Crises in Love (Zora and Jaylan)

Catherine eyed me with a quizzical expression, her words laced with a biting curiosity. "Aaliyah, what group do you belong to anyway?"

Feigning innocence, I shot back, "What do you mean? Aren't we all on the same team?"

Hannah quickly chimed in, "That's not quite right."

Catherine's face fell into a mock despair, "Off-topic again."

I steered us back on course with a playful insistence, "Right, off-topic. Your turn to spill the beans."

Janice glanced at us, her tone suddenly serious, "How do I put this? My connection with Baber was just serendipity."

Catherine wouldn't have it, "Come on, there's got to be more to it than that. Spill the details."

With no way out, Janice sighed and began her tale, "Honestly, at first glance, he wasn't my type. I mean, every girl likes handsome guys, and I am no exception. If it hadn't been for the drama with Janetta, I would never have agreed to marry him."

Catherine's brows knitted in confusion, "What does Janetta have to do with any of this?"

Janice's voice wavered as she recalled the family turmoil, "Well, Janetta ended up with this guy, Irving. It nearly sent my mom into depression. Every day she was either crying, fuming, or throwing a fit." Janetta's eyes brimmed with tears at the memory.

"It became this dark cloud over our family, spoiling the mood for ages. My parents even forbade Janetta from coming home. They didn't mean it, but they can't take back words once they're out there. The whole atmosphere at home was gloomy, and I got caught up in the storm. I didn't dare go against them. It would've broken my mother's heart."

Janice paused to pat Janetta's shoulder in a comforting gesture.

"So how did you and Baber meet?" I prodded with curiosity.

Janice chuckled at the memory, "Meeting him was kind of a story in itself. To everyone else, it was a set-up by a matchmaker, our first date. But the truth is, I met him way before that." "Oh? Do tell," I urged, my interest piqued.

"He was quite the strategist," Janice admitted, "Some of the things I only learned after we got married. He said he never imagined I'd marry him."

"Why not?" Geneva inquired, joining the conversation.

"He first saw me in our university's library."

"The library? But he's so much older than you, and he couldn't have been a fellow student," Catherine prodded further.

"No," Janice quickly clarified, "His team needed some research for a case and couldn't find it anywhere. They ended up at our library. He told me once how I went out of there, arms full of books, only to have them scattered by one of his subordinates. I was livid, shouting, "Is this a farmers' market? Are you in a rush to snag the best veggies?"

Catherine laughed, pointing at Janice, "That's so you, fiery and fierce, with a touch of pride."

"Baber, without saying a word, bent down to pick up the books for me and organized all the books he had picked up and put them in the hands of his subordinate and punished him for sending them back to me. I accepted, so I let the kid carry the books and send them back to our classroom."

Janice laughed uncontrollably at this, "It turns out I did know that guy carrying the books, and him, I don't remember a thing."

Janice grinned unabashedly, "I guess that's when he took notice of me. After doing his research, he even checked up on me. By the time I graduated and started working, he'd already reached out to my mom through some connections."

"He is playing the long game." I quipped.

Janice nodded earnestly, "By then, he had been promoted to a pretty high-ranking position, one of the youngest to do so. My mom was actually hesitant about him. It took her days to even bring up the idea of a date. And when she did introduce Baber to me, she kept going on about his potential, calling him a young, promising talent with a bright future. After all, it's rare to reach his rank at such an age. She even hinted that he might be up for another promotion after some additional training."

"It seems like he's had a pretty smooth ascension up the ranks," Catherine said, her voice echoing with a hint of envy.

"His career certainly was on a fast track," Geneva added.

"True! And they didn't dare show me his picture before the date. I went there full of curiosity and respect. I dressed up all nice, but when he walked in, it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over my head. I was speechless."