𝐒𝐇𝐏𝐀 𝐃𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐙𝐀𝐀𝐑

𝐀𝐅𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐙 | 𝟑

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Her eyes drifted away from mine within seconds as she completely disregarded my presence. However, my eyes remained hooked on her enchanting figure as she walked towards her mother and lightly tapped her shoulder to get her attention. Noor khala turned her attention towards Phana and her face was overtaken by a loving smile. Phana reciprocated it with a faint smile that was barely visible.

"Mor, tha matha ra zagh kral. Cheshi de wayal?" Questioned her angelic voice which led to a havoc being created within me. Hearing her voice after so long led to a feeling of familiarity.

"Wa gora che sok rali birtha," came Noor khala's cheerful voice. Her statement resulted in everyone turning their heads my way which made me the center of attention once again. All eyes were on me except for the ones that my soul ached for.

Her focus remained on her mother while standing in complete silence until her mother gently nudged her and gestured her head my way. A polite way of saying that she should greet me without Noor khala having to voice it out loud. With a subtle sigh, Phana angled her body towards me and looked my way though it felt as if she was looking straight through me. It felt as if I was too insignificant for her to even care.

"Assalamalaikum," stated Phana. I genuinely would've felt better if she hadn't greeted me in the first place because this greeting was nothing but cold and emotionless. If the room hadn't been this silent, I doubt I would have even heard her.

I inclined my head at her as a greeting back because I couldn't trust my own voice right now due to the lump that seemed to be forming in the back of my throat. As the elders started conversing again to ease the tension, she remained near the arm of the sofa where my mother and Noor khala were seated.

Taking the opportunity to do so, I couldn't prevent myself from studying her as she was now at a closer distance than before. A mere stranger would've been completely oblivious to how drastically she has changed aside from growing up. Phana looked like a living corpse now, she'd lost weight and dark circles took place under her eyes.

A chatterbox. Everyone would describe her as such whenever they came across her because she was so full of life and always had something to share. Though she barely spoke now, the only time she would open her mouth was when someone addressed her. Her eyes were distant as if she was lost somewhere else rather than the present moment.

The same Phana that refused to wear anything that lacked color was replaced by someone who was wearing black. She used to vent to me about hating the color black because it reminded her of death and grief, but now she was wearing it willingly. My stomach churned when I remembered that I played a big hand in this.

But I knew that this was Phana, the same girl that couldn't spend a few minutes without me. If I talked to her and solved this, everything would go back to how it was in the past.

My thoughts were interrupted by heavy footsteps approached the living room. Within seconds, I watched as my younger brother, Taimoor Khan Akbari, walked into the living room. The little brother that I practically raised had matured. He was wearing a black suit ensemble without the suit jacket. His black tie was loosely tied around his neck as if he'd tugged on it.

His hair was slightly tussled as if he'd ran his fingers through it multiple times. Taimoor had gotten taller with a more toned and muscled body. His clean face was replaced with a light beard that was well-trimmed.

"Assalamalaikum everyone!" Echoed his deep voice as he greeted all individuals in the living room. His dark brown eyes roamed around the room and as they landed on me, his eyebrows furrowed for a few seconds before he stopped himself.

Ignoring me completely, he walked towards the end of the sofa where Phana was standing and threw his arm around her shoulder. Attempting to ignore the anger that surged through me felt impossible as he pulled her into himself. She didn't even remove his arm or complain, instead, she looked up at him with a small smile.

It was as if they were communicating through their eyes and everyone else was invisible to them. My brother raised his eyebrows at her in a manner that was questioning whether she was okay or not with my return to which she worded a yes. A few seconds after that, he inclined his head towards the kitchen and indicated that they should head over there.

My jaw clenched as he lowered his head towards her ear and whispered something to which she lightly laughed. The two excused themselves and walked towards the kitchen with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. At that moment, I wanted to rip his head off even if he was my younger brother. The anger got fueled even more when my mother and Noor khala started gushing over how perfect the relationship between Taimoor and Phana is.