The man guided her through the dark corridors of the mansion. It was night and the hallways of the posh and gigantic mansion were darker than the night itself. It felt as if she had been walking since ages. Last time, she had came to this house, she didn't get a chance to explore it. This was an area which she was first time visiting and she was sure similar to this wing of the mansion, there must be many other wings. Her eyes couldn't analyse anything as it was dark. The source of light was the light of moon which entered through the large glass walls. She was just able to see a few painting every now and then on the wall. Rather, she wanted to focus more on her surroundings and ignore the pounding of her heart in her ears. She was not able to understand the reason for which he called her at this moment of night. Fear and being afraid. These two were entirely different emotions. The prior was an instinct and the latter was a feeling. And in that moment, she felt, she had developed
The morning light hit him making his eyes open and the first thing that hit him was a wave of headache. He sat up, groaning and that was when he realized he was on the sofa. He frowned before looking back only to get surprised upon finding Sheharzaad there."Sheharzaad?" He whispered to himself, trying to recall how she reached here. And as instinct his eyes went to her hands and a satisfaction came over his face upon finding his mark still over there.He stood up and came across his reflection in the mirror. There was blood on his shirt as glimpses of last night began to appear in his mind. But he could only remember the parts in the torture cell yet how, when and why Sheharzaad was here, he still couldn't recall.He ought to ask it from his servant, Khan to apprise him of his orders and went to the washroom to take a bath. He appeared from the restroom, rubbing a towel against his damp hair as water trickled down his torso that was on display. He found her sleeping. Still and sound
As soon as Sheharzaad hung up the call, she turned towards Amna with a paled face."Amna, we need to be quick. We don't have time in our hands now. We have to run," she said and began to collect things, stuffing them in a bag."What happened?" Amna asked with confusion dancing on her face."He knows everything. I swear, I swear he knows everything,"Amna's face paled too. "What? How do you know? Did he tell you anything?""My sixth sense says so, he knows everything. He was talking as if he knew everything,""Maybe you are being paranoid,""First thing he asked me was I planning to run away. Amna, I know him, he first drops hints. He first warns before pouncing. He knows,""Sheharzaad, relax. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe you're thinking negatively," Amna tried to sound convincing but her voice even to her own self wasn't sounding convincing."I don't know, Amna. Let's pack essentials and get away. I know him,""You know, his men are stationed outside. How would we outrun them?""Either way
She quickly averted her gaze and looked down, breathing heavily. Slowly, the man approached her and stood by her. All the life evaporated from her legs. Her heart began to pound slowly in her ears."You are coming with me," he told her, she acted as if she didn't hear, "Ms. Sheharzaad," he uttered and that's when she looked up at him."Respectfully, madam," his voice was a mutter, "you would not want the people to die over here. Come with me,"Sheharzaad fought the tears forming in her eyes and she shook her head when he took out his gun from his holster. "Please, madam," "Please let her go," Amna came for her defense, "please. I request you. You can take me instead,""Ms. Sheharzaad you're coming with me before our boss comes here," Panicked, Sheharzaad, stood up, nodding her head."Please don't tell him anything," she pleaded."I haven't madam. Please come with me," he said and she followed him outside. "Have you told him?" she asked, helplessly, once they were on the road as the
'Be on the best of your behavior,' His words, full of warning, cursorily whispered in her ears as they headed towards the dining room, Sheharzaad could already hear voices. Of people conversating. People who seemed more like a family. She was following him when he suddenly stopped at the doorstep of the dining room. Eavesdropping. She too could hear the conversation going on in the room."Geez I want to inform you all a thing," Sheharzaad recognized it immediately.It was Haseeb. She had met him in the office."What is it?" The voice was again recognized by her and it was his sister Dua. They both stood at the door hearing to the talk. Sheharzaad remembered them both from the day they came to the office."Want something in return," Haseeb demanded."Yeah....I have ten rupees you can take them. Now spill the beans, Haseeb," Dua retorted."Gosh.... you must have said this directly to me that you wanted some money Dua," Haseeb retorted back and for a moment Sheharzaad laughed a little.
Sheharzaad smiled at her, "Nice meeting you, Zahra. I hope everything is fine," She said and felt her breath getting hitched. She had been in the same position as hers so she could understand that.On the cue, the grey eyed man appeared and stood next to Zahra. Quiet eyes. Void face. Tall height. Sturdy chest. Veiny arms.The aura of his reminded her of Shehryaar and her heart skipped a beat. One eye at Zahra and she saw her getting tensed. More and more as he stood next to her."Assalam alaikum," she greeted and scurried away from there. It was breath shortening for her to stand in the presence of a man with an aura similar to his. Eyes similar to his."Wsalam," he greeted back, "and welcome to the family," he uttered and she just passed him a smile."Thank you," She whispered and walked away. He had his sleeves folded just below to his elbow while Shehryaar was wearing a black coat. This was the slim difference between their appearance otherwise their dominating aura was almost sim
She sucked in a sharp breath that managed to reach the depth of her throat when she realized she had stopped breathing long ago. She was too scared to move that she didn't wriggle against his grasp. Her skin felt a wetness on her face so she moved her hand up and realized it was her tears. She exhaled a shuddering breath partly due to her shivering lips. "Shehryaar," she whispered. He pulled away from her and gently turned her around. She was thankful the sight of Khaleda's dangling feet was away as her eyelids felt to heavy to blink or move but her thankfulness was short lived as her face came across his.Today, she wasn't holding back from expressing her fear as she just tried to take a step away from him but something in his eyes twitched. They turned a shade of darker and instead of taking a step back, she took a step closer."I don't know wh-who i-i-is sh-she," her mouth opened as she spoke with difficulty."Please...p-p-please, believe m-me," she joined her hands infront him
There was a guy involvedWe were fearing telling you thisHannanShe... she had been working with himSince the first day.Actually.... it was regarding the sale of her house,We tapped her phone. No records found. She was aware that her phone might be tapped so she used her friend's phone.Yes. At times PCO's. Men who were stationed to follow her kept on sending me reports.Hannan.Out of all the information he had received only one word managed to stay in his mind.HannanShe was with him. She had been with him.Wonder how far and deep their relation could have gone?Was it just help? Or was it something else?The speculations began to rise in his mind.While coming back to her house, he had received a call from Murad, one of his workers, informing him that everything was ready at Sheharzaad's house. Sensing his hesitance on the phone, he asked Murad what was going on and then he told one of the plot twist that Shehryaar had not been expecting. This story not just had the intellig
His tongue was too heavy to utter anything. He was still in shock, a state of disbelief had still encompassed him. His grey eyes kept on looking and tracing the cracks on the hardened mud of the grave. Dilemma was hitting him, clutching him in its painful paws and tightening its grip on his heart with every second.To say the least, he was baffled.Grave.It was a grave.Grave of his mother.Mother.Who had died decades ago.But still that day was freshened in his mind like yesterday. Every intricate and minor detail was in the back of hiss head.Often those details took shape of a nightmare in his dreams. The soulless and dead eyes of the lady who hung with the ceiling.Utter helplessness on her face.He thought as much that suicide was her last resort. That was why he considered her weak. Considered womankind weak. Considered womankind manipulative, cunning, untrustworthy.But here he sat, near the one, who was the reason those feelings were born within him but this time he cam
He was in ICU. His guard told her that he was driving the car fastly to home and suddenly the his grip loosened, the tyres slipped and the car crashed. She couldn't stop the tears coming out of her eyes. She knew the reason behind his eagerness to get home as fast as he could.It was because of her request to come home early. She felt utter guilt clipping her heart.That guilt too that she has suppressed within her.She still thought that Haider died because of her. She considered herself as the culprit of Shehryaar. She took his father's life away. If she hadn't given that dary to him, maybe Haider would have been alive today. She took his father's life away.And now he was fighting for his life because of her. Although, Shehryaar had told him numerous times that it was never her fault behind his father's death but she never agreed to him. There was a part of her which still told her that she was the culprit and that part of her was again taking control over her, inciting suici
The evening sky has sprawled. The blue hue was everywhere as the bird chirped, returning back to their respective abodes. There sat Sheharzaad on the sofa of the study reading the same page again, trying to regain her focus. Yet her eyes would move in between the page of the book that read, 'Karachi. The city of lights. Rather previously known as the city of lights....'The book was titled, 'Zaryaab' after the name of the male lead of that book. Sheharzaad's grey eyes again fixed on the sky, witnessing the birds. As the sun reached the horizon, the sky was a mix of orange and blue.Her mind was wondering to Shehryaar. Where was he? Should she apologize? Or should she wait for him?She found herself guilty in this situation. She should have broke it on the very first place to Maaz that she was married instead of going for that lunch. She knew that Maaz was interested in her but she was just finding the right time to reveal it to him and to everybody that she was married that too t
She was sitting in her cabin, going through a file but repeatedly her concentration was breaking as her mind kept on shifting to somewhere.The memory made her bite her lips and take a deep breath. She was at work!She needed to focus.Why was she feeling that way?She could feel butterflies flipping in her stomach. His intense stare again came over in her mind that had her shook her head away. They both sat together, in that starry night, under the shade of moon, with their hands in hand."Isn't moon looking so beautiful today?" she had whispered dreamily as her head rested on his shoulder. "Which one?" he asked making her puzzle."The one in the sky,""Not as beautiful as the one sitting beside me," "You're cheesy with your dialogues, Mr. Shehryaar,"His eyes flickered from the stars on the sky to her face, "Dialogues ain't the only thing I'm cheesy at, Ms. Sheharzaad,"Sheharzaad averted her gaze, looking away. She was grateful that it was night because her cheeks were turning
Every eye was full of tears.Cries and wails rose from the haveli when the janazah was risen from the home.Haider has passed away. Leaving his mother-less children now father-less. Eyes were sad.Yet his grey eyes stared at nothing just the eye-catching verses that he recited. He was silent. Quiet. Unable to produce any response. Placing her head on his shoulder, his wife sat beside him, with tears propelling from her eyes as her hand held rosary reciting tasbeeh for the departed soul.Sheharzaad was crying.But Shehryaar was silent. It was just those eye-catching verses that had his complete attention. His father used to teach him the Quran in his childhood but he never got the chance to finish it because his practice sessions with his grandfather awaited him so he always used to leave without finishing his recitations. Last he read these verses was decades back and then he did not touch the holy book again. When he was set to made his first murder. He considered himself too
The wiltering flowers at his beloved's grave stood out as an evidence of the abandonment by her own family. Haider sat near the grave. As tears slowly cascaded down his eyes."You've endured enough. I wish... for once you'd have expressed your love for me. For once. Then my whole life wouldn't be so bleak. The reciprocation for which I waited finally came after decades," he played with the mud of the grave, "For once, you could have told me... what Agha did. What my father did. I wish... after your demise even for once you'd have come in my dreams and apprised me how you were brutally killed," Another tear dropped from his eye and landed on her grave, "I read... what you wrote in those pages. Where you expressed your love for me. I freed you from myself only because I wanted you to be happy and be with your lover. I've never hated you. Despite you were caught with another man.... I loved you regardless of every circumstance. My love for you was conditionless, my Jahan" (IN URDU JAHAN
"She didn't commit suicide. She wanted to live for her children. But you know what? She was hanged and it all appeared as suicide. This whole idea was of Agha, Shehryaar. Your mother wanted to live," Sheharzaad finished. Her voice has turned into a soft whisper till the end of her dialogue. She could see the enrage slowly developing in Shehryaar's eyes but he was controlling. He was really controlling himself so the monster won't break free. Zahra came running into the study followed by Haseeb. As soon as Zahra's eyes landed on Irtaza, she went in his arms and hugged him, very well aware that she needed him the most in these moments. And as soon as Dua's eyes fell on Haseeb, she rushed into his arms and hugged him. The previous talk they both had in her room was enough for her to trust him completely. He had gained her partial trust when he had convinced her before their nikkah that he will give her all the love of the world. As well as the time and space she needed for this relati
Tears were slipping down their eyes. The whole study has turned upside down. The glass table, smashed and broken. Books from the bookshelf were torned and rested on the floor. The glass pieces of vase were scattered. The place depicted of an utter apocalypse.And among all these broken and torned things, there lied a safe in the middle of the room. Bullets pierced through it and was now tattered and battered. Sat there on the sofa were three siblings, with nothing but tearful eyes.And a piece of paper in their hands. Written to them in her last moment by their mother. The letter which reached them after twenty five long years.Each word pierced through their soul. Every breath they took was heavy, filled with sighs and unattained wishes. The unattained wish to meet their mother one last time.Shehryaar's hand shivered as he still held the old worn out letter. Tears silently slipping out of his eyes. He rather wished he could have died than knowing this truth. After Sheharzaad na
Dua had immediately taken Sheharzaad to another room once her eyes had landed on her. She did not talk to her family or anyone. She wanted to say the words that have been long overdued on her mind.As soon as she entered in the privacy of the room, Dua hugged Sheharzaad and tears slowly slipped out of her eyes."I-I'm sorry, Sheharzaad. I-I-I," her voice croaked, "I wronged you.... I wronged you... I'm sorry, Sheharzaad. I'm sorry," she kept on repeating. Because she just had this word on her mind. The crime she committed was unjustifiable. It didn't matter Sheharzaad would forgive her or not, but in that moment, Dua just wanted to apologize. Apologize for the crime she committed five years back. Apologize for the crime that stayed in her mind for five long years and it kept on haunting her. The guilt kept on eating her. What she did with Sheharzaad broke her more than anything else. Sheharzaad slowly raised her hand and caressed Dua's back, "stop crying, Dua. I... forgive you," sh