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This chapter will tell everything there is to know about Mannat and Wajeeh.

It was such an interesting chapter to write.

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They had known each other for a very long time.

They went to pre school together, granted that he was the nerd and she was the free spirit at that time but they were still friends, good friends.

They didn't like each other much during middle school though, since he was a class senior than her and always tried to control her behavior. She fought with him all the time, it wasn't something new.

In high-school, Mannat had alot of fun. Wajeeh failed his classes due to his undivided attention on sports and had to repeat. Teasing him became her new favourite during that time. Wajeeh didn't really mind her teasing since she always apologised after it and gave him that smile, the one that made all his anger go away.

Mannat was sixteen when Wajeeh asked her out for the first time. She was the pretty girl that usually came to family dinners, the only pretty girl he knew at all the gatherings and the parties. They didn't care for each other much at school, not in that sense anyway but, it was right before her graduation when Wajeeh actually asked her to be his girlfriend.

She didn't refuse. How could she? This was Wajeeh after all. She didn't know whether he had asked her to be his girlfriend because he didn't want her to go to prom with someone else or if he genuinely liked her. Mannat didn't care, she liked that he had proposed to her either way.

Wajeeh had picked up Mannat for prom himself, had told her how beautiful she looked, had kissed her at midnight and he had then dropped her back home.

During the holidays, they would eat breakfast together almost every single day, it became a habit. They became a habit for one another.

Two weeks later, Wajeeh flew to Pakistan with his family for vacations, Mannat didn't hear from him for three months after that.

She just made sure that no one knew her boyfriend had simply left, without even informing her.

Mannat carried on with her life.

So what if Wajeeh had been her first boyfriend? She didn't love him.

She didn't care that he had left.

Wajeeh came back to see that Mannat already had a new boyfriend. He didn't mind. He talked it out with Mannat and they were back to being friends again.

Wajeeh went to university as the son of Masroor Shah. He majored in business, just like his father had all those years ago.

He didn't want to major in business but he knew that Mannat had already taken up business courses in college and he would hate to look like an idiot in front of her when they finally took over the company together.

It mattered what Mannat thought of him. More than he let himself believe.

Mannat was the first girl Wajeeh loved. The first girl that he thought was beautiful, the first girl worth his time and his presence. They belonged together, they fit together.

Wajeeh and Mannat.

She understood him and he tried his best to understand her. She even forgave him for his immaturity all those years ago, Mannat and Wajeeh were back together again.

It happened one night after a family dinner, she was walking outside his house, trailing alongside the garden area and was just about to trip and fall when Wajeeh held her by the waist.

Mannat had smiled and thanked him, Wajeeh had stared at her for too long.

She had tried to move back but his hold was stronger than before and his eyes had told her what he actually wanted.

Instead of pulling away, Mannat had leaned in close, much to her own surprise. He had grinned in triumph and that was the start of a new chapter for them.

Mannat and Wajeeh.

Even their names felt like they belonged together.

He figured that even though his heart belonged to Mannat, he was still a young and stupid man. His heart didn't agree with his body, his heart was faithful. His body wasn't.

The first time he cheated on her and then went to meet her the same night, the look on Mannat's face was enough to make him understand that she knew.

He didn't like that he had done something so horrible to her, but Mannat did the unthinkable.

She walked upto him with water in her eyes and smiled. She kissed his cheek and told him it was okay.

He was young and stupid, he didn't feel the intensity of what they had.

And she was glad that she hadn't allowed herself to be intimate with him, not the way he was used to being intimate with women.

She walked out on him after that, telling him that he craved freedom more than her and she didn't want to bind him in any stupid meaningless relationship.

Wajeeh thought Mannat didn't care enough once again in this relationship but the truth was, he had broken her heart for the very first time and she was too proud to let it show.

Mannat didn't see Wajeeh for an entire year after that. She had flown to London for a semester abroad. Their friends thought Mannat and Wajeeh couldn't do long distance and so they had broken up, the reality was far from the truth.

He missed her, more than he ever thought he would.

He let his freedom speak for himself, let himself believe that being free from any relationship was what he truly wanted. Mannat had been right, he craved freedom. He didn't want to be bound by anything.

One night stands, parties, girls, it was all enough for him.

Even when his heart felt empty, even when his soul felt drained, it was enough for him. It was.

He saw Mannat when he didn't even expect to see her. He didn't even know she was back in town. He was out on a date with a girl he had met an hour ago when his eyes fell on Mannat.

Dinner was ready to end, he was ready to leave but then Mannat walked inside the restaurant with a red dress hugging her body and he couldn't help but walk towards her, dazed.

Looking at her dress up, he dreaded that there might be a man in her life now. A man that actually appreciated the woman that she was.

But then he saw her sit on a corner table and order a cheese steak for herself, Wajeeh smiled at her habit of ordering the same damn thing since she was sixteen.

He sat in front of her without so much as a hello. He expected a frown, Mannat gave him a smile.

She told him she had missed his smug face and all was right in their little world.

It was the first year of their professional lives. Both Wajeeh and Mannat were learning the company and it's framework of business when it happened for the first time.

While he had been a year senior to her, she had completed her credit hours in a span of three years instead of four. It was perfect. They could work together without him trying to push down his knowledge on her.

Mannat and Wajeeh were arguing over a project they had been assigned together. Mannat kept telling him that her conclusion was right, that she had worked super hard on it and he had no right to put his name under the credits as the final touch.

Wajeeh tried to explain his point of view but this was Mannat he was talking to, how could he ever explain his side when Mannat was so hell bent on proving that she was right?

It was quite late, both of them were very tired, too tired to even think about the past, about right or wrong.

Wajeeh looked at her, thinking of all the means that he could shut her up with.

There were many logical and reasonable ones in his head but he focused on his favourite one.

He stepped an inch close to her, smiling.

"Mannat, sshh." He whispered.

And then Wajeeh was kissing her.

Mannat didn't even have the time to think, one moment she was rambling out in front of him and in the next, she was feeling his lips all over her.

It felt like too much. He was too much. The overwhelming sensation, the loud heart beat, the intensity, it was too much.

Mannat wanted to pull away, wanted to stay away from him, wanted to not give up on the morals and values she had held onto for so long but this felt so good, so so good.

Later, when he pulled back out of breath, Mannat looked at him, breathing hard, not even knowing what to say.

This was Wajeeh. He would never commit.

She moved back, shaking her head.

"I guess you're right about the conclusion, I'll just edit my name onto it and present it tomorrow." She mumbled, feeling embarrassed as hell.

They didn't talk about it after that. They just pretended like nothing had ever happened.

Mannat was always quite confused when it came to faith and belief and things like that, while Wajeeh simply thought that there was not enough time to live, let alone ponder over such matters.

Still, Mannat had some values, some ethics that she wanted to follow. One of them was trying to not fall into the western trap of lust and sex. She thought she was better than that.

It was the night of the annual business dinner. Mannat was dressed in a beautiful black dress, she had her hair curled onto one side and Wajeeh hadn't seen a sight so damn beautiful.

His eyes were looking at her the entire night. She tried to avoid his gaze but it was quite hard to do so.

She couldn't even eat properly because of his intense gaze while he enjoyed his meal, smiling and looking at her like she had hung stars on the sky.

She didn't know how it had happened.

She remembered sitting with Wajeeh as he finished his last sip of champagne after the dinner had ended. She remembered how he had been tracing patterns all over her knees, the black stockings underneath not really creating much difference as she felt his hands on her skin. She remembered leaning a little more close than usual, looking at Wajeeh even though her heart, her head, everything in her soul was warning her against it.

She remembered following him to his room, she remembered him slowly tearing off her black dress, she remembered him asking her if she was okay with all of it and her nodding her head, she remembered him surprised that she was a virgin, she remembered how Wajeeh had managed to not cause her much pain, how he had kissed each and every inch of her entire body and after that, it was all a blur.

Mannat had left before Wajeeh could even have the chance to talk to her the following morning.

She didn't want to look like one of his one night stands, didn't want to feel like one of those women.

The next day, she found flowers on her desk and her favourite piece of jewellery.

A platinum bracelet.

Mannat had smiled and thanked him for the flowers and bracelet later that evening, both of them didn't mention the previous night.

Talking wasn't exactly their best trait.

It took them an hour to reach Vegas, the flight had gone by in utter silence. Wajeeh hated when Mannat was silent, her silence always meant that she was thinking and her thinking meant that he had to deal with her bitter mood.

When they reached the Hotel, Wajeeh couldn't help himself, the tension was making things worse and he did not like that one bit.

She had told him that she wouldn't let him break her heart again. Did that mean she actually cared enough? Did that mean Mannat was genuinely hurt because he had cheated on her?

Ofcourse she was.

Any woman would be.

But Mannat hadn't even yelled at him, she hadn't fought about it, she hadn't done anything. She had just walked away.

Maybe Mannat didn't think he was worth fighting for. He was a cheater after all.

So he had truly broken her heart. That didn't make Wajeeh feel good at all, he felt constricted in a way.

He swallowed, looking at Mannat as she walked alongside him.

"You're right." He mumbled, snapping her attention. Mannat frowned at him, he hadn't said a word throughout the flight and now he was talking?

Had the truth been so bitter that it had taken him so much time to get over it?

"About what?" She questioned, not willing to show any emotion.

Wajeeh put his hand on her shoulder, making her stop as she turned around to look at him.

"You said that I broke your heart. You're right about that."

She exhaled a breath, not even knowing what to say that. They were three years late for this conversation.

"Wajeeh, let's just not talk about it." She suggested, not willing to ruin Vegas for the both of them.

He clicked his tongue in return and shook his head at the same time.

"That's the problem, Mannat. We never talk about it." He stated the truth.

Communication was the key in any relationship and both of them sucked at it.

"We didn't talk about it when I left you, we didn't talk about it when we kissed, we didn't talk about when we broke up, we didn't talk about it when we had sex. We never talk about it!" He exclaimed, Mannat looked around hating that he was doing this in public.

We didn't talk about it when you left me because I was too hurt and too embarrassed. You didn't call, you didn't even say goodbye. You ended our  relationship without even telling me about it.

We didn't talk about it when we kissed because I had already heard about your 'hot sex on legs date' the night before. And I hated myself for letting myself feel you, letting myself believe that you felt something for me because of how intense that kiss was.

We didn't talk about it when we broke up because you cheated on me and I already knew that even if I forgave you, you would do it again and again. I deserved better than that.

We didn't talk about it when we had sex because I swore to myself that I wouldn't fall weak, that I would not let myself be swayed by you again but I did it anyway. Because deep down, my love for you never died.

It can never die.

But you're a free bird. When you have me, you want to run away. When you don't have me, you want me back.

There's no point in talking.

All these thoughts were built up in her head and she wanted to throw her words at her, instead she just swallowed her words and turned back around, walking ahead as she felt him walk by her side.

"Because there's no point." She told him while walking as she reached the reception.

She smiled politely at the receptionist.

"Hi, Mannat and Wajeeh Masroor. We have the luxury suite booked for the day." She told the woman who simply nodded.

"Yes, ofcourse. Can I some I'd?" Mannat pulled out her bag to take out her card but Wajeeh was already rolling his eyes.

They owned thirty percent shares of this bloody hotel and yet this receptionist chick was asking him about who they were?

"Don't you know who we are?"

Mannat shot Wajeeh a look anyway, telling him to tone down the arrogance.

But Mannat did not show him her I'd card either, instead she had pulled out the company card.

The receptionist gladly took it and in the meanwhile the manager arrived too, shaking hands with the both of them.

"Welcome to the Palace, your suite is ready and we'll send dinner into your suite whenever you both are settled."

"Right, thank you."

"My pleasure. If you both need anything, we'll be honored to help. Mr and Mrs Masroor."

Wajeeh let out a chuckle at that. Here they were, quarrelling over talking or no talking. Did they look like a married couple to them?

Marriage?

Mannat?

"Oh, we're not married." Mannat simply said, avoiding his gaze as she held out her phone, pretending to be busy.

As they were escorted towards the elevator area, Wajeeh abruptly stopped her once again.

"We have to talk, Mannat."

What the hell was it with him today? He hadn't wanted to talk this much before today.

"This hotel is filled with people who are somewhat related to our business. Please don't make a scene, Wajeeh."

She said in a low voice, he nodded. He wouldn't make a scene when people around him didn't even understand what they were talking about.

"Theek hai, urdu mai baat karte hain."

(Fine. Let's talk in urdu then.)

Mannat let out a sigh, it was somewhere in the middle of annoyance and exhaustion.

"Wajeeh. Maine nahi karni baat."

(I don't want to talk.)

Mannat replied, denying that they even felt the need to talk.

They entered the elevator and he stepped close to her.

"Kyun? Darti ho? Darr lagta hai ke kahin dil ki baat zubaan par na ajaye?"

(Why? Scared? Are you scared that you'll say exactly what is in your heart.)

He questioned, knowing that there was no way he was giving up on this.

Mannat already knew she would need one more push and she would say it all, which was exactly what Wajeeh wanted in the first place.

"Main yahan tum se larrne nahi ayi."

(I'm not here to argue with you.)

"Main bhi larna nahi chahta, Mannat."

(I don't want to argue either, Mannat.)

Mannat looked at him this time, straight in his eyes.

"Toh phir kya chahte ho Wajeeh?"

(So what do you want, Wajeeh?)

Wajeeh couldn't help but hold her hand.

"When was the last time you loved me, Mannat?"

He had switched to English and she had realised that they had already reached their suite.

They were alone and he was asking her the one question that she dreaded the most.

When was the last time she had loved him?

What could she even say to that?

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Thoughts?