Don't forget to check the Author's note at the End of the chapter

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Author's POV:

As the melodious voice of Fajr Adhan began, Saniya stood up and silently dashed towards her room so that nobody could see her teary face. Fortunately,  Afsha was still sleeping so she directly went to the bathroom to perform wudhu (ablution before praying practiced by Muslims)

After praying the namaz, she slipped into bed and covered her face with a blanket. She closed her eyes, reliving her times spent with Sameer, particularly at the time when she felt that she had outgrown the soft spot for Sameer in her heart.

Saniya's POV:

Flashback begins - five years ago

Hyderabad

I was shooting for a brand in Hyderabad since three days and today was my last day of the shoot 

"What is your next plan after this shoot?"  one of the co-models asked me as I was sitting idle on the chair , waiting for my call.

"Currently there is no other schedule till a week and later I have a shoot in Delhi", I sighed and leaned back on the chair. I am exhausted from three days of nonstop shooting, and all I want is a bed and four to five hours of quiet time.

"Oh lucky girl, I have my next shoot tomorrow morning in Goa," she remarked, appearing tired but her expression was intended to be mocking and bragging about her dates being packed and she doesn't have time to even breath

"Aww, I am sorry; you know, not everyone is fortunate enough." I also played in her drama; sometimes it is good to act up the way the other person desires in order to get off from the needless drama of life.

I already have a lot going on in my life, so the last thing I want to do is cry on some desperate model who makes sure to go through anything to have a role in the photo shoot.

"Girls, come on let's wrap up the final shot," director's call paused our conversation and we went back to complete the shoot

I returned to the vanity after finishing my portion of the shoot so I could leave before anyone asked to stay for the after-party. I only attend these parties when I feel a connection with the team and this team; spending three days with them is the least I can handle them, just hoping not to work with them again.

As I entered, I saw that my phone, which was placed on charging was flashing, indicating that there was a missed call.

Curiosity build over me thinking of the person who could call me at this time so I opened the call logs to see the caller and I was shocked to see the person. 

The person I least expected to call.

Sameer, Bhai's best friend from college and a colleague; Bhai works in his father's law firm, Yousuf Law Firm, which has many branches all over India.

I got to know about him only a few months back, that topic can be discussed in detail later. For now, let us just think about the reason for his call.

As I called him back, a lot of thoughts about his unexpected call were going through my head. Perhaps he thought, I am with Bhai, and Bhai might not be answering his call, so he called me to talk with him. It was the last thing on my mind when I heard him say, "Salam," indicating he had received the call.

"Waalaikumassalam, you called me any work?" I directly came to the point.

"Hmm, actually, I am in Hyderabad and was kind of bored, so I remembered you are here as well. So I called you to ask if you could join me to have some delicious Hyderabadi biryani. Only if you are interested; else it's fine." He blurted out and later he was hesitant, I guess, as he slowed down his voice.

"Yeah, sure, why not? Besides, I was about to head back to the hotel as my shoot was over. Where do you want me to come?"  I asked excitedly.

 Who doesn't want to miss out on the delicious biryani and that to when someone was offering it to you. Not me though 

"Thank you so much. I felt anxious in the middle, thinking it would be a bad idea to invite you. However, after hearing your excited voice, I am relieved. Let me send you the location. Ahh, no you book a cab for Tank Bund and from there let us decide where to go," he excitedly listed out his plans for tonight making me smile. 

He and Bhai are the same. Now, I got to know why they both quickly got along with each other.

"Okay, I will come. Do not hesitate to call me at any time; we are friends after all. And who would deny for the pleasing biryani offer that to after this demanding shoot."  I tried to calm him down, and I believe I was successful.

"Then come soon, do not make me wait long, I am leaving the office now," he commanded.

 "Roger boss,"  as I replied, we both started to laugh and disconnected the call.

I booked a cab first and it showed 20 minutes for arrival, so I quickly changed into something comfortable but still presentable and got dressed, thanking myself for having more than two sets of clothes in my bag.

As soon as I got ready, my phone received a notification indicating the arrival of the cab. Having a quick check on myself, I left off for dinner.

 As I arrived at the destination, a strange smell greeted me, making me scrunch my nose.

"Ma'am  you will get used to it eventually; the smell is from the water in the tank bund. A long time ago, the Musi River and this area's water supply supplied everyone with clean drinking water, but today, because of pollution, the water from here is unsafe for even regular use." Cab Uncle was telling me about the history and how it has turned now.

It is true that we humans can be harsh towards nature at times and then worry about the consequences. Not just here, but worldwide, pollution and climate change have wiped out all natural resources, and we still stay ignorant about it.

After getting out of the car, I gave the uncle the necessary money and thanked him for the information. Later, I got used to the smell as though it had never been unpleasant.

Smiling I strolled over to the tank bund's pavement and sat down on one of the vacant benches to wait for Sameer.

Apart from that smell, the place was calm and relaxed; it was kind of similar to the Marine Drive in Mumbai, giving off similar vibes and atmosphere.

As I was looking around, I noticed Sameer stepping out of the taxi in formal attire, may be he directly came from his office.

 "Sorry, Sorry, Did I make you wait for long" He hurried over to me and started to apologise.

Seeing him apologise, an evil thought stuck in my mind; "No, no, Why would you be late. I just arrived 30 minutes early", I  acted on in a serious way.

"Sorry yaar, suddenly I got stuck in some work and I forgot to inform you." He was feeling guilty

A cold shiver ran through my body seeing him being apologetic. I never felt like that before; I brushed off the feeling, thinking it may be due to the cold breeze. I turned to face the tank bund.

"As my apology, let me take you for the boat ride," he turned at my direction and before I could tell him that I was just pulling his leg about his late arrival, my stomach growled, making me uncomfortable in front of him.

"I guess let's directly attack on the food." He gave me a smile and went to look for an auto. Luckily, we found one right away, and we went straight to the restaurant.

Since it was not rush hour, we had no trouble getting the table here, as mentioned by Sameer.

Grabbing the menu card, he looked at me and asked "What would you have apart from Biryani?"

"Let's have some soup. What do you say?" I replied excitedly, as rats were already scuttling in my stomach.

"Hmm, let's order manchow soup and mutton dum biryani then." 

"Perfect, I shall go to the restroom and come. Meanwhile, can you order the food" I agreed and told him to order as I was in need of going to washroom

"Yeah sure. Don't worry" he replied and looked around to call the waiter.

When I returned after finishing the required task, the soup had already arrived. "You are on time, dig in; it is tasty."  Sameer said, enjoying his soup.

My mouth began to water at the sight of him. I quickly took the spoon and sipped without thinking, "Uff!  haa!"  I screamed, dropping the spoon and using my hand to blow my mouth to lessen the burn on my tongue.

"It is hot, you should have blown the soup and sipped it." He gave me a glass of water and started lecturing me, which made me feel even more awkward.

"Sir, Do you want me to serve the biryani now or later?" When the waiter arrived, he became distracted, and I began to quietly drink the soup while avoiding eye contact with him— of course by blowing it.

All of a sudden, I felt like my lips were swelling and my body began to itch, which meant.....................

Oh Noooooo!

"Did this soup have mushrooms?"  I looked upwards and asked the waiter, making them turn towards me

"Yes, ma'am" the waiter replied honestly causing me to choke on the soup. 

Oh no, how can I forget about it. I immediately grabbed my bag and started to look out for the medicines that I keep for emergency purposes.

"Saniya, what happened? Are you alright", Sameer asked worriedly. Maybe he saw my swollen lips .

"I am allergic to the mushrooms and I can't find the medicines", I hardly spoke to him and started to look into the purse.

Finally finding the strip, I took one tablet and gulped it hurriedly. Meanwhile, Sameer told the waiter to pack the biryani and was clearing the bills, I guess, as he got up and went with the waiter. I am glad he did that because I don't have any more energy to stay anymore.

After few minutes Sameer came back with the packet, "Hmm, Saniya I just had a call with Adil and he said you may get fever at night. I have a penthouse here if that is okay with you; you can spend the night there. It has three bedrooms, so you can stay anywhere you like.

I was not sure if I should stay or not, but since I knew that things could get worse and I could not bear the thought of the possibilities, I decided to agree to his offer.

"You can sleep in this room; I will sleep in the guest room next to yours. You can call me whenever you like," he was giving me instructions, but I was so tired that I just collapsed onto the bed.

"Saniya, Saniya, get up."  I heard a few muffled voices making me turn to the other side so no one can disturb me.

Suddenly  I felt a slight touch on my hand making me alert and I quickly got up covering myself with the blanket.

"Sorry, you were not getting up so I touched you. I have heated the biryani; please have some food. I kept my shorts and t-shirt here, hoping it would be comfortable for the night, wear it and sleep," he said.

Seeing it was Sameer, I got relaxed and took the plate from his hand and was about to leave. 

"Have you eaten?" I asked stopping him from going.

"No, I haven't. You can comfortably dine here. I will have later."

"It was decided to have dinner together, so please come with me or else I will be guilty."

I am not sure what prompted me to ask him but I wanted him to eat dinner with me.

"Okay, give me a few minutes; I will bring my plate too," thinking for a while, he nodded and went outside, and I dragged myself to the washroom to get freshened up.

I was startled to see myself in the mirror; my eyes had turned red, my lips were slightly swollen, and my body was slightly burning.

It has been a while since I have seen myself in this situation—every time I eat out, I tell them not to include mushrooms. Sadly, this time, I forgot to check the soup and just sipped because it looked good and I was hungry. 

Now I am facing the consequences. Why I do like this everytime , Abbu says correct about me, I think after I act.

"Saniya, Are you inside?" A slight knock at the bathroom door made me snap out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, I am coming."  I quickly washed my face and came outside.

As I stepped outside, Sameer had already set up everything at the table next to the couch. Since he was seated on the left side of the couch, I moved to the other side and took a seat while keeping a reasonable distance from him.

"Are you ok?" Sameer worriedly asked me

"Yeah, I am somewhat fine and will be normal by tomorrow morning, hopefully", I assured him and started to eat the dinner.

After dinner, he cleaned the whole place, adjusted the temperature of the AC, and left the room, after making sure everything was alright.

Luckily, I woke up feeling normal the next day, but he was hesitant and concerned about me the whole day.

Flashback Ends

Seeing his care and affection for me created a soft spot in my heart and it has gradually begun  to turn into liking.

Sometimes we can't pinpoint the exact moment where we first fell in love; it just develops naturally, making us unable to imagine life without them. In the same way, I feel about him. I am not sure when I first started to like him, but I know that I can not live my life without him, which is why I held back my emotions until...

I guess I am late in expressing my feelings, as he likes someone else now.

It was my mistake to think to give some time more and fear of ruining the friendship even.

Like my love, I don't want my friendship with him to get broken, so I guess it would be better to dig all my feelings and be happy for him.

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This chapter is totally dedicated to Saniya and Sameer. As you have already guessed correctly, initially they were supposed to be the second parallel lead.

After giving it some thought, I am having second thoughts.

The book is supposed to be of Adil and Neha so should I highlight only on them and give only few glimpses of Saniya and Sameer 

(or)

Include Saniya and Sameer and provide detailed scenes of them. 

I left this up to you guys, and whatever the majority say, I will go with the same.

Don't forget to vote and comment