FIFTY-SEVEN

AYSHAM’S POV:

“Glad to see you are enjoying a family time.” Ahmad bhai said as he smiled at all of us while Zaroon bhai and Muzamil bhai’s expression weren’t as pleasing as it should be as compared to Ahmad bhai’s. They should leave the rivalry of business world in the offices because from what I see Ahmad bhai was the humble person without any harm in talking to him. He seemed like a food person and besides everyone has competition in professional life so that doesn’t mean they are bad people in personal life.

“Do you want to join us Ahmad bhai?” Completely ignoring Zaroon and Muzamil bhai I asked a kind gesture while sitting on my seat as Areej didn’t let me stand up in order to not earn any kind of glare from the brothers of my side.

“No thank you. I was just leaving with my friends. Glad to see you here.” He stated with his hands in his pockets as he was even in the office met me in the casual clothes.

“Glad you are leaving.” Zaroon bhai raised his hand to shake it and end the meeting as that was the moment when I saw him coming towards us. He wasn’t wearing his coat as it was just his white crisp button up shirt with black pants. He really had just these dull colors but these colors looked elegant too. Sleeves were folded till his elbow showing the glimpse of his sculptured body on which he must have spent a lot of time. His eyes were on me as I didn’t even dare to look somewhere else as if his forest green orbs had held hostage my hazel brown ones. He didn’t leave my gaze with a smirk unless he reached the table and glanced at Ahmad Hashmi who was busy looking sarcastically at Zaroon bhai’s hand.

“Glad to see you here.” He said without any gladness in his voice as he was an inch longer than Ahmad bhai.

“Should I acknowledge that sarcasm or just ignore that.” Ahmad bhai asked with fake intellectual expression as we couldn’t help but giggle at that and by, we, I meant all the girls sitting at the table at that time.

“Acknowledge it. Because I am not sarcastic. I am saving a call of mine and saving my precious time by allowing you to make your department in my company.” He said and Muzamil and Zaroon bhai got shocked and stiffened at the same time.

“What? He is the family of our competitor real estate company.”

“He would know about all the insides.” Zaroon and Muzamil bhai looked at him as if he had gone mad or something while Ahmad bhai stood there without any expression on his face. It’s hard to say whether he liked the decision or not but I thought he would like that deep inside since Knights are one of the top most companies of Asia.

“Staying close to them will make you more aware of the situations.” Farzan said with a smirk invading his smile as his eyes were sparkling with something we called stepping on the road of success.

“Well. I didn’t know we would do a deal on a hotpot.” Ahmad bhai said without any expression on his face as he wasn’t looking like the person, he was few minutes ago.

“Well, we are always ready for the unexpected.” Farzan said mentioning Zaroon and Muzamil who looked calm but still were uncomfortable in adjusting all this situation.

“I should too.” He shook hands with Farzan and then with Zaroon and Muzamil as he then smiled at me as he shook his head as if saying goodbye, I smiled back and waved at him when he vanished through the doors all the while feeling his gaze on me but I ignored him completely.

Everyone came to their respective seats as Muzamil bhai was about to sit beside me when one glare from Farzan made his raise his arms in surrender.

“Fine bhai. All yours.” He went to sit beside Suzi as he came to sit beside me but I could hear the clenching of his jaw showing his mood wasn’t good. Before I could ask him anything he grabbed my thigh under the table making my breath hitched as I looked at everyone having small discussion while I couldn’t breathe properly here.

“How does he know you?” He asked while clenching his jaw with each and every word while I gulped.

“We met outside your office.” I said thinking that he would relax but he didn’t as his hand was still on my thigh when he whispered near my ear. “Stay away from him.” He just simply said that and let go of my thigh.

“Why?” I asked while looking at him this time as if he was asking me to stay away from something or someone, he should also give the reason along with that too.

“Do you want me to explain?” He asked with a little amusement in his voice as if he had liked the audacity of mine to which I didn’t consider as I just shook my head.

“Fine.” He cleared his throat a little as his tense state was gone. “He is my rival so he is yours too and I don’t want you to be near him.” He said with a hint of warning at the last as I just shook my head making a face. I didn’t like him ordering me around as I didn’t know but recently, I thought I was acting like a spoiled child who doesn’t like to be told anything. But it’s just a phase it would pass just like teenage passes.

“Are you making a face at me?” My movements got stiff when I heard him. I thought he couldn’t see me because of the hairs that were guarding my face but he did. I gulped as I turned my face to meet with his whole attention towards me. He didn’t even pass a single glance to the people sitting with us on the table. All his intention was to make me nervous around him as I was trying hard to not think about morning scenarios which I just did and now I would definitely turn into a beetroot in front of him.

“No.” I said looking at is every feature but his eyes which had amusement dancing in them.

“You lying again.” My breath hitched again as his hand grabbed my thigh again but this time it was much higher. Ig he had moved his fingers a little he could have touched my most sensitive spot.

“Did you go to my house?” I tried to change the conversation.

“I am not dumb.” He said as he caressed his thumb against my inner thigh making me believe that I was dumb who though she could change the topic.

“I want to k-know.” I grabbed his thumb as I made a fist around it under the table while my other hand was placed on the table.

“I did and I heard your f**king cousin talk s**t about you.” He admitted as I gasped at how he used profanities for Beela.

“You can’t talk like that about my cousin.” I said trying to glare at him.

“You should be glad that she is alive right now.” He said raising an eyebrow as I forgot I wasn’t talking to a normal man but the lord of the mafia world who had his hands almost between my thighs under the table.

“Don’t say anything to her.” I mumbled making everything sure.

“She deserves to be tortured to death and your aunt since she is old enough so she deserves to be starved to death.” He said and then looked into my eyes as his expressions changed seeing water in my eyes making him alarm all of a sudden.

“Excuse me.” I said with wet voice as everyone looked at when I stood up and his grip got loose so he let go off my thigh and without waiting for another second I moved towards somewhere where I couldn’t ruin anybody’s mood with tears in my eyes. I wanted everyone to have a wonderful dinner so I would go back and act normal as if nothing had happened. The problem is me so I couldn’t let anyone ruin their night because of me.

I came at the balcony which was guarded by plants as I could see other people downstairs having dinner with delightful mood under small cute chandeliers which were hanging at every small distance making the night to shine underneath them.

In front of me was the tall pine trees as we were right now in the Margila hills so the view around the restaurant was dark and serene somehow. I wrapped my arms around myself as the cold breeze was flowing and I left my shawl on the table. I looked into the darkness which wasn’t scary with these lights and chattering in between it. There is always something to show light even in the darkness but only few people could find it.

My breath hitched suddenly when I felt warmth around myself only to find him wrapping my shawl around myself and glaring at me at the same time. I turned my head and started looking at the view in front of me while I thought he would say something but my breathings became shallow when he grabbed my hairs and rested them on my left side while he placed his chin on my shoulder securing me completely in his arms by wrapping them around my waist.

“No matter…” After a long pause of silence and leaning into him a little I trailed of. “…how they have treated me. They were the ones who kept me with them.” I traced my fingers on his arm which was wrapped around my waist as I started making irregular patterns around on while he listened to me intently. “No one was ready to keep me and my mother when my father left my mother just before I was born. She did a love marriage with him which was unacceptable in our family at that time. No one accepted him and when he was gone no one accepted me and my mother. My mother married him so the person who was selected for her by my grandparents cause chaos in our house and then my mother’s younger sister my aunt was forced to marry that man. She was sacrificed for my mother and she started hated her after that but still after her death my aunt kept me with her since my grandparents didn’t accept me. She was cruel to me sometimes and so was Beela but what she did for me can’t be neglected. I don’t want her to get hurt. I just want her to forgive my mother. My mother was in love. She didn’t do anything wrong to her. It’s my grandparents who forced her but still she blamed her for that because after marriage she could complete her studies as she was in midway her MBBS. Life made her cruel because she isn’t in real life. She doesn’t treat Beela like her parents used to her as in order to do that she spoiled her too much I know that but she just didn’t want her daughter to live like how she did. I know she didn’t raise her well but still her intentions weren’t wrong. I don’t want her to get hurt as she is my only family from my mother side.” My fingers made patterns around his wrist as I sniffed not ready to cry at that time.

“Fine…” He took a long sigh as I knew he had a heart of stone. “I won’t hurt them but I wouldn’t respect them either.”

“I haven’t seen you respecting anyone.” I giggled at his statement as I passed a comment.

“I respect you.” He said kind of looking offended.

“No, you don’t.” I said as our first interaction didn’t have any space for respect so we couldn’t blame each other for that.

I gasped in an instant when he turns me around and made me face each other and I gulped seeing mischief in his eyes.

“Do you want me to show how disrespect looks like?”

•~•

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