Hello All, here I am as promised!
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kaybay12, user28475194, craftydragonqueen, isabellaraleen, LeenaThokchom, UsratFahmida, izzisue, _nilam_, Kairavictor, tamlaura1, ChristineGomes2, JanitaDucasCorpuz,
On with the story!
CHAPTER 10:
"Hi!"
"Hi!"
P.S.: Aria's Dress
P.S.: Christopher's Dress
"Come on in!"
"Did you eat something?" Aria asked just like she would ask the twins or Evelyn for that matter.
"Yes! Thank you!" Christopher replied with a smile on his face.
"Are the kids asleep?"
"Yeah!"
"Would you like some coffee?" Aria asked looking at Christopher to which he happily agreed. He looked tired. Of course he would be; it was nearly 11 in the night. She turned around and went in the kitchen to make him a hot steaming coffee. She opened the cabinet and grabbed a cup with Coffee Beans pictures over it.
"Aren't you having one?" Christopher asked standing near the kitchen counter after noticing that she had pulled out only one cup.
"No, I have stopped drinking coffee after my meals. So..."
"Then, don't make it for me."
"It's okay. I will be having green tea. It won't be a problem. I will make your coffee side by side." Aria suggested with a gentle smile on her face.
"No, then make a green tea for me too." Christopher said while grabbing the coffee cup and setting it back in the cabinet.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"How about I check on the kids meanwhile?" He suggested.
"Sure! Go ahead!" She acknowledged.
** A few minutes later **
"They are out like a light." Christopher said while making his way downstairs. The way his hair waved while he was getting down the stairs was a sight to behold.
"Yes, they are heavy sleepers." Aria said with a small smile passing him his cup of green tea. This cup had the pictures of tea leaves and with a slice of lemon.
"What's this?" He asked looking at the drawings while taking the cup from her hands.
"That's their gift for you." Aria replied looking at the drawings too.
"For me?"
"Yeah, since you 'saved' me today from trouble, they wanted to give you a thank you gift. They wanted to give it you personally tomorrow. So, officially you haven't seen it yet. They have this habit of drawing something for me whenever they feel like I have done something good for them. So, I guess it was your turn today." Aria replied back taking one of the drawings in her hands while the other one was in his hands.
P.S.: Elijah's Drawing
P.S.: Olivia's Drawing
"That's very cute and expressive." He said still admiring the love the little ones showed him.
"Yes!"
"How about we sit in the balcony and talk? I am sure the breeze outside is very calming." He suggested.
"Sure! You go ahead, I will just bring some chips for our little midnight snack!" She said with a small smile while giving him the other drawing too.
"Wow! I love chips! Please tell me they are those cream onion and potato ones." He asked with in a desperate tone which made her giggle and say "I bet they are!"
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"Aria, as I said earlier I am not at all good with words and I am totally a straight forward guy. So, if you feel like stopping me anywhere or if you don't understand anything, just let me know."
"Don't worry! I will stop you if I have any problem in understanding. Just relax and go ahead!" Aria assured while taking a sip of her green tea.
"Aria, I heard about a 'girl' from Ryan. I mean, it was 6 years back when this happened. Ryan and I were friends for nearly 2 years by then. And we often met each other for a few drinks on every weekend. So, like always, that weekend we were supposed to meet in the bar but Ryan wasn't in the mood. He wanted a quiet evening so he had called me that night saying he would like to go somewhere calm instead of those clubs and bars. He didn't want any disturbance. I had no problem with it so, I invited him to my house for the drinks that night." He said while sipping his drink too.
"He looked very dull which was very unlikely of him. He is one cheerful guy but I didn't know what was wrong with him that day. I still remember, how he drowned his entire beer jug in one go leaving me surprised and worried. Upon asking, he just said 'She's gone! Chris, she's gone! And I couldn't do anything about it.' Tears gathered in his eyes and I didn't like it. I didn't know who he was talking about but as a good friend I had to give him the comfort and listen to what he had to say." He said and Aria kept listening to him keenly trying to grasp each and every word that left his mouth.
"He told me about this girl who was brutally divorced by her husband that day and how he couldn't do anything about it. How the girl didn't say anything and simply divorced that pathetic excuse of a man right away. The way he had snatched away everything from her trying to weaken her but no she stood strong like a rock. He told me how the girl was pregnant with that idiot's baby and how he had denied the fact that the baby was his. The way the girl shot him 'I don't need you in my life' look showed how confident and independent soul she is. The way she had wrapped her hand around her stomach showed how protective she was of her baby. I agree that I wasn't present there, but the way Ryan had described everything, it was enough for me to see the things." He continued and by now Aria understood who the girl was. But she was confused why he was not taking her name and still referring to her as the 'girl'.
"Not only that, it wasn't the first time I heard about her. I had been hearing about her for a few months by then. Like how sweet, caring, loving, and understanding person she was. What a beautiful soul she was. And when I came to know about the divorce drama I felt bad for her. When I came to know how he was so insensitive about the entire thing, it just made my blood boil. I wanted to kill him immediately. I couldn't help myself from thinking about her." Christopher said while gritting his teeth and curling his fingers into fists trying control the urge to punch Hunter straight on his face.
"As the days progressed, my curiosity to meet her kept growing. I wanted to know who she was. The way she disappeared in this thin air made me restless. I couldn't concentrate on anything. How come she was so strong? I had no idea how she didn't falter for even one second that day. I so desperately wanted to meet her and know how she was doing! She had nothing with her. Nothing!! Not even a single penny and still she had the guts to face this cruel world. I don't know how to say this but yes, her guts, her strength and her confidence made me think about her every single moment of my life. I wanted to meet that person and ask her how she was doing. Was she comfortable? I wanted to take her in my arms and say there is nothing to worry as long as one is confident on oneself. I could sense her confidence in her actions that day. Ryan gave me the complete picture of what was going on and how she dealt with it." He said with a small smile thinking about her and she didn't miss his smile. As promised she kept quiet and listened to him.
"I agree, at first I had pity for this girl. I pitied her about the situation she was in. And believe me I really wanted to rip his head off for ill-treating her. I just wanted to do something for her. I wanted to be there for her. This curiosity and restlessness in me kept growing with each passing day. I didn't know when the feeling of pity changed into desperation. Yes, I was desperate to meet her. I wanted to be with her and talk to her about each and every thing. But I was scared." His voice faltered a little at the end when he mentioned that he was scared. It made her look at him with questioning eyes. She didn't know what he was scared of. He kept quiet so she broke the ice this time.
"Why were you scared?" She asked in a slow tone while still looking at him.
"Aria, no matter how strong she was that day, she must have gone through a lot. I was scared of those 'What ifs'! No matter how much ever I say that she was one brave girl, I was still scared thinking What if she didn't make it? What if something wrong has happened to her? What if she is going through a tough time because of everything. These questions kept bothering me all the time. Every day I was being haunted by these questions." She was moved by his concern towards her. She was a stranger to him and he was still concerned about her?!
"I was at a point where I wanted to meet her but I didn't want to meet her too! I just wanted to believe that she was all fine and safe. Even though these scary questions kept nagging me I didn't do anything. I avoided them. I didn't want to see her facing all the troubles alone. I was such a coward. I should have taken the bold step and at least searched for her. I feel so hopeless for being this negligent." He said while running his fingers through his hair in frustration. Aria was surprised and a bit moved too. Here a person who had no connection with her was feeling so bad for neglecting her and leaving her alone when he is absolutely not the one to be blamed out and there was her ex-husband Hunter who not only neglected her but ill-treated her very badly and is not at all ashamed of it. He was the one to be blamed but here this gentleman was blaming himself for her pain.
"To face those scary questions I took the help of her actions that day. I kept telling myself that she is one strong woman and she will be fine. I kept repeating it every day at one point I believed that the girl is absolutely fine. It made me feel proud of her."
"I started to feel proud of that girl. The way she stood for herself, the confidence she had in her and the way she left each and everything and stepped out into the real world made me really proud of her. And little by little, the pride grew thicker and I have no clue when I started respecting her! I so wanted to go to her and worship her with all my heart. I just wanted to get one glimpse of her. I just wanted to see her once in my entire lifetime before I die. I couldn't stop myself from thinking about her every day." He said looking at her with a small smile and she was totally shocked learning that he was so into her?
"It was like I was seeing visions of her. As if she was living with me. I started seeing her visions everywhere. My dreams were about her, my thoughts were filled about her. My days and nights were only about her. I was so enchanted by her beautiful, loving, caring nature. I was smitten by her strength and confidence. I was completely devoted to that girl who stole my heart without even my own knowledge." His confession made her look down a little to hide her tears. She bit her lip thinking what did she do to deserve such a good person with this golden heart? Will she be able to make him happy? He probably deserved a real angel.
"I never met her in my life, but I was hers the instant I started seeing her in my dreams. She manged to steal my heart. Aria, there is no single day left out in these 6 years where I have not thought about her. I was totally in love with this girl. She was indeed my dream-girl. I wanted to marry her and only her. But as I said I was scared. But this time it was another What if question that kept haunting me 'What if she found someone else and she is happy with him?' I probably sound like an idiot Aria for thinking like that. But yes that sweet girl does bring the best and the worst side of me." His statement made her feel glad that she never met anyone else. Because even she knew, she liked him and more than happy to be with him. After all even she wanted to be with a person who would love her for the person she is.
"You love her so much and you didn't even see her face." She asked with a small smile on her face thinking how he still kept calling her this 'girl' and that 'girl'.
"I didn't care Aria. Physical appearance is of least concern to me. At that moment I was happy and content in whatever grove I was in. As I said I was a coward and chose to stick to my own imaginations rather than facing the real world. Because I started believing the thought that she was probably happy with someone else in her life and I wasn't ready to face it."
"But as if god heard my secret prayers, I met my angel that day. My angel fell into my arms and I was her saviour. It was the first time I had seen her." Christopher said looking into her eyes with love and pride making her smile at him and ask "You were in love with me all these years without knowing how I look or how I talk or how I..."
"As I said, physical appearance doesn't matter to me. I have always been in love with you. Even if you reject me today, I won't complain. I will still love you for the person you are. I have been in love with the girl of my dreams for 6 years, your face came into light a few days back. I will always love you, the only difference is that now my angel has a face." Christopher declared and she was completely moved. No doubt her ex-husband too had made many paragraphs saying how much he loved her but when the time came to show his love and trust towards her he stood up. And this man trusted her blindly? She was surprised to see two completely different men with different mind-set in her life. For the first time in her life she thought, 'Why didn't she meet Christopher before Hunter?'
"I love you Aria. I am so madly in love with you. And I don't want to be a coward anymore. I want to be with you, for you. I don't want to repeat my mistake and leave you like that. I want to make everything right this time." He said while holding her hands.
"I love you Aria! I love you a lot! But before you answer, I have another confession to make." He said making her look at him with wide eyes. Okay what more did he have to say to her?
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Next Part coming right up!
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