The trouble maker

Chapter - 42

"I really thought he was your son." I confessed after we were alone on the rooftop, star gazing together, drink in hand.

Apparently, this building was an orphanage built by Alex's real father, which Alex inherited after his untimely death, it was supposed to be closed but Alex reopened it when he received one gift that made up his mind to continue in his father's footsteps. Maria Igraine, who was now one of the most popular artists in Montana, she was an orphan which Clifford, Alex's father took under his care, back at a time when the orphanage we sat upon was not yet built.

Maria Igraine was just another lonely orphan who was obsessed with painting, the walls were usually where she painted, but that was until one day, when Clifford discovered her, and spotted her potential and undeniable talent, and took her under his wings, gave her a proper teacher, sent her to arts school.

"After many years of my parents' death, I got an unannounced gift one day," Alex explained, "It was my father's portrait, it was so real that for one split second I felt like he was staring at me, the painting had this vibe, a spirit which I can't seem to explain with mere words." He touched his hair, looking rather perplexed revisiting old memories.

"There was one letter with the picture, it was signed Maria Igraine, from Clifford's School Of Arts"

I raised my eyebrows as I smiled, "Clifford's School of Arts? Now that's a fine thing."

He shared me a smile, it was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance in it, that you may come across it two or three times in life, "I know, I was also pretty amazed, it was amazing, she named her school after my father." He sounded chuffed and proud at the same time as he talked about the deeds of his father's great work.

"Then I went and visit the place the following day, as soon as I stepped inside the building, the first thing that caught my eyes was my father's portrait, hung right at the heart of the building, so big and so...." He was so lost in himself as I listened to his stories, "Mighty."

His warm breath poured me over the story of how he reopened the orphanage. "She felt that she owed a great depth to me as she was living her dream life solely because of my father, and suggested that she became a partner for my father's orphanage which was closed for 5 years already, she was willing to invest as much as needed to continue what my father had started, I never thought I'd re-open this orphanage, I never even care for orphans before," He confessed, "But that changed when I notice the change in people's life because of my father's goodness and re-open the orphanage in secret."

I felt kind of privileged that he'd always let his guard down around me, "Why in secret?" I asked curiously, "I'm not able to take full charge until I turn 21, no official documents are arranged yet, so given the fact that Richard's my step-father and blood related to my father, he has the authority to shut it down he if wants to, I don't want to risk that."

Who would believe this? That Alexander Bilimoria secretly owned an orphanage? Well, they did say never to judge a book by its cover, that exactly applied for Alex.

"What about Kevin? When and where did you meet him?"

"In Slovenia."

I gave him a confused look, "That far?"

"Yes, it happened rather unintended, I was on a vacation and I ran past this orphanage, I had no intention of visiting or any sort, I just parked my car, and stared at the children playing."

I changed my sitting position to a more comfortable one so that I could enjoy his story better, "Then I spotted one boy, in the corner, sitting alone quietly." He clarified.

"Kevin." I whispered, and he nodded, "I went up to him and asked him his name, well, he didn't answer me so I thought he didn't speak English, I remembered asking myself how do they say 'good morning' in Slovene."

"Then Kevin answered me," He smiled, "Dobro Jutro, Kevin said, then I asked his name and he told me it's Kevin then I continued to ask him why he was not playing with the other kids, then he look at me with his blind eyes." He sighed, "He was only 3 years old."

"I can't express how hard this world must be for a blind 3-year-old boy without a parent." I shared my sympathy for Kevin, "How old is he now?"

"4 years, it was last year when I met him and took him here, in my father's orphanage, he was the only person I ever felt some strange fondness for."

He stared at the dark with a solemn look, I kept quiet for a moment and was completely startled by his sudden movement the next second, he turned his gaze at me as fast as the wind passing on my hair, and it was so sharp that I was so unprepared for.

"Then I met you." His eyes dived right into the ocean of my eyes, "You're the only one I've been losing my head for. I want to be your world, and I want my world to be yours." He declared, I knew how Alex felt towards me, well, everyone knows, but to hear such words without having a second to get ready mentally almost broke my heart out from my chest.

Seconds felt like an hour, and his voice was wild tonic in the open air filled with nothing but pitch-black, I had to follow the sound of it, for a moment with my ears alone, before any word could come through me, "Why me?" That was the only thing I could think of.

"Why not you?" He asked back even before one second elapsed, then I felt his hands on my back, pulling me closer to him, for one moment I was afraid that he would hear my incredibly loud heart race.

Our faces were just an inch apart, and then I could no longer feel the winds around me, nor my heartbeat, all I could feel was his eyes staring at me as if I was a cool glass of water and he was a man dying of thirst.

"Idon't expect you to have the same feelings I have for you overnight, all I'masking for now, is to let me love you." He charged on me and without asingle haste smash his lips on mine.