A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Thirteen

Zoya's POV:

"Tumhare khayal men hum chup karke Uber bula kar bhag sakte hen? (Do you think we can silently call an Uber and escape without them noticing?)" I whispered while glancing at their backs. Rubab looked at me as if I had lost it. She was partly right. I felt like my intelligence faded with my consciousness a while ago.

"Haan bilkul bhaag sakte hen. Bas Kamran Uber walay driver ko goli mardega aur Fahad humen ghaseet kar shayd gaari ki diggi men phenk de. Aur kuch nahi bus yehi hoga. (Yeah we can. Just that Kamran will shoot the Uber driver and Fahad might drag us to the trunk of the car for trying to escape. Nothing else will happen apart from this.)" Sarcasm dripped from Rubab's word and I didn't know whether to laugh and cry at her statement.

"Acha sahi hai. Baatein na maaro. Aisa karo Kamran ko idher bulao, men us se baat karti hun and tum bahir Fahad ko distracted rakho. Kamran ne mujhe waise janay nahi dena. Woh bohat dheet hai. (Alright, quit taunting me. Go call Kamran here. I will have a one on one conversation with him while you keep Fahad distracted. Kamran is not going to let me leave easily. He is very stubborn.)" I knew why Rubab was gaping at me. The idea of having to 'distract' Fahad didn't seem promising but unexpectedly, for a second, I saw her eyes spark with something anew. She didn't seem as hesitant as I had thought she would be. When she realised I was noticing her expressions, she immediately turned blank again.

"Are you sure you want to do this? That sounds dangerous." Rubab's voice was laced with concern. "We don't know what he might do."

"I don't really have an option. He won't let me get away without an explanation. We are in his car for crying out loud. I just hope he will try to be more understanding about it." I replied and she slowly nodded her head as she got out of the car reluctantly.

The sound made the two of them turn around. I watched as Kamran's eyes glanced in my direction instead of Rubab. I felt my heart speed up when our eyes connected. Rubab didn't even get the chance to say anything as he started to rush towards me.

Oh fuck. I am so not prepared for this. Should I just lock the car door? No. God knows what he might do if I did that. I had to play it cool. It's alright. He will sit in the passenger seat and I can just look at the back of his head while I-

WHY IS HE COMING TO THE BACKSEAT? I screamed internally as I watched him open the backdoor and get inside. I subconsciously scooted over so he could get space to sit. I should have locked the door when I had the chance.

An awkward silence overcame us as he sat on my left side burning a hole through my face with his intense stare.

"Anushay..." Was his voice always this deep? I felt my breath hitch in my throat as I felt him close in even more. "Are you okay?"

"Itna kareeb kyun arahay ho? Fasla rakho. (Why are you coming so close? Keep your distance.)" I squeaked out. How was Rubab able to stay calm all the time? I feel like my heart would leap out of my chest right about now. I slid away so my back was touching the car door while Kamran was sitting infront of me. Just great. Should I open the door and try to escape?

Kamran halted as he looked at me with concern in his eyes. It was hard to see his face clearly because of the dim light but he didn't seem terrifying just yet. I was sure he was going to lose his shit pretty soon though.

"I am alright now, thanks." I carefully selected my words as I tried to think of a way to tell him to leave me alone which seemed highly unlikely at the moment. "Listen, Kamran..."

"Call me Sher like you used to." He said the words with such emotion that my words got caught up in my throat. I had to be stronger than this. I couldn't give in right now. But this was far harder than before because I now remembered him now.

The boy from my childhood. He was a dear friend I had made in Karachi. He was someone I had memories with in actuality. Even if I didn't remember them entirely. But what I witnessed back then could cause me to get into immense danger and I still didn't have the answers I needed. I wasn't sure yet whether it was a risk I was willing to take. I couldn't let him know that I remembered him. Or that I was the same
person I used to be.

"Kamran," I repeated, not abiding by his request. "I am not the person from my past. I am not the Anushay you remember. She is gone. If you are looking for her in me, you are wasting your time. You should give up and let me go." I saw the ways his expressions changed from concern to something else entirely. He could see right through me. He wasn't buying it.

"You are fourteen years too late to say this now. Let you go? It doesn't work like that. I didn't give up even when people told me you were dead. What makes you think I would give up when you are right before me? So what if you are not the same person you used to be? You are still you. My Anushay. No wait, you are my Zoya." Kamran brought his face close to mine as he whispered that in my ear.

"You don't understand-" He didn't give me a chance to finish. His hand grabbed my hand and squeezed it gently although his eyes were anything but gentle.

"I promised you back then that I would always be there for you. I plan to keep that promise for as long as we live. And you should keep your promise too." He brought my hand up and wrapped both his hands around it as he kissed it leaving me utterly shocked. His almost charcoal black eyes stared into my soul making it harder for me to breath. The car suddenly felt so small. "I have already lost one important woman in my life. She abandoned me. I won't let you leave. Not again."

What woman? Did her ex leave her or something? Why do I have to bear the consequences of that? I wanted to ask who it was but decided that now was not the time.

"I need time, Kamran. To process all this. To accept everything. It is too overwhelming." I was lying. I needed time to find answers and then escape but he didn't need to know that. I saw his features soften up a bit at my words.

"Take the time you need, Zoya, but don't keep me waiting. Fourteen years is already a very long time." He didn't look like he wanted to loosen his grip on my hand until I replied so I sighed before nodding.

"I know." He finally let go as I saw him smile.

"We were meant to be Zoya. You can't escape me, and even more than that, you can't outrun fate." There was a promise behind those words, a warning that if I try to escape, I won't be able to get far. Somehow I just had to kill time till Misha's wedding and then I can hopefully put this all behind me for good. The only problem was, her wedding was still two months away. "Come on, I will take you home."

I don't know about home, but he is definitely going to take me to hell.

Author's POV:

Hello and Asalam o Alaikum Lovelies!

I know the story is progressing a tad bit slow but InshaAllah it will pick up pace soon. Also, I would really like it if you guys could comment more. It really motivates me to write more.