A week had passed, and the wedding was now just a few days away. Everyone was caught up in their preparations, which made it hard for Zain and me to find time to see each other. I missed him so much—his scent, his embrace, and the feeling of kissing his face.
But I knew I had to be patient. As I was lost in my thoughts, Ayesha interrupted, "Hey, dummy. What are you thinking about? I've been talking for a while, and you've been completely spaced out."
"Nothing," I replied, snapping out of it. "You were saying something about you and Saad?"
She gave a small sigh. "Yeah, I was just thinking... Saad is so sweet, the guy I'd want to marry. But sometimes, I feel like maybe he doesn't like me the same way."
"What? Saad adores you, Ayesha! I see him almost every day, and he's never even glanced at another girl," I reassured her.
"If you say so, I'll trust you," she said, her mood lightening. "By the way, what's happening between you and Zain?"
"I haven't seen him all week. He's been swamped," I said, sounding a little down.
"Just give him a call or visit him," Ayesha suggested.
"He's been tied up with Ayesha and Farhan bhai's wedding preparations. Plus, he's juggling studies and his job. I don't want to bother him," I explained.
"Don't worry! We're all heading to Murree in a few days. You'll get to see him every day," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, I guess," I muttered. "Come on, let's head home," Ayesha said, getting up and heading to the counter to pay the bill. As I was about to stand up, I received a message on my phone. It was from Qaima: *"Look at this,"* she wrote, along with a video.
I opened it to see Zain and Hassan with a couple of their football friends, partying. My heart sank when I saw a girl standing close to Zain, touching him. My blood boiled. I quickly messaged Qaima to send me the location, telling her I'd pick her up.
"Ayesha, I need to go somewhere. You can take the car," I said, as I booked an Uber to meet up with Qaima. When I picked her up, we headed straight to the club. I was seething with anger, and as soon as I arrived, I noticed a group of girls gathered around Zain and his friends.
But when I saw that same girl holding Zain's hand and him just standing there, I lost it. I stormed over and yanked her away by her hair.
"So, you like touching other people's men, huh? Maybe some girls would tolerate this, but not me. This is *my* man, and you better back off," I said, pulling her away from him. Zain looked shocked, completely caught off guard.
"Zain, stop her! She's going to kill me!" the girl screamed.
"Don't you dare say his name with your dirty mouth," I spat back, my anger only growing. "If I see any girl near him again, you'll end up just like this," I warned, as Zain pulled me back."Baby, calm down," Zain said, trying to hold me.
"Calm down? Are you crazy? We haven't met all week, and I thought you were busy with wedding preparations. But here you are, clubbing and letting this girl touch you," I said, trying to wriggle free from his grip.
"Baby, no, I swear I wasn't cheating. She just came over and sat next to us. It wasn't my fault," Zain said, trying to explain himself.
"Oh? Not your fault? You couldn't just tell her to keep her hands off you?" I said, my voice trembling with rage.
"Baby, I didn't encourage her at all. I promise," he said, glaring at the girl with annoyance. As I was confronting Zain, I saw Qaima giving Hassan a piece of her mind too.
"That's it, Zain. I'm done. I had plans to meet you, but now I see you're just like the others. I trusted you, and you broke it," I said, my eyes welling up with tears.
"Baby, no, please. I promise I didn't want to be here. These idiots dragged me along, and I swear I didn't do anything," Zain said, looking desperate, but I was too hurt to listen. I walked out of the club, ignoring his pleas to stop.
"Baby, I'm sorry. I promise I'll never go clubbing again or let any girl get close to me. Please forgive me," he begged as he followed me outside, but I was in no mood to hear his excuses.
"Not now, Zain," I said firmly as I hailed a taxi. I climbed in, ignoring his pleading, "Please, baby, listen to me." But I couldn't bring myself to listen. My heart felt heavy, and I was overwhelmed by the urge to cry—something I hadn't done in a long time. I never thought Zain would do something like this. As the taxi drove away, my phone kept buzzing with calls from him every couple of minutes. Annoyed, I switched it off.
Hours later, the maid came up to inform me that dinner was ready. "Momna, beta, come downstairs," she said gently, but I just stared at her, my voice shaky with tears. "I'm not hungry. Please, just leave me alone."
About twenty minutes later, Ayesha and Fatima started knocking on my door, but I couldn't bear to face anyone. After a while, I finally opened the door, feeling flustered. "Why are you disturbing me?" I snapped, tears streaming down my face. Ayesha and Fatima stood there, shocked to see me like this.
"Momo, what's wrong? Why are you so upset?" they asked, their voices full of concern. Hearing their kind words made me break down even more, and I hugged them tightly, unable to hold back my sobs.
Through my tears, I told them everything that happened at the club. "What? I can't believe Zain would do that!" Fatima exclaimed, her anger palpable. "That jerk," Ayesha added, her face flushed with rage, even more furious than Fatima. It was clear they were both ready to confront him.
"Don't worry, I've already talked to Farhan about his brother's actions," Fatima said, trying to reassure me. "No, please, don't involve Farhan bhai," I said quickly, concerned that it would cause tension between Fatima and Farhan bhai.
Ayesha was quick to chime in, "And I'll be talking to Saad too."
"No, please," I protested. "I don't want either of you to strain your relationships because of me." I appreciated their concern, but I didn't want them to get too involved. "Just talking to you two has helped me feel a little better. I'm going to Murree in a few days, and I hope I can clear my head. I just want to focus on the wedding and then my studies."
"So, are you ending things with Zain?" Fatima asked, her voice filled with worry. "I don't know yet," I said, sighing. "I just need a break." I hugged Ayesha as I spoke, and as we continued to talk, I finally started to feel sleepy.
The next morning, I woke up to find Fatima and Ayesha still asleep beside me. I didn't feel like going to university or facing Zain, so I decided to stay home. I ended up drifting back to sleep for a few more hours. When I woke again, they were gone. I went to the bathroom, took a shower, and felt a bit more refreshed.
After that, I checked my phone and saw numerous messages from both Qaima and Zain. Naturally, I ignored Zain's messages, but I decided to call Qaima, knowing she was probably going through the same situation.
"Hey, how are you?" Qaima asked softly, her voice tinged with sadness. "I'm okay, I guess. What about you?" I replied.
"I'm fine... or at least trying to be. I still can't believe what those two did," she said, her voice breaking. Hearing her cry made me start crying too, and we ended up crying together on the phone for half an hour.
Once we calmed down, we both agreed that we needed to focus on our studies and make it through this. After talking to Qaima for about two hours, I felt a bit lighter. I decided to hit the books to keep my mind occupied.
The next few days went by like this—I didn't go to university and asked my friends to share their notes so I could study from home. Eventually, it was time to pack for the trip, and we all loaded our things into the car. I dreaded seeing Zain, but I knew I had to prepare myself for it. Both of our families were going to meet at a relative's house.
When we arrived, I put on my headphones, grabbed my bag, and stepped out of the car. I spotted Zain giving me a small smile, but I ignored him and went straight to greet his parents. After a while, the maid showed us to our rooms, and it turned out that we were all staying on the top floor.
I started unpacking my things when I felt someone's gaze on me. I glanced over and saw Zain watching me.
"Hey," he said, his voice shaky. I didn't respond.
"Look, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be," he said as he stepped closer. "But I'm sorry."
"Zain, I'm not your 'baby,' okay? I don't want to ruin my mood, so just cut the crap," I said coldly. "I trusted you, and you broke that trust. It's over, so please, leave me alone." I turned away and continued putting my clothes in the closet.
Suddenly, I felt his hands wrap around my waist from behind. "What the hell, Zain?" I snapped, my anger flaring.
"Please, just listen to me. I'm sorry. I know I messed up, but I can't live without you," he said, his voice cracking. As he spoke, I felt something wet land on my shoulder, and when I turned around, I saw that he was crying.
It was the first time I had ever seen him cry, and it hurt me deeply. "I love you. Please, don't do this," he pleaded, his voice shaky.
"Zain, don't cry. Look, I just need some time. It's not over, but please don't cry like this," I said, my own emotions threatening to spill over as I saw his tears.
"So, it's not over?" he asked, his tone filled with hope. "I promise I'll do anything to make things right, just don't leave me," he said as he pulled me into a hug.
It was the hug I had been yearning for all week, that familiar embrace that made everything feel like it could be okay again. We held each other for a few minutes, neither of us wanting to let go, until I finally pulled back.
"Zain, you should go now," I said gently. "I need to finish unpacking, and please don't bother me during the wedding. I'm still upset, okay?"
"Alright," he nodded, wiping his eyes. "But I promise, I'll win you back."
As he left the room, a part of me wanted to believe him. I couldn't shake the feeling that maybe it wasn't entirely his fault. Even in the video, he didn't seem interested in any of the girls; it was that one girl who had reached out and touched his hand—hands that I thought belonged to me.
