HANA I spent three years in a boarding school until I was sixteen. I used to look at my phone waiting for a call from my phone. Whenever I got a call, it was to inform me about an important event I needed to attend or it was to mention the name of the guard who was going to pick me up. I have two options. One is to become lonely and a depressed girl or to give zero fucks. My teenage was like that. Everything is at its extremes. But it's hard no matter how much I tried. My nightmares scared my roommates. Officially, I was the girl who was possessed. I was sixteen when my mom finally decided that I should go back to Seattle. I never liked my school. I was alone there, fighting my demons. That was the period when I hated every person in the world. I felt like the world owed me an apology for causing me this much pain when in reality it was the man who touched me and my parents who failed to trust me and take action. I didn't know at that time you were the only person who was there
HANA Shalini was staring at her phone for an hour now. Sometimes, she was angry, sometimes she was sad, and sometimes, she looked frustrated. "You alright?" I asked her, turning my chair towards her. She shook her head. "I texted him yesterday night. He hasn't replied yet." "Your boyfriend?" She nods her head. "He might be busy," I told her. I am not good at these things. I didn't have much experience when it came to relationships. I dated one guy in college, and it lasted for two months until he decided that I was not good for him. So the least I could do was listen to her. "It takes one minute to text, Hana. He is always on his phone. We don't even have much time difference. It's not even midnight in India. I don't know where it went wrong. Do you think it is because of the long distance?" She asked me. "Honestly, I can't say anything about that," I tell her. "It's not the first time he did it, Hana. Even when we were in India, his replies always came late. He is not cheatin
HANA I woke up to the pounding sensation in my head. The glare of the early sun swooped through my windows. I wished all the light in the world to be disappeared. Maybe my headache will go away. I don't know when the exhaustion of the night weighed me down, and I fell into a slumber. Apparently, it wasn't enough. But I had to drag myself to work even if I had to meet a certain someone who stood me up yesterday and a furious father who could kill me the moment his eyes landed on me. I looked at my phone. The light of it felt like a thousand needles prickling through my eyes. But I did it anyway. My call logs are flooded with missed calls from unknown numbers, and none of them is from Bash. It's my wishful thinking that he called me from another number. But I shouldn't care even if he didn't. He and I are nothing. The calls might have come from my other fraud loan apps or worse, from my mother. I expected my parents outside my apartment. They didn't show up, not y
HANA I sighed as he grabbed my arm to take me to his house. "Not now, Bash." I pleaded. "I am too tired." "Do you think I am joking around?" He growled. "No, Hana. You are staying at my home tonight." "I want to be alone." I protested. "Then stay alone at my house. ALONE. Because I will be leaving to kick your father's ass." I saw him joke around many times. But today he promised me in all his earnestness that he is going to pay my father back for what he did. "Why do you care?" I asked him, liberating my hand from his grip. God, it hurts to talk with a bruised cheek. He turned towards me, and his hands raised to cup my face before he realised I had a bruised cheek. He reluctantly withdrew one of his hands, while the other caressed my normal cheek with tenderness I didn't know he possessed. "Please," He urged with a desperate tone. "Come with me." I shook my head stepping back from him. Our proximity felt good. He is warm. Bu
HANA "Stop biting your nails. Your nails are chipped," My mom warned Violet. "Stop trying to control my every life moment," Violet yelled back at her. My mom stomped towards her and held her hand out. "Look at this. The maid's daughter looked better than you. I will send Alice. Get your nails done. Make yourself presentable at the wedding." "It's not my wedding." Violet tried to argue. "You are a Levine. You should look like a Levine, not like a beggar." My mom threw a glance at me. She hasn't said a word since I returned. Somehow, I got the impression that I made her uncomfortable. Maybe if I were a normal person, I would get uncomfortable too when a person next to me doesn't react and simply stares into the air, thinking what it would be like if the world ended. "Why am I the only one receiving orders? What about her?" Violet's chipped-nailed finger pointed at me. My mom shook her head in disbelief and walked out of the room assigne
HANA I opened my eyes to look at a grey-coloured ceiling. Mine is white. I turned to my side to find his watch sitting on the bedside table. A sigh of relief escaped my mouth before the weight of the events that happened the night before slowly started to sink in. I turned to my left. He was wide awake, lying on his side, propped up on his elbow, hand supporting his head with no shirt!! He is hot. Shalini guessed it right. He got abs, hard and tanned. I loved how he has a honey-toned complexion and not porcelain like his grandmother. "Günaydın(Good morning)," He smiled. "Are you flaunting your body, Mr. Merrick?" I asked, propping myself upon my elbow. "Did it work?" He asked me with a cheesy grin. I felt a pull in my stomach. He is gorgeous. "I have seen better," I told him, facing the ceiling again. I am too shy to face him, and it is suddenly getting hotter in here. "Right. But you won't be under them." Before I comprehend
HANAWalking in the lobby of my office with my bag in my hand and sunglasses in another hand, I realised, I was happy. I might be blushing too. I will receive my salary today, I will go on a coffee date with Bash in the evening. Shalini and I agreed that we researched and bought skincare products online. We are also planning for upcoming Mateo's birthday.Suddenly my world seemed perfect. I can clear my bills, if not all, then a few. I will not be empty-handed by the end of the month. In a way, all of this happened because of Bash. So I decided to work hard and find out about the scam happening in the Nimbus Project. I feel like I was shining like a sun until the dark clouds obstruct its path; until I watch him laugh at someone's joke. Have you ever felt like your entire world was crumbling down and all you could do was stare at that? I felt it now. I felt my entire peace of mind, years of efforts to become normal, all my inner strength I saved up shattering one by one as though they
.HANA I don't remember how I reached my house and how I cleaned everything. I took my phone to find twelve missed calls from Bash. I longed about how things could have been if I hadn't met Leo this morning and if Bash hadn't worn his asshole personality this evening. But why did he ask me if I knew he was there in the cottage that not? It's midnight, and my tears have dried, my eyes burned, and my head starts hurting. The depression part is over. Now, I am pissed at everyone and everything. I wished for a miracle so that I could sleep like I did yesterday. I heard a knock, and I sighed. I knew it was him without even looking. I must be insane. Instead of opening the door, I called him through the mobile. He picked after the first ring. "Go away, I don't wanna see your face." "I have a pry bar." He warned and hung up. The audacity he has. How is it possible for a person to get angry when the mistake is on his side? I stomped to the door and opened it just to find him le