Marz bhi hain deti, chain bhi hain deti
Dard bhi hain deti, jaan bhi hain leti
Yaarian, na chodein yaarian

مرز بھی ہیں دیتی، چین بھی ہیں دیتی
درد بھی ہیں دیتی، جان بھی ہیں لیتی
یاریاں، نہ چھوڑیں یاریاں

Gliding though the giant glass doors of the Utopia Corporation, I watched my feet take short poised steps on the heavily carpeted red floor, a stark contrast against my shiny black stilettos. The guard, accompanying me, hurriedly walked up to the reception and after a quick conversation I saw the young receptionist eye me curiously before handing over the lift card to the guard.

The atmosphere of the building was calm, yet tense, all the employees occupied on their desktops or phones. Not many had noticed me there, but the ones who did, I couldn't help but notice the flicker of recognition light up their faces only to be quickly morphed into an embarrassed smile when they'd catch me watching them.

Ever since our engagement had been announced, my photographs had been littered across every news outlet and social media. The media frenzy and hype around our nuptial was almost comical at this point. The country was going through a political turmoil and all people seemed to care about was a damned wedding. But this was just the publicity both parties had wanted and hoped for. The sentiments of the public were high, their emotions raw and expectations soaring. This alliance had sown the seeds of a new hope amongst the people.

The guard guided me towards the lift, and I gave him a nod before taking the lift key to the private offices. I felt a pang of excitement surge through me as I saw the numbers on the lift display quickly ascend up. It had been a few days since I last saw him and the thought of seeing him again had my insides warming up. When I accepted this relationship, I had never imagined my life would be flooded with happiness the way it was today.

The elevator door opened onto his office floor and I walked out to see a woman, probably in her late fifties, sitting in the glass cubicle outside his room. I had little time to react, because as soon as I stepped out, the woman jumped from her seat with startling excitement, and rushed forward to engulf me in a bone crushing hug. Her face was ridden with motherly affection and despite my surprise I wouldn't help but smile at the sudden but warm display of affection.

"I've been wanting to meet Aliyaar's bride ever since he told me about you," she said impetuously and I passed her an awkward smile, my cheeks flushing my face. "I can't tell you how happy I'm for the two of you." Her voice sank to a whisper and her eyes brimmed with happy tears and dilated with uncontrolled emotion.

"Thank you." I said earnestly, clasping her hands with a soothing gesture. I had no idea who this woman was, but it was evidently clear how close she was to Aliyaar. Had it not been for the setting, I would have mistaken her for family.

"He can be a difficult man, and your circumstances weren't the most ideal, but you can trust him. He'd never break your heart." Her voice altered and she smiled regaining her composure. "Become the light in his life."

I nodded hesistantly, unsure of what to say but my lips twisted into an assuring smile. "I forgot to introduce myself," she shook her head forgetfully. "I'm Jasmin, Aliyaar's secretary. And if the boy ever troubles you, you know who to call."

I laughed hearing that. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I should have known why he cleared his schedule today." She passed me a knowing mischievous grin and I shook my head at her as we walked towards Aliyaar's room. "He hardly has time to breathe, so it was very unusual for him to take half a day off. But I'm glad he did, he has been very stressed and overworked these past few days."

"That explains why he hasn't even called," I muttered more to myself than her, but she gave me a knowing smile, before pushing the door open for me and leaving quickly.

I stood still by the door, silently watching his salacious looks and striking features. This wasn't the first time I had observed him, but today as he sat behind his desk, confident and powerful, I couldn't help but admire how ruggedly handsome he was. So debonair, yet he had with him an overpowering air of dominance. His mauve shirt clung to his sinewy built, but the top buttons were undone, exposing the sliver of hair on his bronzed skin. The lustrous black hair were pushed back in an unruly mob, revealing his dark penetrating eyes. I thought he hadn't noticed me, because he continued to clear his desk, filing the papers scrambled across his large mahogany desk, but then he spoke without looking up, "Just leave the file here."

I froze hearing his voice, suddenly jerking back to reality. When I didn't move, he slowly looked up and the expression on his face eased. "I thought—" he paused, "Come in please." He walked up to me, taking my hand and closing the door behind him. "You're very punctual." He remarked looking at the watch.

I shrugged, following him as he walked backwards towards his desk pulling me with him. "I like to be on time." I smiled as he leaned against his desk, his arms wrapping loosely around my waist. "How are you?" Now that I was near, I noticed the permanent stubble that grazed his jaw was longer than usual and his eyes slightly subdued, probably from lack of sleep.

"Now that you're here, I feel great." His voice kissed me softly like a gentle summer breeze, and I stilled as his scent infused my senses. "I missed you." He drawled lowly. His lips slowly wore a soft smile and as he leaned closer, carefully taking in my appearance, his eyes warmed with approval. "Did you miss me?" He asked, his voice suddenly playful and teasing.

I arched my eyebrows at him and vehemently shook my head. "Of course not." I replied with a teasing grin.

"Haye, meri jaan, app mera dil rakhne ke liye hi haan bol deteen." He said in a silvery tone, feigning hurt.

[oh my love, you could've said yes for the sake of my poor heart.]

His words were like the crisp taste of fine wine and as I drank them, I couldn't help but feel intoxicated by them. I could see the smile dancing in his eyes, as he took in the gentle hue of crimson rising up on my cheeks leaving me shy and vulnerable in his arms. "Apne dil ko qaboo mein rakhye, Aliyaar Sahab." I lightly patted his chest above his heart. He smiled hearing this and swiftly caught my hand, holding it against his chest. "I had better things to do." I said jutting my chin at him.

[keep your heart in control, Aliyaar.]

"Oh really?" He replied in mock offence and I giggled sensing the sarcasm underlining his tone. "Like what? Looking me up on the internet. Although, you seem to be the new internet obsession these days."

I frowned, "About that." I began thoughtfully, "I'm not sure how I feel about it. Half of the things they've written about me aren't even true. All these years, I had managed to hide away in the shadows and now—"

"It'll be alright. You'll be alright." He said soothingly. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. You're only getting positive press right now, but there will be times when they'd troll you, write horrible things about you, try to attack you just to get at me. But those will be the times you'd have to be strong. For now, my PR team is working to limit your access to the media."

"But I thought you wanted the publicity."

He pulled me slightly closer and I trembled at his touch, "I do, but I've to respect your choice to stay away from the limelight."

I gave him a faint smile, "that's very thoughtful of you." I raised my hand to his forehead, my fingers flexing in his hair, pushing back the few strands of hair lying recklessly on his forehead.

"You've kept your hair open today." He mused, watching me casually play with his hair.

"You told me you liked them this way." I said absentmindedly, my thoughts and eyes still focussed on the lusty feeling of his locks in my hand. A sudden loud thud sounded from outside and I froze realising the intimacy of the moment I was so lost in. I quickly shrivelled back, running a hand over my shirt in attempt to conceal my frazzled nerves.

"What's wrong?" He asked, confused at the sudden change in my behaviour.

"Someone might come in," I whispered, looking towards the door.

His lips twisted into a smug smirk and he shook his head at my apprehensions, "Jasmin knows better than to let anyone in right now. Her life long dream of getting me married is finally coming true." He chuckled.

I walked to take a seat at the couch, "I was rather surprised at your choice of secretary. I expected—"

"A twenty three year old model." He finished for me, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "I told you, you have nothing to worry about."

I narrowed my eyes at him suspiciously, "I find that rather hard to believe." He laughed, going back to his desk.

"You can ask Jasmin if you don't believe me."

"You seem very close to her." I stated curiously.

He nodded, "She is like a mother to me. She raised me." I arched my brows questioningly. "She was my nanny. She has been in my life for as long as I can remember. When I started working I asked her to join me. She doesn't have children, so she treats me like her own. If it wasn't obvious, I, too, have a terribly hard time letting go people I love."

I smiled hearing this. "She seems like a wonderful lady."

"She is. And very efficient as well." He said cooly, "And given my life, it is important I've someone who can tell me when I'm being an ass, that I'm being an ass." A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "I don't trust very many people, but I share almost everything with her. I have to meet the Head of the Finance department. Do you mind waiting for a few minutes?"

"Sure." I said looking outside the window.

"I'll make it quick," he said gathering his files, "then I'm all yours for the day." He winked as he exited the room.

I looked outside the large window, the sun pouring through like an uninvited flamboyant guest. The rays bounced off the wooden flooring of the room, illuminating it with an envious glow. I stood there basking in the sunlight and the panoramic views of the city, silently enjoying the birds cheerfully skid by the buffeting clouds and mighty towers.

"Bhai, did you sign the AGM papers—" the door swung open and I froze hearing the voice I could recognise even in my sleep.

For a second I felt my heart stop, before it began to beat thunderously within me. Wild and violent, like a wrecking thunderstorm.

I felt a ghostly hypodermic of panic prick my heart and my stomach clenched as the vortex of accelerating thoughts swirled through me. A sweet sweat griped me and I felt my breath come in shallow rapid gasps. Unbidden tears teased my eyes, and the carousel of haunted memories began to spiral through me, pushing me into an abyss of darkness.

"Shanzae." His voice was soft and I sucked in a harsh breath while a rebellious tear ran down my cheek. I had to be strong, I had to face the reality. I had to carve a channel to crawl out of this wilderness. I coaxed myself in an attempt to put up a brave front and slowly turned around to face him. My face freezing with an icy coldness.

Yaar sighed seeing me, and his shoulders sagged in relief, but his eyes were sad. He took a step forward yet the distance between us only increased. "You have any idea how much I've been trying to contact you?" He asked after a while and I notice how strained his voice sounded, "You've blocked me." He said, with slight disbelief.

I felt hot rage swim though my veins, freezing my heart and icing my expressions. I wrapped my arms around myself, staring at him with callous indifference. My bitter glacial gaze slowly began to melt the hopefulness that seconds ago warmed his face, yet I stood there cold, unmoved and aloof.

"How long are you going to avoid me?" He asked in a defeated tone and I snickered rancorously. "Talk to me Shanzae. Don't do this. You can't avoid me forever." I gulped inaudibly.

I quivered my eyebrows at him challengingly. "You underestimate me."

He shook his head, his shoulders squared again and he stepped closer, "I never underestimated you, but I made a mistake. And I think I deserve to present my side of the story. You can't go on avoiding me forever." His voice hardened and his jaw clenched visibly. All remorse that lingered on his face moments ago, seemed to have evaporated and I felt burning rage race through my veins like fiery hot lava, the unforgiving deadly wrath of which threatened to consume my being

"I totally can—" I hissed venomously.

"Be realistic, Shanzae." I could notice the pupils of his stormy blue eyes constrict visibly, and he let out an exasperated snicker. "You're marrying my brother." He said in a cruel sneer, his eyes piercing mine like lethal daggers, "You'll be a part of my family, a part of my house. This cannot continue." He said pointing at the empty space between us.

I shuffled on my feet, looking away from him. He made a valid point, but deep down I was too hurt to forgive him. It was not easy to turn my emotions away, especially not when the wounds of betrayal were still ripe, clawing on my insides like deadly poison, slowly engulfing and destroying me. Unlike the fragile web of trust, the web of hurt is strong, it doesn't break so easily, it doesn't forgive so easily.

"You're right. You will soon be my brother in law. But that's about it. We are both adults and I'm sure we can both act civil in front of the family." I said without an ounce of emotion. There was silence for a while before I heard the light tapping of footsteps thread near and from the side of my eye I saw Shehryar come to up to stand besides me, his unwavering eyes set upon the views in front of us.

"If there was ever anyone, I thought would understand me," he said calmly after a while, "It was you. Perhaps I was wrong."

I laughed humourlessly, his words stung me like a bee in the warm core of a rose. Our friendship was like a rose, beautiful from the outside but pricked with thorns from the side "You aren't wrong, I was." I said maintaining a calm countenance, but my insides quivered with a maddening rage that I felt like I'd explode. "I trusted you. I thought I understood you. But all you did was break my trust— Shattered it into pieces." I spat bitterly. "I doubt I'll ever be able to fully trust anyone now. Not even Aliyaar."

"Don't bring him into this. Don't punish him for my misdoings, he deserves your trust and —" he hesitated for a while, before he spoke, barely above a whisper, "—and your love."

I took a deep laboured breath, feeling my heart beating softly within my chest. "He too was a part of this."

"But he did not know the truth. I never told him and I still haven't." His gaze hardened and his stentorian voice forced me to face him, "I know he is aware that there is a problem but he hasn't directly asked me about it yet. We need to sort this out amongst ourselves."

I rolled my eyes, the vein in my forehead throbbing painfully. "There is nothing to sort. You broke my heart and my trust. You broke me. And that's that."

"And I'm apologising for it." His voice rose about the sacred silence that permeated the room.

My eyes narrowed at his words and I stepped forward, "How dare you?" I seethed like hot embers. "You were cheating on me and that girl and you have the audacity to say you're apologetic?"

"I did not cheat on anyone. You know I would never do that. I was not in a relationship with you, neither did I ever make any such promises." He exclaimed, knitting his eye brows in an incredulous expression, as he replied to my assertion.

"You sent me a marriage proposal and you say you didn't lead me on. What was I supposed to make of that?" The delicate emphasis on the marriage proposal, made an uneasy expression dawn on his face and he looked away from my reproachful gaze.

"I did that for you and Bhai. I thought if I asked for your hand in marriage, your family would give Bhai the political backing he wanted and you'd be able to get a life away from all of this." He answered with no sign of regret or confusion in his tone. "My intentions weren't wrong, I knew you wouldn't be opposed to the idea. I thought you liked me."

"Just because we thought I liked you, did not give you the right to lock me in a loveless cheating relationship."

He shook his head, as he looked towards me. He held my hand, making me turn to face him. "I would have never done that. You and Bhai are the two most important people in my life and I know I was wrong, but I felt that, that one decision could make both of you happy."

This argument was cold and bitter. And I knew each word was but a hurricane of hurt and agony. As our emotions crumbled, we could feel the wrath slowly enshroud the fragmented remains of our friendship. There was hurt, there was betrayal, there was anger and there was frustration, a deadly concoction that only courted disaster.

"What about that girl?" I felt a pang of jealousy slice through me. "Miraal."

His eyes sparkled with an unknown emotion, but it so quickly disappeared that I wasn't even sure if I had seen it in a first place. There was a pause and I felt the air around us still momentarily, full with the electricity of suppressed and pernicious emotions. And for a while silence reigned, lulling the brewing storm.

"I've been seeing her on and off for the past two years, but before I came here she asked if I was serious and wanted to get married." He said softly like reminiscing an old cheerful memory.

I gulped, a dull ache that plagued my heart began to slowly travel upward in a heavy lump, settling itself in my throat. But despite the heartache, the betrayal and the pain of unshed tears, I felt oddly at peace. Perhaps somewhere deep down in my heart I was happy with what fate had destined for me.

"But I would have ended things with her, if your grandfather had agreed to our marriage."

"Why would you do this to her?" I shook my head in disappointment.

He shrugged, "Family comes first. My family needed me, I'd do anything for them."

I clenched my eyes, shaking my head in disapproval. "This is what I hate about you." I almost cried out in frustration, hurling the pillow from the couch in his direction.

He ducked and for a second I marvelled at his agility. The pillow landed at the desk trampling the lamp to the floor with a loud thud.

"What are you doing?" He screamed in disbelief, but I had no time to react because the door swung open and a voice diverted our attention.

"How old are you two? Five?" Aliyaar stood at the door with an unamused expression, his snapping eyes alternating between the two of us. We both stood still like two worried students, scared and embarrassed, under the reproachful gaze of a teacher. "Have you lost your manners Shehryar?" His eyes were narrowed and his face rigid, and he gave both of us a burning hard stare.

Shehryar's eyes rounded and he opened his mouth to protest, but one glance at his stern face had him changing his mind and he pursed his lips looking down at the floor. "I only want to apologise to her." He mumbled to himself.

I scoffed, "You did anything, but that." Aliyaar looked at me with a raised eyebrow and my eyes flashed with indignation and a hint of anger.

"You didn't even give me a chance—"

"Stop it both of you. You both need to resolve your differences like adults, because I do not fancy playing referee between you two."

A thick silence hung suspended in the room, bereft of any warmth, seeping into my bones like an icy cold gush of wind. There was so much to say, yet no words left us. The pain in our eyes was poisonous in it's nothingness, cruel and painful.

Shehryar gave me a longed look, and my heart winnowed while my soul cried at the morbidity. We were both hurting, yet there was no cure to our suffering. The emotional scars bleeding on my soul were still ripe, and I found it hard to forgive.

When I looked away, I heard him leave, the door closing behind him with a soft thud. And with that my eyes dripped with hot tears, my jaw trembled and I felt my walls come crumbling down. My sobs were soft stifles, but when I felt a pair of strong arms close around me I felt myself break, sinking into his warmth. "He was my best friend." My voice broke as the words left my mouth, a fresh pang of pain piercing through me.

He didn't say anything, but kept running a soothing hand over my head, holding me close until I had calmed down. "He is still your best friend." I heard him say above me, "Maybe one day you will have it in you to forgive him."

I looked up and he gave me an encouraging smile, "Maybe."

Will these two be able to resolve their differences?
While, Aliyaar and Shanzae are finally getting close. ♥️
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