Until It Rains... #wattys2020

Part -10

The loud thud roared across the hallway. Ivana scaredly looked around for the producer of the noise. Her curiosity piqued, making her take baby steps closer towards the door.

Reaching the entrance, Ivana peeped like a mouse into the small room. A man was seated at the corner of the bed,holding a photo frame close to his chest. She couldn't see his face from her position, but she could notice him staring blankly at the ceiling, sunk in the ocean of his sorrows.

A sudden urge to soothe him flowed through her veins. She approached him gingerly, tiptoeing to his direction.

When Ivana stood in front of him, his hair caught her eyes. She could recognise the mop of hair anywhere, afterall admiring it had become her favourite task nowadays. The owner was none other than Domenico himself.

Aoristically touching his shoulder Ivana muttered under her breath, "Are you okay?"

Knowing she shouldn't have intruded his privacy she waited for his lash, but it never came. Rather he looked up into her eyes, his dark orbs trying to build up a connection with her. An unexplainable, unbreakable, unfathomable connection. Ivana once again felt that magnetic pull, stronger than any she had ever felt before.

Suddenly he pulled her closer by force and hugged Ivana by her waist making her still as a dead rabbit.

The moment his quivering hands touched her, she comprehended he needed someone. And she was ready to be that person for him at that vulnerable moment.

A wet patch on Ivana's dress caught her attention. Her train of thoughts halted. She lowered her head to find him sobbing, holding her decisively.

She had no idea what pain he had endured in his life. It's true that everyone has a story that they hide deep inside their bleeding heart, locked in the farthest corner. Never to be touched or unveiled.

They stayed in that position for what seemed hours, but were approximately fifteen minutes. It was calming. Ivana's body was no more scared of his touch, which it should be. But it wasn't anymore. It felt natural, like it was meant to be this way.

"Are you also going to leave me?" He queried out of the blue. She looked at his face which was no more stoned. Perhaps it was a mirror making every emotion of this man sparkle in his eyes.

"No. I won't. Ever", she responded, making a promise she didn't knew she'll ever be capable of keeping. Ivana Miller was known for her flair of sprinting away from people who affected her emotionally. And HE did had a quaint effect on her.

"Until it rains?" Ivana had no idea about what it meant. What after it stopped raining, she wanted to ask.

Who knew it might have something to do with his past. Because, who in his right mind would ask for a promise this way. People say words like 'ever', 'forever', but never had Ivana ever heard a promise taken this way.

"Until it rains." She promised, not knowing what it meant. Perhaps it was his version of pinky swear, she assumed. Her mind told her that it was not the best time to ask about it, hence she maintained the taciturnity.

A sudden knock on the door made them to separate from the fragmental embrace. "Mrs. Moretti is asking for you sir." A timid  lady wearing a uniform, probably a maid, informed him and went.

"Come", He said in a monotone, like nothing happened a few moments ago. Reverting back to his CEO stance, he stared at Ivana as if challenging her to go against him.

"Me?" She asked. "I probably shouldn't be bothering your clients." Why would she go along with him when she was not asked for.

"Just shut up! And Follow me. They are not my clients." He snorted. Ivana timidly followed him to the lobby area where four people were seated on the couch which was red in colour : an old lady, a young man, a man in his fifties and the lady whom they had met at the doorstep of the mansion.