Love Means Sacrifice

Ch. 69: Reactions

Zahid's P.O.V.

I was sitting on the chair in my office when Farhan walked in.

He looked at the open file in front of me and took it into his hands.

"What's th- Since when are you interested in running a restaur- Wait, you bought Rose Meadow?!" he exclaimed with wide eyes.

I looked at him with a somewhat guilty expression.

"Zahid."

"It was the only excuse I could think of that would allow me to be around her."

He sighed before taking a seat in front of my desk.

I flipped through the report in my hands. I had asked for the previous owner to give me records of the employees working there.

Sanam Mirza.

Her birthday was in August, while Mehwish's was in May. Sanam's also a year older than Mehwish, making her 24 instead of 23.

The report also listed her parents as deceased and having a household size of 2, so I assumed it was her and her grandmother.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Farhan interrupted.

I put down the report, "I'm going to make her the manager of the restaurant so that way I can work closely with her. It will give me every opportunity to talk to her."

He looked impressed before skepticism took over, "What if this is all for nothing, Zahid? What if you're only going to be hurt in the end?"

"We won't know for sure if I don't try."

"It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Zahid Saeed. This is my first restaurant venture. I'm excited to work with all of you. I've read everyone's files and I am proud to have such a diligent staff."

Everyone looked happy except Sanam, who looked surprised, and Junaid, who held a somewhat stern expression on his face.

"That'll be all for now. I'm looking forward to seeing all of your work. If you have any questions, I'll be in the office upstairs."

With that, I took the elevator to the owner's office.

I glanced at the actual work schedule and figured out what times Sanam worked. Her hours were sporadic, but once I promoted her, they'd become more consistent.

The following day, Farhan, Amal, and I visited more lots so I didn't get the opportunity to drop by at the restaurant.

I woke up on Friday and got ready for Jumu'ah prayer. Sanam wouldn't be at Rose Meadow, she had the day off.

I went to the nearest mosque and offered my Zuhr and Jumu'ah prayers.

As I stepped out of the mosque, I bumped into a woman wearing a white chikankari anarkali. She had her matching white scarf covering her head and she held a bit of it to her face, only revealing her eyes and forehead.

Those light brown eyes.

My love.

We continued our staring contest as I held my breath unknowingly.

My heart was pounding loudly.

"Sorry," she finally spoke softly.

"Mehw-Sanam."

She lowered the scarf from her face, "Assalamwalaikum."

"Walaikumsalam," I returned.

She gave me a small smile before she started to walk past me.