A/N: I'm a little worried about this chapter. Please let me know what you think.

Reactions: Part 2

Lex stood on the terrace of the mansion a few hours later waiting for Chloe to come downstairs. If she would come downstairs. She wasn't the type to run away from confrontation, but last night had to have been more than a little painful for her.

Lex had been up all night going over her words in his mind, but still couldn't quite believe it. She loved him.

Chloe loved him.

Why she did he couldn't understand. There had been plenty of times when he had been less than kind to her. Less than civil really. But she had always forgiven him. Always been the one person in the entire town who had never deserted him. She had risked everything, including her life, for him and never once asked for anything in return. He wondered how he had been so stupid as to not realize that until now. When it might be too late.

That was the one dark spot clouding this entire thing. The thought that she might have given up was almost too much to bare now that he knew exactly what he'd be losing.

She thought he didn't love her back because he couldn't, because he thought her unworthy. She was dead wrong. If anyone was unworthy, it was him. And he would do everything within his power to show her how much he wanted her. Being a Luthor, his power was far greater than that of a normal man. If anyone could convince her, it was him.

As Lex continued to wait for Chloe to come downstairs, he thought back over the last few years. He remembered the first time he met her in her office at the Torch. She had been so young then, but still so intelligent, sharp. He bit down a bitter taste as he flashed back to the site of her lying on the ground outside the hall window. No matter what she or Clark said, he still blamed himself for that. The look of terror on her face as she stood in the morgue appeared to him, followed by the look of anger on her face when she accused him of stealing her computer. He smiled. One thing he had always admired about Chloe was her spunk. But he would never be so foolish as to tell her that. Spunk wasn't exactly something she strived for. The fear and relief when she saw him after the safe house blew up was the next image he recalled. That was undoubtedly the scariest moment of his life. He didn't know what he would have done if she or Gabe hadn't made it out of there. He would have never forgiven himself.

Since that summer everything had changed. They had parted company in a way. No longer did Chloe make her frequent trips to the mansion for accusations and information. He saw her occasionally at the Talon, or with Clark. That was something he had regretted then, letting them drift apart. If he had only known then what he knew now, he would have fought like hell to keep her a part of his life.

But that shouldn't have been the reason he did it. He felt good about the fact that he had lived up to his promise to keep her safe, but he still heard that nagging voice telling him what a horrible friend he had been. He had gotten what he wanted, then let her out of his life. He was so stupid. So many people had left him during his life; some forced, others by choice. And he had hated everyone of them for it. But Chloe's leaving his life had been his decision. And he was sick because of it.

He wouldn't have been surprised if she hated him, despised him. She certainly had every right. He had used her. Then he had discarded her, without a second thought. Just like his father taught him.

Lex choked back a bitter laugh at the thought of his father. In a way Lionel was the one responsible for bringing Chloe into his life, even more so than Clark. Had Lionel never struck that deal with Chloe in the first place she wouldn't have needed Lex's help to get out of it.

'Finally', he thought, 'I can attribute one good thing in my life to my father.'

Lex looked over at the table. Everything was set perfectly. Now if he could only get Chloe downstairs. She had laid all of her cards out for him, now he was more than prepared to meet her halfway. More than halfway. He'd go to the ends of the Earth if that's what it would take to convince her to give him a chance.

But he knew to do that he would have to tell her the truth. The whole truth. And he wasn't entirely sure he could do that. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he could admit it to himself. But he was going to try. If that was what it took to keep her in his life, he'd do it.

He'd do anything.