"She was strangled with a dupatta ," Zara murmured, her eyes on the screen. "The knot was specific. Almost ceremonial."

These characters do not say "I love you." They say "Main case register kar raha hoon" (I am registering the case). And in the context of Pakistani storytelling, that procedural declaration is the most romantic phrase in the language—because it means, finally, someone is fighting for you.