LET ME HATE YOU

Only for her

"I have never been to such places," Asmaira murmured softly, catching Amaan's attention.

Handing his car keys to the valet, he walked over to Asmaira and gently held her arms. "If you are not comfortable, we can leave. I'll make an excuse. Ross and Natalie will understand."

Though he said this, deep down, he wished Asmaira would overcome her inhibitions. He didn't expect her to become an extrovert, but her extreme introversion was unhealthy. He couldn't let her live only for Kabir, and not for herself.

She moved closer to Amaan, lowering her head as a group of people walked past. Her subtle movement was enough for him to wrap an arm around her waist, ready to call Ross, but Asmaira stopped him.

"I want to meet them. I-I," she swallowed, silently thinking, 'I want to get to know my sister through Natalie. How Raina lived after her marriage.'

What she wanted to say was about Raina, but she ended up saying, "I didn't get a chance to thank Ross."

Before Amaan could ask why she needed to thank him, Ross's voice interrupted them.

"Asmaira, you're here! Nat can't wait to see you," he ignored his old school friend and escorted her to their table.

"How have you been?" Natalie hugged Asmaira as soon as they reached the table and, like her husband, chose to ignore Amaan.

"Good," Asmaira murmured awkwardly in a soft voice.

Noticing her subconsciously inching closer to him, Amaan tried to lighten the mood. "I'm doing fine as well, in case either of you was wondering."

Grateful that he broke the silence, Asmaira looked at him, only to turn away the next second when Natalie grabbed her hand and made her sit beside her. "Ignore him."

"Nat, you wound me," he tried to sit beside Asmaira, noticing her stiff posture, when Ross stopped him. "Let's order something."

"You both talk while we get you girls something to drink," Ross dragged Amaan away with him.

Expecting his friend to interrogate him, Amaan mentally prepared for the inevitable. However, Ross's silence and lack of interest in talking completely baffled him.

"So, how's everything?" Amaan started, but Ross remained indifferent.

"You aren't going to talk to me, are you?" he questioned, but was only met with silence.

"Fine, I'll go back to my wi—" Ross interrupted Amaan, "Stay right there. Nat wants to have alone time with Asmaira."

"Alone time, my ass. She is basically interrogating her to see if I'm abusing her," Amaan quickly connected the dots but wasn't upset about their lack of trust.

"It's naive of Nat to underestimate you. You probably understood her intent and have already warned Asmaira not to reveal anything to us," Ross sneered.

Before his friend could misunderstand him further, Amaan blurted out, "It was Raina's last wish for Asmaira and me to marry."

"What?"

Amaan didn't wait for his friend to process the information. "She wrote a letter to Asmaira requesting her to marry me and become Kabir's mother. Mom knew from the beginning."

Ross blinked in a daze. Initially, he intended to give Amaan the cold shoulder all evening, but what Amaan said left him dumbfounded.

On the other hand, taking Ross's silence as an invitation, Amaan narrated what he had learned the night Asmaira was kidnapped, and what Ehsaan had told him about his daughter—how she chose to leave her parents for the sake of her sister's dying wish.