Chapter 140

Her fingers loosened slowly around Roshanay, her arms feeling weak now, drained. The loosening was a surrender, a letting go of the only comfort she had found in weeks. Roshanay detached from the hug.

“Where were you, Alizeh?”

“Moosa have been looking for you like a mad man. And your mother, she was- she was so worried.” Roshanay’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke, concern etched deeply into her expression. Each word was a small blade, cutting through the carefully constructed walls Alizeh had built. Each word struck Alizeh like a blow, heavier than the last. The mention of home, of people she had been torn away from, made something inside her crack. Alizeh blinked tears forming in her eyes as she stared at Roshanay, her vision blurring as she struggled to focus.

“My mama? My brother?” Her chin wobbled, lips quivering as disbelief and hope collided within her. Disbelief and hope were fighting for the same territory, and both were losing to grief. A wave of emot