Yusra: Don't hurt me in the way I cannot even recover.
Shazal: Do you not realize, there's no one but you for me?
Daniyal: She let the tears fall, but it weren't for me.
Zumar: You fall in love and then, fall out of it.
It's not that big of a deal.
...
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๑ 🥀 ๑
A/N: Maria is Daniyal’s mother, and Mehran, his father. Flashback in italics
Losing people leaves us hollow, doesn't it? There’s a saying: when people leave, they carry a part of you with them. A part you’ll never find again, not even if they ever decide to come back.
It’s a truth that cuts deep.
If Daniyal claimed his heart was bleeding, that blood was rushing out of unseen wounds, you'd have to believe him, because it was true.
After dropping Yusra off at the subway, he made his way back to his dorm room, but his mind was far from his studies, from his life. There was only one thing—one person—on his mind: Yusra, and the depth of her feelings for Shazal.
It hurt more than he could have imagined. His hands trembled as if he’d been running in the cold, sweat clung to his forehead, and his heart felt like it was being crushed in a vice. His thoughts, scattered and chaotic, threatened to overwhelm him.
It all began when, before he left Yusra, he saw it: a single tear slipping down her cheek. She thought no one was watching, but Daniyal saw it, and that single tear obliterated any sense of calm he had left.
He never wanted this. He never planned to fall for her, not like this. The weight of it all made him despise himself, despise this indulgence in emotions. He couldn’t afford such luxuries. Not in his life.
Daniyal’s mother had sacrificed so much, taking on the role of both mother and father, fighting for a better future for him and his sister Fatima. And he owed her everything. He was working hard, studying so that one day he could provide for his family, ensuring his mother could finally live the life she deserved, free from the struggles of the past.
Both he and Fatima were their mother's pride. Top students, always achieving, always striving. They were her joy, her purpose. And Daniyal took pride in that, especially in his special bond with his mother. He often bragged about it, his love for her a badge of honour.
The story of how his parents met, fell in love, and fought to be together—it was his motivation.
He never got to see his father, yet he wanted to give his mother everything she had lost, to compensate for the sacrifices she made. He had promised himself that nothing—not even the wildness of his own heart—would derail him from that path.
But there he was, crumbling under the weight of a tear that wasn't even meant for him.
21 years ago
It was Maria's engagement day, a day she had dreamt of yet felt all too surreal now that it had arrived.
The soft glow of the setting sun poured into the hall, blending beautifully with the sky-blue theme she had chosen so carefully. Delicate white roses, paired with flowing ribbons of light and dark blue, cascaded from the ceiling like a gentle rainfall, turning the space into an ethereal garden straight out of the heaven itself.
