"The worst part of holding memories is not the pain. It's the lonliness of it. Memories need to be shared."

●▪○~Lois Lowry~○▪●

"Zohra!" August said.

She kept staring into his eyes for a while then she covered her head with a white shawl she had on her shoulders and took a step back.

"Won't you invite me in?" August looked into her eyes.

She thought for a while.

"Come in!" She said in her middle eastern accent. August was dying to hear her voice for so long. All his anger had vanished in the blink of an eye.

He came in and she closed the door.

"Salaam!" She greeted him.

"Wassalaam!" He replied.

"Have a seat please!" She said.

"I am not here to sit Zohra. I am here to ask you something." He said standing behind her. He could clearly see she was avoiding him, avoiding his gaze.

"I won't be any help to you August. There is no need asking me." She said looking at the painting on the wall.

With rage he grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. She wasn't expecting this from him. She gasped at his sudden action.

"Aaah!" She yelped twisting her arm trying to yank it away.

"August! You are hurting me." She said begging him to let her go.

"Set the record straight Zohra. C'mon! Tell me why did you mess with her car brakes?" August ranted furiously.

"I didnot do anything!" She yelped.."leave me please."

"No! You were sent here by Steve to get her killed. You messed with her car brakes and saved her to become a hero." August kept twisting her arm.

He noticed something in her eyes. She wasn't that Zohra who he knew. The brave, the furious Zohra was gone. She looked weak and broken to him.

"Wallahi I didn't do it. I swear to Allah I didn't do it. Please don't you believe me?" She started crying.

August left her arm. She took a step back.

"I believe you but you changed so much in those two years. You are not the Zohra I used to know therefore I had my doubts." He folded his arms on his chest.

"I didn't change. You are changed August. Did you forget you said I am yours? Did you forget you held my hand that night? Did you forget my heartbeat? Did you forget everything? The tears in my eyes?" She came close to him. Tears were sparkling in her black eyes.

"Where have you been? Why did you leave me August? Why? What was my fault? You made me fell for you. I fell for you. Do you even know how I spent those two years without you? You left without any reason? You left me. I became weak. Your love made me weak." She grabbed his coat's collar and broke into tears.

"I had reasons. It was my compulsion to leave. You tell me why did you come here? How does Steve know you?" August said calmly holding her wrists.

"You wanna hear the truth? Have you got the courage to listen to it?" She looked straight into his eyes.

"Yes. I want to hear it. Tell me the truth." He said.

"Alexis is my younger sister. Steve and Akbar are brothers." She went to sit on the couch.

"How is that even possible?" August came to sit with her.

"Our father Mr Johnson was an army veteran. He was in US army before becoming a business tycoon. He came to Afghanistan when the war started. My mother had a shop there. My father used to buy stuff from her. They fell in love. He married my mom. After a year me and Akbar were born. We are twins but non identical. He left us with our mom who raised us on her own. "she paused for a while and took a cold sigh." Unfortunately she died in a suicide bombing. We were young at that time. My brother joined a militant group. We became expert in combat. I have killed so many talibans until now." Tears fell from her eyes.

"How does Steve know you are his sister?" August tilted her chin towards him. Her eyes were red.

"My father told him everything and we talked through phone but he has hidden everything from Alexis. He even didn't tell me he wanted to get her killed because she has a huge part in his business. My father didn't give me and Akbar a penny from his assessts and we didn't even ask him. We are not greedy. We just wanted our father's love but he kept himself away." She sobbed.

"Why do you come here?" August asked.

"I just wanted to see my sister. I haven't seen her since childhood. She doesn't even know me. I wanted to tell her everything. Steve sent me here to keep an eye on both of you but it wasn't my motive. My motive was to let my sister know about everything. My father married an american woman and Alexis and Steve were bornt. She died mysteriously and then our father died of heart attack. Steve took over the whole business after that happened."

"I will help you get to your sister. I promise you Zohra." August said placing his hand on her cheek.

"You said I am yours. Did you forget?" Zohra asked and searched on August's face for any expression.

August didn't say a word.

"Say you love me. Say you are mine now. Say you love me please. What happened to you? Why don't you have any feelings left for me?" Zohra stood up from the couch and August went to her.

"I want to confess something Zohra." He swallowed a lump building in the throat.

"Confess what? That you love Alexis. I knew that August". She took his hand and put on her head. "Swear by my life you won't leave me ever. Swear by my life you loved me truly."

He took pulled away his hand gently.

"What?" She asked.

"I can't swear on your life Zohra. It's true that I love Alexis but I still have feelings for you. I can't deny that I loved you and will keep you in my heart forever but I cannot love you now." August looked into her eyes.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I have to settle some scores with the person who is involved in messing with her car brakes. See you again Zohra." He said and took a step back. Waved his hand to her and closed the door behind him.

Zohra kept standing there speechless. Her world had been shattered there. His promise had been broken.

She fell to her knees on the floor and sat there defeated. Her love was defeated..💔