ishq lost & found

9; Discussions

Throwing her dupatta over her head, assuming it was warm outside without considering the late September chill, she saw herself out with Saad leading the way. At this point she had swapped her heels for slippers, realizing that Saad was much taller than her. He was always taller compared to her, so she figured he still would be, but she didn't think it would be this stark of a difference. 

Finding it difficult to keep up, she quickened her pace. Saad's strides carried him swiftly, but he soon noticed her lagging behind when he stole a momentary glance to his right. He halted abruptly, realizing he had left his soon to be bride trialing behind. 

"Sorry." He apologized, waiting for her to catch up. Slowing his pace, he matched her stride instead. 

"So.... What did you want to talk about?" Ranya asked, clutching her dupatta tightly around her head with one hand holding the ends together. She fought against the chill creeping into her bones as the breeze suddenly picked up, trying to keep her teeth from clacking. 

Attentive as always, Saad noticed her discomfort. Before addressing her question, he swiftly removed his blazer and handed it to her. Normally, in a different circumstance where she might have shown genuine interest in him as her fiancé, he would have draped it over her shoulders himself. But after so many years, he knew better than to overstep boundaries. That is why he chose his words with the utmost care. 

Standing on the sidewalk, he stared his bride to be as the wind tousled a few strands of hair across her face. His face wearing no emotion, a habit he picked up due to his work. Drawing in a deep breath, he began, "Ranya." The use of her real name eliciting an immediate reaction, a subtle fracture in the facade she wore. She felt her heart shatter a little at the realization that he chose to call her something other than her nickname like he used to. But she chose to stay silent nonetheless. "Why did you say yes? What were you thinking?" he inquired, his hands tucked into his pockets as her obsessed her reaction, watching as narrowed her eyes. 

"What were you thinking?" she challenged, meeting his gaze head on for the first time that night. 

He felt the corners of his mouth twitch, her response nearly eliciting a smile at the memories flooding his mind. All the time she had responded to his inquiries with similar fierceness, something he missed about her. But things were different now. Her intense stare afforded him the opportunity to observe her evolved features more closely. He had always been enamoured by her eyes- they reminded constant, even as he sensed the unmistakable disdain directed at him. His gaze traces down her face, noting every subtle change. Her skin appeared healthier, softer, though it had always been luminous to begin with. To his surprise, she seemed to exude a youthful energy beyond her years. He lingered on the beauty mark just above her lip before his attention inevitably drifted to her lips. Realizing he had been staring for too long, nearly stuck in a trance, he snapped himself out of his reverie, realizing he should address her question. 

Truthfully, she was the only one who could get away with such a response. As a lawyer, he was adept to fielding any question thrown his way, but it was these kinds of retorts that grated on him the most. He has low tolerance for such tones, especially from his coworkers, but not when they came from her. 

"I was thinking about my parents." he answered, offering a partial truth. 

Ranya narrowed her eyes, dissatisfied with his response. Ideally, he would have confessed, saying something along the lines of, " I've loved you since we were young. I saw my chance so I took it." But she knew better. She was realistic, and as much as her imagination might have wished otherwise, she understood the impossibility of such a scenario. 

"That's why I said yes too." she fibbed, turning away from him and crossing her arms over her chest, realizing it was a much better way to keep her dupatta from slipping off. "Is that all you wanted to ask?" she remarked, her voice dripping with sass, the kind the made Saad's heart race. 

"Of course not. I think should discuss what we're going to do? I live in BC. You live here. You realize there's more to marriage than just wearing nice clothes and saying you got married, right?" he taunted, wearing his stern lawyer look as he watched Ranya internally fume. He wanted to laugh. After all these years, he still knew how to push her buttons.

"Yes, yes, I do realize that. Do you realize that I'm not the same little Ranya of yours who will put up with you speaking to me like this?" she snapped, quickly regretting her decision to say yes to this preposterous proposal.

He relished this. The art of provoking her had always been a delight. He found immense satisfaction in it, perhaps too much. "Well then, since you understand the gravity of what we're about to do, what's the plan?" he inquired, resuming his stride. 

She shot him a glare before trailing after him & responding, this time focusing straight ahead rather than meeting his gaze, knowing if she had to look at him any longer, she might explode. "For what?" 

"Would you like me to move here?" He questioned, hands still buried in his pockets as he gazed down at his shoes, seemingly engrossed for no particular reason. 

"I don't know, do you want to move here?" she shot back, uncertain how to respond as the idea hadn't crossed her mind. Living arrangements hadn't even grazed the outskirts of her thoughts. He mind had been consumed with deciding whether this relationship was a mistake, and she was swiftly leaning towards that conclusion. 

Saad paused, thankful he had thought through every possibility and took the liberty of speaking to his superiors regarding his predicament. Luckily for him, there were multiple firms and so relocation wasn't an issue, he could easily work from a different province. But the prospect of starting over, having to meet new coworkers and mingle with them, feigning interest in their lives so he doesn't rub them the wrong way seemed daunting. 

"For you I will." he replied sincerely. The only motivation for him to relocate would be for her sake. It felt unjust to pressure her into uprooting her life and leaving her loved ones for him—a man she didn't love.

Ranya couldn't help but roll her eyes at his response. His persistent habit of flirting remained intact, evident even as he spoke with lips pressed in a thin line and a blank expression on his face. Despite his outward demeanour, his tone hinted at something more.

Certainly, he looked different now—no longer as cute as before, but instead exuding a newfound sense of masculinity that bordered on attractiveness. Yet, Ranya refused to acknowledge this change, not even to herself. Much had changed about him, aside from his frustrating habit of flirting—the very habit that once misled her into believing his feelings mirrored her own.

Unsure of what to say, she asked, "Is there anything else? Any other questions? I didn't think about it too much. You can do whatever you like." Her tone flat, some would say even rude. There was no reason for her to act like she liked him when it was clear he was just as disinterested in her as when he left years ago. 

"Ranya..." he turned to her, astonished at her lack of attention or understanding, it seemed, at what they were about to partake in, "You do realize we're going to be married? We won't be living separate lives anymore. We have to discuss these things and think them through thoroughly." 

Ranya felt her face burn up at his words, realizing she had just tied her life to someone impulsively, more preoccupied with the thought of seeing him for the first time in so many years, rather than how they would live their lives together barely knowing each other. But, luckily for her, Saad was always thinking ahead. 

"We can talk about it tomorrow, if your parents agree, I'll take you out."