CHAPTER LV
When Sasha and I returned to our table, the first thing we saw was Mia clinging to Sita, crying like her whole world had fallen apart. The restaurant had this soft, romantic music playing, the kind that makes you feel like you're in some dreamy movie, but I swear it felt like destiny was plotting some tragedy for me instead.
I rushed over to Mia with Sasha by my side. "Mia, what happened? Why did you leave like that?"
Mia's red eyes darted toward me. "Vedu, you don't know what happened?"
"No," I said, confused. "What happened?"
Mia pointed dramatically at both me and Sasha. Her finger trembled like she was exposing the biggest scandal of the century. "Sita, these two… they betrayed us. I caught them kissing today!"
"What?!" I almost choked on air. "That's a lie! At least look at our faces before believing such nonsense!"
Sasha folded her arms and tossed her hair back. "Exactly! I mean, look at me—so gorgeous. And look at Vedu… does she even qualify?"
I glared at her. "Excuse me! I was talking about you. Where do you stand? Looking all manly while I'm the smart, beautiful genius in the room."
"Oh please," Sasha scoffed. "You, smart? Look at this." She held up her sandal. "Your face and my sandal are a perfect match."
Mia sniffled loudly. "Wow! So now you two are fighting with each other just to make us think what I saw was wrong. Impressive teamwork!"
I put a hand gently on Mia's shoulder. "Mia, listen to me. It's a lie. I swear."
And right then, Sasha did the same, but with Sita. She placed her hand on Sita's shoulder and said sweetly, "Yes, Sita, it's all a lie. Don't believe it."
The moment I saw that, my eyes widened. I smacked Sasha's hand away. "Hey! Why are you touching my wife?"
Sasha shot back instantly, "Oh really? And why were you touching my girlfriend's shoulder?"
"Because your girlfriend happens to be my best friend!" I argued.
"And your wife happens to be my girlfriend!" Sasha said without a hint of shame.
"Whatttt?!" My jaw almost hit the table. Then I turned to Mia. "See, Mia? Do you see how shameless she is? Such a flirt!"
Sasha suddenly turned puppy-eyed toward Mia. "Baby, I swear… those words slipped out of my mouth by mistake."
And there we were, in the middle of this fancy restaurant, music still playing, waiters pretending not to stare, while our little group exploded into chaos like it was some live comedy show.
While Sasha and I were still busy arguing like cats ready to claw each other, suddenly, I heard a soft voice near my ear.
"Vedu…"
I froze. My head turned automatically, and before I could even blink, a girl came running toward me and hugged me tightly.
My eyes widened. Wait… what?! Who on earth is this now?
Sasha leaned back in her chair with a smug smile, immediately turning to Sita. "See, Sita? Even after marriage, she's having an affair!"
"What nonsense!" I quickly pushed the stranger away. "Who are you?!"
Sasha crossed her arms like a detective who had just cracked the case. "Vedu, stop pretending. Enough with the acting."
I pointed at the mysterious girl. "Maybe she's here to meet you! Don't look at me!"
The girl, awkwardly caught in the middle, turned her face toward Sasha as if to clarify something. But before she could speak, Sasha gave her a secretive eye signal, like they were partners in some undercover mission.
That was it. I snapped. Before the girl could even turn back toward me, I shoved her straight onto Sasha.
And boom! Their lips accidentally touched.
The entire restaurant gasped, but the loudest reaction came from our table. Mia clutched her chest dramatically and burst into tears right then and there. "Noooo! I can't believe this!"
I clapped my hands together and laughed. "Aha! See? Now the real couple has been exposed!"
Sasha, however, was quick to defend herself. "Wait, wait, Mia, listen! Our lips just touched. That doesn't count as a kiss!"
"Oh really?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Yes!" Sasha declared confidently, then grabbed the girl and shoved her toward me. "THIS is a real kiss!"
But the girl stumbled, and instead of her lips meeting mine, she ended up kissing my forehead.
I blinked in disbelief and then gave a nervous laugh. "Well… what can I say? My height's a little short."
At that point, Sasha and I both forgot our original fight. We were too busy using the poor girl like some kind of volleyball, pushing her back and forth toward each other, each shove resulting in some awkward collision while the restaurant staff looked like they wanted to call security.
Meanwhile, Mia was still at the table, bawling like she was watching a soap opera finale, and Sita just sat there, frozen, as if she had entered an alternate universe.
It was chaos. Absolute, hilarious chaos.
The mysterious girl suddenly snapped. She shoved both Sasha and me away and shouted, "Enough! Stop it, both of you! This has gone too far!"
The whole restaurant went silent for a moment, forks frozen midair, as if everyone was dying to know what drama would unfold next. Then, turning sharply, the girl marched toward Mia and asked, "Tell me, which one of them is Vedu?"
Mia, still sniffling with mascara tears running down her cheeks, pointed straight at me.
The girl's eyes softened instantly. She walked over, grabbed my hand tightly, and said, "So it's you… Yes, this is the one. I only know her!"
I yanked my hand back as fast as I could. "What? Hold on. Since when? When did this happen?"
She looked at me with a hurt expression, her voice trembling with fake emotion. "Vedu… don't you recognize me? It's me, Julie."
"Julie?!" I frowned. "Nope. Sorry. I don't know you."
From the side, Sasha folded her arms, smirking like a villain in a comedy movie. "Oh wow, Vedu. Don't act so innocent now. Really, you're unbelievable."
I glared at her, but before I could speak, the girl suddenly changed her tune. She stepped back, rolled her eyes, and dropped the emotional act. "Fine. Enough of this drama. I can't keep pretending anymore. Just give me my money, Sasha. I'm leaving."
My jaw dropped. "What?!"
I turned to Sita immediately, pointing at both Sasha and Julie. "See? Did you see that? It was all a plan to trap me! They staged this whole thing!"
The restaurant audience—yes, by now it felt like we had a full audience—gasped and started whispering like they were watching a live soap opera.
Sita, who had been silent this whole time, suddenly stood up. Without a word, she grabbed my arm firmly.
I tried to protest, laughing nervously. "Wait, Sita, listen to me! It's all their plan!"
But Sita didn't listen. With a deadly calm face, she pulled me away from the table and marched straight out of the restaurant, leaving Sasha and Julie standing there with their little scheme exposed, Mia still crying dramatically into her napkin, and the rest of the diners clapping like they had just watched a free stage performance.
It was less like dinner and more like a full-blown comedy show—and apparently, I was the main attraction.
To be continue....