Chapter 146 : Another PROBLEM!

It was a calm night. The fluorescent lights of the mall hummed overhead as Farah and Noor navigated the bustling aisles. The recent events weighed heavily on Farah's mind. Yet, she put on a brave face around her roommates. Mission: grocery shopping. 

Farah, her shoulder-length hair pulled back in a high ponytail, sported a bandage across her forehead. After Ava's disappearance, Elara had taken refuge in the house of one of his colleagues' relatives, creating the illusion that he had gone with Ava. And this clever plan had successfully deceived Ibrahim. For safety reasons, Farah and Elara had refrained from contacting each other till now.

As Noor meticulously compared different brands of rice, Farah excused herself, "Be right back. Just need to grab some thread and needles for a quick fix."

Reaching the tool section, she scanned the shelves for the sewing supplies.

Two young girls stood near the display of scissors. One, with bright red hair, held a pair of scissors aloft, examining the blades with mock seriousness.

"These look perfect for a blunt cut, don't they?" she declared, turning to her companion.

The other girl picked up another pair. "Hmm, maybe. But these have a nice curve for layering."

Farah's gaze drifted towards them, her mind snagged on the topic of hair. Ava. Her long, black hair. It was a crown, a part of Ava that Farah had always cherished caring for. Unlike most girls, Ava wasn't one for drastic haircuts or salon visits. Ava had a distrust of hair salons, fearing they would cut off more than she desired. So, she preferred to take matters into her own hands. Ava would always ask Farah to trim or cut just a little bit of her hair.

December 5th. Hours before Ava's departure. They were in their resort room. Farah had been packing her own hand-carry bag with Ava's clothes. 

Ava, looking uncharacteristically nervous, approached her with a surprising request. "Farah, Can you cut my hair, maybe to shoulder length?"

Farah's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Ava had always been fiercely protective of her long hair, "But you're going in a car, Ava. No one can see you expect the ride in boat while crossing the sea. Why the sudden need for a haircut?"

"I don't want anyone to recognize me," Ava confessed, "If someone sees my hair and tells Ibrahim, it's all over. I can't take that risk. Any haircut, good or bad, doesn't matter anymore. Right now nothing really matters."

Wrapping her arms around Ava in a tight embrace, Farah pleaded, "Don't do this, Ava. Keep your hair. You're not complete without your beautiful black locks. It's a part of you, a part of your beauty, a part of who you are."

Ava leaned into the embrace and whispered, "Ibrahim loves it too."

She closed her eyes, "I loved the feeling. The way he touches my hair....but why am I even thinking about that?"

She pulled away abruptly, "Did you see, Farah? Ibrahim is the reason I'm like this, a mess! He's driven me to the point of madness, even now as I'm on the verge of leaving, I can't seem to escape his hold on my thoughts!

Farah squeezed Ava's hand. "You still love him, don't you, Ava? Even after knowing everything? And you telling me earlier you don't know Ibrahim."

Ava inhaled deeply, drawing in a shaky breath as she spoke. "It's easy to love someone. But to keep loving that same person after the trust is broken, after the truth shatters everything you thought you knew... that's the true test. Love isn't a finite thing. It doesn't just end. It grows, it changes, it transforms. It can be a source of comfort. But it can also become a source of pain. Perhaps, I was always meant to walk this path. Maybe this pain, this constant ache in my heart, is the price I must pay for the love I dared to experience."

The cool night breeze from the Andaman Sea drifted through the room and rustled the curtains on the balcony. 

"Time is running out, Farah," Ava said, "Just cut my hair. Wait a minute, I saw a small pair of scissors in the drawer earlier."

She walked towards the dresser, returning with a pair of travel scissors, their tiny blades ill-suited for any serious hairdressing.

Farah looked at the scissors, then back at Ava, a helpless smile gracing her lips. "Do you want to scare everyone away? These scissors wouldn't even cut a single strand of your hair." 

"Instead," she continued, "I can trim your bangs in the front. It'll change your overall appearance slightly."

Deep down, Farah didn't have the heart to cut off Ava's beautiful hair. She was not the type to break down over little things. But today, she wanted to cry. 

Where Ava refused to let a single tear fall for Ibrahim, Farah couldn't help but fight back with her tears. Cause Farah knew that if she allowed herself to cry, it would only make Ava cry as well. 

Farah wasn't just Ava's bestfriend; she was the kind of friend every girl wished for. She wasn't just supportive on a mental level, but on an emotional one as well. Through it all, her loyalty to Ava never wavered. Farah was loyal to Ava indeed. 

Tomorrow, Ava would no longer be there, and the uncertainty of when they would meet again weighed heavily on their hearts. The familiar phrase of "see you tomorrow" would no longer be uttered between them. It was a painful realization for Farah, knowing that their lives were about to take separate paths, and the future held no guarantees.

The present, however, intruded, pulling Farah back to reality. She exhaled a long shaky breath. The two girls near her continued their debate over hair scissors.

Farah picked up a pack of needles and thread and approached Noor who was placing bags of rice into the shopping cart.

"Do you have everything?" Farah inquired. 

Noor nodded, "Well, almost everything. I just... I need to get a pregnancy test kit."

"What? For whom?" Farah blurted out.

Noor glanced around furtively, "For Mahi. She's been throwing up lately, and her period is late."

Farah's jaw went slack. She knew about Mahi's recent woes – the constant nausea, cancellation of the langkawi trip due to illness..... But even this knowledge couldn't prepare her for the bombshell Noor had just dropped.

A whisper escaped her lips, "What are you… telling me? No, it can't be… Oh no! Mahi doesn't even have a boyfriend..." The rest of the sentence hung unspoken. 

Noor finished the thought, "That means... if Mahi is pregnant, it can be Professor Syed's child."

Farah shook her head vehemently. "No, Noor," she argued, "Zeba told me after having sex, Professor Syed made her take a pill and even watched her swallow it to be sure. You told me that too, right? Then what's going on with Mahi."

Noor's grip tightened on the shopping cart handle. "Mahi told me earlier that she... she forgot to take the pill," she revealed, her voice barely audible. "She was so traumatized after all that, she just came back to the apartment without taking it."

"What is happening?" Farah's voice laced with a touch of hysteria, "It's like problem after problem, one blow after another. Feels like we're living in World War Three!"

Pushing the cart towards the checkout counter, Noor offered a weak smile, "Let's hope the test is negative. Because honestly, if it's positive, I don't even know what we'll do."

"Why don't we have any good options here?" Farah muttered. Then, her voice hardening with a dangerous glint in her eye, she added, "If that test comes back positive, Professor Syed is going to wish he'd never been born. I swear, I'll cut his cøck off with my bare hands!"

The fiery glint in her eyes left no room for doubt – she meant every word. Taken aback by Farah's sudden aggression, Noor stammered, "Fa...Farah, you're joking, right?"

Farah grabbed a box of cereal from the overflowing cart and placed it on the conveyor belt. As the cashier scanned the items, Farah told, "Bring the kit soon, Noor. I need to head out."

Noor scurried back to the shelves, returning moments later with the pregnancy test kit. With their shopping bagged, they exited the brightly lit mall, stepping back into the cool night air.

"Farah," Noor probed, "where are you going at this hour? It almost 8"

Farah hesitated for a moment, then met Noor's gaze. "To see a relative." 

"A relative? You never mentioned having relatives here in KL." Noor replied. 

Farah offered a tight smile. "Yeah, well. Let's just say they're not exactly close."

"Will you be staying with them, or are you coming back tonight? Remember it's my duty to lock the doors." Noor pressed.

"Oh, I'll be back soon in an hour or two," Farah assured.

Taking the bag from Farah's hand, Noor hoisted it onto her shoulder. They exchanged a quick goodbye. And both went towards their destination.