“Zearo, I feel suffocated here,” Julie whispered into my ears as I saw Liara walking away from me. Maybe Vikrant was right. I was confused, and I didn’t know what to do. I felt Julie’s arm encircling my hand and saw a few paparazzi clicking photos. 

“Julie, enough.” I snapped at her and walked away from the crowd. 

“Master, what’s going on in your mind?” Charles came to me as soon as I walked away from the crowd.

“Do I look like a coward? Or am I that unfaithful to Liara?” I asked him, to which he shook his head.

“I don’t know why you are asking this, but letting Liara’s reputation hamper by getting clicked with another woman sure looks like you are unfaithful to her.” He said nodding his head, and I sighed.

“I don’t know why you are so drawn to Julie, but at least as a gratitude for everything Liara did for you, stand beside her when she’s facing her enemies.” He said and pointed at Barrak and Samira.

“Those enemies got attracted to her because of me,” I claimed, to which he agreed and clicked his tongue.

“Why not fight with common enemies together instead of showing them your weakness and falling apart?” He suggested, to which I thought for a minute.

“And as we already know, Liara promised you that your secret was secure and I’m sure she is true to her words.” He said, to which I nodded again. These months I’ve got to know this for sure.

“I can’t scurry away from my enemies, who are slowly making their way towards her. I’m running to save someone who didn’t care for my existence years back and letting the people who love me now get hurt.” I confessed as I saw Dima making her way toward me, along with Mia. A smile automatically appeared on my face lighting my damp mood.

“I guess you’ve found your answer, master. You can protect your loved ones like Alfredo. You’ve got a second chance and I don’t think you should let that go.” He said and backed away as soon as Dima came to me.

“Son, is something wrong?” She asked and through my peripheral vision, I saw Charles shaking his head.

“Dima, you look tired. All good?” I asked worriedly.

“She is not tired. She is overly emotional.” Mia butted in and I looked at them, confused.

“Dima once mentioned to Liara that she never got to attend any concert during her teenage years. And now, Liara had it organized in her club with a special VIP area booked for Dima.” Mia said to which Dima nodes.

“I am just overwhelmed with joy. But I cannot see Liara to thank her for this.” She said and gestured toward the crowd.

“You thanking her would make her distant. Don’t you think so?” I suggested. Now I understood Liara’s plan for this concert and took all these steps to keep shimmers.

“She could have booked a VIP ticket to any concert in New York City though,” Charles said, to which Mia butted.

“The level of love these two have for each other is overwhelming. She once said that instead of letting Dima attend other concerts, why not organize the same in our property where Dima will be more comfortable and that too with a minimal audience? And that’s how this thing was on her head." She said, shaking her head with an amused expression.

“And you do not know how much she struggled to make that happen,” Charles whispered, and I shook my head.

“Anyway, are you leaving already?” I asked them both, to which they shook their heads.

“We’ve made some changes to the event today. Liara asked her team not to add her vote of thanks, but Dima wanted to see her on stage.” Mia chuckled, and Dima shrugged her shoulders.

“I can picture her annoyed face when she’d hear the announcement,” Dima said, and we all laughed hard at that.

“Let’s go,” Dima said and dragged me towards her corner and then we saw Liara walking towards us with an annoyed look. 

“I asked them not to add the last part.” She said, irritated when the flash fell on her. I contemplated for a moment, but then chose the part my heart was signalling me to.

I went to her and slowly entangled our fingers. She looked surprised and wanted to break free, to which I strengthened my hold around her and Dima cheered for us from the corner and so did the others as our face was being displayed on the screen. I winked at her and loosened my ponytail to cover the scar that I saw was visible on the big screen and whispered into her ears, “Let me support my wife properly.” 

I instantly heard her say, “No, you will not.” I smiled as I knew she was still worried about my identity getting disclosed, but how long will I keep running from my past? It’s glued to me like a fevicol. I gradually felt that my path was clear and believed what I was doing was long-awaited. 

“Believe me, they won’t recognize me if I am in this attire. I don’t want to hide anymore, but I’m not foolish to show them I’m Alfredo. It’s only for the people I know to not take me for granted.” I said with a slight smile and slowly I pulled her towards the center stage.

 The crowd was cheering, and she was still trying to break free from my hold, to which I laughed and said, “Do you really think you can break free now that we are seen everywhere? Do you want them to see that you don’t like me to cling to you and that includes Dima?” I asked tauntingly with a faint smile. I was enjoying how she looked at me, flabbergasted, and towards the screen where they zoomed us so that we were the only visible ones. 

“This is not a joke.” She said through gritted teeth and I replied, getting closer to her, “I know what I’m doing, darling. Just enjoy the moment.” Encircling my arms around her waist, I brought her a little closer and held the mike for her to speak. 

*****************

“You guys looked fantastic together on stage.”. Dima said as she walked with us away from the exit. 

“Dima, you look drained. Get back home from here. Anthony will drop you.” Liara said, making me feel like there was something off with Dima lately and Liara was more careful around her.

“Princess, what about you?” She asked, and Anthony responded, “She has a meeting now with an overseas client. She will be in the old building.” And asked Dima to hop on. 

“How long do you think you are going to avoid me?” I asked, grabbing her hand as she made her way away from me.

“I’m avoiding no one.” She replied without turning around.

“I need to talk to you,” I said, desperate to get the answers to my questions. 

“Let’s first attend to the VIP guests.” She said, and I looked at her, confused. But then I heard Samira’s giggle where she was holding Julie’s hand and smiling. They had no sense of guilt after forcing Liara to a half-death position. How could Julie be the same? I wondered. 

“My, my, it was amazing, Liara,” Barrak said as he walked towards Liara, extending his arms for a hug. I pushed Liara behind me and gave him a good squeezed hug and he chuckled.

“Your husband is so protective of you. Oh, he must be, as you are so beautiful that many would wait to have you.” He said in a vicious tone, and I cringed as my ears were about to bleed.

“Don’t worry Mr. Luchellies. I don’t think any other person will have that access, as my husband keeps me busy all the time.” She said, and I heard Julie and Samira gasp. I knew what she meant, and rolled my eyes. She clicked her tongue and shook her head. 

“I can see you guys are really fond of each other.” He said and grabbed Samira’s hand. And she winced. My first instinct was to rescue her, but Liara held my hand. 

“I’m waiting for my proposal to be approved by you, Liara. It will be really great to start a relationship and I’m eager to spend some time with you.” He said, and I raised my eyebrows at the choice of words.

“I’m so sorry. I was busy with other important matters that I couldn’t go through with your proposal. As soon as possible, I will return your call." Liara said, and I tried to hold my laughter at how they were playing with words. 

“Let’s go, darling,” Samira said and glared at me, patting Julie’s head.

“Julie, what the hell is wrong with you? How can you still be with her after she hurt Liara so much?” I asked. I was fuming. Samira choosing Barack was just to remind me I’m also a play toy in the hands of her father. Barack was a powerful man, and I was worried about why Liara messed with him.

“I can ask you the same question.” She said, pointing at Liara, to which I heard Liara scoff.

“I’m not done yet. We will talk about this later.” I said to Julie when I saw Liara getting into the car. I was worried about Julie being in touch with Samira, but I could do nothing. So I chose to talk to Liara and clear the misunderstandings once and for all. 

“Where is she headed?” I asked one of her employees, Natalie, I guess.

“To her office nearby, sir.” She said, and I rushed to the building, thanking her. There were so many things I wanted to ask her, but she didn’t let me have a healthy conversation with her. 

Walking inside the building, I saw all the lights on inside her cabin, but she was nowhere there. I knocked a few times but didn’t receive any response. Loosening my bow tie, I unbuttoned a few buttons of my shirt as I felt suffocated. Her floor was practically empty, but then I heard a click. 

“What brings you here?” She asked. Her attire changed to formal, and she had her headphones on.

“Busy?” I asked, pointing at the headphones and she pointed to a single figure and let me in. I saw her walking towards the couch, where she stationed her laptop. She spoke to some people in German, and I was in awe of her professionalism. 

I walked towards the balcony and stationed the food that Dima sent for her when I was about to leave the concert. I looked at her and saw that her eyes were on me as I was moving. I sat comfortably when I was done setting the plates. 

When I was gazing at the night sky, I heard her shut the laptop and walk towards me. “Why are you doing this?” She asked, pointing at the food. I raised my hands in the air to surrender and said, “it’s Dima’s order.” I thought Liara had her dinner, but Dima said she didn’t. 

“I don’t know how she keeps tabs on you, but yeah, you need to stop her from worrying about you so much,” I said, concerned.

“She wouldn’t stop even if I did take care of my health.” She said and took a seat. “Aren’t you eating?” She asked, and I stared at her, contemplating if the food was enough for two. “Don’t worry, Dima packs sufficient food.” She said, knowing exactly what was going on in my mind.

“Let’s have some healthy dinner then,” I said, and took a bite of delicious pasta. It was mouth-watering. 

“I will let her know you liked it.” She said, laughing at me. I choked on my food and gulped down water. “Do you read minds or something?” I asked, genuinely concerned about what all things run in my mind.

“No, I read people and their behavior.’’ She answered, not bothering to look at me as she was eating. “And yeah, I will ask her not to bother you with such minute things.” She said, and I shook my head. 

“I don’t mind.“ I didn’t really mind doing these things. “Maybe because this is the only time you sit in front of me and talk. Whether it’s for a minute or two.’’ I sighed, as I was finding it really hard to keep up with my racing heart. 

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PS: Dp you want some spicy content in the upcoming chapters? *hides*

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