Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Zanvil made his way near them. He smiled at Cara and Lorenzo Who grinned at him

"Hey, how are you guys?" He asked Cara and Lorenzo with a charming smile. They both smiled at him and replied in unison.

"We are fine. How are you?"

"I'm good."

"Nora didn't tell us that you were coming here today." Cara asked while they all sat on the couch which was placed on the terrace.

"That's because I didn't inform her. I wanted to surprise you guys." Zanvil said while looking at his wife. She was sitting there quietly. She didn't utter a word since he came.

"Oh I see." Cara nodded in understanding.

"Hey, do you want to fly these lanterns with us? We have a lot of them and Nora loves them so much." Lorenzo said excitedly while looking at Zanvil. Zanvil looked at Eleonora but she was looking at the sky. He wanted to know what was running through her brain. Why wasn’t she talking to him? Was she not happy seeing him here?

"Sure,why not?" Zanvil smiled at Lorenzo and got up. They took out some lanterns and lit them up. Zanvil noticed Eleonora wasn't joining them. A few moments ago she was happily flying them. But after seeing him her happiness died down. Did she hate him so much? Not able to bearing her silence, He went near her and said

"Won't you fly the lanterns anymore? It's your favorite." She looked at him with clouded eyes. She stared at him with so many emotions on her face. Few of them were shock, confusion, questioning, anger and maybe sadness.

Zanvil was also staring at her intensely. Then She came out of trance and gave him a nod.

She got up and held a lantern before she could fly it. Zanvil came to her side and held it. She looked at him again shocked. She couldn’t understand what had gotten into him. But He smiled at her and guided her to fly the lantern.

Nora didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. He was behaving weirdly. He wasn't being himself. What had happened to him? After flying the lantern she excused herself from him and went to her siblings while Zanvil stood there.

Nora was laughing with her siblings while flying the lanterns. She always found happiness with her siblings. Zanvil was watching her wife laughing with her brother and sister. She looked so happy and carefree. She was glowing under the moonlight. He kept staring at her. He wanted to talk to her but she wasn’t giving him her attention. He was about to call her but Adriana came and called them for dinner. The dinner went smoothly. Nora kept mum most of the time while Cara and Lorenzo kept asking Zanvil a lot of questions about his life, works and other topics. Nora was worried that Zanvil would get mad. But to her astonishment Zanvil answered them patiently and cracked a few jokes with them while laughing.

After dinner Nora and Zanvil headed to their room. Zanvil wanted to talk to her desperately but Nora quickly excused herself and went to get changed in her night dress.

When she came back Zanvil was already changed into his sweatpants with nothing on top. She cleared her throat and looked away. Shouldn't he put on more clothes?

"Do you need anything?" She asked softly while making the bed.

"No." He replied and she nodded and went to take something from his luggage.

"You sleep on the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." She said softly and took out a blanket and cushion. She knew he would never share a bed with her.

"What? You are not sleeping on the floor, you are sleeping on the bed with me" He ordered her sternly. Nora's eyes went wide listening to his command.

He wants to sleep with her in the same bed? Did he hit his head with something? Didn't he say he hated her? What happened to him? She wanted to ask him so many questions but decided against it and kept quiet.

"I have brought these for you." He said and handed her a few boxes."

"What is it?" She asked softly while taking the boxes in hesitation.

"Open it"

Nora opened it and her eyes went wide. Those boxes were full of various chocolates. Her mood immediately lit up. She looked at him with a big smile.

"Thank you so much. But you didn’t have to" She said with a smile and started unwrapping a chocolate bar. Zanvil smiled at her and shook his head in amusement. This woman was really something.

"Can I ask you something?" Nora asked Zanvil with a little bit of hesitation .

"Sure, go ahead"

"Why are you here?" She asked straight. Zanvil was actually expecting this question but he didn't know what to answer. He couldn't say hey I missed you when you left and I realised I was being a horrible dad that's why I am here. Could he? No. Cause that would be a huge blow to his ego.

"I wanted to see if the baby was okay." He said after a moment of pause. It wasn't a lie but definitely not the entire truth.

Nora's heart ached a little hearing his words. Deep down in her heart she thought he was here for her. That he missed her. But everything got cleared hearing his words. She didn't say anything, she just nodded her head in understanding and smiled.

"I need to keep a few for Cara and Enzo otherwise they will get mad." Nora said with a soft chuckle.

"No need. I have already brought a few boxes for them. It's all yours." Zanvil said while Sitting on the bed.

"Okay. Thank you." Nora said with a smile. What could she say? Chocolates always made her happy. After eating a few chocolates she kept others aside and went to brush her teeth. After she came back she quickly started to do her night routine. After she finished she came near the bed and quickly climbed in the bed and laid down in a corner.

The whole time Zanvil watched her every move intently while pretending to be busy on his phone. Sighing, he switched off the lights, and laid beside her. Her back was facing him. Her breathing was steady which meant she was asleep. So he too closed his eyes and let sleep consume him.