When Eliyas suggested that he will take me home.. He chose not to go through formalities such as waiting for my approval.. Which, honestly speaking, wouldn't have been obtained, consequently, he skipped as well the step of insisting to drive me in his car despite my continuous rejections, since a businessman has a big insight and values his time and effort, He simply said he'll take me and that was final already.
I haven't even opened my mouth yet when he called his secretary and cancelled his schedule for the day, And by the passing insisted:
_"Â check the employees who accompanied me to the clinic earlier and make sure no unnecessary words are spread by them"
After he finished talking on the phone, he looked at me again and asked:
_"do you need me to send someone to bring your bag and coat for you?"
_"No need for that.. I'll go bring them my self, and I need to take a leave for the afternoon as well"
Initially, I was planning to refuse going with him.. since I felt much better than the morning I wanted to work the afternoon shift at least for the purpose of leaving a first impression of an employee who works in the heat and in the colds of life and not even sickness affects her dedication, since after all, all that I could offer to a business company with my journalism degree was only "dedication".
But seeing this workaholic ex husband of mine doing such a rare unprofessional act such as canceling his agenda for the day just to drive my highness home, I didn't have the heart to refuse nor negotiate.
I was thinking about how to apply for a leave in the first day without making my superior think of me as a useless person when Eliyas added:
_" then I'll be waiting for you at the company entrance with the car.."
Then, he reluctantly walked out of the room.
I just sighed looking at his fleeing back and wondered:
" why is it that every time I try to push this man away I find myself pulled towards him with stronger force?"
When leaving the clinic's bed .. I gave it one hesitated final look then I decided to tidy it up before walking away, While I was doing that the little nurse who helped me earlier walked inside the room again and looked at me with the expression "I'm dying to gossip!" Written all over her face, she handed me a paper and said:
_"this is the doctor's prescription, I'm afraid the doctor is busy with another patient at the moment, you seem in a hurry I guess you can't wait for him to come back, so you can ask the pharmacist about the prescription"
I looked at the prescription skeptically, and I thought that the honest "duty oriented" doctor I met earlier probably wouldn't just ask the nurse to toss the prescription to me and simply sends me off, it must be that she came by her own free will.
She looked at me for a bit before adding:
_" I didn't mean to hear your discussion with the big boss earlier.. But I heard him saying he will pick you up, I have checked earlier that you're a new recruit with an ordinary position, so I'm wondering what relation you have with him"
"Such a shameless person in length and in width*" I thought to my self, though her words were insulting somehow I still chose to be the better person and I warned her:
_"some matters should better be not known and better not spoken about for the one's own sake, I suggest you forget about what you heard earlier.."
I snatched the prescription from her hand.. then I walked out of the room to go back to my department.
It was surprisingly easy to get a leave.. My superior even smiling said:
_"your health is the most important matter, recover well then come to work"
In comparison to my previous manager at the radio station who would probably shout:
_"you dare apply for a leave for a simple cold!? Just have some olive oil and go back to your work, unless it's not a matter that needs an urgent operation don't you dare come ask for a leave again!"
The difference was so big that I felt even guiltier towards the new merciful superior for being sick right in my first day.
I took my bag from above my desk, then I headed down to meet Eliyas at the entrance of the building.
Once I was in the lobby.. I noticed a bit of commotion happening there. Few female employees were staring from the windows looking at something happening out in the street.
I'm a journalist even in heart, seeing such a thing already made my levels of adrenaline have a pic.. And without even thinking about it I found my self standing in the middle of the group of women and staring out of the window as well.
_"our big boss is indeed very handsome" one of them commented dreamingly.
Following everyone's general direction of sight I finally realised that the big event happening out there and making such a large group of female employees come to look at, was simply my ex husband standing beside his car and waiting.
His eyes were fixed on the building's entrance.. And his face already started to look reddish from the cold.
I felt somehow weird seeing how other women looked at him. After I gave them all a displeased gaze, I held my phone and in a split second a message was already written by me and sent to Eliyas.
After reading its content, the handsome man everyone was looking at suddenly turned to look at his car again, he tapped on the window glass.. And after the window was opened he had a short talk with the driver who was sitting inside the car leading this latter to simply open the door and walk out of the vehicle. I threw my phone inside my bag again with a sense of achievement and watched as my ex handsome husband installed himself on the driver's seat and quickly drove away under everyone's disappointed watchful eyes.
One of the brokenhearted employees said with a frown:
_"what happened? It seemed like he was waiting for someone so why did he just leave after checking his phone?"
Since I was the traitor in question, I quickly dismissed my self and walked out of the company to meet Eliyas feeling sinisterly pleased with others disappointment. I had asked him in the message to dismiss the driver, to personally drive the car, to stop at about two streets away from the company near a certain coffeeshop and to wait for me there.
I'm actually quite surprised with the speed in which I wrote the message, I can only attribute such world record of fast typing to my previous work in writing articles and to the group of female workers who ignited my possessiveness spirit.
The familiar coffeeshop window frame I asked him to park beside soon appeared to my sight after few minutes of walking in the street, in the past I used to meet with some lawyers or simple eyewitness working in this part of the city in this shop to interview them about certain news or scandals for my work in the broadcasting channel.
Seeing this place again brought so many memories to me.
Once I arrived there.. I spotted the expensive black car parked right across the street.
For some awkward reason.. I started to laugh when I finally saw Eliyas's face behind the driver's wheel, I guess I felt silly involving him in a cat fight without him having any idea about it.
_" should we go have lunch somewhere first?" Eliyas soon suggested after I opened the front seat door and installed my self beside him, seeing my smiling face he somehow was contaminated as well and started smiling.
Since I was in an unexplainable good mood after the childish thing I did, I felt so generous and suggested:
_"no need to go anywhere, I'm inviting you to a lunch at my house.."
He soon started the car, while driving in the familiar destination towards my house he didn't ask me about my sudden mood change nor the reason why I asked him to dismiss the driver and personally drive me.
The only illogical yet somehow making sense question he asked after a period of driving was:
_"what are we going to eat?"
That "we" made me unintentionally turn towards him and have a look at his face, he was still smiling .. Driving enthusiastically as if we were heading towards the most amazing place on the surface of earth.
I took a deep breath then answered:
_"don't get your hopes so high.. I don't have much ingredients in the house, so I'll just fry whatever I find.. And maybe make some soup"
_"I'm going to make a stop first at the mall.. It won't take long" he suddenly informed me.
After hearing this .. My mouth already started to droll, it must be that he wanted to go buy some delicious savories since my menu didn't seem appetizing at all.
When he finally stopped and left the car to enter some well known big mall I was feeling so excited remembering that this ex husband of mine is the richest man in the country after all.. So the food he'll buy must be so expensive and delicious. I even selfishly started to think that maybe I should trick him into coming to my house for lunch more often in the future just to make him buy expensive meals for me to eat!
I really didn't profit so much from being married to him in the past .. So there was no shame in doing this as long as that man still refuses to be logic and divorce me.
I was above the clouds when Eliyas came inside the car again.. And once my eyes fell on the actual thing he bought from the mall my hopes crushed so hard I lost all the good mood I had earlier.
_" did you stop here and waste my time only to buy clothes!" I shouted very displeased.
He looked at me with an innocent face and explained like a jerk:
_" you said you're going to fry in the kitchen .. My work attire will smell like food, so I need to change it"
I felt like a vein popped in my head and immediately I regretted inviting this ungrateful scum. I shouted again:
_"you have a hundred tuxedos! So what if one of them smells! Forget it.. It's my fault for having you in the first place!"
I didn't speak further to him all the way .. And when we reached my apartment I even thought about slamming the door shut on his face and not allowing him to go inside.
But I didn't do that, Once we walked inside.. The place was a mess, I didn't even bother tidying up the place for him, after all, I have no intention of impressing him.. It serves me even better if he builds a poor impression of me and just give me my divorce.
I hang my keys and took off my shoes and coat. when I looked at the tall man standing behind me again I found him staring at a certain spot on the sofa with his face turning red.
I followed his gaze only to find that my laundry was piled there, and right on top of the pile .. "Feminine" wears rested like queens.
It's only because the weather is cold I usually dry my clothes above the stove after washing them.. And earlier this morning I was sick and in hurry so I simply took them from above the stove and piled them on the sofa not to let them fall by accident in my absence on the hot stove and burn the whole house to aches.
But this Rich husband of mine wouldn't understand the struggle of the poor anyways. So I didn't feel like explaining any of this to him.. Instead I said:
_" don't act like you haven't seen any of this before .. Just take off your shoes and go sit and wait for me to finish making lunch."
Although I had no intention of tidying up the space earlier.. But seeing that Eliyas had even darker shades of redness on his face after my words I felt obliged to hold the pile of clothes and take them to my room to fold them before putting them inside my closet .. Once I finished this task, I put on my pyjamas and walked out to the living room again.. I found that Eliyas had already changed his clothes to the house wear he previously bought from the mall. When seeing me walking out of my room he said:
_" can you help me hang my suit in your closet.. I don't want it to crease or to smell like food as well"
Such a shameless person!
Not only this.. He even was petty enough to follow me to my closet and make sure I wrapped the suit properly before hanging it inside!
_"can I use your laptop to work?" He further continued his chain of shame.
So I shouted on the verge of losing my sanity:
_"Eliyas Filladi! Could you be even more thick skinned!"
_" I won't ask for any thing else.. I only need the laptop"
_"if you want to work so badly then why did you cancel your schedule in the first place!"
He looked at me for a bit before calmly replying:
_"I came because I'm worried about you"
After hearing his answer.. My rage subsided quickly, and more calmly I said:
_"there's no need for you to have any concern about me .. Both my life and death have no relation to you"
I brought my laptop.. then I handed it to him saying:
_" here.. It doesn't have a password"
When I was cutting and frying in the kitchen .. I heard Eliyas making lots of work related calls in the living room, somehow it felt very familiar.
In the past almost all the time we spent together was just like this .. Him working on his laptop and I working on mine.
I really didn't know much about him except for the few details he seldom unveiled when talking, and he didn't know about me better as well..
While stirring the vegetables I suddenly heard movement in the kitchen. When checking the door I found Eliyas leaning on the door's frame and watching me work.
Such a petty person! Did he think I would poison his food!
_"what do you want?" I asked annoyed.
He walked further inside the kitchen, took a cup from the drawer and while filling it with water from the tap he said:
_" i'm thirsty"
Seeing him almost drinking water from the tap I felt like another vein will pop inside my head.. If I have more of this man i'll get some head stroke in the near future.
I immediately turned off the fire under the pan and quickly put my hand on his to push the cup away and stop him from drinking that water.
_" you really are clueless aren't you? Every single notice in the city says don't drink from tap water."
He stared at me unblinkingly.. And suddenly his hand that I was still unintentionally holding tightened her grab on the cup.
Sensing his movement I instantly withdrew my hand and apologized:
_"i'm sorry"
_"Noursine"
He suddenly called my name.
Although I was right in front of him and he didn't need to say my name at all.. But like I said before, he really loves calling it.
_"yes" I replied.
_" just like you unintentionally care about me, I care more about you as well .. So in the future don't say words like your life and death don't matter to me because they do .. A lot."
He then emptied the cup in the sink .. And handed it to me as if asking me to pour water for him to drink.
After I did this I went back to the pan of vegetables while Eliyas simply stood in the kitchen and kept observing my culinary skills.
_"you seldom cooked for me before"
he suddenly commented.
Giving him my back I sarcastically replied:
_"you didn't need to eat what I make in your villa"
_" hmm.. It was my mistake for letting us live there in the way things were, I should have paid more attention to your feelings."
He surprisingly commented.
He started to walk closer to me .. Even giving him my back and being surrounded with the sounds of cooking I still heard his distinguished steps coming closer.
He extended his hands all at sudden, and while wrapping my falling sleeve he whispered in my ear:
_" seeing the happiness I could have had but I missed.. I feel so regretful."
His voice really sounded in pain.. Even though I try to act tough all the time but once I hear the sad tone in his voice I immediately flip and become sensitive.
Of course I absolutely don't want this to happen.. To soften.
So I quickly turned behind me to look at him and said in one breath:
_" I just invited you for lunch and I'm cooking it so don't start talking about unpleasant things and ruin the mood"
After a second thought I asked:
_"why are you so close?"
when he Looked at me there must have been something strange about my face.
Maybe a piece of chopped vegetables landed on my cheeks .. Maybe the oil flied on me or even the spices I used dirtied my face by accident.
If none was the case then I really can't think of a logical reason as to why Eliyas Filladi who was talking painfully suddenly started smiling with no frames once he looked at me.
And he was so close.. And by close I mean that even his breaths were fanning my face since I turned in the wrong moment. Seeing such a handsome man smiling from that close of a distance even a corpse's dead heart would start to beat again. Not to mention my healthy alive heart.
And now let's start reflecting on the events that happened prior to this moment so that I can explain to you the "I don't know what's wrong with me" thing I did next:
1_ this man was my husband
2_ I haven't met him in 3 years
3_ he is very handsome
4_ I had a lot of pain killers
5_ he was smiling
The deadly 6_ he was too close for me to resist.
Well he was Eliyas after all.
I couldn't help it .. I just stepped on my toes.. Circled his neck with my arms. And kissed him.