"Zax....?" Phul whispered, underneath her breath, "What's he doing here?"
She looked again, wondering if she had mistaken him for somebody else. She rubbed her eyes, and pat her cheeks, and looked, no, it was definitely Zax, with that soft fluffy hair and kind eyes. But then why was he at Golden Meteor Entertainment then. She looked again, and he seemed to taking with the people there, and having a good time. He looked natural, as if he knew those people, as if it wasn't the first time he was here.
The lawyer she had been sitting beside noticed her staring at Zax, and asked, "Oh, is there someone else you know beside TARA here at the company?" Phul didn't hear that though, she was too busy looking at Zax, and trying to make sense of the situation. He looked at the direction she was looking at, and exclaimed with a smile, "Ah, that guy! He's fairly new, but he's pretty popular. What was it? Photography department maybe? Well, I don't blame you if he caught you eye-" and left.
Phul had heard him this time though. "The new guy? Zax? He works here?" She put her hand on her forehead, "I don't understand, I thought he still worked part time at the photo studio."
She was somewhat sad, "Why...didn't he tell me?" She was unable to move, she just stood there thinking.
Meanwhile, at the other corner of the cafeteria, one of the girls who was sitting with Zax seemed to have noticed Phul. She leaned closer to him, and whispered in his ear, "That girl over there has been eyeing you for a while, Mr. Popular!"
Zax turned his eyes towards that direction, and as soon as his eyes met Phul's, his expression fell. He became pale, "Phul?"
The girl beside him was surprised, "Oh, did you know her?"
Zax completely ignored her, and got up from his seat, and started walking towards Phul. He was nervous, and sweaty, and a million thoughts were running through his head.
When Phul saw Zax coming towards her, she suddenly felt very bitter. She just ran out the cafeteria. She didn't know why she was running, she just did it without thinking. Zax saw her getting away, and bolted after her too. What he had feared for the most had come true. Phul found out about his job at Golden Meteor Entertainment before he had the chance to tell her. He was sure Phul was mad at him for not telling her, maybe she thought he hid it from her. He didn't want any misunderstanding to come between them, now that would be the worst, so he followed her, as fast as he could.
Phul ran out of the company building into the busy street, and Zax was right behind her, "PHUL!" He shouted, but she didn't want to stop. Not right now. She felt that she would absolutely break down if she faced Zax at that moment. She knew it must've been a misunderstanding, she knew Zax wouldn't hide such a big thing from her, maybe he hadn't gotten the time to tell her yet. She knew. And yet, she didn't want to stop for him. She felt betrayed and sad, and it was not the first time she felt that way today. It was too much for her. So she ran, and as she bumped into people walking on the footpath, everyone was giving her looks, but her eyes were too misty to see that.
Eventually she entered a park, and she was out of breath, she looked behind, hoping that she had lost trail of Zax, hoping that he'd given up for now. But oh boy, was she wrong. There he was, still following her, Zax definitely was not as athletic as Phul, and the run must have been extremely difficult for him, but he seemed to be determined. Phul sighed, why did he have to be so stubborn? But she was tired now too, and did not have any more stamina left. so she just sat on the bench, and before long, Zax caught up to her.
Zax struggled to take his breath for a while, then sat beside Phul on the bench. He looked at her face, which was all red and sweaty after all that running. Phul could feel his gaze on her, but she still looked down. She knew she'd pour out and say things she'd regret later to him if she saw his face right now.
"Could you give me some space to recollect my thoughts?" She asked, timidly, with her eyes still looking to the empty ground.
"I...will. But please listen to what I have to say too." Zax said, he wanted to tell her eveything as soon as he could. He would not be able to take it if Phul hated him, even if for a moment, "Please", he begged, with a desperate voice.
Phul said nothing.
"It's been a couple weeks since I started working there, I was about to tell you, but things kept coming up and I couldn't. I really really didn't mean to hide this from you, I know how you feel about Golden Meteor entertainment and TARA--"
"Did you think I'd...try to stop you if you told me?" Phul interrupted. She couldn't hold it in any longer, "Do you think-I'm....that shallow?" her voice broke.
Zax eyes showed fear, "What? No, of course not--". That was the exact opposite of what he thought. Zax knew Phul would support him and his dreams wholeheartedly, she was not like that, it was him who had baseless worries, not even once did he think that Phul would mind him pursuing his dreams.
Tears started running down Phul's cheeks, "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. I'm not even angry. What the fuck? I'm so happy for you! You always wanted to be a photographer for a big compnay, have your works seen by many people, and that place will let you do just that. I'm so fucking happy for you."
Zax said nothing, he just looked at Phul as she sobbed. He wanted to wipe her tears, but couldn't bring himself to do that.
"I just feel so hurt that you didn't tell me. So what if it's Golder Meteor Entertainment? So what if it's TARA? I don't care, Zax. I'm so sad you thought I'd mind that you work there, or even worse, I'd try to stop you, just because I have problems with that company."
Sniff. She wiped her tears again. She finally looked at Zax's face, which seemed hurt too. She hit his chest lightly, "Idiot! I know you care about me, and that you'd probably even consider it if I had been against it. But, I care about you too. Did you think I'd let my problems get in the way of your once in a lifetime opportunity?"
She then said in a firm voice, "I do. I do hate Golden Meteor Entertainment. And I do hate TARA, and everything associated with them. I hate them all so fucking much. But, my hate for them is not greater than my love for you. I'm just hurt that you couldn't see that!"
That was it for Zax, he had held himself back for too long. As soon as she said that, his emotions got the better of him, and he just pulled Phul close in a tight hug.
"Oh dear, oh dear" he said, as he stroked her hair, he could smell the faint scent of the peach shampoo Phul always used, and feel her vibrations as she sobbed.
"I'm so sorry I made you feel that way, Phul." He said, still hugging her. "I knew all the while that you wouldn't do anything like that. So even though I myself had doubts, I took the job because I knew that's what you would've wanted me to do. Everytime I see Vega, Nayan and Rio in the job, I keep my emotions on check, I try to not hate them, because I know that's what you would've wanted me to do."
He pushed her away, and put his hands on her cheeks, and wiped her tears, "I can't change the fact that I didn't get the chance to tell you, or that I hurt you, but I hope you atleast know that I trust you to the ends of the world, maybe even more than myself."
He looked straight at her eyes, and said, gently, "I love you, and hurting you is the last thing I wanted to do."
Phul could sense the sincerity in his voice, and his eyes. She knew that too, from the moment she saw him at the cafeteria. That all of the feelings she was feeling was just a big misunderstanding. She knew that Zax cared for her more than she could ever imagine. She knew her sadness was in fact groundless, but you can't help what you feel, can you?
She wiped her own tears and then took Zax's hand. He was a little taken aback, as she rarely initiated contact, but let her hold his hand.
Phul squeezed his hand, and looked straight to his eyes too, then said, firmly, "I know you love me. But I want you to promise me that you won't ever put me above your dreams and your life. Promise me that you won't sacrifice yourself to do the things you think will make me happy. I might not look like it Zax--" here she paused, and smiled at him, making his heart flutter, "But I'm actually really strong. I do get sad, but I am capable to finding my own happiness. Maybe not right now, but eventually. So, promise me, promise me that you'll let me find my own happiness, that you'll find yours too, even if you think it'll make me sad."
The warmth from Phul's soft palms were mixing in with Zax's, her breath was on his face, he was blushing all over. He thought to himself, "Well, my happiness is seeing you happy.", but kept it to himself. He knew that Phul was strong, and kind, and her speaking those words, reassured him even more about how wonderful of a person she was, even after all that had happened to her. That's just one of the reasons he loved her. he wanted to say many things, but realized it was best for him to stay quiet for now.
He squeezed her hand back firmly, and said, "I promise."