It was five years later, and the liar, Rashied, was standing right before my eyes again. “I needed to see you”, he nervously blurted out.

I stared at him blankly. “Look, I don’t have any more time for you to waste. So, if you don’t mind, I have somewhere I need to be,” I responded while trying to close the door in his face, which he had so gracefully earned five years prior.

While I was closing the door, Rashied placed his foot in the doorway, and stopped it from closing. “I know you’re cross but I now know what I want. I choose you, I choose you. I miss you,” he said with a puppy dog look in his eyes.

I could not help but see flames when Rashid uttered those words. “After 5 years, you re-appear in my life and tell me that ‘you choose me?’” I responded with a huge scoff.

Instead of responding, Rashied backed away from the door, looking shocked. He was shocked to realise that I still held a grudge after five whole years.

“You know what? I was fine before you showed up. So, I don’t need you to come back into my life and cause anymore ructions,” I said while viciously poking him in the chest.

“Ouch!” Rashied yelled as his eyes marked my engagement ring. He stared at it for a while, then pretended as if he had not seen it. “I see, you still haven’t grown out of that cattish streak, hey?” he continued while letting out his infamous, mischievous smirk, as if he was trying to charm me.

Rashied’s reaction made me even more furious. “Urgh, just go away. I don’t ever want to see your annoying face again,” I said while slamming the door on his smug mug.

After closing the door, I could not believe what I had seen. Rashid looked just as cute in person as he did in his photos. But, what was I saying? I was getting married soon. But, I also wondered why he had to come back, and while thinking, I realised that I needed to get work, and that I needed to be anywhere besides the house.

Later that day, I did not find myself at work. Instead, I found myself obsessively thinking about Rashied. I was thinking about all the time we had spent chatting, the promises we had made to each other, and all the hurt and scars he had left me with. I just wanted to be alone for a few hours because seeing Rashied’s face in person had reminded me about what we could have had, and whether we would have been married by that time had we still been chatting.

It is probably one of life’s many mysteries, but we will never know why the thought “what if?” always finds a way to haunt us. “Excuse me, ma’am, your cell-phone has been ringing for the last minute,” the waitress said, snapping me out of my deep thoughts.

“My cell? Oh shoot, thank you,” I replied in a distant manner. “I’m so out of it. Today, isn’t my day.”

The waitress looked at me with a pitiful face. “You know what? Here’s a strong Macchiato on the house. You look like you need it,” she said, taking pity on my situation. She then patted the top corner of my shoulder lightly and walked away.

“Thanks so much,” I replied with a smile. “What is it with me and waitresses?” I mumbled beneath my breath.

After the waitress left my table, I checked my cell-phone and realized that I had 10 missed calls from Malik, and 12 missed calls from my office. Malik must had been wondering if I was okay, but, while looking at the phone, I wondered if it would be wrong if I told him I was not in the mood for him at that moment. But, out of courtesy, I called him back.

“Salaam, Layla. I was so worried about you. Why didn’t you answer your cell-phone? I called your office. Where are you? Are you okay?” Malik asked worriedly. I tried answering him, but he would not give me the time to speak.

“I’m fine. I just needed a day to myself, that’s all. Maalf (Sorry) for making you worry,” I finally responded calmly.

“It’s alright, my love. I’m just glad you’re okay. Don’t forget about our family dinner tonight. I’ll not be able to face your grandmother alone. I think, she wants to force feed me,” Malik said in his casual humorous tone.

“What dinner?” I asked, laughing. But, instead of a response, my question was followed by an awkward moment of silence. “Gotcha! I was just kidding,” I said, chuckling. “I’ll be there.”

Malik let out a sigh of relief. “Future Mrs, you’re going to give me a heart attack before our wedding,” he responded, jokingly.

“The Corpse groom,” I said, and we both laughed.

That was how my relationship with Malik was. It was easy, fun, and uncomplicated. He was the perfect guy for me, but my mind still dwelled back to Rashied, and I always wondered what was wrong with me.

***

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