His silence his pride ( continuation)

After Marriage

Hello lovely people 

please vote and comment

------------------------------------------------------------------

Mahra was exhausted from a full day of socializing, but when she saw Zaid sitting alone, his shoulders hunched, she knew something was off.

"What's going on?" she asked gently, settling down beside him.

Zaid didn't look up. "Nothing."

Mahra sighed. "That's not nothing." She paused, watching him. "You seem... off."

After a beat, he muttered, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, Zaid, I do." She leaned closer, searching his face for some clue.

He looked away, clenching his jaw before finally speaking. "Have you ever been in love?"

The question threw her off. "Yes, of course."

His gaze snapped back to her, a hint of something dark flashing in his eyes. "With who?"

"My family," she said lightly, hoping to ease the tension. But he stayed silent, so she asked, "What do you mean?"

He let out a breath. "I'm talking about love—the kind that turns your world upside down. Do you understand what that's like?"

Mahra's smile faded, her voice quieting. "No. I suppose I don't."

Zaid's eyes grew distant as he spoke, almost to himself. "Then you wouldn't know how it feels to watch the person you love marry someone else. I thought... once my dad got better, I'd leave this marriage and be with her. But now she's married. And here I am."

The weight of his words crashed over her. She swallowed, her voice barely a whisper. "I... I had no idea you felt this way."

He glanced at her, the intensity of his gaze softening for a moment. "I didn't think you'd care."

She looked down, feeling a familiar ache in her chest. "I tried, Zaid. I really tried. I thought... maybe you'd grown to care for me, too. I thought those moments when you kissed me and acted like possesive husband. I thought you will give this marriage a chance but I think it was meant nothing to you but just moment of heat and manly lust."

He looked at her, his eyes shadowed. "Mahra..."

She shook her head, fighting the lump in her throat. "I guess I was wrong."

Silence stretched between them, and Zaid reached for her hand, but she pulled away, pain flickering in her eyes.

"Don't," she whispered, her voice breaking. "Don't hold me like that just because you're feeling guilty."

He froze, and in that moment, she could see the conflict in his expression. She let out a bitter laugh, barely audible.

"Isn't it strange?" she murmured. "You're comforting the person you hurt. And the worst part? I still feel better just being close to you."

He watched her, guilt and regret etched across his face, but he didn't let go. They sat together in silence, each lost in their own pain, both tethered to a love that could never fully belong to either of them.