Guns firing... bullets... run... escape...

Leo... Leo...

Leo got shot...

"Leo!" I screamed as I woke up gasping for air. I was in an unfimilar room. From the looks of it, I was in a hospital room.

I felt strong arms wrapped against me.

"Hey... Shhh. It's okay. Everything is okay." Leo's voice murmured in my ear.

All the events of last  night washed over me. That incident, those gunshots and that bloodshed. I almost killed a man and I didn't even know him. Tears gushed out and I couldn't help but cry when I recalled it all.

Leo hugged me tighter, careful to not touch my injured shoulder.

"You're alive... you're alive... you're alive...." He mumured.

What I did was not correct but I did it for self-defense and to protect someone I loved. I regretted killing someone but I did what I had to do and given a chance, I'd do the same for Leo if I ever could. Fuck, I was actually in love with him.

He released from his hug and lifted my face. I noticed his puffy eyes and the dark circles around his eyes. His face was unkempt and hair messy. I've never seen his dark eyes look so sad.

"Don't ever do that again and I mean it."

I crossed my arms, "You can't tell me what to..."

Before I could complete my sentence, I felt his lips on mine. His lips were so soft and warm and his calloused hand cupped my cheek. This time, he did not hold back even a bit. He kissed me like he was drowing in water and I was air.

He paused for just a moment and then pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. The swirls of his tongue and the hint of pain when he nibbled my lips made me shudder. I forgot everything else. It was like that the world was just made up of him and I.

Suddenly, he pulled back. I struggled to keep my eyes open – I was still dazed from the kiss. He looked sheepish and blushed. I was confused and I guess he noticed my dazed out look. He glanced at the heart rate monitoring machine.

Great, this was so embarassing. My heart was legit galloping and Leo could hear it. I wished I could just disappear.        

"So – Sorry."

He chuckled and took my hand in his. He gently brushed his lips on my knuckles.

"I feel the same way." He said.

He took my hand and placed it on his chest. I felt his heartbeats mimicing the beeping in the monitor.

He continued, "I'm sorry for lying to you and putting you in danger, I should've been honest since the start. But I was so in denial about my feelings towards you."

His breating was erratic. Was he nervous? Did he feel the same way I did?

"Can we start over again? This time I promise to be honest." He said.

"We do have a history of improving things after staring over." I chuckled, recalling our second encounter in my office when I'd just discovered that Leo was my client.

"When you kissed me and told Nico what you felt about me, I swear I've never felt happier before. In fact, I wanted to tell you right there that I loved you but I couldn't I had a mission." He said.

"Wait you love me? This is news." I asked.  

He rolled his eyes. "Are you blind? Literally everyone noticed that I love you except you. Even when I was having a fake relationship with Bianca everyone could see I only had feelings for you."

"Fake relationship?"

"I dated Bianca for intel. We found that her father was responsible for Frank's death. Apparently, Don DeLuca thought that none of us would take over the family business after Frank's death and he could take over. But he was wrong so he used Bianca to drive a wedge between Nico and I so that he could internally weaken the Morettis. But lucky for us, we noticed that and made a plan." Leo said.

"So that fight, that relationship with Bianca was a charade?" I couldn't suppress my jealousy.

"Yes. All this while she manipulated Nico and me. She pitted us against each other and used us to give information back to her father. Nico and I picked it up but we hatched an elaborate plan to give DeLuca's a taste of their own medicine."

"But those fights?"

"Please I'd have punched him without any reason he's just that annoying." Leo rolled his eyes. "Like we would ever take sides against the family."

"So let me get this straight, you never really had a thing with Bianca?" I blurted.

"Meg! I almost quit the mission the last moment when I saw you in the nightclub. I was ready to put all our lives at risk and give up avenging my brother's death which I'd been planning for years. I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't utterly and hopelessly in love with you." Leo figited his hands. "We continued with the plan only when Alex promised me to make sure you and Amy escaped."

A stinging pain hit my head.

"So what happened after I passed out?" I recalled that I did not know how I came here. "Are you okay? Is everyone safe?"

"Bianca and Don DeLuca are dead." Leo said. "Rest of us are safe, except for a few injuries. You seem to have gotten the worst of us all. You were lucky that the bullet just grazed you, I don't want to leave you at the mercy of your luck next time."

He smiled nervously and cupped my cheek. He ran his thumb over my cheek and I blushed under his warm touch.

"Don't worry, you won't get rid of me so easily. Demons don't die so easily." I snorted and Leo rolled his eyes.

"I think god misunderstood me when I asked for a funny girlfriend." He said sarcastically.

"Wait.... did you just?"

He called me a girlfriend. Leo Moretti called me girlfriend and I think I could die in peace now. 

He leaned towards me and I felt my breath quicken. My eyes closed in the anticipation of the kiss. But he leaned his forehead over mine.

"That is if you'd want the most arrogant asshole as your boyfriend."

I pulled him for a kiss.

I woke up squinted my eyes as I woke up. I'd fallen asleep after taking some medicines. Leo was watching over me. I saw Riya in the doorway. Strange. Huh? What was Riya doing here?

"Hi didi. Uncle and Aunty are here too. Emily called us after that accident at the nightclub." 

"When did you guys arrive? How long was I out?" I said groggily rubbing my head.

"We just came yesterday. You were out for almost a day." Riya said.

Ritesh arrived, followed by my parents. My mom  and dad hugged me and asked me many questions. As I got engrossed talking to my family, I realised that Leo had quietly slipped away.

"How're you feeling Meghana?" My mom asked. My dad hugged me and my kissed my forehead.

"I'm just thankful for being alive." I said.

"What happened, do you remember anything?" My dad asked.

I couldn't tell them that I got caught in a mafia war. Nor could I tell them about the truth behind Leo's family.

"It was some kind of mafia attack, wasn't it?" Ritesh said. "I read it in Trinity Chronicles."

Damn my nerdy cousin for reading the newspaper. Now I had to say something to cover that up.

"Yeah but I saw some cops in uniform there who rescued us. So I guess it was gunfight between cops and gangsters. I'm not sure, my head still hurts and everything is still hazy."

"Yeah no offense but everyone needs to stop this CIA level interrogation. Meghana didi has a lot to take in." Riya said. She gave me an understanding nod.

I sighed with relief. At least someone had my back.

"I'm really glad to see everyone here." I smiled at my parents. "Tell me about your trip to India."

"You didn't miss anything. Your grandmother was sulking as always." My mom sighed.

"Hey my mom wasn't sulking." My dad protested.

Well at least they were distracted by my grandmother's topic to pay any attention to me.

"But the good thing is they got our favourite pickles from India." Ritesh added.

"Please tell me you got chilli pickle."

"They did but Ritesh and I going to finish it up." Riya stuck her tongue out to tease me.

"They're just joking. I gave one jar to Amy for your apartment." My mom reassured me. "But you can't eat it until you're well. Dr. Spencer has you on a strict diet because you are anemic so you need to have fresh fruits and veggies."

"Damn you Andrew." I cursed under my breath. "This is the kind of friends I have." I ended my sentance with the most dramatic sigh.

"Speaking of friends..." My dad cleared his throat. "That guy Leo is he your boyfriend?"

Okay what the fuck? I wanted to tell him dad it's just been ten minutes since I found out he wants me to be his girlfriend. It was way too soon to tell my parents.

"Of course they are. Leo even spent the afternoon with us that day." Riya said.

Oh damn, I'm in so much trouble. I got a boy home, it couldn't get worse than this. But then I realised I was a mature adult who lived on her own. Why was I still thinking like a teen when I had restrictions? Well, I had desi parents so I had to double think.

"I hope you didn't cook. Poor guy must've got food posioning due to your awful cooking." My mom said.

Wow mom, so supportive. I rolled my eyes.

"Can we focus on the part that I got a boy home?" Seriously, I'd rather focus on that instead of my crappy cooking skills.

"You're not a kid anymore. I hope you've thought of marriage." My dad asked.  "When are we getting grandkids?"

Oh god, not this again. Thank god Leo wasn't here or else he'd be having lot of fun roasting me alonside my parents. He'd probably get back at me as revenge for the time I played along in front of his parents.

"It's way too soon. Right now we're just seeing where things go." I said. It was the most logical answer I could come up with.

"He's a good guy don't loose him." My dad said.

"He was waiting with you for two days." Mom said. "He sat on this stool and spoke to you because Dr. Spencer said you can hear but you can't say. That was so adorable."

"He's a nice guy." Ritesh said.

"Yeah and he helped us cook too." Riya added. "He's total jijumaterial."

God, my family was more obessed with Leo than I was.

I talked to my parents for a while and caught up. It was after such a long time that I met them. 

After my parents left, Andrew came in for a check up. He checked my vitals and ticked something on a clipboard.

"So, when can I get out?" I asked.

"Just a few more days." He said. "You are doing quiet well."

"Good to know I'll survive."

Andrew checked the monitors and mumbled, "You had us all worried especially Leo. He hasn't even been home since you were brought. Amy and Emily too came over twice a day to meet you. Gigi and Nico visited yesterday along Mr. and Mrs. Moretti."

I did not know that. "I'm sorry for troubling everyone. I should get back to work soon. I wonder how much of work I have pending."

"No work until you heal." He said.

"Please, I need to plan your marriage."

"About that..." Andrew shrugged uncomfortably. "Our wedding is off. My parents found out Moretti family business and needless to say they're not happy, so they called off the wedding."

Oh god. This was bad.

"Please tell me that's not true."

"Unfortunately it is." Andrew sighed. "We're still finding a way to solve everything. Gigi and I won't give up so we're still looking out. For now, the wedding is delayed."

This was so bad. I just wished I could do something for them. But right now, all I could do was sit at the hospital and hope to heal.