I prayed for clarity about him, and now we work together, what should I do

I’m a Muslim woman in my 20s, and there’s a guy I’ve had feelings for since college. I’m trying to figure out whether I’m holding onto something that was never really there, or whether there could actually be something worth pursuing in a halal/respectful way.
I met him in college around 2022. We were in several of the same classes for about two years. Looking back, I think he may have been interested in me, but at the time I was extremely shy and honestly handled it badly.
He would sometimes ask me to sit with him in class, and there were little things that stood out to me. He would help me with homework without me even asking, and he seemed to look for opportunities to interact with me. There were times when I would avoid him, ignore him, or act like I wasn’t interested, even though I actually was. There were also other people/social dynamics around us that made me even more hesitant.
One thing I deeply regret is that he eventually invited me to be part of his capstone/project, and I avoided it. At the time I didn’t know how to handle my feelings, and now I look back and wonder if I accidentally made him think I wasn’t interested.
We eventually graduated, and somehow ended up working for the same company. For a while we were in different locations, so there was still distance between us. I kept thinking about him anyway.
The confusing part is that my feelings never really went away.
I’ve had other opportunities for marriage and have even rejected proposals my parents brought to me because, honestly, he was still in my heart and I couldn’t bring myself to seriously consider someone else while wondering about him. I know that’s probably not the healthiest way to handle it, especially when I don’t actually know how he feels.
I’m Muslim, so I don’t want to date casually or pursue him in a way that goes against my values. Ideally, if there is mutual interest, I’d want things to eventually go through a proper/halal route.
A few weeks ago I went to Umrah. I was extremely emotional about this whole situation and genuinely cried while making dua. I basically asked Allah: if this man is good for me and meant for me, make him my naseeb and make the path easy; and if he isn’t, remove him from my heart and give me something better.
Then I came home.
And I found out he had relocated to the same work location as me.
That completely messed with my head.
I had literally just asked Allah to either make it happen if it was good for me or help me let go, and then suddenly this person I’d spent years trying to forget was now physically around me again.
The first day I saw him after coming back, I actually panicked and went into the elevator quickly so he wouldn’t see me. But afterward I found myself doing the oppositlooking for opportunities to run into him, wondering when he takes breaks, noticing which floor he’s on, going to pray in places where I might happen to see him, etc.
And honestly, it’s exhausting.
I don’t want to spend my workday trying to engineer encounters with someone who may not even be interested in me.
At the same time, I can’t seem to completely let go because I keep wondering whether I gave him the wrong impression years ago.
There is another strange connection too: I know his sister but never knew they were related
I don’t know whether he knows I like him.
I don’t know whether he ever liked me.
And I don’t know whether the things he did in college meant anything or whether I’m assigning meaning to normal friendliness because I have feelings for him.
Then something happened recently that has made me even more confused.
I was eating at work and he saw me. Instead of just walking past, he waved at me and came over. He sat down and talked to me, and we ended up having a genuinely warm conversation that lasted around 30 minutes.
He asked me a lot of questions, how I was doing, how work was going, what my workload was like, who I work with, etc. The conversation felt comfortable. He was smiling and seemed genuinely engaged.
He also mentioned that his sister, who is looking for a job, had been looking at opportunities at our company and at UW. I told him that I actually know his sister, which he seemed to take normally.
At one point he asked whether I would be in the building, and when we were talking about praying/being in the building, he said something along the lines of “we’ll get again” / we’ll see each other again.
Nothing he said was explicitly romantic. He didn’t confess anything or ask me out. So I don’t want to convince myself that a friendly conversation automatically means he likes me.
But at the same time, considering our history, I’m wondering if it means something.
The biggest issue is that I don’t want to pursue him aggressively. I don’t want to chase him around work or make him uncomfortable. If he genuinely has an interest, I would much rather he make some kind of intentional move.
But I’m also terrified that he thinks I rejected him years ago because that’s essentially what my behavior looked like from his perspective.
So now I’m stuck between:
letting go and accepting that maybe this was never meant to happen;
continuing to interact naturally and seeing what happens;
somehow giving him a small indication that I’m not uninterested;
or finding a halal way to determine whether there is actually mutual interest.
I don’t even necessarily need him to say yes. I think what hurts the most is the uncertainty.
I keep thinking: What if he did like me back then, but I pushed him away? What if he still does? What if he doesn’t? What if I spend another few years holding onto someone who was never going to be mine?
I also don’t want to interpret my Umrah experience as some kind of divine sign just because he happened to relocate after I made dua. I know that’s not how I should think about it. Maybe it’s completely coincidental. Maybe it’s simply an opportunity to finally get clarity. Maybe nothing will come from it.
I’m trying to trust Allah while also being realistic.
What would you do in this situation?
Especially from a Muslim/halal perspective, how can I figure out whether there is mutual interest without chasing him or crossing boundaries?
And if you were in his position, would you interpret my past behavior as rejection? Or could you still approach a woman years later if you were interested in her?
I would really appreciate honest advice, especially from people who have experienced something similar.