice lowering, "Except the… one."

Azrael's laugh slipped free, light yet amused, mingling with the sound of the storm. Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer than it should have. The rain poured harder, soaking everything.

THUNDERRRR!!!

"Come on, let's leave this and get there!" Azrael said with a serious tone as she wiped the water from her face. However, Leo kept pushing the car… There was no way in hell he would leave the car in the rain!

That was the most disgusting thing a man could do.

How dare he let the car sit in the storm?

He would be a worthless man!!

Leo gritted his teeth, pushing harder, his breath coming deep as he channelled his breathing technique into his muscles. His strength flared, his body straining as the car rolled faster across the slick ground.

Azrael blinked and chuckled, her voice caught between amusement and disbelief. He was really an amusing one.

For all his flaws and awkward honesty, there was something strangely admirable about his stubbornness. With a smirk tugging her lips, she leaned in and began pushing the car alongside him…

Finally, after what felt like an drenched eternity, they reached the apartment.

Leo raised his eyebrows the moment he saw it. The building wasn't just an apartment... it looked different, surreal.

Waterfalls cascaded gently down its sides, shimmering flowers glowed faintly as droplets clung to their petals, and the soft golden lights wrapped the entire place in a calm aura. His mind eased for a fleeting second, as though he had stepped into another realm.

The gates rolled back with a slow metallic groan as they pushed the car inside. But then, guards in uniform approached quickly, bowing before taking over the car.

Leo hesitated, his hands slipping reluctantly from the metal as he watched others take care of it. His brows furrowed, for letting others do it, but Azrael spoke calmly, brushing his worry away.

"It's fine… they're getting paid for everything."

Her voice lingered oddly, and then, with a faint twist of her lips, she added,

"After all, nothing is free."

Her strange expression, part knowing and part unreadable, left Leo uneasy for a second.

A faint chill crawled up his spine. But before he could question it, Azrael grasped his wrist lightly and pulled him toward the elevator. With a smooth press, she tapped the top-most floor, and the doors closed as the machine hummed, carrying them upward.

Drip… Drip…

The sound of water dripping echoed in the tight silence of the elevator. Both of them stood side by side, shoulders brushing faintly, yet neither spoke. Their gazes stayed fixed on the door ahead, but the quiet stretched heavy, broken only by droplets sliding down from their soaked clothes, trailing onto the floor.

Ding~

The elevator doors parted with a soft chime. They had reached the uppermost floor, where only a single door waited at the end of a long, polished hall. It felt like the entire floor existed for one person alone.

Leo's lips parted in awe. His voice trembled with confusion as he rubbed his cold shoulders, shivering at the chill prickling his skin. "I… I don't get it. Wasn't Raphael earning more than you?"

Azrael shrugged, her expression half-amused, half-careless. She slid a key card smoothly against the lock, the reader flashing green as the door beeped. "Well, she does… but I don't know about the money, though. Whenever I ask, she always says, 'Life has more than money or some… bs,'" she said, chuckling softly.

Leo smiled warmly at that. Of course… that was Raphael.

So gentle and lovely.

Whoever was going to marry her… surely must have been blessed in his past life.

Thud!

The door opened, parting smoothly as the warm light of the home spilled across them. Azrael hurried inside with quick steps, her wet shoes leaving a faint trail on the polished floor. "Wait in the living room, I will bring the towel first," she said quickly, her voice carrying down the hall as she vanished deeper into the house.

The trail of her water dripping marked the floor as she walked away.

Meanwhile, Leo looked around the grand living room… damn, he could actually see the entire outside world from where he stood. The glass stretched wide, revealing the storm raging beyond.

The room itself was cosy and warm, glowing faintly with a golden light.

Outside, thunder rolled and rain poured endlessly… yet not a single sound reached him.

As if the entire inside had been sealed away, the chaos of the storm was unable to touch this place.

"Hmm… nice place," he muttered with an amused tone, his eyes scanning the polished floor, the walls, the furniture.

Everything looked modern, refined… costly.

If only his aunt wanted to live like this… but he stopped himself, shaking the thought away. His aunt's money was her own.

It was hers to decide how to use it.

He could not dare to question it.

He reminded himself again—he should be grateful she was even staying with him in that small, old house.

While he was lost in the room's comfort, Azrael came back with hurried steps, her hands clutching a fluffy towel. Without a word, the first thing she did was place it on Leo's head and begin rubbing, her face drawn with worry.

"I am sorry…" she muttered, her voice soft, concerned that he might catch a cold.

Leo watched her with a mildly surprised expression. Her own body was still drenched in rain, droplets sliding down her arms and clinging to her hair. Yet, she didn't even think of herself—her hands moved over his head, rubbing his hair dry, her touch full of nothing but simple, genuine care.

There was no ulterior intent. Just… worriedness.

Just like Raphael.

Leo blankly stared at her as she rubbed his head. The longer he stared, the more Azrael seemed to feel the weight of his gaze. She blinked quickly before stammering, "S-Sorry… I didn't mean to touch you." Her voice was awkward, her eyes flicking away as she began to move back.

Leo didn't speak. Instead, he simply took the towel from her hands and raised it toward her. His fingers brushed against her damp hair, and he began rubbing softly, gently, letting the towel soak the water from her head.

For a second, Azrael froze, shocked and surprised. "L-Leo?"

Leo smiled faintly, his expression calm. "I'm just returning the favour."

Azrael's lips parted, her expression softening. A warmth rose on her cheeks, a soft blush blooming as she muttered quietly, "I wonder about that." Her voice carried something else—something hesitant yet filled with feeling—as she inched closer.

Leo didn't push her away. He didn't even care. His hands continued rubbing her hair softly, gently, while Azrael's eyes stayed fixed on his.

Those reddish-black eyes.

Even though they looked different now, they were still Leo's. Still the same boy she remembered, the boy she had once played with.

He had not changed at all.

Her hand trembled slightly before moving upward, reaching to touch his cheek. Leo flinched, his eyes flicking to her, but she kept her hand there, her touch delicate, her eyes heavy with something long hidden.

Azrael's lips moved, her voice low and long, almost breaking, "Yes… I-I fell in love with you when you saved me. Like a prince that came from heaven to save me from the darkness."

Leo inwardly sighed, a shadow crossing his heart.

Maybe this had been a bad move.

Maybe he had let the moment go too far.

But before he could open his mouth to say anything, Azrael's voice filled the silence again.

"Yes… it could have been anyone in that moment…" she whispered as she leaned closer, her face inching toward his. Her expression was etched with seriousness, her tone steady. She wasn't muttering thoughtlessly, nor was she trying to seduce him.

This was not some careless temptation.

Since he had shared his truth… now it was her time to share hers.

"Yet… there you are. You are the one who saved me. At first, it may have been infatuation… but that's not all. When you fought the monsters, when you pushed back, when you… were broken yet still moved. You kept moving. Even when it was dangerous, you didn't run. You faced something that could not be faced."

Her voice trembled faintly, but her eyes burned with conviction as she continued, "You stood for your aunt… even though she was a stranger to you, you cared.

Like what I am not… you did."

Her hand clenched faintly at her side, her breath steadying.

"It may seem fast for you, but I am someone who lived in solitude for years. I can vouch that my words are not a fluke. My actions are not impulsive.... I know what I want… and I am not going to judge it away.

It took me years to find you."

Her silver-violet gaze deepened, her voice softening, almost breaking,

"So yes, I didn't fall in love with you because you saved me… I fell in love because

I saw you."