❞𝕵alal Talpur."

"So you knew him?"

"Barely," his eyes narrowed.

"He was shot outside his house. His son tried to save him but unfortunately, he couldn't do much. He died in his arms," Badar. I held my breath until blood throbbed in my head. It couldn't be. And yet it was.

"That's heartbreaking-"

"Of course, it is," I stared at my despicable cousin. One fist clenched at my side as things that drew out a strange fear in my chest took hold. How had that golden boy with a charming smile turned into this monster? I glared at him, glad to see him lower his gaze beneath my scrutiny for once.

"You know something."

"What do you mean?" I demanded again when he looked away. I'd heard it from him, but now I couldn't be sure I'd gotten the whole story. That nervous tick, that overly enthusiastic smile. He was being too cavalier about this.

"Spill it."

"I don't know anything Daania, you've gone off the rails-"

Rage ripped through me and I lowered my voice to a hush.

"Ghazanfar if you don't start talking in the next thirty seconds I will have Scorpio pound you into the ground and leave you rotting in the gardens."

The color drained from his face.

It was the last thing he expected me to say, and it was written all over his face. For the second time in this conversation, I had the one-up on him.

He cleared his throat, recovering quickly. "Woah chill Daania, what's wrong with you? I knew you were hot-tempered but shit-"

"Watch it."

He let out a harsh laugh. "You've changed."

"I don't have time for your psychosis. Tell me what you know."

"Don't bother, your husband already tried that with me-"

"He doesn't know you as I do," I released a rattled breath and swallowed the trauma-induced vomit back into my gut. "I know what a slimy piece of work you are Ghazanfar. So start talking."

"Or else what?"

"Or else I'll have all of your inheritance and your business is taken away. You and your mother can roam in the streets for all I care."

He let out a nervous chuckle and held out his hands. "You won't do that."

"Try me. One call and the entire FIA and NAB would be knocking down your door."

"Your husband couldn't do that how could you?"

"Correction, my husband chose not to do it because I convinced him that breaking your face and getting you to sign an NDA was enough. But clearly, I made an error in judgment," his gaze dropped.

"You have no authority to do this-"

"I'm a Mughal, I have every authority to do this."

"Bibi would be left alone-"

"Not my concern. Speak-"

"No Daania I swear..."

I rubbed my face and let out a sigh, the heaviness of what I was about to do finally weighing on me. The confusion on his face lasted for just a moment.

"Scorpio?"

I wasn't prepared for how fast Scorpio was going to act. It was almost like he was waiting for my signal. In less than thirty seconds, Ghazanfar was pinned to the wall, legs dangling above the floor, his throat under Scorpio's thick forearm.

"Shit, no I..."

"Answer her."

"Look, man-"

"Answer her."

I waited his silence out. I could practically hear his wheels turning. My arms crossed over my chest, holding me together for what came next. For what felt like a hundred breathless moments, he inspected me, until at long last, he let out a defeated sigh and began.

"I don't know who he is, I swear I don't."

My mouth thinned as I nodded at his compliance. "Let's start with the man that gave you the encouragement to kidnap me."

"We were in the club together. Rahat hooked me up with the dealer. I was talking about how you ditched me and ummm-"

I stared at him with a pained expression.

"Keep talking."

"Umm... anyways they said that I could make you pay for what you did to me. You never went to the police with my case-"

"The case where you sexually assaulted me?"

"Uh-" he said hoarsely. "I'm sorry okay? I didn't know what came over me!"

"Get to the point."

"So they said that he would help. That he would provide the funds and the manpower to uh-" I watched the stubborn pride melt from his face.

"Kidnap me and burn me alive."

"Yeah that, I guess I should apologize for that too-" I sucked my lower lip between my teeth, holding my breath because I wanted to know. "So I agreed because I was pissed at you."

"And it never occurred to you that you were playing with my life? That you were actually about to burn your cousin alive? That I was someone you had grown up with?"

"I said I was sorry."

"No, you're not. You're just sorry that Taimoor saved me. That he saved me from you every time you tried to hurt me."

"Look I-"

"Your ego couldn't digest the fact that someone rejected you. Tell me, did you even want to marry me in the first place? Did you even like me?"

"I mean... you were hot."

Now I felt beaten down in a way that was entirely new to me. This nightmare had to end. "Pathetic Ghazanfar, you're pathetic."

"And what about you? You got married to the next rich guy that came along-"

"You don't get to judge me or my choices Ghazanfar, no one does. I didn't hurt someone or sexually assault them to satisfy my ego."

"I said I was-"

"The name."

"I don't know, ask Rahat. He introduced me to the guy."

"And why? Why was the guy so benevolent in helping you?"

"He hates the Mughals. Apparently, their grandfathers had a rift. Now he wants that power back. Something about being backstabbed by him."

"Mother-" the curse almost slipped through. Almost. The Mughals and their never-ending enemies.

"He thought the best way to hurt Taimoor was to target the one thing that wasn't-"

"He couldn't target the company and I wasn't under his protection at the time, so to speak."

"Well, it wasn't just you, he said that he'd destroy the company."

"Who the fuck is this guy?"

"I don't know, I don't know..."

"Daania! What in the world!" Mama and Bibi just barely entered the room so that the door could close, their mouths open in shock. I didn't spare them a second glance.

"Ghazanfar! My son..."

"Scorpio, let him go."

"Just like that ma'am?" turning back to me, my bodyguard caught the end of my nod and the unfazed expression on my face. "But- Of course ma'am."

"Take your mother and get out of my house Ghazanfar."

"You're not going to-"

I picked up the glass of water on the table and took a sip before looking over my shoulder and replying.

"As long as you and your mother stay away from me and my family, and we'll have no problems."

"What is she saying Ghazanfar? Why is she talking-"

"Let's go Bibi."

"But-"

I didn't get to hear the rest of her argument. They were both escorted out of the house. One problem down, a million more to go. I inhaled deeply and then took another drink of water, turning my attention to my mother.

"I'm not sorry for what I did-"

"I never said you should be."

A zap of surprise washed over me with her words.

"You're not going to say anything?"

"No. I'll go check on your father."

"If I may ma'am, why did you let him go?" the man muttered, as soon as my mother left, folding his arms across his chest.

I took out my phone and gave him a brief smile.

"I've got his confession recorded. That's enough to put him in jail for the rest of his life."

"But why let him go now?"

My jaw tightened.

"Because I want him to lead us to that man. He'll definitely try to get a one upon us and try to gain his master's sympathies. Have someone follow him."

"Excellent ma'am. Do you need anything from me?"

"No that's all. Thank you Scorpio."

"My pleasure ma'am."

I didn't know what I was going to do with Ghazanfar's information. What could I do. I couldn't exactly dive into familial lineages if the board members and go through the archives. How was I supposed to know which enemy from the evolving Mughal roster had decided to hurt them now?

There was only one person to contact. The only one who would know.

"Daania? Oh my God, I'm so relieved, Asfand told me-"

"Not now Zeenia, we have something bigger issues than that at the moment."

"What is it?" I appreciated how her tone changed immediately.

I quickly ran through the highlights of what Ghazanfar had told me. "Taimoor is in danger. I want you to tell me everything about your grandfather and his enemies."

"That's a very long list... that'll take hours."

"Okay, people he had a rift with," I asked through tight teeth.

"There are tons of people Daania, wait let me call Azaan, he would know."

"Hey, sis-"

"No time, who did Daada Jaan have rifts with?"

"What brought this on?"

"Azaan we need an answer," I prompted.

"Dany, you're here too? Okay shit, I don't know he had plenty of issues with plenty of people, his son was one of them," he rambled on.

"His son... so you think your dad would-?"

"Our dad is a lot of things but he's not going to go against Taimoor. Not like this. He only has the company because of Taimoor, he's not going to jeopardize that. That's just not his style," Zeenia interjected.

"You mean he's a slimy bastard," Azaan's declaration was sharp and cutting.

"Azaan, he's still your father," I soothed. Stay on track. Don't get distracted.

"Well if anyone, he'd be the one to ask."

"Do you have any clue where he is?" I broke through, trying to keep my composure.

"No, why would I keep track of him? The man destroyed our whole family."

"And he just might be the key to saving it now," Zeenia shot back.

"Okay, what is going on? Should I come back? I feel like I should come back-"

"Nothing is going on. We can't wait to meet you during your spring break."

"You know I can't come in the spring, I'm catching up on all the work I'd missed out on."

"No, but Asfand and I will be visiting."

"Oh," that one word held a sea of suspicion.

"I'm sure you'd like to see Zohra."

"Okay now you're using the Zohra card and you know I love that little monster but what are you hiding from me?" Azaan's voice was now becoming harder, so much like his brother that I had to take a moment to convince myself that it wasn't him.

"We're-"

"Holy shit, what happened to our stocks?"

"Azaan-"

"And what the fuck? Bhai put a stay? What is happening? Is everyone okay? Are we poor now? Nia, will you explain this to me!"

"Azaan you need to calm down," my words were anything but calm.

"I am calm. How are you so calm? How is Bhai not flying off the handle?"

Knowing Taimoor, he probably was flying off the handle.

"Uh- well," he let out a litany of curses. "Azaan!"

"What?"

"Use your head. Where could your father be?"

"Anywhere! From the Bahamas to I don't know, somewhere in New Zealand! It's not like we were keeping tabs on him!"

Zeenia huffed, her voice now had a thread of irritation. "This is useless. Daania, I'll try to get the bank to track his credit cards. We'll see where he is."

"Is it the same bank that you own?"

"We own a bank?" Azaan's proclamation made me pause. It looked like he and I were on the same boat.

"Taimoor does," his sister confirmed. "It just makes things a lot easier to track and trace for us."

Seriously, these two, I sighed, realizing I really wasn't as bothered as I should have been. Right or wrong, it was hard to be upset about something that I knew was a part of their DNA just like I knew the sky was blue.

"Okay, well I've got my class-"

"Yes, we'll let you go."

"Can you please keep me updated? I don't want to be out of the loop," his tone became clearer, more incessant. "Daania I'm asking you. These two won't tell me anything."

I knew what that felt like.

"I will."

"Great. Talk to you soon," his answer was a very long, exaggerated sigh. "Hopefully when we regain our lost value. Bye."

For the love of God.

"He's twenty-five but sometimes I feel like he's still five."

"He'll grow up pretty soon," I assured her with a heavy heart. We all did.

"Can't wait for that part."

"Trust me, he'll get there."

"I know. I'll call you when I know something."

I paused, debating if I should ask this of her, propping the phone to my ear with my shoulder. "Zeenia?"

"Yes?"

"Don't tell Taimoor about this-"

"But-"

"No. He needs to focus on the board. We can handle this."

"Are you sure because he-"

"Just for a while. Okay?" my voice was thick and tense.

"I- sure, but only because I'm trusting your judgment on this and because I know you won't harm my brother."

I froze.

My heart felt like a single solitary gong of a bell tolling in my chest before it went silent, letting the heavy beat radiate grief through my body.

"That's all I ask."

"Make this count."

༻✺༺

Distracted by thoughts of my conversation with Zeenia, I said little to anyone as I spent the morning helping my family with chores. It was a nice normal after the life at Mughal House. While Mama had managed to hire someone to help her, it was rejuvenating to move around the house, to actually have a say in how things were working. Unlike Mughal House, it wasn't like a well oiled machine that worked whether I was there or not. Maybe I could have some input in the running of Mughal House when I went back. Would Mrs. Khan even let me?

I let out a small chuckle. Probably not. I'd have to cajole her into it and Taimoor-

Picking up the bedsheet, I froze.

I'd never thought of myself as a domestic person. But there was no way I could convince myself that Mughal House wasn't my home. That I didn't want to make it my home. With him.

Home.

Yes, I wanted and needed the space away from him, away from Mughal House. Many nights as I laid in bed, I told myself that I would never go back, and yet I knew I was lying to myself. I'd never had these domestic thoughts before.

Nothing felt right, not when in the back of my mind I knew I had already found it. Because every single sleepless night, every single tear I shed, every single bump, every heartbroken wail that left my throat, every single one of them was for one reason and one reason only. He was my home.

Taimoor was my home.

I would never forget those moments- lying with him naked in the cottage, or fighting with him in our house- I would never forget knowing in the deepest, most untouchable part of my heart that I had been where I always belonged. In love. With him.

"Daania-"

"Baba what are you doing! You should be in bed, it's only been two weeks," he held up his hand, still a little frail, slightly shaky and I went to help him before he had the chance to deny me.

"I have to show you something, I couldn't that day but come with me."

"What is it Baba?"

"The White Rose."

My face screwed in confusion as he walked me to his lab. What was he talking about?

"The... what? I thought you lost it?"

"I had. I'd sold it in bits and pieces so no one would have the full program."

"When did you get the time to complete it?"

"Ever since you took over, all I had was time."

"Baba, I-" the pain I felt in my chest was unreal."

"I've built and rebuilt this so many times that now I can do it in my sleep."

"Baba-"

"Give this to him. He imagined it. Tell him that my debt to him is repaid," a tear slipped from the corner of my eye as he handed me a hard drive. A massive hard drive.

"I already helped him build a version-"

"From my scattered plans? Daania, you're smart, but I'm your father. What you had was the basic prototype. Basic programming. This is ready to go. You can start manufacturing in months."

"What about the licensing? The patents?"

His eyes twinkled. "I've already applied for one."

"When?"

"Two months ago."

"But we never heard about it-" I couldn't help it, I threw my arms around him.

"Because it's under your name," he whispered into my ear.

"But it's your greatest creation!"

"You're my greatest creation," my father was made out of the stone pillars of his work and its purpose. For him to do this? I forced the lump in my throat back down where it belonged. "You're my legacy. What you did for all of us, for this family and at a time where no one was there to support you? You made us proud Daania. You've made us all proud."

"I was only trying to help," my tongue felt thick and my lip twitched.

The corners of his smile jumped as he replied. "You saved us. The hard part is over. We've done it. You've done it. You can stop worrying about us. We're going to be fine."

My heart swelled.

"I don't think that's possible-"

"It is possible beta. Focus on your future. On yourself."

My head slowly tipped to the left, as though the words I'd heard mostly in that ear had weighed it down.

"Why do I feel like you're kicking me out?"

"Never. This is your house, you can stay as long as you want, but, remember, your home is somewhere else now," he said with a long sigh, shifting to sit down on the arm chair, exhausted from this little exercise.

"Baba, just give me a minute, I've got to make a few calls," and before I could overthink it, I called Yahya.

Outside, the sky was gray and the air heavy with the scent of rain. Any other day, I would have rejoiced over the coming storm. But today the weather reflected my mood, and I closed my eyes against the gloomy sky. Even the weather knew... I would never feel the happiness I craved, not away from him.

Twenty days had passed. Twenty sorrowful days, each worse than the one before. Now, I felt like I was running, running from my troubles, running from him, hiding, when actually I should find him and finish what I promised him.

My stomach knotted, and my chest ached. It was too much, too many things plaguing me, the heart that broke for Taimoor, my insecurities demanding blood, and the guilt at the thought of him all alone. He was the man who set my body on fire and demanded my attention. He was the one who made my soul feel not so alone.

God missing him was getting depressing.

"There you are," my weight shifted onto my other foot and I very nearly bumped into the person behind me."Didn't mean to startle you."

"I," what was she doing here? "I'm sure. How can I help?"

"You can start by telling me what's wrong between you and my son," I stared at her, not entirely convinced what had prompted her to come to my parents house and have this conversation with me. Raania Mughal was a stunning classic brunette. A true beauty despite what she'd artificially done to her face. She wore a long-sleeved white dress, nude colored heels, and an expression that told me she wasn't here to play.

"I thought you didn't want me with your son."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"You haven't answered mine," I clenched my fists as I shot to my feet, feeling out of balance.

"Why are you here?"

"In case you haven't heard, my father was shot."

"Yes. Three weeks ago," twenty three days to be exact. "I came to ask about his recovery."

I didn't know when I'd been more shocked. When she'd accepted my mother's dinner invite or the fact that she was here, voluntarily.

"He's in the master bedroom-"

"I've met him."

So she'd seeked me out.

"Oh."

Her eyes roamed around the room. "That's an interesting chess board. Do you play?"

"Baba had this made for me. On my twentieth birthday," I answered, watching her closely.

"So you play chess."

"Occasionally."

"And yet, you've left your King unprotected," my fixed smile tried to mask the uncomfortable reaction I wanted to have, and my heartrate stumbled.

"Excuse me?"

She peered across the table like something was wrong with me, and irritation heated my blood. "What's the strongest piece on the chess board? The Queen. Who protects the King? The Queen."

"I haven't left him unprotected. I'm just taking care of my father," I bit down on my bottom lip, unsure of her motives. What was she doing here?

"Your sister's exams ended yesterday. She told me. And your father is much better now."

My anger leashed my tongue, but I managed to bite out the words. "I don't want to be rude, but why are you here?"

"To see if you really are the girl my son was fighting for."

"Your son-"

"Is fighting alone. Mughal Co. needs us to step up. You're part of the family, officially," she crossed her arms, leaned forward, and her expression flooded with emotion. In the brief time I'd known her, this was the most animated I'd seen her. "You should be out there strengthening the company."

"I understand that you have very strong ties to the company. It's your legacy. But, you can not just force me to do things when it suits you. Three months ago, I was strengthening the company and I was public enemy number one for you. So let me ask you this, what changed?"

"Hell hath no fury like a Mughal scorned," she answered, his eyes glittering with something unfamiliar to me, was it pride? "The situation has changed. We're not as... secure as we once were."

Dread wormed through my system, but I wouldn't allow it to show. "That's hard to believe."

"Taimoor needs you."

"Everything in my life doesn't revolve around Taimoor," lie. That was such a big fat lie and judging by her eyebrows, she knew it.

"In our lives it does. He's the reason why we survived. Altamash's death had ruined Haider, destabilized the company, broken the family. I wasn't- I wasn't the best at coping with it either. At first it was just Taimoor, fighting to restore our place and then Zeenia supported him, gave him the trust and backing he needed. They put us back together, piece by piece."

"Because of the company. It's all because of the company..." I exhaled, crossing my legs at the ankles.

"The legacy. It's the legacy that keeps us going. We have something to protect," she corrected gently.

"And Azaan? Does he not have a role to play here?"

A small sound alerted us to her presence. Nazia tip toed into the room and served us tea, her curious eyes bouncing back and forth between the two of us. This interruption gave our guest a moment to compose her thoughts.

"Azaan is the baby of the family. His loyalties and sensitivities run deep but unlike Zeenia and Taimoor, he's always been in the shadows. Putting him out now would be like throwing him into the deep end."

"Don't you feel that too much pressure on Taimoor? Him being the only one handling all of this? Maybe he deserves to have a life too. Maybe he deserves a break as well," I said, my voice steady and calm even though the turmoil inside me raged far worse than a storm.

"Maybe he does now. He never had a reason to before," her meaning was clear even if her expression was not. The woman across me delivered a self satisfied look, and although it seemed impossible, my uneasiness found a new low to sink to.

"I don't understand why you're still trying to save the company. You got married to a man who didn't love you, to protect his legacy. What about your legacy? You were an heiress... where are you now?"

"In a much better position."

"What do you mean?" I asked softly.

Her shoulders fell, and she sighed, gazing back at me. A heavy breeze rolled in from the open windows, gathering my hair and bringing with it the scent of rain and uncertainty but leaving my thoughts untouched.

"I have my children. I have a beautiful granddaughter. I have a life that I control. I have more than my father gave me. I gained a lot more than I lost."

Her head angled, and she looked at me like I'd just torn away a mask and revealed a different person beneath.

Perhaps I had.

"That's one way to look at it-" I doled out the platitude in an indifferent voice.

"You might not get it, you're one of the lucky ones."

"I don't know what you mean."

She said nothing to that and sniffed, shifting on the sofa. "You love him."

Not a question.

I was tempted to refute it, to say I did not harbor any such feelings, but this pit of fear that'd yawned open inside me, that threatened to pull me under and swallow me until nothing but bleak darkness remained said otherwise.

"It's not relevant."

"You were never a gifted liar, I suggest that you should stop trying. You're lucky because you're in love with my son and miraculously, he's in love with you."

"I- he's a difficult person to-"

She nodded. "Taimoor is arrogant, controlling, manipulative and hotheaded. What makes it worse is that he knows it. He has this way of staring at people as if he was waiting for them to mess up so he could put them in their place. However, the moment he looks at you, it's gone. He softens," she took a sip of her tea but held my gaze as she did it. "All he sees is you. He's content, which is far from the boy I saw all those years."

My heart seized in my chest, but I rushed forward. "Somethings are just beyond such feelings."

"They are, but some feelings are beyond human comprehension. Logic and the mind can't make sense of it."

My fingers played with the ring on my finger, its story echoing through my ears.

"I thought you didn't like me."

"I still don't," I didn't look at her as she said that. "But my son does, and that's enough for me."

"That's a glowing endorsement."

"It's an endorsement and I think you understand what that means."

"I do."

"Good. The board members are meeting to discuss Taimoor's fate in an hour. So let me ask you again, what do you plan to do?"

The hell?

"In an hour?"

"More or less."

"What are they planning to do?"

"Vote him out," I stared out in a daze, hardly hearing her.

"But they can't, he, I mean all of you, are the major share holders!"

"Unfortunately the dip in our share prices caused a lot of shares to be bought before Taimoor put a hold. Coupled with the previous shares that were being bought over time-" she explained, her voice strangely monotonous.

"The unknown companies that were buying less than five percent," I choked out, barely registering the thunder and lightning that began to burst over the city, raging against its inhabitants.

"We're down to forty nine percent."

My mouth went dry.

"That's still a lot."

"It's not enough."

Well crap. Now I knew why she was here. And that little speech of hers? Freaking brilliant. The woman should be a inspirational speaker.

Obsidian clouds, swollen with rain and fractured by lightning, boiled in the east. The water smacked the windows, and the petrichor invaded my senses, but it was the torrential water that grabbed me the most. Freaking spring showers.

I averted my eyes and got up, flinging a jacket over my shoulders, still dressed in my kurta and shalwar, feeling hints of deja vu and rushing towards the door. "I need to go."

"Daania," she cried when she realized what I was about to do. "Make sure to give them hell."

"We'll see," I refused to believe that I could do anything but that, however I had to have the last word. "Don't ever manipulate me like this again."

She smiled, a bright genuine smile. "Noted."

"Scorpio?"

I jammed my feet into some shoes, knowing he was around somewhere. "Yes ma'am?"

"Get ready to leave."

"You're not allowed to leave the premises ma'am."

"Says who?" I didn't bother to look at him.

"I don't want to say ma'am," his words were bland but I could sense his unease at the question. Mission accomplished, I looked him in the eyes.

"Scorpio, if you're not going to take me, I'll go on my own. Which option would you prefer?"

"I'll have them get the car ma'am."

Scorpio followed me to the car, holding the umbrella over my head, ushering me onto the cool leather. He entered the drivers seat, his movements jerky but controlled.

"To the office ma'am?"

"Yes and as fast as you can," I said as I stared up into his hard face, rain dripping from the ends of my hair.

Looking out the window of the car, I saw the rain come down in such thick sheets it was almost impossible to see any piece of Islamabad through it. Sliding out my phone, I started to text Jibran the details of what he had to do. We had an hour before the meeting, and I wasn't going to let it go to waste.

Everything was going to be okay, I reminded myself for the third time in thirty minutes as I stood outside my office, dragging a hand through my slightly damp hair, flicking little drops of water off onto the floor.

"Mrs. Mughal?"

Scorpio and I spun to see the girl who was hired to help Jibran, the one who was going to help me get ready. His personal assistant.

"Yes."

"Are you-" Bisma cleared her throat and rearranged the emotions on her face. "As you'd instructed, I've ordered your suit from the designer near Kohsar. It'll be here in fifteen minutes. Do you need anything else?"

"Have Jibran meet me outside the conference room in twenty minutes."

"Immediately," she answered her fingers already flying over her phone.

"Has the board meeting started?"

"It will in thirty minutes. Mr. Mughal is currently in another meeting with his team. Shall I let him know of your arrival?"

"No, I'll join him soon enough," I muttered, there was no need to alert him to my presence, I thought while walking into my office bathroom. Thank God I'd had the hindsight to have it stocked with my basic beauty essentials. Grabbing a hair dryer from the wall, I quickly finger combed my hair into a manageable mess. Smoothing some hair product on the strays, I fastened the hair at the nape of my neck. Skipping the foundation, I piled on the concealer, dabbed some blush and finished off with a pink lip.

This would have to do.

"Ma'am? Your suit's here."

"Thank you. How much longer to the meeting? Is Mr. Mughal there?" my fingers wrapped around the hanger and I started to change, pulling on the emerald fabric, a perfect choice to compliment both the Mughal Co. brand and the ring on my finger.

"Five minutes and he's still in his meeting with his lawyers."

"Good."

Both Scorpio and Bisma followed me to the main conference room where Jibran waited, his laptop tucked neatly in his hands. He stepped aside, ushering us through the doors that stood at least twice my height. I threw him a small smile. It was good to be back even if we were vibrating with nervous energy.

Not a minute after we'd settled, the door opened, and a stream of suits rolled into the room. Lawyers, corporate officials, followed by the board members. As I watched, Jibran grabbed a leather portfolio off the desk and made his way to join me.

Sensations clashed together, fear, panic and  excitement tightening my muscles. Greetings erupted around the room, and I started to fade, detaching, retreating inside myself.

It was too real.

Too final.

His voice, Taimoor's voice, prickled up the back of my neck. The soft, eerily haunting tone from earlier when he'd met me. I hadn't realized how much his voice had changed in the past months. I floated out of my body, lost in stupefied shock and not trusting my own eyes until I saw his gorgeous face, heard his familiar gait.

My heart raced as I turned.

His rough beard was back. His hair had obviously only been combed. He was restless and edgy, a dark thundercloud of mood over his head. Though he wore a suit and tie, he seemed more of the Beast than I'd ever seen him. His gaze flicked to me, lingering long enough to shred my insides before skipping away to greet everyone else.

Crisp black suit and vest, white shirt, emerald tie- it looked like we both had the same idea- he was dressed like everyone else in the boardroom. But I knew the body beneath those threads, every hair, blemish, indention, and ripple of muscle. I knew how he held me skin-to-skin, the pleasure of those hands-on my prickling flesh, the texture of that thick brown hair falling across my abdomen. The rush of his words on my skin, the sanctity of his confessions late at night, the press of my palm against his heart.

"The meeting will now begin," every muscle in my body was both hot and cold with the situation I was currently in.

Now, the soft hair on my arms raised.

I knew he was looking at me, but I kept my attention schooled on the iPad in front of me, reading the meeting agenda. I felt him... the electric jolt traveling up and down my body wherever his gaze hit.

I wondered about what he saw.

Did he see the strong level headed woman? Or the broken girl inside? Did he see his partner or his lover? Could be sense my broken heart along with my iron will?

Knowing Taimoor he probably saw it all. Everything, down to the littlest of details. I knew he saw how my clothes hung over me. I knew he felt my breath stutter when he came into the room and I knew he saw the sheen of unshed tears in my eyes. I knew it all because his expression held a world of remorse.

He knew better now. He'd learned. I had to believe that much at least. I had to believe that no matter what.

Breaking my line of thought, the chairman moved to the head of the table, his eyes lingering on me for a second too long, probably wondering how and why I was here.

Hamaad Ali Jouhar was a small, rotund fellow with large-rimmed glasses and wiry hair. As far as I knew, he was a man of few words and even less charisma. He was the kind of man that easily faded into the background, whose presence was easily missed in a room. He was the perfect kind of man to run everything from the background, but also to hear every secret without feeling as though he were even there.

"Mr. Mughal as the unofficial head of the company, you've lead Mughal Co. with all the grace expected and required of you. Unfortunately, these past months have caused nothing but turmoil for the company. Businesses have good days and bad days.  Ordinarily, this would just be one bad financial term and we'd pick ourselves up after the first quarter and look to the next. However," here we go. "The company is facing dire circumstances. We've lost twenty percent of our total value, all of it just wiped out, we have yet to see that grand project you spoke of and if it wasn't for the SECP, we'd be bought out by some other corporation!"

"If you'd allow me to speak," Taimoor didn't wait for a reply, just stood up and moved towards the screen. Facts and figures appeared behind him, data complied in bar charts and statistics. "As all of you esteemed gentleman can see, there has been substantial growth under my time as the head of the company. We've seen exponential growth."

"We know this-"

"I wasn't done speaking," his posture hardened, his gaze touching on all twenty four of the members sitting in front of him, half of them on a screen across from us. "Exponential growth and high returns. I'm surprised that this meeting has been called to question my leadership and to remove me from my position. Mughal Co. is facing some short term challenges, nothing that can not be recovered in the next six months."

"We are questioning the man who's lost half of the company in a week. A week! We've lost four board members," four? "And are currently facing invasive questions and scrutiny from both the media and the investors," my eyes swivelled to survey the British man who had asked this.

"We have yet to see any progress on the White Rose. Where is that program? It was supposed to be launched in March, why have we not had any updates regarding its progress?" this one was from another foreign board member.

"The program was being lead by your wife, am I correct? I'm sure she'd be more qualified to answer to the details-" and now we had our local men join in.

"My wife-"

"With all due respect, she is not allowed to speak or be privy to these conversations."

"I beg to differ. I've served as the interim CEO of this company. I have more of a right to speak than any of you in this room. Jibran? If you will."

It was as if I'd cracked a whip.

The members cautiously retreated to their seats, looking disturbed that this statement hadn't come from Taimoor, but from me. His new nobody wife.

My chest lifted as I took a preparing breath.

"The patent for The White Rose program went through."

"Impossible."

"What do you mean?"

"How could that be?"

"Why had no one informed us?"

"What?"

Taimoor moved, his body poised to protect me, his arm coming around my waist. Those eyes that held promises of chaos and destruction. Now that he knew what I did for him - he brought it all out in the open, tearing down the walls holding them in line.

There was nothing that would hold him back now.

I ignored the chorus of shock and disbelief around me, knowing that I had my husbands support. They all peered at me like I'd lost my mind.

"It was accepted under my name."

"How-"

"Yahya? The files please?"

"Yes ma'am."

"When was this?"

"Weeks ago. As you can see-"

"How did Taimoor become a co-applicant?"

"Yes, how did I?" he muttered, standing beside me, looking over the documents, his lips brushing my cheek, his eyes roving over the papers, body inches away from mine.

"How does anyone become a co-applicant? I'm not here to explain patent laws. I'm sure your lawyers will be able to elucidate on the
requirements," in the pause that followed, I looked up to see him staring down at me, his eyes dilated, swirling with the excitement.

"The program is ready," he whispered, eyes riveted on my face. I nodded.

"So she has the patent. That doesn't mean that the program is ready to be marketed! The White Rose was a failure seven years ago and it is a failure now," a new voice drew my thoughts back to the matter at hand.

I floundered for a moment, not really wanting to be diplomatic, but also not wanting to be rude. Badar stared at me incredulously, like I was on something.

"It's actually being tested in one of our labs. Production will begin in a few weeks, we've already received petitions and requests for documents of mutual understanding and potential market shares," I ticked off the points on my fingers.

"What is she saying?" a vein in the older board member, Hakim Nizam's, neck began to pump visibly. I traced my finger over the slick surface of the pen, staring at it intently as I answered him, trying not to smile like a maniac.

"She's telling you that the White Rose is fully operational. That your boss has managed to make the impossible possible."

"Impossible."

"I just shared the data," it came out forced and overly enthusiastic from me. Really, if it was Taimoor saying this, they wouldn't have questioned him nearly as much as they were interrogating me.

I watched in my periphery as their eyes widened and reality set in. Even with the funneling of money and the frantic buying, Taimoor's mother and his siblings were on his side with forty-nine percent of the shares of Mughal Co. With the promise of new deals and a brand new venture, he could now throw any decision the board had made, easily.

They had nothing on Taimoor. Absolutely nothing.

"She's lying."

"Badar..."

"No, how could the White Rose become operational? We've had no presentations, no knowledge of this sudden working program! Last we heard, the patent was rejected by WIPO."

"You need to watch your tone," a warning threatened in Taimoor's eyes.

"It wasn't rejected it was revised," I added in a placating voice.

"If it was revised why did you file it under another name?"

"To keep the bias away. The goal is to provide clean energy-"

"The goal is to make money."

"Watch it," the board members shrank in their chairs, Taimoor's hard tone shocking all of us. It could also be the fact that Taimoor simply looked like trouble, with his staggering frame and rakish features, like he was looking to start a fight. "You're out of line. I know you're in mourning and that you've lost your father but you do not get to talk to her this way."

"Enough," the Chairman of the Board backpedaled and glanced toward his escape. "We can debate on this after the break. Let's reconvene in thirty minutes."

If I'd been weaker, I would've collapsed.

My legs shook beneath me. The room spun. My head pounded, and I gripped the edge of the table to catch my balance. I sat in a fugue of disbelief, wonderment, and something I hadn't felt before.

Hope.

It made my breath hitch.

For the love of strong women everywhere, pull yourself together Daania.

My mental pep talk did little to stop the feeling of breathlessness shimmering through me, tingling my limbs. Was this really happening? So many questions swirled in my head, I didn't know where to start.

Badar's dark eyes became apologetic when he turned saw me frozen beside my chair. "Please accept my apologies, I was asking you a question, I didn't mean any disrespect."

"You were accusing me of something I didn't do."

His pupils swallowed the lighter black of his eyes and his shoulders lifted in a deep breath. "I was not accusing you, I know you would never do this. It's them I don't trust."

"My husband? You think pointing a finger at my husband isn't pointing a finger at me?"

"Oh, Daania when will you learn? They don't care about you. They will never care about you," he continued, shadows swirling within the depths of his eyes.

"I don't know if it's the grief talking or just some sort of ego-infused blabber but you will have to get out of my way now."

"You're becoming just like them. Cold. Calculating," he stressed, his left eye ticking. I turned just in time to see Taimoor striding out from his group, his stormy eyes flicking to Badar, who was standing close to me, and I saw a flash of possessiveness in them.

Reflexively, I stepped away from the man by my side.

His gaze sliced to mine, the darkness in his eyes burning with intensity, but it didn't reveal whatever was spinning inside his head. The ground shivered with Taimoor's irritation, his gaze intent on Badar as he stalked towards him. He stopped in front of us, looking more than a little menacing.

"What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to discuss something with Daania."

He glanced down at me, his nostrils flaring, before his eyes move back to Badar. "Didn't I already tell you to stay away from my wife?"

"I was just asking about the patent."

Taimoor inclined his head.

"It's fine Taimoor, we have to get back to the meeting, looks like the board members are leaving for their break."

Badar nodded, raised a hand goodbye and then turned and walked off in the opposite direction.

"I don't like him."

"That makes two of us, but he's part of the board now."

I looked up at him as the room emptied out, and he looked down at me with an expression that, to the outside world, looked placid, almost devoid of any emotion. Yet that expression bore the subtlest smile, one that was mine and mine alone, the beast in his eyes watching me intensely. My expression did not falter and my body did not move, an atomic bomb had been detonated inside of me, shivers replacing the blood in my veins.

My chest burned.

I wanted to sink into this feeling, into his comfort, his acceptance... his affection.

My mind was simultaneously begging me to scream in confusion. He was not the one confusing me, though - I was. Silence grew too much, too suffocating.

Taimoor cleared his throat and I jolted as if the sound burned me.

"You look-"

The doors opened up, and a freshly styled and dressed Zeenia, filled the gap.

"What did I miss?"

"We've got them to listen. So that's good," I said hiking my thumb in the general direction of the board members.

"Good? That's great!"

"Yes, but we still don't know who it is-"

"Who what is?" Taimoor's face crinkled into a frown as his eyes appraised us.

"Uh-"

"What are the two of you up to?" his question was now loaded with confusion and distrust.

"Nothing."

"The two of you together can never do nothing."

"I'm being- wait," her phone beeped with a message. "Dad came through."

"What do you mean?"

"There's only one person in the board who fits the profile."

"Who is it?" Taimoor demanded, his voice harsh. He was utterly still, but his eyes... his eyes were bright. Around us, shadows began to gather in the room.

Alarm bells went off in my head.

Secrets so confounded and lies so tightly knit it made the kinds of things I had read about or watched on TV appear like a flashlight when compared to the sun. Pain and terror, I felt them seeping into my bones, wrapping around my soul, a shiver rushing from the bottom of my spine up to the back of my neck.

"It's- him," I whispered staring at the man who was now pointing a gun, straight at Taimoor.

༻✺༺
First of all, thank you thank you thank you, for the Twitter trend. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I'd get to experience something like this. You blew me away.

Now, for my little announcement. You gave me your wonderful surprise, let me give you mine. I am thinking of doing a live on the 26th of March, Saturday! Surprise 😄

You'll get to ask me questions, talk to me, discuss MAV etc. I'd love to interact with all of you! I'd prefer to do it on Twitter, but let me know where you'd want to do it and at what time 🥳

Other than that, thoughts, questions feedback? I can't wait to know what you guys think of this chapter 🤍
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