THE COMPLETE TRUTH

Chapter 3

      I still remember how we first met him....

27 September 2012

     "Layla!!!!Why did you lie to aunt Mary that her mum is admitted at the hospital. She will be so angry when she finds out that her mum isn't admitted. You'll be in trouble Layla." I said while running after Layla. " She won't be angry,in fact she will be happy to know that her mum is as fit as a fiddle. Don't worry, I won't get in trouble." Said Layla. "How can you be so sure?" I asked. "Because I have you. I know you were,are and will always be there for me."said Layla while looking at me. Argh,I hate it when she does something like this. Layla has always been good in convincing people. She has a way with words. "Come, I wanna show you something."said Layla while dragging me with her. When we reached the terrace,there was a small tent decorated with fairy lights. I knew what this meant.

    When we were kids,the night before our birthday mum would decorate the terrace with fairy lights. Those were her favourite. Dad on the other hand would set up tents and we would help him. Once everything is done, we all would be lying down and do mum's favourite activity and that is stargazing. Mum would tell us stories about stars,moon and magic. Unfortunately after mum died we stopped doing this until one day Layla planned this. A night before  our 16tn birthday,Layla secretly planned this all. It was weird stargazing without mum and dad at first but then soon we got comfortable. From a family activity,it became a sisters activity. Every year, the night before our birthday,Layla would plan all this and we would spend hours talking and confessing the secrets we've never told each other.
 
    I was busy in my thoughts when Layla called me. "Come Alaya, everything is ready. I've ordered pizzas."said Layla. I went near the tent and sat inside it while Layla was serving me pizza. "This was just what I needed. It had been a really busy day at work today." I said while eating my pizza. "You've been way too busy lately. I think you should stop working at uncle John's cafe. I mean what's the point. You're not getting paid well. You should try working somewhere else. You have a degree in business management. I'm sure many companies will be dying to hire you."said Layla while eating her pizza." Well, if I have the knowledge why not use it to help my family. Besides I'm happy with the amount I'm recieving." I said happily. "Oh Alaya,your so innocent. Anyways, it's your life. You know, I can never be like you. You're so simple and innocent. You're happy with what you get. I'm different. I want so many things in life. I want fame, money and etc etc. I know I'm greedy but that's how I am. I'm an aspiring model but I know that someday I will achieve my dreams. Someday I will be famous. Someday I will make you proud."said Layla. "I know someday you will be famous but hey don't forget me when you're famous." I said while laughing.

   "I can never forget you. You're my lifeline,my sister,my best friend, my everything. You were the one who had always been there for me. You're also my second mum. I love you Alaya."said Layla while wiping a tear."Layla, I love you too and awww someone's emotional." I said in playful tone."Shut up."said Layla while pretending to be tough.

    "Hey Alaya, remember the time we got stuck in a lift together?"asked Layla."Oh god how could I forget that moment. Remember that day we were holding hands and praying. We literally recited all verses. We were so scared." I said while laughing."Ya and remember how you were saying please god don't kill us. We are too young to die."said Layla while laughing loudly. "What about you. Remember what you said. You were praying that please god doesn't kill me because you wanted to visit Paris. Like seriously,we were at the verge of dying and the only reason you didn't wanna die is because you haven't visit Paris." I said while laughing." Well it's been my childhood dream to visit Paris."said Layla in her defense.

    "At that time we were really scared but now we are laughing about it. We were 11 at that time and now we are turning 21 years old." I said happily. "Yesssss,we are turning 21 Alaya!!!!"said Layla in an excited tone. "We still have 5 more minutes left to officially turn 21." I said while looking at my phone screen." 5 more minutes it is "said Layla in a happy tone." Um...Layla, there's a secret that I wanna confess.....I have a boyfriend and we have been dating for the past 1 year." I said in a soft tone."What?"replied Layla loudly. "Yes,we met at the cafe a year ago. He was there to convince his clients to invest in his business. At first he got rejected by his clients and he was really sad so I cheered him up and soon we became friends. After a few months,he asked me if I would make him the happiest guy in the world by being his girlfriend and I agreed. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier because I wanted to....you know make sure he's the one. But now I'm rest assured, he's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with." I said. Layla was quiet all the time.She was really shocked. "What is his name?"asked Layla. "Jake." I replied. 

     Layla was quiet for a few seconds and then she hugged me." Happy birthday Alaya."said Layla. I wished her too and asked her if she was upset. She denied it and said she was happy for me but I knew deep down she was a bit disappointed that I didn't tell her when I first started dating him. We have never hid anything from each other but this time.... I guess I was nervous that Jake wouldn't love me and would choose Layla. After all, she's the prettier one among us. We both look the same and the only difference is that I wear specs and Layla don't but still she's amazing in all ways. She's strong and confident. Who wouldn't fall for her. "Would you like to meet him?" I asked in a nervous tone." Sure."said Layla. After that, Layla went to sleep and we didn't talk about the boyfriend topic. I felt bad but I knew she will be fine soon.

    A week passed and one day I invited Layla to the cafe. We were supposed to meet Jake. I was really excited and nervous at the same time. I hope Layla likes him. It was 2 pm and the cafe was not as busy as it is everyday. It was a bit empty. There were just a few customers. Layla was there the whole day. She was waiting for Jake. Jake was supposed to meet us at 2.15 pm. While waiting for Jake,we decided to play a game. We were playing truth or dare when one of my colleague,Naomi gave Layla a dare."I dare you to go to the handsome hunk sitting at the corner and tell him that you love him. He ordered a cup of coffee just now. Here serve him this coffee and tell him that you're in love with him ."said Naomi while handing Layla a cup of coffee. "No Layla, you're not doing that. It's so embarrassing and stupid." I said. 

       Unfortunately, Layla didn't listen to me. She walked towards that man and served him coffee. She complimented him and told him that she's in love with him.To make things worse,she winked at him. That poor guy was embarrassed. His cheeks were red. When Layla returned, I was mad at her."That was ridiculous Layla. Poor guy,he was embarrassed. What if he complaints about you. What if he gives us bad reviews. What if he sues you." I said in a worried tone. "Relax! You're just overthinking. Nothing will happen. Besides,you know me. I don't leave any dare incomplete. Naomi, I've completed the dare."said Layla. Luckily that man didn't complain or sue Layla. Infact he left quietly. I was hoping that we never meet that man again. It was really embarrassing. We waited for Jake the whole day but unfortunately he couldn't make it as he had some urgent work to do. Layla was slightly miffed at Jake but I convinced her.

    A week passed and everything was fine until one day,when we returned home at night,he was waiting for us. That handsome man that Layla winked at was in the living room talking to our dad and uncle." Layla,this is the same man. What is he doing here?" I asked in a nervous tone." I have no idea."replied Layla. We rushed to aunt Mary and asked her about him. "His name is Jerome and he's here because he wants to marry you Layla."said aunt Mary....( TO BE CONTINUED.)