Fahad's POV:

Mom and dad had taken the family private jet from Karachi to Islamabad to minimise the travel and reach us as soon as possible. They should be arriving any minute now. I really hope they arrive in a subtle manner. I don't want suspicion to arise incase anyone spots a certain dead body and hits the news.

I looked at the watch above the TV. It was 5 pm now. My father and mother in law would reach in roundabout two hours too. So far so good. I really needed to sort out this mess.

Now, all I had to figure out was how to tell dad that Zohaib's body was rotting somewhere on the side of the road and we had to discard it before someone finds out he is gone. Unka tou BP shoot karjana hai (His BP is going to spike.) Oh well, we are in a hospital, I can ask that piece of shit doctor to bring him BP medicine.

Rubab was sleeping in my arms while I was trying to organise my thoughts. I wonder if she will try to strangle me the moment she wakes up for manipulating the answer out of her. Well, I would have gotten the answer one way or the other. No point fretting over it.

I looked down at her. She was frowning in her sleep. I gently pressed the area between her eyebrows to relax her. Dear begum, I didn't say kabool hai three times for you to bail on me like this. Oh no, love, we are in for the long haul. It ain't even till death do us apart. We are meeting in the next life too. You are stuck with me for good.

A jump from a cliff didn't stop it. You think you killing Zohaib of all people would stop it? She clearly didn't know me well enough. She turned a little and snuggled into my chest. Yeah, definitely never letting you go.

I wonder how Rubab's parents would take the news. Should I just tell them I killed him? Would that be better? I can do that. I doubt it would bother my father in law. He has the same poker face and heart of ice as Rubab.

Rubab groaned in her sleep and I adjusted her a little so she was more comfortable. I am guessing the six hour long effects of the painkiller were wearing off too. I could feel the throbbing sensation in my head and back too.

The news about Kamran was haunting me too. To think Kainaat was potentially alive and Wassal had kidnapped her. And that Zoya had told him. The painkiller had numbed my reaction rate but this news felt like a ton of bricks now. Kainaat had been an elder sister to all three of us. Ibraheem and I have always been an only child but she made sure that she acted as a sibling figure for all three of us.

I recall the one time when Ibraheem and I had gotten into a brawl with some older kid in grade 5 and we were about to get beat up and Kainaat slapped the guy and screamed bloody murder to save us. There was this other time when I had a sudden high fever and she and Kamran took care of me through out the night at Ibraheem's house because dad and mom had gone to Turkey.

I also remember when the news about her disappearance had reached us. Ammi had rushed to auntie's side who was throwing up from the stress while uncle had a stroke from the shock. Kainaat was like a sister to us too. The loss was just so immense to bear. Kamran's family never stayed the same after that. Auntie withdrew from public completely. She became a hollow shell. Uncle became ruthless and lost his smile. He became super protective about Kamran.

I still remember how auntie had made us promise to protect Kamran no matter what happens and we gave her our word that the three of us would always be together and safe.

Back then, it took me and Ibraheem weeks to calm Kamran down who kept crying his eyes out. He cried until he had no more tears left. He became a silent observing entity after that. He kept saying how he had lost Anushay and Kainaat in the same night. Anushay or should I say, Zoya's family was very protective so Ibraheem and I had only seen Anushay from afar like once or twice. Who would have thought that that little midget was Zoya?

I snapped out of my thoughts as the door slammed open and Rubab woke up with a fright too. Both of us turned to look at the door and in walked dad in a navy blue suit and a fur coat hanging on his shoulders, towering to his full height of 6'3. Mom was wearing an all black outfit with a navy blue shawl wrapped around her as well as dad's muffler in her neck. She was holding his hand and he looked tensed as he scanned the room until his eyes met mine and I saw his body visibly relax.

"Ullu da patha!" His booming voice tore through the silence as Rubab flinched in my hold and gaped at dad. She scooted away from my embrace as if she was embarrassed. We are married begum, I internally rolled out my eyes. Oh right, she was seeing his anger for the first time.

"Zubair, woh apka beeta hai." Mom told him in a matter-of-fact tone. I wanted to laugh but dad would definitely smack me then.

"Mera beeta hai isliye is khotay ko yeh keh sakta hun." Dad replied to mom softly before turning his glare at me. He is definitely going to lose it once he finds out that Zohaib is dead and somewhere nearby.

"Dad-" I started but he shut me up with one death stare. He bent down and hugged me leaving me surprised me.

"Aik o aik beeta hai mera, woh bhi aisi harkatein karay tou ghussa tou charna hai. Apne maa baap ka hi soch liya kar." Dad's voice cracked as I hugged him back. He then softly patted Rubab's head. "Uper se aik o aik bahu hai, usko bhi sath le kar marna hai?"

"Apki bahu ko marne deta hun men bhala? Mere hote howe Rubab ko such nahi hoga." I grinned and mom and dad sighed before looking at each other.

"Asalam o alaikum, auntie uncle." Rubab softly greeted them while her face turned pink. Mom kissed both of our foreheads one at a time while dad gave a head pat before sitting down.

"Now tell me what happened. I refuse to believe that the two of you fell from a cliff by accident." I felt begum go stiff beside me while the two of them looked at us eagerly. If I thought I was perceptive, my dad was the mastermind. I had learned all my tricks and trades from him. He could read faces, actions and emotions everything. Rubab looked at me in horror, shaking her hand but I just gave her an assuring nod. She needs to trust me. Trust my family. We are the Abroos. We never let our people down.

Dad was observing everything. As if understanding that whatever I was about to say was confidential, he clapped his hand twice and three people from our company walked in. I recognised them immediately. One of them was dad's right hand and friend for the past fifteen years, Tanveer.

"Close the doors and make sure not a soul wanders outside while I have a conversation with my son and daughter in law. If there are any cameras, keep a check. No one will hear a word of this conversation."

"Tanveer uncle, please ask a doctor to bring dad's blood pressure medicine too. He is going to need it." Dad gave me a narrowed eye look but decided to go with it. The three men nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind us.

"So what kind of information could possibly require a blood pressure medicine? How bad can it be? Worse than you two falling off a cliff?" Dad crossed his legs and patted the chair beside him to usher mom to sit beside him. He would always get touchy if mom wasn't within a 5 metre radius of him.

Once she sat down beside us, I turned to Rubab.

"Trust me." She didn't seem convinced but reluctantly nodded. "Dad, Zohaib Iftikhar Chaudhry is dead."

There was silence. I watched how his calm facade dropped and his eyes widened but he knew there was more.

"How?" That one word was loaded enough to cause Rubab to flinch. She looked at me and shook her head vigorously. Dad was watching. He narrowed his eyes at Rubab. Rubab started to tremble. I had decided already to take the blame but she spoke before I could get a chance.

"Uncle, he attacked us at the cliff. He was going to kill Fahad so I grabbed him and jumped the cliff with him. He survived it somehow and tried to violate me so I killed him. I am so sorry." There was more silence after that as my parents exchanged a look. Rubab was trembling and her voice was cracking. I didn't get the chance to comfort as dad and mom got up and started to walk towards Rubab's side of the bed. At this point, Rubab was full blown crying.

Dad placed a hand on Rubab's head and patted it gently.

"There is nothing to apologise for. Thank you for saving my son and protecting yourself. You did the right thing. You are a very brave child." At this Rubab started to cry out more as if she was relieved to hear this.

Mom sat beside her and held her hand.

"Rubab, you are the strongest girl I have ever met and I am so glad that you are my daughter in law. My beloved child, you are a fighter. You protected our son and your dignity. Never apologise for that."

"I only have one complaint." Dad spoke up as he turned his glare at me. Oh boy. It is coming. "Why is our daughter in law protecting our son and not the other way around? I can't even smack you, you have a concussion."

"It all happened so fast. I didn't get the time to react. I did jump after her. though" I stated the last part proudly while my dad facepalmed and mom shook her head in mock disappointment. Rubab smiled at their reaction because she could tell they were joking.

"Well, anyway, I am glad the two of you are well. This is nothing less than a miracle. The Iftikhar family messed up the moment their son attacked my son. Don't worry and leave it to me. I will handle it. The body shouldn't be a concern. I am sure Rubab discarded it into the river. There shouldn't be any evidence of the kill now." Dad stated calmly. If only. Rubab and I looked at each other. Another expression that dad picked up immediately.

"Uh no." I gulped. High time for the BP medicine to be brought in.

"What do you mean no?"

"We don't exactly know where the body is but it is definitely not in the river."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It is somewhere at the side of the road."

"Somewhere? Where?"

"Uh, begum, any idea?" Rubab shook her head trying to recall. She seemed pretty lost too.

"It was behind a large rock." She stated and thick silence fell on all of us.

"So you are telling me that Zohaib hasn't drowned in the river somewhere but his body is actually on the side of road behind some 'large rock'? And can be found by anyone? At any point?"

"Yes. Also, all of us have to go Karachi immediately, Kamran just declared war on Buland Narejo's family. Kainaat might be alive."

"Tanveer! Bring my BP medicine!"