The Danish Delight (Mads Mikkelsen)

Chapter 36: "I Still Love You"

Chapter 36: "I Still Love You"

"Mads, the chaos that we faced falls upon Cecilie's shoulders, not yours. You did what you thought best in the situation at hand; I can't hold you accountable for something that you had no control over." It took every bit of energy I had to keep my arms at my side and not immediately wrap them around his torso.

"No Elise," he breathed. "I did what I promised I never would... I hurt you. I hurt you, min engel, and I can in no way justify the torturous amounts of pain I put you through. I hurt you and shamefully lost your trust... your respect... and ultimately, your love."

"No..." I looked up into the glistening night sky, and then back to Mads. "No, you haven't."

He furrowed his weary eyes confusedly, as if mentally asking me to clear my ambiguity.

"You did hurt me, yes, and your actions have in some ways tainted my trust and respect for you. But no, you did not lose my love.... you may lose a lot of things in your lifetime, but never my love."

I smiled reassuringly and formed my shaky hands into fists as I ached for the touch of his glowing skin.

He makes this so hard.

Mads brought his hand to my cheek and smoothly ran his thumb back-and-forth under my cheekbone, still fascinated with its structure.

He smiled, repeating to me what he had so long ago. "You must think me insane, but I have truly never seen such a breathtakingly captivating young-woman such as yourself. So angelic. So delicate. So radiantly refined."

Keeping his touch, he ran his fingers through the wind-blown strands of my hair and tucked them behind my ears, one-by-one.

"I..." He leaned more closely as my eyes teared up. "I cannot even begin to describe to you how much I would like to taste your innocent lips."

Don't do it, Elise...

I put my face near centimeters away from his; I could feel of his quick breaths brushing across my bright red cheeks.

Without a second spared, Mads mashed his soft lips against my own and kissed me more harshly than ever before. I could barely breathe as he forced his delectable tongue into my mouth and wrapped it lusciously around my own. My damp eyes streamed a surplus of tears while I struggled to find the strength to pull away.

My God, I wanted him. I had wanted him so badly... more than anything or anyone else in the world. And that fact made what I was about to say all the more difficult.

"Mmm.. Mads." I pulled away hesitantly as I whimpered aloud. "I... I... I'm so sorry."

He skewed his head curiously and wiped the river of tears away from my face. "What is it, min engel?"

This hurts so much.

"I'm leaving for London tomorrow, Mads... I'm going to be gone for over a year."

He stared at me blankly, as if he were unsure exactly how to react. "London? London, England?"

"Yeah." I sniffled. "A few directors in Europe came across my film and offered me a paid, year-long internship. They said it could turn into something permanent if everything goes well."

Mads lowered his head with despair. "Oh... I, uh, I see." He looked up to portray his faux expression of joy. "Well, congratulations. That is excellent news; I always knew you'd go far."

My sobs grew more genuine as I squeezed my eyes tightly and wrapped myself in his arms. "I don't want to leave you... Not like this..."

"Shhhh... Shhhh..." His warmth brought me comfort. "It's okay, Elise... You'll do great in London. Everything will be alright."

"No! No, it's not going to be alright. I love you, Mads. And no matter what I do, I just can't stop doing so."

He scoffed sarcastically, "So you finally see my dilemma?"

"Don't. Please, don't make a casual joke to try and veil the issue."

"I'm sorry... I simply don't know what more to do." He pressed his lips together and his eyes began to dampen the longer he looked at me.

Mads kept his arm around my waist as he used every inkling of strength not to cry in front of me.

"Come... Have one last drink with me before you leave?" He attempted to add light to our conversation.

I giggled slightly, now regulating my breaths. "You want to go to a bar?"

"Haha... God no. I meant at my home."

"Oh!" I felt a wave of relief. "Well then of course, I'd love to."

"Perhaps we can have Danishes for desert." He joked with a playful wink.

Yes, perhaps we can.