Chapter 26: Chapter 26
Rakia stared at the ring on her left ring finger with a half-empty mind. Everything seemed to have happened just like that, Ben’s betrayal and the man’s demands and then she met Dashtan and finally they tied the knot and soon they would be married. Rakia blinked and turned her attention away from the ring, Dashtan said in a week, their wedding would be held after which they would fly to Dubai to meet Dashtan’s family.
Her ringing cell phone startled and panicked her so she picked it up quickly without looking at the caller.
“Hello,” she greeted quickly and stiffly.
“Hi, it’s me,” said the person there which made him frown deeply, she recognized him then said, “Ben? Is it you?”
There was a sigh before there was an answer.
“Yeah, it’s me, hey I-“
Without listening to the next sentence Rakia turned off the phone. It felt like she couldn’t bear to just listen to the man’s voice. Her cell phone rang again but she quickly rejected the call then turned off her cell phone. The corridor where she was currently sitting on a bench was quite quiet, and it happened to be lunch break. She chose to be alone here because the news about her and Dashtan started to spread.
Rakia gripped her phone tightly with a feeling of pressure. One call from Benjamin made all the pressure she felt even more crushing and suffocating. That man had literally shattered her life into pieces. Rakia’s tears broke but silently, she rushed to the toilet to clean her face from the tears that were like a flood, heavy and many. She was thinking of taking a leave to go home, her mind was in turmoil she didn’t want her work to be interrupted because of that. After trying to stop crying, she washed her face a few times and then wiped her wet face with the tissues available there. After that she went to her boss for permission to go home. Luckily, her boss understood and thought she was leaving because she was busy with her wedding preparations.
Who doesn’t know Dashtan. He is one of the most wanted single men who has always been the target of the media. But Dashtan didn’t really like being surrounded by the media and spouting off so he was a private man. Rakia walked hurriedly out of the Daily Singapore building to the bus stop and then set her destination once she was on the bus. After a few minutes of traveling, she got off at Merlion Park. The place was always crowded but at the moment it was quite quiet because it was probably still activity time and not so many tourists from other countries had come after the world was hit by the pandemic.
Rakia chose to sit on one of the steps that connected to a large pond below. The breeze blew her hair and hit her face. She was grateful for the quietness of this place.
“It’s already hard at first, how will it be after marriage?” Rakia muttered to herself. She let out a long sigh and then she cried again. She don’t know, she felt like her life was a fuck up in all aspects. She wanted to look tough but on the other hand her broken heart was too messy for her to ignore. She never thought Ben would commit such a betrayal, then she also didn’t expect him to sue her after he had broken her heart and now she had to be forced into a marriage with a stranger just because she didn’t have the money to pay the damages. She thought that she would marry someone she truly loved, not a stranger and a deal.
She wiped the tears that were starting to stick to her face with the tissue she had taken from the office restroom earlier. Apparently, the sadness she felt when she first received the news about Ben still continued until now. Her plans to calm down in the country fell apart. I don’t know how long she was in that place until daylight had turned into afternoon, she remembered her cell phone that she had turned off. Reaching into her bag, she turned it on and put it back in her bag and continued her solitude lamenting her fate. She couldn’t go back now and the only way was to live with it. Tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly wiped them away with her hands. Then, she heard her cell phone ringing. Because her eyes were blurred by her tears she couldn’t see the caller and immediately picked it up.
“Kia....” That voice again. This time Rakia ventured to hear whatever would come out of the man’s mouth.
“Hi!” greeted Rakia weakly. She held back her tears that gathered quickly in her throat like a lump. She swallowed many times but the lump was still there.
“I... I want to say sorry to you, for everything. Back then, I didn’t dare to tell you the truth. I knew... I was stupid and would definitely hurt you. I... Not worthy of you, Rakia... I-“
“You’re right, I don’t deserve you. I’m just an easy-going, trusting and naive woman. And as you can see now, what it would be like to be a woman like that, your heart would be broken into pieces, every piece of which you could feel piercing your soul at every corner.” Rakia said all that while trying her best not to cry even though the lump in her throat was already annoying.
However, the tears kept flowing despite Rakia’s best efforts. They were silent for a moment before Rakia decided to end the call first, without any parting words.
Rakia’s tears were instantly broken with her cell phone still in her grasp. Her grip on it strengthened as if she could destroy it right now. Unbeknownst to her, Dashtan had been watching the whole moment. The man took a seat on the stairs one level above where Rakia was currently sitting and then he embraced the woman. The sobbing Rakia just let the man embrace her. Dashtan rested his chin on one of Rakia’s shoulders.
“Why are you here?” asked Rakia after she was able to speak clearly and her crying started to subside.
“I tracked your cell phone,” Dashtan answered honestly.
“You can do that?” Rakia was quite surprised by that, she turned her head slightly towards Dashtan who was resting on her shoulder.
“Yes, I am the owner of a company engaged in science and technology, tracking is the basic thing I must be able to do before creating new technology,” Dashtan explained, Rakia looked down and her heart rate began to increase as she realized her position with Dashtan at this time. Too close and too close.
“When did you get here?” Rakia asked again.
“A few minutes ago, I heard everything, your cries and your words with Benjamin. Maybe you’re right, you’re too naive for a woman and Ben is too much of an asshole for a man. Maybe if it was you I met first I would have done the same thing as Ben.”
Dashtan’s words made Rakia frown sharply then she hit the man with her elbow with a glum face mixed with a little annoyance. Dashtan groaned softly then laughed with a heavy laugh typical of a grown man.
“Just kidding. Maybe, he called you because I paid the compensation.” Rakia was surprised again.
“Did you pay?” Rakia asked for confirmation.
“That amount is not too big for me,” Dashtan said again. They were silent for a moment.
“I almost called the police to help me find you because your cell phone was off, I was going to file a missing bride complaint.”
Rakia was quite amused by the joke.
“Yes, I was thinking of disappearing, if only I didn’t activate the cell phone, next time I’ll do it,” Rakia replied with a joke as well. Dashtan chuckled but sounded sexy to Rakia’s ears.
“Even if you do that, I can still find you. Maybe even if you escape to another dimension, I’ll still be able to find you.”
Rakia was a little touched by that remark. Whether it was sincere from the man or just to please her at the moment but it worked.
“Come on, we have somewhere to be.” Dashtan got up from her seat followed by Rakia.
“Where?” asked Rakia as she faced the man.
“We have to go to bridal for your wedding dress.”
Rakia stiffened and swallowed. She looked down nervously. Ever since she was heartbroken over the canceled wedding it had been a scourge to her. Dashtan understood Rakia’s change in demeanor and shortened his distance to the woman and took one of her hands.
“I’ll be there with you,” Dashtan said to which Rakia responded with a weak nod. They left Merlion Park to Dashtan’s car which was parked not far from where they met. When they arrived at the bridal boutique with a well-known clothing brand. Rakia froze in front of the boutique’s terrace steps as she stared at the building with a half-empty, pounding gaze.
“This must be very expensive,” Rakia thought. Dashtan, who noticed that Rakia was not following him, stopped at the top of the last step. The man turned and looked at Rakia for a moment and then chuckled. He approached Rakia and immediately carried her in front of his body bridal style. Rakia was surprised by what the man did to her.
“Hey, what are you doing putting me down!” exclaimed Rakia who was ignored by Dashtan.