Mike admitted to himself as he sat confined to a wheelchair, surrounded by all those roses that he cared about Eden. But it wasn't until he watched helplessly as her tears slowly trailed a path down her cheek right after her conversation with Philip, that he realized he loved her. Watching her cry felt like his heart had stopped beating, like someone took a knife and plunged it in his chest. The overwhelming desire to pull her into his arms and take all of her pains away, washed over him until his limbs ached from it. But before he could do anything, Eden turned from him and stormed up the stairs.

Judie returned almost immediately. She wheeled Mike to the hospital, and a few hours into the day, he was discharged.

Mike was almost relieved to go home. His community service hours were not over yet, but he could rest for a few more days. Maybe not seeing Eden for a few days would help rid him of his feelings. Certainly it was just an infatuation, for he couldn't have fallen in love within such a short period of time. And of what use would being in love be, anyway? She was engaged. He was suicidal. He wasn't just suicidal, he had a date with death —a date he could not miss.

He thought distance would certainly do them both some good. But distance didn't help. If anything, distance made Mike feel worse.

Maybe if he saw Eden...

He shook his head, opening a can of beer. It was dangerous for his health —the doctor had said— but he didn't see the use in preserving his health if he was going to toss all of that away very soon.

He lifted the can to his lips. Pausing, he sighed and placed it on the table. Maybe there was a possibility...

He shook his head; there was no possibility. He was going to die. He wasn't going to change his mind!

Yet, he couldn't bring himself to drink one stinking can of beer! He couldn't bring himself to stop thinking about her! He couldn't bring himself to not desire to see her!

Maybe seeing her wouldn't be such a bad idea. Maybe if he saw her, and he told her how he felt, he would die a happy man... Or at least die a man without regrets. He would have told the woman who had so ruthlessly captured his heart in less than a month, that he had feelings for her. That he loved her, and she didn't have to love him in return. In fact, it was a good thing that she didn't love him. It was a good thing that she was getting married —even if he didn't exactly like her Fiancé. If she didn't love him, it would be easier to jump off of that bridge.

And if she did?

“She doesn't, ” he muttered to himself, reaching for his clothes and slipping them on. “She doesn't love me, and it's a good thing. It is a good thing she's not in love with a train wreck.”

~*~

Eden kept her shoulders straight, her chin up, and a smile on her face. She needed to façade to keep her sanity in check. She needed to not break down in front of a bunch of kids who desperately needed a ray of sunlight in their already dark world.

And so she went through the day after her breakup with Philip, like nothing happened. She told herself she would break the news to her grandmother and friends, but she didn't think she could tell them when she was such a mess of emotions. She needed a few more days to think, come to terms with the news, before inevitably disappointing some of the people who meant everything to her.

She especially needed to convince herself that she didn't break up with Philip because of her feelings for Mike. She needed to convince herself that she wasn't in love with Mike because it would be pointless. Walking away from a stable man with a lot of potential, for a suicidal man with a criminal record, was madness. No, if she was leaving Philip, then she needed to be certain she was doing it because she didn't love him and it was the right thing to do.

Eden sighed, shrugging her jacket on. Her shift was finally over and it wasn't even 9:00pm yet. She took the elevator to the first floor, and was about to head for the exit, when the soothing sound of the piano, caught her attention.

Halting in her tracks, she turned toward the lobby where the creation of the North Pole was almost finished. There were a bunch of people gathered around something...

...or someone.

Slowly, her legs began carrying her toward the small crowd. She thought she recognized the voice of the person singing, for the image of the evening he stood there on that amateur stage —his hazel eyes holding hers, his arms wrapped around her, as he spun her around— flashed before her eyes.

She paused at the back of the crowd. Still, from her position, she saw him; his head bowed over the grand piano, as he sang 'oh holy night'.

It was the best rendition of the song she had ever heard, she thought, her heart beat slowing down a notch. He raised his head up in that second and their eyes locked.

She stopped breathing, and for some reason, oxygen didn't matter. He stopped playing as well —it was either that, or she stopped hearing the music... And seeing the people who stood all around her. She saw no one but him, seated on that piano, with his eyes fixed on her.

He rose to his feet in that second, with a look in his eyes she knew she was misinterpreting. It was certainly impossible, but she thought he was looking at her with the same intensity only a man who was in lo...

“Eden.”

Air immediately filled her lungs, as she twirled around, startled. Gasping, she closed her eyes, pressed her hand to her chest and tried to regulate her heart beat.

“Eden," someone said, and she immediately knew it was Philip. He took hold of her shoulders as her eyelids tore apart. Indeed it was Philip, standing right before her, dressed in his usual designers suit, without a hair, or a thread out of place. He still smelled of his brand of men's cologne that assaulted her nostrils. “Are you okay?”

Breathless, she simply nodded.

“Babe, I came all this way to say I'm sorry, and that I didn't mean what I said." He held a bouquet of flowers before her. “Please accept my apology, Eden, and let's get married.”

Eden stood staring wide eyed at him, lacking the words to say. She however knew, as she stood before him, that she didn't love him. It suddenly became clear to her that she was in love with the suicidal man with the criminal record.

And the realization caused her to turn away from the man with the great potential, and to the man with the criminal record. But unfortunately for Eden, Mike was gone.