CHAPTER 21: VILLE: It was twenty minutes to showtime when Kat called me. I considered not answering. Technically, we were broken up and maybe I should make her worry. But, again, I couldn't do it. Sighing, I answered. "Hello?" I said. "Ville, did you tell Aiden to ask me out? I thought we were just taking a break?" Kat sounded a little desperate. "Uh..I haven't talked to Aiden, but-" "I'm going to kill him." Kat's voice was calm, but I heard the venom behind her words. "Kat, I was thinking, and I think you should weigh your options and decide if being with me is really what you want." "Of course it's what I want." "Well.." "Why would you say that?" Kat asked. "I'm just going to be blunt. You slept with Aiden. And, yeah, you were drunk. But isn't there a saying that says you show your true self when you're drunk? Maybe you did want to sleep with him. So, think about it is all I'm saying." There. Said it. Kat was silent for a moment. "I don't want Aiden, but if you don't want me anymore, just tell me. Don't hint around at it." Sigh. "Kat, I love you and I want to be with you. I'm just making sure you won't have any regrets." "I won't. We'll talk when you get back." Click. I sighed and headed out on stage. KAT: 6 weeks later... Today was the day. Ville had called to let me know he was going to be home this afternoon. He still didn't know I had moved from the tower. I had been living in an apartment a few blocks over for about a month now. Ville and I had agreed to meet for lunch and just talk. About Aiden, tour...us. As nervous as I was, I was equally excited. I hadn't seen Ville in over six weeks, hadn't talked to him in at least five weeks. Neither of us had tried to contact the other. If Ville had called, I would have answered, but his call had never come. And I didn't want to push him. I understood he needed his space and time to think. VILLE: I had just gotten out of the shower. I was finally back home in Helsinki. After taking a short nap and a shower, I was getting ready to meet Kat for lunch. It hadn't taken me long, upon arriving at my tower, to realize that Kat wasn't living here anymore. It looked as if she had been moved out for a while. I wasn't completely sure why Kat had decided to move out, but I was kind of glad to have some time to myself. Time to consider what I was going to say to Kat. KAT: Ville was ten minutes late. That wasn't like him. I was starting to think that he wasn't going to show, when he slid into the booth across from me. Inside, I breathed a sigh of relief. Ville just stared at me intently, his arms crossed, resting on the table in front of him. I felt as if he were criticizing every inch of me. I didn't like it. "So.." I wasn't exactly sure of what to say, but I had to get him to stop looking at me like that. As if he were so disappointed and disgusted with me. "Do you want to tell me exactly what happened that night?" Ville asked. I didn't need him to remind me which night he was referring to. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Aiden invited me over for dinner; everything seemed normal. I went over, we ate dinner and drank some wine. I drank more than I would care to admit, but I accept responsibility for what happened. He kissed me and I didn't stop him, and then we had sex. "Honestly, I didn't even remember how I had gotten to Aiden's the next morning. Then, when I realized that I was..naked...it all came flooding back and I felt terrible. I still feel terrible. I just want to know that you forgive me. And then, if you want to move on, I understand." VILLE: After Kat finished telling me about the night she cheated on me, I took a deep breath. It felt good to hear the whole story and to be able to let it go. I could tell that Kat was sincere when she said she felt terrible. And I did forgive her. I just wasn't sure yet if I wanted to be with her. "I forgive you." I said. Kat let go of a shaky breath and thanked me. "But, I'm not sure if I want to get back together yet. Did you go out with Aiden like I suggested?" Most of me was hoping that Kat said no, but a small part of me was curious as to what might have happened had Kat gone out with Aiden. There had to be tension between the two of them. Or maybe they had determined that they were good together after all. "Aiden has changed. A lot. It started when he got me drunk and we had sex." Kat looked down at her hands as she said this. "Then, when he came to the tower and told me that you had called and told him to ask me out, he was awful. I don't know what happened to him. "Anyway, I decided to give him a chance, since you wanted me to see if I liked him as more than a friend. Though, at that time, I didn't particularly like him as a friend, either." Flashback... "This is what you call a date?" I asked Aiden. He had told me that Ville wanted him to ask me out, and after confirming this with Ville, I had unwillingly agreed. Now, we were back at Aiden's apartment. "I didn't say we were going on a date, did I?" Aiden answered with a question. How annoying. "No, but I assumed-" "You assumed wrong. Now, come here." Aiden took my hand and led me to the sofa. I sat beside him, but I had a feeling I knew where this was going. "Kat, I love you." Okay, wasn't expecting that. "I want to be with you, but in order for me to be able to do that, you have to let go of Ville." "Aiden, the only reason I came over is because Ville wanted me to explore my options. The only other option, as opposed to Ville, is you. I was pretty positive before that I don't like you like that, and coming over here confirmed that. I'm sorry, Aiden, but we can't be together." Aiden made a noise that was a mix of a snicker and a scoff. "Kat, don't you see? Ville told you to come out with me because he is done with you." "Aiden, we were engaged. You can't just move on so quickly from something like that." I said defensively. "Were. The key word there. You were engaged, until you slept with me. Now, Ville realizes that you're dirty; you're a whore. Who would want to marry a whore?" I clenched my jaw. He was wrong, of course he was. Ville knew that I wasn't a whore. I made a simple-well, not really so simple-mistake when I was drunk. Ville was the only other person I had ever even kissed, let alone slept with. Surely, he knew that. Surely, Aiden was lying through his teeth? "Well, if I'm such a whore, why would you want to be with me?" Aiden sneered. "Because I like it." Aiden grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled me to him, though I was obviously resisting. I put my hands on either of his shoulders, ensuring I wouldn't get any closer to him. Our faces were only a few inches apart. "What happened to you?" I whispered. "What are you talking about?" "You're just like Ella. You're just...mean. I miss the old you." "I am nothing like that woman." Aiden used the hand holding my shirt to push me away. "She is vile." "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but so are you." "Shut up." I stood and followed Aiden to the kitchen. "Think about it. You lured me here, got me drunk and had sex with me. I was engaged! Then, you come and tell me I'm a whore and throw yourself at me?" "I said shut up!" Aiden grabbed my shoulders and shook me, then slammed me into the refrigerator. "I just wanted to be with you. I wanted to mean what Ville does. You're all I wanted. When the nice guy routine didn't work, I resorted to something else. But, I do love you, Kat." Aiden had tears in his eyes and, for a moment, I really did feel sorry for him. I wished that I could love him, because I was afraid Ville no longer loved me. "Aiden, I wish I could love you the way I love Ville. I wish that I could sit here and lie and say that you meant everything to me. But, the fact is, I am in love with Ville. And, even if Ville doesn't love me anymore, I don't think I could ever love anyone as much as I do him." Aiden sighed in resignation and whispered, "Just go." "Aiden-" "Go." [End Flashback] VILLE: Kat had tears in her eyes by the time she finished. "I didn't want to lose Aiden, but I don't want to lose you, either." Kat looked up at me through tear-stained lashes, but didn't say anything else. I felt tears come to my own eyes. I hardly ever cried, but seeing Kat hurting always seemed to have a way of clenching my heart in a viselike grip. I took a deep breath before speaking. "Kat, I want to move on and put this all behind us. I am completely and utterly in love with you and I still want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you'll have me." "Of course I will, but how can you move on so quickly? Not that I don't want to move on, but what if you regret not thinking about it later?" Kat asked. I smiled and took Kat's hands in mine. "Kat, I've thought about this for weeks. I made the mistake of getting drunk. I nearly had sex with another woman, but I couldn't do it because I am still in love with you. And, even though you slept with Aiden, and a part of me wanted to believe that you had done it because you didn't love me, I know that it was a mistake that you never would have made, had you been sober. So, yes, I forgive you. And yes, I want to be with you." KAT: Tears sprung to my eyes again. Ville still wanted to be with me. After all that had happened, he still loved me. "I want to be with you, too. And I swear, I'll never drink alcohol again." Ville laughed and leaned across the table to kiss me. I had missed his lips on mine. "What do you say we get out of here?" Ville growled seductively in my ear. "My place or yours?" "Well, my place is soon to be yours again, so let's go home." I awoke to the silk of Ville's sheets and the scent of Ville himself. Ville was asleep next to me. Our reunion had started off rocky, but had ended on a high note. Ville and I were together. Finally back together. Ville stretched and smiled at me. "Morning, love." Ville said. "Good morning to you, too, Mr. Valo." I replied as I traced a line down his chest. "Do you still want to be Mrs. Valo?" "Well, that depends.." "On?" "I'll marry you when you admit you can wake up dead." Ville narrowed his eyes playfully. "So, if I say yes, you'll say yes?" "Yep." "How about we just agree to disagree?" I rolled my eyes and rested my head on his chest, looking into his eyes. "You're so stubborn. I'm never going to hear you say it, am I?" "Hmmm..Nope, probably not." "Well, I still love you anyway." Ville kissed me deeply and wrapped his arms around me. I never wanted this to end.