They began meeting in the afternoons, not secretly, but under the guise of restoring poetry. Rami would write, and Amal would sing. Soon, her heart did not belong to her anymore. It had walked out of her chest and into his hands. She had delivered her heart— hum dil de chuke sanam —completely, without reserve.

Amal saw it then. The man who had her heart was a dream. But the man who had her honor , her patience, her future—that man was standing right beside her, willing to drive across a country to see her smile.

And that, in the end, was the most helpful love of all.