Promise

"Mia!"

Enzo was worried. Since he finished his morning practice, he couldn't find Mia, who should still be asleep in her bed. The problem was Enzo knew that Mia wouldn't dare to come out of her room if he didn't visit her in the morning.

Mia's disappearance made Enzo panicked. Mia, the name Enzo gave to the nameless little girl, hadn't been able to go anywhere without Enzo.

Because of her past, since Mia came home to Enzo's house two months ago, she always trembled with fear when anyone other than Enzo tried to approach her. If someone tried hard to stay close to Mia, she would immediately run away until Enzo had a hard time finding her. Since then, Enzo had ordered people to stay away from Mia's room until she was feeling better. But now that Mia is gone, Enzo is afraid that someone in his house will try to approach Mia again until the little girl has to run away.

Enzo doesn't like anyone breaking his orders. He planned to severely punish anyone who dared to break his orders.

"Mom!"

Enzo knows that no incident will escape his mother's supervision. So, Enzo approached Ruby, who was staring at the work file in her hand with a complicated look in her study. The woman changed her expression when she saw Enzo. Ruby smiled when Enzo called her with a worried expression on his face. Without needing to say anything, Ruby already knew the reason her son was looking for him. 

Ruby calmly moved to put the file in her hand on the nearest table before she turned to look at her son with a teasing look.

"Looking for your sweet princess, hm?" the woman teases. Enzo replied to the question by nodding quickly. He doesn't want to make small talk with anyone with his unstable emotions.

Ruby laughed as she saw her son's honest answer. As her mother, Ruby knew very well that Enzo did not like to be joked about when it came to Mia. Ruby did not want to tease her child any further, so she walked from where she was standing toward the exit.

"I will take you to meet her," said Ruby mysteriously to temporarily answer the question in her child's mind.

***

"She..."

"Shh... we could disturb them," said Ruby warningly when Enzo tried to ask for an explanation from her mother. The two of them were hiding, watching a woman with a gentle face trying to talk to a sweet girl who looked enthusiastic while playing in the greenhouse behind Enzo's house. But no matter how hard the woman tried, the girl still did not respond and continued to look at the plants as if the woman had never been near her.

Although the sight was not that extraordinary to other people, Enzo was stunned by the sight. Making Mia not run away when the woman approached her was an impressive accomplishment. Mia seemed very relaxed, even though strangers kept trying to talk to her. It had never happened before. It all felt so unreal that Enzo subconsciously forgot his anger.

"Your cousin is a smart child, Enzo. She can read and write just by listening to your instructions. She has also mastered some basic knowledge in a short time. I'm sure it won't take long before she is finally ready to continue her life like a normal child."

Ruby explained softly. Her gaze was filled with affection as she looked at Mia, who looked curious about the various plants around her. Her sparkling eyes filled with curiosity, something that she had never shown when Ruby had first taken her out of her brother's house.

"Now, what we have to do is help Mia regain her trust in others. She can't just depend on you all the time, right? I also want to see her smile and talk to the people around her. I can't wait to see her grow up happy and forget what hurt her in the past. The psychologist I chose is the best in that field. She promised to help Mia. This is only her first day, and she can already approach Mia. She's an extraordinary person, isn't she?" 

Ruby smiled as Mia looked surprised when she managed to inhale the fragrant scent of the flowers in front of her. Her gaze only returned to look at her child when Ruby finally continued her sentence that had been paused.

"You will help us make it happen, right? I know you want to take care of Mia. But one day, she still needs to be able to stand on her own feet."

Hearing that explanation, Enzo also looked at Mia, who was crouching not far from him. He did want Mia to feel better. But strangely enough, Enzo felt a strange sense of frustration when he allowed Mia to be intimate with someone other than himself.

However, Enzo was still a teenager. Of course, he was aware that he was still not worthy of protecting Mia independently as he wanted. He must first form a power of his own. A power where he was strong enough to make Mia happy without anyone's help.

Until that day came, Enzo would remain watching from the side, letting the adults take Mia from his side.

"Can Mia recover under the supervision of that psychologist, Mom?" Enzo asked quietly. Her mother smiled and nodded. "Of course she can, Enzo. She's a child who never gives up. I'm sure her trauma will disappear over time," Ruby said while pulling her son's hand away from that place. Ruby decided not to bother Mia anymore, who eventually occasionally glanced at the woman who kept trying to talk to her.

***

A month. It didn't feel like a month had passed since Mia started attending counseling sessions with the psychologist Ruby had appointed. Per Ruby's promise, Enzo himself could see that Mia looked better than when the girl arrived at their house. Mia, who had initially found it difficult to change her old habits, began to follow their directions. Mia was also no longer afraid to meet the people who lived in the house she occupied. Everything went smoothly until Enzo was able to try to teach Mia to eat using a spoon and fork.

It was sad indeed. On the first day Mia was brought to the dining room, she ate like an animal by dragging her food to the floor and eating her food directly with both hands. Mia was stubborn and did not want to sit on the bench even when Enzo tried to persuade her. No one could make Mia give in until Enzo finally had to feed her at every meal so that she would not dirty her clothes when it was time to eat.

But under everyone's patient care, Mia finally wanted to sit on the bench with the others. Mia still looked wary. But she didn't refuse when Enzo carefully tried to guide her to hold the spoon and fork in front of her.

Enzo had just finished his shooting class but insisted on teaching Mia to eat by herself. Enzo felt he had to make up for the time he had not spent with Mia because of his busy schedule, even though Enzo had to spend his precious time continuously repeating his instructions because Mia kept making mistakes from time to time.

There was not the slightest bit of annoyance on Enzo's face when he had to ask the servant for a new pair of spoons and forks again and again. Enzo gently helped Mia hold the two cutlery before using his hands to help Mia eat properly again.

"Hold it like this, Mia. Remember this, okay? I know you can do it," Enzo said patiently. Mia would have learned easily if Enzo had taught her directly. Maybe it happened because Mia felt a special attachment to Enzo, so she believed all the instructions given by Enzo compared to her psychologist.

"Now try to feed this food to your mouth and... how does it taste?" asked Enzo as he helped Mia direct the spoon that she was holding to her slightly open mouth. Mia accepted the food carefully before her eyes sparkled when the delicious taste filled her mouth.

"Delicious... Enzo... delicious."

Enzo watched with a smile as Mia's face happily stared at him with sparkling eyes. Mia's tiny lips, proportional sharp nose, and cute round eyes looked very beautiful when she was only focused on him. A feeling of satisfaction that Enzo could only feel when he was near Mia burst out when he saw the small smile printed on Mia's mouth.

Mia smiled when she knew Enzo was happy because of her achievement. The child gave Enzo a positive response by suddenly hugging Enzo. Enzo smiled even wider when he hugged the child back.

"You did very well, Mia. I'm proud of you. Thank you for never giving up until now," whispered Enzo sincerely. Enzo laughed when Mia responded by rubbing her nose against Enzo's shoulder. Enzo knew the child was embarrassed because he had been continuously praising Mia since earlier.

"Enzo... thank you," whispered Mia.

Enzo could no longer feel dissatisfied after hearing that answer. It turned out that within a month, Mia continued to produce positive results that continued to increase, thanks to the help of the people around her. Enzo hugged Mia tighter when he closed his eyes to enjoy the soft scent coming from Mia's body.

His heartbeat becomes one with Mia's. Enzo's eyes slowly closed as he silently said an oath to his little angel.

"I will protect you with everything I have."

It was simple, but he kept it until they both grew up.