Thea’s POV

I gasped, looking outside. The place was breathtakingly magical. We’d parked on a mountaintop plateau, the city lights twinkling below like stars reflected on water. Ancient oak trees surrounded the area, and lush green grass was dotted with what seemed like dozens of different flowers.

“Do you like it?” Sebastian asked. I could only nod.

Slowly, I got out of the car and took a deep breath. The air was exceptionally fresh at this altitude, carrying the scent of grass and wildflowers. In the distance, the silhouette of mountains created soft curves against the moonlit sky. But that wasn't even my favorite part. The most beautiful thing was the night sky—thousands of stars twinkling above, their brilliance breathtaking, as if blessing our date.

I walked almost to the edge, gazing down at the city. How Sebastian had found this place, I didn't know and didn't care.

I closed my eyes, feeling all my worries wash away. This was exactly the kind of scene I loved. I absolutely loved it.

When I turned around, Sebastian had already set everything up. A blanket and a picnic basket—containing, I guessed, chocolates, strawberries, and wine—were there, along with the fast food we’d picked up earlier.

I slowly walked toward him, took off my heels, and sat beside him.

“This is amazing, Sebastian. Thank you.”

He nodded. “Anything to make you happy, darling. Now let’s eat because I’m starving.”

We ate in silence, and I admired our surroundings and my date. I knew Sebastian was romantic; I’d seen it countless times with Aurora. I just never thought he’d show this side to me.

“I never thought I’d be on a date with you. I feel special today,” I told him after we finished eating.

“That’s because you are special, and you should feel that way every day. I can’t believe how blind I was all these years, not just to your beauty but to your worth. You’re my superwoman; I’m really sorry it took me so long to realize it,” he said, taking my hand and holding it in his warm palm.

“It’s okay. That’s all in the past.”

“No, it’s not, Thea. I’m so sorry for hurting you all these years, for taking your love for granted. I’m not even sure I deserve your forgiveness or another chance. Damn, I don’t even know if I can ever make up for all the pain I put you through, but I promise I’ll keep trying, even if it takes my lifetime to prove I’m worthy. I’ll never stop trying until I earn your love and forgiveness.”

My eyes grew wet, and I blinked away the tears. The honesty in his eyes was undoing me.

Instead of answering, I went straight for his lips, letting him feel everything I couldn’t tell him with words. Letting him know I was willing to give him that chance. By the time we broke apart, we were both breathless.

“So tell me, how did you know about my simple tastes, that I would like this place? Or was it just a lucky guess?” I asked once our breathing returned to normal.

He took a deep breath, looking like he was sorting through his thoughts after our heated kiss.

“I know you think I didn’t pay attention to you for years, but I did. I know you, Thea. I just pretended not to.”

“Really? Prove it,” I challenged, knowing full well Sebastian had never paid attention to me.

“Alright.” He exhaled. “You take your coffee with milk and two spoons of sugar, no more, no less. For some weird reason, you like to add cinnamon to it. You love ice cream. You can eat any flavor, but you always go back to plain vanilla because it’s your favorite. You like how it tastes like milk, because you loved drinking milk so much when you were a kid.”

I stared at him, speechless.

“You like to smell good, and you tend to go for perfumes with berry scents. As long as the perfume or body wash has some kind of berry in it, you’ll buy it. You don’t have a particular favorite food because you’ll eat anything as long as it tastes good. You like taking long hot baths because it helps you relax. You’re afraid of heights, hate being late, and also hate flying. You can’t stand cockroaches; you always say you’d rather have your house overrun by spiders than those disgusting brown things… Should I continue?”

He didn’t give me a chance to answer.