This chapter is a bit different. With such a heavy moment between the two, I wanted it to have its own chapter.

Chapter 3

Ain't nobody hurt you like I hurt you

There Lucifer sat on the floor of the balcony, the bottle still in hand, wondering how he ended up here. The question itself was rhetorical because if he thought about it hard enough he knew exactly how he fucked up.

He replayed the moment in his mind over and over.

Only an hour had passed since he asked to speak with Chloe privately, but he had accomplished quite a lot in a small amount of time. Of course, he enlisted Maze's help with the setup, even though she fought him on it almost the entire time. She spouted off bits about how humans are stupid and corny with their notions of grandeur and proclamation. Lucifer fought her on these statements, claiming he was only doing this to prove that no matter what Pierce did he was never going to be what she deserved. Pierce could never give Chloe was she desired; even if the devil himself didn't know what her desire was entirely. Maze didn't understand why he could never see how transparent his emotions for Chloe were. They were blatantly obvious, there was practically a banner constantly above his head that said, "I love Chloe 'the Detective' Decker!" Regardless, her boss was stubborn and unwilling to reason, so Maze just shook her head and continued setting up the candles while Lucifer set the table.

Lucifer was working on lighting the last candle when he heard the familiar ding of the elevator. The Detective stood just outside the elevator, almost like a coy child on their first day of school or in a new place. Lucifer glanced over at her, taking in her demeanor and appearance when he spoke up, "Detective, thank you for coming." His eyes skimmed over her body. She was wearing a simple white leather jacket with a plain white t-shirt underneath. Black pants covered her legs and he could only assume she was wearing the same brown sensible shoes as always. Her hair was folded into waves and he almost got lost in the golden ocean. How could she captivate him like this, even in the most basic of clothing? Chloe was a marvel and he wanted to make sure that she was able to get what she deserved out of life.

He noticed her eyes were bouncing around the room. Chloe seemed to lose her breath at the sight and Lucifer felt a little accomplished at her reaction. The room was covered in candles, long white candles that were attached to almost Renaissance-like holders. In the middle of the room, next to his grand piano, was a luxurious table. It looked as if it had been extracted from one of those old paintings that depicted a table that held feasts big enough for the Gods. There were even more candles that decorated the table. Fire was everywhere in this room. Suddenly, Chloe became very overheated and the weight of this conversation hit her like a mac truck. She breathily stated, "I thought you were having me over to tell me something."

She took a step closer towards him and his hand reached out to guide her back. "Well, all shall be explained in due time . . ." Chloe took a few more steps towards the table. His hand wasn't touching her back but she could feel the heat radiating off of his hand. "Please, take a seat", he stated as he gestured towards the chair. He crossed behind her to pull out her chair, and she scoffed in awe at the scene displayed before her. Chloe had to think back but she was quite positive no men in her life had ever done something this extravagant for her. The most Dan had ever done was make a reservation at some restaurant that he had a coupon for. She graciously sat in the chair he had pulled out for her. Lucifer was always so predictable with his gentleman-ness, she wondered if he had ever done something this forward for any other women. Shaking that thought out of her head she looked down at the ground briefly, as if to center her thoughts. She needed to focus on what he had to say and that wasn't possible if her thoughts were consumed by the forwardness of his act.

Lucifer stepped back to face the side of the table. "Now, I hope you like chateau brion" he stated as he lifted the silver-colored lid on the dish. If Chloe had to guess, and her instincts were usually right, that was probably real silver. He held open the lid and there was a plate covered in a dish that looked too good to eat. Seriously, the entire evening he had prepared was pulled from every romance novel, painting, and book she had ever seen. She should be taken back by the amount of effort he put into this evening, but this was who he was. Lucifer was dramatic and passionate, and he didn't do anything half-assed. Of course, he would go above and beyond for this dinner, even if all he wanted to do was have a private conversation with her. She looked at the dinner on the silver plate and couldn't form a full sentence. The only thing that was able to escape her mouth was a muffled "mhmm." She nodded a few times, her brain too wrapped up in the ambiance of the evening to see him grinning in pride.

Lucifer was too pleased to contain himself. He closed the lid over the plate and picked up the bottle of champagne sitting in ice. Chloe had never been treated like this before. The dinner, the champagne, the candles, the lighting, it was all overwhelming to her. He picked up his champagne glass and began to pour the gold liquid. "Lucifer, what is all of this?", she questioned as she took another look at the table in front of her.

Without taking a second, "This is to help you, make an appropriate decision about your future, and dare I say about, our future." He offered the glass of champagne to her then sat it down in front of her. Gently he sat down in the plush white chair, carefully, as to not wrinkle his three-piece suit. Chloe took this time to look at him. His suit appeared freshly pressed almost as if he took special care to make sure everything was perfect tonight, even his suit. She offered him a soft smile as she fidgeted in her seat. Chloe tried to relax and focus on what Lucifer was professing.

Once he was seated, Lucifer grabbed the bottle of champagne, his glass, and began to pour. "Now we've been through a lot Detective. And now the two of us are alone, in front of this beautiful meal, in this romantic setting." He placed the bottle back down in the ice and paused before continuing on, "I can finally ask you the question I brought you here to answer, and I hope, well I hope you can answer honestly." Chloe leaned forward in anticipation and gulped silently. Was this the moment? Their moment, what she had waited for. The connection, the partnership they shared was about to become reality. But the next thing Lucifer asked made all those hopes become just that, hopes, wishes that could never be.

He arched forward, to match her body language, eyebrows raised, and said, "Isn't this better than anything Pierce could do?" Lucifer lowered his eyebrows and smiled at her. Shocked is the easiest way to explain what Chloe felt in that moment, betrayed came in as a close second. She was bewildered, confused, hurt, and well frankly, Chloe was pissed. She looked at Lucifer up and down, in a disgusting manner. How could he do this to her, to think that this wouldn't have an effect on her? She felt an ache in her heart, it wasn't a metaphorical ache like the ones you read about in books. Chloe felt like her heart was tearing in two.

She quickly took one more look around the room again then spoke, "You did all of this to . . . to show up Pierce?" Her voice was a bit shaky, but she tried to keep her composure.

Lucifer scoffed, "It's impressive, I know." He smiled and leaned back in her chair. He did not seem to realize how his words affected her and how heavy the questions weighed on her. He watched her carefully, waiting for her answer. The lightbulb seemed to turn on in his brain because he saw her gently rocking back and forth. Chloe was beginning to get choked up, unable to verbally reply so she had to let her eyes speak for her. They were gentle tears but once they came, she couldn't stop them. "Detective?" All she could do right now was just to shake her head. Chloe's heart was in distress. The tears wouldn't stop no matter how much she tried to hold them at bay. She could only shake her head in disbelief. He couldn't know how much she cared, how much she was hurt by him. He hurt her more than anyone, more than Dan, more than her own mother. How could she be so naïve to believe that he wouldn't hurt her? How could she let herself trust him?

Lucifer continued questioning her, "Those aren't tears of joy are they?" She didn't want to stop them now, the tears. They were just streaming down her cheeks now. "Why are you doing this to me?", Chloe pleaded. "To prove to you that you shouldn't be with Pierce.", Lucifer claimed.

She was getting more and more upset by the second. Chloe leaned forward more, "Why do you care who I'm with?" He was making it apparent he felt Chloe could be with anyone so long as it wasn't Pierce. If Lucifer really cared for her why was he putting her through this? They both knew what the other one desired but yet they were both too coward to really confess what they felt. They were both too afraid.

Lucifer rebutted, "Because he . . . he doesn't deserve you." This was not how Lucifer thought this evening was going to begin. He anticipated they would enjoy a romantic dinner and maybe they would elevate their relationship. Maybe he could finally be honest with himself and follow Linda's years of advice.

Her voice was raised now, more filled with anger, and hurt, "Then who does deserve me?" Chloe's face was turning red and her eyes were beginning to get puffy. She was never this girl, never one to cry in front of a man. Never one to show how much she had affected him. Lucifer was different, she could be vulnerable with him, expose herself. Right now, at this moment, she couldn't be bothered to dwell on the fact that this is not the first time she had cried in front of him. However, Chloe's pride about to outgrow this penthouse and she was getting frustrated because her eyes were betraying her.

It was now Lucifer's turn to shake his head, his eyes were begging for her to see what he was trying to say. "Someone, someone better." It came out as almost a whisper but the meaning behind it was powerful. This conversation felt like déjà vu. Chloe could still recall with almost clear detail what transpired between the two of them on the beach that day. Lucifer spoke of his self-worth and told Chloe that she deserved someone better, a statement which she seemed to agree. Until her soft and plump pink lips raised up to brush against his. Lucifer would never forget that moment they shared on the beach; it was one of his favorite memories in all his eons.

Chloe was fed up, "You don't get to have it both ways Lucifer." The frustration, anger, hurt, despair, betrayal, heartache so evident now. The emotions became too much to contain, she needed to get out of here, out of this penthouse filled with flames and pain. Chloe couldn't be bothered to look at his face anymore. Lucifer sat there, like a deer in headlights at her last statement. He opened his mouth as if to say something, anything to get her to see that he was only trying to make sure that she was happy; that Chloe Decker got the life, the man, she desired. The moment was gone, he blew it. He blinked and Chloe was out of her seat and answering a call from Dan and Ella about the case.

Lucifer accompanied Chloe when she went to arrest the killer. In typical fashion, there was some dramatic flare involved but in the end, the criminal got punished and the victim got justice. That was the last time he saw Chloe. Both of their emotions so raw they hadn't even spoken about personal matters since.

That night just over a month ago, and it still plagued his mind. He thought about how if he could if his father permitted time travel, he would go back in time and be honest with her. He would tell her what he truly desired. Lucifer's mind began to wonder, what if he could make it up to her now. Would she even want to hear from him? Sure, she might have been with Pierce, but the Detective deserved to know how he felt. If there was even an inclination that he was going to be sober tonight, that went down the drain when he finished what was left of the bottle still in his hand. Lucifer steadily rose and was now semi-standing at the balcony. He made his way back over to the bar, very carefully as to not fall, and grabbed another bottle. The cap was off in an instant and his lips were back on the freshly opened bottle.

Against tomorrow morning Lucifer's judgment, he pulled out his phone and began to go through his contacts. He didn't make it to the Ls this time; his fingers stopped scrolling once they got to the Ds. His thumb selected the name and hit call. He inhaled a deep sigh and put the phone to his ear. It rang for a moment until he heard her voice.

Chloe's voice sounded like a mixture of sleep and wonder, "Lucifer?"