Veil Of Innocence

Chapter 21

      Vanessa (Zainab’s Best friend)

“I’m doing everything I can and will continue doing so until she’s mine. You don’t understand Vanessa; she’s just so amazing.
And hey who said I’m in for serious relationships and all that crap, we can take it slow, go with the flow you know.
Whatever she’s comfortable with”
He promises

“I know what you’re saying and I’ll tell you this, she likes you ok, but she’s scared to admit it”
I say with a heavy heart

“Why tho?”
He asks, curiosity evident in his eyes

“And if things were different I wouldn’t have encouraged her, but, since I’m dating Raf and seeing how nice love can be; I also want her to give it a second chance.
Plus you’re not that bad”
I ignore his question completely, knowing that only Zainab can answer it

“Jeez thanks for the compliment Nessy”
he chuckles

“I don’t want her to third wheel, I want all of us to go on double dates and hang out together.
And I like the fact that you’re not asking for my help and doing everything by yourself!
Let her see you for who you are, not for who other people take you to be”

“I just hope it’s enough”
he puts his hand through his curly bronze hair

“Yeah one more thing, please don’t be all love struck and cute and mainstream, she hates that.
And stay away from the word boyfriend”

“Got it”

“And if I see so much as a frown on her face because of you, I will break your balls Alexander Petrov”
I warn him in a deathly tone

“Don’t worry, if that ever happens I will break them myself”

                                 ......

“Zai what do you think about Alexander?”
I casually start

“Gosh Nessy you keep asking me this question.
What is there to think about?”
Zainab rolls her eyes

“I know you like him”

“I do not like him.”

“Look I know you had that bad experience and you don’t believe in love anymore but you gotta give it one more chance.
You’ve learnt your lessons so you’ll know how to take precaution, just don’t block it away entirely like you have done for so many years now.”

“Hey, I believe in ‘I love you’ what I don’t believe in is ‘I’m in love with you’”.
Is her out of the blue reply

“You don’t need to be scared of this, let your emotions out for once.
How long will you keep them buried inside?
How long will you refrain from the positives you can get from having someone care for you?

I begin my impromptu speech

“I had a similar opinion about love, just like you do, but look at me now with Raf.
It’s an amazing feeling and I want you to experience it because I care about you and I know you’ll love it.
Nobody is forcing you to date anyone, just let your guard down for once and become close to this guy.
See where things go, let him care for you.
This will be nothing like what happened in the past; that was just bad luck.
We’re all grownups now and we take things more seriously.
I’m not pressuring you to admit your feelings to Alexander but just admit them to yourself, I’m just telling you to give love another chance be it with him, or any other guy that is serious about you.
But in the end I’ll always stand by your side no matter what.”

“Fine, I like him. So what? It ends there.
I’m not going to make a big deal out of it.
And I’m still wondering how he managed to break through my solid brick walls.
Plus I’m going home for summer break; I’m sure this stupid feeling will die by the time I’m back”
She only picks one sentence to reply to out of the whole paragraph, typical Zainab

“He really really really likes you Zainab.
Just give in, and trust me it won’t be awkward at all.”
I convince her, hoping to change her mind.

Yes I’m rooting for Alexander even though he asked me not to, not because he’s a great person, but because I want Zai to experience love for what it is, before her feelings die down again.

So Ibrahim and Zainab didn't meet and she was talking about Alexander!
Don't kill me just yet people, I promise they will meet.
So I'm interested, who has any predictions on what's gonna happen next?
Let me know in the comments 💜