Zara didn't sleep that night.
She paced her room until the sky began to lighten with dawn, her thoughts tangled like vines in her head.
Ameer had looked her in the eye and told her she wasn't ready for the truth.
But she was ready.
More than ready.
She just wasn't sure she'd survive it.
---
Around 6 a.m., she heard movement downstairs. She followed the sound out of instinct—barefoot, silent.
She found Ameer in the garden, alone, wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants, sitting on the edge of the stone fountain.
He didn't hear her approach. Or maybe he did and just didn't care.
The rising sun painted the side of his face gold, highlighting the hollowness in his eyes.
Zara stood still. This wasn't the same man who threw threats like daggers.
This was someone else.
She finally spoke, her voice soft. "You don't sleep much, do you?"
Ameer didn't look up. "I sleep when my demons let me."
Zara walked closer. "Tell me something real. No games. No lies. Just... tell me why you're like this."
He let out a bitter laugh. "You think there's a reason? Some tragic story that'll make it all make sense?"
"Maybe," she said, sitting beside him. "Or maybe I just want to know who I married."
Ameer was quiet for a long moment. Then he said, "I loved Leena. I planned to marry her. We fought that night. I was angry. She ran out into the storm. I chased her... I drove too fast."
His jaw clenched. "The car hit a tree. I lived. She didn't."
Zara's chest ached. "It wasn't your fault."
He turned to her slowly. "That's the thing. I don't know if I wanted to catch her… or scare her."
Zara's breath caught.
There it was. The raw truth.
Ameer looked away. "After that night, my father buried the story. Told the world it was a drunk driver. Paid everyone off. I didn't speak about it again."
"And now?" Zara asked gently.
"Now…" He stood up slowly. "You're dragging all my ghosts back into the light."
She stood too, heart pounding. "Maybe they deserve the light."
Their eyes met—no hatred, no manipulation.
Just two broken people trapped in a dangerous lie.
Zara reached for his hand—but before she could touch him, a loud crash echoed from the front gate.
A guard came running into the garden.
"Sir! You need to come quickly. It's Rami. He's been attacked."
Ameer's eyes sharpened. "What?! By who?"
"We don't know, sir. But it looked like a warning. Something was carved on the car door."
Ameer was already storming toward the gate, Zara at his heels.
"What did it say?" she demanded.
The guard hesitated. Then answered in a shaky voice.
"Stay out of the past… or join the dead."
Zara felt her heart stop.
Whoever was hiding the truth—
They were willing to kill for it.
---