The Moment She Saw Him

Part 26

Hamza

It had been weeks since I last saw Sehar. I really missed her—her infectious laughter, her sparkling eyes, and that little dimple that showed up whenever she smiled. Yesterday, I texted her, and she said she'd message me once she was free, but she was probably busy studying. It was 3 in the afternoon now, and she was likely off-campus.

Me: Hey, how was your exam?Sehar: It went well, actually. How are you? How's Maa?

Me: I'm good, and Maa's fine too. She's just taking a nap.Sehar: Oh, that's nice. I'm with my friends right now. Can I text you later? So sorry!Me: Yeah, sure. No worries.

I sighed as I put my phone down. We hadn't really talked in days. This morning, I texted Raza to ask if Ziya had said anything after he proposed. He told me she hadn't replied to his messages at all today. I closed my eyes, thinking about Sehar, when my phone buzzed. It was a message from an unknown number. I opened it.
"I'm telling her everything. You know who I am. I'm going to make you suffer, and I will NEVER let you get to her and destroy her too. Anyway... love you.
- M <3"
I was stunned. I kept reading the message over and over until my eyes filled with tears. Who could this be? I tried to think, but my mind went blank. The only thing I was sure of was that "HER" meant Sehar. And "M"? Do I know anyone whose name starts with M? My thoughts wandered back to June 2022...

June , 2022 - 2 Years Back

It was a normal day for me. I had come to school with my friend and was heading to class. "Heard there's a new girl in our school, and also that she's pretty 'nerdy,' I suppose," said my friend, Raza. He's my best friend, and honestly, my only friend. We've always had each other's backs, but when it came to girls, I wasn't exactly known for being loyal. I had a reputation. Everyone knew I was the kind of guy who could charm any girl I wanted. I flirted with many, and it was more of a game to me—like collecting trophies. Commitment wasn't really my thing. I'd had a string of girlfriends, all of whom I'd gotten bored of quickly. Once the excitement faded, I'd move on. Raza always laughed and said, "Man, one day you're gonna meet a girl who'll turn your whole world upside down." I'd just smirk and shrug it off, never taking it seriously. That day in class, I took out my phone and was playing a video game, not paying much attention to anything else. Then, I heard soft sobs behind me. I turned to see a girl in a hoodie, crying quietly into her hands. Something about her caught my attention—maybe it was her vulnerability or those striking grey eyes that peeked out from behind her hands when she finally looked up at me."Hi, is something bothering you?" I asked, curious but not deeply concerned. After all, I wasn't the type to get involved unless there was something in it for me. She hesitated, looking around like she didn't know whether to trust me."It's okay, you can trust me," I added. I wasn't sure why I said that—I wasn't exactly known for being trustworthy when it came to girls."There's a boy... he has been troubling me since I came here," she finally said, wiping her tears away but still looking defeated.I tried to comfort her. "Come on, stop crying, it's ok," I said, trying to make her feel better, though I didn't really know what I was doing. After school, I was leaving my class when I saw four senior boys. They were laughing, surrounding someone. Then I saw her—the same girl with the same grey eyes, but this time, she was crying and looking at me. Desperation flickered in her eyes, and I knew I had to do something. But these guys were seniors, bigger and stronger than me. I wasn't a fighter, not for something like this. My usual way was to flirt, to charm my way out of situations, not confront them head-on. But I couldn't just leave her there. So, without thinking, I walked straight past the boys, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out of the circle.We ran, fast and far, not stopping until we were out of the school gates. We were both gasping for air, and then suddenly, we started laughing. She laughed so beautifully, her eyes lighting up in a way I hadn't seen before. For a moment, the walls I had built around myself started to crack.As time went on, we became close. She wasn't like the other girls I had messed around with. She was quiet, thoughtful, and genuine. And I—I was still the same guy who flirted with other girls, but when I was with her, something shifted. Slowly, I stopped paying attention to the girls who used to fawn over me. I started caring less about the game I used to play with hearts and more about this girl who had somehow made me see things differently.
I fell in love with her. A year into our friendship, I proposed to her. It was the first time I had ever felt that kind of love. Sure, I had been with many girls before, but none of them ever made me feel like this. She was different. I had no idea what love was until she came into my life. She said yes, and for the first time, I felt like I wanted to change for someone. But there was a side of me that I still couldn't shake. I had a short temper, and I hated conflict. Every time we argued, I'd keep quiet, afraid that if I said anything, I would ruin everything. I wasn't good at handling real emotions, not like this. With the other girls, I could walk away easily. With her, it felt like walking on thin ice every time we fought. I feared I'd do something stupid and lose her too. A year passed, and things seemed perfect, but my parents found out about the relationship. My dad was furious. He said if I didn't break it off, I'd be out of the house. I tried to explain to them that I loved her, but they didn't care. To them, she wasn't from the right family. I wasn't ready to be cut off from my parents; I wasn't strong enough to lose my family, not at that age.On January 3, 2024, I made the hardest decision of my life. I sat her down and told her that we had to break up. But instead of being honest, I lied. I told her I had been seeing someone else, someone from my own family. It was the cruelest thing I had ever done, and I saw her heart shatter in her eyes. "I can't believe you'd do this to me," she whispered through her tears. Her face was etched with betrayal."I'm sorry," I said, barely able to meet her gaze. "It's better this way."I had no idea what to do. I felt like the biggest coward in the world. I was breaking her heart to save my own skin, to avoid conflict with my parents. I told myself that maybe it was for the best, that God had other plans for us. But no matter what I told myself, forgetting her was impossible. I thought back to the countless girls I had dated, the meaningless relationships I'd had before her. None of them mattered. None of them made me feel the way she did. I realized that, for the first time, I truly cared. And now, I had lost the one person who saw past my flaws and loved me anyway.Even though I had played with so many hearts in the past, hers was the one I never wanted to break. But I did. And the weight of that decision would haunt me for the rest of my life. Months passed, and every day I felt the void she had left in my life. My phone was filled with unread messages from other girls—old flames trying to rekindle something, but I couldn't bring myself to reply. Nothing seemed worth it anymore. Not the flirtations, not the games. Her laughter still echoed in my mind, the way she looked at me that day, shattered and betrayed. I had hurt the one person who had believed in me, and that realization crushed me.In a way, I knew I had to let her go. I knew it wasn't fair to drag her along into a life where I couldn't even stand up for us. But knowing it didn't make it easier. Every night I wondered what she was doing, who she was with, whether she was happy. And as much as I wanted her to be, a selfish part of me hoped she wasn't. Because that meant I hadn't lost her completely.But deep down, I knew better. I had let go of someone special, and the guilt of that decision would stay with me for a long, long time. I could only hope that one day, I'd be able to find some redemption—or at least forgive myself for breaking the heart of the only girl I ever truly loved.