The Mismatched Half

The cafe that Anya frequented was unusually packed for the day. Perturbed by the unaccustomed view, she took a spot in the area outside the cafe which she usually avoided.

She waited for her coffee as she looked at the busy road. A group of people were standing across the pedestrian crossing, waiting for the signal to turn green. She noticed a young boy tugging his mother's coat impatiently. It brought a smile to her face. This surprised her considering how her smile had become a sort of rarity.

The sound of the ceramic cup placed on the wooden table shook her back to reality. She thanked the waiter and eagerly lifted the cup off the table and took a deep sniff. The aroma filled her nose with pleasure. Excitement crept through her body as she reached for the brink of the cup.

“Hey.” She heard a voice.

She looked up and she felt her heart slowly sink to the deepest part of her stomach. A feeling that came in so suddenly and a feeling that she hadn't felt in a long time. She gulped the coffee in her mouth repulsively which made her gag and cough.

" What....” She took a deep breath trying to swallow the ball of fear that was blocking her throat. “How....?” She let out a breath forcefully and that was it. That was all she could muster up to the man that had almost destroyed her life.

"Well, I just...uh." He said looking utterly confused.

"Listen, you infertile bastard! I was done with you, from the minute I divorced you! Stay away from me or else.." She couldn't believe what she was hearing, let alone believe that she was the one saying. It was as if at that moment someone else had taken over. The strong part of her that she never really acknowledged.

"Infertile bastard? I'm sorry, what?” He said with a ludicrous expression on his face. “You crazy woman. I came here to give the handkerchief that you dropped earlier." He said with a deep scorn while placing the handkerchief on the table with a thud.

"What? Do you actually want me to believe that you're here for this?” She said waving the kerchief in front of his face.“Cutting your hair and growing a little muscle isn't going to fool me into thinking you're someone else.” She said with a snort.

"What? I don't believe this. I don't who you are or what you're talking about or why you're acting crazy. So I'm going to just leave." He said with disbelief and turned around muttering to himself, " Crazy woman."

Anya immediately called a friend, the friend that worked in the same office as her ex-husband, in a different country. Her friend answered,

" Hey, what a surprise!"

"Is he there?" She asked without answering her friend.

" Is who, where?" Her friend questioned.

She let out a deep breath and continued,

" My...you know....ex" She stopped. She couldn't say more. She couldn't say the word 'husband' because she couldn't call him that even with the addition of 'ex'. She waited for her friend to answer.

"Oh. Let me check and tell you, just hold on, okay?" Her friend whispered.

There was just silence on the other end for what seemed like a long time. She glanced over at the table where the man that she had never wanted to see again in her life was sitting. He was not looking at her, a blonde woman was sitting next to him. He said something to her and both of them looked back at her. She didn't want to look at him anymore so she turned away.

"Hey, you there?" She heard her friend.

" Yes." She cleared her throat, bracing herself for what was to come.

"He is here in his cabin.”Her friend said assuringly.

“Oh, okay. Thanks.” She said biting her lip. “Hey, are you sure? I mean, are you seeing his face or is his back turned towards you?” She retraced the question and was hoping it was the latter for her own good.

“I am sure. I can see his face .He is pulling out something from his desk as I'm talking to you. Hey, what is this about? Is everything alright?" Her friend asked with concern.

Anya sighed and turned around to take another look at the man that she had assumed was her ex husband. She couldn't believe her eyes. The resemblance was uncanny.

“Yeah, everything's fine. Listen, I'm sorry if I disturbed you at work.” Anya tried to evade the question that was put her way.

“No, are you kidding me? You rarely ever contact me and besides it's always a pleasure talking to you.” Her friend said reassuringly.

“Thank you. That means a lot. I have to go, I'm late for work. Can we catch up sometime later?” Anya said grabbing her handbag.

“Sure...” Anya hung up before her friend said anything else. She noticed the table that was occupied by the man was now empty. 

One month later

"May I come in, sir?" Anya knocked the door to her new manager's cabin. It was the first day of her new job, the job she had always wanted.

" Yes." She heard a male voice answer.

She entered with a smile, confidence radiating throughout her body, ready for a new start. She looked up and her smile faded, the confidence ran out of her body and all she wanted to do was run away again.

It appeared as if the person in front of her wanted to do the same as she saw him frown upon her entering the room.

" You!"

She decided to bolt and turned around immediately to leave.

"Where do you think you're going? Scared of the infertile bastard, are we?" His voice raised with each word.

" Sir, I..." She turned around to face him.

____♡♡♥♥♡♡____