CHAPTER FOUR

"I knew it. It was just a dream." Maddie muttered as soon as she woke up. 

She sat and looked around but there was no sign that what happened last night was real. Maddie quickly shook her head to clear her thoughts. She quickly went to the bathroom to prepare for her work but she cannot help but to think of Theo. He looks sincere but what he said was just unbelievable, especially the part when he said that he loves her. 

“Hi, Maddie.” 

Maddie looked at the man who was walking beside her. She sighed before looking ahead and tried not to mind Liam. Maddie almost groaned in frustration when Liam walked backwards just to look at her and give her one of his annoying smiles. She’s blatantly rejecting him but Liam is just persistent.

“Come on, Maddie. Smile for me.” Liam pulled Maddie and made her face him. 

It annoyed Maddie and she was about to slap Liam when he was pulled away from her. She gasped when she saw that Theo was choking Liam against the wall. Some passersby walked away in fear but Maddie kept watching them. She was unable to move due to shock. There was just a gust of wind that passed in front of her and in a blink of an eye, Theo is already with them. Maddie almost believed that Theo is an actual god but she knows better. 

"I will kill you." Theo gritted his teeth and tightened his choke on Liam. Maddie saw that Liam is already having a hard time breathing and despite her annoyance to him, she still stepped out to help. 

Maddie tried to pull Theo away from Liam but he's strong. He didn't move even a bit. He's just glaring at Liam and slowly tightening his choke as seconds pass by. Maddie is desperate but she cannot ask anyone for help as they are also terrified of the situation. 

"Theo, stop." She tried to pull him away again but it's useless. 

Maddie looked at Theo's eyes and she'd never seen anything as dark as his orbs. She wondered for a bit because she remembers that his eyes are not this dark. She was just snapped out of her thoughts when Liam started to cough. 

"Theo." She called once again and looked him in the eyes. 

Theo diverted his look at her and slowly, he calmed down. He immediately let go of Liam and dropped him to the concrete floor. Maddie glared at him for a second before he checked on Liam who's losing consciousness. She tried to slap his face to keep him awake but to no avail. Maddie groaned in frustration and fished out her phone. Before she could dial the emergency hotline, Theo pulled him up and dragged him away from Liam. 

"Hey! Let me go!" She tried to pull away from Theo's hold but it's too firm. 

Theo let her go when they were in front of the restaurant. Maddie massaged her wrist while glaring at Theo. On the other hand, he's just staring at her seriously. After what happened last night, his heart broke and he was certain that he'll forget Maddie but he cannot. Thinking about it only breaks his heart more, especially when he saw the scene earlier. Theo was enraged seeing another man with Maddie, her Maddie. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Theo tried to reach for Maddie's wrist but she took a step back and glared at him. 

"Why are you even here?" Maddie asked in annoyance but in reality she's confused. 

Seeing Theo now only proves that what happened last night in her apartment was real but it only confused her more, especially after his sudden arrival. 

"Please, calm down first, Madeline." Theo said sweetly that it gave Maddie goosebumps. He sighed before looking at her hopefully. 

"I just can't give you up so please, come with me." Maddie looked at Theo in disbelief before she shook her head. 

"You're crazy. I don't care if you saved me from Liam, I still won't come with you." Maddie looked at him seriously before she turned her back to him. 

"Oh, before I forgot." She faced Theo again and it gave him so much hope. He smiled widely as he stared at Maddie. 

"Don't even instigate that you're a god." Maddie even emphasized the word god before she rolled her eyes then went inside the restaurant. 

Theo sighed and looked up. He didn't know that pursuing someone is this hard. He thought that being a god and honest is enough to make Maddie fall for him. 

"I guess I was wrong." He muttered before he looked inside the restaurant. 

A small appeared in his lips when he saw Maddie happily chatting with her co-worker. Theo thought that he would give anything just so Maddie would smile at her genuinely. 

Theo left and went to the nearby park. Although he wanted to stay in the restaurant to watch over Maddie, he doesn't want to offend her. It was a mistake that he invaded her privacy last night and he doesn't want that to happen again. He can feel her presence despite their distance so he can still know if she's in danger. Theo could also feel that he is needed in his world. He knows that it is an irresponsible decision to stay in Maddie's world when he has a world to reign but he couldn't leave Maddie behind. Not when they are already starting to get closer. He wanted to bring her to his world so they could be together without any limitations and there, he will make her fall in love with him. 

Maddie felt peaceful when she hadn't seen even the shadow of Theo for the whole day. He's been stressing him especially with his weird personality. It doesn't suit his attractive beauty and Maddie expected more from him. His actions and words are just a major turn-off for her. 

"I really appreciate this, Maddie. Don't worry, I'll just add this to your overtime pay." Randy smiled at Maddie but she just shook her head. 

"It's okay, Randy. Just go. Maya must be waiting for you already. I can handle this." Randy hugged Maddie before leaving. 

Maddie continued mopping the floor. She should be home by now but Randy needs to attend his daughter's baby shower so she just volunteered to close the restaurant. She doesn't want to go home anyway as she's worried that Theo is there again. She can't even report him to the police because she'll look weird too if she tells them a man who claims to be the god is stalking her. She chuckled at the thought before shrugging away the idea.   

After mopping, she went inside the kitchen to check it. As she's closing the windows, the doors suddenly shut. She looked around in panic but she didn't see anyone. 

"It's just the wind, Maddie." She said to herself before trying to even out her breathing. 

She slowly walked towards the back door and the lights started to flicker. Fear rapidly spread in her system so she ran to the door but it was as if it was blocked. She didn't waste any time and went to the door that leads to the main dining area but just like the back door, it cannot be opened. 

Maddie's breathing hitched as she tried to look around. The lights are still flickering and the windows are just skinny so she cannot go through them. Then suddenly, the two gas ranges exploded. Maddie squealed and fell to the floor. She covered her head and tried to calm down but her tears started to flow uncontrollably. Her heart is about to explode too due to intense fear. She cannot even understand what is happening. The fire quickly spreads in the kitchen and in no time, Maddie is surrounded with flames.

"Help! Somebody help me!" She tried to shout but her words are indistinct as her cries dominate them. 

Theo quickly stood when he heard Maddie's cries. In a gust of the wind, he's standing in front of the burning restaurant. He was shocked but he didn't waste any time and quickly went inside. He wondered why he didn't feel what was happening and that Maddie was in danger. He couldn't think clearly and he doesn't have any time to figure out what happened as he can strongly feel Maddie's fear. Theo forcefully kicked the wall and it made an opening. 

The kitchen is filled with blazing flames and blinding smoke but it was nothing to him. He walked through fire to find Maddie and as seconds passed by that he cannot see her, his anxiety doubled. Finally, Theo saw her in the corner, almost unconscious. She's sweating hard and having a hard time breathing. 

Maddie saw Theo's terrified eyes but she cannot distinguish if it was just a hallucination or real. She's coughing terribly as her lungs start to fill with toxic smoke.  One thing was sure for Maddie and that is Theo walked through fire with her in his arms.