Loving a Princess

23. He knows what is better for you.

Farshad's P.O.V

Farshad walked on the sidewalk, lazily kicking a pebble with every step he took, his mind focused on one thing - Ruqaiyah.

How could all that have happened to her? How could she have gone through that entire phase in her life without even saying anything to anyone? But since Ruqaiyah was closer to him than to anyone else, it didn't take her long to open up to Farshad.

His mind drifted off to the events that took place three days earlier. As Farshad had told Umniyah, he got his mum and sister to come to visit them in this city, and they stayed over at a hotel. As soon as they arrived and we're settled at the hotel, Farshad did not waste even a minute to get Ruqaiyah to start talking. He took her out to her favourite place - the park. Ruqaiyah loved parks so he decided to take her to the best one in the city, the park near his university.

He hadn't failed to notice the bags under his little sister's eyes, her sunken face, and how much weight she had lost. She had become pale, and that smile which never seemed to leave her face had completely disappeared. Even when she arrived and saw him, she forced a fake smile which didn't reach her eyes, when normally, she would fling her arms around Farshad and not let him go. Something was definitely wrong with Ruqaiyah and for some reason, he felt upset with Umniyah for not taking it as seriously as it should be taken. But then again, Umniyah wasn't a protective older brother. But when it came to Muhammad, Umniyah was a protective older sister.

"So, Ruqs. How have you been?" Farshad had asked, once they were seated on the bench, albeit knowing that Ruqaiyah had not been fine. But he wanted to hear it from her mouth. He wanted her to spill everything to him.

"I've been okay brother, Alhamdulillah," Ruqaiyah had replied.

"Don't lie to me, Ruqs. I know that you're far from okay. I want you to tell me why all this has happened to you!" Farshad insisted, gesturing to Ruqaiyah's state with his hand.

"It's nothing, brother. Seriously! I'm just stressed because of A-levels," Ruqaiyah replied, avoiding Farshad's intense gaze.

"Ruqaiyah, I know you better than anyone else to realise that you're lying to me! Fear Allah!" Farshad said, sternly. "And besides, stressing over A-levels can't be this bad that it puts one in a state like yours! I've done A-levels so you can't use that pathetic excuse!"

"Why do you want to drag yourself in my problems, brother?" Ruqaiyah had asked, quietly.

Farshad looked at her incredulously. "Would you listen to yourself, Ruqaiyah? Drag myself into your problems? Since when did we start differentiating our problems as mine and yours? I'm your brother! Your problems are mine!"

"Alright, but I'm only telling you because it's you. I've not said anything to mum and  sister even though they have insisted like so many times for me to tell them," Ruqaiyah replied.

"Look, Ruqs. I know you're closer to me than to anyone else, but it's high time you start opening up to mum because she's your mother  And you better start getting comfortable telling Umniyah also, because she's your older sister. Also, when Umni and I are going to be done with uni and we go back home, you'll come here and you'll have Muhammad only. So you better also get comfortable telling him your problems," Farshad explained to her gently.

"Okay, brother," Ruqaiyah replied.

"Now, what happened? Tell. Me. Everything," Farshad stated.

"Okay, so there was this guy," Ruqaiyah began. Farshad immediately clenched his fists. I hope she didn't have any haraam relationship with this guy, or he is so dead, Farshad thought to himself, but did not interrupt his sister because he wanted to hear what she had to say without judging.