What if?

"Hey," Maya greeted Oliver as she opened the door to his sleek black sedan. "Thanks for doing this again."

Oliver sighed and nodded as he allowed Maya to climb into his car before making sure that the doors were locked.

They drove wordlessly through the city with Maya feeling all too guilty about using Oliver to get an invitation to the event. She had not just turned him down but also fought him a few hours before only to be thrown to him by her boss.

"I know this wasn't your idea," Oliver said as he finally broke the silence. "And I'm not as deluded as you think, I know you don't love me that way."

Maya sighed and shook her head.

"Then why keep doing it, Oliver?" Maya finally asked.

It was a question she had asked him multiple times but he had never given her a straight or concrete answer.

"You know I love you, but just as a friend," Maya said as her voice began to shake. "I told you from the moment you returned that I met someone. That someone occupied my heart and that I don't think I could ever let him go."

"Why can't you, Maya?" Oliver asked as he pulled the car aside and stopped it. "Why can't you let go of the man that made you suffer so much?"

"Because I loved him, Oliver," Maya argued.

"That's a stupid excuse Maya and you know it," Oliver said harshly. "He has done nothing but hurt you. Isn't it enough that he abandoned you and let you suffer all on your own after?"

"Oliver, I'm not stupid, I know what he did to me!" Maya shouted.

"Then why for fucks sake did you even go on a date with him today?" Oliver asked as he looked at her with an intense gaze. "Maya I was there when you were broken, I helped pick up the pieces, I've always been there Maya."

"Really, Oliver?" Maya questioned. "When I told you that I only saw you as a friend why did you have to push? Why did you have to set up elaborate proposals, engagement parties, and even a wedding at one point? Oliver I don't want to marry you."

"Maya, do you have no idea how badly damaged your reputation is?" Oliver asked. "What's so bad about being married to me if, in the end, you would benefit the most from the marriage?"

Maya took a deep breath as she calmed herself. She didn't want to lose her temper again with Oliver. She knew that his intentions were good, his problem was the way he actually acted on those intentions.

"Oliver, you deserve to be with someone you love—"

"But I love you," Oliver said, practically pleading with Maya.

"—and someone that loves you back," Maya added as she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Oliver, let's not ruin this friendship, okay?" Maya told him.

She was well aware that she was breaking his heart once more, but she didn't want to mislead him. She didn't want to give him false hope that she could love him back.

Nate might have broken her heart, and she may never love him again, but she didn't want to use Oliver to better her social standing.

"You know I won't give up," Oliver told her as he gripped the steering wheel, much calmer than he was before.

"You're an adult, do what you want," Maya said with a sigh as she gave up on trying to convince Oliver to let her go. "But I've already told you, I only see you as a friend. A best friend at most, but that's it."

"I know, but I believe hearts and minds can be changed," Oliver said as he gave Maya a charming smile before resuming their drive to the party.

Maya sat silently as Oliver continued to drive.

She couldn't help but think back to how their friendship had started.

They were both very young when they first met, they were childhood friends who knew almost everything about one another.

He was indeed her best friend.

"I should never have left," Oliver suddenly said, pulling Maya from her thoughts.

"You left to better yourself, it was for your future and your career," Maya said with a shrug. "I understand why you had to study abroad, why you had to work in the bigger cities."

Oliver shook his head as he kept his attention on the road.

"I can't help but wonder," Oliver told her as she saw the shining lights of the event venue. "If I hadn't left, would you have met Nate Rue?"

"There is no use crying over spilled mil—"

"But what if, Maya, what if?" Oliver continued to ask. "What if Nate never entered your life, what if I had been here to protect you? You wouldn't have suffered, you wouldn't have made the mistakes you made. I would have been with you."

"My time with Nate was not a mistake," Maya said firmly as Oliver slowed down his car. They were almost at the event venue and it was clear to them both that this conversation was not over. "I regret nothing from the time I spent with him. Don't you ever dare call that time a mistake."

Oliver frowned and nodded.

He knew he had pushed too far.

Maya had always been protective of her time with Nate.

"I'm sorry," Oliver finally said as they pulled up to the driveway.

Maya nodded as she calmed down.

"Let's just forget about this, forget about the proposal and engagement parties. Let's just have fun tonight, we are, after all, still friends." Maya said as she gave Olive a kind and genuine smile.

"Alright," Oliver said as he agreed to the compromise, getting out of his car and handing his keys to the valet.

He quickly walked over to Maya, offering his arm with a smile, hoping that today would make the relationship between them better.

Little did they know that tonight would be more eventful than they could ever have imagined.