Dark Secrets ✔️

Chapter 20

Afrah's POV

"Is it time for lunch yet?" Nicole asks
and I look at the time.

"Half an hour left," I respond. Junaid's door opens and he comes out with his mother and the lady.

"Wait, I'm going to accompany you home," Junaid tells his mother before going back inside.

"It's already lunchtime, why are you girls still here?" Junaid's mother asks, rolling her wheelchair forward.

"We have thirty minutes left," I answer.

"That's nonsense. Let's go, I'd like some company. My son doesn't talk much, so perhaps you girls can tell me what he's been up to. He used to be very talkative but suddenly he stopped." She smiles as she talks about him. She seems to like him a lot.

"When was I talkative?" I hear Junaid and I realize he was already out of his office.

"Oh, when you were young. We went to the park and you wouldn't stop talking to everybody. You made friend's easily back then." She continues as if remembering those moments.

"When was that?" Junaid continues to ask as if wanting to hear a specific answer from his mother.

"I guess you were around seven."

Junaid looks at his mother as if trying to decipher something complicated.

"By the way, I think we should eat here. I want to talk to your employees since you won't tell me anything." She smiles and looks at me. "Can you please help me down?" She asks and I nod helping her to the elevator.

All five of us leave to the canteen and now I understand why the eating tables are not too high like some other companies. Junaid did them to accommodate wheelchair users. That was very thoughtful of him.

I'm getting to see a new side of Junaid each day. - I think to myself when he asks his mother what she'd like to eat.
He didn't tell her the menu, which means he was willing to go buy food for her if she wanted anything outside the company.

"Anything is fine." She answers and Junaid was going to get up but I speak,

"You can stay, I'll go," I say and get up towards the kitchen balcony noticing how his mother smiled at me. The lady with her, although she hadn't said a word yet, she kept staring at me.

I notice Junaid and Nicole next to me once I reach the kitchen balcony.

"Who is the lady with your mum?" I ask because the woman doesn't seem like she's going to introduce herself.

"Hadiya? She's my mother's care nurse." He answers.

"She's a bit strange," I say but then regret it.

"It's fine, she is actually strange." He agrees.

"I didn't know you could be so caring." I smile, a little too long, as if admiring him.

He looks at me but soon takes his eyes off me, "There's a lot you don't know about me." He says and I know he's right.

"I believe I don't know a single thing about you, actually." I look at him as if trying to figure him out. "Why are we back to stage one?" I question and place my hands on his arm, leaning forward to at least be able to see him since he wouldn't look at me.

"What do you mean?"

"You can't look at me again. I thought we were over that."

"Are the princess' going to take any longer? I want my salad as well." Nicole says making us realize she's right next to us. We move along and I realize Junaid isn't going to answer my question.