chapter 24

Chapter 24MishalI am sorry to have bothered you in the middle of the night. I swear this won’t happen again. Thank you for being such a warm host. You’re the best xWith my half eyes open, I read Daniel’s text. I started missing him the moment I realized he was not in my bed anymore. I could not figure out the exact moment he left the room. Had I been awake, I would not have let him go. Not so sooner…I would have held his hand, looked into his eyes, and told him how much he meant to me and how much I loved him…I sighed and lay face down on the pillow. I hated the fact that he did not remember everything from that night. Things would have been so much easier for us. At least, we both would be on the same page. Except that we weren’t. Some things weren’t meant to be, and I was okay with that. I would be a fool not to know that I could not have anything with Daniel. He belonged to some other world, and I could never be a part of his world; he couldn’t be a part of mine. Our words were apart, and I had always known this. After taking a shower and dressing up, I went downstairs and found Amma and Khadija sitting in the TV lounge. Amma’s face lit up with pride as soon as she saw me approaching them. She held my hand and made me sit next to her. I could not quite pinpoint why she seemed to be in a happy mood that day. ‘You know I’m so proud of you,’ Amma said as she stroked my cheek delicately. Confused, I asked. ‘What happened, Amma?’‘Khadija has told me you have agreed to the proposal,’ Amma added. I was quick to react. ‘Amma, I haven’t agreed to any proposal.’Amma’s face fell when I told her this. ‘What do you mean?’ She looked back and forth between Khadija and me. ‘Khadija? What is she saying?’‘Amma…’ Khadija began, but I interjected her. ‘What I mean to say is I haven’t agreed to the proposal because I haven’t met the guy yet.’Amma seemed somewhat relieved. ‘What do you mean?’‘It means I have to meet the guy first and then decide whether he’s good or not.’‘But Khadija said he’s a nice guy,’ Amma said. ‘We haven’t met him yet, Amma. How can you know about someone without meeting them?’Khadija intervened. ‘I think it’s best if we invite their family to visit us today.’Amma was surprised. ‘Today? Isn’t that too soon?’I couldn’t help but stay quiet despite not liking this conversation even a bit. I was helpless, and I couldn’t do anything to stop these two women from deciding my future. ‘No, Amma. It’s not soon. I have already invited them.’Both Amma and I looked at her in shock. ‘What?’ Amma said. ‘Yes. Jahanzeb told me it was better if we invited them sooner as they were awaiting our call. I called them up and invited them over today so we could proceed with the matter. We should not delay things, Amma,’ Khadija suggested. Amma became silent, and so was I. ‘What happened now?’ Khadija asked, assessing our reaction. ‘I think we should prepare for the items we need to present in front of them,’ Amma said with excitement in her voice. ‘Excuse me. I have to go and check with the stock. Need to pack the orders.’ I stood on my feet and walked to the kitchen, escaping from Amma and Khadija. ‘Wait, Mishi. Forget about the orders today. Let’s start preparing for the hi-tea items. I am joining you in a bit,’ I heard Amma say once I was in the kitchen. I wish I could do something to stop this from happening. I wish I could simply call the guy and tell him I was interested in someone else. I wish I could just run away and never look back. ***A few hours later, Faiz and his parents showed up at our place. At Amma’s request, I had to wear a blush pink-colored shalwar kameez. I kept my hair open and makeup light. First, Amma and Khadija sat down with the family in the drawing-room and then offered them refreshments. Later, Khadija came to escort me from the kitchen and took me to the drawing-room to meet the guy and his family.Faiz seemed like a decent person. I figured he seemed mature, educated, and quite sensible from his conversation. Looks-wise, he was average, but overall his personality was pleasing. After some time, Faiz’s parents sought Amma’s permission if she could allow their son to have a private sitting with me. Amma exchanged a glance with Khadija to know what she was thinking, and she nodded at her. Khadija asked me to take Faiz into the TV lounge and have a private conversation with him.When I brought Faiz out to the TV lounge, Ayaan played games on his Xbox. Seeing us, he paused the game and made a face. ‘Why did you pause the game? Please continue playing,’ Faiz told Ayaan as he sat on the couch. ‘I have to go and pee,’ Ayaan retorted and left the room. Faiz smiled briskly. ‘I feel your brother did not like me much.’I covered for Ayaan. ‘No, it’s not like that. He has his exams coming up, so he is always studying. He gets to play the game only for an hour.’‘I see.’‘That means we have disrupted his playtime.’I said with a wave of a hand. ‘Oh, no. It’s all right.’‘So, Mishal, you run a YouTube channel. How interesting is that? I am really impressed with your body of work!’ he commented. I pressed my lips in a thin line. ‘Thank you.’‘I am also impressed with your home-based food business. How is it going?’‘It’s going good.’‘Online businesses boomed during the COVID days.’‘Yes.’‘I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. I work as a Technical Engineer for an engineering firm in Islamabad. Although my family lives in Lahore, I have to live in Islamabad due to work. I travel on weekends.’‘Oh, okay.’‘Would you like to know anything else about me?’ he asked. ‘Umm… you can tell me anything you like.’‘I do not know if you’ve heard of me, but I have heard a lot about you from Jahanzeb and Khadija Bhabhi. They can’t stop praising you.’I smiled and looked down at my hands. ‘They’re just too nice.’‘Or maybe you are too nice.’I looked up at him and became quiet because I did not know how to react or what to say. The guy sitting in front of me could be my potential husband. He just tried to hit on me, and I did not know what to do about it. So, I looked away, thinking of coming up with some excuse to escape from this situation. I could not sit here with him. I did not want to sit with him and talk about anything else. I just wanted to run away… Just then, I received a call from Daniel on my phone. I could not help but ignore his call while sitting in front of Faiz. ‘You can take the call if it’s important,’ he told me.‘No,’ I replied firmly. ‘It’s not important.’DanielI was hit by an immense feeling of disappointment when Mishal rejected my call. I called her once again to see if she had rejected my call by mistake, but she did it again for the second time. Confused and hurt, I wrote her a text message. Please pick my call. It’s urgent.I need to see you. There’s something I need to tell you. After sending her three texts in a row, I slid the phone into my jeans pocket. I could not sit all day and wait for her to reply to me or pick up my phone calls. Whether or not she responded, I had to talk to her. Even if it required me to go to her place. As it was still evening, I could not think of barging into her room. Someone could see me there. So, I decided to visit her place by ringing the doorbell and asking her Mum to let me see her. I did not have much time in my hands so I had to meet her and tell her all about my feelings. I had already wasted a lot of time by not remembering everything on time. I had already given her enough time to suffer. I could not let her suffer anymore. I stood before the mirror and began to fix my hair before meeting her. Just then, Mum slightly knocked on my door, demanding my attention. ‘Hey, Mum.’ I turned around to see her. ‘Come on in.’She stepped into the room slowly, her lips pressed together in a thin line. ‘What’s up?’I shrugged. ‘Nothing.’Mum raised a brow. ‘Going somewhere?’‘Yes.’‘Where?’‘Over Mishal’s.’Mum sighed and looked away and then looked back at me. ‘Are you still seeing her?’I bit my lower lip. ‘I don’t know what to call it exactly, but yeah, I am really fond of her.’‘Does she feel the same about you?’I nodded, my cheeks turning hot. ‘I’d like to believe that.’‘Daniyal…’I interjected Mum before she said anything further and stepped in front of her, holding her by her arms. ‘Mum, I have booked my flight back to Sydney. I am leaving in two days.’Mum turned upset as soon as she heard that. ‘What?’I nodded. ‘Yes. My supervisor wants me back ASAP.’The lines on her forehead creased. ‘But… you never told me anything about leaving so soon…’I smiled. ‘One day, I had to leave, Mum. It was understood.’Suddenly, her eyes became watery. ‘Why can’t you… stay a few more days here with me?’‘I’d love to, but I can’t. I can’t risk my job.’‘I wish you could stay here forever.’‘You know that’s not possible.’She sighed heavily and caressed my face with her soft hands. ‘Don’t worry. I’m gonna sponsor you as soon as I go back.’She chuckled. ‘I can’t leave my family here.’‘Just come for a short holiday.’She nodded considerately. ‘I will see.’I nodded. ‘Mum, would you support me in every decision I make?’‘I will, son. I will.’‘For the first time in my life, I think I’m goin’ to do something right.’Her eyebrows drew apart. ‘What?’I inhaled slowly. ‘I’m goin’ to tell my girl that I love her.’The expression on Mum’s face did not change. That indicated she had accepted me falling in love with Mishal. ‘I don’t care about the consequences, and I’m not sure what the future holds for us. All I know is that I love Mishal, and I gotta tell her before it’s too late.’Mum smiled. ‘Go, tell her then.’I nodded as tears formed in my eyes. ‘Do this right.’‘I will. I promise.’ I kissed Mum’s hand and hugged her. ***I stepped on the staircase but stopped midway as soon as I encountered Fariya. ‘What’s the rush?’ she asked, raising a brow. I decided I was not answerable to anyone, especially her. So, ignoring her, I walked past her and stepped down the staircase. ‘I know you’re going to meet Mishal and tell her how much you love her,’ she said, and I stopped midway again. I turned to look at her, furrowing. ‘What’s your problem?’ I could not believe she had eavesdropped on my conversation with Mum in my room earlier. ‘Did you ever think if she was worthy of your love, your attention?’ she asked, crossing her arms. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ I asked, annoyed. ‘How can a person be worthy of your love and attention when she’s the one who gave a testament against your character?’I glared at her after hearing her say that. ‘What, what did you say?’‘Remember, when I accused you of sexual abuse a few years ago, there was a person who gave a testament against you for being the eye witness to the scene?’ she asked. I kept glaring at her, not blinking my eyes. ‘Do you want to know who that person was?’ She took a step toward me, looking me in the eye. My jawline hardened, and my fist clenched in anticipation. ‘That person was none other than Mishal,’ she told me. I sucked in a breath and whispered. ‘What the fuck are you talkin’ about?’‘Don’t believe me? Why don’t you go and ask Mishal for yourself? I am sure she will tell you the truth now.’I was hit by a blow of anger, frustration, and betrayal. What if Fariya was right? What if Mishal was that person who had given a false testament against me during that time? What would I do about it? How would I handle the situation? The truth was right before me, but I did not know how to react to it. I had to talk to Mishal first. I had to ask her whether Fariya was right. I had to ask her why she gave a false testament against me. Why did she support Fariya in this mess? Why she choose to go against me? Why?