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• Amir •

"Assalamualaikum, Amir," said a brunette woman, coming close to him as he sat in Pakistani Delights.

"Walaikumassalam, Raima. It has been a while," he replied, pulling out a chair for her.

"Hello. Just the two of you?" asked a petite waitress, standing near their table.

"Yes. And can I get a glass of ice water please?" said Raima.

"I'd like some grape juice, miss."

"Right away. I'll give you two a minute with the menu."

"So, how are you doing, Amir? I thought you were never going to meet with me."

"Now, why do you say that? Of course, I was going to see you. It's been four years since we've last seen each other."

"I know, but my father had to push you hard to finally agree to see me. It was like pulling teeth and nails."

Amir chuckled. "I'm sorry about that. I've been working."

"It's not just work. There's something else going on about you. A whole other Amir Vibe."

"It's nothing."

"Okay. Who is she?"

"Raima, I'm not going to discuss someone else with you. How do you know there is a someone?"

Laying her menu down, Raima folded her hands across the table and looked him straight in the eye. "You have a sparkle about you, Amir. I've never seen it before, and we were friends back in medical school. I remember Amir having a dark, broody side to him. That's what I expected to see today after you told my father last night you'd like to have lunch with me. I can tell someone has changed you. It's written all over your face."

Amir turned away, flushing. Raima had a point. All this time, he tried to bury the deep feelings he had carried for Luna. She was always in his heart and those feelings were never going away. He knew it was an unrequited love he held for her, and he wanted to keep it to himself.

The waitress came back to the table with their drinks.

Raima peered over to Amir's puzzled gaze, and said, "You're even thinking about this mystery woman now."

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, Ms. Malik. I shouldn't be thinking about her."

"It's okay, Amir. I want to hear about her."

"We can talk about something else."

"We are not going to sit here and waste time catching up if you have someone else on your mind. If we agree to an arranged marriage, then we need to be honest about everything. That's the only way marriages work."

He nodded, flattening his tie. "I have made a friend from America, and we speak to each other often."

"Does this American have a name?"

Amir chuckled. "Luna."

"That's a pretty name. How did you meet her?"

He adjusted himself in his seat and shifted his gaze outside, watching the dark clouds rumble in the sky. He wondered what Luna was doing now, but he chose to give her space after observing her with her family. He was close to telling her how he feels when they were running through the forest, but he backed off, considering she's engaged to a decent man. He didn't need to disrupt the life she wants to live. And Sarah's happiness also mattered to him.

"I met her on her photography website," Amir told her, a white lie he hoped would not get him into trouble later.

"She's a photographer. That means she's lively, fun, outgoing, and creative. So why can't you be with her?"

He took a breath, then answered her question. "She's not available."

"Oh? She's married?"

Amir shook his head. "No, she's betrothed."

"Betrothed? Are you in the sixteenth century?" Raima joked, and Amir laughed. "I'm sorry. It's shocking to know you have feelings for someone who's not . . . available."

"It's something I've never done before, I know, but I've kept my feelings buried. Luna and I have built a long-lasting friendship. I don't want to ruin it."

"Does Luna know you have these feelings for her?" Raima asked, and Amir shook his head, his eyes narrowing down to his drink. "Then, she doesn't ever have to know. My question is, would you keep your feelings for her buried and never let them resurface if we marry?"

"You're wondering if you would have anything to worry about," he remarked, her eyes staring into his. "When I make a commitment to someone, I'll push the desires I have for another person away and never look back. I want to be a decent husband, lover, provider, and partner. I'd never look anywhere else because she'll be all that I will ever need."

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Hours later, Amir and Faisal sat on his couch and played a cricket game on the TV. After his quick catch-up with his old friend, Amir was ready to relax and think about things further.

Raima would be a good woman for him. She would be honorable, faithful, and stick by him through good times and bad. But so would Luna. He felt like an animal in a small cage and couldn't break free. He wanted to tell her everything, but couldn't risk losing the connection he had with her. And planning to fly around the world for her would help him get over her since he knew they'd never be together. It would be an experience they could cherish, always.

He needed to figure out what he wanted to do about marrying Raima Malik. It would be a good idea to settle down, but could he see a future with her?

Faisal laughed at a video he was watching on YouTube that distracted Amir from his thoughts.

"What was it that Luna showed you in New Orleans?"

"Her wedding venue," Amir replied, taking a sip of his water. "She was showing her sister, but I tagged along because I didn't get to see all of it."

"I will see if there are any videos of her city online."

Faisal swiped his finger into the search box and typed in videos of the French Quarter. There were many videos uploaded, but one video stuck out.

Luna, Sarah, and Liberty standing in the middle of Bourbon Street.

Faisal turned the sound up and smiled.

"What's up YouTubers. Today, I am here with my beautiful sister, Luna, and my sweet little niece, Sarah. I'm visiting them in New Orleans, and we are doing some sightseeing. Isn't Louisiana great, guys?"

"So that's Luna's sister?" Faisal asked, and Amir nodded. "She's pretty. She's dating a man named, Vikram, from India?"

"Yes. He is from Delhi, and they are engaged now. He proposed to Liberty the minute they got back to Luna's."

"That must have been a huge surprise."

"Yep. Liberty and Vikram seem great together."

"You and Luna are probably great together, too," he replied. "I mean, if you two weren't paired and if she weren't already engaged. I can sense that both of you would be good for each other. You'd be a good parent for Sarah."

"Being a step-father is one thing and then competing with Chase is another. Luna said if she ever departed from him, he'd still be in Sarah's life. I respect that and believe that's admirable of her. He is her father to the fullest extent."

"Maybe you and Raima will have lots of babies. You'd made a great father."

"Thank you, Faisal, for your candor."

"How did your lunch go with her?"

Amir's eyes darted up to the ceiling as he laid his head back on the couch.

"It went well. I like Raima. She's changed a bit over the past four years and she's still studying to become an OB-GYN. We've agreed to wait until July to move forward with anything. I'm going to fly to Egypt in June and show Luna the Great Sphinx of Giza, and then to Switzerland. She's always wanted to see Lake Lucerne."

Amir knew she urged him not to take his world tour for her, but he knew she may never get to visit two of the places she had on her mind. He wanted to surprise her with his trip.

"You're thinking about flying around the world for Luna?"

"Is that so hard to believe, Faisal?"

"No, but if that's not love, then I don't know what is."

Amir shook his head and scoffed.

"Luna and I may never be more than friends. I have accepted that. But doing something nice for her is the least I could do. I want to see her happy more than anything."

"Hey guys," Cassie said, walking up from behind them. "What are you two doing?"

"Playing Cricket and talking about love and life," Faisal said, making Amir laugh. "You're all dolled up."

She wore a black dress and black high heels, with light make-up on as her blonde hair was down in curls.

"I have a party to go to that's at my restaurant. I got a promotion. I'm now the head chef."

"That's great. Congratulations!" Faisal said, giving her a soft hug.

As Amir reached for his cup to get more water, his throat grew sore and he was suddenly dehydrated. He could sense it was Luna. Terror sucked the very breath from her mouth and something felt off.

Before he reached the refrigerator, Amir turned around and looked at Faisal, his vision becoming blurry. He couldn't see what was happening to Luna and wasn't able to connect to her.

"Faisal?"

"Yeah, bro?" Faisal rushed quickly over to Amir before he collapsed, barely staying awake. "Amir? What's going on?"

"Find . . . Lu . . . na," Amir managed to say as Faisal helped him onto his couch. "Something . . . is . . . wrong. I can't —" His eyes fluttered as he couldn't concentrate. "She's . . . in danger."

Amir could sense Luna was in trouble when something like a hot coil ran through her veins. But he couldn't tell what it was.

"Help him, Cassie," Amir slurred, hoping she could figure out what happened to Luna.

"Amir?" Cassie said, shaking him awake. But his eyes kept closing. "Amir? We know where she is." She moved forward and tried to open his eyelids. "What's going on with him?"

"Amir and Luna are linked and whatever happens to her happens to him. Their life functions are merged."

Amir slowly pulled himself up as Faisal stared with frantic eyes.

"Talk!"

"Don't panic. We'll help Luna out of this situation." Faisal's tone was deep.

"What situation?"

"Luna is on a bed, strapped down, and hooked up to a machine."

"Was she in an accident?"

Faisal shook his head, then came to Amir's side. "There weren't any visible cuts or bruises."

"Where is she?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise me you wouldn't do anything crazy."

"Tell me!"

"Amir, she has been admitted into St. Matthew's Psychiatric Institute." Faisal glanced at the floor and back at him. "Chase signed her in, and she's been in there for a few days."

"How do you know it's a psychiatric hospital?"

"Because we saw the name tag on a staff member," Cassie said, her voice trembling.

"Chase!" Amir yelled as he slowly laid back on the couch.

His eyes closed as if in slow motion and a blankness overpowered him.

He couldn't believe Luna's fiancé had done this to her. This just gave him more ammunition to go to her and break her out, then find Chase and give him a taste of his own medicine. He messed with the wrong woman, and there was hell to pay.

Amir was ready for war.

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"Wherefore art thou Plot Twist?"

What happens to Luna happens to Amir. And this is not the biggest twist of the series. The Raima/Amir catch-up is not part of the older draft. It's a new scene for a reason. Thank you for reading.