Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Her eyes were lifeless.

Struck.

Not blinking.

Not moving.

As if she was in a trance. Lost and wandered.

The grey of her eyes complimented with her thick lashes as she kept on staring at the window and was just able to see the clouds surrounding her as the airplane ripped apart the air, propelling forward.

Beside her, sat Shehryaar who was busy typing something on his laptop.

She supposed it was a response to one of his mails.

At that moment, she wished the plane could crash.

An instant death would be better then the death he was giving her.

Slow and gut-wrenching.

They were on the way to Dubai now on his private jet. The flight was two and a half hour long. This was her first time travelling through an aeroplane.

When it was about to take-off, instinctively she had held his hand, so tight that even she heard him slightly giving out a sound of pain.

A small hiss.

When she was able to calm down her nerves and the plane was set towards it route in the middle of the sky, that's when she slightly peeked her lashes open and then her eyes slowly moved towards him.

He was already gawking at her.

With his hawk like grey eyes, she found his, sole focus on him that had her heart throb in her chest. His eyes arresting hers for a few moment when she looked down and tried to release her hand from his grip.

Being subjected to his intense gaze was a task itself.

He moved her small hand towards his lips before slightly caressing his cracky lips against her knuckles and placed a kiss, making goosebumps arise on her body.

She looked away and since then she had focused her eyes on the window not able to match his eyes anymore.

Rather his merciless, cold, grey eyes that had the power to make anyone's heart throb.

Apart from her worried state, she felt so sad given the occurings of that night.

She would not expect that to happen and since then her mental state had been too perturbed.

Whenever she closed her eyes, he would come infront her.

And that he was none other than Amna's fiance-Ahmed.

He had broken her heart in pieces at this point.

She still wasn't able to decipher his behavior.

What got in him?

Why he did that?

She recalled how a few nights ago, he forced her to go to a dinner with her and she had agreed atlast. She feared Shehryaar coming to know that was why she turned him down but he was too adamant and insisted her a little too much so she decided to take the offer. Despite Shehryaar warning of cutting Ahmed off, she didn't do that and remained secretly in contact with Ahmed.

Amna was sleeping as these days she had been taking sleeping pills to sleep. The pain in her body won't let her sleep.

And when the two had gone to a restaurant, after talking for a while, Ahmed had literally pulled up a box infront her before opening it. It had her eyes widened to the size of saucers making her stand up as she placed her hand on her mouth.

There was a ring in the box and the way he was conversating with her before told her the ring was meant for her.

Ahmed came closer to her and put forth the proposition of marriage infront her.

Her hand had moved and just slapped him.

'How could you think of that, Ahmed Bhai? You were like a brother to me. How can you think that I will betray my friend like that? What did you think of me? That I will marry a man who cheated on my friend. Shame on you! Shame on you for setting your eyes on a woman other than your fiancee!' She had spated.

'I'm not your brother, Sheharzaad. I can marry you. And Amna, God knows if...s-she w-would,' his voice had stuttered in the middle but then he cleared his throat quickly, 'if she would ever be able to recover or not. I've b-began to l-love you,' he looked down and when stared back at her again, his eyes had tears.

"For Amna's sake, marry me, Sheharzaad. I-I love you,' his voice quivered as he said those words. And soon a sob escaped his throat, 'my feelings are true for you. I can't live without you,' a tear rolled down his cheek, 'please,' he pleaded, 'Don't insult on my love like that,'

Anyone would have melted in that moment as soft sobs raked his form. His cried even made her heart restless as a frown adorned her forehead.

'Ahmed Bhai' she whispered in disbelief, 'apko kia hogya hai?' she question.

(What has happened to you?)

'Bohot pyaar karta hu tum sei, Sheharzaad,' his voice croaked.

(I love you so much)

"Why are you doing this to me?" she asked, "why, Ahmed Bhai? Did not for even once you thought about Amna? Not even for once that what would her heart go through. The pain you feel just now is nothing compared to the pain she would feel," she told, her voice getting soft. His state affecting her.

"Love happens. Love tears your soul. Love make you do things that you would have never expected from yourself. I know I'm not doing right by asking you this but... I didn't know when I b-began to l-l-love you, Sheharzaad," he muttered with difficulty.

"Don't make this harder for you. I would never agree to that even if you wait for thousand years. I can't live up on the dreams of my friend." she said with a determined tone, "A happy life she had always imagined with you that would make her giggle like a child, hoping a day would come, you will be able to convince your mother and  bring her along with you to ask for her hand,"

"I understand it all, Sheharzaad but can you understand my predicament, can you just for once put yourself in a situation where you fell in love with a girl who is forbidden for you but you still can't stop longing for her. I never settled my eyes on you. My feelings are pure,'

Sheharzaad scowled, 'If your feelings for me are pure then what about Amna? Why did you play with her?"

"I never played with her. But seeing her in a situation where her feet are dangling in her grave grieves me to a point that I need someone to alleviate that grief and yours is the face that comes first in my mind. I respect Amna. Admire her alot but I don't think I-I ever lo-loved her," A lone tear dropped down his eye as if he was trying to keep his emotions at bay. He moved closer with those innocent glassy eyes of him and held her hand.

"Just for once pay heed to what I say. Accept me. Forget the marriage, forget everything. I'm ready to marry Amna but atleast acknowledge my love for you,"

Her mouth opened in an awe.

'What?' she muttered out of disbelief when suddenly her eyes came in contact with her hand that was in his hold. First thing that came to her mind was Shehryaar as she immediately snatched her hand back, taking a few steps away from Ahmed.

'I've always looked up to you as a brother and I would never cheat on my friend like that,' With that being said, she had left and went home to cry out her eyes. The situation was so heartbreaking for her.

What would Amna think of her?

And why Ahmed did that?

Why....

Since that night, her heart had been so restless. It was utterly disturbing for her.

He was a person whom she always looked up to. She admired their couple but now she found herself as the match breaker.

She still didn't tell Amna about that. It would affect her mental health.

Even after his marriage proposal that night, he still continued to persuade her, manipulate her but Sheharzaad didn't give in. Anyone would melt on witnessing his regular love gestures that at a point she felt her heart softening for him, feeling bad for his state. But she shut it down. It would be betrayal to her friend and she would prefer dying over having a black spot on her loyalty.

Ahmed had persuaded and insisted to a level that she had to delete his number from her phone. But again as there was no one apart from him, she had to entrust Amna to him till she came back.

Her thoughts broke when the flight attendant informed that after fifteen minutes the plane would land.

Her heart propelled to her throat thinking what would be waiting for her at Dubai as a new restlessness began to eat up her heart.

His words surfacing at the back of her head'

'I'll even myself with you, Sheharzaad' His menacing voice was still vivid in her mind.

She became so anxious suddenly that after every now and then she began to steal a glance of him who was still working, like a working machine. His eyes completely focused on his Ipad's screen.

He was wearing a blue waist coat on a white shirt as he had taken off the coat for the flight. The sleeves of his arms were folded up to the elbow revealing his manly arms.

A few moments have passed, when suddenly he stopped, closed his Ipad and placed it away before sparing her a glance that stopped her heart for a second. Then he moved his head back and rubbed his eyes with his forefinger and thumb, indicating his tiredsomeness.

She was glad, his eyes were not on her.

His sudden, apt and calculative movements always bothered her and kept her on edge when she was around him.

But sometimes she would lost control over herself just like that morning at his home and now she was on the way to pay for the ultimate sin of disrespecting Shehryaar Haider Syed.

He hasn't punished her yet but she knew he was going to do that sooner or later and that had been tormenting her since the very day, he made this announcement.

She knew he did it on purpose to make her nights sleepless and days full of alarm and fright that she would think a gazillion times before crossing the line with him.

The fear of knowing was more than the fear of not knowing.

With every passing second, she could feel herself getting colder and the fear mounting within her. If she had not known what he had told her the other day then she had been way more relaxed.

Someone said it right, ignorance is bliss.

Instinctively a whimper escaped her lips grabbing his attention as he turned his head towards her.

"What happened?" he asked.

Her face was paled as if she had seen some ghost whilst his hands were fiddling with each continuously before holding her shirt tightly.

Her irises moved left and right before she gathered courage to fix her eyes on him.