Mahira and Ameen made sure to catch up on everything for all those years they couldn't talk with each other. They talked about everything and anything. Their days began with a text and ended with either a voice call or at least a text. They couldn't seem to get enough of each other at all. It all felt so magical and unbelievable.

But of course, they never kissed or crossed their limits. The most they did was to hold hands or ruffle each other's hair. They knew what they were doing was unacceptable in their religion. It was wrong and was frowned upon. A huge sin. But they were too blinded in love to give a thought to that. Their happiness is what mattered at that time. 

All they cared about was spending time with their favourite person, who they fancied for more than a decade. It felt like a dream come true moment. It was pure bliss and they both were so much in love with each other. It really felt like a dream. Almost too good to be true. They spent an insane amount of time talking and texting with each other, as though that was the only important thing to do and had no idea that it could bite them back one day.  

"Why are you keeping that face?" Ameen asked one afternoon, as he sat on a bench opposite to a tree, where a swing was tied, on which his girlfriend sat. Her face looked unusually gloomy and nervous, almost as if she's debating to confess something to him. They were in a park, she was done with her schooling and was looking for potential colleges, he had to bunk his classes and come here urgently on her call. 

"Will you tell me or not?" Mahira raised her brows, with a nervous smile but was caught off guard when she saw her sister and his brother walking towards them furiously. They looked so confused and angry. Disappointed too. 

Ameen, who noticed her change of expression turned around and was stunned to see his brother, glaring at him. Mahira got up from the swing and he, from the bench. They gulped nervously whilst Ibrahim looked like he was going to punch him hard. 

"Explain." 

Ameen trembled in fear, looking at his bhabhi for help, who was glaring at him and Mahira with a displeased look. How did he forget that Mahira was her sister first and they both have highly disappointed their siblings.

Mahira looked up at her sister, with fear and said, "He was my best friends brother's best friend."

"We both knew each other before you guys even got married." Ibrahim and Mawra passed each other a surprising look at this newfound information.

Mahira knew her sister overreacts sometimes, but her next words shook her from within. 

"You were a minor until a few months ago. I can send Ameen to jail for this you know." Mahira and Ameen's eyes widened at her words, Ibrahim was shocked too.

"Mawra, please. Stop overreacting." Mahira snapped at her, making Ameen facepalm himself, "we never cross our limits." she added. She was already irritated and annoyed regarding something and her sister's words were like adding fuel to fire. 

"Don't use that tone with my wife," Ibrahim told her off whilst squeezing his wife's hands. 

Mahira was left dumbfounded, "fine. But I'm an adult now, I can do whatever I want. You have no right to interfere in my life matters. Mind your own life, Mawra." Ameen didn't know what to do with this stupid girl, but he was in love with her and will fight till everyone accepts their relationship.

"Bhai." Ameen finally opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't form any words looking at his brother's angry glare.

"Let's go, Ibrahim, I'll tell abbu that his dear daughter has failed her twelfth board exams, I seriously didn't believe Ahil at first. But now I know exactly why did she fail."

Giving furious glares to both of them, Mawra dragged her husband with her and left that park. 

"You failed your exams?" Ameen was dumbfounded and disappointed with that news. Failing twelfth grade in their country is considered as such a big disgrace and he left like banging his head somewhere for he was equally responsible for her results. 

"I called you here to share this with you." She gazed at her shoes, being unable to look him in the eyes. 

"Hira... Do you know its consequences? You'll not be getting into good colleges. God, Hira... What have we done?" Seeing tears brimming in his eyes and him taking equal responsibility for her failure swelled her heart with so much more love for the person standing in front of her. How can he be so good?

"I'm sorry, Ameen. I swear I studied but..." 

"But not as much as it was required, you just studied for the sake of it and spent wasting time talking with me instead." Tears rolled down her cheeks as he finished for her. 

"I should have known better," Ameen muttered to himself with a sigh. 

"Don't be like that, Ameen. I'll study hard for the supplementary exams and clear the papers." She hated herself for disappointing him like that. 

"Of course you should, Hira. I better drop you off now, I'm sure we both will have to face everything now. We didn't expect the truth to come out this soon, but I'm there for you. Don't worry. Just pass the damn exams, Hira. I can't take that guilt of failing you." Ameen didn't look in her eyes, she knew she has disappointed him so much. 

"Ameen, I'm sorry." 

"I'm sorry too." He brought his hands to wipe away her tears as she looked up at him sadly. 

"We should go now." 

As expected their parents weren't happy at all. They both had to listen to a lot of scolding and it was decided that they should stop seeing each other completely until Mahira passes her supplementary exams and Ameen should prove his worth to be able to marry her. According to her father, Akram, he was too young and immature to marry it seems. 

Mahira was devastated, the thought of not being able to talk with her Ameen or not being able to see him, made her sick but she couldn't disobey her parents anymore. She has already caused a lot of disappointments and humiliations to them. 

Her days would be busy with studying. She studied hard. She herself was ashamed to fail three out of six subjects that they had. And her nights would be spent crying. She cried a lot those days.

Her phone was taken away from her as the exams approached again. 

The news of her failure has spread among her neighbours and extended families, and knowing the desi families they didn't let of go of that chance to taunt her parents. She felt ashamed to have gotten her parents into that situation.

Neither her father nor her mother talked to her about that. They just remained silent all the while, suppressing their anger and disappointment.

Finally, when the supplementary exams were done, her phone was given back to her. None spoke with her more than it was necessary and it only made her feel worse if anything.

"Use it wisely, Mahi." Her mother added sternly as she gave back her phone, "come to the living room first, we have something important to discuss with you." 

Curiously, she walked out and saw her father lost in his thoughts, her mother, Rashida cleared her throat to grab his attention. Snapping out of his thoughts, Akram passed her a weak smile. His first smile after that incident. Mahira couldn't stop herself from tearing up. 

"I'm sorry, ammi and abbu." She couldn't even meet them in eyes. 

"If you're really sorry, you'll listen to me." 

"What is it, abbu?" 

"Your phopho is a lecturer in a good and established college, remember?" Akram asked, and she knew where this was going. Mahira wanted this to be a dream. No, it cannot be happening. She didn't want it to happen. 

"Its three hundred miles away from here, abbu." Mahira couldn't stop herself from crying bitterly. Staying away from Ameen just for a few days was enough torture. She cannot bear any more of that. She is not that strong. 

"You've already disappointed us enough, Mahira. Just listen to us for once, its for your own good." Rashida snapped at her daughter, while she continued to cry. 

"And getting a seat in such a good college is not a joke. You're lucky that even after failing your phopho is ready to help you out." Akram added sternly and Mahira knew there was no running back now. 

"I want to meet him once, please." 

"Besharam ladki!" A slap landed on her face as she uttered those words, but Mahira didn't flinch. Her mother was taking out the anger finally and she didn't stop her at all. She knew she deserved it.  She deserved all of their anger, but she wanted to meet him damn it. 

(Shameless girl) 

"Please, only once." She lowered her gaze and cried heavily. 

"I'll allow, only if you agree to go to your phopho's place and study there. Its a four years course." 

"Fine... When can I meet him?" 

"You can go now. But start your packing tonight itself, you have to leave tomorrow evening. I'll be taking you." Akram threw another bomb, making her gasp. 

"What?" 

"Is there any problem?" Rashida snapped and she shook her head in no. 

"I'll go now." Mahira ran out of the living room whilst wiping away her tears, while her parents passed each other a displeased look. 

She tried calling his number but Ameen wasn't answering her calls making her all the more frustrated. 

It was a Sunday that day and she knew where exactly to find him, with a determined face, she walked towards the khan villa, which thankfully was only fifteen minutes away from her house. The watchman let her in with a smile while she ran into the living room like a man woman. 

Just when she was about to climb upstairs, she saw a person walking down, stopping her way. "Ah! Look who we have here." came that annoying voice, Mahira rolled her eyes and tried to walk past her. 

"Where are you going, won't you say hi?"

"Leave my hands, Maya." Mahira hissed at that girl, who smiled smugly and she could see something was going to go wrong. But didn't give it much thoughts. She just wanted to meet Ameen once and ask him to take her away from here. Away from everyone else. But stupid Maya was stubborn as ever. 

"Why are you looking at me like that, its me who should be disgusted. Holding a loser's hand is not my favourite thing you see." Maya made a face while rubbing her hands with a kerchief and threw it away as though it made her sick. 

"What the hell is your problem, leave me alone. I need to meet Ameen." Mahira snapped at her and saw that girl smirk evilly. 

"Awe, poor baby. He's busy with his new girlfriend. He can't see you right now." 

"What rubbish." 

"No, its about time he realized what a mistake you were. He finally found a new girl, who's equal to him in status and has some brains. She is not a failure like you." Maya grinned making her go completely speechless. 

 "He would never do that, my Ameen is not like that." Mahira knew this girl was still not over the punch she gave her two years ago and was simply talking bullshit. Her Ameen would never do that. She knew him. 

"Why don't you go and have a look at him yourself?" 

"Move away." Mahira snapped in anger and finally, Maya walked down the stairs with a knowing smile.

Her heart was thumping at an uneven pace as she took every step, she felt something inside her stomach. Her gut told her something bad was going to happen but she ignored that feeling and knocked at Asad's door impatiently. 

"Who is it, bro?" Came the distant voice of him and she couldn't control her tears the next second. It felt like an eternity since she last heard him.

"Can I talk with him alone, please?" She asked Asad, who nodded immediately and left her in. 

Ameen stilled in his place as he saw her walk in, masking his emotions he kept a straight face while tears streamed down her cheeks uncontrollably. 

"Ameen." The way she called his name, weakly yet full of love did something to him, his heart ached to see her so miserable like that but he has to be cold to make her leave. Its for their own good, or else he'd never been able to forgive himself. 

"Why didn't you answer my call?" Mahira asked as she walked close to him, as he sat there unfazed-ly. 

"I was busy, Mahira." Came his cold answer. 

Mahira...

Did he call her Mahira?  What happened to Hira?

Her eyes widened at his cold and distant voice. 

"Why are you calling me, Mahira?" She cried with confusion written all over her face. 

"Isn't that your name?" He snapped at her rudely, taking her off guard. 

"Why is there a lipstick mark on your shirt, Ameen?" Her voice was barely a whisper, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. She refused to believe it. Maybe she was imagining things or something. She didn't want to believe it. 

"It's about time he realized what a mistake you were. He finally found a new girl, who's equal to him in status and has some brains. She is not a failure like you." Maya's smug voice rang in her ears again. 

"Its exactly what it is," Ameen replied coldly making her cry more. 

"Why?" "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I'm breaking up with you, Mahira." He didn't dare look into her eyes. 

The words of Maya and the lipstick mark on his shirt... everything together was making her to go crazy and at once, she wiped all those tears which she shed for him. Enough was enough. 

"I thought you were different from others. But you proved me wrong, Ameen. Ugh! You disgust me."  Mahira couldn't believe that she was the one who is saying those words. It was her voice which is cold and distant this time. Her eyes refused to believe everything but it is what it is. As much as heart-wrenching it was, she had to accept the reality.

"Who are you to break up with me, I'm breaking up with you. I hate you, Ameen Qureshi. I hate you so much! I wish you never saved me from that stupid tree. I wish you never came into my life at all. Don't you ever contact me again. I hate you so freaking much." punching his nose angrily, she sprinted from there feeling broken and vulnerable. 

And there began their four years of distance and separation.