BEHIND THE HEADLINES AND FIELDS

Anaya reached home, but sleep was a distant thought. Instead, she curled into the corner of her sofa with her laptop, a warm drink in hand, and began staking Mia online like a true investigative reporter.

She clicked through interview after interview, scrolling past glamour and filters until she finally saw it—a healthcare event clip from last year. Mia, clad in a crimson gown, smiled for the cameras... and beside her? A fashion model, Alexander.

The headlines back then screamed:
“Model Mia Lauren and Alexander Spark Dating Rumours!”
A few months later, Mia was the face of three major modelling campaigns.

Anaya narrowed her eyes. "So this is the pattern."

More research followed.
Two months after her breakup with Alexander, rumours started between Mia and her co-star from The Midnight Flame. Another spike in her career. She was suddenly the ‘Hollywood sweetheart’ with top directors chasing her.

> “Acha toh yeh fame ka game hai,” Anaya muttered under her breath, almost bitterly amused.

By the time she closed her laptop, Fajr adhaan echoed from the nearby mosque. She got up slowly. Her limbs ached, her heart even more. She laid out her prayer mat with careful hands, washed her face, and stood in front of her Lord.

Her voice trembled as she whispered the opening takbir. Each verse from Surah AlFatiha felt heavier tonight. When she fell into sujood, it wasn’t just an act of worship—it was surrender.

“Ya Allah,” she whispered, forehead pressed to the prayer mat, tears spilling silently, “I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just trying to do what’s right. I don’t even know why my heart is so tangled in this… but you know. You know what I feel, what I fear, what I can’t admit even to myself.”

She sat back on her knees, hands raised in trembling du’a.

“Ya Allah… if he’s innocent, clear his name. Not for my sake, but because I can’t bear to see someone sincere dragged into lies. And if he’s not… then remove this softness from my heart. Replace it with clarity. With strength.”

Her voice cracked.

“And if… if there’s khair for me in this path—if You have written something beautiful at the end of it—then make it easy. But if it’s a test to teach me, to purify me, then make me strong enough to bear it. I don’t ask for him… I ask for truth. For peace. For contentment with Your decree.”

Tears wet her cheeks.

“Purify my heart, ya Allah. I am Yours before I am anyone’s. Always.”

She stayed on the mat long after the prayer ended, breathing slowly, waiting for her pulse to still.

Only when the sun began to rise did she change into her gym clothes and leave. Her heart was still heavy, but something in her chest had shifted. A flicker of ease. A sliver of resolve.

---

Later – Gym

The gym was nearly empty—early enough to avoid the crowd. Anaya went through the motions: cardio, planks, and stretches. She reached for the dumbbells but paused mid-set.

Her mind wandered again.

“If only I could talk to Alexander. If only I could get him to confirm Mia’s tactics…”

Her grip faltered.

The dumbbell slipped from her hand, heading straight toward her foot. She braced for the impact—

But a hand caught it.

Firm. Quick. Protective.

She looked up, startled.

Haider.

His brows furrowed, jaw tense. “Where are you lost?” he asked. His voice wasn’t cold. But it wasn’t soft either.

“I… nowhere,” she stammered, flustered. “Thank you.”

She turned to leave, needing space, needing air.

But his voice came again, quieter this time.

“You can tell me if something’s wrong.”

She paused.

Didn’t turn.

But a small smile escaped. A smile that said: You have no idea how much I want to.

And in that moment, without words, something passed between them.

Not promises.

But possibilities.

And sometimes, that was enough.

⚽️🎤💕
Will Alexander give her an interview, and if yes, will he disclose his personal life?

Sorry for the short chap