LOVE WITHOUT DESTINY

part 30

Zain walked into the room and leaned against the doorframe, watching Amal quietly as she sat on the bed, staring at the floor. A small frown touched his lips.

"Sweetheart... you don't seem to be in the mood today," he said softly. "Don't you have college?"

Amal didn't look up. "I don't want to go," she mumbled.

Zain moved closer, crouching down in front of her so he could meet her eyes. "It's just until your exams, Amal," he said gently. "After that..."

Before he could finish, she cut him off-her voice firm, eyes suddenly sharp with emotion.

"I'm not going to America, Zain. No matter what happens, I won't go. I've always wanted to work with Baba. I've come this far... I can't leave him now. My dreams are tied to Pakistan, not America."

Zain exhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair, trying to stay calm.
"No one's taking your dreams away from you, sweetheart," he said, voice calm but persuasive. "But in America, you'll get better opportunities. And about your Baba... even from there, you can manage things. You're capable of much more, Amal. And your Baba wants that for you too."

Amal turned sharply to look at him, her eyes holding a quiet fire.
"My Baba would never want me to be away from him," she said with conviction. "Never."

Zain looked at her for a long second, his eyes softening. "He's not sending you away, Amal. He's just trying to give you the wings you deserve."

She opened her mouth to argue again, but Zain suddenly stood up.

"It's done, sweetheart. I won't say anything more-and neither will you." He paused, his tone shifting to something light and teasing. "If you want to stay home today, fine. My parents are arriving today anyway. And the first person they'll want to meet is their daughter-in-law."

He leaned in and kissed her forehead, then turned and walked out, leaving her with her thoughts.

Downstairs, Zain called the staff together, his tone firm and commanding. "My mom and dad are arriving today. I don't want anything to go wrong. Everything should be perfect-no mistakes, Safeena."

Just then, Noah walked in, dressed for college. She overheard him and her eyes lit up.

"Wait-your parents are coming today? Really?"

Zain nodded once. "Yeah."

"Oh my God!" she squealed. "I'm so excited! Sorry, Zain... I won't be coming to college today. I want to be here when they arrive. I mean, I want to welcome them properly."

Zain gave a small smile. "Alright. As you wish."

He then turned to Safeena again. "Make sure Amal is taken care of today. She's staying home too."

Noah, standing nearby, heard this as well-her smile faltered for a second. "Oh... she's staying too?" she murmured under her breath, eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

Zain didn't notice. He stepped outside and walked toward his car. As he opened the door, his eyes instinctively lifted toward the balcony of his room.

"I know this is hard for you, Amal," he whispered to himself.
"I'm sorry, Amal... but I can't keep you away from me. Not at any cost."

As soon as Zain stepped into the college, one of the professors met him near the entrance. They exchanged a brief handshake, casual yet familiar, and began walking together toward the main corridor.

While walking, the professor reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a key-Zain's car key. Handing it over, he said, "Looks like everything happened just the way you said it would... but who were they? I mean, there were several of them. What did they even want?"