~~Diego's POV~~
I was surprised to see her there, but at the same time I felt so upset and betrayed. I walked towards her slowly but she jerked up at the sound of crunching twigs and leaves and looked at me with moist, red eyes.
I sat next to her and pointed to her face. "I have a gun, and next time you go anywhere without telling me, I'll put the six bullets here and here!" I pointed to her stomach and head.
"What?"
"That's all you can say, 'what'?" I replied in anger.
"Won't you even say hello to me?" I asked, trying to meet my eyes with hers.
"No." She said calmly.
"Why not?" I asked in confusion.
"Because after a sympathy fling, you don't say hello." She looked and me and sniffed. "You avoid each other."
"I see." I laughed sarcastically. "So that's why you're running? You're embarrassed."
She glared at me. "I didn't run, I messaged you! Did you get it? Huh?"
"I did... But I let you go because..." I hesitated as I felt tears welling up in my eyes. "I thought you were starting a new life with Theo."
With no regard to my feelings, she just rolled her eyes.
"Delilah," I whispered, grabbing her shoulders once again. "Why are you wandering the jungles? Why are you wandering the jungles like a hippie?" I didn't know what to do because I haven't met someone who would just disappear like that, this is not a telenovela after all...
She ignored me and turned away.
"Tell me!" I said impatiently, my arm still on her arm.
She shrugged me off. "Who are you to ask me that?!"
"Delilah." I whispered calmly, reaching for her again. "Tell. Me. What is wrong with you?"
She glared at me with anger steaming inside of her, but at the same time, her eyes were sore and tears were slowly streaming down her soft pink cheeks.
"The night's gone..." She paused to sniff. "the matter's over, Diego. Whatever happened that night was only a moment to forget Theo. It wasn't anything special. It wasn't anything...wow! Get it? Now just leave me alone."
I looked at her, speechless.
"Leave me alone!"
I just stared at her with the tears rolling down my face slowly, burning my cheeks. "Ok." I whispered calmly and stormed off, leaving her alone, as she wished. I didn't know she was that kind of girl, but I guess they all are the same.
They just use you, and leave you, with your heart broken.
I meant nothing to her so why should she be something to me? I stormed away, aimlessly, just to get away from her, her insults, her beautiful deep blue eyes, and just her altogether.
~~Delilah's POV~~
I watched him walk away from me and the guilt I felt was so painful. I should've never hurt him, he was always there for me when I needed it, even when Theo was there. I watched him walk away till my brain snapped back to reality.
I had to make it right.
I ran after him, following his tracks. With a couple of turns and rustling leaves, I reached the road. The bag I held, fell from my hands, as I saw Inder walking away just a couple meters here. I wanted to scream his name, but I just fell on my knees and buried my face into my hands.
Before I knew it, I was sobbing into my hands uncontrollably.
And before I knew it, he lifted my head slowly.
Diego lifted my head with his index finger and smiled at my smeared face and red eyes.
~~Diego's POV~~
I looked at her, with a forgiving smile on my face. I knew it wasn't her fault, anyway. I needed her and she needed me and my happiness was beyond bonds when she didn't let me go...
I picked her helpless self up, from the ground and pulled her in for a hug. Saru sniffed on my shoulder and sighed with her arms around me.
This is what it should be...
"Now tell me." I whispered on her shoulder. "Now tell me who I am to you."
He hands dropped from my back and her head rested on my shoulder.
I shook her slowly. "Delilah?"
"Delilah?" I whispered to her impatiently repeatedly. My heart beat faster and faster every minute she was unresponsive.
Oh my God.
I pulled her and her back rested on my arms. Her eyes were closed and something was dripping from her nose. "Delilah?" I shook her again. I wiped the liquid from her nose and sniffed the strong odor.
Blood...
I carried her as fast as I could to the hospital and talked to her through my head. "You're going to be ok." I repeated over and over again.
The doctor led me outside the hospital room where she was resting. "I strictly forbade her from going to high altitudes."
I looked at the doctor, confused and back at Saru through the window.
He pulled out some brain scans from his files and pointed to the one in the right hand corner. "She's got Meningioma, a deep tumor in the brain. We can't operate it and nor can we do chemotherapy. That's why we're treating her with oral medicines."
He looked at Saru. "In such cases, diagnoses are also very difficult. The only visible symptoms are headaches and fever."
I widened my eyes at that statement, and started having flashbacks of her sick days and frequent headaches.
"And I explained this to her and her fiancé-"
I stopped him. "Wait. Theo Xavier?"
"Yeah, that's him."
How I clenched my fists and ran as fast as I could to Theo's office and skipped the steps to the roof where I saw that ridiculous party boy with his damn suit, on his damn phone. Without thinking, I pulled his shoulder and went for it.
I landed my fist as hard as I could.
Abhimanyu rubbed his jaw and looked at me, his lip bleeding.
I pointed at him. "You... You broke off with her because of her illness."
He pushed my hand away. "I received the reports just a couple of hours after I broke off the marriage! If I had known about this earlier, I would never hurt her!"
"My office conducted some routine medical tests for the visa." He continued. "That's why the doctor called me first, not Delilah."
I walked towards the balcony and hit the railing in anger.
"I am not proud of myself! I kept looking for her all night with the reports. Next day when I met her at the Resort I said sorry." He said. "I had asked for a second chance. But she didn't agree. She said that I was lucky... If I hadn't broke off the marriage then I would have been stuck with a wife with a tumor! She agreed with me."
I turned to him. "I came to you, asking whether she left a message for me or not..." I choked. "Why did you lie to me?"
"Promise you won't tell Diego anything." He recited. "That's one promise she took from me. If she hadn't, then I would have told you ev-"
I walked towards him, leaving an inch between our faces. "You can break a marriage and not a promise?" I asked.
He looked down. "How is she now?"
I turned on my heel and stormed off. "Even if you knew, what would you do?"
I headed to the hospital again and walked to her room but the nurse stopped me and left a bunch of things on the counter. I turned around and looked at her things.
"The patient's things." The nurse said.
I looked at her phone and some photographs sent by the mother that haven't been opened. As I swiped through, I had realized these are advertising photographs attached to the wedding invitation of Saru's sister.
Just then, I have thought of a brilliant plan that would bring a smile to Saru's face.
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Hi readers! This is a short chapter and a long wait and I'm sorry to disappoint. This is the hardest chapter that I would ever write. School has started again and I'm starting the IGCSE syllabus. (Yes, I'm still 13).
QOTD: what was your final emotion you felt when reading this chapter?
It's kind of upsetting that you can't give unlimited votes but you can leave unlimited comments. Don't forget to do either of this!
Lots of love and salty tears,
~Imperfect Perfectionist~
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