A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Seven

Zoya's POV:

"So how was the date? I need the deets!" I shook Rubab's shoulders in anticipation while she just laughed softly and looked away. She opened a bag of Lays and then looked at me thoughtfully. Was she trying to find the appropriate words to describe the date? Typical Rubab. But this was something I liked about her. She thought about everything before saying anything. Her words were well structured and careful unlike me who said whatever was on my head.

"It was alright. He got me a bouquet of roses. We were both wearing black which was awkward. He wanted to take a picture with me for the sake of memory but I refused." She replied without hesitation and I whistled. "Also, I told him to break up as soon as possible." I blinked once, twice. Why am I not surprised?

"You did what? Why? I mean I am not a fan of Fahad's flirtatious nature but you can have fun with him."

"Um," I turned to look at her, she was hesitant while her cheeks were pink. "I did have fun with him though." I wanted to hug her for being so cute and innocent but I knew she would feel awkward about it. She wasn't a huge fan of displays of affection unlike me and Misha.

"Why not just keep him around? For the sake of it? He is not that bad to be honest. Enjoy it while it lasts? No strings attached kind of way but like more halal." I really wanted her to enjoy life after the shit Zohaib put her through but then again I didn't know if Fahad was the one to give her that peace of mind. He was a wreck himself.

"I can't keep lying to my family. They think he might actually marry me after the time he saved me from Zohaib. The bad part is that he is not going to do that. It is all just a game to him so I will probably ask him to not meet me again after the next meetup. This is meaningless. I can't lead everyone on." She had a point. This didn't seem to have a happy ending attached to them.

"What are you going to do about Zohaib and your broken engagement? I mean it is true Zohaib hasn't showed up again yet but we don't know when he will be back." I reasoned and Rubab just sighed deeply to this.

"Fahad told me he might make a move soon again. According to him, he is not the type to remain silent." I snapped my head in her direction. And she is telling me this now?

"What are you going to do? Should we contact the police? Get a restraining order or something?" I offered but she just shook her head. I was surprised at her ability to stay calm. I would have left the country if this was the case. She really had the nerves of steel.

"I don't think that will work. Zohaib's family can bribe the police. You know how strong they are. Ugh! Why did I have to say Fahad is my lover? Why couldn't I just introduce him as my friend? My brain stopped working during that time. This is such a mess! How do I get rid of him? Of both of them?"

"I don't think Fahad's ego would have accepted that friend-zone to be honest." I shook my head trying to imagine him as Rubab's guy friend. He would make a disgusted face and talk about how 'no woman has ever friend zoned him' till now. That would be a sight to see. "Keep Fahad around then? I don't see any other way around this. I know you want to forget about him as soon as possible but he is probably the only one who can help right now. Plus he already knows the situation."

Rubab didn't reply to this. The atmosphere of the room turned extremely gloomy so I decided to change the mood. "I am sure Allah will find a way for us. He never abandons us. It will all workout in a way that is best for all of us. How about we go shopping to make the mood better? Misha's wedding is only a month away. I need to buy heels for the wedding. What do you say?"

Rubab brightened up at the suggestion. She slowly got up from the bed and crumpled up the empty lays packet and threw it in the dustbin. "I am sure it will work out. If Fahad is the one to help me I just need to accept it. I am already indebted to him. My pride doesn't really want to rely on him again but I guess I need to talk to him. I was really harsh on him during the date because I was intent on getting rid of him. I hope he didn't think on it too much. Nah, he is not the type to do that. He probably has a girl sitting in his lap feeding him grapes and wine or something stupid right about now." The visual image that Rubab's words had set made me laugh.