MOHABBAT HI MANZIL THI

As Esra stepped further in, she caught a glimpse of something on his phone screen. A sketch, a man's outfit, clean lines and detail. Emad Syed was a designer by profession. He worked for Ethereal Style in London, one of the biggest names. He locked the screen the moment he noticed her staring.

She sat down next to him, keeping distance.

"How was your journey?" She cleared her throat.

"Good."

"How are you?"

"Alhamdulillah."

She smiled, dry. "Alhamdulillah, mein bhi thik hun." A pause. "Woh aap nhi puchenge to main ne khud hi bta diya."

He glanced at her once. Then looked back at his phone.

Rude.

Esra rolled her eyes internally and tried to think of another way to start a conversation with someone who clearly had no interest in having one.