“The town slept, but Haider didn't.”
Happy reading🤍!!!!
I was walking home from work, dragging the entire weight of this cursed day behind me. My head still throbbed from that morning clash with the so-called Chote Malik Sarkar.
Uff. The audacity.
College was useless too, Shireen didn’t come today. Then office drama. Then his face again flashing in my mind for no reason.
Annoyance: 100%.
Peace: 0%.
Somewhere between breathing and overthinking, I reached home without even realising.
“Surprise…”
I froze.
Rafay stood right in front of me.
Wait,
Rafay??
Here??
In my house??
Wasn’t he supposed to be out of town?
“Rafay?? You here?? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today?” I asked, eyebrows practically touching my hairline.
“Yes,” he chuckled softly, stepping forward.
“I was coming today but thought to surprise you instead.”
He pulled me into a side-hug.
Before I could even react, Ammi smiled warmly from the kitchen,
“Tuba, go change. I’ll cook your favourite dish today.”
And honestly? A shower sounded like a life-saving idea.
As I walked upstairs, I glanced back. Rafay was watching me with a confused expression as if trying to read my entire soul.
But I didn’t have the energy. Shower first. Soul-searching later.
After freshening up, I opened the door to head downstairs, only to find Rafay standing right there.
“I was coming,” I said automatically.
“Are you okay? You look… disturbed. Office load?” He stepped inside the room, concern written all over his face.
Too many questions…
And I was already annoyed.
“Nothing. Just got into a fight with someone in the morning,” I muttered.
“With whom? Was it serious? You should’ve informed me at least,” he asked, suddenly dead serious.
He cares too much sometimes.
“Man, don’t worry. It’s fine now. And I don’t want to talk about him right now.”
I made sure my tone was clear.
I mean… I’m home. Safe. Clean. Fed.
Thinking about that incident or that man would only poke my already ruined mood.
⸻ ❦ ⸻
AUTHOR'S POV
“Hanan… try to understand,” Miral whispered into her phone, turning her face towards the window so no one heard. “I can’t meet you tomorrow. I might not be in town.”
“Miral! Come here, dinner is ready,” Samiha called from the dining table.
“Maa sarkar is calling me,” Miral sighed.
“I have to go. Okay okay, I’ll text you if I’m here tomorrow or not.”
She disconnected the call and walked towards the dining area.
⸻ ❦ ⸻
I was checking the file Abeer had sent me earlier, but honestly… my mind was nowhere near the damn paperwork.
“Baap ka road h?”
Her voice kept echoing in my head like some stubborn ringtone I couldn’t shut off.
I pressed my fingers to my temples, irritation crawling under my skin.
Of all the people in the world, she had the guts to talk to me like that?
To me?
To Haider Malik?
The audacity.
The wildcat had zero hesitation, zero fear, zero… manners.
I exhaled sharply, leaning back in my chair. I hated sharp-tongued people, and that wildcat, yeah, exactly what she was had absolutely no manners. She really managed to ruin my day.
My phone rang, snapping me out of that thought spiral. I frowned when I saw the caller ID.
Miral. My cousin and friend.
At this hour?
I picked up.
“Hello. How are you doing there?” she asked.
“Fine,” I replied, shifting in my seat. “What happened? Why call at this time? Are you okay?”
Curiosity pricked at me, tightening my eyebrows.
“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine.”
I let out a slow breath. Thank God.
“When are you coming back?” she asked.
“Maybe tomorrow,” I said, not entirely sure myself.
“Great!! I’m coming there tomorrow.”
My brows instantly pulled together. “Why here? I’m asking you again, everything alright?”
“Yes, yes. Ammi Sarkar had some official papers. She wants me to go get them because they need the family’s signature too.”
I finally relaxed. “Okay. Come and collect it. We’ll go together.”
I disconnected the call and leaned back again.
The night was quiet, the kind of quiet that softened the sharp edges of my mood.
Finally… maybe I could sleep off this ridiculous day.
⸻ ❦ ⸻
“Miral… Miral?”
“Coming, Ammi Sarkar!” she called back, putting her phone away for a second.
Samiha looked at her expectantly. “Did you talk to Haider? What did he say?”
“Yeah, I asked. He said okay, collect the papers and we’ll leave together.” Miral shrugged.
“Good. Then sleep early. You have to leave in the morning for Dehradun.”
Samiha patted her head and walked to her room.
The moment she left, Miral grabbed her phone again and dialed a number quietly, almost hiding near the window.
“Hanan? Listen… I have to go tomorrow. Maybe we can meet the day after? Please?”
“Okay,” he sighed. “But don’t make me wait. I’m already missing you.”
Miral smiled softly. “Me too. I don’t know what happened to Ammi Sarkar. Anyone could’ve gone, but she insisted I bring the papers myself and return only with Haider.”
“Maybe she trusts you and Haider the most,” Hanan replied.
“Maybe…” she sighed, leaning her head against the glass.
❀ 𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ 𓈒 𝑒𝓃𝒹 𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𓈒 ࣪𓂃 ❀
How was the update?🤍
Vote, follow and comment!!!!
Insta Id - author_nasreen17
Until then,
~Love, love🤍
Write a comment ...