alhaitham, ever the picture of composure, found his stoicism faltering. the sheer absurdity of the situation gnawed at him: you, his ex, were his blind date.

"i see you're moving on just fine," he stated, his tone devoid of malice, yet undeniably laced with a detached observation of your current state.

a surge of anger, hot and sharp, flared within you. his seemingly innocuous comment, delivered with that infuriatingly calm demeanor, felt like a calculated jab. how dare he act as if this bizarre, unwanted blind date wasn't happening?

you scoffed, the sound cutting through the strained silence, and took a long, defiant sip of your wine.

alhaitham paused, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his eyes, before resuming the painfully stilted exchange. "...so, how have you been?"