The first thing Yawar did after waking up was to find Amma-bi and luckily, she was in her room but alone.

"Amma-bi, where is Shahina?" Yawar asked, looking around her room.

"She went with Nats." Amma-bi told him, putting her mobile on her lap.

"Where?"

"To her house."

"Why?" 

"What do you mean by why? Shahina wanted to go, so Nats came to pick her up." Amma-bi frowned.

"So early?"

"Early? It's almost lunch time."

"Sorry, I slept late." He said, sitting beside Amma-bi and holding her hand.

"How was she feeling?" 

"Her fever went down, but I can't say she was alright. Something was bothering her, it was all over her face, but she didn't tell me. Therefore, I didn't force her to speak." Yawar nodded and fell into silence.

"Yawar, be honest with me." Amma-bi put her hand on his and asked, "What happened last night?" 

"I have already told you everything."

"Are you sure?" 

"Amma-bi, come to the point. What are you afraid of?"

"That she might hurt herself." 

"And why would she do that?" 

"Because recently she has been very upset because of her family."

"We all are aware of that, but she is not that stupid to do such a thing." 

"Yawar, a man can't understand the burden a woman carries in our society."

 Yawar glanced at Amma-bi, the words she spoke were unfathomable to him, but his instinct stopped him from digging any further. People pity her for what she has gone through, but he wasn’t like that. He believed that all she needed was care and love, and as for the burden Amma-bi spoke of, he was ready to carry it for her. 

Shahina held the highest place in his heart since the moment he learned about her dreadful past. Yawar’s respect for Shahina only grew more, and why wouldn’t it? His sister had to walk the same path she was alive right now. All of a sudden, Shahina became the shadow of her elder sister. He wanted to protect her, care for her, and give her every happiness a person could deserve. 

Yawar watched her struggling to forget everything and move on. That fragile girl mustered all her courage every day to live like a normal person. He watched her and admired her, the hostility he once bore for her was gone now, and somewhere between these moments of admiring, his feelings grew into something else. Something deeper and stronger. Care turned into affection, and protectiveness turned into possessiveness. 

Yawar silently stood up from Amma-bi’s side and left the room. Things were getting out of his hands, this feeling of hopelessness irked him, and he feared that he had to play foul to have the upper hand in the situation.