The darkness of the night melted into a bright, golden morning,
but Zain was still there standing alone on the highway,
his mind consumed by one thought.

Zayra.

Then, headlights pierced the morning mist. A car pulled up, slowing to a stop.

Zain turned sharply, his heart hammering.

For a fleeting moment, hope flickered in his eyes.

Zayra?

But as the door swung open, his hope shattered.

Arish stepped out.

Zain’s jaw clenched. His eyes burned with fury.

Without hesitation, he took a step forward.

"Arish, don’t f*cking play with me. I know you know where Zayra is. Tell me where is she?"

Arish smirked, his head tilting slightly as he folded his arms.

"Aww, my poor baby Zain," he mocked, his voice dripping with amusement. "Look at you. Pathetic. Broken."

He chuckled, slow and cruel.

"Let me guess you’ve been standing here all night? Hoping she’d come back?"

His laughter echoed in the empty air.

"You really think I know where she is?" he said, feigning innocence. "I swear I don’t."

Zain was furious.
He grabbed Arish by the collar, his eyes bloodshot with anger.

I should’ve known you’d pull some bullshit like this. You bastard, Arish! You know where the hell she is, don’t lie to me!” Zain spat, his voice shaking with seething anger.

“You won’t give a damn to tell me, will you?” he growled, his grip tightening. “I’m not asking anymore,I insist tell me where is she or else.

Arish didn’t flinch. His smirk only deepened, his eyes cold and calculating.

“Or else? What, Zain? What the hell are you gonna do, huh?” Arish’s voice was laced with contempt. “You know I’ve got nothing to lose. I’m not afraid of anyone. But you... You’ve got everything. Wait no you don’t. You’ve lost it all now. You and I? We’re the same. Your precious Zayra? Your everything she left you.

Arish’s voice dropped to a mocking whisper. “She’s gone, Zain. Gone. And you’re left here, broken, begging for answers that won’t come.”

Zain’s fists clenched, his body shaking with fury, but Arish just laughed. It was cruel, filled with venom.

Arish paused, his smirk deepening.
"And as for Zayra, Zain... I really don’t know where she is," he said, the lie so evident in his tone. His smirk revealed the truth, but he was playing his game.

He laughed, the sound mocking and filled with anger.

Zain snarled, "Arish, you're a bloody incestuous freak, obsessed with your cousin. Don't ever say that you and I are the same. We're not even in the same league. Not in a million years will Zayra choose you over me."

He stepped closer, his eyes burning with fury. "You know what, Arish? Even hell will regret you.  Even Hell doesn't deserve someone like you."

His voice dropped, full of venom. "You're a devil who just happens to be stuck here."

Arish glared at him, a smirk twisting on his lips. "Ouch, Zain," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "That hurts." He grinned wider, clearly enjoying the tension.

"If I'm the devil, then what the hell are you? A hopeless romantic guy whose girl left him without even saying goodbye?" Arish let out a mocking laugh. "Aww, Zain, I pity you." He mocked a sad pout, mimicking Zain’s pain.

He leaned in closer. "And now you’re begging me to tell you where your precious Zayra is. The one who left you to die inside."

Arish let out a dark laugh. "I think I’d rather be a devil than be you."

Zain stared furiously at Arish, his rage boiling over. Without warning, he threw a punch, connecting with Arish’s face.

"Fuck off  Arish!" Zain shouted, his voice full of hatred.

Arish staggered back, ready to retaliate, but before he could strike, Ewan came running from a car and stepped in between them, blocking the fight.

"Zain, what the hell are you doing here with Arish?" Ewan snapped. "You left me alone at the airport, took off with my car, and my phone died.  thankfully my car had GPS so I was able to find you."

Arish sneered at Zain. "Ah, look at you, Zain. You even ditched your friend. You’re no better than me."

As Arish stepped forward, about to throw another punch, Ewan held his ground and shot back.

"Arish, get the hell out of here."

After the fight, Ewan drove Zain back to his father’s mansion.

As soon as they stepped inside, Mr. Armani let out a breath of relief. “Zain! Thank God you’re back. I was worried. But forget about that girl I’ll find you a hundred more like her.”

Zain froze. His blood boiled. His father’s words rang in his ears like a slap.

His hands clenched into fists as he turned, eyes blazing. “She’s not some replaceable toy, Dad! She’s not just ‘a girl’ she’s Zayra. And I don’t want a hundred others. I want her. Only her.”

His voice thundered through the room, but Mr. Armani remained calm, unbothered.

“Zain, you’re young. You’ll get over this,” he said dismissively.

Zain let out a cold, bitter laugh. He took a step closer, his glare cutting through his father.

“Just like how you ‘got over’ Mom, right? The moment she lost everything, you threw her away. Instead of standing by her, you replaced her like she was nothing.”

His father’s expression hardened, but Zain wasn’t finished. “I don’t need your fake sympathy. I’m not like you. I don’t use people and toss them aside when they’re no longer convenient.”

Silence. Thick, suffocating.

Mr. Armani exhaled. “Zain, I didn’t mean it like that. Don’t go. Who’s going to take care of you if you live alone?”

Zain scoffed, his voice laced with cold resolve. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me.”

He turned to Ewan. “Take me home. My home. Not this mansion where people treat others like disposable playthings.”

And with that, he walked out, leaving behind a father who had never truly understood him.

Zain was recovering physically, at least. The fever had broken, and his strength was slowly returning. But the emptiness inside him? That was a different story.

His friends never left his side. Ewan had practically moved into his house, making sure he ate, rested, and didn’t drown himself in thoughts of Zayra. To lighten the mood, Ewan even planned a small party, inviting Eva, Lily, and, to everyone’s surprise, even Aria.

As the night unfolded, the house filled with laughter, teasing, and the occasional dramatic groans from Ewan when he lost at board games. It was almost normal almost.

But Zain felt it.

The absence of her.

And no amount of noise could drown that out.

After the party, they all gathered in the living room, books and notes spread across the floor. Exams were looming, and as much as they wanted to pretend they didn’t care, they had no choice but to study.

Eva flopped onto the couch, dramatically throwing her head back. "I swear, I can't even study for one exam properly. How the hell did Zayra take all of hers in one day? She’s insane… but honestly, she's the best."

Silence.

It was instant, suffocating.

Eva realized her mistake a second too late. Her eyes darted toward Zain, who had been flipping through a textbook but had now gone completely still.

Ewan shot Eva a look. "Seriously, Eva?" he muttered under his breath.

Eva winced. "I— I didn’t mean—"

Zain exhaled quietly. Then, to everyone's surprise, he looked up with a small, almost unreadable smile. "I’m fine, guys. Let’s just focus on studying."

Lily frowned, watching him closely. "Zain, you don’t have to pretend with us."

He shook his head. "I’m not pretending. I just…" He trailed off, closing his book. "I know she’s not here. I know she’s not coming back. I just need to deal with that, and I will."

Ewan clapped a hand on his shoulder. "And we’ll be here to make sure you don’t turn into a brooding villain in the process."

Zain huffed out a laugh. "Too late for that."

Zain looked around at them—his friends, his family in a way.

Maybe he wasn’t okay yet. Maybe he wouldn’t be for a long time.

But in that moment, surrounded by the people who refused to let him drown, he felt a little less lost.

Everyone thought, deep down, that Zain was slowly moving on from Zayra. They saw him starting to heal, and for a moment, they were relieved. But the next day, something unexpected happened.

The group waited in the exam hall, but Zain was nowhere to be found. Ewan called him repeatedly, his frustration growing. "Come on, Zain... pick up," he muttered, but no answer came.

Desperate, Ewan rushed to the teacher. "Sir, Zain... he’s not here. Please, just give him a little more time."

Ten minutes felt like a lifetime. Ewan stood there, his heart pounding in his chest. Ten minutes passed, and still no Zain.

The final bell ringing, but Zain was still nowhere to be seen.

With his heart heavy, Ewan gave his exam and after the exam he  rushed to Zain’s  house.

When he arrived, he searched every inch of the house, but there was no sign of him.

"Where the hell could he be?" Ewan said, pacing around the living room, frustration evident in his voice. "He's not at home. He's not answering his phone. Where is he?"

Meanwhile, Eva and Aria made their way to the Armani mansion, praying they would find him there. But when they arrived, the mansion felt emptier than usual.

Mr. Armani, who had been pacing in his study, looked up when Aria entered. His face immediately tensed. "Aria... what are you doing here?"

Aria took a deep breath, trying to stay composed. "Mr. Armani... it's Zain. He’s gone. He didn’t show up for his exam, and he’s not at his house. We’ve searched everywhere, and we can’t find him."

Mr. Armani’s face paled, panic rising in his chest. "No... no, not again." He ran his hand through his hair, his voice shaky. "This is exactly why I didn’t want him to be alone. I warned him... I warned him that he couldn’t handle this. I’ll find him, Aria. I’ll find him, no matter what it takes."

Back at Zain’s house, Ewan was on the phone with Eva, his hands trembling. "Eva, have you found him? Please, tell me you’ve found him."

Eva’s voice broke through the phone, heavy with despair. "No, Ewan. We’ve checked everywhere... He’s not here. I don’t know where he is."

Ewan hung up, the silence pressing down on him. He stood there in the middle of the room, his mind racing, heart pounding. Where could he have gone?

They searched, they called, they begged for answers, but Zain was nowhere to be found... The fear gripped them all, a gnawing sense that something was terribly wrong.

Zain stood at the airport, the constant hum of activity around him fading into the background. His eyes were fixed on the departure board, but his thoughts were far away.

“I’ve lost everything,” Zain muttered to himself, his voice barely audible amidst the noise. “A family that was shattered before it even had a chance to be whole. A mother who was taken from me when I needed her most. I’ve been left behind by the people who should’ve been there for me.”

He clenched his fists, determination hardening in his chest.

“But I won’t lose her. Not Zayra. She’s the one thing that makes sense in this mess of a life. I’ve already lost so much, and I refuse to let her slip away like everything else. I’ll search the world, every country, every city, until I find her. Until I can make things right.”

His voice grew louder, more resolute with each word, as if speaking to himself was the only way to ground his spiraling thoughts.

“I’ve fought for nothing but the wrong things all my life. But I’m not losing her. No. I’ll fight for her—no matter where she is, no matter what it takes. I’ll find her, and I’ll never let her go.”

A year had passed, and Zain found himself standing in Florence, Italy — a city he’d never imagined would hold his fate.

Out of the 140 cities in Italy, he had searched 135, desperately hoping to find even the smallest trace of her. He scoured every school, every university, asking every person who might have known her, but it was all in vain. Zayra was gone.

The last five cities were his final hope, his last breath of possibility, to find the woman who had haunted his every step.

In this year, everything had crumbled. Zain, once the top student with a brilliant future, had failed every exam. Not because he couldn’t have passed — but because he hadn’t bothered to even show up. The world, his studies, his future... none of it mattered without her.

Ewan had tried to reach him. Countless calls, desperate voicemails, texts left unanswered. Eventually, Ewan stopped calling, unable to keep reaching out to someone who no longer seemed to exist.

Mr. Armani had gone to extreme lengths, sending private investigators, hiring anyone who could find Zain. But they returned with nothing.

And Zain... Zain had lost everything. His friends, his family, his purpose. All because of her. The one thing he couldn't find. The one thing that was supposed to complete him. Zayra.

He was broken, lost in a sea of regret and longing, unable to let go.