Long chapter. Pretty sort of intense. Please make sure to vote and comment, tell me what you think :)))

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Mannat x Wajeeh.

"You know when you find yourself sitting in a bar, you should atleast have the courtesy to order alcohol." His voice reached her ears and she let out a small sigh.

She already knew that he wouldn't leave her alone. She had known that he would follow her, he was the kind of person who hated not getting answers and she had refused to give them to him.

Instead, she had simply left the suite and sat in the only place that she found less crowded in the entire hotel.

The bar.

She had ordered a Margarita for courtesy sake but had not even sipped a single bit of it, instead she had just been thinking and thinking.

She did not know what had overcame him. She did not know why he was even asking all these questions now, did not know what he wanted from her, did not know why he was bringing up the past.

The only thing she knew was that the more answers she gave to him, the more questions he would ask.

She was just not ready to do that.

Wajeeh had taken a few minutes himself before coming downstairs, only to find her sitting in a bar, playing with her Margarita, deep in thoughts.

He slid beside her, hearing her shrug as she took a few seconds to respond to him.

"I don't drink." She mumbled with a small shrug, Wajeeh sensed the tension she held within herself, the kind that made things a little awkward.

"There are better choices than a mint margarita I'm sure." He tried to lighten up the mood, looking at the bartender as he ordered a drink for himself and one for her.

"A virgin mojito and a scotch." He said to the man, then turned around to look at her face properly.

Wajeeh put his hand on the bar shelf, leaning against it.

All the what ifs in his head were only causing more and more confusion, he just wanted to have a clear picture of her, of them.

This was Mannat. He knew that it did not make much sense. Hell, it didn't make sense to him even. But ever since he had seen Mannat with Aaron and purposely broken them up, the thought of her being with anyone else had been too overwhelming.

Wajeeh thought about it for an entire night. What if Mannat met someone special and decided to be with him? What would he do then? He would get all the freedom he still had right now but he would not have Mannat.

There would be no point in anything. He cherished his freedom, his youth but Mannat? He could not lose her.

She was a sensible person, the kind that wanted everything in life. She wouldn't wait for him to get his shit together, he knew that much.

"You stormed out of there like a mad lady. I was worried." He started off, knowing that they need to talk. They needed to communicate.

"I wanted some space." Mannat replied, drinking the virgin mojito. She cringed at the taste.

Wajeeh took a sip of his scotch.

"You didn't answer my question." He stated, waiting to hear what she had to say to that.

Mannat turned her head to stare at him.

"I didn't have an answer, Wajeeh." She said, her voice merely above a whisper.

She looked so damn tired that for a minute, his entire head stopped telling him to push her, to ask questions.

She looked exhausted and he was sure this wasn't physical exhaustion.

"Yeah, I figured it was a complicated question to ask." He mumbled, hearing another sigh come from her.

Wajeeh clicked his tongue.

"You can come up and sleep. It's not like we have the same room. We've got a busy day tomorrow." He said to her, genuine concern laced in his voice.

She shook her head at him.

"No, I'm okay here. It's peaceful." She replied, drinking another sip of the drink that didn't taste half as tasty as the typical margarita that she always ordered.

Wajeeh nodded.

She had said that she needed some space. He was willing to give her that right now, if she truly wanted that.

He didn't want to exhaust her even further, he didn't want them to argue.

He stood up from his seat and Mannat frowned at him, pointing to his drink and then at him.

"Stay, you haven't finished your drink yet." She asked him to stay.

Wajeeh smirked, still standing. He picked up his drink and took a huge gulp of it, finishing it in one go.

"Well, now it's finished." He told her with a shrug, Mannat let out a chuckle.

He was relieved to hear the sound of that. What had changed her mood?

"Then go." She shoved him, he sat back down.

"I'll have another." He mumbled, sliding a little near to her.

Mannat looked behind her, seeing two women standing at a small distance from them.

Their gazes were focused on Wajeeh, it was clear that they found him attractive and wanted his attention. This wasn't very new to Mannat, she had seen women being this way towards Wajeeh since they were in high school.

She rolled her eyes and turned back around, hating their lusty gazes over him.

They were pretty hot too. He would probably hook up with atleast one of them.

"You're going to bail out on me in less than ten seconds." She stated, a dry chuckle escaping her mouth.

He frowned at her, confused by her sudden words.

"And why would I do that?" He enquired, not understanding.

"Because the chicks behind us are ready to eat you up." Wajeeh did not even look behind to see who the women were or why they were looking at him.

He simply looked at Mannat and nodded, a teasing smile creeping on his face.

"That is the usual female reaction, yes." He accepted, she nodded.

"Well then I'll go up and get some sleep, you choose between your favourite set of blondes." He still hadn't looked behind to see the woman and he knew Mannat had realised that.

She just wanted to know if he would pursue them or not and she was asking that question in the most Mannat way possible.

"I'm not going to sleep with them, Mannat." He declared, continuing.

"And I want to be here with you." He finished, hating that be had sounded more vulnerable than he intended to.

God. How pathetic.

A sudden realisation flashed in her eyes and she gulped, staring at him.

"Don't, Wajeeh." She warned, he frowned.

"Don't what?"

"I know what you're trying to do. I don't want to go back to that, please." She didn't have time to play around words anymore.

She had understood his intention. She didn't want that right now, she didn't want anything temporary that would break her heart again.

"Mannat," He tried to say something, she stood up.

He saw the wetness in her eyes, he saw the hurt that they contained.

"Tumne poocha tha ke maine aakhri baar tumse muhabbat kab ki thi. Mujhe nahi yaad ke maine aakhri baar tumse muhabbat kab nahi ki thi."

(You asked me when was the last time I loved you. I don't remember the last time when I did not love you.)

She couldn't hold it in any longer, she couldn't stop herself from saying that. Wajeeh had pushed her and pushed her untill she told him exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Tumhare liye ye sab bauhat asaan hai, Wajeeh. Jab chaaha mere paas agaye aur jab chaha kisi aur ke paas chale gaye. Main ye nahi kar sakti."

(This is all way too easy for you. You come to me whenever you want to and you leave whenever you want to. I can't do this.)

Wajeeh inhaled a sharp breath, trying to take it all in, trying to swallow the words that she had thrown his way.

Had she really told him that she loved him? Relief washed all over him but seeing the hurt on her face, it went away again.

"Hum dono ese hi theek hain."

(We're perfectly fine like this.)

She whispered, Wajeeh shook his head. How could she just decide everything?

"Meri Baat to sun lo, Mannat."

(Atleast listen to me, Mannat.)

She shook her head at him, feigning a yawn.

"I have to go sleep." She excused herself, trying to walk away.

Wajeeh held her by the arm, gripping it. He didn't want her to leave without even listening to him.

"You're not going anywhere until we finish talking. You can't drop the bomb on me and then disappear." He stated.

How could she even decide how he felt like? How could she decide the way he thought about her? And he knew, he knew why Mannat was saying all this.

"Deep down, you want me to be this way Mannat. You want me to ask you this, you want me to say what I feel, you want me to touch you. You're just trying to stay away because you think that is the right thing to do for yourself." She tried to pull herself out of his grip, he tightened it even more

She hated listening to him, hated it because he sounded right, he sounded really right.

She scowled at him.

"It is the right thing to do for myself." She defended. Wajeeh cupped her cheek with his other hand.

"We were sixteen when I felt that spark for you and it has not gone away ever since." She pulled out of his grasp, hearing him say the words that affected her more than she let on.

"I have to go." She breathed out, he held her arm again.

"Mannat."

"Wajeeh."

"How will we ever move forward if you keep running away?" He questioned.

Forward? Was he serious? He wanted to do all this again? Wasn't the last time enough?

"Why do you want us to move forward? What the hell has got into you, haan?" She questioned, not even caring how loud she sounded to her own self.

"You, Mannat." He admitted in return without any shame.

Her heart beat fast.

"You just want me right now because I'm refusing you. The moment you get me, you'll start running in the opposite direction. That is who you are," She accused, he took the accusation easily.

"I don't want to be that person anymore. I am not that person." He tried but he sounded weak. He sounded weak because he had been that person atleast a week ago, how could he change so fast? He, himself did not kkow.

"How can you even say that when your neck is still covered in the hickeys from last week?" Mannat enquired.

His last sexual encounter was with Wafaa. He hadn't slept with anyone ever since.

Wajeeh took a sip of scotch, needing the alcohol.

"Everytime I've wanted to talk to you after the one mistake I made as an adult, you've run away. How can you only blame me when you never gave me the chance to talk about us?" He questioned her.

If she could call him out on his shit, he could do the same.

"Because it was self preservation on my part. It was me taking care of myself." She said with pride.

She wasn't ashamed of running away. It was what kept her going and made her strong.

Wajeeh was right in his own way and she was right in her own way. It was hard to decide who was really right because Wajeeh craved his freedom and Mannat craved her strength. She hated being weak and he hated feeling caged.

Yet, here she was looking so fucking weak in front of him and he felt caged by his own feelings.

"Wajeeh, don't make this hard on me." Her tone had shifted, it felt like she was pleading.

"Aren't you the one making it difficult this time, Mannat?" He asked back in the very same tone.

He traced his finger on her cheek, she leaned into his touch.

"I just," She didn't know what to even say to him.

She just felt tired of her own emotions right now.

"Please just, hum baad mai baat karte hain Wajeeh. Mujhe abhi kuch samajh nahi araha."

(Can we talk about this later? I don't understand anything right now. "

She asked, he let out a chuckle.

"Bhaag rahi ho?"

(Are you running?)

It was her style to run away but he wasn't going to let her run this time.

Both of them knew that.

"Tum se nahi Bhaag sakti."

(I can't run from you.)

Mannat replied. She had ran away from him many times now but he understood the hidden meaning behind her words.

His grip on her loosened and he let her go.

"Bhaago gi bhi to main pakar lunga."

(You know I'll catch you if you run.)

He said it like a promise, she smiled at him too.

"Jaanti hoon."

(I know.)

And Mannat knew she was so deep my fucked because she couldn't say no to Wajeeh, not when he was wearing his heart out on his sleeve.

----

The next day, she had tried to completely avoid him knowing that he might ask some question that she did not have the answer to.

While she was dressed in a peach knee length dress with net sleeves, he was wearing a navy blue suit and his signature watch.

Her hair was straightened and pulled back, her eyes a little smokey and lips a little pink. She had a thin gold chain around her neck, an accessory that she always wore and a platinum watch on her wrist. Her nude heels clicked as she walked and every move she made reminded people of her mother. She looked just as fresh as Ayesha and just as radiant.

Mannat joined Wajeeh in the middle of the hall, as everyone stood waiting for them to speak, all of them had the organic beer in their hands,

"Welcome everyone. I'm glad to see you all here today." Mannat started off, hushing the soft murmurs as well.

"Some of you have been here with our parents since this company started and some of you have joined in later on. Even the smallest of your help had not gone unnoticed and we're always grateful to our partners in our organic beverages, our share holders, our friends who are here today. It's a collective effort as we take another step forward in providing the best to America and even beyond that." She said out loud, taking a small breath.

Since Mannat didn't exactly know alcohol like Wajeeh did, she gestured him to go on and speak.

"Organic Beer is the hardest to produce because of the organic requirements that need to be met for it to taste well and be as healthy as possible. With M&K Beverages, we always deliever to the best of our abilities."

Wajeeh, being a Masroor had a natural edge in his voice. It made it easy for him to look in control among a crowd, he always looked so well put together. Like the man had no problem in his life.

"This was a major step towards a complete new range of healthy and organic beverages and the future only holds more products from our side."

"Once again, we thank you for being here with us and we hope that you enjoy the evening." Everyone raised their beer bottles in cheers, Mannat looked at Wajeeh who was drowning the beer down his throat with the most unpleasant look on his face. The one that he tried to hide with a fake smile.

But Mannat noticed.

"Is it good?" She asked, knowing what his answer would be.

"Not nearly as good as the beer that I'm used to." He replied, she gave him a smug look.

"That's cause it's healthy."

"You didn't come up for lunch." He changed the topic, she nodded looking at anywhere but at him.

"I was on call with my mother. I ate in the dining hall." Wajeeh knew she was making an excuse but he let it go.

"You look very lovely." He complimented, she felt her cheeks burn.

"Thank you. You look tired." She responded, not complimenting him even though he looked just as handsome, if not more.

"You didn't let me sleep the whole night." She heard him whisper, he brows shot up.

Fuck this man.

For real.

"Excuse me?"

"You were on my mind and I couldn't sleep."

Mannat could not say the same. She had slept like a baby, courtesy of the lavender tea she had drank before going to sleep.

"Right. That is not my fault." She said straight up, looking at him.

"You're fucking things up again and I'll fall into this stupid trap of yours." Mannat accused, telling him that she still didn't trust him in that regard.

Wajeeh already knew that.

"So you are planning on falling haan?" He asked, playful.

"No, I'm not." She denied.

She knew that was a lie. Wajeeh held her arm, inhaling a deep breath.

"It's not a trap, Mannat." He told her, Mannat slowly got out of his grip.

"We should mingle. I'll go meet up with a few people." She changed the conversation yet again, he clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"Fine, avoid the subject." He snapped.

She frowned at him.

"Wajeeh." He turned to walk in the other direction.

"Mannat." He said her name just the way she had said his.

With that, both of them walked to the other ends of the hallway, knowing that there was alot left that they needed to talk about, but also knowing that this wasn't the right place or the right time.

Mannat was near the beverage table, once again playing with her drink and standing alone. She had tried to mingle, had tried to talk to people but that had left her feeling more and more frustrated. It felt like she was slowly falling into this deep pit of her own thoughts, about all the pros and cons of her and Wajeeh, about everything that surrounded them.

She stared at Wajeeh who was deep in talk with Hussain, a British Pakistani businessman who had recently travelled to America to invest some of his hard earned pounds. She was sure Wajeeh was trying to charm him and she was glad to see him working for once.

She glanced at the crowd and was glad that most of them couldn't see her, since she was at the back of the drinks table.

She sipped her drink, finally taking a sip of the lemonade that she had ordered.

"For someone who is supposed to be the host of this party, you look awfully lonely." She heard a voice behind her and she frowned at the unfamiliar voice.

Someone had managed to find her. Well, oops.

"Do I?" She questioned, turning around.

The sight that greeted him was not very usual. A man in his early thirties stood in front of her. He was dressed like any other man at the event but it was his full beard and the soft eyes that distinguished him from others.

Mannat hadn't seen the man before but she knew he was definitely someone important.

"Mhmm. I can relate. Sometimes, we feel alone even when we're in a crowd of hundreds."

She didn't feel alone in a crowd of hundreds, she just felt overwhelmed. Still, he was sort of right. Alot of times, she had felt that way.

"Yeah, I guess it's just one of those days." Mannat replied, gesturing him to sit beside her.

The man simply sat.

"Can I get you a beer?" He questioned as he ordered one for himself. She smirked as she felt him order a budweiser instead of the M&K organic beer.

"I don't drink alcohol." Mannat replied, picking up her glass of lemonade and showing it to him.

"And yet you're the heir to an alcohol producing business. Quite ironic." He said with a light chuckle.

Mannat just shrugged.

"I haven't seen you around before." She pointed out, he nodded.

"I am not exactly the social networking type. I just like making my money and staying off the radar." He replied, she didn't even know his name.

Yet, she liked his answer. Making money and being anti social, she wouldn't mind that.

"No wonder you're alone." She said with a small laugh, referring to his anti social remark.

"I actually had a date but she bailed out on the last moment." He replied in his defense. Mannat raised an eye.

She couldn't imagine someone bailing out on a man that looked like him.

"I'm sure she had a good reason." She answered, giving him another polite smile.

She turned her head towards the crowd, still finding Wajeeh in conversation with the same man but this time, his eyes were looking around.

"She's a commitment phobe. That's her good reason." He explained, his voice turned just a little bitter.

Mannat understood the feeling. She was a dealing with a person like that herself. She drank another sip, then nodded.

"Not so surprising. Some people can't help but be this way. They are either haunted by their past or either they crave freedom too much to commit to one person, one place." Mannat responded with her own explanation of it all.

Wajeeh craved freedom, he lived for it. He didn't want to be bound to one woman, one place, one feeling. That made him a commitment phobic.

"You understand it." He stated, surprised that she had come up with such a plain statement that conveyed so much meaning to it all.

"I guess."

"And how do you deal with that?"

Mannat didn't know. She had left Wajeeh because he could not commit. And now, he said that he had changed.

So in a sense, she hadn't been with him when she understood who he was. Now, he was claiming that he had changed and she wanted to believe that.

"I don't. If someone can not commit to you, it is better to find a person who can do that." She replied with an ease, even though she felt uncomfortable on the inside.

"It's not that easy for me." The man responded, inhaling a deep breath. He exhaled after a few seconds, looking at Mannat.

"Wafaa can't commit and I can't commit to anyone but her." He stated, his words explaining the amount of pain that he held within.

Mannat understood that feeling as well. She hadn't been able to feel a connection with anyone other than Wajeeh.

"Wafaa," She repeated, her name felt intense to her.

"Quite an intense name." She remarked. He just shrugged in return.

"What about you?" He questioned, Mannat pointed towards Wajeeh.

This time, he was in the middle of the crowd but was the only one holding a glass of scotch.

"See that guy with the scotch?"

He already knew who the man was. Wajeeh Masroor. Heir to the M&K Beverages.

"Yeah?" He still continued. Mannat just smirked.

"That's my Wafaa." She told him, explaining that Wajeeh was the one with commitment issues.

The man picked up his bottle, clinking it with her glass of lemonade.

"To the ones who can't commit then." Both of them took a sip of their respective drinks.

"I didn't catch your name." Mannat suddenly said, not knowing who he was. It was weird, he had told her about his girl, she had told him about Wajeeh.

Yet, she didn't even know who he was.

"Iskander." He pulled his hand out for her to shake it.

"Mannat." She shook his hand, feeling the soft grip.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mannat."

Mannat only smiled, slight relieved that someone else was also going through the same thing as her.

They were both confused and knew the truth in a way but they were still captivated by their love, by their heart.

--

Thoughts?