Mission Love

Fourteen

Recap: Ryan ended up to be my pretend boyfriend!!

This was a nightmare!
A literal nightmare. Why?

We were bidding my parents goodbye—Ryan and me. After a hearty dinner, they were finally leaving. Dad closed the passenger door for Mom, then turned and gave Ryan a stern gaze.

"Don't forget the date. Aisha, make sure he remembers. Okay, we'll call you." Dad said, giving me a brief hug before hopping into the car.

This was why!

I thought it'd be a one-time thing. But no, Dad invited Ryan to my cousin's wedding. A wedding! Not just on the day of, but probably for the pre-wedding events too. I’m guessing it'll be a soft launch of Ryan to our relatives. To show off his 'son-in-law'

God! Now what?

"Bye Piku!" Mom waved, deliberately yelling out my nickname as they drove off, clearly trying to pull my nerves. But I waved back, grinning way too much.
I bet it'll tick her off. Ha!

The minute they turned the corner, I collapsed, slapping my forehead in frustration, my gaze boring holes into the ground. Just in case the ground decided to open up and swallow me.

"Ah! Nice," Ryan cheered, and I could sense the smile as he said so.
It felt like a slap.

This motherf*cker!

My head whipped up in his direction to shoot him a glare. It happened so fast I nearly got whiplash. Ryan blinked, glancing behind him, then shrugged. He f*cking shrugged!

That was it.

"Nice?" I straightened, storming toward him while furiously pulling at the sleeves of my kurti.
"This is nice?"

"Whoa! Calm down!" He held his hands up like I had just pulled out a weapon, taking a few cautious steps back. With a click of his tongue, he started twisting his lips.

"Don't you dare scoff." I growled through clenched jaws, pointing my fingers at him.

Ryan looked at my pointed finger, then back at my face with a fake cough, turning aside.

Good! At least he wasn’t smirking.

"Okay, okay. Breathe in, breathe out," he suggested, inching closer. I shot him another death glare, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Don't be mad at me."

"It was supposed to be a simple dinner." I groaned, throwing my hands up in despair.

"But now...now it's a disaster! He invited you to a wedding! A wedding! This isn't just yet another meeting, it's... a public announcement!" I slumped over, letting out a long, defeated sigh.

"There, there. Don't worry, I'm here."

"Exactly. You're here, and that's why it got worse!"

Ryan stepped back, eyes wide and mouth agape. He took a minute to process my words.

"Wow! The audacity. To call me a problem when I literally helped you." He bellowed, raising his eyebrows with exaggerated gestures.

"Helped?" I scoffed. "With your charm? With that expensive tuxedo? Oh yeah, that really helped in impressing my parents. Great job!"

"It's not my fault they were impressed," he retorted, with a smirk already forming again.
"I was just doing my part, and here we are, playing the blame game."