Chapter 22
"Nice to meet you, Aylin. My name is Elaine."
Aylin smiles, shaking Elaine's hand, all the while thinking where has she heard this name before?
"Looks like you didn't recognize me."
"I'm sorry...I don't really read magazines and stuff. I don't know a lot of people."
"That makes me happy yet sad at the same time that I wasn't recognized."
Elaine pouts jokingly and then smiles,
"Well, who cares what our real identity is? Right now we met at the park and I am so grateful to you. Let me repay you."
"No, no. It's fine. It was fun playing with Leo."
"You can come to play with him anytime and I think he has taken a liking to you since he keeps tugging your clothes."
They turn to look at little Leo who was tugging Aylin's clothes to get her attention. He points to the toy car he was holding and adds,
"Look, it's wheels. This is an exhaust."
"Ohh wow. All of this makes the car go fast?"
Aylin responded to which he smiled and nodded.
"You know, you can play anytime you want with Leo. We usually come to the park daily around this time. Now that I think about it, it's my first time seeing you here."
"This is my first time coming here. I normally go to the beach when I feel like walking."
"Do you live near here?"
"Not exactly. My home is a fifteen-minute drive from here."
"Same. My husband dropped us off here today. He had some work to do."
"Ohh same here. My husband had some work to do as well so I asked him to drop me here."
Narrowing her gaze, thinking, Elaine remarks,
"We really need to stop our husbands from working on the weekends."
"True."
They both then chuckle. After an awkward silence, Elaine adds,
"Let's sit and talk."
They sit at the nearby bench. Leo also sits with them and plays with his cars.
"So, do you work or stay home?"
Elaine inquires.
"I recently started working. What about you?"
"I recently quit. I am more focused on my son. Although, I do some freelancing these days."
"I used to do freelancing but I quit like 2 years ago."
"By the way, you majored in business?"
"Yes."
"Which university did you go to?"
"It was a cyber university so it was online. I didn't have to attend."
"Darn, I was trying to make some connection to see if we went to the same university or not."
Giggling, Aylin asks,
"Well, which high school did you go to?"
"XXX. What about you?"
"AAA."
"Oh! My husband and my friends have gone there. Do you know them? Atlas, Tyler, Kate, Mike, and Amelia?"
"Oh! I don't exactly know them since they were a year above me but I have seen and heard about them. Also, Atlas? Are you that Elaine? His wife?"
"Yes, you finally recognised me."
Aylin's eyes go round. Just a week ago, they were talking about building some contact with them because they needed Zen Company to be on their side. Aylin thinks about talking about business with her but then she decides not to. It is not nice especially when she meets her in an informal location like a park.
As Elaine said, their identities don't matter right now.
"Is it wrong if I'm his wife?"
"Oh no no! I was just surprised. I wasn't expecting to meet you."
"I should stay the same to you. Do you even know how popular you are? Your wedding was the talk of the town."
Aylin shyly giggles in response.
"Now back to what we were talking about. Which elementary school did you go to?"
Aylin laughs at her question and retorts,
"I don't think we are going to find any more connection because I was home-schooled."
"Aww too bad. By the way, what music were you listening to?"
Elaine asks, pointing at Aylin's wired headphones which were connecting to her phone.
"Taylor Swift."
"Oh my god, are you a swiftie too?"
Elaine responds excitedly. Aylin's face also becomes brighter and she replies,
"Yes. You too?"
Elaine nods,
"I love her music. Her lyrics are amazing."
"She is a lyrical genius."
"Damn right she is."
"You know, I am so glad I found someone who loves listening to Taylor's music because my own friends have diverse music tastes. They aren't too fond of her music. Even Atlas..oh this reminds me of a funny thing that happened a few days ago. So, I forced Atlas to listen to her latest album. And what happened was that a few days later, I heard him humming one of her songs."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. When I confronted him, he denied it was her song. But I know what I heard."
"I wonder if Axel listens to her song. He normally listens to all kinds of songs."
"Make him listen to it then."
"I will definitely try it today definitely."
"By the way, are you going on her tour?"
"I wanted to.....but my friend Ellen isn't that much a fan of hers so I have no one to go with me."
"Wanna go with me? Please say yes, It'll be fun!"
"Really? Can I?"
"Of course. I also don't have anyone to go with. Besides it's about time, I get some me time. I'm telling you, I love my family but these days, I am just exhausted."
"You should take a break for yourself. Have a reset day."
"Okay, it's decided. We will go to her concert together. I'll keep you updated about the tickets."
"Oh no, you don't have to. Let me pay for mine."
"Nope. It's my treat. You can pay for the dinner okay?"
"Okay. Then can I have your number please?"
"Oh silly me, here you go."
After exchanging numbers, Elaine asks her about her social media ID.
"Oh, your account is private. I like to keep mine private too."
Elaine remarks, after which she notices Aylin fidgeting with her fingers,
"Umm is it okay if I send you memes?"
"Aww you're so cute! Of course, it's okay. Do you even have to ask? And I have to tell you, I send a lot of memes because I have got nothing better to do so excuse me for that."
Aylin laughs,
"Same here."
Just then Elaine's phone starts ringing. She excuses herself. Meanwhile, Leo who was standing on the ground tugs Aylin's finger,
"Git up! Git up!"
"Git up? Oh, you mean get up."
She gets up and he then drags her to the garden,
"Catch me!"
He remarks while giggling. Aylin also chuckles and pretends to run after him while actually slowly walking.
While they both were playing, someone else came to them. Seeing this third person, Elaine screams loudly,
"Your hair! What happened to your hair?!"
Leo, who was running, sees this mysterious woman and runs towards her in excitement. Aylin, who was curious, turned to find a woman with straight brown hair to her shoulders. Her skin was as pale as snow.
"Amelia!"
Elaine called out to that woman.
"Don't exaggerate. I just needed a change. Tell me it looks good before I regret doing this."
"I mean it does look but you...I mean...what happened?"
"I needed a change. So I got a haircut and dyed it."
"You're pretty so anything looks good on you."
"Thank you. I knew you'd have my back. Kate got angry in return. She wanted us both to dye our hair blonde so I guess she's sulking more about that."
"Oh let her be. She's always dramatic. She will come around."
At that moment, Amelia's phone rings.
"She already is. Look, Kate sent me a message saying she loves my new look."
"I knew it."
"Who is she?"
Amelia asks looking at Aylin who felt awkward standing behind them.
Elaine grabs her arms and smilingly introduces Aylin,
"She's my friend. Amelia meets Aylin. Aylin meets Amelia, she's also my friend. You both went to the same high school together, you know. Although Aylin might be your junior."
"Nice to meet you."
"Same here."
"I feel like I've seen you in Chemistry class."
"I think we were together in that class."
"I had to repeat that class. Not that I am proud of it."
Amelia chuckled nervously.
"Mommy, Lin, Aunt Amelia, play with me!"
"Let's play with him first. By the way, Aylin you're free right? We aren't bothering you or anything?"
"Ah no. I'm free anyway. I have to wait till my husband gets free. Besides, I'm having fun with you guys."
"You two seem so similar to each other."
Amelia remarks. In response to which Elaine comments,
"I know right? Both of our husbands are working on the weekend. How sad is that?"
That day, the three talked a lot together and had a blast together. Laughing, giggling, and sharing. Aylin and Elaine realized the two have a lot in common. And they decided to meet up again tomorrow for lunch where Elaine wanted to introduce all of her friends to her. Aylin asked if she could bring her friend Ellen with them and they agreed.
That day, after Axel picks her up, Aylin puts Taylor Swift's song on the radio to see Axel's reaction. He in response turns the volume up. This surprises Aylin as she continues to stare at Axel.
"What? What are you staring at me for?"
"You listen to Taylor Swift."
"You know I listen to all kinds of music, regardless of the language or the artist."
"But you do listen to Taylor Swift as well."
"...Yes...Is anything wrong with that?"
"No, I'm just surprised....I didn't expect this."
"What did you expect then? It's just music."
"Oh! Then will you go to her concert with me?"
He hums in response.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I do want to go somewhere with you, but I'm not a fan of going to concerts in general. They're too loud."
Aylin smacks his arm in return.
"What? What did I say?"
"You're silly."
She remarks. This was a new term she had learned from Leo, which she found adorable and had started to use it. Whereas, Axel remains confused as to why she hit her.
Hope you enjoy reading! Stay tune for more chapters! I am so so excited for the upcoming chapters that I can't wait! If you enjoyed reading then please do vote, comment and share!
And if you haven't read AFTER THE LIE, then do go check it out! ♥️♥️♥️