Faithfully Yours – Duha Bhat

I’ve been staring at her contact for hours, the screen taunting me like a countdown I never agreed to. No more thinking. I hit call. She picks up on the second ring. “Hey.” One word. Too soft. Too familiar. “You left,” I say. It’s not a question. It’s a blunt fact I’m still trying to reshape into logic. “I know,” she answers just as quietly. There’s noise in the background. Traffic. Laughter. Something undeniable. New York City.

“Was it really a family emergency?” She sighs, and I can hear her pinch the bridge of her nose. “No. It was a dumb lie. Adam’s fine. I just… needed space. America felt like a good excuse.” It takes me half a breath to understand, and another full breath to pretend it doesn’t sting. “You flew across an ocean to get space?” “I fly across oceans when things get too close.”

Deflection. That, at least, we’re good at. “You could’ve just said that.” “And made you ask the real questions? No thanks.” She’s teasing. Half teasing. Half not. “You always do that,” I murmur. “Do what?” “Say something honest and act like it’s a punchline.” A pause. A long one.

“I learned from the best,” she replies, and for a second, I’m the one without armour. “I don’t want to fight,” I say. “And I don’t want to feel anything,” she replies. We both fail spectacularly. Before I can answer, Selene’s voice cuts faintly in the background, followed by Hayley’s laugh. “Are they with you?” She hesitates. “They flew in last night. Said they wanted to make sure I was okay.” I swallow hard. “They care.”

“They do.” “Do you?” Another pause. The kind that holds its breath. “Yeah,” she says. “Against my better judgment and yours.” I don’t know what to say to that because all I want to say is: It was never about judgment. It’s always been about you. She clears her throat. “Listen, I’ll call you later. Adam wants dinner, and Selene… well, she looks like she’s plotting something illegal.” I almost smile. Almost. “Stay safe,” I say. “I’m safer here,” she replies. Maybe she’s right.

Maybe I should’ve been protecting her from me. She hangs up before I can respond. Later that night, my phone buzzes. Sawyer: Punchlines The video comes through from Selene. No warning. Just a file named: “We do it better.” What does that even mean? I shouldn’t open it. I know better.

First published by Amazon KDP 2026 Copyright © 2026 by Duha Bhat All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission. This novel is entirely a work of fiction.

The names, characters, and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or localities is entirely coincidental. Duha Bhat asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. Duha Bhat has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks, and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book. For permission requests, contact: [email protected] First edition ISBN (paperback): 9798253275320 ISBN (hardcover): 9798199196024 This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy. Find out more at reedsy.com “There is no charm equal to the tenderness of a heart,” – Jane Austen This is for the girls who choose softness without ever being weak.

The ones who turn intellect into allure and longing into power.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 83cec01235d5ddc8
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,483,660 bytes (1.415 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9798253275320, 9798199196024
• Pages: 215
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 265.63 minutes
• Total Words: 53,127
• Total Characters: 300,235
• Average Words per Page: 247.1
• Average Characters per Page: 1396.44

Most Frequent Words

like (498), sawyer (318), don’t (306), i’m (263), it’s (208), amelie (203), one (201), something (199), selene (187), eyes (171), theo (168), says (167), know (164), hayley (164), back (156), voice (141), time (139), every (136), say (134), she’s (133), doesn’t (128), still (125), even (117), you’re (113), look (107), he’s (106), that’s (92), looks (92), way (90), kingsley (87), adam (85), first (84), hand (84), can’t (83), maybe (83), think (80), feels (79), head (79), didn’t (77), myself (76), want (76), see (74), get (73), always (73), everything (72), i’ve (71), feel (70), away (70), quiet (69), now (67), never (67), breath (67), chest (66), enough (65), kind (65), door (64), i’ll (64), already (64), stop (62), sel (62), smile (61), against (60), world (59), someone (59), hands (59), good (58), close (57), two (57), quietly (57), yours (56), hair (56), isn’t (55), laugh (55), room (55), without (53), long (53), open (53), soft (53), faithfully (52), dad (52), finally (52), god (52), right (51), thing (51), let (51), things (50), words (50), need (50), make (50), sharp (50), silence (50), around (49), people (48), love (48), pryce (48), anything (47), said (47), tell (47), face (47), inside (46).

PDF Download