The Billionaire's Past

CHAPTER 16

1:00 pm Thursday, in Bosnia and Herzegovina

H & A Summit Holdings, Inc., Board of Directors office.

Atif is in his office.

He is busy reviewing some documents which needs his sign or approval.

He is sitting in an elegant style swivel chair beside his office table.

He is so handsome in his business suit.

The suit was blue, sharp-looking, and well-fitted that made him look very handsome.

While reviewing the documents, he is chatting with Aliyah.

8:00 pm Thursday, in Asia

Aliyah is lying on her bed now.

For she is very tired and lost appetite to eat dinner.

In addition to that, Aliyah is feeling down the whole day for her supervisor at work make her embarrassed in front of their co-workers.

The supervisor gave Aliyah a very difficult task and Aliyah failed to do it according to what the supervisor wants.

Because she is feeling down she got this feeling that she wants to talk to Atif.

For Atif always cheer her up with his good advices.

Aliyah decided to send message to Atif.

"Hello. How are you?" Aliyah's message.

"Hi. I'm fine. And you?" Atif replied.

"I'm feeling so bad now." Aliyah answered.

"Sad to hear that. And why?" Atif replied.

"I'm always like this if I left alone in the house." Aliyah is telling lie for she can't tell the real reason why.

Aliyah can tell to Atif what she feels right now but not the real reason that it's about what happen to her work on the whole day.

For from the start what Atif knew is she is just a plain housewife.

She is just taking care of her kids.

Unemployed.

INSPITE of the fact that she have no kids and not even a wife for she is single.

"I will suggest that you should talk to your husband and tell about that." Atif suggest to Aliyah.

"I just can't." Aliyah replied.

"But why? He is your husband, he should know about that." Atif answered giving an advice to Aliyah.

Aliyah feel guilty for Atif take her lie seriously.

Her lie that she can't take back for she is afraid that Atif will not trust her anymore if she will reveal the truth.

"But I don't want him to bother about me." Aliyah replied with another lie.

"Alright but much better if you will tell him." Atif replied insisting his advice to Aliyah for he feel worried about her in some way.

"No. I just can't." Aliyah replied.

"Or you better consult to a therapist." Atif suggest.

That message from Atif made Aliyah hold her breath.

"Atif is thinking that I am crazy!" Aliyah concluded in her mind when she reads the message of Atif.

"But what if they put me in a mental hospital. All I need is someone who will listen to me when I am like this. I don't need psychiatrist. I'm not crazy even though most of the time I feel unwell." Aliyah replied explaining and making Atif believe that she is not a psychiatric patient.

That all she need is a friend who will listen and not a doctor.

"I'm not telling that you are psychiatric patient. The therapist won't easily put you in a mental institution. They will just listen to you to find out what you will need to overcome such feelings." Atif answered convincing Aliyah to consult a therapist.

"I just don't like." Aliyah replied.

"You know even me myself have a therapist before." Atif replied trying again to convince Aliyah.

YES, that's true. Atif before have a therapist.

Haris his grandfather consulted to a therapist before to help Atif overcome his traumas that he acquired during his childhood and his depression when Haya died.

And that was a long time ago.

He is well and emotionally stable now.

Emotionally stable means that he can withstand difficult situations, handle adversity, and remain productive and capable throughout.

"Really? But I don't like." Aliyah replied.

"Alright. But I can't promise that I can reply always to your message and talk to you for I'm always busy." Atif answered.

"It's okay. Sorry if I disturbed you a lot." Aliyah replied.

She feel sorry for she think that Atif is just trying to avoid her.

And she concluded that the reason is Atif thinks that she is a psychiatric patient.

"You don't disturbed me that much. Only that I can seldom reply to your message." Atif replied.

Aliyah didn't reply to Atif message.

She go to the bathroom.

Go to the sink and wash her face to wipe the tears that start falling from her eyes.

Aliyah now really thinks that Atif is telling that because he is trying to avoid her now.

Aliyah is feeling unwell right now.

Her psychological condition is the main reason.

Her emotion is splitting again.

Because of that, the other half of her personality wants to say goodbye now to Atif for she is thinking that Atif is just trying to avoid her and don't like her as friend anymore.

But the other half of her personality wants to stay, wants to believe the reason of Atif that he is just really busy, and wants to keep her as a friend.

But the stronger side of her personality wins.

She wants to say goodbye now because it dictates Aliyah to think something bad to Atif.

Aliyah now is facing at the large mirror in the bathroom.

Staring at the mirror.

Aliyah sees herself in the mirror with an angry face as if her reflection is a different person talking to her.

Dictating her to say goodbye to Atif.

Saying these words to her.

"I told you he is just like the others, he will avoid you, he will leave you, and he will abandon you also, like what your other friends did, like what you're past relationship partners done to you. Much better to say goodbye now to him. SAY GOODBYE NOW! BEFORE YOU WILL GET HURT TOO MUCH BECAUSE YOUR EMOTIONALLY ATTACHED TO HIM. IT'S NOW OR NEVER!"

Aliyah heard her reflection shout at her in an angry manner.

Aliyah follows her reflection.

Reach her phone which she dropped on the floor earlier.

Aliyah open her phone.

She will send a goodbye message to Atif.

She is afraid of the probable consequences of what her reflection told her if she will not say goodbye to Atif at this moment.

Aliyah's hand is trembling because of the tension she felt right now.

Aliyah accidentally open the camera of her phone.

Aliyah sees herself on the camera in another version.

Like what happened on the mirror Aliyah heard her own image talk to her.

Aliyah sees her image on the camera as a different person and not herself as if it talks to her like her reflection on the mirror.

But her image on the phone's camera appears different than what she seeing on the mirror.

Her image talk in a soft voice. In a modest way.

Aliyah heard her image saying these words to her:

"Don't listen to her. She is crazy. Believe me Atif wants you as a friend. He is not avoiding you. He is just a very busy person that's why..." Aliyah heard her own image said to her.

But when Aliyah looks again to the mirror in front of her she is seeing and hearing her reflection talking to her.

"Follow me or else you will just get hurt. I know you don't like to feel that feeling again" her reflection on the mirror said.

But when she look on the phone camera, Aliyah seeing and hearing her image talk to her.

Saying" Don't listen to her. You will just lost another good friend if you do that."

Aliyah stared again to the mirror and the back to the phone camera.

She looks back in fort from the phone camera to the mirror and vice versa.

Until her two reflections seems to her like insisting each and every one opinion to her.

Aliyah don't know what to do.

She sit on the floor of the bathroom covering her ears.

Crying.

She don't want to hear them anymore.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK

Aliyah heard that someone is knocking on the door of the bathroom.

And that noise made her back to reality.

She stand up from the floor and open the door of the bathroom.

It's Maita her friend who is knocking.

"I'll just checking on you Aliyah. You spend almost an hour inside. Are you crying?" Maita asked.

"NO! I'm not crying. It's just water. I washed my face." Aliyah answered.

"Okay." Maita said.

Then Aliyah go outside the bathroom while Maita gets in.

Aliyah go back to her bed.

Then a few minutes later. She fall asleep.

While on the other hand, Atif is waiting for her reply.

It's almost end of the office hours he don't get any reply from Aliyah.

Atif think that Aliyah might feel sorry about what he said earlier that he will seldom reply to her message for he is busy.

Atif feel a little bit annoy to Aliyah because he is thinking that Aliyah is making a drama for not replying to his message.

Atif is annoy because Aliyah don't understand that he is just busy that's why he cannot reply always.

He can't help himself send these message:

"Don't make a drama if I cannot reply to your message. I told you I'm a very busy person. I know it's kind of rude to tell you these but as friend it's my duty to tell of what I think is not right about you."

Then he wait for Aliyah's reply.