Far Away Love ✓

Flashback 1

Shaiq's POV

I was playing with my racing car in the garden of our house when my Mom entered. Behind her, a girl of probably my age was walking cautiously. She had long black hair and chubby pink cheeks with big honey-brown eyes. Her hair was so long, it felt like they were making a dress for her. I stopped moving my car and looked at her in confusion. Who was she?

"Come beta." My Mom coaxed her and held her small hand to make her come feet to feet with her and stopped in front of me.

"Mom, who is she?" I asked her as I stood up.

Mom smiled at me. "She is Zainab. Your cousin. Will you make her your friend?"

I scrunched my nose. "My cousin?" I never saw her before.

"Yes, your cousin. Your Aunt Ayesha's daughter."

I knew Aunt Ayesha. My mother's sister.

"I want you to make Zainab your friend. She is lonely and she needs a friend, Shaiq." My Mom lovingly patted my cheek.

That's when I again glanced at that girl. She had her face slanted down. I could see tears on her cheeks and she was trembling due to sobbing. And there were red marks on her neck.

"But she is a crybaby. Is she hurt?" I asked.

Mom shook her head. "She is crying because she doesn't have any friends. When you will become her friend, she will smile. Will you?"

I nodded with a smile. "I will."

"Good boy. Show her your toys and make her smile. "

And then I made it my goal to make that cute little girl smile. I became her strength. Nothing could make me happier than when she used to say that I was the only one who could console her. My likeness when changed into love for her, I didn't know.

I got to know that I loved Zainab when she became my wife. When I started seeing her with a different lens, I realized she was already engraved in my heart. I just had to scratch the cover of friendship to reveal my love for her.
 
And when I finally did that, she thought I was lying.

                   ___________________

                    Five Years Ago

Reference: Entangled Love Chapter 76 and The End Part 1

I married her solely to protect her. But after it, I came to know how I had messed up myself. Zainab made it clear on our wedding night that she had absolutely no feelings for me other than a friend and she would allow me to get any girl other in my life. But my stupid heart and mind lost constraints and I started fantasizing about her. As soon as the cover of friendship washed away, my rebellious heart became out of control.

I always found her gorgeous but now my feelings were not just of admiration. I began desiring her. I was slowly getting attracted to her. I yearned to taste her plump lips, I wanted to feel the softness of her skin, I wanted to claim her as mine and I wanted to do the things with her that I never thought of before. Slowly, she was overpowering my heart, mind, and body with her thoughts. Whe she smiled, I felt the cords of my heart moving. When she touched me, I knew I wouldn't be able to control my need.

But her words from our wedding night always stopped me. She never thought of me as a friend. On top of that, she was in love with Armaan. It wasn't me, it was another man.