4. A FAMILIAR FRIENDSHIP

At Evening, 

Nina walked out of her office building to reach her home as soon as possible. She wasn't feeling good due to the things happening to her since yesterday, so she wanted to reach home safely as soon as possible.

"Nina," a familiar voice echoed in her ears as she walked towards the pavement. She immediately turned and a smile appeared on her face.

"Jasper?" She smiled after looking at him. "Hey," he came near her. 

"How did you know I work here?" She curiously asked.

"Well, I did notice your id card yesterday," he replied with a smile as he pointed towards the id card hanging on her shirt.

"Smart guy," she smiled.

"Actually, I wanted to thank you," Jasper spoke with a smile. 

"Thank me?" She looked at him.

"Yeah, because of your help. In fact, those voices didn't retreat during the night and I could sleep peacefully. I haven't slept peacefully for a whole year, so you have no idea how much it meant for me. So I have to thank you," he confessed.

Nina couldn't understand what she should say. She just kept quiet and heard whatever he has to say. For the time being, she felt attracted to him, something she hasn't felt ever.  All her troubles, all the shit going on her head, it just vanished and she felt happy, she felt calm. She smiled at Jasper.

On the other hand, Jasper's world stopped when he saw her smiling. Her eyes, her smile it comforted him weirdly and he couldn't figure out why. In fact, he didn't want to find out why she was comforting to him, he just wanted to hold onto that comfort because it felt good. It felt like finally there was an escape from the battles which was going on in his head. 

"Shall we go to a cafe or somewhere else, where we can talk?" Nina asked, finally breaking the silence. 

"Yeah sure," Jasper immediately replied.

"So let's walk," Nina smiled.

"Well, I have a car, we can go on a ride, or even we can walk, whatever you are comfortable with," he softly spoke.

Nina felt good as Jasper behaved like a gentleman. For him, her opinion mattered, even if it was for a petty thing like walking or a car ride. She jas met with so many shitty men in her life, that she thought she won't get a good man in her life. But Jasper's sweet gestures, it made her feel good, it made her happy.

"Car is okay," she replied.

"Let's go then," he spoke and both of them walked towards Jasper's car.

After a short ride, they finally reached a restaurant. 

"A restaurant?" She looked at Jasper. "Yeah, dinner time is approaching so I thought having dinner together will be a good idea," he replied.

"Yeah, that's a really thoughtful idea," she replied and both of them smiled at each other. 

They got out of the car and walked towards the restaurant for having dinner together.

They settled down on one of the tables and looked around the place. It wasn't a posh or expensive restaurant, yet the place was beautiful and cosy. It had a very warm and feel-good vibe.

"This place is cute," Nina spoke. "Yep, it's my favourite spot," Jasper replied. 

"Well, then let's have something that you like," she looked at him. "Oh, I would love to feed you my favourite food," he winked.

Jasper placed the order to the waiter and turned towards Nina, while Nina kept on staring at him. She didn't know why, but she felt good spending time with him. She felt happy, she felt stress-free. After whatever happened last night, it broke her from within, but then, Jasper's smile, his little gestures, it made her feel better.

But then, she realised whatever happened last night and the smile on her face vanished and was exchanged with fear in her eyes. She looked at Jasper who was looking at the menu to find something more to order, and she feared for him. She didn't felt good, she felt horrible at that moment.

"Hey, what happened?" Jasper asked as he noticed her pale face. 

Jasper's words brought Nina back from her thoughts and she looked at him. "No, nothing," she nodded. 

"Are you okay?" He asked with a genuine concern in his mind.

"Yeah, I am. Actually, something terrible happened yesterday and I got reminded of it just now," she confessed.

"Hey," Jasper held Nina's hand, "listen to me," he looked at her as she looked at him. 

"We all go through terrible things, no one is spared from it. Terrible things do happen in our lives and we have to bear them. But we have happy moments as well. Yeah, the ratio of happy moments to terrible moments differs for everyone. For some, it's more happy moments and less terrible ones, but for some, it's exactly the opposite, while some have an equal share to it. Let's think about the ones who have more terrible moments, we have met such type of people. We can deny, but after deeply thinking, we do. And when we see those people, they are happy, they have a genuine smile on their faces and then, somewhere deep down, we do wonder, how can they be happy even after so many terrible things happening to them? Am I right?" He asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Because they cling on to the happy moments of their lives. They have hope, that even if something terrible has happened, maybe it has paved a way for something beautiful waiting for us. This can happen na?" He looked at her.

"Yes, it can," she replied.

"Then, be happy, cling on to that hope, maybe something beautiful is waiting for you as well. Something pure and perfect," he made her understand.

Nina heard his words carefully, she understood everything he wanted to say and then she nodded.

"Yeah, you are right, maybe something good is about to happen, that's why something terrible happened yesterday," she spoke, gazing at him with a smile on her face.

She was surprised, that the guy she met just yesterday was soothing her. He didn't even ask what happened to her, or what she is going through. He didn't even try to breach her private space, yet he somehow managed to solve her problems. 

She felt attracted to him, she felt like she wanted to spend more time with him. He made a place in her heart with just two meetings and she made her mind to keep that place just reserved for him.

The guy didn't even tell her how beautiful she is or how beautiful her smile is, yet he managed to penetrate her heart, make her feel special with his words unknowingly.

While on the other hand, Jasper tried his best to solve whatever problem Nina was suffering from. He loved her smile and so he didn't like her sad face. He didn't want to know what problem she was going through, but he did want her to be free from or problems. He felt comfortable with her, he felt sane and normal with her. He felt like every other being, which he didn't felt for a long time. And drew his heart towards her. The comfort she gave him, attracted him to her.

As they chatted with each other for a while, the waiter arrived with their orders and served them food. 

"Spaghetti Bolognese," she chirped as she saw the main dish.

"Yeah, it's my favourite," he spoke.

"Well, it's my favourite as well," she happily replied.

"Then shall we eat?" He winked.

"Sure," she smiled and then took a bite.

As she took a bite, she closed her eyes and felt like she was in heaven. "Yumm, this is so good," she spoke as she was lifted by the taste of the pasta.

"I told you," he winked which left both of them in giggles and both of them enjoyed the dinner.

Both of them enjoyed the dinner and talked a lot. Although they didn't talk about each other, instead they talked about the latest technology, or the latest microprocessor, the big bang or the cosmos and the universe, but their conversation was a great one and in the end, they did exchange their numbers.

After having dinner, the bill arrived. "Shall we split the bill?" She asked. 

"No, the dinner is on me, as a token of thanks, for helping me yesterday," he replied.

"Well, you helped me today, so I should provide you a token of thanks as well," she spoke.

"Then, treat me for dinner or lunch the next time," he winked.

"Okay fine, but the tip is on me now," she argued.

"Okay, no arguments," he raised his hands, laughing.

Jasper paid the bill, while Nina paid the same amount as a tip. Jasper looked at her when she did that and gave her an 'I can't win from you' expression to which she laughed.

Since it was late, Jasper insisted on dropping her home which she couldn't deny. She got into the car with him and he drove. He stopped the car in front of her building.

"Thank you for the great evening," she smiled. "You are always welcome," he proudly replied after which she smiled at him and got out of the car. 

She waved goodbye to him and got inside the building.

As Nina reached her floor, she went towards her apartment. She stood near the door of her apartment and was about to open it when the incidents from the last night appeared in front of him. Her hands trembled in fear and she closed his eyes.

The moment she closed her eyes, the image of Jasper came into her mind while his soothing words echoed in her ears. It calmed her, she somehow regained her strength, opened the door and walked inside the house.

As soon as she walked inside, the terrible night appeared in front of her again, but then her phone pinged. She took out her phone and it was a message from Jasper. She opened the message.

"Good Night, and yeah, always remember to smile, your smile can win over all the terrible things happening in your life."

As she read that message, she automatically smiled, her fear vanished within a moment.

Lucian's Room

Wilson entered Lucian's room with a file in his hand.

Lucian was scrolling through Nina's social media accounts on his laptop. Wilson noticed that yet he chose to ignore his boss's new grown obsession.

"Boss," he addressed Lucian. "Yes Wilson, speak," Lucian replied.

"I have got all the information about Nina and it's in this file," he replied as he presented the file to the mafia.

"Good," Lucian smiled as he took the file from him.

"It has everything about Nina, from her favourite colour and food to her relationships. Everything is mentioned here," Wilson informed.

"Very Good, Wilson," Lucian replied as she started to read the information on the file.

"Is there something that I need to know in urgency?" Lucian asked. 

"She isn't a virgin," Wilson answered.

"Well, I wanted her virgin, but it's okay, I can be a bit broad-minded, but yeah, she has to learn to safeguard her character and not be a whore. Anything else," Lucian spoke.

"She had a three-month relationship in her teenage years," Wilson spoke and Lucian looked at him, "but luckily, they both are not in contact since they broke up," he concluded.

"Okay," Lucian replied.

"And there is a guy in her office. He wants to impress her so that he can date and marry her," Wilson informed.

As soon as Wilson spoke that, Anger seeped in Lucian.

"Bring that guy to me," he ordered Wilson as his lips formed an evil smile while his eyes spat anger.