Chapter 293. Bonus 4 (1)

Two years later

It had been a month since his last visit to Pakistan, a journey he had never intended to take. The only force that had pulled him back was his grandfather’s demise. The air had been thick with sorrow, the haveli shrouded in a stillness that felt foreign. The echoes of his grandfather’s voice had long faded, leaving behind an emptiness that even time couldn’t fill.

He had stood by the grave, the scent of damp earth mixing with the incense of prayers, his hands fisted by his sides. His mind was elsewhere, eyes scanning the faces in the crowd, searching—hoping—that she would be there. Even if it was just a fleeting glimpse, just long enough to know that she still existed. But she never came. Dua had vanished as if she had never been real to begin with.

His mother had told him that Shehryaar had finally found Sheharzaad, his cousin’s torment of five long years coming to an end. She had returned. Shehryaar’s agony had been relieved, his long-lost love co