❝ 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ❞

"Tizmat,"

His voice cut through the chaos.

He didn't raise it, he never did... And yet, it turned her blood to ice.

He jerked his chin toward the car behind him. It was a mere flick, almost lazy. His other hand slid his phone into his pocket with a finality that said, "Move".

The students flanking her exchanged puzzled glances, their smirks faltering. None of them had ever seen him before, not in this college, not near these gates.

"Who's that?"

Rubab whispered, her bangles tinkling as she pretended to adjust her braid.

"Brother? Cousin?"

Aarib muttered, his voice sharp but edged with doubt.

Kavish only stared, jaw tightening. Whoever he was, he didn't belong to the soft categories they could dismiss with laughter.

Tizmat's fingers clenched at her side bag handle.

She walked forward, each step slower than the last, forcing herself past the circle of their eyes.

The boys fell silent, as if some unseen line had been marked. The girls, meanwhile, straightened, giggles caught in their throats, fingers fluttering to smooth stray hairs or tug dupattas into neater folds... as though his presence demanded it, as though his gaze might cut in their direction next.

But he didn't look at them. He only looked at her.

She reached the other side after circling the car, her hand hovering near the door handle.

Before she could pull it open, his shadow fell against hers from behind. He had stepped closer.

The heat of his presence at her back made her breath stutter.

"So..." his tone was deceptively casual, each syllable cut like daggers, "those were your friends?"

Tizmat turned, startled, her pulse rushing in her ears.

His face was calm, almost bored, but his eyes stayed fixed and forever sharp.

"I—"

Her throat closed.

"Or," he murmured, stepping closer, "you still don't have any. Like always."

The words struck harder than a slap.

Old memories flickered, years of small silences, of sitting apart, of being left out and unseen. She wanted to say something, anything, to prove him wrong. But the truth clung too close... they weren't afterall her friends, and he perhaps knew it. Admitting it aloud would only feed his certainty.

Her lips parted, then faltered.

Nothing came out.

He exhaled once through his nose, a sharp sound, and his jaw flexed. "Pathetic,"

He muttered, though not loud enough for the anyone else around to hear.

Then, suddenly, he moved.

One arm lifted to brace above her head, the other dropped beside her, blocking the handle. His height and the spread of his shoulders caging her in.

The gate behind threw hollow shadows across his sleeve... the car's metal was pressed cool against her back.

Pure intimidation.

"Speak!"

Tizmat's breath stuttered.

Her knuckles whitened against her dupatta, but she forced her voice out, thin and shaking... "I... I don't need them to be my friends."

For a moment, his gaze lingered, searching her face as though testing whether she believed herself. Then, with a short, clipped scoff, he pulled back.

He yanked the door open, not waiting for her, and she slipped inside quickly, clutching her bag to her chest.

A beat later, the door shut with a decisive thud, the sound echoing inside.

Silence followed as he rounded the car and slid behind the wheel. The engine started with a low growl, headlights cutting across the stupefied faces still lingering at the gate.

Tizmat sat stiffly... her gaze fixed downward, her pulse an uneven thrum beneath her skin. She didn't dare ask why he'd come.

Part of her wasn't sure she wanted to know either.

The silence inside the car pressed heavily on her.

Tizmat sat stiffly, hands folded in her lap, the dupatta slipping over her arm as if it too wanted to escape. The road stretched ahead, lined with dim shops and bicycles weaving past.

Aslan's posture was cut sharp against the windshield glow.

One hand rested lazily on the wheel, the other draped against the gear as though even driving was an act of control. His jaw was not tight, not loose either... just set. The streetlamps flickered against his cheekbones.

She stole a glance.

Was he angry? Or simply quiet? Was he anything? With him, it was impossible to know.

He never came to pick her up. Not once. So why today? What made him walk into her world like that, as if he had a right?

Her stomach twisted.

Each turn of the wheels only wound the knot tighter and the air grew unbearable inside. Finally, the question slipped out before she could bite it back.

"Why... were you here today?"

There came no answer.

Her heart sank. He ignored my question. Of course! Of course he'd make me feel small just for asking.

She involuntarily clutched her dupatta tighter. Maybe she should have stayed silent, like always.

But then, his voice came.

"Are you dumb?"

Her head snapped toward him.

"What?"

"The answer is clear," he said, eyes still on the road. "Maa asked me to pick you up from college. Yesterday... She said it was disgraceful of me. Because you're younger and I was apparently rude"

Tizmat blinked.

That's it? That he came because his mother forced him?

Wait. Hold on. Wasn't that... still an insult?

He was apologizing... wasn't he?

But why was he adding more details to his insults yesterday?

Before she could make sense of it, the car came to a sudden stop. Her body jolted forward, caught by the seatbelt. The sudden halt made her eyes widen.

Aslan's knuckles flexed on the steering wheel. His jaw had finally tightened, shadows cutting sharper across his face.

"Yesterday—" he began, voice clipped, "...I didn't like how the topic was brought up. It pissed me off. That's all."

Behind them, a loud honk blared. Then another.

Someone even shouted.

Tizmat half-turned, craning her neck toward the back window.

Two cars had gathered, their headlights glaring impatiently into the cabin. Another horn split the air, sharper this time.

Her throat tightened. 

"Drive?" she blurted, panic rising.

He didn't move.

"The cars can wait."

Of course he'd say that. His ego probably liked the sound of honks behind him. She imagined him thinking: Let the whole city line up, I'll stop if I want.

"The cars behind..."

Her voice cracked.

Something in her tone must have reached him, because his hand shifted at last, smooth against the gear. The car rolled forward, the honks fading behind them.

Tizmat exhaled, pressing back into the seat like she'd just escaped drowning. Half of her wanted to scream at him, half of her wanted to laugh at herself for expecting anything else.

The car glided through the last turn.

Her haveli loomed into view, its gate faintly lit.

The sight should have comforted her, but instead, her chest grew tighter. Home meant safety, but tonight it also meant questions... and she wasn't sure she had the strength for either.

The car stopped at the haveli gates with a low growl.

Tizmat stepped out like she'd been released from captivity. Her slippers barely hit the stone driveway before she turned for the veranda. Behind her, Aslan reversed into the parking spot with ease.

On the veranda, voices already spilled like grey smoke. Taiji, Tauji, Sehmat, Sonali, and Devendra sat in a loose circle. The women's bangles chimed softly, laughter drifting with the faint aroma of incense.

Taiji's lips curved at her sight.

"Oh, there you are. Look at the trouble you caused! Because of you, poor Aslan had to leave his work and go to your college."

The words stung, though Taiji's tone was casual, even indulgent.

Tizmat's lips parted to explain, maybe, to apologize... but she didn't get the chance. Sonali swept her into an embrace.

"We couldn't even talk yesterday!" she exclaimed warmly, her dupatta brushing against Tizmat's cheek. "Sit with me now."

Relief loosened something in Tizmat's chest.

She sat down beside Sonali, clinging to the warmth of her affection.

"Me too!"

Sehmat squeezed beside them with a soft giggle.

A moment later, Aslan strode in.

Where Taiji's words had stung Tizmat, they now melted into sugar.

"Aslan beta," Taiji beamed, her voice dripping. "You had to go yourself? What a dutiful son. Your mother raised you well. Not a word of complaint, even when pulled from work. And for whom?"

She scoffed on the last part.

Her tone had shifted so smoothly it was dizzying.

Before the sting could fade, Taiji turned again.

"Tizmat, go and make tea for everyone."

Tizmat rose automatically, eyes scanning the heads . But Sehmat's voice cut in, gently.

"No, why her? She just came back from college. I'll do it."

Taiji's smile thinned.

"No, beta. You work enough in your sasural all the time. You are here, you should rest. Let her do it."

Sonali's laughter chimed suddenly.

"Then why don't you make the tea, Rukmini?"

The air froze for a heartbeat.

Even Devendra hid a smile behind his hand.

Sehmat burst out laughing, the sound warm and protective.

"Exactly!"

She rose and swept toward the kitchen.

"I'll do it myself before the whole house burns down from these arguments."

Taiji sniffed, adjusting her pallu, but the moment had already passed.

The conversation shifted easily, like bangles sliding on a thin wrist. Taiji leaned closer to Sonali.

"I have someone in mind for..."

Taiji's eyes signalled at Tizmat just for a second before going back to Sonali.

"Do you remember Rafiq's boy? The one from my husband's cousin's side. Oh, what a fine young man. Tall, respectable, with a government job lined up. Such manners! Always greets elders properly. And smart too... he just cleared his exams. His mother says proposals are coming from everywhere."

Tizmat's ears pricked.

She kept her gaze carefully lowered, but her chest fluttered.

Tall? Manners? Government job? That sounded dangerously close to the man she had dreamed of in whispers... the kind who'd arrive with flowers, who'd smile with warmth instead of mockery.

Her wish... her life suddenly rewritten in colors.

She didn't notice the tiny smile curling her lips...

Across the veranda, Aslan slouched back in his chair, watching it all with a thin thread of disgust.

The clink of Taiji's bangles, his mother's enthusiasm, Sehmat's laughter... grated on him, loudly.

He didn't want to be here, among their silly talks of marriage markets, weighing girls and boys like cattle.

But then his gaze shifted.

Tizmat was listening.

Her face, usually so guarded, now held a faint shine. Her lashes lowered, but the spark in her eyes betrayed her. That fluttering... that hope.

Something in his chest tightened... not irritation, but something darker.

He leaned forward, voice slicing through the chatter.

"Government job, good manners, tall..."

His tone dripped with mockery.

"So basically, a walking matrimony advertisement. Perfect middlclass-man material, isn't he? Great for family photos"

Everyone turned.

Tizmat's stomach dropped.

He looked straight at her, eyes gleaming faintly.

"Don't get carried away. Dreams like that don't last outside the cinema halls."

Heat rushed to her cheeks.

She lowered her gaze quickly, ashamed and small.

Sonali frowned, ready to retort, but Taiji clucked her tongue, brushing it aside. 

"He only says it to tease. Boys will be boys."

But Aslan's gaze lingered a second longer on Tizmat deliberately.

He had seen the way her fingers toyed with the corner of her dupatta, the unguarded moment of softness on her lips...

And with one sharp remark, he had crushed it all underfoot.

To be continued.