Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha

Ch. 17: Crush(ed)

Alizey's P.O.V.

My lips remained parted, unsure of what to say.

What is someone supposed to do in this situation? Was I supposed to call up Api and be like 'Hey, my husband caught you cheating? How could you do that to Bhai?' or inform Sarfaraz Bhai directly? I never want to get involved in a person's relationship like that.

I never expected this.

"Did... did Api see you?"

"No."

I groaned quietly with frustration, looking to the side, "What should we do?"

But it all makes sense now-- the way she would get irritated when someone would mention her nikkah, the way she's been engaged for years, the way she often reinforces the fact there are other people in her life besides Sarfaraz Bhai. It was all right there.

"Right now? Nothing."

"What do you mean?!"

"If you confront your sister right now, she's going to get defensive and blow up on you. You need to go about this carefully."

"How?" I asked softly, truly in need of guidance.

"The only way I can think of is to have an honest conversation with her about why she hasn't gotten married yet. That's the only way you can coerce her to confess everything."

"How would I bring it up?"

"It would have to be a natural conversation, and you would have to steer it into that direction."

I removed my hair tie from my loose bun and took a deep breath, sitting back down on my side of the bed while stress took a seat on my lungs.

My eyes watched Pebbles hop onto our balcony and trail along the edge.

Oh, how I wish I was a cat sometimes. Just sleep, eat, play, and receive affection. No other care in the world. No need to confront someone about cheating on their fiancé.

"When should I meet with her?"

Fawad rummaged through the cabinets to find a jar of tomato sauce, "Saturday?"

I nodded and grabbed my phone, sending Api a text to meet for lunch on Saturday. I tossed my cell phone to the side and rested my head in my hands, closing my eyes.

I've known Sarfaraz Bhai for as long as I could remember. Our families were in the same social circle and got along well. Bhai was easygoing and just the sweetest to Api. He would drop anything and pick her up just to take her somewhere even if it were 2 AM; he's done so secretly before just because Api was craving donuts. When she graduated from optometry school, he'd thrown her a surprise celebration party. He calls her at least once a day despite messaging throughout the day.

Api had never seemed as though she opposed of their relationship. Yes, sometimes she gets annoyed when people tease her about Bhai or tell her to get married, but- I don't know.

My head lifted from my hands slowly when I felt tugging on my hair. Fawad was knelt in front of me, gathering my hair and tying it into a lopsided ponytail with my hair tie.

When he finished, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him, burying my nose in his shoulder.

He drew his arms around me. I felt his lips press against my neck before they brushed against my ear, murmuring, "Stressing over it will get you nowhere. You can't do anything about it."

"I'm afraid of what'll happen. Papa, Sarfaraz Bhai, our families--everything's going to get ruined," I whispered.

"That's what you thought after we got married."