He’s been cheeky since morning, making me wonder what was his motive behind all these things. He gets on stage in front of cameras and takes my side while talking to Julie. I felt it was weird. So weird that I couldn’t even make eye contact with him. I was contemplating whether to ask why he was doing all this and what he needed from me. But seeing how he was devouring the food, I just couldn’t. 

“Okay, you finish it up and let the dishes be. After the meeting is over, I will do that.” I said and put on my headphones as I walked towards the couch. I took a few minutes breaks as I saw him playing with all the food and that distracted me. 

“How long will your meeting take?” I heard him ask as he stood beside me, leaving the food on the plate. I looked at him and then on the food he hastily left and sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “This better be damn serious whatever you want to discuss,” I said and gestured for him to wait for five minutes by showing five fingers.

“I’m so sorry. Can we resume?” I asked the clients on the other side and tried to wrap up as soon as possible.

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

“Okay, so let me know when you come to New York,” I said and hung up on them. Massaging the back of my neck, I folded my hair into a bun and secured it with a pin. As I stood up, my legs felt like I was getting pricked by millions of ants. The pain was unbearable, and I felt numb. Gradually, as I made my way toward Zearo, and saw him lying on the chair like a dead fish. 

Not knowing what to do, I pulled the duvet from the adjacent table and slowly tried to cover him up, but my leg slipped as I accidentally stepped on the duvet and I landed on Zearo. I regretted being so clumsy. 

“What time is it?” He asked in a deep, husky tone. I was sure he could feel my crazy heartbeat as I was lying motionless on top of him. “It’s one,” I said and slowly tried to get up, but our legs got tangled and I fell hard on him again and he sucked in a deep breath. 

“Let me...” He winced and said. I then tried to break free by placing my hands on his chest for support and realized his heartbeat was beating faster, too. Our eyes met after I raised my head. I could succumb to his gaze, but I tried not to, considering I did not mean for us to be together. 

Slowly, I felt his hands making their way toward my waist. I pushed his chest and felt his torso touching my body. I bit my lips as my position was so awkward that I wasn’t able to muster up the energy to get up.

“I will not eat you. Just a minute.” He whispered into my ears and I could feel goosebumps around my entire skin. 

“Whatever,” I said and stood on my legs.

“What’s the matter? Why were you so desperate to talk to me?” Did I ask, frustrated? My crazy heart was already on the verge of exploding. 

“Because my wife was just not ready to have a normal conversation with me.” He said, sitting up properly. 

“Wife? Huh.” I blurted, without thinking twice. I knew I wasn’t practically his wife and just in papers, but still agreeing to this out loud had me looking like I was desperate to be his wife.

“Oh, my wife is angry?” He asked, slowly getting up from the chair. I walked away from him towards my couch but felt his grip on my hand and then a sudden jerk.

“How many times have I told you to stay away from me?” I asked, rather frustrated by how my body reacted to his touch, trying to break free from his hold. His firm shoulders didn’t flinch a bit, even if I scratched his hands. 

“We have to talk to clear up the misunderstanding.” He whispered. I looked into his eyes and glared at him. “We don’t,” I said through gritted teeth. 

“You know that I’m stronger than you, don’t you?” He said wiggling his eyebrows, and I pinched hard on his chest and, as usual, he didn’t flinch. 

“Let go of me,” I said, but he was unphased. 

“I’m not sure whether you’d hear me out later, but let me clear some things first before you hurt me with those lovely hands.” He said, and I stopped scratching his biceps. My eyes focused on his chest, which was calm, unlike my crazy heart. I didn’t dare to look at him as I felt my face heating with the closeness and an uncontrollable feeling in the pit of my stomach.

“I just need to have a healthy conversation, Liara.” He whispered as his hand reached my face, touching my chin. I felt pressure on my chin from his fingers, motioning me to look at him. My body reacted to his touch, and I hated it. 

“You are impossible,” I said through gritted teeth and bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from swooning over his chiseled jaw. 

“I’m not starting a new family, nor is Julie pregnant.” He said and there was a buzz around my ear like blood gushing to my brain, making it difficult for me to hear. 

“As promised, I’m no one to be involved in your personal life.” I reminded him about the clause in the contract. It pained me to speak that out loud, but I fisted my hand tightly, holding my ground and emotions. 

“Damn it, don’t you see that we both are affected by what’s happening in our personal life?” He raised his voice suddenly. That made me flinch. I saw a flash of anger in his eyes and stared at him for a few seconds as his cheeks looked strained. I had the feeling and itch to touch his cheeks and release the tension, but I couldn’t. 

“Who’d know that better than me?” I said, pushing him aside as I felt his grip loosening and then pointing at my abdomen where I was stabbed a few days back. 

“I’m sorry, okay? I am. I know my past has been taunting me and I also realized that I can never run from that.” As his shoulder slumped, I saw disappointment on his face.

“Why fight it?” I asked. I was always questioning his decision to let go of that powerful position, and he never answered. 

“Every person has a right to live a normal, fearless life, don’t they?” He chuckled, and he wasn’t joking or happy about it. I saw sadness on his face and his eyebrows furrowed. I clutched my hands, controlling my urge to hug him and say I was with him but held back.

“I thought if I ran away from my past, I could find my mother and get the answers to the questions haunting me my whole life. I saw people leading a healthy and simple life and having their families.” He said, and I found my legs taking me towards him. He watched me walking toward him and sighed. 

“I thought I could do the same, Liara. But I was wrong. I was so wrong.” He said, and I held his hand. He was surprised and so was I, but I squeezed his hands, allowing him to say what he wanted to. 

“I saw people hurting others’ families back in Italy. Hell, I did the same!” He shook his head and for once, I felt us both on the same path. I hurt others’ families too. 

“When I came to Newyork, I tried so hard to make a living and not go back to that life. But slowly I saw my chances of living a happy life stripped away from my hands.” We both sighed.

“But when you came to my life, it was like sunshine in the dark alley. I felt loved by Dima and your friends. The love I wanted and only dreamt of.” I was surprised by how his words sped my heartbeat. 

“You were there for me when I needed you the most, even if we had our differences. You faced the aftermath of my doings, and I regret it to date.” His hands slowly made their way towards my stomach and I saw his hands trembling.

‘’I heard the doctor informing you about your complications in the pregnancy and I can’t explain the pain I felt that day." My mouth was agape after his confession. 

“I had a terrible childhood, Liara. I killed people from a very young age and was never stopped by anyone, nor was I questioned by my doings.” He whispered, looking at the night sky. There was this lump in my throat that felt heavy at that moment. I could not engulf the surge of emotions that I felt at that moment. 

“That’s the reason I adopted those kids. I wanted to stop them from loathing their childhood as I did.” I nodded, taking in the information.

“The things I did to you. I’ve hurt you more than enough to even apologize for that. I feel ashamed.” He said, and I shook my head, unable to speak anything. 

“I yearned for the love that I’m receiving now, but I’m unable to hold those in my hands and feel like they are slipping away.” He said, opening his palm and I just stared at him. 

“I’ve never considered starting a life with anyone before. Not even Julie. She is not pregnant with my baby.” His confession should have made me happy, but I was upset. Upset that he didn’t say they never slept together, instead talked about pregnancy. 

“That doesn’t matter,” I said plainly, letting go of his hands, but the next second I felt a firm grip on my shoulders and a large body engulfing me in it. Like a black abyss sucking me in. I stood motionlessly unable to breathe. I could feel the irregular heartbeat from his chest and my ear buzzed with the intensity of the beating of my heart. 

“I like you, Liara D’Waner.” My body froze after I heard a whisper. I felt like I was being sucked into a black hole. His powerful grip around my body felt like thorns. His face slowly made its way towards the crook of my neck and I felt him inhale my scent. 

**†***†***†***†***†***†**

Do you think his confession will make any difference in this weird relationship they have?

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