Fannah did not look back as the soft voice called him, his eyes turned red and tears choked his voice, he didn't know when he ran back to the car and drove himself to the farthest place from Raid's house.
He only stopped when he found himself at a peak,l away from the hustle of the main market and into the silent meadows.
"Ahhhhhhh,stupid, he is just your brother, a fucking brother, nothing else, you are not like those perverts". Fannah screamed, clutching his hair as he cried into the void.
He fell to his knees as he covered hid his face in his arms, crying and screaming, as the seconds bled into minutes and then into hours, he didn't remember how much time he had been here for, but when he got up again, his eyes red and puffy, the sun was already setting, Fannah looked up at the sky and nodded his head.
"I am doing the right thing, atleast for my own sanity, this is the best decision". Fannah reaffirmed to himself as he got into the car again, he chugged down a bottle of water and cleaned his face, before putting on some rock music in his car and drove back to his aunt's place.
His father had already gone back to his office as something important had come up suddenly, so he still had to pick up his mother.
After picking up his mother from the aunt's house, the ride was silent, just as it was when they drove to Sopore this morning, except right now Yasmeen was way more happy, while Fannah looked like he had just given up on his entire life.
But this time, Yasmeen decided to break the silence and said softly.
"We have already fixed your marriage, it will be on november 11 and 12".
"Hmm". Fannah hummed in response as he looked ahead to the road.
"Don't hmm me, listen, I have already told them, you and Areeb will meet tomorrow to talk and get to know each other properly, you two already know each other from childhood so this is just a formality but please remember to treat her well just like a princess". Yasmeen instructed as she sent Areeb's number to him.
"Mama, I know how to treat a girl". Fannah said, shaking his head.
"How would I know, you have never had a girlfriend and I have only ever seen you with your bros". Yasmeen said back in a happy tone.
"Okay, but I know how to treat a girl, you don't need to give me a manual". Fannah said as he parked the car in the garage and got out, it was already pretty late at night when they got back so he skipped the dinner and went straight to his room to sleep.
.........
The restaurant Fannah chose was a posh one, with only a few people in the wide expanse, Fannah and Areeb sat in silence, neither saying anything, the ride from. Areeb's home to here had been same, silent, awkward and heavy, Fannah just sat there looking at his hands, thinking of something out of his reach.
"Fannah, is everything okay, why are you so silent?", Areeb finally managed to gather the courage to break the silence and pull Fannah out of his reverie.
He looked at the girl completely zoned out and then as if realising something, he sat up straight and forced a smile on his face.
"Nothing, It's just that the work at studio has been a bit much lately, so I am bit exhausted". Fannah lied as he smiled at the girl.
"What about you, you have been silent too, if you want to know anything then please ask me". Fannah continued, looking straight at the girl, trying his best to be mesmerized by her beauty.
"There's nothing, I already know everything about you, is there something you want to ask?", Areeb asked back looking down shyly.
"No, I know everything about you too". Fannah answered, and once again the awkward silence fell between them, neither having any words to continue the conversation ahead.
After a few minutes, Fannah finally reached over to the menu and gave it to the girl, who had only drunk water since they had come here.
"Please order whatever you want". Fannah said in a kind voice as he leaned back into his chair.
"My parents are happy". Areeb said, as she looked at the menu, pulling Fannah out of his thoughts once again.
"Mine too". He replied, rather uninterested as if he was extremely exhausted.
After the order was placed, both fell into silence again as they didn't know what to talk about, just sitting there, looking at each other and enjoying the company or atleast pretending to.
"How is sufiyan?", Fannah blurted out, only realising it after Areeb looked up at him in confusion.
"I mean how is he doing, he almost died a few days back", Fannah stuttered out in a hurry, like he had been caught stealing red-handed, he looked at the girl and continued, "I don't mean anything else, I just want to ask like a cousin, he is like my brother". He continued in his defense, as sweat started dripping from his forehead
"Are you okay?", Areeb asked, looking up at his nervous face as she handed him a tissue.
"It's nothing, I am just having a headache", Fannah said as he knitted his eyebrows in annoyance, "and".
"Oh about Sufiyan, he is doing better now, they were also very happy, when they got to know about us". Areeb replied honestly as the waiter started setting the food on their table.
"Sufiyan is happy too?", Fannah asked again, making Areeb more confused then before as she looked at him questioningly.
"Well, everyone needs to be happy and accepting for a marriage to succeed". Fannah explained to which the girl just nodded, even though the confusion on her face only seemed to deepen every second.
"Well, you can say he is happy, he does not like getting involved in any matter if it's not directly connected to him, so yeah". She answered holding the spoon in her hand awkwardly.
"Hmm, let's start eating". He said but this time his expression changed a bit as he started eating his food.
After they were done eating, the girl leaned back in her chair, finally gathering all the courage in her body to have a conversation with her fiance, she clutched her dupatta with both hands, thinking of how to start a conversation when Fannah spoke up.
"Let's go, I have some work at studio later, I will take you home". He said getting up while he paid the bill, making the girl in front of him collapse her shoulders in disappointment but she still forced a small smile on her face and got up, leaving behind all the conversation ste had built up her in mind.
The ride to home was smooth and silent, no traffic jam, no hustle, nothing, Fannah didn't know but today everything seemed to be quiet, gentle and kind, like letting him off on his own, the girl did not utter a word after that, only answering some of Fannah's random questions along the way, trying to keep the atmosphere away from getting awkward or heavy again.
After some time they were already in front of Areeb's home, she was about to get down from the car, when the gate of Sufiyan's house opened.
Faiza came out of the door, laughing about something while looking back, dragging a girl by her hand, who seemed to be shy from a distance and after her came out the person who made Fannah forget breathing, wearing a casual pant and sweatshirt, his face looked a bit annoyed, adding a cute expression to the gallery of his faces in Fannah's mind.
Fannah's shoulders relaxed as he saw the boy coming out of the house only to be taken aback when he saw the girl from before holding his hand and leaning on his shoulder, his hands tightened around the steering wheel as he turned to Areeb.
"Who is she?",he asked, pointing to the girl clinging to Sufiyan's hand.
"She is our friend Ainoor", she said with a smile on her face.
"Then why is she draped around Sufiyan like that, it's inappropriate". Fannah asked, trying to control his expressions.
"It's a secret, don't tell anyone okay", Areeb said as she came closer to Fannah and said in a low voice.
"She has a crush on Sufiyan and is always cooking things for him, like he is normal and would understand". Areeb said, making Fannah turn to her with a frustrated expression on his face.
"What?", he asked in a high pitched voice, making the girl look down in disappointment.
"Nothing, I will get going". Areeb said and got off the car, as she was about to leave, she said goodbye to Fannah but he did not hear it, too busy to even notice that his fiance had already left the car.
He looked at the girl and Faiza as they said their goodbye and then she turned to sufiyan, who was trying his hardest to get out of her clutches.
"Sufiyan, don't eat dinner early tonight, I am making butter chicken for you, okay", the girl called Ainoor chirped.
"Yes, yes", Sufiyan replied as if he was about to run away, when his eyes landed on Fannah looking at them, he freedom himself from the girl's clutches finally and was about to call for Fannah, when he looked down and turned his car and before Sufiyan could do anything, Fannah was already gone far away, never looking back once, as Sufiyan kept staring in the direction Fannah had just fled into, never once taking his eyes off of the road.