Chapter 174 - Love And Gratitude

In their excitement, Nigel and Rhea had not even closed their door. They were already running around inside the room and were exploring the beautiful room that they had never seen in their life before. Theodore shook his head with a chuckle and closed the door behind them.

He was about to walk out of that corridor but just when he was about to do so, Nigel opened the door and then asked Theodore, "Where is Adeline staying then? Are you going to take her back to the Palace or" he pointed at the closed door just opposite to him and said, "or is she staying there?"

"No, she will be-" Theodore was about to say that she would be staying in his room but his glance fell on Adeline's face. She had that puppy-eye look that asked 'Can we stay here, please?' so he said, "Umm… I guess your sister wants to stay in this room. I will take you all back to the Palace when the morning arrives."

"Okay, then. Have a goodnight," Nigel gave a wide grin and closed the door without even waiting for Adeline and Theodore to say goodnight to him.

"You want to stay here tonight, right?" Theodore asked again to make sure that was what Adeline wanted to do.

"Yes," Adeline nodded her head in excitement. She wanted to see how this room looked like and she was ready to jump on the cloud.

Theodore opened the door to reveal a similar room. And Adeline immediately ran inside the room while sweeping the clouds with the long robe that she was wearing. She was giggling and running around to see the beautiful decorations in the room.

She stood under the cherry blossom tree and looked at the beautiful blossom in awe. And then she ran towards the small stream to check if the water was real or it was just an illusion. She touched the water and to her surprise, the water felt very much real.

Then she ran towards the bed and ran her hand on the mattress. The bed not only looked like they were made out of the softest clouds but it also felt that way. She jumped on the bed and the fluffy mattress dipped down because of her weight.

Adeline closed her eyes and moaned in satisfaction. "Ahhh! I feel like I am melting on this bed. This feels so… comfortable. I could-" she flung her eyes open to look for Theodore and was surprised to see him still standing at the door.

She sat up on the bed and then asked, "Theo, why aren't you coming in? Is something wrong?"

But Theodore just puckered his lips and kept on standing there, very reluctant to step his feet inside the room. He took a deep breath in and hovered his foot in the air to step inside the room but he put it back on the corridor.

And Adeline guessed why he was not coming in. He was banished from Heaven and that room pretty much looked like it was made after being inspired by Heaven's surroundings. So she got off the soft bed and then walked towards Theodore.

She held Theodore's hand and looked him in his amber eyes. He was giving her a smile but Adeline could clearly see the sadness behind that smile of his. And she lovingly whispered to him, "You don't need to make yourself uncomfortable just to make me happy, Theo. You said it yourself right? Being selfish is not a sin."

Then she stepped out of the room while pulling Theodore along with her. "Let's go to your room. Your room is far cozier than that room. And besides, that room has too much light. I cannot fall asleep if there is so much light."

Theodore felt his heart warming up because of that small yet meaningful gesture from Adeline. Yes, it was true that he loved seeing her running around happily in that room and he wanted to step inside the room along with her. But it was also true that no matter how hard he tried to step inside, he just couldn't bring himself to do that.

The flashes of memories where his father stripped off his heaven's attire were dancing in front of his eyes. He remembered how his father humiliated him in front of his mother and all his brothers and sisters. And he remembered how helpless he felt at that time.

The final words that his father said to him were echoing in his ears when he stood in front of that door. "You have disgraced me by tainting my superior creation. You don't even deserve to be known as my son. I condemn you to spend the rest of your eternal life on that very planet which you wanted to tarnish. You shall never step your foot inside the gates of Heaven ever again. Fall!"

Theodore looked at that human who was dragging him to his room. She understood him so much without him telling her anything. And his heart filled with so much love for her that he himself didn't know he was capable of loving someone to such an extent.

As soon as they entered his room, he locked the secret passage and embraced Adeline from behind. He closed his eyes and rested his chin on Adeline's shoulder. And he whispered in her ears with all sincerity, "I am so glad that you found me that day, Adeline. You brought so much joy and excitement to my dull life. And you taught me things that I never thought I was capable of learning. You taught me all about love and compassion."

Adeline smiled gently. She pressed her cheek on his and caressed Theodore's jaw with her tiny palm. "You've always known that, Theo."

Theodore tightened his grip around her even more and whispered, "You have no idea how broken I was before you came into my life. And that day, you came into my life like a little spark of light in my dark world. You taught me how it feels to be loved and to be wanted. And you taught me how to reciprocate that love."

He turned her around and held her jaw with his palms. And he whispered while looking deep into her sapphire blue eyes, "I love you, Adeline. I love you with all my heart."

"And I love you," Adeline also whispered back with her eyes full of love for the Devil.

Theodore leaned in and poured out the love that he was feeling towards Adeline in the form of an intimate but tender kiss.. The kiss was the expression of his pure love and the expression of his gratitude towards Adeline for making his life worth living.