The Reverence of a Man on Fire (BOOK II)

Chapter 38- One Step Forward

--Giovanni POV--

 "You know, somehow, he seems both happier and gloomier at the same time." My mother's voice was heard whispering as she sat across me.

"Yeah, I get what you mean. Maybe it's because he's just love sick? So, even though he's still gloomy, it's not the usual gloomy that we're used to," My father whispered back to her. They were getting entertainment out of my clear 'gloominess' as they liked to put it, talking as though I was some sort of science project that they simply couldn't understand.

"Your whispering isn't as discreet as you believe it to be. So, either, dear mama and papa of mine, take your whispering somewhere where it works so I don't have to hear it, or speak in a normal tone of voice so that my ears can rest," I spoke, taking a bite out of my meal as they fell silent for a few moments, sharing looks with one another before mama gained the courage to speak to me first.

"Dear, Giovanni, are you feeling alright?"

"Can you be more specific, mama? Do you mean mentally, physically, or spiritually?"

"Spiritually?" She echoed, unaware of that one. That made two of us.

"I'm good." Is what I decided to go with.

"Is this because I dragged your ass back to Italy, and away from your lover in Berlin? Because in my defence, she was helping me when I was pulling you by pushing you, remember?" Papa finally spoke up in a cautious tone, something that I took the turn to find amusement in.

It's been exactly a month and a half since I last saw my lover.

After my father made his appearance at her parent's anniversary party, I had a week to pack up to return to Italy, and in that one week, I was latched to her side like a new-born baby, unwilling to let her out of my sight for more than a few minutes.

I've been thrust into a long-distance relationship with Aurora Vandenburg, and my favourite part of the day are the evenings where I'd finally get to see her face on facetime, updating her on everything that happened to me the same day, which wasn't much, but somehow, we'd find ourselves speaking for hours on end with no end to any conversations.

I miss her, there's no doubt about that, and as soon as I'm done with catching up on all the work that I've fallen behind on in the months that I was away, I planned to return to Germany for a few weeks, simply to be with her.

And one day, hopefully, one of us will move over permanently. And that's a day that I strive for, all of this longing will be worth it then. But, I hate to admit, one good thing has come from being in a long-distance relationship, and that's the fact that my love for her has grown tenfold, which I didn't believe to be possible; In the absence of her presence, my love for her has grown.

"How long have I been living in this place?" I asked, pausing in cutting through my steak to look around the room we were all sat in, minus Lilliana since she had university in London right now.

"A bit random, but your whole life. How long is that? 31 years?" Papa answered with an odd look as I moved my head up to look at them.

"And yet, I somehow felt more at home in that penthouse in Berlin when she was with me than in this room where I've eaten countless meals with you both," I sighed.

Papa and mama shared yet another look, the curiosity diminishing into smiles.

"And here I thought we were the ones with the cringy romance," Mama laughed as papa laughed with her, leaning down to kiss the side of her temple.

"Giovanni, have you ever had a one-sided love before?" Mama asked.

"Yes, I fell in love with Aurora first. I pined after her, working to win her heart for some time before my feelings were finally reciprocated," I stated.