"Bhai?" Hadiya spoke before she could even think of anything and Zaryab froze on his spot for a moment. His heart was beating in his throat and he felt choked when Zahan stepped closer to Hadiya and asked her if Zaryab had said something to her.

Hadiya didn't reply and kept her mouth shut as she turned to look at Zaryab, watching her husband struggle to even shale his head to make her stay quiet she blinked before turning to Zahan.

"Nothing Bhai. I... I'm just a little overwhelmed these days" she said wiping her face and Zahan frowned more if possible.

"Zaryab I want to have a word with you" Zahan said after a moment of silence and Zaryab flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Me? Oh..." Zaryab blinked numerous times before nodding and leading Zahan to his home office.

As the two men stepped inside the office Zaryab closed the door behind him and watched Zahan taking a seat at the chairs placed in front of his desk.

"What can I help you with?" Zaryab asked with a smile this time, his composite back to normal.

Zahan stayed silent for a moment, his eyes seemed troubled and his gate slouched. He looked like a man confused between what path he should take and Zaryab felt his heart skip a beat.

"I.. Zoya.... Zaryab I don't know what to do" he sighed accepting his defeat against fate. He leaned more into the chair and stared at the ceiling for a good minute.

"I... this whole time..." Zahan raised his hand to try and make sense of anything but all he could do was move his fingers in desperation to grab the words to vocalize his feelings.

"All this time I thought... I thought I would never be able to see her. I had made peace with my life thinking that maybe she doesn't want me or worse maybe she really was... " he jerked his head sitting up straight. His eyes met Zaryab who had been nodding in understanding and he felt the man put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

"How.. How do I make peace with this? How do I proceed with this now? She's well and alive, she doesn't need me. I've been waiting for her, dwelling in misery hoping that one day I'll be with her but she doesn't want me anymore" his voice sounded grave, deep and choked enough to move anyone to tears.

"It's hard to see the truth sometimes" Zaryab spoke before thinking and when Zahan's defeated glare met his eyes, he closed his eyes shut.

"The truth?"

"What truth? How- can she possibly just forget everything that we went through to end up together and now she doesn't feel the same way?" his voice rose a notch and Zaryab sighed with a nod of understanding.

"I know it must be hurting you but time goes by and people change" he tried making Zahan see the light of the situation, he could never give him false hope that maybe someday zoya will change her mind and they'll end up together. She was far more complicated than what Zahan was seeing and the knots of their relationship will take years of undoing.

"Change? Did I change? No. right?"

"Do you want her back?" Zaryab asked and a long silence prevailed between them as Zahan stared at the floor to make sense of his own feelings.

Did he want her back?

Why did he want her back?

What was he even going to do if he got her back? He had started to live his life on his own now, did she even matter anymore?

"I don't know, all the emotions i buried under the weight of her absence i- i am unable to believe that she's really alive and has been with me all this time but now that we have met eyes she wants me to forget that she's my wife" the words had fallen out of his mouth and calling her his wife out loud again made his chest tight.

"If she doesn't want you Zahan maybe you should leave her be'' Zaryab wanted Zahan to move on but even he knew if he had been in Zahan's place, i zoya has not sacrificed her relationship for hadiya's life neither him nor his family could have survived, which was one of the reasons he despised her because somewhere deep down he felt the guilt of having her ruin her life for his family, he had failed to protect them and that had caused these two the pain of a lifetime. Watching them holding onto loose threads if their fate made him blame himself more than he would've ever if Zahan had stayed oblivious to her presence. He wouldn't be reminded of the guilt, the lies and the conspiracies he had plotted against his good friend.

"You know what Zaryab your betrayal hurts me more than that woman's coldness" those words, those were the words Zaryab had dreaded to hear and those words were the reality that he could no longer hide.

"Never had i thought that the people i had been seeking refuge with were the ones lying to me all this time, i had never thought that you would watch me break down and still feign ignorance" Zahan's voice was grave and his heart was beating rapidly against all odds to keep him from crumbling down into a emotional mess.

"Zahan we're-"

"Save it. This might be the last time i'm coming in this house, this might be the last time i even see the two of you"

"Zahan please, were frien-"

"Don't even think about calling me your friend, friends don't hide things from each other"

"Bhai-"

"You have hurt me more than your friend hadiya" with those words Zahan walked out of the house that had given him the warmth of a home when no one else was there to help him heal his open wound, the place he knew he could always turn to if he ever felt the burden of her memories getting too heavy.

How could he have ever thought that these walls that comforted him and the people that held him together were the ones who had let him bleed instead of telling him where to find his medicine. They lied to him. For years and years.

Zahan had no destination in mind as he wandered on the bustling Istiklal

street, his vision and his mind was a blur as he looked ahead of himself. Eyes hazed and ears numb from the sound of the tramway operating next to him. The sun was ready to set and the crowd of locals and tourists was increasing bit by bit. He felt the balls of his feet beginning to hurt as he ended up finding himself in a bookstore at the end of the street.

As he skimmed through the countless books on the shelves he felt a presence behind him, his jaw clenched and he clutched the book in his hand tighter, a muscle twitch in his jaw when a hand landed on his bicep. Without taking a look at the person beside him he grabbed the feminine hand and pulled the woman in front of him. The woman shrieked when her back collided with the wooden shelf and the impact made a few books fall from the shelf.

"Za- Zahan" her voice was soft and surprised as Talia registered the position she had gotten herself into and her face turned red as she witnessed the view of the store getting covered by Zahan's chest. She was short and her head barely reached his shoulder.

She lifted her gaze to meet his confused face, his eyes looked perplexed and jaw clenched. His face was so close to hers Talia could swear she felt her heartbeat in her fingertips as her hands started shaking and her face started burning.

She felt his cold minty breath fan her face as he eyes widened a fraction before he pulled himself away from her, Talia felt a sudden cold engulf her at the withdrawal of his musky scent.

"I- im sorry, i wasn't expecting a girl this close" his voice came out clean and dominant as the tall man ran a hand through his long wavy black hair, she noticed the way the store's LED reflected on his fair complexion and the red that tinted his cheeks and nose.

No doubt the man before her was a vision, she could only imagine such a man in her dreams but here he was, right before her. If she reached out her hand just a little more than an arm's length she would be touching his chest and the thought itself made her cough to sway the heat away from her face.

"You were expecting a man?" she asked and Zahan stared at her for a good second. Talia lowered her head pushing back the black tendrils that escaped her low bun, her eyes raised back to meet him and Zahan took another step back while clearing his throat.

He shifted his gaze to his left that faced the glass window display of the shop to witness a black Tesla parked across the street, his pulse intensified and he felt his blood rushing in his ears.

It could've been anyone in that car but when a familiar man stepped out of the car and stood by the backdoor window he was certain of what this stalking was about.

"Sorry I was just making a j—" she said, pulling on an apologetic smile and Zahan stepped a little closer to Talia making her stop mid sentence.

His jaw clenched and unclenched at the uncertainty of his choices but if the eyes were on him he was going to give something to look at.

"It's just a reflex, i've been jumped one too many times, it's embarrassing honestly." Zahan explained leaning forward to grab a book from the top shelf making Talia pressed herself against the bookshelf, almost breathless as his intoxicating cologne filled her senses again.

"Why- you were looking at a book I suppose?" the man spoke and his voice sent a shiver down her spine, why was she feeling like this? Talia asked herself for the thousandth time since she had met him.

"I— it's embarrassing" she mumbled and Zahan smiled just a little, holding the eye contact that stole Talia's breath.

Perfection.

There was something about his eyes that seemed to have kept her still on her place, they were gray like the cloudy istanbul sky but so not as cold, his gaze held a warmth that she couldn't find in any other man's eyes and that in itself made her heart melt at the mere sight of him.

"Let's hear it?" His voice was a low whisper as the two started walking towards the counter, against his long strides Talia sprinted after him to catch up as he came to a halt at the check out.

"Well... I saw you walking down the street, so I—" Talia spoke in a low voice and Zahan turned to look at her.

"You followed me here?" He asked, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow and Talia blushed more.

"It's not as weird as it sounds–" she raised her hands to cover her face, clearly embarrassed. Zahan hummed and proceeded to walk to the door and before he could open the door he felt a hand pulling on the sleeve of his coat.

His footsteps halted and he glanced down at the soft hand that held his, he raised his eyes to meet Talia's expectant gaze.

"You promised me coffee the next time we meet, that's why I wanted to have a chat" she said shrugging her shoulders and Zahan contemplated declining her offer.

"Sure" a smile bloomed on his lips as he opened the door for the girl with him.

"I'm starting to feel like his ex wife" ahmed groaned rubbing his face as he glared at the man drinking coffee with talia free from any care in the world. The silence in the car broke with a tired sigh and ahmed looked at the person in the back seat. Her head rested on the headrest with her eyes closed and ahmed took a moment to notice every little detail of her face.

Her usual cold expression had worn off as seconds passed by, he often wondered why she chose to cover her face when no one in the world could even lay a finger on her if found. To him the scar that she claimed to be hiding wasn't even obvious; it was her eyes that took the attention away from her flaws. Maybe it was her flaws that made his heart beat a little faster when she looked him dead in the eyes to order him around or even better threaten.

Zoya never threatens, she acts. To ahmed it was an honor to know that she wanted him to be around and she always chose to threaten him with the amused glimmer in her eyes. Over the period of seven years they had been together, ahmed couldn't help but fall a little every time her lips broke into that hint of a smile reserved for a handful of people and how could he not? This woman was a puzzle with missing pieces, the picture he visioned her to be was bright and full of life but the black empty holes that needed their own piece to be filled were nowhere to be.

His eyes traveled to the strands of black hair that fell on her eyes like threads of black silk and he leaned his head watching her through the rear view mirror, he tilted his head to the right and his features relaxed.

Ahmed rolled his eyes, feeling the despicable man walk out of the coffee shop with Talia making ahmed divert his attention to him briefly, his lips pulled down in distaste watching him walk around looking at the stalls and talking to Talia as if they were childhood friends.

"Do you think the baker across the street is open now?" zoyas voice made him blink his gaze away from the couple and return his eyes back to zoya.

"The passerby said not until the next half an hour" ahmed rolled his eyes yet again and zoya groaned.

"Why are we here? You were sleeping while he was on a date with another girl" his remark made zoya chuckle and ahmed fisted his hand to stop the goosebumps.

"I'm waiting for the bakery to open, Hameen wanted the cupcakes from there" she answered and showed him the text in all caps that yelled CUPCAKES!!.

"We can always come back later-"

"You can go home" the solution was easy but did he like it, no.

"I get paid for this" his answer made him get a tired stare from his boss and ahmed looked away raising his eyebrows in annoyance.

"Your job is to look intimidating, not to act like a toddler in need of a nap" getting scolded was not his best attribute but he can't escape it when he pledged his loyalty to her. He wondered what changed from when the two used to train together and be ready to kill one another. He remembers he hated her but where was the hate now?

"Its opening" zoya pointed out and ahmed fully turned around this time.

"What?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"He's literally just pulling up the shutter, he won't be able to help us until like an hour he needs to set things up" ahmed explained using his hands as if he was talking to a child and zoya glared at him.

"Now, where are you-'' Ahmed spoke a little panicked watching zoya push the door open to walk out in the busy street.

"Wait" he hollered sprinting behind her, holding his blazers pocket so nothing falls out of it, if her steps were fast ahmed was faster given his longer strides and in no time he had caught up with her, he tried to stop her from stressing the old man out but the moment the bakers eyes met zoya he nodded and went inside the shop. Ahmed's mouth fell open slightly in realization that if zoya was a regular here, what time the shop opened didn't matter; her order was to be prepared even if it was the middle of the night.

As boss and her bodyguard waited for their cupcakes a loud shriek distracted them from examining the traditional turkish setup of the shop, ahmed turned his gaze away from the artifacts and crafty shelves to talia who was dragging a wide eyes Zahan behind her to reach the table of their choice. Ahmed's eyes momentarily went to zoya who was busy studying the shape and texture of the stained glass mural on the west window, the shadows and the light it casted in the small place reminded her of all the pictures and videos she would have taken in this place had she been the 21 year old zoya.

Time had stopped for her as the shift in air around her turned thick with nostalgia of some sort, something she couldn't point out but the set up of the shop, the lighting arrangement and the emptiness of her hands made her nauseous, her hands had never been empty. As her eyes followed the tourists who held their cameras in their hands taking pictures of themselves and the market she wondered would she have been like them too?

Would she have also taken pictures of each and every corner of this place, would the family ceramics decorated in white and blues be her main composition or the table near the stained glass window which was painted pink, blue,yellow from the color of the glass.

What had this experience been like for her camera?

"Madam, your order" the baker returned and ahmed took the packet from his hands thanking him in the process.

"I'll have a coffee" she spoke after a long while still not moving her gaze away from the tourists, the old man nodded taking her order and left giving ahmed the chance to slip into the chair in front of her hiding her view of the people that had just walked in.

"Don't you have to be somewhere?" he asked and zoya shook her head looking outside, was there anything left of her surrounding anymore, the only that mattered to her was the fact that she couldn't even take pictures anymore, her hand shook every time she tried to hold a camera for too long the skill that was embedded in her muscle memory was useless now, the damage done to her hand sent chills down her spine.

Zoya thanked the water who brought her the coffee as she watched him hurry behind the counter to clock in, it seemed like he was half an hour late, just like her assistant who was running late to the dress fittings for their promotion shoot.

The new drama her channel had produced was receiving the perfect feedback they had hoped for, the storyline, the actors everything was new and eye catching for the audience the same way the man sitting across from her on the table behind ahmed was.

His smile, his eyes, his voice and the way he held his cup to his lips everything about him was something she knew personally but had no right to hold on to. She had lowered her mask to drink her coffee and the silent gasp she heard from the lady passing by their table had her rolling her eyes, ahmed moved his chair a little more to the left seeing her eyes moving between him and the person behind him. He was excellent at catching her hints at first glance and there was nothing that zoya was more thankful for at that moment.

"I forgot to tell you something" ahmed placed his hand on his forehead remembering the call he had received from zalaan.

"I can attend the meeting on the 12th, he called me himself after not hearing from me in two whole days" zoya was quick to reply before ahmed could explain that the cia officer that has been on my tail for god knows how long, he needs to mind his own business at this point.

"Sorry," ahmed said, shrugging his shoulders even though he knew how unserious I was regarding this matter, no one in my entire business wanted to meet this man. The investigation was already done but then the officer was changed and this one left no stone unturned.

"You were in such a hurry to get the cupcakes now Hameen wont throw a tantrum?" ahmed asked and zoya felt a smirk tugging at her lips, it wasn't long after he had finished his sentence when Hameen zoomed into the bakery.

"You're off for the day, Ahmed," zoya said, smiling at the kid who threw his arms around her neck, catching the attention of everyone in the place including her assistant and her company.

"Khala '' Hameen exclaimed, hugging her tightly telling her just how much he had missed her in the 6 days he hadn't met her, to say Hameen was her spoiled baby would be an understatement. When hadiya had given birth she had made zoya Hameen's godmother, she was the reason the mother and child made it out alive and having not known that zoya was in fact alive she could only hope she finds her soon.

"How's my son?" She asked putting her down, her smile widened seeing Hameen give ahmed the side eye to make him leave the chair and ahmed did so happily considering this boy had the country's most influential woman guarding him.

"I'll take my leave, I guess," the defeated man said, walking backwards not wanting to leave her alone in the presence of the man who couldn't move his gaze away from her.

"Zahan?" Talia asked and Zahan snapped out of it, his smile faltering and his mind clouded.

"Yeah sorry what were you–"

"Mamo" an enthusiastic voice cut him off mid sentence and the little boy was on his feet trying to reach his uncle who had just so happened to be there. Hameen couldn't believe for once that both his favorite people were in the same room, his smile was wider than it has ever been.

"What are you doing here?" the eight year old asked his uncle and Zahan looked in between talia, zoya and Hameen.

"I was just here with a friend, '' he said, pointing at Talia, who smiled and waved at the uninterested child.

"Come sit with me" he said taking Zahan's hand in his trying to pull him up, Zahan shook his head trying to deny Hameen but the child was pulling him with all the strength he had in him.

"Im here with someone Hameen" Zahan tried reasoning or maybe just avoiding the stoic woman across from him, he scoffed at how unbothered she was by all this as if he was nothing but a pest to be walked over.

"Noooo i want to spend time with you" Hameen whined pulling him and Zahan pulled him in his arms to tell him to have a good time without him but as the sniffle from the boy resounded talia held his hand to make him understand Zahan was busy.

"You're here with someone too right, why don't you accompany her?" Talia asked softly and zoya scoffed silently, getting up on her feet to make her way to their table.

"He's busy kiddo maybe some other day, hm?" At her words Hameen's chin wobbled and he sniffled before tears started falling down on his cheeks.

"Na mera beta, don't cry '' Zahan coed pulled him in his embrace and Talia rolled her eyes at the spoiled child's behavior.

"Instead of rolling your eyes at a child you should be at the studio where you were supposed to be an hour ago" Talia straightened in her seat feeling her boss looming over her and she gulped before standing up abruptly.

"Maam" Talia licked her dry lips to make them movable.

"I was just leaving to be on my way" Talia exclaimed before turning to Zahan who was staring at the woman beside her.

"Mr. Zahan it was very nice meeting you, I'll take my leave now" she said, nodding her head and leaving before her boss could say another word, she just had to ruin everything for her.

"Hameen lets go" zoya said, forwarding her hand for Hameen to take but he buried his face more in Zahan's neck crying softly.

"I want to spend time with mamo" he said and zoya nodded.

"We can meet some other day, that's fine" she said and Hameen's head instantly shot up, more tears welling his eyes.

"But I also want to be with you," he cried, opening his arms for her to take him in her embrace.

"Im busy anyways Hameen" Zahan spoke for the first time in a while getting up to leave but the boy held onto his sleeve.

"No... i want to be with both of you, i want to go to the sea with you two" he cried.

"But–" they both started but the more answers Hameen got that he didnt want to hear the louder he cried.

"Hameen" zoya started.

"Do you specialize in torturing children too?" Zahan asked and zoya rolled her eyes at his remark.

"Hameen lets just go, ill buy you all the treats at the beach side" zoya tried bribing the boy but he was not ready to let go of Zahan. Zoya hadnt realized she had been holding the kid in her arms for too long until her right arm cramped badly resulting in her nearly dropping him but Zahan was quick to stabilize the two of them.

His worried gaze studied her pained expression as she massaged her arm, her jaw clenched tightly as she turned her face away from both the boys, grabbing her mask off the table she took a hold of the cupcakes before taking a few deep breaths.

Pulling up her mask she looked Zahan in the eyes before holding Hameen's hand in her left hand.

"I'll be waiting in my car for two minutes if you want to join us then hurry, if not" she paused looking at Hameen "we'll leave without him" with that she left the man behind wondering what had just happened. Paying for his coffee he gathered his things slowly following behind the duo. 

Assalamualaikum guys, 

how has everyone been? here a longgg update for yall i hope it can make up for the time ive been gone. 

please pray that i get back on my updating schedule coz ive been really busy lately so i couldnt write anything. 

if you like todays update the comment and vote to let me know what you think. 

Love,

Hafsa tahir