Far Away Love ✓

√chapter twenty four

Zainab's POV

"First setting tables of food for me and now this. Like who you are doing all this? As my cousin, as my friend or..." he deliberately stopped and glanced at me before continuing, "or as my wife?"

Shaiq's question caused my jaw to drop. I never became so speechless like right now. Everything around my surrounding felt like faded and colorless figures.

Why was I doing all of this? As his friend? Of course, as his friend!

But! My inner voice pointed out.

But I never did such things for him before. Preparing one dish, two dishes of his taste might be correct but adorning the whole table full of his favorite dishes was the first time I did it. Thinking as his friend, I always used to tease him by doing everything opposite of what he said. With the intention not to spoil him which could make him a brat, I didn't for once do such things. Instead, I always made him treat me a meal with his money.

And then his favorite coffee: he always used to get it after annoying me and getting curses from me to the core. The reason was the same; not to spoil him.

As my cousin? Well, as much as I adored him as my best friend, sometimes I tended to forget he was my cousin as well.

Then was it due to I started to think of him as my husband? I felt my heart racing fastly at this thought. My love for him had started to change my behavior as well. The emotions which I easily hid from him five years ago when I told him to leave me, had now started to depict in whatever I was doing; all thanks to my longing and wait for him due to him not being in contact with me when he was abroad and now not talking to me.

I glanced up at Shaiq who was already looking at me with an amused expression on his face. I gulped quickly as I licked my dried lips before opening my mouth.

"I...I made tea for myself so I thought to..." I deliberately stopped when something came to my mind.

You made coffee for him Zainab, not tea. And not just simple coffee, you made the coffee he loved. Which you always hate to prepare because of how much effort and hard work Ias required to make it.

"Why do you ask this? I mean, does it really matter? Do I have to think about our relationship to do something? We live in the same house and...."

"You know," he spoke all of a sudden, causing my words to die down in my throat. He bent down towards my direction as I was squatting on the floor, "when you rejected me, I pondered upon it very much later on. I wouldn't lie, my self-respect got hurt when you said you don't consider me your husband. I truly loved you Zainab and I still love you. You have laid such magic on me that till now, even though you have rejected me, I can't bring anyone else in my heart. It's like you have permanently marked my heart that it should only and only love you. I met many girls there; some even tried to approach me but I never responded to them because you weren't getting out of my mind, heart, and imagination. I never thought that the best friend whom I never consider more than a friend, I would fall for her so hard after the marriage that she would control my heart, brain, and everything. I wouldn't lie, Zainab; I used to dream about you there. Sometimes I used to hallucinate about you that I imagined you around me; staring at me and smiling at me. I just forgot that you were once my friend. In my eyes, you were my wife, the girl I was deeply in love with. But to my bad, the girl I fell in love with, doesn't love me back. Instead, my love is a burden for her," he let out a sarcastic laugh in the end.

"And please forgive me for still having feelings for you, for still loving you. I can't guarantee you that will I ever be able to stop loving you," he said while running his palms on his face.