Author's POV

Rumaan was still at home while Ellen waited for him at the restaurant with Alex and Jake. She had come for Rumaan’s birthday, which was just a few days away. Even Rumaan was a little happy knowing that his hot girlfriend was here.

He was about to step outside when a stern voice stopped him.

"Where are you going?" Ahmed asked. Rumaan turned to face his father.

"Uh... to meet my friends," he replied and turned to leave, but Ahmed stopped him again.

"You're not going anywhere," he said firmly. Rumaan looked at his father and moved closer to him.

"Why? Baba, please... I’m already late," Rumaan pleaded and turned again.

"I said you're not going anywhere, Rumaan," Ahmed repeated, his tone unyielding.

"But Baba..."

"Tomorrow, Fathima’s in-laws are coming for dinner. We need you here," Ahmed stated. Rumaan was about to argue when Shabana stepped in.

"They’re coming for dinner? Is it something special?" he asked.

"If you paid more attention to your family, you would know what's going on in the house," Ahmed snapped, clearly disappointed by how disconnected his son was. His sister’s wedding was approaching, and Rumaan behaved like it didn’t concern him. Ahmed was genuinely upset with him.

"Actually, Rumaan... they said they’ll be bringing some lehenga designs and taking Fathima’s measurements, so we invited them for dinner," Shabana explained.

"Oh... okay. But Mama, my friends are waiting for me. I promise I’ll come back soon and help with everything," he said, hoping she'd convince his father. But when Shabana looked at Ahmed, he gave her a look that clearly said, No, he's not going anywhere. So she just shrugged at Rumaan.

"No. You’re coming with me and helping me make calls to our close relatives and friends. We need to inform them about Fathima’s wedding date," Ahmed ordered, then walked toward his study room. Rumaan looked at his mother.

"Mama, I really need to go," he pleaded.

Shabana gave him an apologetic look. "I can’t do anything. Your Baba is already angry with you. Don’t do anything that makes it worse," she said gently and walked away.

Rumaan looked at the main door, then in the direction his father had gone.

I want to go... but I don’t want to make Baba angrier either. Now what should I do?

He rubbed his forehead in frustration, but no solution came to mind. Finally, he sighed in defeat and walked toward the study room.

It had been half an hour, and Rumaan was still stuck in the study room with his father.

Ahmed had made sure to keep Rumaan busy, even asking him to silence his phone because of the constant beeping and calls.

Hana was sitting in the living room, playing with her nephews when Shabana approached her.

"Hana, beta, can you please take this coffee to the study room? I have some work in the kitchen," Shabana asked.

Hana stood up, nodding. "Um... Mama, two coffees? Is someone with Baba?" she asked, taking the small tray from Shabana’s hands.

"Yes, Rumaan is with your Baba," she replied and walked back to the kitchen, leaving a confused Hana behind.

But Maan wanted to go meet his friends... that means he didn’t go.

Hana thought, then walked toward the study room. She knocked softly.

"Yes," Ahmed responded, and Hana entered.

"Um... Baba, coffee," she said, placing the tray on the table in front of them, her eyes finding Rumaan.

"Oh, thank you, beta," Ahmed said with a smile. Hana smiled back, then looked at Rumaan again.

Rumaan pouted slightly, giving her a pleading look as if to say, Please do something... I want to go, which tugged at Hana’s heart. She quickly began thinking.

"Beta, do you need something?" Ahmed asked when he noticed Hana standing silently.

"Uhm... yes... I mean... Baba... actually..."

Hana struggled to come up with a believable excuse.

"Hana, what is it? Tell me if you need something," Ahmed said again, noticing her hesitation.

"I want to go to Kulsum’s house. I need some important notes," she blurted out as the idea struck her.

"Okay, you can go," Ahmed said with a soft smile.

"Um... Baba, can... Maan drop me to Kulsum’s house? Kareem chacha is busy with other things," she asked hesitantly, afraid of what Ahmed might say. But he immediately agreed.

"Okay, Rumaan will drop you," Ahmed said kindly.

"Are you sure, Baba? I mean... there are still some relatives left to call," Rumaan protested, pretending to be concerned.

Hana gave him a sharp glare, afraid Ahmed might change his mind.

"Yes, I’m sure. You go. I’ll handle the rest," Ahmed said, taking the diary from Rumaan. With that, Rumaan and Hana quickly walked out.

"My God... I didn’t know you were this talented," Rumaan said as they stepped outside. "I thought I was going to be stuck with Baba forever."

He suddenly pulled Hana toward him, wrapping his arm around her waist. Hana gasped, startled, and looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching.

Hana's POV

"Maan... you're getting late," I said and stepped back.

"Yeah... but I want to thank you," Maan replied, trying to pull me into another hug, but I moved back again. He frowned.

"Umm... you can thank me after you come back. But for now, you should go... your friends must be waiting for you," I said, and he seemed to understand and nodded, stepping away. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I should go... but wait! When Baba sees you here, he’ll definitely know that you lied to him," he said. I thought for a second before responding.

"Okay... you drop me at Kulsum's house, then go meet your friends. And before coming back home, pick me up from there," I said. His face lit up, bringing a smile to mine.

"Oh Hana! Thank you, thank you so much!" he said, kissing my cheek and hugging me tightly. I smiled and hugged him back.

"Okay... now let’s go," he said, taking my hand and starting to walk.

"Wait! I just came... I didn’t tell Mama and Marzi Aapi," I said and ran back inside.

********

Author's POV

"Okay... Maan, please don’t be late," Hana said as Rumaan stopped the car in front of Kulsum's house.

"Okay... I’ll be here at six," he replied, and she nodded before getting out of the car. He drove off.

Rumaan was thinking about Hana while driving, and a smirk appeared on his lips.

You're so naive, Hana... you just helped me meet my girlfriend, he thought, chuckling softly.

*********

It was 8 o’clock, but Rumaan still hadn’t returned. Hana sat with Kulsum. She received a call from home but told them that they were going out for dinner. Her family was happy knowing she and Rumaan were together, so they didn’t disturb them again. But Kulsum knew Rumaan was doing something wrong. She had tried to make Hana understand, told her a thousand times to call him, but Hana refused, saying he must be busy and would come when he was free.

Meanwhile, Rumaan was at a pub with Ellen and his friends, enjoying time with his hot girlfriend. Ellen clung to Rumaan constantly—and he liked it.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

"Hana, call him," Kulsum said for the fifth time, and once again, Hana ignored her.

"Okay, fine. If you don’t want to call him... then I’m going to call your home," Kulsum threatened. Hana snapped her head toward her.

"Don’t try to threaten me, Kulsum," Hana said, rolling her eyes.

"Haha... I’m not threatening you, Hanu... I’m serious," Kulsum replied, narrowing her eyes and grabbing her phone.

"I’ll tell them Rumaan went to meet his friends and left you here," she said, beginning to dial. Hana’s eyes widened as she rushed to snatch the phone, but Kulsum stood up and ran away from her.

"Kulsum! Khuda ki kasam jaan le loongi teri agar tune ghar phone kiya to! (I swear to God, I’ll kill you if you call my home!)" Hana yelled, but Kulsum remained unaffected.

"I’m giving you one last chance. Call Rumaan—or else I will call your home," she warned again. Hana looked at her angrily for a moment, then sighed in defeat. Kulsum smirked victoriously.

"Fine... I’ll call him," Hana said, sitting on the sofa and picking up her phone. She dialed Rumaan’s number—but he didn’t answer.

"He didn’t answer," Hana said.

"Call again," Kulsum ordered. Hana obeyed, but again, no response. She tried two or three more times, but still no answer. Finally, she sighed and placed her phone back on the table.

Kulsum began to suspect where Rumaan might be and with whom. She was a smart girl—she had a strong feeling Rumaan was with another girl, which is why he wasn’t answering.

She looked at her best friend and felt bad. She sat beside her and took her hand in hers. Hana looked at her questioningly.

"Hana... he must be with some girl," she uttered after a pause. Hana jerked her hand away.

"He’s with Alex and Jake... he told me," she replied, offended.

"If he was, then he would’ve at least informed you that he was going to be late. But no—he didn’t say anything, nor is he answering your calls," Kulsum said. Hana stood up.

"Kulsum... mine and Maan’s relationship is going really well. I know he won’t lie to me," she tried to reassure her, but Kulsum shook her head and gave Hana a small, sad smile.

"Open your eyes... or else you’ll lose everything," Kulsum said and stood up to leave.

"Hey... where are you going?" Hana asked, ignoring the scream in her mind saying maybe Kulsum is right.

"I can’t just sit here and watch my best friend suffer. Anyway, I’m going to Bhai’s room—he told me he needs help with his party. I’ll be back after that," she replied and left. Hana remained seated, thinking about what Kulsum had said.

•••••••••

Rumaan came to pick Hana up around 9. When he saw her missed calls, it reminded him he was supposed to pick her at 6. He made an excuse to Ellen and quickly drove to Kulsum’s house.

Hana came running out after thanking Kulsum and her mother for dinner.

"You’re late, Maan," she said in a low tone as she sat in the car.

"Umm... sorry," he said, giving her an apologetic look. Hana shrugged and returned a small smile.

They reached home, but no one seemed to be around.

"I think they all went to their rooms... it’s 9:30 now," Hana said, noticing Rumaan looking around. He nodded.

Hana told him that Fathima had called her and she told her they were going for dinner. Rumaan was truly happy hearing that Hana had saved him from his family’s anger. He knew that if they believed he was with her, they wouldn’t say anything.

"Hana... do you have a painkiller? My head is hurting," he said as Hana turned to walk toward her room.

"What happened?" she asked, stepping closer—but immediately recoiled when she smelled something awful. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was.

"Maan... you’re drunk," she whispered in disbelief.

"Pff! No yaar... just one or two shots," he said, walking toward his room while holding his head.

Hana looked at him, and for the first time—for a mere second—she felt disgust. But her love quickly replaced that feeling when she saw Rumaan holding his head in pain. She ran into the kitchen, grabbed a painkiller and a glass of water, and came to his room.

He was sitting on the bed, clutching his head. Hana stood in front of him.

"Here," she said. He looked up and took the tablet immediately. She stood silently for a few minutes.

"It’s haram (forbidden)," she said softly.

"I know," Rumaan replied and placed the glass back on the tray. Hana realized he wasn’t in the state to take any advice positively, so she shrugged.

"Okay... good night," she said and turned to leave, but Rumaan grabbed her wrist. She looked back at him and saw him standing in front of her. He took the tray from her hand and placed it on the side table.

"Don’t go," he whispered, pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her neck. Hana’s body stiffened. She stood there frozen, unsure what to do. But when Rumaan suddenly pulled off her dupatta (scarf) and tossed it aside, her eyes widened, and she began to struggle.

"Maan... leave me!" she cried, continuously trying to break free.

"No!" he said, pushing her onto the bed. Before she could comprehend, he was on top of her. She looked at him in shock, her body trembling with fear. She knew Rumaan was not in his senses, and she couldn’t scream—for the sake of her love. There was only one thing she could do...

Ya Allah... madad farma! (O Allah... help me!)

*******