When Azlan left Pakistan, Haya had to bury her emotions in the farthest and the darkest corner of her heart. She couldn't even express herself when they were just a few miles apart, with thousands of miles between them, there was no hope of anything ever developing between them. When he was in Pakistan, Azlan constantly occupied her thoughts, and this disturbed her life deeply. She couldn't concentrate on anything at all. The moment Azlan moved, she realized she had to forget him or she'll go insane. His departure gave Haya a chance to live her life a different way. She assumed Azlan can't affect her anymore, but seeing his mother sitting in their lounge shook Haya to her core. All those feelings and memories, which she buried in her heart long ago, came back with a bang.
"Haya, meri bachi, how are you?" Azlan's mother asked, pulling Haya in her embrace.
"I'm fine, phupo" she answered in a dreary tone because she knew 'his' arrival will bring nothing but trouble.
"I missed you so much! You never called, bas is liye your phupo is upset." Azlan's mother huffed.
"I know and I'm really sorry, but my courses are so demanding that I hardly get time to do everything else."
"Aw, now you need to spend time with me."
Within the next minute, Haya's mother and Azlan's mother started chattering about their kids, and Haya stared into blankness, raising millions of questions in her mind. 'Why is she here?' 'Did Azlan arrive too?' 'Why did she come to Pakistan so suddenly?' 'Am I going to change into that teenage Haya?' 'No, no, I cannot let that happen.' Sitting there for 5 minutes, Haya realized she needed a break from all this, so she excused herself.
"Amma, I'll go freshen up, then come downstairs," Haya said while standing up from her seat and her mother nodded at her.
"OH, Hamna, the main reason I came here is this," Azlan's mother handed Haya's mother a card.
"What is this, Tehmina Baji?"
"This is Azlan's engagement invitation."
"This is such wonderful news!" Haya's mother hugged Azlan's mother.
Haya was almost out of the lounge, but she paused in her tracks when she heard his name. That little piece of information broke her delicate soul into a million fragments. She felt as if her life suddenly had no meaning or purpose. Haya wanted to scream. Tears brimmed in her doe eyes. Haya dashed out of the lounge when she felt the numbness in her eyes. To not let the sob escape her lips, she placed both her palms on her mouth and rushed up the stairs. Haya entered her room, shut the door, and dropped on the floor, letting the tears escape her eyes. She stifled her cries so no one could overhear. As a result, she felt her throat closing in. She held her knees close to her chest and cried her heart out. His arrival indeed brought pain.
After lying on the floor for a while, she mustered up some power and took out her dress from the closet, and moved to the bathroom to change. She stared at her petite figure in the mirror. Bloodshot and mascara-smudged sad eyes now replaced those usually sparkling hazel eyes, along with splotches of dried tears on her skin. Looking at the view in front of her, she felt sympathy for herself. 'Get your shit together, Haya' she thought to herself and splashed cold water on her face.
Haya was standing on the balcony of her room, absorbing the warmth of the evening sun while struggling to overcome the sorrow in her heart. She was trying hard to keep her mind blank when she heard a knock.
"Appi, mama needs you to come down to serve tea," Shayan, Haya's brother, notified her
"I'm coming, "
Haya's behavior puzzled Shayan as she didn't protest once about serving tea to the visitors. Usually, she would whine when her mother ordered her to serve something. Shayan noticed something was amiss, so he just took off, adding nothing, giving her space.
Haya fixed her dupatta and made a word to herself that she'll be tough. She was moving down the stairs as slow as a slug, wishing not to hear a word about Azlan's to-be bride. There is nothing more painful than hearing even a word about a girl who is going to spend the rest of her life with your one and only love. However, Haya knew she had no alternative other than accepting all that was coming her way. She, once again, opened the door of the lounge and strode in.
"Haya, come serve tea to your phupo," Hamna ordered her daughter once Haya was in the sight.
"Oh, Hamna, why are you exhausting my daughter," Tehmina, Azlan's mother, objected.
Haya forced a smile and kneeled down the height of the coffee table. She poured the tea into the cups and sat on the sofa with her phupo. Tehmina smiled at Haya, noticing how well-behaved she was. She adored Haya, as she knew Haya had the purest heart. Haya always greeted her with such earnestness that it made Tehmina's heart melt. Her mind compared her with Azlan's to-be fiance, Zaina Shafi. She shuddered thinking about Zaina.
"Mm, it's been a long time since I've had such excellent tea," Tehmina commented.
"You should then drink tea made by Haya. Uske haathon mei bohot zaiqa hai," Hamna added.
"Haya, I want to try the tea made by you," Tehmina tapped Haya's cheek.
Hamna and Tehmina started gossiping about the wedding arrangements, and Haya was silently listening to their discussion. In order to divert her mind, Haya was trying to recall the pleasant memories of her life.
"Yes, Hamna she was Azlan's class-fellow. One day, Azlan told me he was compatible with this girl in his class, so he requested me to meet her. How could I turn down his one request?" Tehmina added seriously.
Haya overheard this. 'Oh, the girl was Azlan's choice,' 'You never could have been his decision' Haya thought to herself. It was unlike Haya to weep over a man. In fact, she punched boys when they proposed to her in college. She was a confident and feisty girl, but even hearing a word about Azlan made her nervous. But that was it. Haya, at that particular moment, decided he would not affect her, and she wouldn't let that wimpy teenage Haya take over this fearless woman.
A/N: Please ignore my grammar mistakes in this chapter. I couldn't edit it properly. Also, silent readers please vote :(
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It was destiny ✨
Romance#2 in childhoodlove (08/03/2021) Haya secretly loved Azlan all her childhood, but she could never confess, not even when he was moving to London. They were cousins but still behaved like strangers. After 10 years, she receives his wedding invitation...
