The Mafia Bride

39.

The next morning we'd said our farewells to Valeria and thanked her for our hospitality. Amy and Alex had their flight scheduled this afternoon so they were to leave Columbia after us. Leo had already left the previous night. I was in the flight with Emily, Gigi, Nico and Andrew.

I was sitting with Gigi and Andrew.

"I hate London." Gigi blurted. "I hate the unpredictable weather, the fact that they call is chips not fries and I hate the accent, it is so pretentious."

"That's a little extreme, isn't it?" I glanced sheepishly at Andrew, he was British and this obviously wasn't the most appropriate thing to say in front of him.

Gigi crossed her arms. "His mother calls me a tart."

Andrew shook his head disdainfully, "She didn't mean it, she just overreacted."

"I can't believe you're taking me to your place again. Your parents have made it clear that they can't stand me." Gigi's voice trembled. "But you never defend me."

"Gigi..." He tried to protest but Gigi snapped her seatbelt open and walked off.

"What's up with you guys?" I asked. "When did things get so ugly between the two of you?"

Andrew sighed and sunk into his seat. On closer look, I noticed the dark circles and puffiness under his eyes. He looked so tired and stressed.

"Ever since my parents cancelled the wedding, Gigi has been upset. It's understandable but she uses me as a punching bag and keeps blaming me for everything. I understand when she chooses her family over me but she never seems to understand it."

"Aww Andrew." I placed my hand on his shoulder. Poor poor boy. He was going though a lot I could tell. Being caught between your family and significant other is really stressful. "I wish I had some advice to make this better but honestly, I don't. I've never been in such a situation. So all I can say is have patience. You and Gigi have a strong relationship and she'll come along when she's calmed."

He cracked a faint smile. "Thanks, Meg." He said. "If it isn't too much for you, can you talk to her? Gigi adores you. And I bet you can help her understand my side."

"I can't promise to solve everything, but I'll certainly try." I saw an eye pack lying around and handed it to Andrew. "Here, try to catch some sleep. You look stressed."

He smiled and slipped the eye pack over his eyes. Well, that was my cue to get up. I decided to check up on Emily.

She was solving crossword puzzles and eating peanuts. We had a super long flight so I was glad she came equipped. She offered me some peanuts as I sat next to her.

"You look stressed." She said without lifting her head up. "Work or Leo?"

"Both." I sighed. I popped a peanut in my mouth. "Leo and I barely made up and now he's away."

"You're lovesick." Emily chuckled. "You look cute when you pout like that. I'm so clicking a picture and sending it to him."

Emily grabbed her polaroid but I smacked it away. "Don't."

Defeated, she raised her palms. "What's bothering you?"

"Work. I don't know how are we going to work without our office. And I'm missing home." I looked outside the window at the pretty clouds. "And I hate being away from Leo."

"As far as work is concerned, you know together we can get over anything, right?" Emily said, her big and warm eyes sparkling. Her optimism was infectious. "But I'm afraid I can't help with Leo."

"He's so mysterious and aloof, it is frustrating." I sighed. "I mean, I never know what he's thinking or feeling. Does he miss me the same way I miss him? Why did he love me? And what does he love or hate about me? So many questions but no answer."

"Eep!" I jumped when I felt my seat shake. God, was this flight crashing?

Emily and I turned back to the laughing sound. Great, it was just Nico playing pranks on us.

"So mature." Emily rolled her eyes.

Nico chuckled, "What? Everyone else is asleep. You two looked like you could use a laugh."

"We were discussing something serious here." I crossed my arms. He was such a prankster.

"Yeah you were talking about my brother, I heard that. And..." He smiled teasingly. "I can help you with that."

"How is that possible?" Emily asked. "Unless you're secretly a mind-reader, which I doubt you are."

"I'm a hacker and I know that Leonardo despite his alpha male image is actually an emotional softie. He's like a teenaged girl who keeps a diary only his diary is in his phone. A lot of times I've gotten into his account and read his entries. Surprisingly, there's quite a lot about you in it."

"That's insane." Emily blurted. "And illegal too." Emily glared at me. "You wouldn't be doing that because it is a violation of Leo's privacy and trust. Your relationship is built on honesty."

Nico shrugged dramatically. "Oh well, if you don't you'll never know what Leo thinks of you. He's too dumb and scared to tell you what he feels."

"Scared, why?"

"He thinks sappy stuff drives girls away." Nico said. "And he hates looking emotional."

"Meg!" Emily blurted. "You cannot possibly think of it."

"Actually... I'd love to know."

"Only if you agree to help me out in exchange." Nico said. "It is fair."

Emily rolled her eyes and mumbled, "If I were you, I wouldn't trust him. It's a horrible decision."

Nico pouted and made an innocent face. "Why do you hate me so much, Em?"

"I don't trust anyone who has pickle vodka." Emily said. She flashed her tongue at Nico.

Okay, there was something budding here and being the designated cupid of my group, I simply had to do something about it.

"I'll help you out Nico. I hope it isn't something regarding your family business."

Nico laughed throatily, "God no. Leo and my entire family would kill me if I put you in danger. It's something else." He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Anyway, I'll try to recover the files I'd saved."

I couldn't wait to know what Leo actually thought of me. Reading his private diary felt so wrong but hell, I had to do it. I was way too curious and nosy to not do it.

#

A/N: 

So my laptop broke down and I lost all my stories in it, (which was like my worst nightmare come true) It took me some time to remember and re-write what I'd planned. Hence the shorter update. 

Since many of you have asked me for a Leo POV, I decided to introduce it in the story bit by bit. 

#