Obscured Affection (Slow Updates)

33

"What happened, Safoora? What's the value of x?" This time, his tone was firmer.

"Sir... The value of x..." she hesitated, struggling to form an answer.

The fear of the letter, combined with the humiliation she would face in front of her crush for giving the wrong answer, overwhelmed her.

Azlaan, as always, appeared unconcerned, focused on writing something in his book. Safoora kept glancing at him while trying to calm herself. Then, suddenly, he looked up and met her eyes. Their first eye contact. Safoora quickly averted her gaze, her heartbeat growing even more erratic. Azlaan merely smiled slightly before returning to his book. For her, this moment was significant, but she was too preoccupied with her panic to cherish it. All she wanted was for the class to end before she embarrassed herself in front of him.

"I'm asking you again-what is the value of x? I don't have the whole day to waste," the teacher's patience was running thin.

Azlaan ran a hand through his hair and subtly gestured toward her.

"Three!" she blurted out instinctively. Azlaan smirked and looked at the teacher, who appeared momentarily surprised.

Safoora's hands and legs trembled. She always experienced anxiety whenever she had to deal with mathematics, but she never admitted it to anyone.

"Very good!" the teacher finally said, causing the entire class to gape at Safoora in disbelief.

As soon as the class ended, the teacher left with Azlaan. Safoora breathed a sigh of relief, but her worry about the letter still lingered. She had told Sara everything, but neither of them knew what Azlaan planned to do with it.

***

After school ended, Safoora stood outside Azlaan’s class, waiting for him to come out. But he was sitting with his friends, laughing and joking, completely unaware of her presence. Even after five minutes, he didn’t notice her, and she grew disappointed, turning to leave. Just then, someone called out to her.

"Why haven’t you gone home yet?"

"I... was just leaving, ma’am!"

"Alright, before you leave, take these books to Jyoti Ma’am downstairs."

"Yes, ma’am."

After talking to her class teacher, Meena, Safoora started heading downstairs. But this time, she was stopped by the voice she had been waiting to hear.

"What are you doing here?" Azlaan’s voice made her freeze in place.

"Meena Ma’am stopped me," she lied, avoiding his gaze.

Azlaan smirked, took the books from her hands, and said, "If you came to ask for your letter back, you might find it in the dustbin... And the chocolate? I probably fed it to a stray dog."

Safoora stared at him in shock.

"And don’t worry, no one else will dare to do something like this again. You can go home now." He laughed and started walking downstairs.

"But the teacher..." She stopped mid-sentence.

"I didn’t tell any teacher anything. You can forget about all this and go home without any worries," he said seriously before walking away, leaving her standing there, embarrassed and speechless.

***

Days passed, and every time, Azlaan did something that left Safoora surprised. He would always be there to help her, as if he were a genie from a bottle. His constant concern for her had planted many emotions in her heart, though Azlaan remained completely unaware of them.

Azlaan was a reckless, selfish person who only acted kind and sweet in front of Safoora. She had started liking him, but he remained oblivious to her feelings. Safoora had decided she would confess her love to Azlaan after he completed his 10th standard. But nothing went as she had planned.

Their time together lasted only a few months, during which Safoora fell in love with him. But why did Azlaan always help her? Why was he always there whenever she was in trouble? Why did he help and then distance himself? Why did he never talk to her properly? These unanswered questions remained when Azlaan suddenly disappeared from her life.

Safoora had even tried to befriend him, but he rejected her friendship. That night, she cried so much that Mahnoor and Sara lost their patience with her. But when Azlaan suddenly left school, it hit her so hard that she fell sick and remained bedridden for weeks.

Her sudden illness worried everyone at home, but no one was more disturbed than Ishaq. He couldn’t understand the reason behind her sickness. The doctors said it was due to overthinking and stress, but within days, she slipped into depression.

No matter how much Ishaq tried, Safoora never smiled. It was her most important year in school—she had to pass her 10th standard—but nothing interested her anymore. Sara had found out from Azlaan’s classmates that he had gone abroad to study, and when she told Safoora, it made her even more upset.

Who was she to him that he would tell her anything before leaving? But if he never even wanted to be friends, why did he come into her life in the first place? Safoora kept making up strange thoughts in her mind, falling deeper into illness. Ishaq, seeing her like this, grew more and more worried. Sabeena and Ishtiyaaq tried everything to make their daughter return to normal, but she couldn’t separate herself from Azlaan’s memories.

Ishtiyaaq took her to the best doctors, but everyone said the same thing—Safoora would only get better if she wanted to.

***

One day, Ishaq brought her favorite dessert to her room, but as he reached the door, he suddenly stopped. The door was open, and inside, he heard something unexpected—Safoora was laughing.

He stood there in shock. For weeks, he had longed to see his sister smile, and now, after so many days, he could finally hear her laughter. But what was Mahnoor saying that made her so happy?

Ishaq felt both happiness and sadness. He was glad to see his sister smile, but at the same time, he hated the fact that she was happy because of the one person he despised—his wife, Mahnoor. Since childhood, Mahnoor had always tried to come between him and Safoora, and Ishaq resented her for it. But was it true? Did Mahnoor really come between them? Or did her presence actually make Safoora happier? Ishaq never understood this.

Mahnoor had brought a letter to Safoora, a letter written by Azlaan. In it, he had said that he was leaving for abroad due to some reason but didn’t get the chance to inform her. However, he would miss her a lot.

That small letter made Safoora so happy that she kept reading it repeatedly with a smile on her face.

"I knew it, Mano... Azlaan could never forget me. He left after telling me," she said, laughing.

Safoora ran her fingers over the words in the letter, smiling.

"Of course! Our Annu is so lovable. How could he ever forget you? If only you had come to school in the last few days, you would’ve gotten this letter earlier. I was arranging your books when I found this letter in your desk," Mahnoor said, smiling.

"If he wrote this letter, it means he cared about me in some way... I’ll wait for him. Until fate brings us face-to-face again... just once. I don’t desire to have him; I can keep this Obscured Affection buried in my heart forever. But I just want to see him once... Maybe then, I’ll finally find peace." She wiped her tears and smiled.

***

Do you guys want Azlaan's POV on why he helped her, or should I write about it later when she talks to Alex, aka Azlaan?