Chapter 58: Chapter 58

One and a half month.

He had kept in her for a whole month to sabotage her thinking, taking a control over her mind. To cover up his insecurities that she won't think of any man ever in her life again.

And in this month he had been actively examining her when he had decided to make a decision about her at last.

It was either her signing that contract or getting her friend killed.

As he sat in his office, waiting for the time to elapse and night to commence with his eyes fixed on a feminine ring which didn't appear to belong to the present-time. It manifested, past, memories, unspoken tales.

And miracles.

Miracles of what seemed to him selfishness but to the world appeared selfless love.

Such a selfless love that the love of a mother for her children got faded infront it.

Such a selfless love that utmost love of her husband was dimmed infront of it.

No doubt it was a miraculous love.

Now fixed proudly between his fingers, the world was unaware the journeys this ring alone had witnessed. The lone witnesser of the evolvement, the crux and the ending of that miraculous, selfless love apart from him.

The ring- in particular held a great importance to him. Despite disdaining its owner since his childhood, he couldn't find within him to keep it away from him.

No.

It wasn't in his hands.

One of the few things he didn't have a control over.

And this ring again was reminding him of its owner. Her face envisioned infront his closed eyes and when he would open them, her face would be replaced with Sheharzaads'.

She was everything like her.

In all aspects.

If she was everything like the woman he despised then why.... why was his inner self was so adamant to keep her? Keep her beside him?

Why he couldn't find it in himself to let her go?

He was still in the search of this question. Where despite being powerful he was as helpless as anyone.

He remembered mocking his father that he would marry someone unlike his mother or won't marry at all. He didn't want to end up like him.

Alone. Depressed. Longing for the love of his better half.

The woman of his life would be nothing like his mother. She won't have a past. She won't have any man in her heart other than him. She would love her the same way Jaha Ara loved Omer.

Selflessly.

Obsessively.

Intensely.

Insanely...

And whole his life he was on a hunt for that woman, who could become his better half, who would fit in the frame of his ideal life partner.

The ideal frame sketched by his mind, his brain.

Yet he almost forgot that there was one thing left in him too apart from this devilish mind.

A heart.

That he considered dead.

That he thought had been, slowly and slowly, with every elapsing moment upon being the sole witness of those intimate moments.

And that dead organ was buried after witnessing that woman who birthed him hanging with the ceiling.

That organ had skipped a beat which made a journey throughout his entire form when he first saw the woman, troubled walking on the office floors begging for the job. It began to beat more when that woman turned his question down, saying, 'what is it to you' in that life.

It came as a surprise to him when he saw her at a brothel, running away from a man. That trigger had automatically moved and killed that person who was aiming for her, other than him.

It began to get more and more drawn towards her and he realized it when he would on purpose indirectly put more work load on her, making her stay at the office for longer hours. Often seeing her from the glass wall of his office, leaving late at night.

He low-key admired her efforts she put in, in her work.

She was different.

Her eyes...

They were so distinct from all those eye he had ever seen.

The timidity she had around other men yet her posture confident.

Her head up but eyes bowed down as she would walk around the office. It always told him that she was not one of those who would bow down easily infront others.

Her hesitance around other men was fascinating him. So much.

But one black spot was enough to lay his suspicion on her, to conclude that she, just like others wasn't what she appeared to be.

The incident with Rafay.

Although, the evidences stood against her yet his beating organ got jumbled up when he even thought of considering those evidences and announcing her as the culprit.

He didn't want to believe that she lured Rafay in her charms.

He didn't want to believe it.

And the condition of having a one night stand was just a test. A test for her. A test to prove herself to him that all the evidences were wrong. She wasn't that sort of woman. She was different than others. She was still the woman he had been looking for.

Yet she did come that night.

They did the sin.

She too became a source of extracting pleasure for him.

There were no compromises. It was just a perfect business deal. The deal he had been having with all the other women.

He gave them money and they pleasured him.

She failed in her test.

Yet after that night, all he could think about was her. Her alone. Her innocent moves. Her gasps. Cries. Moans. Just her. And he didn't have a one night stand ever again as the pleasure her body gave to him, no one could ever.

Only she could fulfil those desires. Just her.

That beating organ screamed that she was innocent. She was still innocent.

She was the ideal he had been looking for, despite failing that test.

The mind tried deafening the voices of the beating organ but the voices magnified, compelling him to believe in her chastity.

Her hesitance was still intact. And to top that, her fear had paramount.

Like those other women, who would beg to share a bed with him again, who would come for him on and on. She didn't. Rather she was running away from him. Compelling him more towards her.

Women never meant nothing to him but a source of pleasure. Or those creatures who had the power to demolish one's life just by luring them in their charms. Just like his mother fooled his father by luring him in her charms, and those charms had blindfolded his father so much that he became unaware that what she had been doing behind his back.

That was why he had never let a lady to be a part of his life until he was completely sure about her. And to this date, he was still not sure about anyone. Even Sheharzaad.

He was aware that she was enchanting him without realizing. She too slowly was binding his eyes with the same blindfold that his father's eyes got covered with. He was well aware all the while. But he was a step ahead of his father in this case.

He acknowledged he was being obsessed with her and the end of this obsession would ruin him if he didn't control her, didn't customize her the way he wanted her to be. He would mold her in the shape that he would deem right. That was why he had completely taken a control over her life. Completely depriving of any sort of freedom she could have so she would always be in his control and would never control her.

He made the consequences stricter and stricter that the thought of stepping out the boundaries alone would shake her to the core.

But it was Sheharzaad. Not any other woman. Would it have been someone else, the thought of the line set by him would never have crossed her mind. She would have accepted what he'd give her. Settled with that.

Yet she didn't.

She kept on falling. Kept on standing. Again and again. Stepping out of those boundaries on and on.

He liked it.

But as much as he liked it, he wanted her to bend according to his whim so he kept on bestowing upon her with his ultimate punishments that she won't dare to step out the next time.

And one day she slapped him, at his own home for a reason which he hadn't expected in his life. She slapped him hard. Why? Only because he tried nearing her.

Yet it didn't anger him. Rather it strengthened his resolute to marry her. Nobody has ever slapped him only because he came closer to her.

That slap was a turning point, a moment of realization for him.

His ego came in between and he became hell bent to get her.

She became an interesting challenge to him.

To be completely assured that she could be his perfect wife, despite his heart pushing him to bring her in his house as the woman of his house, his mind compelled him to make her go through another test.

By testing her loyalty with her own friend Amna by setting the trap of Ahmed. By placing forth a contract that would give her a hefty amount of money that would turnover her life. By testing her obedience for him.

She passed the rest but failed to obey him.

And he came to know one more thing about her.

Her emotional attachment.

She always got quickly attached to anyone who would show a helping hand to her. Prolly this was the reason that she disobeyed him, denied his orders and went out with Ahmed, only because he might have once helped her.

Through that he came to know of her weak area.

She was one disobedient, stubborn, resistant piece and at times, she carried no fear of consequences when it came to those who were associated with her.

An open book she was.

That was why he made her wear his ring despite being aware that she was working with the intelligence agencies against him. And he let her play with his subtle warnings that she had completely ignored.

But he came to know of something that was an eye-opener for him.

Hannan.

She was involved with him.

It was just a suspicion but noticing how she was defending Hannan infront him. It wasn't settling for him. And his uneasiness increased when he saw that video and came to know what exactly had been happening.

It was that moment when he shut all the voices of his heart again that was instigating him to give her chances after chances. Because would it have been another woman, he would have trashed her long ago.

Even then his heart tried to reason but he completely shut those voices leaving her at the mercy of the whispers of his mind. His mind that has gotten obsessed with her like that of a drug.

And then he had decided, she was not going to be his wife. No. She would never make a woman his wife who had allowed another man to breathe in the same air as her despite being engaged to him. But he still wanted her.

Now, not as his wife. But as his mistress.

She was touched...

There was going to be no compromise on that.

While his eyes were running on the page placed infront him. His eyes observing the content.

He still couldn't understand why he he did that.

Flashback

They atlast reached the room when he put her down on her feet. Her position dwindled when he held her arm to support her.

He turned her head towards him, looking at her face.

"I need an answer next time when I ask you," He told as he opened the door of the room as they both entered inside before he closed it. He could hear her short rapid breaths as he held her arm and made her sit on the bed gently as he drew a chair and pulled it closer towards her before occupying it.

Her head was bowed down with both her hands resting on the lap. Her chest heaved up and down and the way how her neck was shrinking as she inhaled indicated how deep her breaths were.

Her eyes slightly rose from staring at her lap and fell on his white-kameez cladded chest and they widened as she immediately retreated her eyes back to her hands. Small shivers rocking her body and she didn't realize when a tear appeared on the surface of her eye and fell on her hands.

"Rou kiu rahi hou?" His voice came as his thumb got busy in stroking her cheek.

(Why are you crying?)

"I'm sorry," she whispered, shakily.

"Kis liye?"

(For what?)

"Apki...apki shirt kharab kar di," she replied as he shifted his eyes from her face to his kameez. Subtle spots of dust visible.

(I dirtied your shirt)

He lifted his eyes and stared at her as she was looking up at him. The muffled voices in his heart began to rise upon seeing his eyes.

"Saaf nhi karogi kia?" He said, causing her utter panic as she quickly bobbed her head up and down and stood up to grasp the tissue placed at the dressing table.

(Won't you clean it?)

"Kharay honay k liye kis ny kaha?" he asked and she realized her mistake, sitting down immediately, uttering words of apologies in quick succession.

(Who asked you to stand up?)

Her face turning hot and red out fear as her heart began to drum in her ears. She was looking at him as if a criminal waiting for the judge to announce verdict.

"I'm so sorry," she said again as he didn't say anything but kept on staring at her.

Her body began to shiver as the thought of crawling away from him crossed her mind but she resisted the urge thinking it would set him off.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Will you accept the contract, Sheharzaad?" he asked, taking her by surprise.

And she subtly shook her head in negative which didn't go unnoticed by him.

"I-I d-don't k-k-k-k..now," she stuttered badly.

"But you know you have to or as I said, I will kill Amna," He brushed a strand of hair away from her face that she purposely threw infront her face to cover it from him.

She gulped.

"I have no will.... it will all happen as you-you desire,"

"The will that is hidden, that you have suppressed, I'm asking about that will. What strategy do you have to avoid signing this contract?" He asked and she looked at him suspiciously to know whether she could state what her mind has been thinking to avoid it.

"M-m-marry me," she responded, "I don't want to....I don't...can't go through...again and again....what I went through in....in that single night,"

He smiled, clearing a crystal tear that fell off from her eye. "Marriage is not an option anymore,"

"I can't.... be a mistress," she whispered in the lowest possible voice.

"I'll bring the contract tonight," He announced and stood up, looking down at her as she quickly averted her face down. His fingers stroke her cheek for the last time

Flashback ends

He took the paper lying on the table where her signature was highlighted as he neatly folded it and pocketted it.

The door to his office opened as the maid entered after seeking his permission.

"Sir, ma'am is in the room,"

He gave a nod of acknowledgement and flicked his finger, ordering her to leave.

She was waiting for him....

But....did he have her consent?

The consent.

Which was one of the reasons for what he made her go through that hell...