'In you, I found and lost myself, all at the same time'
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Half Heaven, Half Hell
The house was on full roar, people talking, girls panicking and every other possible noise. Fairy lights adorned their small house. Ayat wore her last pieces of jewelry, skimming her look one last time in the full-length mirror she exited her room, the sleek bun, and flower accessories, a subtle amount of makeup was making her look angelic.
The most wholesome sights were seen in the house, Sara hugging Ahsan, Arsalan then adjusting his brother's collar, and smoothing every crease from his kurta. Ayat finally appeared after taking hours to get ready, it was her brother's wedding she wanted to look ethereal.
"You look so good, I might cry," Ayat squealed.
"Come on drama queen," Ahsan said spreading his arms. Ayat gladly hugged her brother.
"Where's dad?" She asked when a panic sort of gripped her.
"He was outside putting the Mehndi stuff in the car, which reminds me, Arsalan go and help your dad," Sara said, and Arsalan quietly walked out to help his father.
"Thank god," Ayat sighed. "I thought dad left without the stuff,"
"With the amount of pressure you are putting on everyone I don't think they can forget anything," Ahsan replied with naughty smile.
"I care for you, without me your wedding would have been a disaster, instead of these khussas you would have been wearing slippers," Ayat said mockingly.
"I know, and I am not even fighting you little one," Ahsan raised his hand in defeat.
"You give up so easily, no fun," Ayat groaned.
"Ayat go and call your cousins, we are getting late,"
Fun apart they were getting late, and Sara was the definition of a desi mom being overly neurotic at her son's wedding.
Ayat settled in the car after everyone was done getting ready and settled in the cars. Somehow she ended up in the car Aman was driving, although he had turned out to be a literal pain in the ass, he was her cousin and could scarcely be avoided. Aman gave her a wink from the mirror thinking she was still the girl who was head over heels in love with him.
.
.
.
"This can't be happening, this can't be happening," Ayat mumbled. A slurry of anxiety riding up her spine, her legs felt jelly and her senses garbled. How the hell was Maaz standing in her brother's wedding? Looking like he owned the damn venue as well.
His eyes scrutinized her, for him there was no one else in the room except for her. Those eyes. She gasped for air looking around. In such a highly crowded area, there was no way she could escape that torture. This is what having a crush was like it felt like you were on cloud nine whilst sinking in the deepest oceans. Only one question sounded her brain, who invited him? How'd he get in? Did he threaten the guards with that gun of his? Every time she looked at him she forgot that he carried a freaking gun on him, this man was bad news.
He looked composed, calm and collected while she was shitting herself, she didn't think he'd let her slide without talking to her once more, but she didn't think that he'd drop by on her brother's wedding unannounced.
He folded his hand on his broad chest, meticulously checking her out, and the more he noticed the more he realized, he couldn't keep away from this girl. She had a deep claws in him, since the start of the year when he saw her in one of the practices Arsalan brought her along. At first she looked unapproachable, her face the best of the poker ones, but when Arsalan went back to the bleachers and said something to her, her laugh was priceless and her smile couldn't have a match not in a thousand years. Not ever.
He hadn't once seen a girl this beautiful, inside and out. Since that day, he kept tabs on each day of her life. He knew everything about her, from her favorite tourist place to her favorite flavor in ice cream. The karate thing was a wonderful shock itself, but he realized he was all up for powerful women, even if they could get clumsy at times. He would have her back.
Maaz never thought that some girl would have that kind of effect on him. The threatening kind. One that would make him go soft on the world, because when he looked at life from her eyes, life seemed beautiful and he craved for that feeling, the feeling that one day everything will be fine if she is with him, that they will get through it together. When he was around her everything felt like rainbows and soft clouds.
Ayat uncomfortably shifted when that got too much and excused herself out of there. When she drew out she realized how fast has her heart been beating and how uneven her breath was, his eyes followed her around, a smirk playing on his dangerously handsome face.
"Ayat," Haya said. "You only act like you've seen a ghost when you see Ma..."
Haya's sentence got caught in her throat, as she saw Maaz standing at a little distance looking their way.
Mirha came in seeing the girls literally paled out.
"What the..." Mirha said. "heck?"
"Oops," Haya looked at Ayat.
"Aghhh," Ayat stomped her feet in frustration, she hated that he was so unpredictable and his next move was unknown to the world, she had her entire family here, she couldn't afford any drama.
"Why is he here?" Ayat asked mostly herself.
"He was stalking you remember, Ayah," Haya replied, "That's what stalkers do, they follow you around everywhere,"
"No one needs to panic, he's just standing here, nothing is happening," Mirha gave in the voice of reason, Ayat did realize, he hadn't done something astronomically bad even when he was at her parents house, only some very lame attempts at hitting on her.
Haya turned total 360 degrees to look to observe.
"Discreetly," Ayat urged. "I'll go ask Ahsan bhai,"
Anaya wasn't sitting with Ahsan, so he was alone. Ayat took her chance and sat beside her brother.
"Did you invite Maaz?" She asked after she talked about a couple of other guests just not to make it obvious.
"No, he is one of Anaya's cousins friend," Ahsan replied casually. Ayat nodded her head.
"Okay listen," Ahsan drew her in and whispered something in her ear. Ayat smiled as she planned her scheme with an evil glint in her eyes.
Anaya was about to step on the stage with her friends and cousins when Ayat stopped them all. Seeing the commotion, Shahzain and Maaz came as well. Mostly because Ayat was the center of attention, and in her flowy yellow frock and her hair cascading down the length of her belly, he couldn't get enough of her.
"Don't you think, some of the traditions have gotten so boring," Ayat proposed.
"What do you mean?" Anaya's sister, Saima asked.
"If you really want Anaya to sit with my brother, you need to pay,"
Anaya looked at her baby cousin Shahzain and glanced at Maaz for help, Anaya knew how stubborn Ayat could get, while all Anaya's cousins seemed pretty annoyed because they were the ones in the mood to draw money from the groom's side. And she knew both Maaz and Shahzain could get very persuasive at times. Their best players. Maaz had been pretty involved with Shahzain's family so Anaya recognized him as her own brother. All hopes on the bad boys of the family.
"This is a false tradition," Saima, Anaya's sister argued.
"But we need to invent new things, why do always groom's side get looted?" Ayat reasoned. Anaya could tell from the back of her hand that it was her fiancé who had suggested such an absurd idea, and picked out the best person to play it out.
"You gotta pay come on," Haya complained, entirely having too much fun out of this.
"Pay," they all chanted together. With the amount of passion she was shouting, he wanted to hand out his entire property to her, but he settled on something that might anger everyone in the crowd.
"Whatever you want," He said with utter seriousness, oh my god, Ayat gasped, the hell he was doing? He chuckled seeing red stain her cheeks yet again. How easily she flustered.
"I don't want anything from you," She ignored him and decided to rush out from there. She seemed offended. Haya caught her hand, and Mirha eyed her.
"Don't be stupid, you can't mess your brother's wedding," Haya whispered. Ayat looked at her brother behind and then at Maaz. She couldn't create distaste. Not on her brother's wedding.
"That one's a clever girl," Shahzain told Maaz as he saw Haya talk to Ayat in a hushed voice.
"10,000," Ayat said.
Maaz proposed looking her way accompanied with a small smile his hands went to his pocket.
Haya elbowed Ayat as Saira whisper yelled. "Be a little tougher,"
His hands stopped midway.
"30,000, will do," Ayat said.
He rummaged and brought out some notes from his pockets, he put the cash in her hand, the sparks she felt when his calloused hands brushed her own. As he looked at her as if every ounce of breath was taken away from her lung floating in the air like midnight smoke. He was the one messing everything, even her mind.
"You are going to be the end of me," He whispered, fanning hot breath that tickled her ear lobe. Her head shot back at him but he had gotten far along walking like a speedster, she wanted to cover her face, because her cheeks were warm again.
.
.
.
"You think he will say something?"
Ayat direly wanted to concentrate on the chicken tikka before her, but even food wasn't enough to tear away her focus from him.
"He is here for some reason," Mirha said.
"Don't you think he needs to up his game a bit?" Haya said. "It is almost boring me out,"
"Totally," Ayat agreed. "Why doesn't he just gets over with it and tells me what he wants?"
"Ayat," A woman called her, she was probably from her neighbors. "Please arrange some extra glasses for our table,"
"It will be there in no time," she assured the lady as she walked away from the place. All the dinner she hadn't seen Maaz around. He was a very strange person. He gave her Edward Cullen vibes from twilight. The looking non stop for hours and...
She bumped into a figure and guess who could it possibly be? Maaz Farooq Chaudhry in all his infamous glory but he had this look going around where he didn't smile, not even for a second, and somehow it put an edge to him. Except for his mad man eyes and thick beard, everything seemed pretty normal, she guessed. Both the scent of his cologne and her fresh minty scent mixed off, he had to support her or she would have fallen, after all he just hit her with his heavy frame. He caught her arm and pulled her to the side alley, just behind all the tables.
"We need to talk," He said with clamor, not even giving her time to recover. She didn't even dare make contact with his eyes because if he sees her's, it would be the biggest giveaway, she didn't even know what she would give away, what was she feeling anyways?
"I am busy," she said looking behind him, still agitated by the stunt he pulled in front of everyone. He had her caged to the wall. He knew that she could very well escape him, but Maaz was a clever man, he had her in a complex position to where none of her kicks and tricks would work.
"I said we need to talk," Maaz said with a fairly tight jaw. The savior was gone, the softness gone, the undertone of fire surfacing as he held her in a bruising grip. She looked at him, only to figure out what he wanted, at least, get a hint. His eyes were the color of bear and just as fierce. Beautiful and fiery. Nobody could ever get tired watching them.
"Leave me or I will not move an inch," She said challenging him. He liked the attempt made. He gave his full teeth smile. His teeth were perfectly aligned, better than his usual 'don't bother me' look. She was enjoying the view before he ruined it all.
"I don't like to hear, NO,"
"Good for you, but guess what? NO, I don't want to talk to you so just..."
"We still have a chance at being civil," Maaz warned, he would hate if he'd scare her away, but he would also hate if she was deluded by the softness he had presented himself with, he wasn't a decent man if that is what she was expecting.
"Or what?" Her voice was filled to the brim with confidence, she knew he would never hurt her, she knew he was obsessed with her, she knew everything, and that is why where most girl's would have snapped under him, she stood like statue, with fierce eyes. He pressed her further in as the wall almost pained her vertebral column.
"Or I will drag you out of here,"
."You wouldn't dare,"
"Try me," He said. "I am afraid of no one here,"
"You won't," She said giving in. He was a literal mad man.
"Only if you agree, Ayat," He proposed. He was half heaven, half hell.
...
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