Zayn was beginning to regret his decision of coming back. Yet, whenever he thinks of his deceased sister, that thought gets thrown out of the window.

So far, all he got was two answers and more questions.

One, Kulsum introduced Hayra to Aasim. Reason, he's yet to find out and he intends to ask Aasim about it though he detest seeing the man's face.

Second, Hanif is in love, or at least, was, in love with Kulsum and that he doesn't love Sabrina. Zayn couldn't help but fear Sabrina would go through what Kulsum did. But if anything, he knows no one can go through what she did. At least, not Sabrina.

And then, the most recent, the message he got. Who is Aisha Liman and how is related to any of this?

Those were the questions that had been running through his head for the past three days that he had locked himself in his house brainstorming. He couldn't invite Kamal over because the man travelled abroad for some mission but will be back soon. He also couldn't send him the message because he can't get a hold of him.

That is a standard protocol for someone like him. When he goes on a mission, there's no way of contacting him till he's done and back home. That's one of the reasons why his family worries about him but Zayn isn't worried one bit.

Kamal is a definite goofball but the man is sharp. Zayn has zero doubt about that. And so, he knows that the man will return alright.

Without Kamal, Zayn doesn't trust anyone else to handle the job so he tended to do it himself. And that's what he has been doing for three days. He has thought about over and over, skimmed through everyone he knows in Aasim's family and that of his, but nothing.

No one has that surname in both families. So there was no way of finding her.

He tried to call the number, but it wasn't going through. Besides, it is a private number so he couldn't get anything. He sent messages to the number but got nothing in reply.

He couldn't help but wonder if it's the same person that had been sending Kulsum messages, and that had him slowly losing his mind over it all.

In simple words, he's a mess.

He barely ate, mostly living off on coffee. The sleep he got in those three days were barely for about 5 hours. He had been stuck in the confines of his apartment without going out. His medicine that he got the other day were long forgotten, and the messages Dr. Asma dropped him, long ignored. He could feel his actions beginning to take a toll on him but he wasn't willing to rest without getting answers.

And quite unfortunately, he couldn't get a thing.

Amidst the stacks of papers, he had gotten, he sat scrolling through various information on his Macbook; a cup of coffee in his hand.

The doorbell went off, making him look up with his brows furrowed deeply. Who could it be? He wondered. For as far as he knows, there's no one that knows about the apartment.

Sighing when the doorbell went off again, he placed the Macbook aside and kept the coffee mug on the table beside him before he stood up. He took steady steps to the door for when he stood up, he felt lightweight for the brief second there. Nevertheless, he shook it off and opened the door.

However, he regretted his decision the minute he saw who stood on the other side. Without wasting a second, made a move to close the door but a hand was placed to stop him. He didn't stop though, he pulled the door with a slight force that must've hurt the owner of the hand, only opening it again when he heard an 'ouch' from the person.

He shook his head, and narrowed his eyes at Aasim, "Get lost" He made a move to close the door now that Aasim had retrieved his hand quickly.

"Wait, Zayn, I just wanted to talk"

"I said..." Zayn repeated, his voice holding an edge, "...get lost" This time around he was so close to shutting it when Aasim's words stopped him.

"Don't you want to find out anything about your sister?"

Zayn stopped, taking a couple of seconds to think about the words. Of course, he wants to find out anything he can possibly get about his sister and sure enough, he had questions he wanted to ask Aasim but the moment wasn't a good one.

He was already on the edge, and any wrong word from Aasim, he doubts he can hold himself back.

But the inquisitiveness, that part of him was willing to put up with Aasim even for a while to find out what he can. It won't hurt because he's at a dead end and he needs possibly anything he can get to help him.

With that mindset, he left the door open and walked back into the house, giving Aasim a silent invite into his home. Aasim released a sigh of relief, making his way into the apartment. Once he closes the door, he massaged his palm that Zayn had pressed with the door. The man didn't press hard, but he made sure it hurt.

Call him petty but the pain is nothing considered to what he made his sister and he go through. And knowing that pretty well, Aasim kept shut.

His eyes skimmed the apartment that seemed oddly neat despite Zayn's state. The only place that's messy is where Zayn was working which was filled with random papers.

Zayn took his seat, gesturing Aasim to sit opposite him. "How do you know about this place?" He asked, the minute Aasim was seated.

The man shrugged lightly, "Your sister once told me about it"

Zayn doesn't know why but he hated every minute Aasim mentioned her. He couldn't help but feel like he doesn't deserve to even mention her at all. Definitely not after the things he did.

If you think about it, Aasim is the genesis of it all.

Zayn hummed, holding back his tongue knowing what he'll say won't be good.

"Are you alright?" Aasim asked, when Zayn didn't say a word.

Zayn rose a brow, his face blank.

Aasim sighed, leaning forward a bit as he rested his arms on his thigh. "I get that you want to find out the truth--"

"—No you don't" Zayn cut him off, crossing his legs, "You don't get anything because you do not care"

Aasim's demeanor changed, his lips tugging into a deep frown, "Of course I do"

"Ah" Zayn hummed, nodding sarcastically. "Okay" He muttered, his fingers slightly caressing his knuckles. "Tell me, how many times have you even thought of looking for your son?"

Aasim parted his lips to talk, but Zayn continued before he can get the chance to speak.

He held his hands to stop Aasim, "No, wait. I know the answer" His eyes narrowed, "Never. Because you never cared about him"

"How can you say that?"

"How can I not say it?" Zayn shot back. Honestly, at that moment, Zayn forgot that Aasim is older than him. Besides, the respect he had for the man got thrown out the window a decade back.

Aasim gulped, his eyes narrowed at Zayn. He was trying his best to be understanding and accept most of the blame because he knew how hard the situation is to the man but he could only keep cool for so long when Zayn speak about his child. "You have no idea what I went through because of that"

"And you have zero idea what Kulsum went through because of you"

"Don't you think I know that?" Aasim's voice rose, "I've lived with the guilt for ten years! I lived with the guilt of knowing I failed as a husband and as a father. I've been living in guilt knowing my wife lost herself and was at her weakest and I couldn't do anything to help her" He gulped, his eyes glazing, "It killed me every day to know that my son is out there, somewhere without his mother or father"

"Wow" Zayn offered Aasim a fake wide grin, clapping his hands. "Way to go. I think you just earned yourself the husband and father of the year award with that speech. You almost got me shedding tears right there" His smile disappeared, once he saw the furious look taking over Aasim's features.

But he didn't care one bit about the man. He deserved everything he gets thrown at him, no matter how hurtful.

"Are you going to keep being like this?"

"Yes" Zayn replied, without wasting a second. He maintained eye contact with Aasim as he uncrossed his legs, leaning forward. "I'll keep repeating those words over and over again because that's not even half of what you made my sister go through"

Aasim didn't look away either. He could feel his anger at the very top, threatening to take over but he held himself back. He couldn't risk getting angry and getting into a fight with Zayn when he caused everything on himself.

He looked away, taking deep breathes in and out. Once he's convinced that he's calm, he looked up again, "Do you want answers or not"

Zayn had a sarcastic remark at the tip of his tongue, but he held it back. "Your wife said Kulsum introduced you two. How?"

Aasim sighed, finally relieved that Zayn wasn't throwing mean words at him again. "That was a couple of days before she passed away. The same day Laura died"

"I thought she threw you out then" Zayn wasn't around that day, but he heard his mom and sister talking about it.

Aasim took in a sharp breath, then nodded. "She did. But she called me back. To be honest, I was surprised because I thought she wouldn't want to see me again" He stopped, "And when I came, she requested something"

"For you to take care of Hayra?"

He nodded. "Hayra had a problem. She and your sister are alike in so many ways; including the fact that they were both close to losing their lives. But, you know your sister, she always cares about others, and that included Hayra. When she saw her in the rehab, and on finding out she's the same age as you, she couldn't help but think of you. She knew that she wouldn't want you to be in that situation, and as such, wouldn't want anyone that young to experience such a problem"

Zayn shook his head, "I get that you're a therapist and all, but I'm still not clear on this all"

Aasim sighed. "Hayra had her own problems too, one of which was that she had a liver problem and was at the brink of dying. Because your sister asked me for a favor, I did it because that was the least I could do after everything. I had already made a promise to her" He paused for a while, thinking about the incidents that happened before. "I knew I couldn't help your sister at all. So when I saw Hayra, I knew she was the second chance I had been hoping for"

Zayn held back a scoff. He couldn't hold back the humorless chuckle though.

Aasim ignored him. "On finding out that Hayra had no guardian, I took care of her; and that included having her undergo surgery that helped her get better. She also undergoes therapy and as you can see, she got much better and everything else just happened"

Zayn nodded, "Yeah and you have a happy, loving family now. So nice, I'm happy for you. Really" His sarcasm was evident, and he made no move to hide it. "If you're done, you know the way out. Have a good day"

Zayn knew he was being harsh, but he couldn't help but feel like if Aasim had that much compassion in him, why wasn't he there for Kulsum like he was to Hayra? Was she any better than his sister? What made her so different?

Aasim shook his head, standing up. "That's all I know and why I'm here. But, I also wanted to give you this" He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a paper, before placing it on the table in front of Zayn. "I hope that helps" He flashed him a small smile before he went out.

Once he closed the door shut behind him, Zayn's shoulders slumped. He buried his face in between his palms and released a long sigh. After staying in the position for quite a while, he looked up, his gaze falling on the paper Aasim left behind.

He reached his hand out and picked it up, opening it to see what's written. His eyes dilated slightly.

He couldn't help but think of why he didn't think of that in the beginning. It would certainly help.

With a newfound determination, he stood up and made his way over to his room to go after the new information he got.

Salma, Kulsum's former best friend's address.