𝐌𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐚𝐢 𝐓𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐚𝐧

27. THE VIDEO CALLS

"He is calling me. Tujhe kuch help chahiye hogi to meko bula Lena. Main baat kr leti hu thori der. But tu jyada sochna mat kuch bhi kaam ho to just call me", I smiled at her and she nodded.

(If you need any help, call me. I am going to talk to him for a while. But don't hesitate, just call me if you need anything to be done)

I went to the guest room and called him back. He picked almost immediately and his handsome face came into view.

"Hey babe, how are you?"

This is the first thing he asks everyday.

"I am good. Are you doing well? Did you have your breakfast? Lunch? Are you still stressing over work? Is Adrian better?", Without realising, I bombarded him with questions.

He chuckled

"Everything is getting better. Relax, Mio Fiore. Adrian will be fine. It's just- uh- difficult for him you know"

"I understand. He has been face timing Ekaksh Bhai frequently in hope to see her"

"Mhmm.. anyways, today is Sunday and an off day so I decided to spend my time talking to you. I miss you"

"I miss you too. It feels empty here without you. I want to hold you close", I didn't realise I was pouting at the end of it.

"I didn't know I would be saying this to anyone but, it feels scarier at night. Even more than before. My parents' accident resurfaces every night and now it's getting more haunting day by day", his voice started to crack at the mention of his parents' death.

"Babe, if you ever wanna talk about it, you know you have me, right?", I asked him to reassure him that he has me forever.

"I never talked about their death to anyone, not even Adrian. It has always been a delicate topic to me. I was just 9 yrs old. They were coming back to- to meet m- me at my board- boarding school", his voice started cracking and my heart ached for him. I wanted to hold him close to me, hiding him away from everyone. "I was excited to meet them. I was ju- jumping and dancing in my d- dorm room. I told all my friends about them. The- Then the principal called me- I went to her office on- only to find out that their plane crashed", Tears betrayed his eyes. Even though he was trying his best, he couldn't hold them back.

A strong lump formed at the back of my throat. I gulped on my saliva to control myself from crying. I can't imagine how a 9 year old would have felt when he got devastating news like this. For the time I have known him, Gio has been nothing but the sunshine of the group. He is always there to help others, keeps joking around and makes everyone feel at ease with his presence.

It's rightly said, The most beautiful smiles are the most painful ones.

"I am sorry for what you had to go through, babe. I know this won't change anything but I want you to know that now, You have me for the rest of our lives. I Love you, babe", I confessed.

He looked at me with the emotion of disbelief. I haven't been the most expressive one in my life. But today I couldn't control the words from leaving my mouth.

"You don't have to take pity on me and say things, Mio Fiore. As much as I would love to hear those words from you, I know it won't be a right decision taken in pity. Love is a big word and I want you to love me because you want to not because I am a pity case and you feel the need to", he said with a forced smile on his lips.

He is the guy I have always wanted. I have always waited for. I am not saying this because of pity but because I know I love him. Before I could reply anything, he again started,