-3 nights ago-

- Destiny -

I looked out the window of the taxi, my heart drilling a hole in my chest.

The feeling of his lips still lingered on mine.

His lips tasted oddly bitter when I kissed him, but immediately became sweet when he kissed me back.

He really was the God of Love.

I was so overwhelmed by everything. The beauty and magnificence of his home, the aged artefacts in his study, the beautiful and detailed designs that magnified the glory of his place.

Still, for someone who seemed so perfect, he felt unbelievably broken to me. The deep sorrow in his greyish blue eyes, it felt like if I got any closer to him, I would drown in those depths.

The picture of him seeing me out, the pain.

"I'm sorry, I think I left something back at the house. Can you take me back there please Sir?" I called out to the driver and he gave me a look through the rear-view mirror.

"I expect a good tip from you Missy," he grumbled as he did a U-turn and drove back.

I whipped out a few hundred dollars for the driver and quickly ran back up those steps of the God's home. My heart aching painfully for some unknown reason.

I knocked on the door, then pushed the doorbell, no one responded.

I tried the doorknob and it opened, I swung the door open and my eyes widened at the horrific scene.

Furniture was strewn everywhere, glass shattered on the ground, the sofa was somehow ripped apart and Eros was in a pool of blood with a knife protruding out his neck.

The scream that emerged from me was muffled by a hand. I was pulled roughly to his body as I yelled and cried for my life. And Eros'. 

"Calm down, that bloody fucker won't die so easily," the man removed his hand from me and groaned.

I wasn't afraid of the unknown man, my gut feeling somehow told me this man was safe. I turned to look at him, he had a familiar face. Then it clicked, he was Eros' assistant.

"I don't believe we've met properly, I'm Payne. I'm sorry we have to meet under such grim circumstances," he shook my hand and proceeded to make some calls.

I went over to Eros, stepping in his blood, my heart wrenched at the sight. His eyes were closed and I smoothed his hair away from his bloodied face.

He gurgled a little and blood flowed down the sides of his mouth. I sat down and placed his head on my lap carefully, Payne should be calling the ambulance or something. I kissed his forehead and my eyes roamed down his body. His arm was bloody with glass shards embedded in his flesh, probably from the broken vodka bottle just a distance away.

I didn't even realise I was crying until my tears were falling on his face.

Payne came back after a while, sighing, "Some people will come by to clean up, you don't have to worry."

"Aren't you going to call the ambulance or the police or something? Clearly he's been robbed and stabbed."

He rolled his eyes, "He will kill an army before a robber or murderer can do anything of the sort."

"What are you- Fine then call an ambulance at least, God or not he is still living flesh."

He grunted and sat next to me in the blood, "He heals really quickly. If I pull that knife out now he'll heal within minutes. But I don't want him to regurgitate all that blood and whatever he drank onto you. Since he's an idiot I'll leave him here for another day."

"So what if he heals quickly? That doesn't mean you can leave him hurt like this," I scolded but Payne only smiled.

"Now look here Miss Paige, you were the one that left him hurt here, not me."

Guilt wrapped its way around my heart and I realised he was right. The pain in Eros' eyes before I left, it was my fault.

"Don't put the blame on yourself though, he's been dealing with his problems like this, hurting and trying to kill himself for a long time. If there is anyone to blame it's himself."

It sounded so cold from Payne, the way he described Eros. It made me wonder how many times he had to deal with his irrational behaviour.

"He deals with his problems by trying to kill himself? But why? Isn't he immortal?" I questioned.

"Yes, clearly the reason why he tries so hard to commit suicide. It's sadistic, the way he likes to inflict pain on himself. He probably feels like that's a way to cover up his emotional wounds."

Eros coughed and I patted his chest lightly to relieve whatever pain I could, "There are thousands of psychologists that can help with that. I'm sure at least one can help him."

Payne sighed yet again and shook his head, "What kind of psychologist can help with such trauma?"

I eyed him, "What kind of trauma?"

Payne gave me look, a hard and cold one. But it turned soft and he closed his eyes for a moment to collect himself, "His mother, Aphrodite, banished Eros here to Earth to spend the rest of his eternity. It was his punishment for coming to the Earthly Realm and for bringing a human girl to the Heavens."

"Why would he do that?" I gulped, sensing that I wouldn't like what was coming.

He chuckled, "He loved this girl, Psyche. She was literally his everything. But don't worry though, I like you much more than her."

"Hmm," I mumbled. I cared more about what Eros thought about this than Payne though.

"He sneaked down here to Earth of course even though I told him not to. He could pair humans from the Heavens but somehow for Psyche, he wanted to come down to Earth to do it. He ended up in Greece, his homeland. He was a curious teen, wanting to go back to where he was born just to see how things were like."

"So he was there to pair Psyche with her partner?"

Payne nodded and continued, "He was supposed to pair her. But then he saw her. She was a young servant in the palace, he fell in love literally at first sight. She was beautiful, and after he came back to his quarters in the Heavenly Realm, he wouldn't shut up about her. Obviously, my anger and scolding were down the drain, but he didn't care. 

The very next night, he went down again, to see her, or at least catch a glimpse of her. He continued doing that for a week until finally, she saw him."

The dull beating of my heart sickened me and I knew I shouldn't be feeling this way. He was a God, I was human, and if that matching machine of his was finally right, I was supposed to be with Jordan Hunter.

"Now it is bad enough for a God to go down to Earth, you can tell from all the history of Greek Gods and how much shit they've stirred with humans. I'm not sure how accurate human records are though. But for a human to go up to Heaven, that's unheard of. I have no idea what she would want to gain from taking a trip to Heaven but anyway, clearly, it didn't end well."

Eros seemed sound asleep, no movement from him, but his breathing was still steady. 

"Aphrodite found out, took Psyche, wanted to kill her but didn't. Eros begged for her to spare her life. The conditions his mother listed were for her to be paired with her earthly partner, Eros to be banished to Earth and that he shall live forever more alone."

I cringed at that, it sounded horrible.

"The thing that made him snap though, was the fact that he had to pair her himself."

Suddenly it made sense, the night at the club, when I found him yelling in the middle of the dance floor. The amount of agony and pain contained within him.

Even for a God like him, the pain was that overwhelming.

"How was she like?" I found myself asking.

"You mean Psyche?"

I nodded.

Payne sighed, "She was a lot like you, red hair, brown eyes, but body-wise, she was more petite as compared to you."

I could feel my heart slowly come apart, I actually thought and secretly hoped that Eros liked me for who I am. Clearly I was wrong, he was in love with the idea of me, seeing that I looked somewhat similar to that girl he loved so deeply.

"I told him not to get close to you, you're too good for him Destiny. Even if he is a God, he's way too messed up and I don't want him to ruin a normal female human's life. You have a great future ahead of you, stardom is your thing."

I nodded solemnly at his words, he was right. In every sense of it.

This bleeding man lying on my lap was in need of a lot of help and I wasn't sure I could provide that. Not if I was just some substitute for his long-lost lover.

"Has he shown you the pairing machine?" Payne asked.

I nodded.

"So you know who your partner is now?" He continued.

"I do."

"Will you try to be with him? I mean with your arranged partner. For real. I hate to do this, it seems like I'm forcing you to be with someone you don't like. But I want Eros to have a clean cut with his emotions towards you, it's not fair for you or for him."

My eyes filled with tears and I cast my eyes down to the God's still face.

I could feel his heart beating under my hand as I soothed his chest. 

"I will try, my partner doesn't look that bad. Hopefully, the machine got it right this time round," I smiled slightly and Payne gave me a sad look before patting my shoulder.

"I hope so too."