So did Saad's act really fix anything? I don't know or I don't think so. I mean, yes Zayan and I shared a few friendly texts yesterday after that. But what's gone is gone, right? Zayan hasn't even once called me 'sweetheart' or said 'I love you' after that fight. Maybe that level of closeness or those sweet moments will never come back. And it's okay. I brought it upon myself. No one is to be blamed.

But it hurts a little. Because once again it feels like I'm the kind of girl that no guy will ever fight for. It's always a one-time try with me. That's all I'm worth it. Just like how Sameer never came back, Zayan is not going to do it either.

I mean, he never bothered to ask me to reconsider my decision, right? It's because he accepted it as the response as soon as it was given. Now, imagine the same thing happening with a perfect girl like Raaya. Then, he would go after her until she says 'yes', isn't it?

Anyway, I can't expect such things from anyone. I'm nowhere close to perfection and I will never have a perfect relationship or find my happily ever after in a man. And it's okay. I have to accept the hard truth when it's slapped in my face over and over again. My personal life will always be mediocre. I just have to work towards creating an extraordinary professional life for myself, because that's what matters!

As I get ready to go for my morning run, my phone vibrates and it's a text from Zayan that reads, "hello 'BABE' 😆" I smile as soon as I read it. Typical me. Getting excited for the slightest of attention from Mr. Perfect Jawline. It's not even flirting though. I mean, being called 'babe' via text, that's typed in caps and within single quotation marks, is nothing but getting teased, right? Thanks to Saad's stupidity!

I sit on the edge of the bed to reply to his text and then I think to myself as to why he would message me so randomly in the morning, when I mean nothing special to him anymore. Oh probably, he is just bored and is using me to feel better. After all, that is what I am right? Just a rebound to men!

Me: lol 😂
Me: what's up?
Zayan: I was suddenly reminded of your sidekick story 😂
Me: Saad is crazy 🤦🏾‍♀️
Zayan: but u are sure about wanting a sidekick right? 👀
Me: sure why not 😏
Me: I'm definitely waiting to find a sidekick and start a perfect love story with him 😂♥️
Zayan: it's okay to look for a sidekick but maybe not a perfect one lol 👻
Me: why not? 😏
Zayan: Coz perfect doesn't exist 'BABE' 🤷🏻‍♂️
Me: haha it does 😈
Me: maybe u haven't seen any 😌
Zayan: have u? 🤔
Me: I've heard about many perfect love stories 💁🏾‍♀️
Zayan: 🤦🏻‍♂️
Zayan: for real tho
Zayan: there is no perfect relationship 😅
Me: ok smartypants
Me: I know u won't agree
Me: but there are perfect people and together they form perfect relationships 😑
Zayan: nah
Zayan: there are just normal people
Zayan: and it's the love and effort they put that makes their relationships work 😁
Me: I have no time to argue with u 👿
Me: u stick to ur opinion and I'll stick to mine 🙃
Zayan: not an argument 👀
Zayan: I just said the truth 👻
Me: whatever
Me: Don't come to me with ur realism crap early in the morning 😒
Me: anyway I gotta go for a run now 🏃🏾‍♀️
Me: bye 👋🏾

Oh man! Zayan can get so annoying when he starts talking like a realist. What's so wrong about believing in perfection? He can go to hell with his truth. I will still stick to my opinion. Perfect love exists! Perhaps one day when he has a perfect relationship with a perfect girl like Raaya, he might agree with what I said.

Zayan texts back, "ok bye 😀 have a safe run" and at the same time Salima also messages me. Her text reads, "Ilhaam do u have plans of going to Colombo today?" I ignore Zayan's message and start replying to Salima.

Me: I don't think so
Me: why? 🤔
Salima: come home for lunch then 😊
Salima: There's something that I need to tell u
Salima: I haven't even told mom yet
Me: what? 🙄
Salima: u come 😒

This is strange. What could be so not textable that she wants to meet me and speak? Is this about some stupid proposal? Nah, can't be. Then mom would be the first person she would talk to.

Wait. Could she be going through some problem like Naomi? Once again, did I get obsessed with my own issues and fail to notice something? Oh God! I have to be there for my sister.

Maybe I must take her to Second Chance and discuss this. I mean, it's not like we can't have a proper conversation at home. But for some reason, ever since Naomi's issue, I have these positive vibes about that cafe. It feels like that place could really fix broken things.

Me: nah u come out with me
Me: let's go to a nice cafe in Colombo and talk ♥️
Salima: but why? we can talk at home 🙄
Me: because u deserve it 😊
Me: pls come
Salima: what about the kids?
Me: they can come too
Me: or we'll go right now
Me: let's take an Uber
Me: I will bring u back before they get back from school
Salima: okay I will get ready now 😊

Alright then, I must change my clothes again now. No run today but it's fine. My sister is more important!

The first thing I notice as soon as we enter Second Chance is that Zayan isn't here. Wonder why! Maybe he doesn't come here this early. Slightly disappointed about his absence. But in a way, it's good. I don't want Salima to notice me acting weird in front of him.

We place our cakes on the table and sit when Salima asks me, "Can I speak now?" Poor Salima. I told her not to tell me anything until we reached here. It's just that I wanted the important discussion to take place under this roof. Besides, I didn't want the cab driver to listen to our family problems.

"Yes please, go ahead" I say and I hold her hands. I hope God gives me the strength to bear whatever she is about to tell me. If it is really what I think it is, then I'm never getting married. I will just run away and live somewhere alone, so that my family won't force me to fall into the trap of a bad man.

I expect Salima to get teary but surprisingly she smiles. What a strong person! Even at this moment she is pretending to be her pleasant self. If it were me, I would be crying by now. "So the good news I wanted to share with you is that we are buying a house" says Salima with a wide grin.

"Damn, so it's not that? I mean, sorry. Wow that's so cool! I'm happy for you!" I manage to say with a smile. But I'm still shocked though. Shocked in a good way. It is after all not what I expected! "Ilhaam, what's wrong?" asks Salima, looking confused.

"Umm Sally...it's just..I thought..nothing" I say awkwardly. She sure wouldn't want to hear that I thought of her husband that way. "What? Just say it" says Salima. Okay, now she won't stop until I tell her. I hope she doesn't get angry. "Sally, I'm sorry. I thought what you wanted to tell me was about the brother-in-law cheating on you or something. I know I shouldn't have..but..I just..you know" I say stuttering more than I do with Zayan.

Salima laughs and asks, "Seriously Ilhaam? Why would you even think that? So this is why you brought me out?" I sigh and say, "Yeah, I know it doesn't make sense. But a friend had a problem like that recently and this is where we came to discuss it. So, I don't know. I kind of assumed. I..I'm really sorry." She smiles and says, "That's fine. It's just funny. Also, not all men are bad. Just remember that."

"I guess so" I say with a nod. And I continue to speak, "Anyway, I'm sorry for not reacting right at the beginning. This is huge. I'm so glad that you are finally getting what you always wanted." Salima smiles and says, "Yeah finally. The kids are very happy too." I smile and say, "They must be. They deserve it. You should tell mom and dad too. They'd be the happiest."

"Yeah, I will tell them as soon as we go home. I would've told earlier itself but I just had to be sure about the business deal Zafar was working on. And once things finalized, I decided that I'll tell you first. So that's why I messaged you in the morning" says Salima with a smile. She looks very excited. I guess I'm forming a new kind of respect for my brother-in-law now for making her this happy.

"That's sweet of you. So tell me more about it. Where's the house?" I ask. Salima says, "I'm planning to go and check out the house tomorrow. Will you come with me?" I smile and say, "Yes, I would love to! Also Sally, we need to go on a trip to celebrate this. Perhaps before you shift to the new place, we must go. What do you say?" She nods and says, "Absolutely!"

Salima continues to happily share all the details about her new house when I see Zayan entering the cafe. He spots me too and walks directly towards the table with a confused look. Oh God! I hope the jawline doesn't do it's job today.

"Hey Ilhaam! I thought you were going for a run. How come?" asks Zayan, interrupting my sister's conversation with me. I smile at him. Salima, realizing that someone is talking to me, turns back to see who it is. She then faces me and gives me a strange look as I say, "Umm..yeah. I was planning to but uh.. cancelled it because I had to come here for something." And before either of them could speak, I say, "So, Salima is this Zayan. He owns this cafe. And Zayan, this is Salima, my sister."

Salima keeps staring at both of us with a weird smile. I'm pretty sure what she must be assuming by now. Poor thing. Her heart is going to break when she gets to know that he is just a client. Zayan becomes the typical extrovert and asks Salima, "How are you?" and then he turns to me and asks, "So she's the mother of those three kids?" I nod. Salima replies to Zayan's question and asks him the same.

He then tells her, "Your kids are adorable and very smart too. You should have brought them with you. They came here sometime back." Okay, now I cannot hide anything. He has blabbered everything. I'm definitely in trouble! It's my fault too. I should've texted him earlier and told him not to speak to me in front of Salima.

Salima and Zayan continue to speak for common courtesy when I interrupt with, "Zayan, I will come and talk to you before we leave." He smiles and asks, "Sure. Can I get anything sent for your table?" I smile and say, "No, we are good." And he leaves.

"So, this is what you've been hiding from me all these days?" asks Salima with an impish smile. I shake my head and say, "It's not what you think it is." She eye-rolls and asks, "Really? Don't lie Ilhaam. He talks to you like you guys are very close. He is even aware of your running schedule. He knows the kids. Wait, is this the chocolate guy?"

I smile awkwardly and say, "Yeah he did give me chocolates but he is just my client. Nothing else." Salima frowns at me and asks, "But you denied it when I asked you whether it's a young client. Why would you lie to me unnecessarily?" Oh dear Lord! How do I escape these questions?

"I don't know why I did that but—" I start and Salima stops me with, "You are definitely lying. You both have a thing." I shake my head and ask her, "Why would you even think that?" She smiles and says, "Because I know my sister. Generally when I try to pair you with a guy, your response would be something like 'He will never look at me' or 'Only in your dreams' but today you aren't saying that. So tell me." Well, there is no point in trying to hide it anymore. Let me just tell her the heartbreaking truth.

"Okay, here's the thing. It's complicated. I've known this guy for a few months and recently he confessed, and I told him that I need time. But then I had a fight with him and in anger I happened to say 'no'. So, that's it. It ended before it even started" I say with a sigh. Salima's face changes. She thinks for sometime and says, "But he did not sound angry at all now. It looked as if he still likes you."

"That's because he is a nice guy, Sally. That's just his normal behavior. Ever since the fight, he hasn't uttered a word about the relationship though" I say. Salima gives me a serious look of concern and asks, "You still like him, right?"

I shake my head and say, "I don't know. That's the thing. I know for a fact that he is never going to talk about it again. But even if he does, I wouldn't be able to say 'yes' just like that. He is too perfect and I'm not. I have a lot of fears. After Sameer, it's hard for me to be normal with these things."

Salima takes my hand and says, "Ilhaam, I don't know anything about him. But he seems to be a good person and you deserve someone like this. Forget about that stupid Sameer. And no one's perfect. You are equally good or even better than him. Give yourself a chance, please."

"No Sally. It's good that it ended this way. I'm a little upset but I will be okay. Besides, I don't care about marriage" I say with a fake smile. Salima sighs and says, "Ilhaam, I know you will hate me for saying this, but some day you will definitely get married, whether you like it or not. And most proposals we get are depressing! So, why won't you give yourself a chance with someone you like at least?"

"But it's over. What do you want me to do?" I ask. She smiles and says, "Please talk to him openly about whatever that's bothering you. Just get it clarified whether he still likes you. It's okay for a girl to ask. You don't have to always wait for the guy to do it." Damn! My sister has a side like this? I didn't know this. "Okay I'll try" I say with a smile. Obviously, I'm never going to try. It's just a lie to make her happy.

"My good girl! There's a stupid groom who wants to come and see you this weekend. At least I can stop them now" says Salima with a chuckle. And she adds, "How is it that your suitors always come for your rescue when there is a proposal?"

"Suitors? It's not like I have many" I say with a frown. "Two so far my sister! That's still more than me" says Salima with a wink. "That's because you never put yourself in the market out there. Too bad you tied the knot with your husband without experiencing the demand" I say with a chuckle.

"It's okay. I'm glad I did that" says Salima. "Seriously Sally, I know your husband is a great guy but haven't you ever felt like you could've got someone better?" I ask. She gives me her typical pretty smile and says, "No. Zafar is the best for me. I love him. He may not be perfect. He has a ton load of flaws. But I know, each day he tries and he does everything he can to give a better life for me and the kids. And that's what matters in a relationship."

"Wow. Yes. It makes sense now" I say. Before she could say anything, I add, "I'll book the Uber now. Let's go home. Can I quickly tell Zayan something before we leave?" Salima smiles and says, "Of course!"

I walk upto Zayan and say, "I agree with you now!" He gives me a confused look and asks, "on what?" I smile and say, "There are no perfect relationships. It's normal people with lots of love and effort that make it work. I've never liked my brother-in-law much. But he's buying my sister a house and she's so happy about it. And theirs is a real relationship that's working and imperfect at the same time. So, you are indeed right!"

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Do you think Ilhaam will take a step and openly talk to Zayan? 👀🤔

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