His silence is his Pride (ON HOLD)

Chapter Twelve ♥ "Friend's Betrayal"

“Do what?”

“Spend their entire lives to satisfy others. I mean why do the parents expect their kids to be Gandhi?” Zayed laughed at that. Janaan stopped to look at that smile and hear that voice and she wanted him to go on but he paused to listen to her. And now she had to carry on, she cleared her throat and began again. “They insist we have open minds and then want us to live life on the values that their great grand fathers set. How could that be possible in this century?”

“Not all the parents are like that.” Zayed defended, and Janaan rolled her eyes.

“Really?” She furrowed an eye brow. “Me and Rashid have been doing the research. Even he agrees with me.” That made Zayed frown.

“Rashid?” He asked, a bit surprised.

“Yeah, your cousin, Rashid. Since you are so busy with work, Badr suggested Rashid to help me out a little.” She informed.

 “I see,” Zayed’s words came in a whisper, followed by a slight nod. When the waiter arrived and served the tea, he forgot the topic they were discussing and Janaan didn’t want to bring it up again. She watched as he added some sugar cubes in his Moroccan tea and began to stir it. He liked his tea hot unlike her. She noticed his hands, his delicate fingers and his eyes that were fixed on the spoon but he wore a deep frown.

“What?” She asked making him look up and stare at her questioningly. “What’s wrong? You look a little disturbed!” Zayed picked up his cup and took a sip of his tea.

“Nothing much, just family stuff,” He said, absent mindedly. He heard Janaan grin.

“See, that’s exactly what I meant.” She giggled and they were silent for a while, then she insisted he tells her what was wrong and Zayed tried to ignore that question.

“What does you research suggest?” He played. “A man who has finished his studies and is now working, what could possibly happen to him?” He beamed at her. It took Janaan a while to realize what he meant, but when she did, her eyes opened to their fullest; “Don’t tell me?” She gaped at him and Zayed knew she had guessed it right without having been told.

“My parents want me to get settled down.” He finally voiced both their thoughts.

“Oh,” Janaan managed to utter. Zayed examined her closely, looking for any sign of her discomfort related to this particular topic. He badly wanted to know her opinion about him but was afraid that if he asked she might not think the same way. Or that she might just say she isn’t ‘ready’! His pride made him waver because he didn’t want such answers.

“Do they have a girl in mind?” Janaan permitted herself to have a glance at him.

“Yes,” Zayed confided. His eyes stayed carefully focused at her as an astonished look took over her face.

“Do I know her?” She pressed.

“No, I don’t think so.” He said with a half smile. He didn’t know why he was talking about this to Janaan, why was he telling her about Mahra, even though he himself didn’t think of her that way. But she was the only tool he could use to know Janaan’s opinion.

“I think it’s a little early for you,” Janaan pointed out, her eyebrows knit together. “I mean you are twenty –seven years old and have just started work..” She trailed off.

“May be,” Zayed shrugged his shoulders. “But that’s not what my family thinks.” Janaan answered with a slight nod and after a moment of silence Zayed realized that that was the only answer he was going to get.

“And what about you?” He smiled widely. “You are going to be twenty-nine soon. Have you ever thought of getting married?” There. He announced his thoughts and waited for her answer now.