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VOTE AND COMMENT

Mashal's POV:

As I sat in the studio, my hand absentmindedly traced lines on the paper, but my mind was elsewhere. The memories of the days when Hassan would smile—rarely, but enough to make me feel like I had unlocked something special—played in my head. Now, those days seemed distant, almost like they belonged to someone else. I could feel his absence more than ever, and no matter how much I tried to brush it off, it lingered like a shadow in every corner of my thoughts.

I glanced at the window again, half-hoping to catch another glimpse of him, but the view remained unchanged. The wind rustled through the trees, a peaceful contrast to the storm brewing inside me. Why had he changed so abruptly? What had I done wrong?

Just then, the door creaked open softly. I turned, expecting to see Maria or one of the family members. But instead, it was Dadi, her kind eyes settling on me as she entered the room.

"Mashal beta, what are you working on?" she asked, her voice soft, but there was something deeper in her tone that made me pause.

I offered her a small smile and motioned toward the unfinished sketch in front of me. "Just some rough ideas, Dadi."

She nodded, but her focus wasn't on my art. She approached me slowly, and I could feel the weight of her gaze. There was a wisdom in Dadi's eyes, a knowing that I wasn't ready for.

"You've been spending a lot of time in here," she said quietly. "It's a peaceful place to think, isn't it?"

I swallowed, feeling a lump form in my throat. Dadi always had a way of seeing right through me. I didn't want to admit how much Hassan's distance was affecting me, but it felt like she already knew.

"It is," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.

Dadi reached out, placing a hand on my shoulder, and her touch was as comforting as ever. "Sometimes, we lose sight of what's right in front of us when our minds are full of questions," she said, her tone gentle but firm. "But soon, you'll understand."

I frowned, unsure of what she meant. Before I could ask her to explain, she gave my shoulder a soft pat and turned to leave.

"Come join us in the living room when you're ready, beta," she said over her shoulder. "There are things we need to discuss."

With that, she was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts once again. I stared at the door for a long moment, Dadi's words echoing in my mind. What did she mean? Understand what?

I turned back to my sketch, but my heart wasn't in it anymore. A sense of unease settled over me, mixing with the confusion I had been carrying for days. It felt like something was shifting, like the ground beneath my feet was about to change.

I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was about to be revealed would change everything—not just between Hassan and me, but for our entire family.

Taking a deep breath, I left my room and made my way downstairs, my thoughts already racing ahead of me. The house had been unusually quiet since Maria and I had returned from the gallery, and I knew something was coming. But as I descended the stairs, my heart grew heavier with each step.

I hadn't expected to see him there.

Hassan.

He was standing on the stairs, frozen midway down, his gaze fixed on me. The brief pause in his movements caught my attention, and before I could stop myself, I glanced up.

Our eyes met.

Just for a moment, but it felt like everything stilled around us. His eyes were unreadable, but there was something in them—something I couldn't quite place. It was fleeting, a mere flicker of emotion before he turned away, his usual cold, distant demeanor slipping back into place.