Saad hunched over the scattered files once again. Head in his hands, eyes forced to stay open, fingers pulling at the ends of his hair, his stature seemed like some crazy delusional who had lost all his money on gambling but still hoped to put more on the line and miraculously win. Going over the same point over and over again, knowing he had missed something, but what?

    He had always been a man who was always right. He never had to look twice for something because he was always right the first time. But now he was praying that he had been wrong. That maybe he missed something the first time, although he had gone over the reports a thousand times already in the same hope.

    A knock on the door broke his chain of thoughts. He looked up and noticed the room spinning, the once sharp lines now blurred around the edges. He realized how tired he really was.

    “Come in.” He shook his head once, a frail attempt to clear his head.

    Asma Bi, their long time maid entered his room with a hot cup of coffee in her hands. Only Saad was not seeing her but an angel who was taking care of his health. Taking the cup from her hand, he sighed deeply. “Thank you so much, Auntie.”

    “Oh don’t mention it. But I think you should go check on your family downstairs. They just returned from their function and Huma is not pleased. They are arguing in your father’s office.”

    He furrowed his brows and took a sip of his coffee, relishing in the warmth that seemed to spread in his body. “You wouldn’t happen to know what the matter is, would you?”

    She shook her head and he stood up, heading for the door. He just knew what she was going to do so he said without turning back, “Don’t even touch a single thing, Auntie. Leave the mess where it is.” Keeps me close to the reality of the mess my life is in.

    He went to his father’s intimidating study. There wasn’t anything dark or wrong with the room. On the contrary, it was the brightest room in their house with mocha colored walls and white furniture. But since he was a child, he had been afraid of this room. It was the person his father became when he was working here. So mechanical, cynic and never-resting. As a child, he didn’t want to be around that person, a man who didn’t smile when his child happily showed him his art project or the one who didn’t look back at his wife with the same love she showed him. He was afraid of that person.

As a teenager, he came to realize he didn’t want to be that person. No matter what, he didn’t want to be the kind of lawyer his dad was. No matter how successful he was in field, observing him made Saad come to the conclusion that his father was never emotionally attached to a case. He always ended up doing the right thing but he knew his dad never cared for the person affecting or the affected, he always cared about a good score on his record.

As an adult, he was starting to realize that he was becoming that person. Maybe not the selfish part, but definitely the part where he was starting to neglect his own family. And he wanted to give himself the excuse that it was just because he was hell bent on proving Kubra’s innocence, but he couldn’t. Because he knew he was already going down that hill long before that.

“What if it was me, dad?” Huma yelled at Shams Mirza who was clearly looking pissed at that point if the scowl on his face was any indication. “What if I had been sentenced to spend my life alone in a small cell? Would you have given up on me too?”

“Shut up, Huma! Don’t say stuff like that.” His mom tried to shut her down.
“What’s happening here?” Saad asked, but he went unheard as Huma shouted again.

“No, mom! I want to know if I had been in this situation, if I had been accused of cutting someone’s throat, what would have you done? Would you have shed a few tears too and packed up? I don’t think you have let dad do that. Even if he would have suggested it, you wouldn’t have. “

“Okay, Huma! I don’t understand what’s happening.” Saad took hold of her arms and made her sit down on the couch forcefully. “So Huma, will you please shut up and tell me what this is about?”

“Did you know too?” Her eyes accused him.

“Knew what? Dad will you please explain?”

“Exactly! Ask him, Bhai! What has he done? While my best friend is rotting away in a cell, he advised her parents to pack everything and go to somewhere where the memory of her wouldn’t follow them! That’s exactly a thing that Shams Mirza would do!”

“Huma Mirza! I’m warning you for the last time that you keep your mouth shut and don’t talk about things that you do not understand!” Shams Mirza had now stood up and said in a steely voice, affectively shutting her up.

Huma sat on the couch with her head bowed, her eyes filling with tears, not at being reprimanded but for the loss of her best friend. Saad watched as his father once again sat behind his large table. Saad had had enough of being kept in the loop. He demanded to know what was happening. He looked at his father persistently, knowing that his father was aware that he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

But when he didn’t speak for a few seconds, Saad said, “Dad, what did you do? What is Huma talking about?”
Huma opened her mouth to say something but a sharp glare from him stopped her from uttering any word.
“Shahbaz came to me for advice as to what he should do in the present situation. He was worried about Sonia’s deteriorating health. I recommended him a change of scenery,” his father finally told him. But it wasn’t all.

“Dad, what . exactly . did . you . tell . him?”

    He wasn’t looking for a beating around the bush and his father knew that.

    “I told him he should leave this city for good and start somewhere new. There is no chance for their daughter. . .” Seeing that Saad was going to say something, he pressed, “. . . you know it too! There is no chance for Kubra and you both giving them false hope is only making it worse. They can’t perform their normal activities without the constant reminder that they are the parents of a criminal. They can’t go to shopping or events without someone stopping to ask them if they believe the decision of the court to be right.”

    Saad started pacing around. “I can’t believe you convinced the parents of a wrongfully convicted daughter to leave her to her suffering!”

    “Two less people ruining their lives after someone else! I’d say that’s a win.”

    “Are you serious, dad?! Kubra must be counting every single second of her life till the six months are up and she can finally get a glimpse at her parents and you convinced those parents to fucking leave her!”

    “Saad!” his mother rebuked him but he continued.

“Please tell me how is that a win? Please! Because I can’t see where the catch is? Think of the heartbreak she’ll go through when she learns that her parents have left her! Anticipation of seeing them is probably is the only thing that’s keeping her going! And you took that away! How is that a catch?” He was yelling at his father. Something he had never done. He had also sworn at his father. Also something he had never done.

    “Just let go of your feelings for her and fucking think rationally for a second! Her parents are withering away with her because you keep on hanging onto the stupid hope you have! You are destroying your career after the stupid obsession you have of proving her innocent when it’s clear as day that she murdered him in cold blood!”

    “SHE DID NOT MURDER HIM DAD!”

    “Yeah, and you’re not tarnishing the Mirza name in the Law world! You’re not destroying MY legacy! You’re not destroying YOUR career!”

    He breathed in disbelief. “So that’s your problem, dad? That I’m not getting famous? That people are questioning why the son of Shams Mirza is a shit lawyer? Well, news flash dad! I DON’T CARE! I don’t care about anything right now except for Kubra!”

    “This idiocy ends now, Saad! I’ve had enough of watching you destroy your career. No more! You’re closing the case and you’re going to do some actual work. End of.” His father held finality in his voice, something he had never went against. Not this time.

    “I don’t you think understand dad. I’m NOTHING without Kubra. I’ll die without her. So if you think the worry of my career is going to make me forget about her and abandon her, you’re wrong! And you can be damn sure I’m going to convince Uncle to not act upon your stupid advice!”

    With that, he left, slamming the door shut behind him.

    Shams sat down in his chair and sighed. Ayesha rubbed his back, urging him to calm down. “He’ll come around, Shams. Just give him time.”

    “I just want the best for him. Why can’t he see that?”

    “He will. Give it time.”

    They both looked at Huma when she started talking. “I always looked up to you as a lawyer, dad. I thought you were the best lawyer. Always on the right side, that’s why you always won. Because you fought for justice. But now I see that’s not the case. The only side you’re on is yourself. The only thing you fight for is to maintain your ego. You think you are right to believe that Kubra is guilty and now you refuse to see otherwise because that would mean admitting that you were wrong!”

    “Huma, I’ve had enough. I will not tolerate you speaking to your father that way!” Ayesha glared at her while Shams just stared wordlessly at her.

    “But I’ll prove you wrong. There’s no greater motive for me to work hard other than proving my best friend’s innocence. But now breaking your ego is a close second.” She stood up purposely from the couch. “If Bhai fails, which I know he won’t. But if he does, you can be damn sure what my first case would be.”

•~•

    Huma was having a hard time deciphering how she felt sitting in front of the glass window with her brother, waiting for her appear on the other side. She would be seeing her for the first time in Six Months. There was definitely pain. Anger, most definitely. Anticipation, absolutely. But mostly she was nervous about Kubra’s reaction. What if she blamed them for not getting her out till now? What if she was angry that they were living comfortably while she was to stay in a cold cell? What if she accused them of not fulfilling their promises?

    All would be understandable and true. She had let her down. And there was no excuse she could think of.

    But all that faded away when she saw Kubra coming through the door and in front of them. The big smile on her face was the only beautiful thing that was left on her. She was paler than any anemic, weaker than any cancer patient, her uniform hanging on her body.

Huma was not expecting the impact of seeing her like this for the first time to be a physical blow on her heart. Her chest felt tight and her eyes burned. She gripped her brother’s hand tightly and he squeezed back, no doubt understanding how she felt. The action was obscured from Kubra’s view, who picked up the receiver and exclaimed, “Huma! I’ve missed you so much!”

Her voice was still the same.

“I’ve missed you too. So much.”

“I’m so behind on your life, girl. Tell me what you’ve been up to! Still on top of your class, I suppose!”

Kubra was faking it. She knew because she knew how Kubra sounded when she was actually happy. And this was not it. But Huma would play if that’s what she wanted. “You bet! Though probably not on the best side of other class fellows. But who cares?”

“You show them!”

‘Uh, hello. Am I invisible? Can you guys not see the awesomeness in front of you, girls?” Saad teased.

“Of course, I am talking to Huma, aren’t I?” Kubra winked at her.

“Ouch!” He gripped his chest, faking a heart attack.

They both laughed while Huma couldn’t take it anymore. She said softly, “I can’t remember when we all started lying to each other.”

It was like they both switched off a button in them. She saw her best friend hunching in her chair and the mask of glee melting away.

“I didn’t want you guys to take the crying image of me.” Kubra replied softly, knowing what Huma must be feeling.

“So, I’m not even worthy of knowing your pain now?” She tried her best to school her expression into not morphing into a pained one but it was fruitless. The dam was about to break and Saad and Kubra knew it.

“That’s not what she meant, Huma,” Saad was fighting similar emotions, blaming himself for similar things.

“How am I supposed to know? I can’t meet my best friend and the only time I am, she’s putting on the fakest mask I’ve ever seen on anyone!”

Neither Saad nor Kubra were expecting their rock, Huma to be the first person to break into sobs on their reunion, but here she was, crying buckets. She put her head on the table, obscuring her face from their view, her shoulders shaking in violent sobs.

“I’m sorry, I just-” she sniffed.

“It’s okay. But honey we’ve got only two hours and I want to make the best of it. We cry enough apart as it is.” Kubra was barely keeping her own tears at bay.

“Amen to that!” Saad put up his hand, swearing.

“Now, I love you both. So damn much! But can I please meet my parents now? I want my mom.” Kubra started looking at the door behind Huma, waiting for the people who welcomed her into this world to come greet her.

Huma and Saad looked at each other, knowing she wouldn’t take it so well.

“Kubra….” Saad started.

“Yeah?”

“Uncle and Aunty are not in the city.” There was no easier way to break the news, right?

“W- What do you mean they’re not in the city? Did they not know that today was the day I was allowed to meet them?” She asked with furrowed eyebrows, refusing to understand what was clear as day.

“They……um…..Auntie’s health was worsening by the day so they decided it wasn’t best for them to live in Lahore anymore. They’ve left the city and returned to Quetta, Uncle’s birthplace.”

Kubra did not speak for a few moments, going paralyzed. Then, a whisper echoed in the silence. “They’ve abandoned me?”

Only the thing was, she was looking at neither of them. Instead she was looking at somewhere behind them. But this wasn’t just staring into nothingness. It was as if she was captivated by a ghost.
She shook her head, as if to remove some unnecessary thoughts. Huma and Saad looked at her, worried.

“They can’t abandon me, right? They can’t leave me. No. No. They can’t. They love me. Right? Yes, they can’t. You guys are lying. I know it. This is one of your pranks. Yes. Yes. This isn’t the truth. No.” She started hyperventilating. Her breaths got fast, her chest got constricted, and her eyes went wide.

“Kubra. Kubra, stop. Kubra, calm down.” They both tried to calm her.

“Tell me you’re lying! They have to trust me! I’m not a murderer! I’m not!” Again, only the first sentence was directed at them.

“Nobody thinks you killed. Kubra, please calm down!” Saad stood up in his seat, just wanting to punch the glass and hold her close to himself.

“Shut up! Just shut up! You’re lying. Mom and Dad love me! They haven’t forgotten about me! They love me. Yes, yes. They love me. Right? Just go away! Both of you, just fuck off!”

“Shout all you want! I can scream louder than you! But you are gonna calm down and we are not going fucking anywhere! Understood?” Kubra was scaring Huma and if Saad wasn’t able to get through her, no words of comfort from her were gonna calm her. So fire for fire was her only option and it worked.

“I’m sorry,” Kubra said, breathing deeply and voice lowering. Her shoulders sagged as she became embarrassed for the way she had acted.

“They love you, KB. We all do. And they don’t believe that you are killed anyone. They just have stopped believing in me. They were being faced with the cruel judgment of the society and Auntie was feeling the brunt of it. That does not mean that they have abandoned you. They miss you just as much as we do. Just as much as I do.” Saad soothingly explained to her.

She saw Kubra bury her head in her hands and take in a deep breath, facing upwards. She looked at them again.
“Anyway I want to talk to you both and not waste my only time with you, if that’s okay? Let’s talk about happy things, please?” This was directed at her specifically.

“Of course.”

“Hey, KB. Did you paint something?” Saad asked.

“Oh yes! I wish you could see the walls of my cell. I have made portraits of you and Huma and Mom and Dad. And I’ve run out of sketchbooks so would you be able to send more, please?” She said excitedly.

“Of course. You’ll have them by tonight.”

“Wait, you have drawn me? I hope you’ve drawn my nose right,” Huma consciously touched her nose.

“Oh, about that. I did mess that up. It looks as if you’ve been punched in the face.” Huma stared at her horrified while Saad laughed. “But I’m working on it!”

“You better!”

“Your nose is still gonna look like a fritter, monkey!” She punched Saad in the arm. “Bhai!”

“Hey, you guys, I made life sketchbooks for you guys. Can they possibly hand those to you? I mean- I don’t know if I can send stuff out,” she wringed her hands together, a thing Huma had never seen her do. This place was changing her best friend and changing her fast and there was nothing she could do about it!

“I’m sure I can have that arranged.”   

“Saad? There’s one for another person. Can you please give it to him?” She asked, afraid of his reaction, knowing he’d realized who she’d meant.

Huma did too and a surge of anger flared in her. But she controlled it and looked at her brother who swallowed.

“Your wish, my command, my love.” He smiled! How can he be so good at loving her that he agreed to send something his lover made for her lover, a man he loathed from every inch of his body?

“Thank you.”

“One more request?” Kubra suddenly went dead somber.  “Can you please add in a blade to the list? I tried to remove one from my sharpener but I couldn’t. I need it badly.”

Both the siblings had air knocked out of their lungs and ground snatched from underneath their feet.

And then Huma heard Kubra let out the fakest laugh she had ever heard from her mouth. “I’m just joking, you guys! You should’ve seen your faces!”

“IT’S NOT A FUCKING JOKE!” Saad roared, not caring if he was breaking the line of respect they had or if he scared her. Hell, she should be! She just took out his heart and plunged a knife in it!

She seemed to realize that too. And she apologized instantly. “I- I’m sorry. That was terrible. I’m so sorry.”

“Kubra, I swear it! You try something and my body would be six feet under before.”

“Don’t talk about dying. Please. I was joking! I promise. I swear! It was a joke! Please. Relax.”

They started to talk about other things more for the sake of relaxing Saad than anything else.

Time passed in a quick blur and soon it was time to depart. Kubra stood up, swallowing her grief getting easier every time she had to leave Saad.

“I’ll miss you,” Huma placed her palm on the glass and Kubra matched hers. “I’ll miss you more.”

“I love you. Please don’t stop believing in me.” Saad put his hands in his black suit’s pockets, fisting his hands in them.

“I won’t.” They all smiled, all their hearts shattering all over. They both left reluctantly and Kubra went into her cell again, getting welcomed by the dead eyes of the ones she loved.

•~•

Yusuf was proud of his achievements. He had managed to win a lot more cases in past three months than he’d expected and his firm had gotten many more cases. He was currently sitting with very important clients, Mr. Jamshed, trying to land the legal contract of their multimillion dollar company.

He’d met a few bumps after Kubra’s trial. He had been unable to focus, unable to solve anything, unable to win anything. But now he was back. And stronger than ever, after he’d convinced himself that he wasn’t wrong.

The door to his office burst open and he saw the person he least expected to meet in his firm. His former best friend was seething at his door, his bloodshot eyes glaring at him and one hand fisted, for the other gripped onto a Sketchbook.

“Sir, you can’t meet boss without an appointment. Please sir.” His flustered assistant was right on Saad’s heel, urging him to leave.

“It’s okay, Maha. I’ll take it from here.” He gestured for him to come inside. “Mr. Jamshed, I’m extremely sorry for this intrusion. Can you please give us five minutes?”

“Of course. No problem.” The mid-fifties man left and Yusuf closed the door behind him.

Yusuf turned to Saad who slapped the piece he held in his hand onto the desk and continued to cast daggers at him from his eyes.

“So Saad, what can I do for you?”

“You can die! Or I can kill you! Whichever you prefer.”

•~•

Assalamualaikum guys!
How are you all?💞
Yes, i know this hiatus was uncalled for and i shouldn't have left you guys. I'm sorry. Hope the last sentence can make up for it?👉👈 After all, it is a sentence we've all been wanting to say to Yusuf right?😁
Anyhow!
How was the chapter?😬
Well, you did sign up for depressing story because i warned you time and time and you still clicked this story. So buckle up, cuz this is literally just a teaser, not even a trailer😈
Please vote 🌟 comment 🖋️ share and follow. Follow me on Instagram. javeria_naeem9 is the id