ĸnocĸѕ yoυ down

Sixteen

January 3

5:00 am

The next morning, I woke up with a resolve to dig deeper. As I prepared for work, I remembered Malik's phone buzzing with that message the other day. He had brushed it off, but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe I was just being paranoid, but I needed to know for sure.

10:30 am

During a break at work, I decided to text Malik and see how he was doing. It was a small step, but I hoped it might give me some peace of mind.

Me

Today 10:30 AM
Hey love, how's your day going?

I waited for a response, trying to focus on my tasks. A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.

Malik

Today 10:35 AM
Hey Zay Zay, it's going good. Just busy with work. Miss you already ❤️

His reply was sweet, but it didn't answer the nagging questions in my mind. I decided to let it go for now and concentrate on my work.

12:30 pm

I sat in my car eating my lunch as I talked to Diyah about the Mira situation. I needed assurance that I wasn't crazy or overthinking this whole thing, not being able to get any answers from Malik was very nagging.

"Zayla it's only fair to ask him, but remember she was before you," she lectured.

"I know but it's just the fact that he's lying about the situation instead of being honest, she's contacted him at least three times since we've been together and she has made it very clear she still wants to be with him. What if he feels the same?" I was so worried that Mira would come in between us, what Malik and I have right now is special I wouldn't want us to end like this.

"If you really feel this way, you should be telling him this instead of me. If he can't be honest then you should already know what to do, if he lies about something so simple imagine what else he'll lie about." I hated when Dyah was right, she was always giving me the reality check I so desperately needed.

"You're right, I'll talk to him," I said. We didn't talk much longer since I had to get back to work but I was glad I talked about this with her because she gives the best advice.

5:00 pm

When I got home, I found Malik in the kitchen, cooking dinner. He looked up and smiled when he saw me.

"Hey, beautiful. How was your day?"

"Good," I said, trying to sound casual. "Yours?"

"Busy, but good. I made your favorite," he said, gesturing to the pot on the stove.

I smiled, touched by his thoughtfulness. But the unease from earlier still lingered. As we sat down to eat, I couldn't help but want to ask about Mira. Even though I knew I should have I didn't. 

We sat and ate dinner, while the rest of the evening passed in a blur. We watched a movie together, but my mind was elsewhere. The small clues were adding up, but I didn't have enough to confront him yet. I needed more information, and I was going to get it.

It was clear that the only way to get it was to keep my eyes and ears open. For now, I had to play it cool and not let my suspicions show.

8:00 pm

After the movie, we headed to bed. Malik wrapped his arms around me, and I tried to relax in his embrace. I reminded myself that our relationship had been wonderful so far, and I didn't want to ruin it by jumping to conclusions. But deep down, I knew I couldn't ignore my gut feeling.