Chapter 3

Three years later...

Nabila's days passed by with the usual routine she had become accustomed to. She was tidying up the stockroom after completing the inventory count. Once she was done, she walked over to Izzati, who was arranging flowers on the shelves. When Nabila reached her, Izzati asked, "Finished cleaning the stockroom?"

Nabila smiled and, with a smug look on her face, replied, "Obviously. It's me we're talking about."

Izzati, annoyed by Nabila's response and her smug expression, poked Nabila in the side and tickled her, "Oh, you! You're so annoying!"

Meanwhile...

Zamir was on a date with his girlfriend at a café chosen by Rias. His girlfriend was happy with the food and ambiance of the café. Seeing her joy, Zamir thought to himself, "Good thing Rias picked this place. If I'd chosen, I wouldn't have found this spot. Guess I'll have to treat Rias to a meal as promised. She did ask for that as payment for helping me out. Well, Rias, since my girlfriend's happy, I'm more than willing to treat you."

After finishing their meal, Zamir and his girlfriend left the café and headed toward a boutique to buy clothes from her favorite designer. As they walked past a flower shop where Nabila worked, Zamir unintentionally glanced inside and froze when he saw a worker who resembled Nabila, Irman's ex-girlfriend. He observed her closely and became certain it was Nabila.

Noticing Zamir's strange behavior, his girlfriend asked, "Who's that?"

Startled by her question, Zamir replied, "Just an ex-friend of mine."

"I think that's her, but I've never seen her in person.", Zamir added.

"Then why are you staring at her like that?", his girlfriend asked, clearly not pleased.

Sensing her jealousy, Zamir teased her with a playful wink, "Oh, no reason, just for fun."

His girlfriend became more annoyed and gave him a look of dissatisfaction.

Zamir laughed and said, "Come on, let's head to the boutique. No need to be upset. You know you're the only one for me.", smiling at her.

Hearing his words and seeing his smile, his girlfriend couldn't help but smile back. They continued walking, and Zamir made a mental note of the name of the flower shop.

Later that afternoon...

After dropping his girlfriend off at her house, Zamir arrived at Irman's place on his luxurious motorcycle. He entered the house as if it were his own. Hearing the sound of water outside, Zamir looked toward the source and saw the water rippling in the swimming pool. He walked to the poolside, picked up Irman's towel from a lounge chair, and stood at the edge where Irman would finish his swim.

Irman, having just completed a lap, raised his head to see Zamir standing there, holding his towel. Understanding Zamir's unspoken gesture, Irman got out of the pool without a word, took the towel, and headed to the lounge chair.

After drying his face, Irman asked, "So? What do you want to tell me?"

Zamir, caught off guard, grinned sheepishly, "Can't hide anything from you, huh? You just knew I had something to share."

Irman replied, "Of course. I'm your friend, aren't I? I can tell from your face and actions. Sorry, but you can't keep secrets from me. Hehe..", Irman smirked.

"Alright, alright. I'll tell you.", Zamir said, taking a deep breath before sharing the story about seeing Nabila at the flower shop.

After he finished, Zamir asked, "Don't you want to see her? I know you still have feelings for her, and I'm sure she feels the same way about you. You don't need to tell your dad or even talk to her at first. Just go and see how she's doing. Later, when you're ready, you can approach her.", almost as if Zamir could read Irman's thoughts and desires.

Irman responded, "It's not that I don't want to see her, but I'm not ready yet. I'm scared I might say the wrong thing. Sure, I could just go to the shop and watch from a distance, but I'm afraid that once I'm there, my feet will lead me inside, and my mouth will blurt out something by accident.", with a confused tone.

Understanding his friend's emotions, Zamir patted Irman on the shoulder for support and said, "Just be patient, man. I can't say much because I get how you're feeling right now. All I can advise is to stay strong and pray that everything ends well.", in a soft tone to comfort Irman.

"Thanks, bro.", Irman replied, offering a faint smile.

"Alright. Now go get ready. I'll wait for you in the living room. We're going to the mall.", Zamir said after seeing Irman's weak smile.

Irman, confused, asked, "Why do I have to go with you? To the mall, of all places…", giving Zamir a dissatisfied look.

Zamir laughed at Irman's reaction and said, "I want you to be my second girlfriend.", while letting out an evil chuckle.

Irman, annoyed, slapped Zamir's forehead and said, "You idiot. I'm not becoming your second girlfriend. That would ruin my reputation. Now, tell me the real reason why I have to go with you?"

Rubbing his forehead in pain, Zamir replied, "Ouch, that hurt. Is my forehead red? If it's still red by the time you're ready, I'll have to wear a hat to cover it.", dodging Irman's question.

Irman, frustrated by Zamir's dodging, said, "Ugh, answer my question. Do you think a slap like that could turn your forehead red?"

Zamir, pouting, replied, "Okay, fine, you win. I just need you to accompany me to buy a gift for my girlfriend. Who knows, you might even get some ideas for the future."

Puzzled, Irman asked, "Future? What do you mean?"

Zamir slapped his own forehead and said, "Oh, come on… by future, I mean for when you have a girlfriend, fiancée, or wife. But I wasn't referring to anyone specific, just speaking generally."

Irman gave Zamir a side-eye and said, "Fine. I'll go get ready."

Zamir held back a laugh, thinking to himself, "You really can't forget Nabila, can you? If it's meant to be, insha'Allah (if God wills), you two will end up together."

He then headed to the living room, waiting for Irman to finish getting ready while checking his phone notifications. Meanwhile, Irman, in his room, quickly cleaned up and changed. As he got ready in front of the mirror, Nabila's name crossed his mind, "Oh Nabila, how much I miss you."

His daydreaming was interrupted by Zamir's loud voice from downstairs, "Hey! How much longer are you going to take? You're worse than a girl!"

Irman replied, "Almost done!"

He headed downstairs and met Zamir in the living room, saying, "Alright, let's go."

Zamir just shook his head, stood up, and said, "Let's go."

On the way to the mall...

Irman gazed out the car window, looking puzzled, and asked Zamir, "Wait, are you buying the gift here?"

Zamir replied, "Yeah, why? Is there something wrong with getting it here?"

Irman said, "No, nothing wrong. It's just that I've been here before, and there's nothing special. So, do you already know what you're getting, or are you just browsing?"

Zamir answered, "Come on, don't say there's nothing special. Maybe not for you, but others might find something great. I have an idea, but I'm still browsing to see if there's anything better."

Irman sighed, "Fine, fine. It's always me. Breaking up with Nabila was my fault too, I guess."

Zamir froze and said, "Whoa, hold on. That's not what I meant. I was talking about your mindset on this place, not about Nabila or anything else. No need to take it personally or sulk. You're not my girlfriend, so don't sulk. Want some chocolate?", he teased, grinning as he got out of the car.

Irman shot him a look, and Zamir, noticing it, burst into laughter. Irman followed him out of the car and said, "Let's go, before you start sulking."

Zamir smirked, "Alright, my dear. Let's go shopping, love.", teasingly wrapping his arm around Irman's shoulder.

Irman, irritated by the teasing, said, "Ugh, stop with the lovey-dovey stuff. It's gross. I'm still straight, okay? Don't make me punch you."

Zamir laughed at Irman's reaction and kept teasing, "What's wrong with a little affection? My girlfriend's not here, so you're the replacement. Go ahead, punch me." he said, sticking out his tongue and moving a little further away to dodge Irman's punch.

Lunch break at the flower shop...

While enjoying a burger, Izzati suddenly remembered something from last week and interrupted Nabila, who was eating, "Hey, I've got something to tell you."

Nabila, startled, took a sip of her drink and replied, slightly annoyed, "What's so important that you can't wait until we're done eating?"

"Hehe, sorry, sorry. I know you don't like talking while eating, but I'm afraid I'll forget what I want to say later," Izzati admitted.

Knowing that Izzati's reason was valid, Nabila reluctantly asked, "Fine, what is it?"

With a grin, Izzati said, "I think I've met someone who might be 'the one'.", smiling blissfully.

Nabila, surprised and confused, replied, "That's what you couldn't wait to tell me? You could've easily waited until after we're done eating."

She continued eating while Izzati, feeling annoyed, pleaded, "Come on, I haven't even finished my story. Just listen for a bit, then you can eat."

Nabila responded, "How can you finish the story if you can't stop smiling? Just wait until we're done eating. We don't have a two or three-hour break, you know. It's only an hour. If I stop eating to listen to you, I won't finish my food. Talking while eating isn't polite. Okay?"

Unable to argue, Izzati sighed and said, "Alright, mom.", then continued eating.

Nabila smiled at Izzati's response and resumed her meal.

After finishing their food and drinks, Nabila checked the wall clock and saw they still had 20 minutes left. She asked, "Okay, so what did you want to tell me?"

Izzati took a sip of her drink and began, "So, last week I met this guy, and we went out to eat. We chatted, exchanged phone numbers, and since then, we've been texting each other. I even went out with him yesterday."

Nabila asked, "Where did you meet him?"

Izzati replied, "At the supermarket we always go to."

Nabila asked, "How did you meet? Did you just walk up to him?"

Izzati, feeling slightly offended, replied, "Ugh, no! You know I'm not the type to chase after guys. I was just picking out vegetables, and he happened to be there too. He asked me if I was having trouble finding good ones because I was inspecting them closely. So I told him I hadn't found any that looked good yet. We ended up talking about how to pick fresh produce. He helped me shop for our groceries. Since we were so caught up in our conversation and wanted to talk more, we went to a mamak stall to eat. While chatting, we exchanged phone numbers. From what I've noticed about him, he's really good at getting girls' attention, but I don't get a player or sweet-talker vibe from him. He just knows how to engage with women."

Nabila asked, "So what makes you think he's 'the one'?"

Izzati replied, "Well, when we hang out and chat, his thoughts, the way he talks, and how he treats me make me feel comfortable, like we're a good match. But I don't want to get my hopes up too much, and I'm worried it's just my own perception. So I was thinking, maybe one day you can meet him too. Then you can see his personality for yourself and give me your opinion."

Nabila said, "Alright, let's check our schedules."

Izzati replied, "Okay, thank you, dear. Hehe."

Nabila rolled her eyes, "You're welcome. No need for all that 'dear' nonsense."

Izzati grinned, and Nabila shook her head at her friend's antics, saying, "Alright, let's clean up the table and get back to work. Finish your drink."

Izzati responded, "Yes, ma'am.", smiling.

Nabila teased, "Yeah, right, 'ma'am'.", as she started cleaning up their lunch area.

She then walked over to the flower arrangement station and asked Izzati, "Did you finish the customer's order for that bouquet of dahlias only?", while checking the shop's order book.

Izzati, done tidying her part of the table, walked over to Nabila and said, "Oh, that? I already finished it. There weren't many flowers in the arrangement, and the customer only wanted dahlias, just one type. It didn't take long. Why do you ask?"

Nabila replied, "I just wanted to make sure because that customer is a bit particular. If you hadn't done it yet, I would've taken care of it. I didn't want them to come and find their bouquet wasn't ready. That'd be trouble. With their attitude and fussy mouth, ugh, it'd be so annoying.", making a face of disgust.

Izzati laughed at Nabila's expression, "You know it! That's why I finished it early. I knew you weren't fond of that customer, and I didn't want them to notice your obvious dislike. What do you think they'd say if they saw that face of yours? You're not exactly great at hiding your expressions."

Nabila replied, "Well, you're the only one who knows my real expressions. No one else does, right?"

Izzati smiled and said, "Yes, yes, because I'm your best friend, the best one ever.", in a playful, exaggerated tone.

Nabila cringed and said, "Ugh, you're so extra today.", as she poked Izzati's side repeatedly, causing Izzati to burst out laughing. Nabila then walked away to grab some flowers for the next arrangement.