Love for Rent

x Vulnerable x

'Okay,' I agreed without overthinking it. I decided to see him, not marry him.

'But everything will be after your surgery if he can wait, that's fine if not then I won't see him' I placed my offer.

'Fine, I will tell Suraiya, at least you said yes...she told me he is a good man. She said you will compliment each other well,' Ma stated, and I rolled my eyes. I heard that before, in my entire life, I met three men for marriage, all three were brought by Suraiya Aunty, and my first meeting with them was always the last. I questioned them about the same thing as they asked me. They never wanted to see me afterward.

'This time, it will be good,' She murmured.

'As you say and no more blackmailing, I won't agree with everything if you keep doing this,' I warned her.

'I am not doing this to force you...I want someone to love you, Seher, I want someone to love you the way you deserve to be loved,' She told me.

'Life is more than love Ma, I can live without love but not respect...anyways I have to go...I will call you later,' I said to her, knowing that this was an endless conversation with no destination. I never understood how Ma remained hopeful about the world even after all the hardships we faced in life. Maybe I was the practical one, the heartless one, but that was me. I didn't feel like going back to the room, so I sat down in silence and closed my eyes to calm my anxiety and tightening feeling in my chest.

I thought about how different it would have been if my father had stayed with my mother. Why did he leave my birth mother and us? Why didn't she stay with me? Why was I brought into thisworld when the people responsible for my birth didn't want me?

'Seher' I heard Shahzaib's voice and opened my eyes and saw him standing in the distance looking at me, standing under a faint night light. 

'Nothing' I wiped my face and got up to leave, but he moved towards me and stopped me from escaping his concerned gaze. I stepped back and turned around so he wouldn't look at me.

'Nothing, huh?' He walked around to face me again and pulled my chin up to look at me and carefully wiped the tears from my face.

'Then why are you crying?' He nodded at me.

'I just miss Ma,' I answered quietly and brushed his hand from my face.

'Why didn't you tell me?' He inquired, and I met his eyes, not knowing what to say.

'Next time, if anything like this bothers you, just tell me, okay?' He asked from me, and I shook my head. Why did he have to see me like this? Why did I become so vulnerable in front of him?

'I have cried in front of you. It's okay,' He added when he noticed me struggling, addressing my unsaid worries, and I started crying again for some reason.

'Let's go' He patted my back softly and took me back to the room. After washing my messy face in the washroom when I returned to the room, I saw him standing, seemed to be lost thinking about something, like he was waiting to tell me something. I said his name and he noticed me finally as I made my way to him. 

'Are you okay?' He asked me right away. 

'Yes,' I smiled and rested on the bed. Shahzaib turned off the lights and laid down next to me.

'Do you want to go see her?' I heard him, and I shifted to my side to see him.

'No, I am fine...just worried about her,' I replied, it was too quiet in this room. I felt like I was breathing loudly.

'She will be fine,' He said in a comforting voice, holding my gaze.

'Thanks,' I said to him.

'For what?' He smiled.

'Just...good night' I turned around again andclosed my eyes. I didn't meet a lot of people that were gentle to me, butShahzaib was. I knew he also struggled in life, in a different context, but hestill went through a lot, and even then something genuine remained in him. Evenwhen he was angry, he was honest. When he was vulnerable, he was real. When hewas understanding, he was sincere. Behind all the intricacy of this man,Shahzaib was still a good man. He was kind to me when he didn't have to be, andI respected him for that.

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Hi everyone,

Sorry, there was no upload last week, I had an overwhelming amount of tasks to work through. Nonetheless here it is a very special chapter where something somewhere is starting between them. All the feels and more are coming soon, so stay tuned and share this with your fellow romantic friends who might enjoy this ;)

Catch you next week <3

Love you!