Fallen From Grace

Growing Rivalry Part 3

Caleb's POV

I left the café, trying to reign in my anger from seeing Lily hug him. What was wrong me? Why did I care so much about a girl I barely knew? From the moment I saw her, I found myself unable to stay away. The need to be around her consumed me, it was like my life no longer had any meaning if he wasn't in it.

I saw the way Mike looked at her, I knew he loved and cared for her. This only made my anger grow more, I needed her to be mine. I had no idea what she was and I wasn't even sure I cared anymore. But whatever she was, she had a strong hold over me. I wanted to hear everything she had to say. It was heart-warming to hear her talk so passionately.

Heart warming? Seriously Caleb? I shook my head in an attempt to get rid of these thoughts. Lily was making me soft. Before I thought of her again, I got my phone out and called Damien. Damien was one of the demons under my command although he was more like my right hand man. He was similar to me as he had half angel blood and half demon blood which meant he wasn't as vile as those who were pure demon blooded. Some demons followed me and I allowed it. I had nothing to do with Hell but my rise in power among the supernatural meant it was always useful to keep them around to serve me and carry out jobs. I heard his voice on the phone after the third ring.

"Everything okay Boss?" he enquired.

"Damien I need you to come see me tonight, we have important matters to discuss."

"Okay will do, is everything alright?" I could hear the concern in his voice as he checked up on me.

"It will be. I'll fill you in on the details later. I'll see you soon." Before I could hang up the phone, I heard Damien's voice again.

"Caleb...." I heard the hesitation in his voice as he spoke which only made me more impatient.

"Yes?" the bored tone was evident in my voice.

"Is this to do with the girl?"

"Yes. Why?" His question only irritated me, making my impatience grow.

"Well, is she really worth this? I know you're interested in her but there are loads of girls in our world that are into you. Your reputation is at stake with the new competition for power and focusing on her means you might lose it all. She is just a normal girl after all, you could find another like her anywhere"

Anger raced through me upon hearing his words. How dare he say that about Lily. "If you EVER say anything like that again, you WILL regret it. She is worth everything I have and NO-ONE best question that. Understood?" My voice was ice cold as I threatened Damien. All the demons under my command knew better than to disobey me or it would be the last anyone saw of them. I may have angel blood but I was willing to do anything for what I wanted. Getting rid of those who stood in my way didn't bother me at all.

I heard Damien's tone change as he became submissive. He knew better than to cross me, even if I did favour him. Doing so would only seal his torturous fate and no one would willingly do that. "Yes Boss" he quietly replied before he ended the call.

I knew everyone was interested in my obsession for Lily but I couldn't tell them my thoughts. If they knew I suspected she wasn't human, they may dig around and betray me by going to Lucifer. Demons were creatures embodied with sin which made them untrustworthy in my eyes. Only a few could be trusted and even then, I never fully did. There was definitely something different about her, I just needed to know what. If she was rare, I knew she would catch the interest of others. Mystery surrounded her which only drew in me in more.

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Lily's POV

Mike left my apartment, leaving me confused at our encounter. I had no idea what to do. I wanted to keep seeing Caleb but I didn't want to lie to Mike. He was the only person I had in my life that cared for me, he was my family.

I internally screamed before I left to go take a bath. I needed to do something relaxing before I dealt with this. While trying to clear my head, I turned the taps on and started adding my bath salts. I went to go get a glass of wine to accompany me and selected a book from my book shelf. As I undressed and got into the bath, I already felt a bit better.

I leant my head back against the wall and allowed a sigh to escape me. Today was meant to be happy and great, I had finally got a date with the man of my dreams. Instead it felt chaotic and stressful. I wish there was a way to get them to talk about their past together and maybe reconcile. I'm sure this way Mike could see Caleb was good and we could all get along. I started planning scenarios in my head of how I would get them to meet without seeming like I planned it.

After a while, I went to go grab my book with a sense of accomplishment. I felt like I had a solution which helped to ease my stress. Instead, the light of my phone screen caught my attention. I smiled to myself as I saw Caleb had messaged me.

"I had a great time today, it was a shame we had to cut it short. I hope you got home safe and would love to do this again. Maybe I can take you to dinner sometime?" My heart leapt in my chest as I read his text. I was definitely falling hard for him.

Happiness overtook my previous stress as I typed a reply to him. "I really enjoyed today too, thank you for a wonderful time. I would love dinner with you. I can see you Wednesday after work if you would like?" I didn't want to come on too strong but excitement raced through me at the thought of seeing him again. That quickly lessened as my doubts clouded my mind.

While we were talking earlier, I felt like he was hiding something. He wasn't open about his work and what he did. I knew he changed the subject in the hope to distract me but this only made me more suspicious. I worried he had a secret I wouldn't be able to accept. Instead of overthinking, I told myself that his line of work was probably secretive and important but I wasn't pacified at my excuse. Caleb had a secret and my curiosity pushed me to uncover it. I would investigate more on Wednesday. For not I prayed that it wasn't anything bad.

Ding. I glanced over at my phone to see his reply. "Wednesday is great, I'll see you then."