Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Emily walked into the campus looking for her brother.

She took her phone and dialled Emil’s number. He picked upon the third ring.

“Yes, Em. I will be out in five minutes. Emma looked so depressed. Let me go and talk to her once” Emil said anxiously.

“What happened to her? I will also come.” Emily said, equally anxious.

“Okay then. Come to the same cafeteria.” Emil said and hung up the call.

Emily hurried toward the cafeteria and just when she was about to enter, she collided with someone. Before she could touch the ground, an arm snaked around her waist and pulled her close.

She opened her eyes and saw that she was in the arms of none other than her arch nemesis, Zahir Ahmed al Zidra.

“Aww. Wanted to be in my arms? How sweet?” Zahir asked, with a playful smirk on his face.

“Dream on bad boy,” Emily said, with a scoff.

“Ah! Why would I waste my dreams on you, sweetheart, when there are so many gorgeous ladies flocking around me?” Zahir asked arrogantly.

“Yeah, flocking around you to beat you to pulp probably,” Emily countered furiously.

“Oh my! Is that jealousy I detect in your voice?” Zahir asked with a smirk.

“Jealous? Me? Over you? Hell will freeze over first.” Emily said with a scoff.

“Of course. You are the devil. You decide what happens in hell.” Zahir said, tongue in his cheeks.

“Are you guys done romancing?” Zian asked, folding his arms across his chest, and looking at the duo with a raised eyebrow.

“Romance? With this devil?” Zahir asked with a scoff.

“No way,” Emily said, throwing a stink eye at Zahir.

“If you guys haven’t realised it yet, you guys are hugging each other. If someone looks from afar, it seems like a passionate embrace.” Zian pointed out the obvious.

Zahir and Emily looked at each other and realised that Zahir still had his arms wrapped around her waist, and her right hand was resting over his chest.

They quickly pulled away from each other and shot a glare at the other.

"What? No comment like 'it's not what it looks like' huh?" Zian asked teasingly.

"I am not that cliche," Emily said with a scoff.

"Well, if you ask me, it's quite cliche. She was waiting outside for me. As soon as she spotted me, she dashed into me." Zahir said arrogantly.

"Excuse me. I came here searching for my brother." Emily said furiously.

"Aww. Came to pick up your brother? You are being an obstacle to his masculinity, Emily Langston." Zahir said, making a pitiful face.

"It's such a shame that you believe masculinity lies in driving sports bikes and looking cool." Emily scoffed.

"Don't start again," Zian begged, having had enough for a day.

"Where is Emil and Emma? Did you see them? Emil said Emma looked depressed. Did you do something to her?” Emily asked Zian in a threatening tone.

“It’s nothing serious. She is upset over the same old.” Zian said, rolling his eyes fondly.

“Mila?” Emily asked with a chuckle.

“The one and only,” Zian said with a grin.

“This girl,” Emily shook her head in disbelief

“How did it start? Why is she so bothered by Mila?” Zian asked, genuinely curious. Emma has an unhealthy obsession with disliking little Mila.

“There is no particular reason for it, Zian. Emma is incredibly possessive over her parents. She is an only child after all. When suddenly Mila came into the picture, she started getting insecure. Adding to that, Aunt Gianna became a little strict when Emma grew up. Emma started believing it is because her mother started loving her less because of Mila’s arrival. Mind you, both the incidents have no connection to each other.” Emily said.

Zian frowned.

“It sounds serious, Emily. Her insecurities. Maybe someone should sit and talk to her about this properly.” Zian said in a worried tone.

“I never thought about it that way,” Emily said thoughtfully.

Zada hurried to them.

“Where is Liam?” She asked anxiously.

Both her brothers frowned at that.

“Why are you looking for him?” Zahir asked suspiciously.

"Uh! He's always with you. That's why I asked." Zada said, chuckling nervously.

Zahir frowned in suspicion.

"Who do you look anxious then?" Zahir asked, not believing her reason.

"I was anxious about something else," Zada said, looking at Emily for help.

"Oh come on! Stop with your interrogation," Emily said, rolling her eyes.

"You stay out of this. This is between me and my sister." Zahir snapped.

"Zahir. Calm down. I was anxious thinking about Emma. And when I saw you two without him, I just asked." Zada said, coming up with a quick excuse.

"Oh. Don't worry, Emma must be fine," Zahir said with a smile.

"I will just go get her," Zada said and walked away from there, trying to find Liam.

****

Liam took another gulp from the beer bottle and looked ahead.

He was sitting on the cliff top, his escape site.

He felt someone sitting next to him. He looked beside him and saw Noah.

"What do you want?" Liam asked in a clipped tone.

"Pick up your phone, will you? That girl is so worried." Noah said.

"How do you know that?" Liam asked with a frown.

"She called me. She asked me if I knew where you were. I told her no. I had an idea you would be here, but I didn't tell her." Noah said with a shrug.

"Leave it. I don't want to talk about her," Liam said angrily.

"Stop being foolish. Call her and talk it out." Noah said.

"You don't know what the issue is," Liam said with a scoff.

"She told me. She was crying, Liam. Talk to her." Noah said.

"She doesn't trust me. What's the point of this relationship, if there is no trust?" Liam complained as he took another gulp from the bottle.

"Liam. You have a bad reputation. A very bad one. And by the nature of her brothers, she might not have had a relationship before. She must be insecure. We can't fault her for that. She is an innocent girl and you had played the field for years. You have to make her feel secure in your relationship." Noah said, trying to put some sense into him.

"I have never done anything to make her feel so. Ever since I met her the first time, it has only been her. No one else after that." Liam said.

"Mistakes happen, Liam. She might have gotten insecure for a moment, seeing Heera. You had an association with Heera once. Maybe she got jealous." Noah said.

"I am not going to apologise for no fault of mine." Liam said furiously.

"Don't. Just listen to her apology. Don't let your ego ruin your beautiful relationship." Noah said.

"Fine. I will talk to her. But not tonight. Let her realise that she hurt me very badly. I will talk to her in a few days." Liam said.

"Don't let it be too late." Noah warned.