Here comes the confrontation everyone has been waiting for! I rewrote this 5 times. I'm still not happy with it! Fuck! Alas, it will have to do, because if I have to read it one more time, I'm gonna pull all my hair out of my head!

Chapter 12

Ella chose a booth in the corner. She sat on the bench swallowed in darkness, but even in the dark she was still scared he might recognize her. He sat across from her, where the little light that there was, shined directly on his face.

She stared at him. He was still handsome, but something was different. Those grey eyes. The same ones that haunted her dreams, now looked shallow and dull. He looked like he had been lacking sleep. His hair had grown longer; it was almost over his ears now. He'd lost weight. Maybe the stress of the wedding was getting to him. His lips twisted under her eyes. He was trying not to smirk. That's what he did when he was unsure. Yes, she knew him better than most.

He assessed the little of her he could see. She was prettier in person, he thought. Her hair was like a hypnotizing blaze that dared you to touch it. Her emerald eyes shined like fine jewels. Her lips were a perfect shade of pink. She was perfect. It was almost painful to turn away. He wondered if she was as nervous as he was. She sure didn't act like it.

She was good at this intimidation thing, but he felt victorious. Here she was, Ella in all her glory, was finally sitting across from him. Weeks of torture were finally going to pay off. He unbuttoned the top button of his dress shirt and cleared his throat.

"So, what would you like to drink?"

She smiled, "Pineapple Vodka."

He gestured the waiter over, "She will have a pineapple vodka and I will have-"

"Firewhiskey, double shot, on the rocks," she finished for him.

He looked at her, stunned, "How did you-"

"You're very predictable, Mr. Malfoy."

He waved the waiter away, "So tell me then, what am I going to say?"

She laughed, "You want to know if I have changed my mind about your engagement party. You also want to know why I am retiring and if it has anything to do with you?"

He let the smirk out, "So?"

Drinks appeared in front of them. She took a sip and watched him grab his glass. His hands were shaking.

"I'm not retiring because of you. You have no influence over me or that decision. It was just simply, time to move on."

He took a long sip, "Impeccable timing, wouldn't you say?"

"Everything has to end eventually," she shrugged.

Draco swirled his drink around the glass, "Yes. It does."

She took off her coat. The lighting in the bar really was awful, but he supposed, that was done on purpose. Anonymity at its best. Still, it couldn't hide her curves or the low cut dress she was wearing. He smirked again, "Did you wear that for me? And here I thought you hated me."

"All that smirking is really bad for your face," she took another sip, "And I never said I didn't hate you."

He emptied his glass and ordered another, "It doesn't matter. I told you what you wanted to know."

Her glass also refilled, "Yes. You did, but how do I know you weren't making it up?"

He laughed, "If I were going to make up a story, it wouldn't have ended like that."

"Oh, how would it have ended then?"

He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and lit one, "Are we spilling our guts again?"

"No, we aren't. Only you are." When did he start smoking?

"Of course," he took a drag. "How stupid of me to assume otherwise."

"Your ending?"

He pushed the hair out of his eyes, "She would have stayed. She would have waited. In my, made up story, I would have gotten the girl."

"Why didn't you get the girl?"

"It was complicated."

"I have alot of free time now, Mr. Malfoy. Haven't you heard? I'm retired."

He scratched his head, his nerves were getting to him. "I wanted to marry her. I was going to ask her." He laughed, "I even had a ring." He rubbed his ring finger, "I wanted to, but my parents were going to disown me."

She clenched her teeth, "So you chose money."

He took another drag, blowing the smoke directly at her, "No. I chose her."

She laughed, "I find that hard to believe, seeing as you don't have her."

"I needed time. I was trying to build a name. I was trying to build a business. I was trying to give us a future-"

"-but she couldn't wait," Ella whispered. "Why didn't you tell her?"

He shrugged, "Pride. I didn't want her to look at me differently. I spent my whole life chasing her, trying to beat her at everything, anything. I just couldn't tell her."

She sunk deeper into the dark, "Did you look for her? After she left?"

Draco put out the cigarette, "Yes...and no. I went to her flat, but she was gone. There was nothing there."

"So you just stopped looking?"

"What was I suppose to do? Even if I found her, I would still have nothing." He lit another one, "So I did the only thing I could, I continued to build."

Ella took his cigarette, "You gave up money, for love. Then you gave up love, for power. Now you're giving up power, for memories." She took a drag and put it out. "That is a real tragedy, Mr. Malfoy. You're a real life Romeo."

He laughed, "Yeah, if Romeo was killed by Juliette."

/

The alcohol was finally starting to kick in. Ella didn't know how much she had drank, she lost count after 4. How was he still conscious? He had taken at least twice as much as her.

"So what's your story?" he slurred.

She giggled, "Same as yours."

"I doubt it."

She was laughing now, "It is the same as yours. Exactly the same."

"So, some girl, you'd been chasing your whole life, just disappeared?"

She clenched her side, laughing so hard it hurt, "Just like magic." She threw her hands up, "Poof."

"Very funny," he replied sarcastically. "I'm so glad my pain brings you joy."

She wiped away the tears, "Oh Drake, you have no idea."

"What did you just call me?"

She sobered quickly. Fuck. That was a mistake. Only two people in the world called him Drake. Pansy and...

"You don't like it? I figured, Draco...Drake?"

"I-"

She changed the subject, "Where is the Mrs. tonight? Surely, she would have loved to meet me. My #1 fan after all."

"She had other plans. She was devastated that she couldn't make it," he lied.

Ella smirked, "How convenient for us."

Draco looked confused, "Meaning?"

"Well, her loss is, my gain." She winked, "I have you all to myself."

"Are you so drunk, that you are hitting on me?"

"Why not? After all, if your reputation is anything to go by-."

"And just, what is it?"

"You aren't exactly known as monogamous. Although, that has never kept the women away. The whispers I hear make you sound like a God."

Smirking again, "Is that what this is really about? You want to bed me?"

She took another sip, "Perhaps. Perhaps I want to see if all the rumors are true...or perhaps I just want to see Romeo bleed."

"So where does that leave us?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Checkmate. Your move."

He downed his drink, waving for a refill, "Sing at my engagement party. I will give you anything you want, whether it is money, my body, or," he rolled his eyes sarcastically, "my soul."

Her leg rubbed his, "Can I have your heart too?"

He choked, "My what?'

Ella slipped out of her shoe and put her foot between his legs, barely touching him. He flinched, sliding back in his chair. She slid down further, resting her foot firmly on his cock, "Your heart."

He stammered, "Why would you want that? It's worthless or haven't you been listening?"

"Everything has its value," she pushed her foot against him, "I bet the heart of Draco Malfoy would fetch a hefty price."

He hardened under her, "My heart isn't for sale."

"But your body is?"

"Like you said, everything has its value...its price."

"So you would fuck me, so that you could marry her, to save a company that reminds you of someone else?"

He grabbed her foot and rubbed it against himself. "Tell me your price. What do you want Ella? What do you really want? Don't feed me bullshit abut love. Just tell me what you want!"

She retracted her foot, slipping her shoe back on, "From you?" She finished her drink, "Nothing." She stood, "I don't want your body." Ella put her coat back on. "And I don't want your money." She threw a few galleons on the table. "I really have no use for your soul." She should have just left, but she had waited so long for this moment. She leaned into the light, "But as for your heart, you can't give me something that is already mine."

She was breathing hard in his face, their lips almost touching. Draco looked deep into her eyes. There was something. Something inside them that beckoned him. He couldn't turn away. He sat shocked for a moment, before the adrenaline took over. He grabbed her face and kissed her hard. She leaned into him as he kissed her angrily. He bit her, causing her to yelp. His hands tangled in her hair, pulling her closer. He was demanding, forcing weeks of frustration into her. She moaned as his tongue lapped her own. She was losing control. She needed to stop this.

Ella pulled away, leaving him breathless. She stood straight, adjusting her coat. He stood up, but she pushed him back down, "I will sing at your engagment party, but after that, you will never contact me again." She turned away, "It's different now. I'm different now. You are too."

He was too stunned to move. His body froze, gluing him to the booth. His mind replayed their every encounter, every phone call, everything. Draco stared at the door she exited from, "Hermione?" He willed himself to get up, running into the street, "Mia!" He ran up the block, "Mia!" He spun around, looking in every direction, "Mia, please!"

She was gone.