ishq lost & found

53;Communication

Still confused and unable to grasp what had happened back there, Ranya, somewhat drenched, though not nearly as much as Saad, followed him quietly up the stairs. Holding her bags in his hands, Saad felt the cool from his completely soaked clothing mixed with the embarrassment rush up his spine, making him shiver ever so slightly.

Steps ahead of Ranya, as per usual, he placed the bags down by the window, turning around in hopes that maybe Ranya was still in the hall and he could escape her. Instead, Ranya was just lightly shutting the door, staring at Saad in disbelief.

"What was that?" Ranya asked softly, seeing the look on his face not change in the slightest, but the way he avoided her gaze made her a bit uneasy. That was unlike him. When he didn't answer, Ranya walked up to him, concern lacing her features as she passed him a towel. That was unlike him as well.

"Nothing." Saad finally spoke, staring down at her, realising he made a fool out of himself. He overreacted, he overdid it. It was certainly quite the display, but what bothered him more than the fact that he might have embarrassed himself, was the fact that it seemed like Ranya didn't want him to hug her.

Taking the towel from her hand, he brushed past her and headed towards the washroom to clean up. The feeling of his clothes sticking to his body wasn't one he particularly enjoyed, and the shower would give him a chance to reflect and wallow in solemnity. Practically ripping his shirt off of himself, the feeling beginning to drive him up the wall, he stepped under the warm water, hoping it would give him some peace of mind.

He couldn't stop replaying what happened. He felt such a rush of relief when he realised it was Ranya stepping out of the car, he felt as if he had no worries the moment he saw her face behind the car door. He couldn't even begin to explain the fear that plagued him at the thought that he could have lost her, but the ecstasy of realising she was safe was even stronger.

When he rushed towards her, he hadn't been thinking. How could he? Seeing her face, his worries melted away and all he wanted to do, the only thing he could think of, was to embrace her. She had done it, so why couldn't he? Any time she had needed a hug, or even gave the hint that she wanted one, he let her. When she worried, when she cried, he pulled her into his chest and comforted her as well as he could. But, when he held her as tightly as ever, all she did was let her hands stiffly stand straight. She didn't hug him back at all, only lightly patting his back as if it were an inconvenience to her that he had shown her any form of affection.

To be honest, he felt a hint of anger. But more than that he just felt hurt. He felt embarrassed, realising everyone watched him lose his mind over the idea of losing her, only for her to not even hug him back. Normally he didn't care what others thought, not even a little bit. But the idea that everyone could tell his own wife didn't like him, the fact that everyone knew what he knew, that did bother him. And it bothered him that it bothered him because that meant he let this all spiral out of control. He let their fake relationship mean too much to him, and that was not good.

He had gotten so far from how he used to be. The same guy that would've lost his mind over this had somehow found peace, even if he thought about her every now and then, and wallowed in self pity, at least he could control himself. But she was making him reckless, unlike himself, irresponsible. When Sana had insulted her, he was quick to react, yelling at her at surprising everyone in attendance. When Salman showed up, he made a spectacle, embarrassing him without a care in the world for her. Now, he cared what others thought about them?

Turning off the faucet, realising his mind was all over the place and the shower wasn't helping, he wrapped his lower half in a towel, certain there was no way Ranya was still in their room. It was too quiet outside, and usually she had something in the background playing, like a show or a tiktok. Drying his hair with the smaller towel, he felt the cool breeze hit his skin, the best part of the shower cut short when his eyes landed on Ranya.