Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha

Ch. 23: Salt for Wounds

Alizey's P.O.V.

Mala engulfed me in a tight hug then pulled back, "How have you been?!"

"Alhamdulillah! What are you doing back in LA?!" I turned to my cousin, "Harris, remember Maliha? She was my best friend in school? She moved away to Chicago in ninth grade?"

He stood up and smiled, "Yes, I remember. We've met a few times at some of Zey's birthday parties."

"Yep," Mala nodded politely. "Please, sit." We sat back down as she continued, "My family moved back here a few months ago and they just bought this restaurant. I had moved out after college, so I was still in Chicago. But my parents needed help managing the restaurant, so I moved back too. It's been only a week. I still haven't finished unpacking yet."

"You're living with your parents?" I asked.

She shook her head, "I got my own place. My mom's siblings immigrated from India, so they've been living with my parents for a few years now. It's too many people at home, and I like my own space."

"Felt," Harris nodded.

I smacked my cousin's arm lightly, laughing, "What do you mean? It's only you and your parents at home."

Mala and Harris laughed. "I'm still trying to settle down, but I would've reached out," Mala explained. "Are you still in touch with Dana, Ricky, Marcus, or Jazlyn?!"

They were our good school friends, though Mala and I were always the closest.

"No," I pouted. "We all went to different universities and got busy. I still have them on Instagram though. Jazlyn had a baby!"

"What?! Is she married?!"

"No. She has a boyfriend. It's his baby."

"What about you, huh?" she glanced at Harris cheekily, "Any special man in your life?"

"Zey's married," my cousin revealed with a smirk.

Mala's eyes grew large like saucers, "What?!"

I smiled awkwardly.

She shook her head, "What?! Okay, hold up. Let me get your orders and then I'm joining you guys. You have to spill all the beans, every single one of them." She quickly jotted down our orders then returned to our table after giving it to the chef. "Tell me everything. Who is he? Where did you guys meet? What does he do? Where's he from-"

"Slow down!" I giggled. "You don't know him. His name is Fawad. We met through a mutual friend in college. We dated for about 8 months then-"

"They eloped," Harris interjected mischievously.

Mala's jaw dropped. "You two eloped? You ran away from home?!"

I scrunched my face, "Sort of?"

"Who are you?!"

"Who are you? Tell me about you," I laughed.

"We'll get to me later. And then what? Your dad didn't kill you?"

"I'm still here, aren't I? But no, he was angry. He still is. My mom loves him though."

"Aw. I hope Jalal Uncle comes around soon. How are your parents by the way?"

"Alhamdulillah. And yours? Are they here?" I looked around.

"Alhamdulillah. No. They're off today, which is why I'm here. Oh! One second," she got up and tended to the next set of customers that walked in.

After she returned, I asked about her, "What about you? Are you seeing anyone?"

"Abbas. He's my friend's cousin. It's going to be two years soon. Long distance really sucks already."