Tangled Hearts

Chapter Fifteen

Zara's POV

That whole week goes by pretty quickly, as I am doing whatever I can to keep myself busy. Surprisingly, Hamza doesn't text me again that week. I don't feel happy at all, though, or relieved. I know that he is planning something. Something big.

My next semester of university starts the week after. Me, Hafsa and Ayesha have all the same classes and lectures, which of course is great. Our timings for this semester are the same as last semester, meaning we have university from 9am-6pm on Mondays, and from 10am-2pm on Tuesdays. I don't mind these timings, even though Mondays are very long and tiring, as we only have university two days a week. That means that like before, I can continue to work at the office from Wednesday to Friday.

On Monday, we only have introductory lectures, so we finish earlier than usual. Normal lectures start on Tuesday. I told Hafsa and Ayesha everything on the weekend, and they are very worried about me. This is why I didn't want to tell anyone. I don't want anyone to worry about me.

After our lectures on Tuesday, Hafsa drops me and Ayesha off at home.

'Zara, you have to tell someone, babe! This is so dangerous, you know! I don't want you to get hurt again!' Hafsa says worriedly. We are in her car, and she is driving us home.

"Yes, Zara. You're saying that you will deal with him yourself, that you won't tell the police or anyone because you need answers from him and revenge, but you're not so strong, sweetie. You can't protect yourself, he's too dangerous! Please, Zara, tell someone. Anyone," Ayesha says to me, gently placing her hand on my arm.

I shake my head. 'I didn't even want to tell you two, because he's so dangerous! He knows everything. How did he know where I was last week?! He's stalking me. Following me. I don't want to put anyone in danger. If anyone gets hurt because of me, I won't ever be able to forgive myself,' I say, sadly. Will Hamza know that I've told Ayesha and Hafsa? I hope not. I don't want them to get hurt in any way because of me.

"Babe, of course we're glad that you told us. But Ayesha is right, you need to tell someone else, too. Someone who can protect you!' Hafsa argues, worried about me.

'I can't thank you both enough, honestly, for caring so much about me and always being so amazing. Who can I tell, though?! I'm not gonna tell my parents anything. You know how they worry so much about me already. And they would inform the police straight away. I don't want that, because I want him to hurt just as much as I did. I don't want him to just live comfortably behind bars. Who am I supposed to tell?' I ask them. Even I want to tell someone. Someone who I know can protect me and keep me safe from Hamza.

"You think, Zara. Who can you trust with everything? Who do you know can keep you safe?" Ayesha asks, giving me a small, comforting smile.

Zaid pops into my mind straight away. I trust Zaid so much, and for some reason, I feel safe when I'm with him. I've known Zaid for many years now, and I've always been able to trust him. He's always been there for me. He's already protective of me, most likely because I'm Hafsa's best friend. I know for a fact that if I told him everything, he would become even more protective and he would keep me safe. But if I told him about Hamza being back, I would have to tell him the full story. About what happened that night. The night that ruined my life.

How will I recall the events of that night once again? I wanted so much to delete that night from my memory, but now I will have to talk about it. It's the only way I can get help. How will I talk about what happened, and that too, to Zaid? I definitely do trust him enough to tell him, though. Will I be able to talk about it without breaking down?

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I think about it all night. If I tell Zaid, I will have to tell him everything. The whole story, right from the very beginning. Will I be able to? I will be telling him about a massive part of my life, and for that, I need to fully trust him. I do. I fully trust Zaid. I can trust him with my life. I know what kind of guy he is, I know what he's always been like. He won't judge me, and I know that he will listen to everything I have to say. Once I start, there is no going back.