If somebody asked Zahra - "do we ever reach a point in time when we just cannot love a person any longer?" - she wouldn't know.
Zahra Yusuf is the most sensible girl in her family. She listens to her mind more than her heart, maybe that's why her Na...
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chapter 14: online hunt gone wrong
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There was no way I'd forget someone like Shafaq. It made no sense when he said he'd known me for 5 years. How could that be?! He would've been twenty at that time, it was highly unlikely. But everything he had said was true — he hadn't lied about a single thing so far.
Humrah didi's nikah was approaching fast and Shafaq had asked me to forget about the circumstances and focus on preparations for the wedding. But it just so happened that I couldn't take my mind off of him, as usual. Sometimes I wondered if he ever detected how I felt inside my head, then I convinced myself he wouldn't even dream of it.
"So what did you do?" Falak asked, suppressing a smile one night. "What did you do when he said 'nevermind', hmm?"
"You're missing the whole point." I waved her hands in front her. "He's known me —us?— for five years!"
"Right right, let's focus." Falak blinked.
"Okay, so five years ago I was sixteen—"
"But what happened after the nevermind?" Amirah whispered, clearly wanting to know.
"We just decided to leave the café, I decided not to call or text him — not that I ever did that anyway but still, I think I shouldn't take this lightly." I exhaled. "You didn't see his eyes, or listen to his little laugh like he couldn't believe it was me. Like it was all so real but his standards were different."
"Oh my God, are you mad at him?" Falak grinned and held her arms up as I threw a pillow at her.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.
"Yeah, basically we don't know why he can't marry you." Amirah plopped down on the bed.
"Can we forget about the 'nevermind'?" I said frantically. "Humrah didi's nikah is scheduled for this weekend and we need to discuss important matters!"
"Yes yes, you said five years ago you were sixteen…" Falak prompted.
"Yes, but Naahil died when I was eighteen. So he knew Naahil for 2 years — when I was sixteen to eighteen. After that, I definitely haven't seen him in Bangalore." I explained. "That means, whatever happened in those two years is what we need to uproot."
"Have you ever googled him?" Amirah asked. "I mean, he's too famous for us not to know but still—"
"I did, once, for Nani." I nodded.
"Maybe we can dig around a bit more, check some celeb following websites and see what this is about." Falak suggested.
