A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Fifteen

Ibraheem's POV:

"Woh bhagne ki koshish karegi na? (She is going to try to run away from me, isn't she?)" Kamran downed a Redbull and put on boxing gloves as he started punching the sandbag to vent. "Usko kya lagta hai? Mujhe pata nahi lagay ga? Uski ankhon men nazar araha tha ke woh mujhe ab pehchanti hai. Uske bawajood woh bhagna chahti hai? (Did she think I wouldn't find out? Her eyes recognised me. They were different from before. She knew who I was now. And yet she was going to run?)"

Damn, did he find out about Zoya being back? Shit, Misha isn't going to like this. I should have a contingency plan in my mind for our wedding. Should I book two venues instead of one incase Kamran decides to become destructive?

He halted the sandbag and placed his head against it while being in deep thought. "As if" punch "I will" punch "let her" punch punch "get away" punch punch punch "again!" punch "Mazak samjha howa hai mujhe? (Am I joke to her?)"

I sighed deciding to leave him alone. Maybe Fahad could tell me what was wrong with him. I turned to look at him and the man was pouring himself rum and lighting a cigarette. I looked at the clock. It was 3 p.m. What's with him? He doesn't drink in the afternoon. "Oye Fahad, Kamran ko kya hua hai? Aur tujhe kua hua? (Hey Fahad, what is wrong with Kamran?)"

Fahad glanced in my direction with a blank distant look and it looked like he didn't process a word I said. He seemed to be deep in thought as he took several puffs of his cigarette.

"Maybe then we could be lovers? Maybe then we had a chance? MAYBE THEN WHAT? WHICH IS IT? Damn it woman. HOW HARD IS IT TO COMPLETE A SENTENCE?" Fahad was talking to himself too. What in the world happened to them in the last two days that I was away? "Was she messing with me or did she mean it? I don't know."

These guys needed a break more than I did. We should go on a roll out. It probably might help get things off their mid. "Alright, that's enough guys. Let's go out and celebrate." It didn't take me long to realize that I had used the wrong word to describe the situation.

"Celebrate what? That my significant other wants to escape from me like every other woman in my life?" Kamran replied back bitterly. I felt bad for the sandbag. It looked about ready to rip. "Is there something wrong with me? Why do they all leave me? Especially without telling me?" He sounded miserable. I wanted to give him a side hug or something but I felt like I would become the target of his frustration.

"Oh sure, let's definitely celebrate the fact that Rubab is leading me on and I can't even get mad because I don't know if she is serious or not. Is this how it feels when you mind fuck somebody? Am I paying for my past sins now? Damn it. Is this Karma?" Fahad ruffled his hair in frustration. "And worst of all, why do I care so much about those three sentences she said? Why? WHY?"

Shit. So maybe celebrating isn't the way to go. We needed to talk it over and come up with a plan. Misha was going to kill me for planning something against her two precious besties but these were my brothers so I had to keep a balance. I will make it up to her somehow. Hopefully.

"Kamran, Fahad, get your asses here. Let's figure this out. It's frustrating to see you like this." I eyed them both and spoke in a levelled tone as I pointed to the marble counter nearby. I dragged out a stool and took a seat and waited for them to join me. They sighed before getting up and joining me. Kamran took off his gloves and threw them on the wooden floor while Fahad looked longingly at the bottle of rum on the table but decided to leave it be. "Start from the beginning, what happened?"

"So Zoya fainted-" Kamran started but Fahad cut him off.

"That wasn't the start. Rubab called me to apologise about our previous date remember?" Fahad narrated and I just raised my eyebrow.

"Do you think I care about that right now? My woman is planning another escape plan. Should I just hire a private investigator on her? Someone who keeps an eye on her all the time? Give me the number of Wassal's guard. His brother works as an investigator." Kamran turned to glare at Fahad which was amusing to see. Man they were miserable, it reminded me of the time I was recovering from my heartbreak with Misha 5 years ago.

"Kaam az kaam tujhe yeh tou pata hai ke tumhari bandi chahti kya hai. Meri wali mujhe pahaliyan suna rahi hai. Mujhe nafrat hai pahailiyon se. (Atleast you know what your woman wants. Mine is giving me riddles. I hate riddles.)" So talking it out isn't working that great either. "Sab kuch choro, woh is hafte kis se mil rahi hai? AUR KIS DIN? (Everything aside, who is she meeting this week? AND WHAT DAY?"

Just then, Fahad's phone started to ring and he looked at the caller ID before swiping the screen and picking it up.

"Hmmm?" He said loud enough for the person on the other side to hear. A frustrated Fahad was fun to see. He was the one who stayed the calmest between us. It was like his playboy persona had come down for a while but not for long. I noticed the way his eyes brighten up as he talked to whoever was on the phone. "Are you sure about this news? If it isn't I am going to hang you upside down from a tree." He smirked as he said this. He talked for a bit longer and then hung up. His mood had took a complete turn and he was grinning from ear to ear.

Before any of us could ask what happened, he hummed and went through his phone before putting it down. Kamran's phone buzzed immediately.

"I sent you the contact for Wassal's investigator on Whatsapp. He only takes bank transfers. Keep a second phone on you for calls from him unless you want to get caught. Bro, you should definitely keep tabs on Zoya. Make sure she doesn't get away." Fahad was calm now. Infact, he sounded almost amused by whatever he heard on the phone. "I have a tracking device in Rubab's phone. If you can get Zoya's phone for a bit, I can tell you how to download it in her phone too. Just tell her your phone died or something and you need to make a call. She will give it over." For some reason, Fahad's explanation had a calming effect on Kamran too. He seemed much less agitated now and far more dark.

"Should I hack into her social media accounts?"

"There is no point in doing that if she just deactivates them again so go with the investigator idea." The words left my mouth before I could stop them. Astagfirullah. Misha was going to kill me. But deep down, I knew I would have done the same if I was in his place especially given his past experiences with women.

"I need to make a call. Don't worry bhai, I would never ever hurt Zoya." Kamran got up and excused himself from us as he went near the window and started discretely talking on the phone.

"There is only one way to find out what the ice queen meant." Fahad took out his phone and chuckled as he opened a suspicious looking app. "I just need to pay her a small visit and rekindle what we had from before."

"Fahad, before you go, can you give me your word that you won't bring her any more pain? She has already been through enough with an abusive fiancee like Zohaib." I saw something change in Fahad's eyes as he took in my words. But it didn't long for it to be replaced by a smile.

"It's ex fiancee. I am not letting that man come near her again. Oh and bring her suffering? Nah, it's far from it. There is already a voice in my head that drives me crazy enough as it is. I will handle it." Fahad's answer was oddly reassuring. It wasn't a clear reply but it gave me all that I needed. "Well, if you will excuse me, I need to go give some news to the ice queen. Perhaps, she might show me something I have been aching to see again."

"Really, what's that?" Even Kamran turned to look at Fahad since he was done with his call.

"Trust."