His lifeline!

With steady feet, he stopped before her, “And about being on my own, then I can never be on my own, for my whole existence lies in you!” He smiled softly and knelt before her as she was sitting on the plush brown sofa in the hall. Viaan held her palms, kissed them, and pressed them to his eyes, feeling the warmth.

Her eyes softened. A soft smile curved her lips at his actions and she caressed his head. However, soon she realized something and her eyebrows pulled down in slight annoyance, “All you know is sweet-talking. First, make me mad then shut me up with your saccharin words.” She complained, twisting her lips. A thin line of grimace back on her face.

He couldn’t help but let out a hearty chuckle. Raising his head to face her, Viaan replied proudly, “But I never lie!” His words were followed by another kiss that he planted on the back of her palm.

“Okay, enough of your sweet-talking. Now, tell me why you left without informing me. Do you even know how worried I was when I couldn’t get in touch with you that night? And then, instead of my son, his assistant is informing me about his sudden departure; that too for two whole weeks.” She scolded, twisting his ear, though not very firmly.

He shrieked at the sudden change, “Ouch! Maa, I’m sorry, please leave it!” Trying to pull her hand away from his ear.

“No,”

“Maa, please, it’s hurting,” he requested innocently, still holding her hand.

“I know what hurts you and what not. No need to do the drama.” Saying so she hit his head lightly.

Leena Adams, 54, was Viaan’s mother and his only family. His father, Vivian Adams, died in a car accident eight years ago leaving them devastated. Leena was broken after her husband’s untimely demise and had it not been for Viaan, she would have ended her life in depression.

Viaan had seen his mother struggling with the grief and made it his life’s motive to keep her protected and loved throughout his life. At the tender age of 18, Viaan had become a mature man who took up all the responsibilities on his shoulders and flourished in the business his father started along with pulling Leena out of a depressed state.

“Of course you do.” Feeling his mother’s warmth, he smiled and sat beside her. That’s when his eyes caught a small white bandage on her head slightly covered with her hair falling on her forehead. “What is this? Do you get injured? When? How?” He frowned, asking all in one breath. He cupped her face to have a close look at the bandage. The more he scanned it, the more rage filled his nerves.

“I was—”

Cutting her words, Viaan shouted.

“Jack, Troy…” his sharp tone called out the names of the two bodyguards he had appointed for Leena’s safety.

Jack and Troy came hurriedly inside the house, guessing some emergency, but were greeted by the red angry eyes of Viaan.

“How did she get injured and why the hell was I not informed about this?” He shouted angrily, throwing fits of fire through his eyes. The two men gulped the fearful lump in their throats as they mustered up the courage to answer.

“Ma’am wanted to visit the museum so we took her there. She met a few of her friends there and ordered us to come back to the mansion as she wanted to spend some time with them,” Jack was the first one to speak. He looked at Troy with pleading eyes to continue from there.

Meanwhile, Viaan looked at his mother with a sharp questioning glare which was answered by her sheepish smile.

“We… We tried to stay but she refused strictly and we were left with no option. There she met with an accident while coming back.” Troy added, looking at Viaan who had shifted his gaze back to them from his mother.

The mere imaginary vision of her mother meeting with an accident drained his blood. He can’t lose his mother… his lifeline… his only family.

“You guys are fired!” Viaan took no more minutes in making a decision. Jack and Troy had their eyes widened in horror. They knew they would be scolded severely but little had they envisioned their termination.

“Viaan!” Leena gasped and held his hand, stopping him from taking the rash decision. “They are not at fault, I told them to go back!” She advocated, much to Jack and Troy’s relief. Nobody wants to lose their job. Anybody looking at their faded faces will instantly come to know that they were going to cry any moment.

“I don’t care what the reason was. They failed to protect you. Why should I keep them on the job if they failed to fulfill their commitment to keeping you safe?” Roared Viaan, glaring at them.

They knew what Leena and her safety meant to him, they knew no amount of argument could change his mind.

“This is absurd, Viaan. You can’t blame it on them. They were reluctant; my strict orders made them helpless. And even then they didn’t leave from there completely. They were around me without letting me know.” Leena tried to put some sense in her angry son, who was behaving irrationally according to her. “And you two idiots, why aren’t you telling him the whole truth?” She turned her head to Jack and Troy and snapped at them.

The two men flinched, looking nervously at Viaan, who was looking at them to complete the story.

“Would you two speak up or keep looking at me like two minions?” Viaan grunted, getting annoyed by their silence.

“We… We didn’t come back that day. Though she had asked us to return, we couldn’t leave her alone. We went away from the spot and waited at a place, within a radius of 1 km.” Jack revealed, looking at his boss nervously.

“Then how the hell did you fail to protect her from injury? She has a —”

“Auntie, your phone,”

Viaan stopped in the middle hearing someone interrupt. Frowning at the unknown feminine voice, he turned his head around to look at the speaker, only to get the greatest shock of the day.

“Kia?”