Wow so it's happening. I never thought this will happen so soon. Yes, I'm getting married to Haroon today. Arranged marriage of course but everything looks perfect and everyone is happy. I'm dolled up and I even feel pretty. Haroon is seated next to me and he looks like a goat. He's holding my hands and he really seems to like me. Maybe I will learn to love him too. So this is my happy ending after all! It's all good until I spot a face so familiar. Oh crap! Sameer is here and he's walking towards me. Why the hell would he come here when I didn't even invite him? I can't do this anymore. I'm not happy. I'm not ready for this marriage. Oh God! I can't breathe. I feel weak. And that's it I faint and the last words I hear are, "Open your eyes Ilhaam!"

I get up and sit on my bed all confused like I've just seen a ghost. Mom is standing next to me holding a cup of tea in her hands. It's my room and mom is in normal clothes and so am I! There is no Haroon! There is no wedding! Wow so it was a dream after all. And that was mom's voice trying to wake me up for work that I heard at last.

Okay that was the strangest dream ever! Somehow I'm smiling endlessly and I'm not sure why I'm doing that. Is it because I dreamt of Haroon as my husband? — Eww no! Or is it because the whole thing was just a dream? — Probably.

There's this conversation with Sameer that keeps playing in my head over and over again where he says "I love you" to me. I mean a hopelessly romantic one that I'm most likely to imagine about — or did it really happen?

Sleep deprivation can really drive people crazy, I guess. And maybe mom is right about phone overuse causing memory loss.

I unlock my phone and open Instagram. Sameer replied to my story last night, so his name is right on top in my DMs. The last message from me is a heart. Why did I send him a heart?

Wait, so it actually happened? Nah, everyone on Instagram uses a heart to end any conversation and that's perfectly normal. Better check it anyway.

So, I click on his name just to confirm whether I'm imagining it or not. And this is what I find:

Sameer: S — I guess it's me 😛
Me: Or maybe Saad 😂
Sameer: Nah I know what ur heart wants 😉
Me: how do u know what my heart wants? 😛
Sameer: I know everything 😇
Me: Wow smart boy! 🥳
Sameer: thanks 😘
Me: Okay leave that 😂 tell me what kind of girl do you want? We have a good broker to find u a match! 😉
Sameer: A girl like u ♥️ can the broker do that for me?
Me: A little hard because I'm a special edition but let's see 😛
Sameer: What would it take for me to get exactly the special edition? 🧐
Me: Figure it out! U are the smart one 👻
Sameer: What if I propose to the special edition? Would it work? 🤔
Me: May be or may be not 💁🏾‍♀️
Sameer: I love you Ilhaam ♥️ Will you marry me? 😌
Me: lol nice proposal 😂
Sameer: You are supposed to say 'yes' or 'no' 😒
Me: Okay the special edition says 'yes' 😘
Sameer: 😍
Sameer: Wait, were you serious about what u just said?
Me: I dunno 🤷🏾‍♀️ were u serious about asking me that?
Sameer: if u were serious, then yes me too
Me: same...if u were serious, then I was too
Sameer: Ilhaam I'm 101% serious. I love you ❤️ I gotta run to work now. Get some sleep. Will call u by afternoon babe 😘
Me: Okay babe 😍 I love you too
Me: ♥️

Woah! So it really happened! I'm not crazy. I wasn't imagining things. Sameer really did say "I love you" to me and called me "babe"!

So, that's it? All it took was a few hours of late-night flirting via texts to get a confession from your crush? Didn't know it was this easy. I would've done this long time back had I known this would be the outcome.

So, are we a thing now? Like a real couple? Of course we are! Wait, am I crying? Yes, I am crying. But why am I crying?

It's because I'm in love for the first time! I've got a boyfriend for the first time! This is like a miracle!

Just after having a taunting conversation with a random groom and his family, someone I like finally says that he likes me too. God is kind after all. Even girls like me can find true love.

This is the happiest day of my life. I wish I could tell everyone I know about my new relationship. Or maybe not. I mean, what if this is all a prank? What if Sameer is just playing with me? But he said he's 101% sure about it.

I hate this! I hate my insecurities trying to spoil happy moments for me. Or are my insecurities trying to save me from embarrassment? What if none of this is true?

Okay, I need to calm down. If Sameer calls me in the afternoon I will know whether he is genuinely in love with me or not. It's simple as that. Now it's time to get ready for work.

After wasting 1.5 hours in the traffic, I arrive at work at 8:45 am. Just 15 minutes late — that's pretty good, looks like I'm making progress with my punctuality.

James is talking to the infant in his cabin. They seem to be in a deep discussion. Why would they have a meeting so early? Should I go in and join them? Nah, if I'm needed they will call me. I better just go to my seat.

Not really in a mood to work today because on one side I'm too happy and on the other, I'm afraid whether it is all part of a prank. I better read last night's conversation one more time just to be sure it really happened. But will it help in anyway though? I already read it five times in the bus and I'm still unsure as ever.

As I struggle with my overthinking, the infant returns. He takes a seat and starts watching YouTube videos as usual. I kind of want to tell him about last night but maybe not yet, not until Sameer calls me.

So, I ignore him and keep staring at the laptop screen when he says, "What's up love bug? You look both happy and tensed." Okay, how did he notice that? This is what I hate about my face. It's very incapable of expressing emotions when necessary but sometimes overdoes it to a point that even a dumb kid like Saad can notice it!

"Nothing. Just the usual" I say and he starts laughing. I didn't even say anything funny! Why is he doing this?

He finally stops laughing and says, "Oh come on Ilhaam! No offense but your usual is staring-like-an-angry-bull-that-was-given-bitter-gourd-for-breakfast. Not these overflowing smiles."

What the hell? Did he just call me a bull? I know I have a resting bitch face but that comparison is way too much! "Have you ever seen a bull eating a bitter gourd? That's a weird comparison. Also, it's rude" I say.

"See, even now you can't stop smiling. You are trying to sound mad but it's not working" says Saad with a chuckle. "Dude you are impossible!" I say and check myself on the phone front camera to see whether I'm smiling like he says and yes I'm doing that. Ugh!

It's 1:00 pm and there's still no call from Sameer. And I'm actually worried now. Why can't I have a normal love story? Why should even this keep me on the edge?

I try to distract myself by asking Saad, "So what are you watching?" He gives me a strange look and says, "A video on work-life balance. This guy is good. He talks a lot about it" pointing at his screen.

"He looks good" I say and Saad replies, "I know right. I feel terribly ugly every time I look at this guy's videos and pictures. He's got a great personality too."

Wow so guys have inferiority complex too? I didn't know that. Plus, Saad is fair and the YouTube guy is brown-skinned. So there's no color-based beauty standards among men? Must be nice to be a man!

As I keep thinking of these, Saad says, "Wait, you are not really interested in knowing what I'm watching or who this guy is, right? I mean, it was never you. First, the smiles and now, you are over-talking too. Did your lover boy say something?"

I look at him, not knowing what to say. I mean, how does he keep blurting all truths about me today? This is insane!

"That's not true and my behavior has got nothing do with Sameer" I say with an eye-roll. "Oh come on! You act this strange only when he makes you happy" says Saad.

Alright, maybe I should just tell him. It's not like he's going to tell anyone else, right? So it's fine. At least he will help me understand this situation.

So, I start telling Saad, "Well actually —" when I get a call on my landline from James. Oh man! James is annoying. He always does this at important moments!

I walk into James' cabin and take a seat. And James does what he does best — staring at his laptop and acting as if he never wanted me here in the first place.

"Ehem, you wanted me to come?" I ask and he finally says, "Yes, let's talk a bit about the new project's progress. By the way why are smiling like that?" Wow, so James notices it too.

"Smiling like what?" I ask. "I don't know. Never seen you smile so much before. Got a boyfriend or something?" asks James with a chuckle.

How does he even know? Is he a psychic? Or am I being that obvious? Maybe I was so single before that my emotions can't stop showing up after last night.

Eww! I guess I am acting like one of those new brown brides that look all sunshiney soon after the wedding as if they found heaven on earth. Never understood why they do that, but now I get it. It's embarrassing though. I must stop this!

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Is Sameer being real or is it just a prank? 🤔
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below ♥️

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