I'm sure you've heard a lot about unrequited love, but what if I say there exists an unwilling love, hidden somewhere between the echoes of silence and the whispers of the heart's secrets? A love that fights to stay buried, yet yearns to be discover...
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๑ 🥀 ๑
There was a knock at the door just as he murmured faintly, “Come in.”
Zaki and Faiza stepped inside the room with their faces glowing with warmth. “Wrong time?” Zaki asked, his eyes softening as they fell on his daughter, fast asleep against the shoulder of the man he had chosen for her.
“No,” Shazal replied with a smile. “She dozed off a while ago.”
"Did she finally?" Faiza asked and he nodded.
“How are you feeling?” she inquired gently, placing a fruit basket on the side table before taking a seat at the edge of the bed.
“Other than the burns, I think I’m good,” he answered honestly.
“You will get better. You’re a brave man,” Zaki said with pride. “And you know I trust you with my daughter, don’t you?”
The words drew another smile from Shazal, a little sheepish this time. “It gives me courage… but it also feels like a heavy responsibility.”
“There’s no need to see it that way,” Faiza consoled softly. “You two were friends long before you became husband and wife. And from what I’ve seen, the friends-to-lovers trope always have the strongest bonds.” She glanced at Zaki with a fond smile.
“She’s speaking from experience,” Zaki teased, winking at Shazal. And Faiza didn't deny.
Shazal chuckled lightly at Zaki’s teasing, though the movement tugged faintly at the ache in his body. He winced, but the smile never left his face. “If that’s the case, then I hope our story proves right,” he murmured, his gaze instinctively lowering to Yusra’s peaceful face, still nestled against him
"She is the carbon copy of her mother, extroverted, jovial." Zaki said.
"She is." Shazal smiled knowingly, who knew that better than him.
"Yet for these few days you were gone, she wasn't herself Shazal. She cherished you so much I was so shocked to see that she lost herself entirely. But she tried, tried so hard we shouldn't notice. Tried to act courageous and stay optimistic. Failing so, but trying."
Shazal’s chest tightened, emotion threatening to choke him. He looked down at her again, his hand instinctively tightening its hold over hers. Her fingers, even in sleep, were wrapped securely around him, like she feared letting go would undo everything she’d fought for.
"I'm... sorry she had to go through that." His eyes softened, hand lazily brushing against Yusra's waist.
"No don't apologize, none of this was your fault you have endured enough already, we understand you had no choice...I'm so glad to see you like this, we all are," Faiza said.
“She saved me in more ways than one,” he whispered, the words not meant for them but spilling nonetheless.
“And you’ll save her too,” Zaki replied, his tone carrying the weight of both blessing and expectation.
