(Important information: Chapter 8 comes after this chapter. The chapters got switched around.)
The weather was as cold as my heart right now—piercing and cruel. This year's Eid was filled with mental exhaustion, the weariness of being alone.
The person I used to favor might have found someone new in his life, and the man I once hoped for had a girlfriend now, too. Such was this cold fate. I opened social media and saw how beautiful the lives of people my age were—people who had found life partners, even built little families with their children. Many of them had successful careers as well. Meanwhile, I was just a woman lying around, staring at everyone else's happiness, no longer even hoping to find happiness myself because my life had brought me far too many disappointments.
That afternoon... I still remembered your name and your face. I missed you, even though there were already too many walls between us and I was almost ready to give up on the situation. But that morning, I gathered the courage to wish you a happy birthday. I remembered how cold my heart used to be, until it eventually changed into one that couldn't bear to lose you.
[Happy Birthday, Mr. Keenan. Wish u all the best], that was the message I sent you. And that afternoon, your reply came: [Sorry, who is this?] Had he forgotten me that quickly? Two months had passed, and we were already this unfamiliar to each other.
Three months passed, and I found a new version of myself. Nayla was more cheerful than usual, the revenue from my business was finally starting to show improvement, and I had begun teaching one digital marketing class after another. Even though my heart was still cold and lonely, nothing interested me right now more than making and multiplying my fortune. That's right, I loved money. Everything about my life changed when I began getting hurt by love and heartbreak. The Nayla I was now was completely work-obsessed, with not even a little time to relax. The little girl I used to see in the mirror had finally grown into an elegant, beautiful young woman.
I liked this change in my life. My heart had died to the idea of love. Then, at one point, my heart began opening up again to a man named Ahmad. He was a young doctor and the son of a tycoon, and at the time, he was teaching a digital class with me at a prestigious university. His arrogant attitude surprised me during our first meeting.
“How can you not even be in college, yet get invited to speak at a prestigious campus like this?” he joked from beside me.
At the time, I simply stayed quiet and smiled faintly. Things like that didn't hurt me much. I'd been through plenty of things more painful than this.
“Sis Nay, can I take a picture with you?” a student asked me after the event.
“Of course! Come on, let's take one together,” I replied with a smile.
“Can I join too? Is that okay?” Dr. Ahmad asked, suddenly joining us as we took pictures.
I was completely shocked by his behavior.
“Aaah, a handsome doctor is joining us! Come on, Doctor, get in here!” one of the students shouted as she joined the photo.
The photo session and the event, “Entrepreneurial Mindset vs. Healthcare Mindset,” came to an end. I said goodbye to all the professors who had invited me and was about to go home when Dr. Ahmad suddenly asked me to eat at the campus cafeteria.
“Miss Nay, do you want to grab something to eat on campus first?” he offered.
“Sir, are you sure you're asking me to the cafeteria? Weren't you the one who said, ‘How can someone who isn't in college get invited here?’” I said sarcastically.
“Oh, right. I'm sorry about that. I was just kidding, Miss. Besides, you're really impressive. I got a lot of inspiration from the material you presented. Could I learn business from you?”
“I'm sorry, sir, but I still have a lot of work to do. I'll get going.”
“Miss Nay, I'm not trying to hit on you. Don't be afraid. I want to start a business, too.”
“Yeah, right. The others who came on to me started out saying the exact same thing,” I thought.
[My heart was already too tired to break again, so I kept my distance from men because I didn't want to get my heart broken again. What about marriage, then? I still prayed to be given the best partner, but I wanted someone who was heading straight to the altar—not another long, bitter, directionless story like before.]
I got into the rideshare I'd ordered earlier, and—
“Hey, Miss Nay. Why are you going to the mall at this hour? Isn't it a little early?”
I heard that familiar voice again.
“Wait, sir? What are you doing here? I must've gotten into the wrong car.”
I was about to get out when Mr. Ahmad showed me his phone screen, which displayed the rideshare app and the trip I'd ordered.
“Huh? How is that possible? Fine, I'll just get out here. I guess I'm not going to Galeri anymore. Sorry, sir. I already paid cashless, too. You can just complete the trip, okay?” I said, slightly annoyed.
“Oh, you can't just do that, Miss. Besides, what's wrong with me taking you wherever you said you were going? Galeri? Wasn't the mall your destination?”
“But I already paid for it. Yes, I want to go to Galeri, which is why I'm getting out here. You can continue on to Mall City and finish the trip. Sorry, sir.”
“You don't have to get out, Miss Nay. I don't need your fare, either. I just want to take you there, and I want to know why you've seemed so uncomfortable around me this whole time. Is it because of what I said earlier? Miss Nay, I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings or made you uncomfortable.”
“Oh, forget about that, sir. It's fine. I'm used to people looking down on me. I just entered the wrong destination,” I said with a tight smile, even though I was really trying to avoid this man's advances. Before I got swept away by his good looks—I admitted, he was handsome and smart—I was already wondering why he was driving for a rideshare service like this. But I didn't want to ask him a bunch of questions. I just wanted to avoid him.
“Well, then, there's no need to cancel. You can change the route in the app without getting out here. I'll take you straight to your destination, and I'll transfer the fare back to you. How does that sound? Consider it repayment for hurting you with what I said earlier.”
“Hmm... Fine, just take me to this destination. I'm not going to Galeri anymore. I want to walk around the mall for a bit. I'm a little tired after giving my presentation,” I said, already too exhausted to keep arguing with him. In truth, I really was heading to Galeri in that mall because I had a display of the products I sold there.
“Well, that's better. So you're bored, not upset about what I said. Why don't I keep you company? I don't have any patients scheduled until two this afternoon.”
“Oh, what if I want to be alone, sir? I feel like having some me-time,” I said, already getting annoyed with him. Why did he have to follow me all the way to the mall, too?
“Miss Nay, sometimes beautiful things are better when you have someone to share them with.”
“Fine, then. You can come with me.”
[Whatever. Fine.]
“Well, that's more like it. You seem to go everywhere alone, Miss Nay. So you probably don't know how much more fun it is to have someone to go out with.”
“Hehe, not really, sir. Whenever I want to go out with someone, I go with my boyfriend,” I lied.