Chapter 8

September 2017.

Now eighteen years old, and a few months, Fathia didn't want to keep count. For her, her teenage years were starting to lead into adulthood. Many things changed in her, and she was quite surprised by the changes, including her height. Somehow, she felt taller. Or was it just her feeling?

She was used to being watched from afar. Sebastian had a lot of business to attend to in the factory area, he said. Checking on the ongoing projects there. Fathia didn't mind trying to understand, but whenever she started asking about Sebastian and his work, he would pull away.

Ah, perhaps he was getting further away from her. His messages were now short and infrequent. She received phone calls only occasionally, and she could count them on one hand in a week. Usually, Sebastian used to call her almost every day, especially at night, just to keep her company until she fell asleep. But now...

She no longer felt any of that. Fathia felt that Sebastian