31. HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE

Taliya walked briskly towards the park, her heart thumping so loudly she could barely hear her own thoughts. Murad had texted her again, telling her to meet him in the park.

She felt a mix of anticipation and dread, her mind swirling with a thousand questions. What did he want to talk about? Why now? What if it was something bad? She tried to steady her breathing, but each step seemed to amplify the nervous flutter in her stomach.

As she neared the park, she spotted a silhouette standing under the large oak tree. Her heart skipped a beat. There he was. She quickened her pace, her palms sweaty and her mouth dry. The soft tropical breeze helped her fixing her hair as she zeroed her eyes on him.

When she was close enough to see the figure more clearly, a lump formed in her throat. She swallowed hard, trying to compose herself. With a deep breath, she cleared her throat, hoping to get Murad's attention.

The figure turned around, and Taliya's heart sank. It wasn't Murad. It was his personal assistant, Fahad. He stared at her with a cold, unreadable expression, his presence exuding an air of authority. It was hard for Fahad to act cold, but he knew for Murad he have to do this, to protect him. He just want to protect Murad.

"Fahad?" Taliya's voice was barely above a whisper. "Where's Murad?"

Fahad took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. "Murad isn't here."

A wave of disappointment and confusion washed over her. "But he texted me..."

"He didn't text you, Taliya," Fahad interrupted, his tone sharp. "I did." He crossed his arms over his chest staring on the ground.

Taliya's eyes widened in shock. "What? Why would you...?"

Fahad raised a hand, silencing her. "I needed to talk to you. Murad is too kind-hearted to see the truth; after the accident, but I’m not."

"The truth?" Taliya echoed, feeling a chill run down her spine.

"Yes," Fahad said, his gaze unwavering. "You need to stay away from Murad."

The words hit her like a punch to the gut. She took a step back, her eyes searching Fahad's face for any hint of a joke. But he was deadly serious, not an ounce of feelings betrayed.

"Why?" she managed to ask, her voice trembling. "What have I done?"

Fahad’s expression hardened. "Your arrogance, Taliya. Your attitude. It's toxic. You could destroy him."

Taliya felt a surge of anger rise within her, mingling with the hurt and confusion. "You don’t even know me!"

"I know enough," Fahad retorted. "I've seen how you treat people, how you think you're better than everyone else. Murad doesn't need someone like you in his life."

Taliya clenched her fists, trying to keep her composure. "Murad is-". Murad is what? She stopped in the middle. She couldn't come to form a a sentence. Who was Murad to her, after the sweet-bitter relationship they had? She thinned her lips as she slipped into her cold mask

"Murad is nothing to you," Fahad shot back. "Murad is too important, too kind-hearted to be dragged down by someone like you."

Tears of frustration and anger welled up in Taliya's eyes. Blinking away her tears, she sighed and muttered under her breath hoarsely, "stop wasting my time, if you don't have anything else to talk about then let me go."

Fahad’s expression softened slightly, but his resolve remained firm. Sighing, he took a step back nodding his head in denial as his eyes locked on the the tick of her jaw.

Taliya took a deep breath, trying to steady her voice. "You're wrong, Fahad. You don’t get to decide what’s best for Murad. He does."

Fahad stared at her for a moment, then shook his head. "Just think about what I said, Taliya. If you really care about him, you’ll do what’s best."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving Taliya standing there, her mind reeling. She watched his silhouette fade into the distance, her heart still pounding in her chest.

She felt a mix of emotions—anger, hurt, confusion. But above all, a fierce determination. She wouldn’t let Fahad dictate her life. Fahad doesn't know their past, it was something she tried to hide at her best. But slowly, the past was slipping between her fingers like ash.

As she walked back to her room, she roamed her eyes in the sky. Trying to locate the Orion Belt, but the sky was filled with clouds. Weather in Goa was always unpredictable, that's what Taliya liked about this place. Once in a while, she always comes here.

Her black eyes stopped on a figure making her heart thump aloud. There was Murad, standing on his balcony staring at her. She didn't know from how long he was standing but she knew one thing, he was standing from long enough to have his jaw clenched hard and arms crossed.

The clouds grumbled announcing the time for drizzle. The soft raindrops fell harshly on her scalp and shoulders, wetting her shirt and formal pants. The drizzle turned into a downpour making it hard for Taliya to look at Murad. Her clothes stick to her body like a second skin making Murad step back in to his room leaving Taliya soaking in the rain.

A sense of memory flashed infront of her eyes, drawing fresh set of tears as she remembered how she met Murad in the rain after he was discharged from the hospital. She tried to not show her cold shoulder to him. But, even her facade couldn't draw his attention towards her; only if she knew.

One thing she realised from standing in the rain was, she alone. There was no one who would cover her her with umbrella to save her from the rainfall. A shadow of umbrella loomed over her head making Taliya snap out of her reverie and jerk her head towards the source. It was Haroon who took her under the umbrella and hurriedly stripped away from his coat, gently covering her upper body from it.

"It's too harsh rain," he muttered raking his free in his hair and guiding Taliya in the hotel.

She blinked with her empty mind. Haroon was there when Murad was never there. Haroon will always be there. In his trance to save her, he glanced at her wet face and found her eyes red and slightly puffy.

"You are crying?" He raised his hands to wipe her tears from her wet cheeks  making her thoughts swirl like a swarm of bees, buzzing but unclear.

Confusion shone in her eyes as she looked at him, tilting her head, "how do you know?" She muttered under her low breath.

Haroon just denied with his head and held her hand in his firm grip guiding her in and wiping her hairs from his handkerchief. Gently pressing them together, making water slid down like a small water fall.

Haroon was always there, her mind screamed as she finally came back to her self and walked beside him.