My Wife, My Man?

Chapter Twenty-four

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." Lao Tzu

A choice

That was what he had given her. All she had to do was freely choose, and whatever decision she made would lead to her happiness. But somehow, though it seemed so simple, she couldn't get herself to pick. One way or another, she knew both choices held consequences.

Leave or stay? That was all she thought about. It became a distraction, the reason she couldn't focus on anything. Like termites, her inability to decide ate her up from the inside. She didn't know what to do.

"Hello, Perli..." Liz snapped her fingers in front of her face.

Perli shook her head, freeing herself from her thoughts. She stopped leaning on her car and raised her brows.

"Talk about being a daydreamer." Liz frowned, adjusting the textbooks she had in hand.

Perli faked a smile at Liz's remark. She chose not to take offence, knowing how easily offended she could be, and laughed it off. "Ah, wena!" She shoved Liz gently. "I wasn't daydreaming."

"Oh, really?" Liz raised her brows. "Do you know how long I have been standing here? It's like you were just looking through me!" She sounded amazed.

Playfully, Perli rolled her eyes. She did so to hide all her worries. "And do you know how long I have been waiting for you?" she questioned with suspense, as one telling a scary story. "An hour!" she gasped, her hand over her mouth.

"Actually, it's been two hours," Liz corrected with a sheepish smile and placed the textbooks she carried on top of the car's trunk.

"Two hours?!" Perli gasped again. She then knitted her brows, trying to recall what she had been doing.

Her mind failed to recall everything. It only served her an obscure memory of the professor going on about some sort of assignment in one of her six classes of the day — she couldn't remember which. Her undying and endless thoughts throughout her lectures took her to strange places and unravelled the deepest fears of her heart. She had to be tapped on the shoulder countless times to be reminded that class had ended. At each tap, she would then pack her things quickly, not caring about the strange looks she received from some students.

She sighed and looked at the textbooks Liz had placed on top of her car. "What's with all the books?" She knitted her brows as she counted them.

"Studying and assignments," Liz groaned, rolling her eyes in annoyance. It was classic of her to always sound annoyed when it came to these things.

Perli shook her head and smiled a little. She readied herself for more whining and complaints from Liz. Leaning with her elbows against her car, she got distracted as her eyes wandered about the parking lot. Unlike most days, she had parked outside the university, hoping to go home immediately. She could never get used to the attention she drew wherever she went. Seven months later, yet the gossip and stares never ceased. Somehow her life seemed to spark interest in people and it was all because of that marriage.

Leave or stay? She couldn't get herself to pick. She couldn't tell which would truly make her happy.

"...Perli... Perli?!" Liz waved her hands in front of her.

Perli shook her head and directed her eyes to Liz's face, where a frown now rested.

"Why do you keep zoning out?" Behind the frown, there was a glimpse of worry in Liz's eyes.