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❝Once upon a time, a girl fell in love with her husband and made the stars realise that they'd gotten her soulmate wrong.❞
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It's a daunting thing, your first love. It's new, making you unsure and doubt whether it's love or just a mere...
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I WATCHED HER LEAVE.
I watched her turn, hair whirling around with her, and stalk off to the exit, each of her steps lined with purpose. I watched the blue silk of her dress swish around her ankles as she moved, heart heavy with guilt and regret, emphasised when she disappeared from my sight.
"Come on! Kiss!" The people in the crowd continued to plead, some having lost interest, some finding it to be their only source of entertainment.
Raya frowned up at me, her brown eyes growing more disappointed with each passing second. She was beautiful and someone else would be extremely lucky to be with her someday, but that person wasn't going to be me.
Maybe it was because of the ring that still weighed heavily on my finger despite my broken relationship. Maybe it was the fact that all I could see was blue anymore and that brown or any other colour was a foreign concept. I wanted blue to stare at me with trust. I wanted blue to watch me like I meant everything to her. I wanted to see blue burn in desire. I wanted her blue to shine in love, hope and everything in between as she gazed up at me. Or maybe, it was just the fact that even looking at another woman felt like a betrayal of my true feelings.
"I can't." I took a more pronounced, large step back this time. "I'm sorry but I can't kiss you."
The crowd booed, finally realising that their hopes had been squashed. It took me far too long to do so anyway.
"I know that it's tradition," I said to the people. "But I can't kiss someone who isn't my wife. I won't."
They suddenly grew quiet, leaning closer in curiosity.
"My wife and I are in the process of getting a divorce," I explained to the room full of strangers, finding the situation almost comical. "She left just a few minutes ago and I don't blame her whatsoever. She's most likely on her way home, thinking that I kissed someone else. She's most likely cursing this entire sham of a marriage, cursing me for not being able to leave her alone even after I was the one who insisted that we separate. But I made a mistake. A horrible mistake that I need to rectify and I need to leave."
Surprisingly, they yelled words of encouragement.
"I'm sorry, Raya," I apologised to the woman I'd known for no more than fifteen minutes. "It was great meeting you and if we ever meet another time, you can take every liberty to yell at me."
She chuckled. "No, it's fine, Zayaan. It was a short-lived dream anyway and you didn't even give me the slightest indication that you were interested. It was all on me. But go. Please hurry and go to your wife. Explain to her what happened and for the love of God, don't be a stupid dick like every other man and make your feelings utterly clear to her."
"Will do." I strode away, only to meet another obstacle when my mother blocked my path.
"Before you leave, I need to know something, Zayaan."
