“I know this is not what you expected, but for now, this is all I can do.”Feriha said to which Asmaira nodded in understanding. Standing on the balcony, they looked at Amaan playing with Kabir on the lawn from a distance.“Salar is charmed by Amaan, and anything I say about you, he assumes I’m being biased towards you for no reason,” Feriha sighed. “You are doing more than I could ask,” she waved the phone with a small smile. “I told Amber, you will video call her whenever you want to talk to Kabir. But we need to be careful with Mehwish,” when Feriha said, Asmaira faced her in question, “Didn’t she go back?”“She left for a few days and will return before the annual ball.”“But…why be careful with her?” Asmaira asked.“Amaan is not the only one who changed. Mehwish did too. I know my daughter. Her silence is like a ticking bomb that could burst at any time. If she is around, she will try to sniff around,” her mother-in-law replied, glancing back at Kabir, whose loud laugh melted h
Assuming Amaan would believe Samuel’s story, she whispered, “I s-swear on Raina.”No matter how much he hated her, but that moment, he forgot about his revenge or his vow to make her life miserable. A strong urge to hide the innocent woman inside him took over, and he raised his hand to Talia, “My jacket.”Talia, who was gaping at the scene ahead, was brought out of her thoughts. She immediately passed it to him, contemplating what went around in her absence. They had hardly left for a few minutes, and something like that had happened.Covering Asmaira, Amaan stared at Samuel but instructed Talia, “Take her inside.”When Asmaira’s hold tightened, he looked down at her only to see her brown orbs di
“You could have handled it properly. Because of your impulsive decision, we are the next headline,” Salar said.“He hurt my wife. How do you expect me to react?” Amaan said, annoyed.With everyone gathered in the living room, Salar, surprised at Amaan’s recklessness, questioned him.“What I meant is, introduce her as your wife on the first day itself. No man would have dared to approach her in the first place,” Salar tried to reason with his furious son.Mehwish sat quietly, witnessing the scene. Her observing eyes didn’t miss how he addressed Asmaira as his wife or the fury he was still holding on to point to one thing—Amaan had softened towards Asmaira. At first, she thought, lighting a spark and fanning it into a fire would be enough to get Asmaira out of Amaan’s life. But with the tides turning, she had to devise another subtle plan.“Your father is right. Why didn’t you introduce Asmaira as your wife? Look what she had to go through because of that,” Feriha was upset when she saw
Amaan was brought out of the painful memory when his phone buzzed. His face was marred with a stoic shadow with the blast from the past, making him realize Asmaira doesn’t deserve his sympathy or any kind of emotions. She treated Raina worse than an enemy instead of listening to her. She hurt Raina at the moment of her death, and for that, he would never forgive her, no matter if she had strong morality. “Ross,” he answered the call when his friend’s name flashed.“What’s up, Captain? Do you still remember your friends?”He squashed the cigarette under his shoes and asked, “When will you stop calling me that? We are not in school anymore.”“I’m glad you finally decided to answer my call.” Ross was surprised when Amaan answered the call instead of disconnecting, which he had been doing since Raina’s death. Amaan knew what he meant. “where are you?”With the background buzzing with noise, Ross replied, “Our usual. Boys are here for our monthly meetup.”Ross was Amaan’s school friend,
“Here you are, Asmaira. I have been looking for you,” Hania uttered as soon as she entered Kabir’s room.It had been more than ten days since Asmaira stopped going to the office. Ten days of radio silence from Amaan as if he never came to the room in her presence. By the time she slept, he didn’t return, and by morning, the vague smell of his cologne told her he had already dressed and left for the office.What surprised her was the lack of questions raised about his absence during the meals. Apparently, he informed them beforehand that spared her the ordeal of falling under Salar’s scrutiny.“Do you need help with something?” Asmaira asked.With Hania and Ishaal swamped with Gala’s arrangement, A
“I gave her,” When Feriha said, Amaan’s retort was quick, “Don’t lie to me, Ma.”“Raina wanted it to be auctioned.”Raina’s name stilled him, “what?”“What you heard. It is the last piece in the auction, and I gave it to Asmaira to wear for the final act,” when Feriha confessed, Asmaira couldn’t help glancing at it again.“Amaan, I know how it looks, but this is not the dress Asmaira was to wear. Th—” Hania was interrupted by Amaan, “Of course. She wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place, but here she is. Isn’t she?”Seeing her son snarling like an agitated beast, Feriha i
Triggering scene. If not comfortable, please skip the two chapters.As soon as Asmaira entered the room, she ran to the couch and slumped on it, her body quivering with her sobs.“I… I’m not jealous,” her murmurs escape in between her wails. Fisting the couch’s surface, she let out a heart wrecking cry. She lay there, crying her heart out, when a whoosh of cold wind made her halt. She raised her head, and soon another wave brushed her as if it was soothing her. She was about to stand when her steps were interrupted by the high heels. She removed them without caring for the blisters popping with her rough action. Her hair swayed with the wind that had her close her eyes, whispering, “Raina.”“I n-never envy you.”Her eyes opened to the view of the curtain swinging aside with the wind and the sliding door to their balcony appearing. She sniffled and walked out to where the breeze maneuvering her. Overwhelmed with her helplessness, regret, remorse, pain, and self-loath, she stopped at
“No, you didn’t.”Asmaira screamed when Amaan pushed her onto the bed, but not before grabbing the end of her saree and yanking it off her. Clutching her loosened blouse from falling off, Asmaira dropped on the bed. She had to hold on to the piece like her life depended on it. Amaan glared at her naked back, and his fury intensified, realizing he froze at the sight of it momentarily. Angered at his slip of emotion, he threw the saree on the floor and leaned on the bed. Asmaira, attempting to scoot to the other side, shrieked when he caught her ankle and pulled her towards him. “No!” she used her free leg to kick his hold on the other. Unfortunately for her, he grabbed both her ankles while saying, “You wanted to take Raina’s place. I will give it to you tonight.”Turning her around on her back and spreading her legs, he placed himself between them to put a stop to her attempt. “And every night. You will understand marriage is not a game, and every night I will be happy to make sur
It was not Asmaira trying to take Raina’s place. It was you who were looking for Raina in her.Feriha’s words reverberated in his mind. It was as if someone had thrown cold water and brought him back to reality. Being his mother, she read him like an open book when he himself didn’t realize what actually troubled him about Asmaira.The room echoed with the slamming of the door against the wall. Amaan marched to the center only to halt at the condition of it. Everything was kept in its place and looked thoroughly cleaned. He walked backward when the scene of how he manhandled her on the Gala night flashed before his eyes. He stumbled on the vanity when her scream of that night echoed in his ear, and he covered his ears, dropping the phone he was holding in the action.
“Y-Yes,” Mehwish’s stutter confirms Feriha’s suspicion.Rodriguez subtly disappeared from the scene and instructed his team to clear the premises. As a loyal subordinate, he read the room and gave privacy to the family.“And what did Asmaira reply?” Feriha took a few steps towards her, emanating her intense aura. The last fiasco in the Gala hasn’t been sorted, and she found her daughter at the center of another.“S-She….” Mehwish glanced at Amaan only to see realization drawing up on him.“If you
“We have a charity dinner invite from Mr. Shah. I want you to come along with Kabir,” Feriha said.Asmaira’s head snapped in her direction in surprise, “Me?”After getting discharged the next day, Asmaira was relieved that Amaan had left for a business trip. But what had suffice between them that night kept haunting her. That night, he not only unlocked the new fear for himself but also opened Pandora’s box. She couldn’t muster up the courage to meet Kabir in his absence. The guilt she was responsible for his miserable childhood overshadowed her love for him.Noticing her avoiding Kabir, Feriha planned to bring her and Kabir together on the pretext of evening tea. With Hania taking care of the NGO in her mother-in-law’s absence and Ishaal busy designing her new exclusive collection, this was the only way for her to break whatever wall Asmaira had created around her.“Now that people have seen you during the Ga
“Fuck!”Amaan slumped on the bed with his elbows on his knees and clasped hands before his lips. Locking Asmaira away was the only way for him to calm himself down and think through.The fire of hatred that started seeing Asmaira in Raina’s look made him take the drastic step. He had been verbal to her with his warning, but seeing her nonchalant, he had to threaten her in a different way. However, what he didn’t expect was finding her squirm beneath him half-naked would only lead him to lose himself.The anger should have been extinguished after seeing her broken form. If anything, it intensified and irked at his emotions going haywire for a woman who brought agony to Raina in her dying moment. He swatted the night lamp on the ground. With his chest heaving with untamed fury, he clutched the duvet and ripped it. The bedsheet and the pillows met the same ending. He doesn’t know what was making him feral, but the thought he was about to force Asmaira made him feel like a sexual predator
“No, you didn’t.”Asmaira screamed when Amaan pushed her onto the bed, but not before grabbing the end of her saree and yanking it off her. Clutching her loosened blouse from falling off, Asmaira dropped on the bed. She had to hold on to the piece like her life depended on it. Amaan glared at her naked back, and his fury intensified, realizing he froze at the sight of it momentarily. Angered at his slip of emotion, he threw the saree on the floor and leaned on the bed. Asmaira, attempting to scoot to the other side, shrieked when he caught her ankle and pulled her towards him. “No!” she used her free leg to kick his hold on the other. Unfortunately for her, he grabbed both her ankles while saying, “You wanted to take Raina’s place. I will give it to you tonight.”Turning her around on her back and spreading her legs, he placed himself between them to put a stop to her attempt. “And every night. You will understand marriage is not a game, and every night I will be happy to make sur
Triggering scene. If not comfortable, please skip the two chapters.As soon as Asmaira entered the room, she ran to the couch and slumped on it, her body quivering with her sobs.“I… I’m not jealous,” her murmurs escape in between her wails. Fisting the couch’s surface, she let out a heart wrecking cry. She lay there, crying her heart out, when a whoosh of cold wind made her halt. She raised her head, and soon another wave brushed her as if it was soothing her. She was about to stand when her steps were interrupted by the high heels. She removed them without caring for the blisters popping with her rough action. Her hair swayed with the wind that had her close her eyes, whispering, “Raina.”“I n-never envy you.”Her eyes opened to the view of the curtain swinging aside with the wind and the sliding door to their balcony appearing. She sniffled and walked out to where the breeze maneuvering her. Overwhelmed with her helplessness, regret, remorse, pain, and self-loath, she stopped at
“I gave her,” When Feriha said, Amaan’s retort was quick, “Don’t lie to me, Ma.”“Raina wanted it to be auctioned.”Raina’s name stilled him, “what?”“What you heard. It is the last piece in the auction, and I gave it to Asmaira to wear for the final act,” when Feriha confessed, Asmaira couldn’t help glancing at it again.“Amaan, I know how it looks, but this is not the dress Asmaira was to wear. Th—” Hania was interrupted by Amaan, “Of course. She wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place, but here she is. Isn’t she?”Seeing her son snarling like an agitated beast, Feriha i
“Here you are, Asmaira. I have been looking for you,” Hania uttered as soon as she entered Kabir’s room.It had been more than ten days since Asmaira stopped going to the office. Ten days of radio silence from Amaan as if he never came to the room in her presence. By the time she slept, he didn’t return, and by morning, the vague smell of his cologne told her he had already dressed and left for the office.What surprised her was the lack of questions raised about his absence during the meals. Apparently, he informed them beforehand that spared her the ordeal of falling under Salar’s scrutiny.“Do you need help with something?” Asmaira asked.With Hania and Ishaal swamped with Gala’s arrangement, A
Amaan was brought out of the painful memory when his phone buzzed. His face was marred with a stoic shadow with the blast from the past, making him realize Asmaira doesn’t deserve his sympathy or any kind of emotions. She treated Raina worse than an enemy instead of listening to her. She hurt Raina at the moment of her death, and for that, he would never forgive her, no matter if she had strong morality. “Ross,” he answered the call when his friend’s name flashed.“What’s up, Captain? Do you still remember your friends?”He squashed the cigarette under his shoes and asked, “When will you stop calling me that? We are not in school anymore.”“I’m glad you finally decided to answer my call.” Ross was surprised when Amaan answered the call instead of disconnecting, which he had been doing since Raina’s death. Amaan knew what he meant. “where are you?”With the background buzzing with noise, Ross replied, “Our usual. Boys are here for our monthly meetup.”Ross was Amaan’s school friend,