RUINED SOUL

Chapter 16

Cover: That's what happens when Luke drives.

Liam's POV

I woke up when I heard my phone ring. I silenced it and went to sleep. The phone rang again but this time I looked at the screen to see who was calling me at this ungodly hour. It was the detective. I, instantly shot up and answered the call, wishing for some good news.

"Good morning, sir. I hope I didn't disturb you", he said from the other side of the phone.

"No, that's fine. Any update?", I asked.

"We've found her, sir! I will mail you the details and you can check them", he said and my happiness knew no bounds. I was beyond happy.

"Thank you! Your payment will be transferred by tonight", I said and hung up. A smile made its way on my face instantly. I was so happy to hear about it early in the morning. The first thing that I decided to do today was meet her and then definitely scold her for disappearing on me. But before that, there was someone who had to know about it. Luke. He had already been through a lot. He deserves to know that we still have a chance to find to find his girl.

Just when I was about to call him, my phone rang. It was Luke. I answered it instantly.

"Hi Luke, Good morning! How are you feeling today?", I said, excitement clear in my voice.

"Wow! I thought I was going to hear some curses first for waking you up so early. What happened? You sound so fresh and happy", he said and I could sense his anxiety.

"Well, looks like one of the missing girls have been found! I just got the news that Privi has been found. The details are mailed to me so get your silly ass here as we have to go", I said almost hanging up.

"Hey wait! That's great news but I hate to break it to you that we won't be able to meet her today. In fact, for a week", he said.

"But why? What happened?", I asked feeling annoyed as to what could be more important than finding about the girl that he likes.

"I got a call from the directors. There has been a sudden change in the plan. The shoot that was supposed to happen in New York has been shifted to Miami. We have to leave in an hour so that we can reach there on time", he said.

"What? But why the sudden change of plans? What's the problem in completing it over here?", I asked getting infuriated.

"They wanted to shoot some exotic beaches. Hence, the change in plan. I will be there at your place within half an hour so get ready.", he sighed.

"FineI'll inform Davina then", with that, I hung up. All the excitement I had about meeting her went down the drain. I got up and hopped into the shower. I did my daily routine work and went downstairs to have breakfast. It was still early so Riley was sleeping. I went to his room and kissed his forehead. I woke up Davina telling her about my urgent leave. By the time I finished telling her about the change in the plan, Luke had arrived. I waved her bye and left for Miami. We reached the airport where we were met by everyone. It took us almost 3 hours to reach there. Everyone was tired so we decided to take the day off so that the other crew members could go and finalize the venue for tomorrow's shoot.

I went to my room and called Riley. I know he would be angry but it was my work. If I don't cherish it then somebody else will. People out there think that the life of a pop star is all glamourous and happy but little do they know that we hardly get time to spend with our families and friends. Sometimes, it all feels like a burden and then you lose the enthusiasm to give your best. Something like that was happening with me today. I wanted to spend time with Riley and then meet Privi. I had the whole plan in my mind as to how will I meet her and what all will I say to her but all went in vain.

Wait! Why am I thinking so much about her? It's ok to meet her after a few days, right? But why is the thought of not meeting her driving me crazy? Why is she always on my mind? Am I falling..? No! That definitely can't happen. Love is not for me. It's not love! She's just been gone for a long time so maybe that's what making me a bit anxious. After all, she can help us in finding Luke's girl. But, I can't deny the fact that just in the mere span of time, she's come very close to me. We did not spend much time together but all the time I was with her was so precious. She brings out the best in me. She knows how to get on my nerves, make me feel happy, tackle the drunken me, piss me off to death.

"Thinking about her?", someone interrupted my trail of thoughts. Luke was leaning on the door.

"Luke! you've got to stop doing that. You never forget to startle me", I said, picking up the bottle from the table and drinking its contents.

"Oh c'mon! I know how upset you have been all day. I know you are thinking about Privi, right?", he said taking the bottle from my hand.

"I wasn't upset", I said rolling my eyes while taking another bottle of beer from the fridge.

"Then how come you didn't notice the paparazzi waiting for you downstairs?", he said. I looked at him with confusion and then went to the window. I looked down to see a whole lot of people waiting for me. Usually, I go out at such occasions to greet them all but I was preoccupied with other things.

"Sorry, I must have not noticed. Besides, I'm tired after the long journey. I also need to call Riley as he must be very angry, so could you please.", I pointed towards the door.

"Of course but you know Liam you can't hide the truth for long", he said.

"What truth?", I asked but he narrowed his eyes at me and went away. He did not answer me. What does he mean by 'truth'?

Privi's POV

Shifting into the new house was difficult. I gave the address to the movers and packers while Josh went with them. I put the rest of the things in my car and followed them. I was new to this part of the town as only the richest of the rich lived here. The houses that I saw on the way were nothing like the ones in our area. These were freaking castles. Finally, we reached our destination. The view in front of my eyes was a beauty to behold. It was massive! It looked actually like one of the castles from the TV shows. I stepped out of the car and went to open the door. The door itself was giant that I had to call Josh to help me out with it. The door opened and the sight inside the mansion was so mesmerizing. I could not believe myself that this was going to be our home. Huge diamond-like chandelier hanging from the ceiling, the floor made of pristine white marble, wooden work done with such precision and what not. By the time we started moving in our belongings, Eliana arrived. The moment she stepped inside the mansion, her jaw dropped. The next thing she said made us all laugh.

"Privi, I love you so much! I hope you wouldn't mind if I start staying with you for some time. I mean I can help you with setting up the place", we started laughing when she said this. She was drooling all over the place. We couldn't stop ourselves from laughing as she was behaving like a child who had seen a box full of candies for the first time.

"Of course Eli! You can stay here for as long as you want. We'll be needing all the help that we can get", I said showing her around the place. The place was mostly clean as if someone had been maintaining it all over these years. I was so thankful to our neighbors otherwise this could never have been possible.

Josh started moving the furniture in while Eliana and I started setting up the kitchen. The kitchen had so many cabinets and shelves compared to the amount of things we actually had to fill them up with. Meanwhile, I asked Eliana about Louis. I haven't seen him for days. Even she didn't mention anything about him not coming here to help us out.

"Eli, would you mind if I ask you something?", I asked.

"Yeah... What is it?", she said while setting up the containers in the shelves. I debated on whether to voice out my thoughts or not. Finally, I thought it's better to ask her than to beat about the bush.

"Is everything okay between you and Louis? I mean he didn't come today and you have also not talked about him in a long while", I said looking at her actions. She stopped doing whatever kept her busy and turned towards me.

"I knew you would ask me about this, Privi... We broke up", she said and my jaw dropped to the floor.

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