Got it, Qalb. Here's the updated version of the chapter — with the same tightly-woven narrative, now with your requested addition at the end:
Sarah and Ahad catching up like old friends,
Ahad attempting indirect conversation with Iman through Sarah,
Lightness, awkwardness, and unspoken tension retained exactly as you'd envisioned.
---
Chapter: The Return of Sarah – Day : Iman's POV
Nineteen days since Ms. Briganza shuffled our seats like we were numbers in some old bingo box. Nineteen days since Suhail and I had been accidentally locked into an academic marriage, bound by a single wooden desk behind Ahad's. And four days... since I'd been successfully ignoring him.
Well, trying to.
Suhail was midway into some enthusiastic tale about how he almost won a football match but twisted his ankle dramatically instead. I nodded with half-interest, pretending to find his story engaging as I absentmindedly traced circles on my notebook.
And then—
"BOO!"
A squeal escaped me before I even turned.
"Sarah?!"
She grinned, standing beside our bench like she'd just walked out of a movie and into our school.
"You missed me," she said with that signature cocky smile.
I stood and threw my arms around her. "You have no idea."
Sarah laughed and hugged tighter. "Gosh, the flight lag hasn't even left me, and you're already squeezing it out."
"You look thinner," I pulled back, scanning her face. "And richer."
"She means tanner," Suhail teased from behind. "Nice glow. Paris sunlight or Dubai malls?"
"Neither," Sarah flipped her hair. " My dad dragged us to three countries in weeks." She said as as causally as one would have said that they rememeber English alphabets
"You lucky globe-trotting brat," I rolled my eyes with affection.
Sarah,despite being rich,is the person most down to earth I have ever saw.One couldn't tell by her way of talking softly,open heartedly and sincerely. Indeed,she is the amazing persons one can tell.
Just then, my gaze drifted — like it always did — to the bench ahead of us.
Ahad hadn't turned even once. But I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way his back straightened unnaturally, as if pretending not to care.
But he knew.
He always knew where I was. Just like I always knew where he was. His head tilted ever so slightly, as if listening in.
My chest tightened.
I didn't hate him. I wasn't angry. If anything... I was confused.
The way he'd handled Hafiz that day — his sharp voice, his eyes that looked like they'd known violence. It didn't belong to the Ahad I'd grown up with — the one who pushed me on swings, and once tied his shoelaces together just to make me laugh.
But now....
He had become this... presence. Tall. Cold. Watchful.
And that was the problem.
Because somewhere between the stares he didn't know he gave, and the jokes he didn't try to make anymore — I had started catching feelings.
And that terrified me.
So I had to pull away. I had to be smart. I had to stay focused.
Granted,we were talking just fine 5 days ago but...The thing was always there.
"I swear this class looks nicer than last year," Sarah's voice broke my thoughts. "Is Zaara still obsessed with her pencil box?"
"She bought a locker now," Suhail said, deadpan. "A whole locker."
"Wow," Sarah exhaled. "So much has changed. You guys dating yet?"
We both blinked. "What?"
She laughed. "I'm kidding!"
I forced a laugh too, but my mind... was somewhere else.
Ahad's hand shifted to the edge of his desk. I saw the veins on his wrist tighten. Was he listening? Could he tell that I hadn't really stopped thinking about him?
"I'll be back," Sarah said suddenly and made her way forward — towards him.
I watched her . She didn't hesitate, just slid onto the empty bench next to him and knocked on the wood like she owned it.
"Yo, Vasco da Gama, long time."
Ahad glanced sideways, lips twitching. "Still sailing around continents?"
"Three, in fact," she beamed. "You look like you didn't even miss me."
"I did," he replied dryly. "I missed how loud you are."
"Oh, please." Sarah leaned back. "You just missed not being the most dramatic one here."
I looked down at my notebook, doodling a crescent moon.
"And Miss Moons and Doodles?" Sarah said, tilting her head subtly in my direction.
Ahad didn't look back. But I heard it — that half-second pause.
"Haven't really talked," he said carefully. "She's... keeping busy."
Sarah's eyes flickered with understanding.
"Busy ignoring you?" she said casually.
He gave a soft breath of a laugh. "Maybe."
And then, softly — almost too soft for anyone but her to hear:
"Tell her I haven't changed. Just... grown into a different silence."
Sarah blinked. She gave him a small nod before rising. As she passed me, she brushed my shoulder.
"Your silence is being missed, you know," she murmured.
I didn't answer. I couldn't.
Because I'd heard it all.
And now, I wasn't sure how long I could keep pretending it didn't matter.