It was so unusual for Michael to appear this nervous. He almost seemed vulnerable. Hera had never seen him in this state. The Michael she knew was confident, arrogant, fearless, and was always a happy-go-lucky kind of a boy. His silence, and the way he played with the gift box absent-mindedly, started to worry Hera.
"Mike, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Hera asked, her hand softly resting on his shoulder. He exhaled as if he was tired and nodded wordlessly. Hera scooted closer and squeezed his shoulder in assurance, silently offering comfort, though she had no idea what troubled him all of a sudden. He was fine before taking out that gift box.
"I'm fine, baby girl, just organising words in my mind before speaking. It's kind of weird because I never thought we would have this conversation one day," Michael said, giving her an awkward smile. He pulled his knees up, resting his elbows on them, his fingers clasped around the gift box tightened their hold.
