THE MASKED GIRL

44

Third Person's POV

She thought she had lost the rush of electricity that he caused to jolt through her body but the jittery feeling in the pit of her stomach after his text came in told her that she still had a long way to go. Brushing him out of her life was harder than she expected and a little part of her which doesn't want the prior makes it more difficult. She was fine without hearing from him for three years but this just opened up her old wounds.

Their conversations were simple greetings here and there and nothing more. They don't text nonstop but he asked about her day and what she does. She congratulated him once she learned that he had become the CEO of the company.

The little part of her that wanted things to work out the other way was a bit disappointed with how things worked out, maybe he had gotten over her like she asked him to.

Maryam and almost all the other doctors that she knows told her that the third year is the most difficult part of medical school. She labeled her first year as the worst because of how difficult it was for her before she built strategies, maintained a solid GPA, and learned to take in an enormous amount of memorization with all that she had just gone through. She thought there would be no experience worse than that, but third-year gave her a ferociously hostile attack.

It was her toughest year, each rotation from surgery to pediatrics requires a different skill set that she has to learn on the fly. She was constantly changing teams, being evaluated, and meeting new people. What made it more difficult was that some core skills required her to do well in every rotation.

But receiving gifts on her hard days always makes her feel better, it annoyed her at first because she didn't know who the sender was. It's flowers on some days, other days greeting cards, some days chocolates, and a few times handwritten notes. The sender's name was anonymous the first few times but was soon revealed as Charming.

She was shocked of course and wondered who it could be, but his next cards after the name was revealed always tell her not to worry. She was too busy with school to even worry.

After she was done with her final exams for the semester which was late in the evening, she returned to her dorm to meet another gift on her bed. It was a skincare set of the brand she uses, it consisted of all the products she needed to restock. The written note was the one that got her.

"You've poured yourself into the exams and lost yourself in it and I trust you have shown it who the boss is. I wish you all the best and don't forget to take care of yourself.
-With love, charming"

Dark days eventually turn into brighter ones. Days turn to weeks then months and before you know it another two years have passed. She became a final-year student and she had been receiving gifts from him without a stop, She wonders how he knows when she is sad, tired, or happy. There is always a gift for every situation she is in, who he is, and how he knows such things will remain a mystery for her. The gift is never delivered when she is aware so she has not gotten the chance to ask the delivery person.

Aliyu hasn't shown any sign that he was the one sending it and she never gets to ask him. They have gotten back to the way they were within a while, they shared their day and talked almost non-stop over the phone. He has not talked to her about love or anything of its sort, it was like they never had that conversation before.

He talked to his father about her, he told him her story about how she got kidnapped and had her boyfriend killed right in front of her. He didn't tell him about her being raped just like how he didn't tell Yusuf. He asked his father for advice about what to do. He loves her enough to let her go if that is what she wants even if it will break him but he doesn't want to do that, he doesn't know what to do about it.

"You can either let her go or fight for her. The choice is yours, she had made hers so you have to choose" His father's words were fresh on his mind since they had the conversation. Let her go or fight for her?!

He would fight for her until he make her his, he just changed his method. Having her back and talking to her every day was enough for him for the time being. He knows how much she likes unfiltered affection and gifts so he does everything there is to know what she is going through without directly asking her, he gets the help of her friend from Snapchat. He wrote written notes and take pictures then send it to her friend to have it printed and collected the gift from the delivery person and keep it for her.

Charming was the name that came to him when she was persistent about knowing who the gifts were from, he will bear the nickname for Suhail. He had already agreed that Suhail is a part of her and he doesn't mind, he would do the same if he were in her shoes.

When a business trip in the company was made for some of the employees to go to Korea for a company retreat, he put his name first. It is an opportunity for the selected employees to step out of the office environment and engage in activities that promote morale and increase camaraderie. His father knew of his main purpose when he brought the idea and his name being among the members.