•|Their Joy|•

27.

Rosa Dante was our mother. I don't know what she went through, but whatever it was, seems horrible.
I didn't know what to say, so I mouthed a small 'o'

"What else have you read from the diary?" He inquired, still gazing out.

"Uh, there were numerous dates along with few lines," I replied softly.

I feel horrible for the boys. They were, detached from their mother. I mean, so was I, but it's just different for me.
'Different for you because you never had anyone to call a mother!'

Someone in my mind mocked me.
Rude, but it's right. I never had anyone to call a mother, so I don't know how it feels to lose one.

On the other hand, they spent their lives with her. It really must be hard for them to lose her.

Smiling to myself, I took a seat and relaxed my palm on my thighs. "It must be hard for you guys to live without her, right?"

"It is." He answered without missing a beat. I smiled.

"What about you? Don't you miss your guardian? Or anyone else?" He questioned after taking a seat in front of me.

"Miss my aunt? No, we weren't on good terms with each other. And who should I miss? There was no one for me." I smiled.

Rolling the end of the shirt in my finger, I looked up at Leo to see him watching something behind me.

I turned my head around, and my eyes clashed with the view of one of my brothers running upstairs.

"Who was it?" I questioned Leo with furrowed brows.
"Rocco." He responded. I nodded.

"So, can I go?"

"Yes, you may. But remember that from Monday onwards you'll be starting your school. All of your school supplements are already here, and if you don't like them, you could buy them next month. Okay?"
I nodded and walked back upstairs to my room.

I still can't seem to get one thing. Who is Arora then?

The bed looks so inviting at the moment. I quickly shuffled inside the comforter and hugged a fat pillow tightly.
________________.

Skipping down the stairs, I bumped my little toe in the wall. So, I know I'm just hopping in front of the stairs.

I straggled inside the kitchen and settled in my usual seat. From my Grandparents to my uncle and aunts, everyone was present at the table.
Everyone but Leo and Antonio, who has yet to come,

"Good morning, ladies and gentlewomen." I grinned at the annoyed expression that crossed my favorite aunt's face.

"It's gentlemen." She retorted sharply.
"When were men ever gentle?" That was a double-meaning sentence, and I think my teenage brothers took it in a dirty way.

A' twins and O' twins started coughing loudly. I poured a glass of water and patted Alessandro's back.

"Why are you guys taking it in a filthy way? I meant it as like men are hard and-" Abruptly, every man present in the room started coughing loudly. Even Grandfather choked on the water he was drinking.

Taking a step back, I observed everyone with wide eyes. As men were coughing, their women's had red shade on their cheeks.

Leo and Antonio entered the kitchen but stood beside me and asked, "What happened to them?"

"I don't know" I shrugged, "ask them this."
Why are they coughing? I cleared that it's not anything dirty.

"Stop!" Leo's loud voice boomed in the entire kitchen. "What happened?"

My favorite aunt stood up and hissed, "What happened? Ask your little she-devil!"

"He is asking that question on my behalf Aunt, What happened? I already said it's not anything dirty, then what?"

If possible, her face went redder. "She was saying that-that men are not gentle!"

Leo rewarded her with a deadpanned look. Her mouth dropped in disbelief, "And she said that men are hard!"
I shifted to look at Leo, "So what's wrong with that?"

"There is nothing wrong in that Alle. Alessandro, Alexander, Marco and Rocco, and everyone else too. She was talking about physical appearance. About how men are hard looking. Get your minds out of the gutter." Antonio said from beside Leo.

Alessandro slapped Alexander hard on his back to stop his coughing.
"Alex, if you won't stop that in 3 seconds-"

And Alexander stopped coughing.
Miracle.

"Take your seats, everyone," Leo said, and just in seconds, everyone was on their respective seats.

I took my seat also. Leo plated a single pancake to me, and immediately my face soured at its sight.
"Leo, please not this."

"I read your medical files, and you do not have any allergy to flour, Alle. The doctor; was paid."

I was stunned. Like in this world, even the lives are dealt with money?

"Okay, but I still don't like its taste. It's sweet. I don't wanna eat it." My sour face twisted at the mention of sweet.

"Refrain from talking any further. Eat a quarter portion of it." He said after cutting the pancake into small bites.
Pushing the plate in front of me, he waited for me to finish.

"Continue eating. It'll take time for me to finish this breakfast."
Nodding, Leo started eating his breakfast too.

Heaving a big sigh, I put a piece of pancake in my mouth. Chewing the bite, I felt my insides churn.

"This is so, unhealthily bad."

"Leo, she might cry now," Matteo said, rather loudly.
Leo spared me a glance and then told me not to eat it.

"That's not how it works, Alle. You need to eat a lot more than this bacon." Leo sighed.

"Leo is right, Alle. If you don't want to eat pancakes, will you eat sandwiches?" Antonio asked further.

"I'll eat sandwiches. But without mayonnaise, lettuce and ketchup. And mustard too. And tomatoes too." I listed off my not-so-favorable ingredients in a sandwich.

"What left to eat then?" Rocco grumbled from his seat.

"There is bread...chicken?" I said sheepishly.

"Eat the complete sandwich with every ingredient or pancakes," Leo said sternly.

"Okay, but not mayonnaise and ketchup, please, please. Leo, please." After a small buttering session, he agreed.

I did a small victory dance and proceeded to eat bacon.

________________.

•|Happy Reading|•

It is hard to use Wattpad nowadays as there is some problem with Watpad's Pakistani server, so uploading is very difficult. I need a laptop for editing. And I upload only through phone by VPN. So, I have to write the whole paragraph again on my phone. I hope you guys understand my dilemma.