𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐠𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐦 & 𝐇𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐦

Chapter 4

"Erum?" The soft voice called for her as it dragged her out of her thoughts. Erum looked at Enayat who has called her while she was busy scrutinising their group photo on that wall.

"Yeah?" Erum responded, diverting her gaze from the picture.

"I just recieved a call from uncle Jibran. He said both, him and uncle Yasin had been trying to call you on your number but it's not picking up."
"Oh.. I might have turned it on silent mood. By the way, what do they want?"

"It's a meeting at MDA (Members Decision Alliance). Uncle Jibran had called you and Dua while uncle Yasin and Zoya would already be there."

"Alright, I'll go." Erum paused for a second and spoke, "And Dua?"

"She's getting ready."

---

"What's that red line?" Erum asked, her eyes fixed on the red LED beam scanning the garden.

Dua glanced at her as they walked towards the garage. "That's a scanning system. Zoya installed it while you were in a coma. Haelin manages it," she replied.

Erum looked surprised. "A scanning system? What's it for?"

"Any unusual activity anywhere in the house gets detected immediately. If someone tries to break in or if anything unusual happens, the system catches it."

After the response from Dua, Erum's mind wandered back to last night's event when Veilwalker was just a few inches away from her, separated by a glass wall.

She wondered, if this system would've been able to scan him. Indeed it would. But what if he.. anyways.

"That's interesting," Erum said, a trace of pride for Zoya creeping into her voice. "Zoya's been introducing a lot of cool stuff."

"What can we say? Zoya is Zoya," Dua said with a knowing smile.

Erum wanted to inquire further but she let it slide for now.

They got into the car, Dua taking the driver's seat and Erum settling in the passenger's seat. As Dua started the car and drove out of the garage, Enayat came out to wave goodbye. Both Erum and Dua waved back before heading out of the house.

The journey would take about an hour, as far as Erum could recall from the last time she had attended a meeting at MDA-two years ago. They were traveling to the city where the MDA headquarters was located.

Dua drove in silence until Erum broke it. "Dua, how many meetings were held at MDA while I was in a coma?"

Dua glanced at her briefly before focusing back on the road. "You really want to know that now? Well, probably three."

Erum frowned. "Are you serious? Only three? Why so few?"

At least nine meetings must be held at MDA each year, totaling 18 meetings over two years. Therefore, having only three meetings over two years was indeed a matter to be concerned for.

Without taking her eyes off the road, Dua replied, "The main reason was your absence."

"My absence?"

"Yeah. Since you were hospitalized, Zoya and I were too preoccupied with you to arrange or attend meetings. I went to the second meeting, and trust me, it was the worst I've ever attended. The Chief Representative of Khandan-e-Kulgin, Zoya, wasn't there. Both, the Chief Representative of your family (i.e. Erum herself) and the leader were absent. And, as you already know, Khandan-e-Branco had cut ties with MDA. They didn't show up, and neither did Khandan-e-Hitam."

At the mention of Khandan-e-Hitam, Erum's eyes flickered with a hint of empathy, but she quickly masked the emotion, not wanting to reveal it, the empathy she had for Khandan-e-Hitam-even to her friend of nine years.