Unconditionally

| Prologue

"Have a seat, Ray." Faisal instructed me, when we reached a table and chair set up specially for the book signing. A poster of my book Blood Crimes was displayed in front of the table, as well as on the wall beside me. Copies of my book rested in boxes beside the table, and a marker was placed on the table.

"Shall we begin?" The store manager asked me, and I nodded.

A guard opened a barrier that was holding off the crowd, and he started letting people through one at a time.

It was a variety of people, ranging from excited twentysomething females, to middle-aged gentlemen, and some kids even came, accompanied by their parents or guardians. I signed the books until my hand started to ache, but I kept my expressions friendly and warm. 

'Outer appearances matter a lot. Your expressions define your personality often, especially as a celebrity.' Faisal had instructed me repeatedly.

'Your inner darkness must only come out in the form of words on a paper, written or typed. You must never act upon it.' This was my own personal reminder for myself. If my expressions were as expressive as my written words, I would not have people queuing up for a book signing.

*

Anabia Zohaib

"Anabia!" 

"I want to have the book signed! Hurry up!" I told my twin brother, Saim, to speed up.

"Speed up? You are forgetting we are in a traffic jam on the North Circular Road. Am I supposed to fly the car?" He looked irritated as he always was in bad traffic jams.

"We are going to miss the book signing, and it will all be your fault." I shook my head.

"My fault?" He asked. "Just because we had been invited to Laila's family's house for lunch?" 

Laila Siddique was his fiancée, and a girl we had known since secondary school. Both sets of parents had known about their feelings for each other since back in the school days, but there had been a strict rule in place about dating. However, with the completion of their education, they had asked the parents for marriage, and everyone had happily agreed.

I sat back in the seat, my stomach sinking with disappointment.

"There will be other chances, even if you miss this one." His tone softened as he noticed my expression. But being my twin, he didn't even have to look at me to know how I was feeling.

I didn't reply.

"Ana." 

I stared out of the window, refusing to look at him.

"Princess Ana of Arendelle." His tone held a hint of amusement. He knew I loved Frozen, and he always made fun of me for that. "Look, the parents had wanted to discuss the wedding dates and details for a while, and today was the one chance where everyone was off. I'm sorry if that ruined things for you, but you know how important this was for us." 

I looked at him. "Your wedding date fixing is important for me too, you know. That's why I wasn't selfish enough to skip it. I wanted to be there for you." 

"I'm sorry if you miss the book signing because of it." 

I shrugged. "There will be other book signings, but In Sha Allah, I'll only have one opportunity to be a part of my twin brother's wedding celebrations." 

He gave me a small smile as we continued driving.

Well, driving, was a generous term. We were inching along like a stupid snail that's deprived of sleep. If snails even slept.