Love Means Sacrifice

Ch. 54: Bus Companion

Mehwish's P.O.V.

I laughed to myself silently, thinking about the events of the night, as I unlocked the door after taking an Uber home.

"Mehwish?" Ma called from the living room.

"You're still up, Ma?" I answered while I made my way to her.

She nodded, "Did you have fun?"

I settled myself on the couch across from her, "Yeah, it was really fun! The lounge was pretty and the food was very yummy."

She got straight to the point, "Was Zahid there?"

My smile faltered slightly, "Of course he was there, Ma, the lounge was Mahira Apa's friend's. She invited all of us."

"Then why did you go?"

"I-"

"You said were done with him. Remember?"

"Yes, but I can't avoid him if I hang out with the others. A lot of the times we meet as a group."

I know she's upset about what Zahid did, and I am too, but I didn't expect her to be so stern about it.

Her lips formed a thin line, "Look, being around him at work is one thing, but outside of that, I don't want you to. Are you going to forget about what he did that easily? It's not a joke, Mehwish, it's your life that he played with."

She was right.

Why did I allow myself to be less guarded around him tonight?!

But what should I do? I can't tell the squad to only invite me when he's not there. So, does that mean I should stop hanging out with them? No no, Mehwish, you're not one to run away and you love all of them. Yes. So what if he's there? My presence can just serve as a reminder of what he has lost.

"You're right." I stated quietly.

"Just stay away from him as much as possible. It will help you feel less hurt. Anyway, it's quite late. Goodnight, dear."

"Goodnight." I responded as I thought about what she said.

On Monday morning, I walked up to Stella's desk.

"Good morning!"

"Ahh, Mehwish, good morning! How are you doing?"

"Good, and you?"

"Great. Well, not so great, actually. We have a big client coming in today, Mr. Wimbley. If all things go well, then it'll be an amazing deal financially."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Everyone is so good at what they do here. I'm sure we'll get the deal."

"I hope so. By the way, when is your internship over?"

"After today, I'm only here for six more days."

"What?! No!"

I nodded with a frown.

I had really enjoyed getting to know the people at the office, learned a lot, and got to go on an unforgettable trip to London and Paris. It was unimaginable how this internship turned out and I am beyond grateful.

"I'm going to miss you, Mehwishhh!" She whined as she came around to give me a hug.

"Me too, Stella, but we'll try to stay in touch."

"We will!"

I went to my cubicle and performed my usual duties. After a while, Stella placed a report and laptop on my table.

"The report is for the presentation we have to show Mr. Wimbley. He will be here shortly. I already opened the presentation; you can just fill in the numbers. After you are done, go to the conference room and plug the laptop into the projector."