The chapter is dedicated to @daniella-lavonne for being a constant support for me through out my writing, for being an awesome writer herself (CHECK OUT HER STORIES PEOPLE!!!! ), and generally for being her amazing and beautiful self.
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Did I wait around to actually let him explain? Let the stranger, who knew my exact choice in cocoa and had a picture of me and him tucked in his wallet that I had no recollection of, explain his actions while we happily sipped on tea? Well, of course not!

Here's what I did: I shrieked loudly and threw the wallet away as if the very leather could poison me. He picked it up, brushed off the dirt and slowly made his way towards me. My mind, however, refused to register the words that left his cautiously moving lips. Instead, in a beat of the heart, I turned around and ran down the street and straight to my home. I could hear the thudding of his feet on the pavement as he followed close behind, continuously calling out to me.

Curiously enough, unshed tears blurred my vision throughout the way back home.

Rushing inside my flat, I hurriedly closed the door and forced out the breath I had been holding in.

"Emma, what's wrong?" exclaimed Sandra as she took in my bewildered state.

Before I could answer her queries, the door started to get banged upon as the blue-eyed guy yelled from outside, "Emma, let me in! I promise I can explain! Just please let me in!"

I scrambled away from the door and held back my sister who had moved to open it. "No," I pleaded in-between the tears that were freely flowing down my face now, "Please don't open the door."

"Emma, who the hell is it?!" demanded Sandra.

I took in a shaky breath and found that the answer actually, surprisingly, hurt to say out loud, "I don't know..."

The banging on the door continued and so did the pleading. However, much to my protest, eventually Sandra pushed me aside and opened the door.

The blue-eyed guy froze in mid-knock, but he wasn't the only one to freeze - my sister, Sandra, went ghost pale at the sight of him. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, breathily whispering, "Mathew?"

*----------*

For the next hour, I was sent to my room like a child on a time-out. All the while, my sister sat in the living room with the blue-eyed guy or Mathew as she had been calling him.

I sat on my bed with my head hung low and my hands tucked in my lap. I had stopped crying a while ago. Honestly speaking, I had not the faintest idea as to why I had begun crying in the first place. I vigorously rubbed at my eyes for my foolishness and then tried to solve the dilemma that I had been presented with.

Five minutes in, I groaned loudly and gave up. The only two facts that were clear were that Mathew knew me, very well too if the picture was any indication and; that I couldn't, for the life of me, remember him.

Suddenly the door to my room opened. Sandra came in, slowly shut the door behind her and then fell against it. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, as if trying to prepare herself for a fierce battle. Opening her eyes, she looked at me and smiled.

For the first time in twenty-nine years, the smile didn't quiet reach her eyes.

"Just hear me out before you start talking," she said, sitting on the bed beside me.

She handed me a phone, one that I hadn't seen before. "Em," she sighed. "Sometimes to protect the ones we love, we have to lie to them. Sometimes to... save them from a bitter reality, we have to weave a new one. And I know that a lie's a lie but... it's for everyone's good."

I nodded slowly, trying to wrap my head around my sister's carefully selected words. Holding Sandra's hand, I gave it a reassuring squeeze to let her know that I was listening. "Okay, I know that,"

Sandra looked at me and smiled sadly, tears filling her eyes. "I'm sorry, Em. I really, really am. But you have to know that it wasn't my decision. I wasn't even in the country when it happened and by the time I came back they had already went ahead and done it."

"Done what, San? And who's them?"

"Our parents," Sandra croaked out.

I froze for a few seconds then. Not because I couldn't or didn't want to understand what my sister was possibly hinting at. No. I froze because dread over-took my body, inhibiting me from even attempting to gain further information.

Sandra must have seen my reaction because she got up from beside me and stood in front of me.

"I c...can't explain things to you, Em." She was weeping now. "But I hope that that will," she motioned towards the phone held in-between my stone-cold fingers, "It has a number of voicemails saved in it. L...listen to them."

Sandra opened her mouth as if wanting to add something but then closed it and let out a shaky breath instead. She hurried towards the door, obviously desperate to leave the room. Halfway out, she looked back at me over her shoulder and spoke through tears, "Please forgive me,"

With that she left me alone in the room with a deafening silence hanging over my head. Inside my head, however, was a whole other story as questions and doubts raged loudly like a wild fire.

I gingerly turned the metallic body of the phone around in my hand. Such a small little thing it was, yet it felt like it held the power to destroy my whole world. Or at least destroy the world as I knew it.

I held the power button and the screen came to life. A few seconds later the phone opened to reveal the wallpaper - the same picture that I had seen tucked inside Mathew's wallet.

I was a bundle of nerves by then, my hands shaking with fear. Sucking in a quick breath, I hurriedly searched for the saved voicemails my sister had mentioned; fearing that if I waited any longer, I might pass out.

Soon I found them: dating back from 8th September' 2010 to the latest one having been sent on 21st March' 2016.

My fingers shook as I played the oldest one.

"Good morning, beautiful..."

All the air left my lungs in urgency, leaving me gasping for oxygen. My hands went limp around the phone while my body and mind went numb.

Instantly I had recognised the voice in the voicemail, for it was the very same melodious one I had heard in the cafe earlier that day.
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Lyrics of song "Don't you remember" by Adele

When will I see you again?
You left with no goodbye,
Not a single word was said,
No final kiss to seal any sins,
I had no idea of the state we were in,

I know I have a fickle heart and a bitterness,
And a wandering eye, and heaviness in my head,

But don't you remember?
Don't you remember?
The reason you loved me before,
Baby, please remember me once more,

When was the last time you thought of me?
Or have you completely erased me from your memory?
I often think about where I went wrong,
The more I do, the less I know,

But I know I have a fickle heart and a bitterness,
And a wandering eye, and a heaviness in my head,

But don't you remember?
Don't you remember?
The reason you loved me before,
Baby, please remember me once more,

Gave you the space so you could breathe,
I kept my distance so you would be free,
And hoped that you'd find the missing piece,
To bring you back to me,

Why don't you remember?
Don't you remember?
The reason you loved me before,
Baby, please remember me once more,
[Another version says: "Baby, please remember you used to love me"]

When will I see you again?
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Cliffhanger, again.
*laughs nervously*
*starts running*
I'M SORRYYYYYYY *screams while running for life*

Okay then, before anyone starts demanding the next chapter or goes to look for his/her gun, let me just say a few things:
Firstly, the song for this chapter is "Don't you remember" by Adele.
LISTEN TO IT!
Again, the songs are crucial for plot development. If you guys want then I can post the lyrics of the song for each chapter in the AN in case you have trouble listening to it while reading off line. I'm willing to do this because honestly, the songs really are important for the story!! Listen to them, guys!!

Secondly, I want to remind you guys to look for clues and identify the chapter that relates this whole story with the prologue. Comment your guess and if you're right, you'll get a dedication and I'll follow you. ^_^

Thirdly, I've planned to update this story every Monday afternoon. Yes, that's right. Every. Monday. Afternoon.
But if I'm feeling extra happy for some reason then you'll get double updates in a week. ☺
The reason behind this is because, as you might have noticed, this is supposed to be a short story. So, all together there will be about 19-20 chapters. And then THE END. So yeeeeeaah. I'm trying to make it last, you can say.

P.S I love you people!!!! So far the story has 32 votes!! Three chapters and thirty-two votes!! ❤❤
P.P.S I think I'll give you a double update when the story hits 50 votes. *cue maniacal laughter*

Aaaand you may resume threatening my life.
*picks up folds of shirt and starts running again*

Toodles.
LOVE you ALL! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
-zainab