I can’t believe I got tricked into this, by people I call my friends. I made a mental note to unfriend them as soon as I was out of this situation.

I looked at myself one last time in the bathroom mirror and saw a confident woman staring back at me. Good. I wasn’t about to let him see me otherwise. The last time he saw me, I had broken down in front of him and practically ran the way out of the room but not anymore. I adjusted my hijab pin and walked out like the boss lady I was.

There he was, sitting on the loveseat in the living room. The room filled with his scent and aura, suddenly I was grasping at that confidence I had two seconds back, trying not to lose it.

He didn’t turn around to look at me even as he heard the door closed behind me. I simply approached him with a salam and he answered with that rueful smile they had been yapping about.

“Good evening, Salma.”

“Good Evening, Abdul.”

We both kept quiet for a moment before he cleared his throat and continued. “So, an ambush right?”

“I don’t blame you, it’s the only way you could get me to listen to you. As it is, I’m already counting down the minutes I’ve given you in my head.”

His sigh was audible and I relaxed, maintaining my courage. I liked that he was nervous, the last thing I wanted was for him to recognise he still had some effect on me. His nervousness will not give a room for that. “You know, I’ve never met quite anyone like you before.”

“You should be grateful for that.” I said as I tilted my head towards his fingers that were fiddling with each other. “I dont think you’ll be able to handle having met more than one of me.”

Oh, how the tables turned. Never in a million years would I have believed if anyone had told me that I would be sitting in this current setting with Abdul, my crush who humiliated her so much that I lost all hope in men.

Now, here he was at my mercy. All anxious and remorseful, looking a lot more tired than he usually looked. The fact that he had been wanting to get my attention for months now and I kept declining made him lost all that cocky energy he used to have.

Well deserved, after what he had put me through.

The game was just beginning now.