Samar's P.O.V.

Throwing my wallet and keys onto my end table, I take my shirt off and get into bed. Waliyah and I's conversation kept going over and over in my mind. Waliyah had never spoken to me like that. . ever. No matter how mad she was at me, there was a limit to what she said, and how she said it.

Her behavior towards me, was now so cold, and so off-putting. . it seemed almost forced, it was as if she was trying to push me away, even though she didnt want to. I look down at my ring finger gazing down at Amal and I's bands. I had never taken these off, even after Waliyah and I had gotten married, nor had she asked me to but she proudly wore her engagement ring. . the one I had put on her the night of our small Nikkah.

Have I really pushed Waliyah so far away from myself that even she doesn't want to be with me anymore?

Blowing out air heavily, I look around my room not being able to sleep, and decide to finally go inside her room, after so many days of debating about it. Turning the knob of our joint bathroom, I cross the boundary that she and I had set many years ago and open the door to her room. It was so bare, the complete opposite of what I had expected, I thought it would be covered with decorations, and pictures like her old room is, but there was nothing. Breathing in, I tried to intake the last scent of her perfume, but there was nothing. . .Slowly dragging my hand from the walls around to her dresser, I open it to see it almost empty. Waliyah has taken most of her clothes back home already. . .I wonder if she will be back to tell Amma and Baba her decision by herself, or if she will make me do it.

Clearing my throat I go to shut the closet door when I see a small brown book hidden at the very bottom of it. Furrowing my eyebrows, I reached over to grab it, but it was jammed in the crevasse of the cupboard. Roughly wiggling it around, I finally got it to lose stumbling back alittle I brushed off the dust, it read

WAFA'S DIARY

Is this the diary that Saboor Ammi was talking about? My heart skipped a beat, could this be it? It felt wrong reading it, but I wanted to know, if what Maryam had actually told me was true, if what she had shown me was true. . .Saboor Ammi's words had spiked my curiosity towards the truth, and Waliyah was definitely not going to be telling me the truth, especially how she is acting towards me these days.

Just one page. . .

Sitting down on the bed, I turn to the first page. . .

Malli and Ayra stopping READING RIGHT NOW!

Chuckling I switch over to the next page,

Dear Diary,

We are finally back from Thaiji's house,

Yah Allah, it felt like we were stuck in a torture chamber for the last 24 hours, with Thaiji's glares, Mary Apu's taunts, and Wicky Bhai and Thayaji's apologies. I wish Amal could have come over, but she had to go to a doctor's appointment, which with Allah's grace has come back with some positive tests, so the hopes for her to stay around are getting better! I do not know what I would do without Amal, I mean she is my best friend and my sister. . .I have always given her everything that I have gotten, whether that was food, gifts, or duas (blessings)... If I could, I would give her alittle bit of my life as well, but that isnt possible. But I do hope that all her wishes and dreams come true before she has to leave. . .I hope a Prince Charming comes, and sweeps her off her feet, just like in the movies.

P.S: I completely forgot, I bumped into Samar Qureshi today, accidentally. . .I fell on the ground so hard, and he was too busy figuring out who bumped into whom, he is so. . ill-mannered and rude. I do not know what girls see in him! He is the prime example, of what a prince charming, should not be like.

Laughing softly, I guess I didn't make the best impression from the get-go in her life. Flipping to the next page, I read more.

Dear Diary,

I AM SO MAD! That Samar Qureshi and his little brother, who do they think they are to be treating my little sister like that?! And on top of that, he has the audacity to ask me why I have a problem with him. Boys like him, spoiled rich boys who think they can rule the whole world, royally piss me off. I know Amma says not to say that I hate people, but rich boys like him are the reason it took me forever to convince Baba to let Api, and I go to college, and let Ayra follow behind us.

P.S: Samar Qureshi, was looking at Amal weirdly, does he like her?

Did she catch on to my feelings that fast? Just by one glance?

Dear Diary,

Amal's Prince Charming has come into our lives! Allah Miyaji, I love you! I know Amal has been waiting for someone to come into her life, but has been too hesitant to tell Khala and Khalu that she wants to get married due to her illness. I know that it is hard to trust anyone when it comes to that, but I feel that Samar has that honesty that she, Khala, Khalu, and I can rely on. His eyes, they hold some kind of power, that can make anyone believe in him. . .I hope he does not break my trust, because at this time I am not picking someone for myself, I am picking for my best friend, and she does not need any more pain than she already has been through. . .I just hope he doesn't prove me wrong. . .I hope that he is the one who can bring all the happiness and love in her world. . .That is all I want.

My hands began shaking as I read the thrid entry, all she wanted here was for Amal to be happy...breathing out heavily I shakily turned to the next page.

Dear Diary,

Tonight was Api's dholki, and my plan worked! Samar and Amal talked all night, even though Amal was hesitant at first, but she seemed like she really enjoyed talking to him all night. It is like a breath of fresh air seeing her laugh and smile like that, the way she only did with me, and now she did with him. In such a short period of time, Samar has slowly made his way into my family's heart, in my heart, as a friend of course, and Amal's too. Though she may not admit it, she definitely has begun to have a soft spot for him.

P.S: Something weird happened to me today though, I mean Samar had gotten hurt while helping Malli and Ayra, and when I was cleaning his hand. . .It was as if I had lost myself in Samar's eyes. . .It felt wrong because I saw him as nothing more than just a friend but. . .even though I had told myself to shake it off, I couldn't shake off the feeling of how I felt when I looked into his eyes. . .Samar has the most beautiful eyes. . .Amal is a really lucky girl.

My heart dropped, as I read the beautiful words she had written in her diary. . Turning to the next page, I see a photo of her, Amal, and I. My eyes filled with tears, as I gently caressed the space Amal was standing, she had her arms wrapped around Waliyah, as I stood on the side admiring them.

"Didn't someone teach you not to read other people's diaries?" I jumped up throwing the diary on the bed and I saw Bhabhi standing in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"I-I," I stuttered, "This is the diary Saboor Ammi was talking about, and the one Waliyah claimed that she. burned."

Bhabhi looked at me confused, "The day I went to take Dua to her school, Baba and Amma argued a little, but through the. argument Amma told me how Mariam had manipulated Wafa's diary, but I had asked for the original and Wafa told me she burned it, but it was right in her closet." I stood up, "Bhabhi, why would she lie to me about something? she could-"

"Why does she need to prove it?" Bhabhi interrupted me, "Do you not know her? Do you not know how loyal she is to the people she loves? Especially Amal?" I let her words sink, "You have spent the four years resenting Wafa for loving you, over a stupid manipulated diary that Mariam had shown you out of her own spite of not being able to win you over. Now after four years of constant hatred, resentment, and humiliation, you found out that Marima did what she did, you asked for proof instead of believing in the purity of Wafa's intentions and love towards Amal?"

Bhabhi looked at me with disappointment, "You moved towards the truth to slow Samar, so slow that Wafa is so tired of waiting around for you to stop hating her, she is walking away from the one person she has ever truly loved." I could hear blood flow in my ears, "You may feel guilty, you may feel bad, you may feel like an utter asshole and want to fix things now that you have found the proof that you desperately wanted to see, but Wafa has gone so far from you at this point, I will be surprised if you will be able to win over her forgiveness."

I looked down at my hands, "What can I do?" I whispered,

"Beg," Bhabhi said, "Plead, ask for mercy. . .because one thing I know about my sister, once she makes up her mind, nothing can change it."

My hands looked as if they were in vibration mode, "I do not think I want to hang onto her," I said softly, "If she wants to leave Bhabhi, I think she deserves the freedom to leave."

Bhabhi came to stand infront of me, "Look at me, Samar,"

Lifting my head up I make eye contact with her, "If she leaves, forget about ever getting her back again."

"Bhabi-"

"A woman wants a man to fight for her," She interrupted me, "All these years you have been fighting against her, try fighting for her. . .try actually getting to know her, try being there for her, try maybe loving her. . . I know you loved Amal, we all saw how much you have been yearning for her. I loved her as a younger sister too, she was the life of every room she stepped in but she has left us. I am sure she wants you to move on as well, there is a reason why she has left her most precious possession in your hands. Try loving her. . . Just as much as Amal loved her, even though it will be tough, try. . ."

Bhabhi's words sank in, and I understood her point of view, but what she didn't know was. . . Waliyah has already taken off her wedding ring... she already has made a decision, and I have no idea how to change it. Waliyah was stubborn, and when Waliyah decided something. . . It was game over. Especially after all the things I have put her through... it was clear, I had to fight...but was the fight worth even fighting only Waliyah could help me decide that... only her.