Chapter 59: Chapter 59

One step.

Then another step.

And then another.

He came close as he entered inside before closing the door.

His grey eyes moved around the room as he observed everything from the bed to the sofa set, curtained windows and other doors within the room.

Empty.

The room was empty.

She wasn't here.

He retrieved his phone before dialing a number and placed it on his ear while looking around the room.

The call was received almost immediately and it was then his eyes grasped a minute detail which he missed earlier.

His eyes narrowing as he spoke on the phone, "where is Sheharzaad?"

"You left her in the room?"

"She is not here,"

"No. I will personally check the recordings," he said and turned around, opened the door and his footsteps retreated.

As the room became empty again.

Slowly, her small cowering form appeared behind the sofa as she shakily stood up. Her eyes cursorily ran around and found the room empty.

Sweat gathered around her temples.

She was defying him.

She was still outruning him.

Despite going through that mental torture, she wasn't accepting his command of selling her body to him. Yet the way her body was quivering now was unparallel. Her reaction and her feelings were very different from her old self.

She would fear him. Yes.

But that much as she was fearing now? No. It was just a big no.

Sheharzaad was clueless now as what to do.

Should she run away?

The thought alone brought loads of memories in her mind that made her chest constrict with pain.

She was caged and cornered, unable to find a solution.

She can't run.

So what she should do?

She had no idea.

She took a few steps towards the wide-opened door as the idea of hiding in this palace like mansion hit her. She must have taken a few steps and as she completely turned towards the door, her eyes jutted out of her sockets upon finding him standing there.

Horror sprawled on her face slowly as her mind couldn't digest the picture.

She was caught.

Slowly, her steps began to retreat yet he didn't move a inch but was just staring her.

His eyes noticed her terror filled face, as if she had seen some ghost. Her body shaking like a leaf. She looked close to having a panic attack.

His brain was stuck at this point.

She was still defying him?

She was still not accepting his command?

Still...

Despite what he made her go through.

Her hiding away from him despite his command to wait for her made one thing clear to him.

Her spirit.

He can't kill it.

Nobody can.

Just like nobody could tame that wild spirit of his mother.

To break that spirit, to make her give herself completely to him with her own hands, he made her go through that.

Yet still, she stood there. Still plotting ways of escaping from him.

He was now able to understand why that sixth sense in him always saw a reflection of his mother in her.

Why his eyes always saw a Jaha Ara in her.

He never had forced a women for consent. She was the first one. He could have taken her long ago. Yet it became a matter of ego for him. He wanted her to say a yes to him. Her, herself. But he was now able to gauge out that he still didn't have that yes. That consent.

Yes, she was obedient. Fearful. Her mind at his beck and call. But that consent.... no. He couldn't elicit it out of her.

Even the mental torture couldn't change that part of her.

He stepped closer as Sheharzaad stared at him with widened eyes. She was well aware of his intention.

The reason he was advancing towards her.

He came closer.

Closer.

And closer.

Not even stopping for a second to change his mind, to have mercy on the poor soul, to see the plead, the beg in her eyes. His eyes not even blinking, his hands unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt and his eyes totally fixed on hers.

When he was just a few steps away, she began to shake like a leaf. No words were coming out of her mouth. She was shaking her head left and right as her body was rocking with shivers and goosebumps while his eyes were fixed on him as if she was witnessing a demon coming towards her.

"Shaadi... tyaar... mei... yeh nhi... shaadi, I-i-I can't be that," She muttered gibberish while fisting her hands tightly together.

(I'm not ready.... marriage...)

As he came nearer, she took multiple steps away from him, when her feet stumbled and she fell on the bed.

A sob left her mouth as he neared her.

She tried crawling back from him when he held her right arm not letting her move back.

"Shaadi..." She was going lunatic in her mind yet her attempts as compared to the chaos going in her mind were subtle. She wanted to kick her legs, crawl away and then run out of this room but here her she felt as if her limbs never existed. She had to gather alot of courage, fight alot of instructions running within her mind just to step back from him while he approached her.

(Marriage)

He placed his right hand on the bed as she pulled back laying on the bed creating a difference between their faces. But he neared towards her. His eyes, deep, intense staring at her with utter concentration. And for a moment all that could be heard in that room were her jingly breaths. Despite the air conditioner was on, her whole being was getting drenched in sweat with every second that was elapsing. Her heart was sinking, her eyes were widening and at this point, teeth had began to clatter.

"I was ...n-not... n-not... not... inv-inv-involved... w-with.. with... Hann-" her sentence cut short as he placed his finger on her lips.

"Shhh did I allow you to speak?" he asked with a deep baritone, his expression hardening on the name 'Hannan' that was about to escape from her lips. Her lips were only meant to say his name in any state, any condition. He won't bear another men's name leaving her lips.

Her face paled further as she shook her head and began to cry softly. She was internally praying for a miracle to happen that he would leave her, set her free, let her live again. And the hope was dying with every passing second.

He could see her face getting paler and paler with every second, the subtle light of hope shining within her eyes, diminishing and before it could diminish completely, he placed his thumb on her brow and began to caress her brows.

His eyes staring in her and he felt like indulging in those beautiful, innocent diamond orbs. To kiss those eyes on and on.

Her eyes.

She was so pretty.

So beautiful.

With that lascivious body.

That at times, he had to control himself from taking her against the wall.

Her voice, nothing but a sweet murmur to him that he wanted to hear her all night, crying out his name.

Her thought has became a drug to him. A drug he needed to sleep. A drug he needed to work.

A drug he needed to live.

She was like that crush to him with whom the people imagine their beautiful moments, private moments as they drift into wonderland.

An addiction.

She was nothing but an addiction. Yet an intense addiction that has made its way in his blood, coursing through his veins and now there was no turning around. He had reached to the dead end of that addiction that despite wanting, he can't give up on that addiction. Reaching a point that he had accepted he was obsessed with her.

That he has fallen into the depth of that obsession.

Fallen completely.

Insanely.

Passionately.

Desperately.

And lastly, hopelessly.

He needed a whiff of her, a glimpse of her.

He needed her.

As he tried nearing her, her shivering intensified as her eyes began to roll back. And before he knew it, she had fainted.

This was what he had expected.

Sighing, he got up and walked out of the room, strolling to the terrace of the royal haveli. Lighting up a cigarette, his grey eyes narrowed at the vast green meadows as he kept on observing everything. His hand rested on the railing while the other held the cigarette while he would momentarily puff out the smoke. Once done, he crushed the bar into pieces underneath his shoe.

Retrieving the lighter from the pocket, he took out the folded paper. Slit the area where her signature was and kept it. The next second, he clicked open the lighter and set the corner of that page on fire before throwing it on the floor. The fire began to slowly spread and soon the page was turned into ashes. Before he walked away from there.

....

He stirred in his sleep as his phone buzzed and he picked it up.

"Shehryaar," Zaroon said, from the other side. His voice depiting urgency.

"What happened?" he was quick to ask.

"Dua.... she tried committing suicide again. I went to your house to get the documents you asked for and I found her lying on the floor,"

"Where is she now?"

"I'm at the hospital. The doctors can't stable her condition. There are chances we might loose her. Please come fast,"

"I'm coming. Don't inform at haveli yet," The call was hung as he rushed to the hospital.

This whole month had been full of surprises for her. Irtaza's and Moosa's kidnapping as they went on the mission with him solely controlling the mafia. And not just this, he had to deal with Zahra's kidnapping too as his brother was drowning in the memories of his wife and wasn't in a state to deal with business and mafia so Shehryaar had to deal with everything.

But everything climaxed when he came to know of the biggest surprise his life could give him.

His sister Dua. She wasn't just married but pregnant. He pressed her to tell his man but she didn't afraid that he might find him and kill him.

His sister, all her life has craved for love which she desperately tried finding in her life partner. But given her family's involvement in dark politics and mafia, nobody was ready to accept her given the family she was coming from. They all were scared. Her first boyfriend broke up with her because of this reason as she was deeply in love with that man.

Shehryaar had brought that guy to the brink of death who dared rejecting her and warned her to not to get herself involved with any guy ever again. But she was Dua Haider Syed. The only sister of Irtaza Haider and Shehryaar Haider and she went against their commands, bringing another man in her life which she knew they won't approve of.

When she was busy covering up the pain of her first break up, she had met that man. She caught his eye and he caught her eye. They both got into a relationship as they both were very serious about each other. Dua would often tell him about her family and the business they ran and he would keenly listen, claiming that he didn't care about anything. He accepted her the way she was. One day, when Dua told him that Shehryaar might be suspecting them, they both got married and to protect him getting killed by his brothers and to get hum fully committed in this relation so he won't ever leave her, she got herself pregnant with him as the baby would act as an unbreakable seal to this marriage and he won't leave her.

And when he suddenly disappeared and stopped her contact with him, not responding to his calls, she fell into depression and shifted to Shehryaar's house in Islamabad from the haveli after Irtaza and Zahra both were retrieved.

The depression and anxiety increased and she tried committing suicide and her baby passed away.

"What happened?" Shehryaar asked the doctor upon reaching the hospital.

"Her condition isn't getting stable. Her blood pressure, her heart rate-"

"She was recovering, doctor," He contended.

"Yes. But she tried killing herself again. And maybe there are chances she may not be able to conceive again given where she had stabbed herself,"

"Her child is dead?" he said more as a statement than a question.

"Unfortunately, sir,"

His eyes widened with shock as he closed them. Thick lashes shadowing the cheekbones as his lips parted to take a deep breath.

'Bhai protect my baby. Even from myself,' Her words echoed in his mind when he had brought her to his mansion after knowing the truth she had been hiding. His sister was already in the pit of depression.

'Will you? Do you promise? Meray bachay ki muj sei bhi zyada hifazat karni hai,'

(Protect my child at every cost)

'I promise,' He had replied.

"You may go, doctor," Zaroon said to him.

"Sir, we will try our best," The doctor assured before leaving and as he was passing through Shehryaar, he grasped his arm and whispered just for his ears.

"People work well when they have something at stake. Now, isn't it?" Shehryaar asked.

And the man gave a fearful nod.

"I have one of your sons in my custody," he told, "and the rest you know," And he stepped away from him, "now you will try your best, " he spoke aloud. "Leave," And the doctor scurried away from there.

The whole night he was outside the ICU.

His ears reminiscing words of Zaroon, "pray for her,"

He closed his eyes and laid his head back against the wall. This was the first time, when his power, money, name, nothing could help him. Just a bunch of doctors. Rather the doctors couldn't help him too as they told him they were as helpless as him.

He needed to pray. As Zaroon said.

Pray for his sister.

Because nothing could help him as much as a prayer would.

He almost scoffed at the thought.

With the piles of sins he had on his hand, did they think God would listen to him? Then what was the use of praying.

Did not his mother prayed too to save her and her lover from his family but what happened.... she ended up dead. Hung to the ceiling.

If prayers worked God would have saved his mother.

If his mother would be there to pray for him then he wouldn't be like this. Then he wouldn't be sitting alone here trying to know how he was supposed to pray.

The monster he has been made now... prayers of such monsters do not get accepted

If prayers really worked then he wouldn't be in this position. Then he wouldn't see every woman from the same angle. Then he wouldn't hesitate marrying Sheharzaad. Then he wouldn't have ever asked Sheharzaad to spend a night with him. Then he wouldn't have to make her go through a mental torture to the point that any men's thought won't dare crossing her mind.

Prayers don't work...

'Pray for her,'

The words again came in his mind.

'It is my last day in this world, Shehryaar beta. Take care of your sister. She will need a lots of love. Find me in the stars,'

It is my last day....

Last day...

Could this be his sister's last day too? He questioned himself and the before any answer could hit his ears from within himself, he shook his head, stood up before going to search for Zaroon.

....

Peace.

Peace was nowhere for him within the hospital walls.

He was utterly tensed.

Yet the doctor who was there for Dua's case seemed more tense than him due to  the sword of Shehryaar's threat dancing on his head.

A few moments ago, the doctor has told them that there still couldn't be said anything about her but she showed a bit of recovery.

Yet their response still didn't satisfy him.

He knew where to seek his peace. As he left his men and Zaroon their and went back to her.

It wasn't his mansion. He had shifted her to the cell of one of the havelis his family owned in the one of the villages around Islamabad.

The Malakpur Azizal village.

They were the landlords or the nawabs in that village and many more similar to this one given the huge number of lands they owned. And he had found it as the best option for her to be there that even if she would make an attempt to escape, she wouldn't have been able to make it far.

Driving for a few hours, he reached the haveli and walked to the room where he had left her. The servants their told him that she had gained consciousness last night and was served dinner and was currently sleeping in his room.

Upon entering the room, he found her sleeping there, curled up in a ball.

He wondered how she was sleeping so peacefully at a new place. He was aware, new places didn't settle well with her. Even in that cell, she barely slept and last time, when she was at his mansion, while he had been staring her sleeping form the whole night, he was well aware that she wasn't sleeping. He could detect when one was putting up an act and when one's not and she was absolutely pretending to sleep back them.

He walked inside towards her to look at her. Sitting beside her, he found her face covered with her brown hair so he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her little snorts told him that she was in a deep slumber. The air from her nose would puff some of her hair away from her face.

Last night when he had seen her all dolled up, just for him, his eyes couldn't help but remain on her, and stay remained on her for as long as he could.

She looked no less than an angel.

Beautiful.

Enchanting.

Bewitching.

Moving forward a little, he stroked his nose with hers.

"I'm dangerously obsessed with you, little lady," he uttered to her sleeping form. "God knows where this obsession would lead me to," his throaty voice not above a whisper. "I don't see a good end to it," he kissed the tip of her nose, "But I can't let you go. Never,"

The days he had been away from her, when he wasn't around her, those days were no less than a torture for him. He would made himself drunk to sleep. Not able to give a proper attention to business and other works.

It was then he realized the enormous need and desire he had for her.

Moving away, he went to the washroom to take a shower.

When he came out of the walk-in cupboard, all dressed up, his eyes fell on her who was sitting on the bed. Upon noticing his presence, her body began to shiver as she shakily stood up, looking at him with those wide fearful eyes.

He could read in her eyes.

The reason of the anxiety bubbling up within her.

She was thinking.... he was here for her again.

Her nervousness was evident as she looked up at him and then down at the floor. He approached her and her breathing stopped. The fear began to paramount within her as her face paled. Her hands tightly clutching the scarf draped around her chest. As he took another step towards her, her balance faltered and she fell back on the mattress.

She was about to sit up when he placed his knee on the bed followed by his elbow beside her head and hovered above her.

Her chest rushed up and down as she stared at him, breathlessly.

Her eyes blinked while she was looking at him and he got the hint.

"Speak,"

"I.... I....I...I,"  No word left her lips as she struggled formulating a sentence. She wanted to apologize to him for her misconduct last night. But she was fearful that what if he did not forgive her? Or worse, what if he sent her back in the cell?

The latter thought brought tears in her eyes as her head tilted and she looked up in the sky. Hoping God would diminish her plight.

She didn't want to go back to the cell.

But for that she would have to listen to his every command and she disobeyed him last night.

How would she get saved now?

He read her eyes and all he saw was utter helplessness. For a moment, he felt the restlessness of her heart.

While his sister was lying in the hospital and he too was dependent on The One on whom she was depending now. She was praying to.

He tilted her head back to himself and raised his brows in a questioning manner, "you what?"

Gathering all the courage she had, "I c-c-c-an't be your.... your.. mis-" her sentence cut short as he placed his thumb above her lips.

"You won't," he replied and placed his lips above his thumb which was resting on her lips.

He had burnt that paper last night.

He couldn't get what he wanted.

So there was no use to keep it, anyways.

Or maybe... he knew she wouldn't be able to sustain that humiliation every day.

He tried to shut down the thoughts which were convincing him that he had a soft corner for her.

Women weren't trustworthy.

A few moments elapsed but no words were exchanged. Only her quite breathing could be heard as he moved his head up to stare at her again.

"I wonder how will you tell our children the story of their father proposing their mother for marriage," he uttered and she frowned, her brain trying to decipher his sentence.

"With you lying underneath me, staring at my lips every other second waiting for the conformation as your chest heaved up and down that all could be heard were your rapid breaths," he said in a whisper and slowly advanced his lips towards her as he placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

"What would be the story you'd be telling them years later?" he asked, while continuing to rub her brow as she innocently stared at him, "Hmm Zaad?"

"I-I don't.... d-don't understand,"

"You're going to be my wife. I will shift you to the haveli today,"