Maisara's pov
Waiting for someone with whom your last encounter was a mess is probably the most awkward thing to do. I don't have any idea what Lydia wants to talk to me about. It's not like I was planning on never crossing paths with her ever again. But, indeed, I wasn't planning on doing that at least any time soon. Well, to be honest, I was trying to forget about the whole thing. I was successful to some extent.
But Allah has some other plans for me, it seems. So here I am, sitting in a cafe and sipping my all-time favorite dark coffee after my office hours, waiting for my ex-roommate to show up so that we can have an even more awkward conversation. Luckily, the meeting about the project went well in the morning and I didn't have any cursed encounter with Oliver all day. That describes why I am in a better mood than expected.
Taking another sip from the coffee, I look down at my phone. 19.29. Another whole minute. That is if she actually decides to show up at the exact minute we planned to meet. I never had to meet up with her like this, so I don't know if she is punctual or not. It will be irritating if she shows up late. One or two minutes should be acceptable but if-
I pull my head up just in time for her to walk through the double doors of the cafe. Her eyes scan the whole area and just as I'm starting to debate whether I should pull my hand up or not, she finds me. Her lips form a huge grin as she starts making her way to me.
"Hey, Maisara." Her words get muffled in the soft fabric of my hijab as she wraps her arms around me. A smile automatically forms on my lips as the sweet scent of her shampoo hits my nostrils. I hug her back. "Hello, Lydia."
She pulls back with the sweet smile still on her lips. I gesture for her to take the seat opposite mine. Tugging her hair behind her ear, she takes the seat. Putting her bag on her lap, she crosses her arms over the table and finally looks back at me. The smile widens if only that's possible.
"You are looking happier," I comment the first thing that comes to my mind. She flashes me her teeth this time. I notice her pulling the lace of her sleeve that has almost reached her fingers. My random guess is that something happened to make her happy like this.
"Is it that obvious?" she asks and I notice her cheeks have gained colour. Yup, something definitely happened.
"You being happy? Of course, it is. You are literally glowing," I say, taking another sip from my coffee. A waiter shows up at our table just after that to ask her if she wants to order anything. Her eyes scan the menu before she gives him her order.
She looks back at me when the waiter walks away. "You are also looking.......different." I notice her taking the time to choose the word carefully. A weird feeling erupts in my chest at the realization and I ignore it.
"Good different or bad different?" I ask with another sip of the coffee. She scans my face for a few seconds before answering, "Good one. You look less grumpy."
I can't help the smile that slips past me. And surprisingly, I don't try to hide it. "I'm taking that as a compliment." Then before she asks something else, I shift the topic back to her. "So, what happened?"
She feigns ignorance just like I expected. "About what?"
I visibly roll my eyes. "The thing that made you giggly and bubbly."
She actually giggles in response. The waiter comes back just in time with her order and places it in front of her. Thanking him as he walks away, she turns her attention back to me. An uncharacteristically serious expression takes over her face. She moves her hand to grab the coffee cup and that's when I notice it.
Light reflects on the single white stone of the ring on her left ring finger. Undoubtedly, an engagement ring. The reason for her sudden happiness.
My eyes snap back to hers. She is already looking at me and has seen me seeing her ring. There is no use in hiding my surprise anymore. "Is that-"
She nods confirming my thought. "Yeah, it is." She takes an unnecessary break to sip her coffee. Then she continues, "Ryker proposed me two days ago." She pauses again and I realize there is something more to that. It doesn't take long for her to drop the bomb. "The wedding is in two weeks."
A wave of shock runs through my body making me shiver. It takes me a few seconds before I finally manage to say, "That's nice, Lydia. Congratulations!"
It feels anything but nice. I know I should be happy for her. And part of me is actually happy to see her radiating a happy glow. But I can't shake away the feeling that something is wrong here. It's not that I still have feelings for him or that I'm jealous. It's something else, like a gut feeling, that something is going to be wrong.
"Thanks but-" She squints her eyes at me. "Why don't you look happy?"
"What are you talking about? Of course, I am happy." I force a smile and realize that this is probably the first time I have forced a smile. I'm not used to smiling a lot but I never had to force a smile before. How did I even reach this stage of life when I have to force a smile? "I'm just surprised."
She doesn't look convinced, still narrowing her eyes at me, but nods anyway. Taking another sip of her coffee, she moves on to the next topic. "Actually I have a request for you."
My heart does a nervous flip, a bad one. My mind starts taking me to random places. It isn't what I think it is, is it? It can't be. "What is it?"
She starts hesitating, rubbing her fingertips against the lace of her sleeves. I hold my breath and my tongue, in case I end up snapping at her. My patience is running thin. Can she say it already?
Clearing her throat, she finally opens her mouth. "I want you to be my bridesmaid." She pauses, then adds quickly, "If you don't mind."
So it is what I thought, after all. I just stare at her blankly, having no idea what to think, what to do, or what to say. Being a bridesmaid at my only ex's wedding. Is it normal? It also happens to be my only friend's wedding. I cannot just ignore that.
"I can say no?" I know it probably sounds stupid and rude but I still ask just to be sure that I have a way out. The way her face falls at my word pinches my heart. Still, she nods.
Silence prevails. Both of us start sipping our own coffee silently. I start thinking about the pros and cons of agreeing to be the bridesmaid at her wedding. The feeling that something is gonna go wrong is still there. It's probably because Ryker is involved here. I clearly remember the wild look of revenge in his eyes before James and Ian took him away from that fight with Felix. I know what Ryker is capable of. He will not just sit back and endure that insult I gave him. He will do anything to get back at me for that. I will not be surprised if he does that at his own wedding.
But I'm not willing to ruin that wedding for Lydia. She doesn't deserve that. If anything, she deserves all the happiness of the world.
Her voice breaks the silence. "You can have the time if you need." I look up at her. She flashes me a smile that doesn't necessarily look fake but I don't feel like it's genuine either. "But you need to let me know your decision by the end of the week."
I nod taking the last sip of the coffee. "Thanks. I will let you know."
She signs the waiter to give us the bill and then turns back to me. "There is another thing. I have moved in with Ryker. So you can move back into our apartment. You still have your stuffs there." She stops me pulling up her hand when I go to protest. "There are no negative feelings attached. They are gonna rent it to anyone else anyway. I want you to keep it."
The amount of emotions behind her words forces me to keep my mouth shut. I don't agree or disagree with her. This is another matter I need to think about later.
The waiter comes back with our bill. After paying the bill, Lydia says, "I wanted to spend more time with you but I have a lot of work still left to do. Wedding preparation, you know."
We get up together and make our way to the door. I wave my hand dismissively and gesture her to walk out first. "It's okay. I understand."
She walks out of the cafe and turns around to face me. I follow her out letting the door shut behind me. "Come with me. I will drop you off on my way."
I shake my head eyeing the dark pavement and watch a black Prius turning the corner. It doesn't require much effort to see who is driving the car. "I'm meeting someone else after you actually."
"Felix, hm?" My heart flips hearing his name like every other time. But a twisting sad tug at my heart follows it this time. I find Lydia with a teasing smile and offer a small smile of my own without saying anything else.
The car stops in front of us. Lydia sees that finally. She wraps her hands around me and I do the same to her. "I'm leaving then. Say hi to Felix from me. See you soon." Then she walks up to the car and gets inside.
The disastrous and hateful look the person driving the car gives me just before driving away is enough to confirm my doubt that this wedding is not just gonna be a wedding. Ryker has just made sure that he is plotting something against me. It's probably a wise decision to turn down the offer to be Lydia's bridesmaid. It will even be wiser if I don't attend the wedding at all.
I start walking in the other direction when the car leaves my sight. I lied to Lydia. Well, I didn't actually lie. She was the one who assumed it. I just didn't bother to correct her. I'm not meeting Felix tonight. He canceled earlier. I'm just gonna go home and take rest for now.
The twisting feeling returns in my chest. I rub my hand over it. I may have a heart-related problem and may need to consult a doctor.
The sound of an incoming text on my phone interrupts me. I open it to find a whole-ass paragraph from Felix. I instantly stop walking and start reading it.
"I know I canceled the reading session for tonight. But if you don't mind, can we meet after ten tonight? There is no pressure, of course. I may have a long night and seeing you may keep me sane. You can totally say no, no pressure. It's totally understandable if you don't wanna though. We don't even have to do anything. If possible, please meet me, I just wanna see you. Let me know your answer. I will be waiting."
The amount of happiness I felt over this one text is seriously concerning. I reply back instantly with a huge grin plastered on my face.
"Where do you wanna see me, idiot?"
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