ishq lost & found

38; Fury

Having been the soon to be brides best friend, Ranya was overjoyed at the thought of greeting Dua's fiancé with a grin. She wanted to tease him, knowing he would likely be expecting to see Dua instead of her. Expecting to see a kind, familiar face, she was instead met with a face she thought she buried in her past.

There, standing on the front porch of Saad's childhood home, an evil smile plastered over his face, was Salman- the man who had left her , vanishing without a word just weeks before their wedding.

For a moment, the world seemed to tilt, Ranya felt as though the wind had been knocked out of her. The ground beneath her feet taken away. Throat completely dry, her body stiffened at the strange man standing before her. He looked nothing like he used to, it was almost as if he had gotten uglier.

Ranya had thought about this moment countless times over, never actually expecting it to happen, let alone so soon. Ideally, she wouldn't be caught so off guard, she would yell at him, cuss him out, and kick him out of her home. Instead, she was standing in what was technically his own home, unable to utter a word.

She could feel a chill run through her as she clutched the door handle tighter, grounding herself, reminding herself to breathe, but it was difficult since just the sight of him led to all her feelings rushing back. Her heart twisted, a thousand emotions swirling in her. Anger burned at the edges of her vision, mixing with confusion, disbelief, and the tiniest flicker of pain she refused to acknowledge.

She had been the only one to see him, everyone waited expectantly to see Dua's future husband burst through the door. But when that didn't happen, they all grew confused. Especially Saad. It only lasted a couple seconds- Ranya standing frozen. But it was long enough for Saad to realize something was up.

He had been standing on the other side of the door, his vision blocked off. All he could see was the profile of his wife, frozen completely, as if she had seen a ghost. Confusion and furrowed brows overtaking his blissful expression, he pulled the door all the way towards him, standing side by side with Ranya just to get a look at what had left her so shocked.

"Hey big brother. How's it going?" Salman asked, smiling like he enjoyed seeing the reaction he incited from Ranya. It gave him satisfaction, and the feeling that maybe she still had something in her heart for him.

Saad, who was lonesome, if ever, caught off guard stood confused and in a daze. His facade of calm dropping immediately. He was shocked to say the least. But that settled quickly, his anger found itself bubbling up, amongst some other emotions. But he could think about himself, he didn't care as much. Instead he turned to Ranya, quickly noticing her quivering lip and the tears that glistened in her eyes.

Ranya didn't know what to do, but her legs did. Without thinking, she turned on her heels and zoomed out of there, her footsteps echoing through the house as she bolted up the stairs. She barely heard Saad calling after her, his voice laced with worry. She was too busy wiping away the tears that seemed to find their way out, trying to get rid of the numbing headache that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Saad was fast to react, giving his little brother the kind of look that used to terrify Salman, and did. Shaking his head, letting out a sigh before glaring at him, Saad ran after Ranya who was almost at the top of the stairs. He had called out for her, but she hadn't heard.

Ranya didn't know what to do, she didn't know where to hide. The last thing she wanted was to ruin Dua's big day, she knew she couldn't run into her room and complain like she normally would have. She also knew she could let Salman have the satisfaction of seeing her cry. Not again.

Unaware of her surrounding, still holding onto the railing as she tried to slow down her tears, she Saad behind her, grabbing her hand before telling her, "Come here." guiding her to his old bedroom.