Zara's POV

I peek for the last time at Armaan before cautiously opening the door. Why is it becoming so difficult to get out of a car? It's not like he is not going to know when I will escape from the car. I need to run away from him otherwise he will find me again. I take a deep breath and close my eyes. After counting till three, I hastily come out and slam the door harshly.

Armaan gets startled by the sudden bang and looks into my direction.

"Hey Zara, Where are you going?" He shouts.

"Hah. Do you really think you can trap me? That's not gonna happen. I am going, " I stick my tongue at him.

I hurriedly look here and there. There is a huge trail of the cars; till how long my eyes are seeing. In front, is a massive scary forest. Where will I go now? I panic when Armaan gets out of the car and is about to come towards me. I lick my dried lips as I take a few steps behind.

"And do you really think I won't be able to find you?" He ironically laughs.

"Let's see who will win today," I point my index finger at him.

"You don't even know this place, Zara. You may get in trouble, " he says with a serious face this time and tries to grab my wrist.

"Staying with you is more of a trouble." I dodge his hand and run away aimlessly.

There is only one place where I can go, in this traffic condition: the forest. I turn back to find Armaan coming after me. I rush into the forest as quickly as I can.

"Do you really want to stay here?" He asks in a breathy voice, still standing on a footpath separating the forest with the main road.

"Yes. I would love to stay here. Now you can go." I try to walk back with my face still on the front.

"Do you really want me to go?" His lips curl up to form a smirk.

"Yes. Shall I write it for you?" I flinch when my back hits a tree.

"I'll go then. There will be so many wild animals here. I hope you will have a good time with them," he shows a cheeky smile and turns back.

Wild animals? I swallow my own saliva as my eyes scan my surrounding. The huge bladder- brown colored trees are so old that they are bending down. The dirty yellow bushes are everywhere.

What if some animal comes out of the bushes?

No, this can't happen. Its still day time; why some animals will appear at this time.

"Hey, Zara listen."

I come out of my thoughts when I hear Armaan's loud voice. He is already standing next to his car, just ready to get in the car.

Should I go back with him? But no! After this much effort, I am able to escape from him. Moreover, he will think of me as a coward who gets frightened by his words about wild animals earlier.

"When you will have enough time with your special hosts here, don't forget to get back to your best friend's home. But there is a problem," he asserts as he again walks near the footpath so that he doesn't need to speak aloud.

"She knows you are with me. In fact, she helps me to get you here so in any way, best of luck," he chuckles and goes back to his car.

Aila has been involved in all of this. That's why she isn't home since the last night.

Aila you betrayer, I will kill you!

My eyes get wide in shock seeing him taking the car out of the queue and turning back. And in a blink of an eye, he has gone.

He really leaves me. What will I do now? What if really something comes out of the forest. I don't even have a phone or a single penny to get back home. On top of that, I have no idea about this place.

I run fingers through my hair in frustration. What will happen now? In just a few hours, it will be dark and this forest will be scarier at that time. I am stuck in an unknown place, thanks to me.

I scream in terror when a howling voice echoes through the air. I reluctantly move behind when the voice gets louder and more often; at a regular interval. Armaan is right. There are really wild animals here.

What if some animals come out and then attack me. I don't want to die here.

I get slipped when my feet refused to move further due to them getting trapped by something.

Armaan, come back. I need you.

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Shaiq's POV

I look here and there as soon as we get inside Zainab's house but there is no one. Perhaps everyone is sleeping.

"I guess everyone has slept already. I was thinking that you will see Ammi as she was asking about you but looks like, it's not possible today," Zainab says while looking at closed doors.

"It's fine. I'll meet her some other time. Now you go to your room and sleep," I tell her while smiling.

She just nods and about to turn around when she stops and looks at me.

"You will come tomorrow right?" She asks.

"Of course, I will. But on one condition; I want my old Zainab back when I meet you tomorrow."

"That's not possible Shaiq. I can never get back to how I used to be even if I try my best. I have seriously lost trust in love and I can never get it back," she wearily says.

"But.."

"Stop here, Zainab."

I get interrupted by a stern voice. I turn around to find Daniyal standing there with a frown on his face. He stares at me for a moment with the same scowl before turning his gaze towards his sister.

"Where were you the whole day? Is it time to come home?" He asks in a rude tone.

"Daniyal, she was with me. She fainted due to weakness earlier so now let her go for sleep. You can do this interrogation tomorrow," I quickly reply.

"Huh fainted," he chuckles, "this is another excuse to remain out the whole day. "

"Daniyal, she is sick. Let her go," I again say in a loud voice.

"You know Zainab, why don't you just get married and leave your filthy figure out of this house. Because I don't want society to lay fingers on us that our girl gets home at midnight. What did you do the whole day, by the way? Flirting with guys?" He laughs wickedly.

"Daniyal. She is your sister. Mind your..."

"You don't intrude between us, Shaiq," he points his finger towards me, a gesture for me to stop.

"Wait Shaiq," Zainab finally speaks, " Daniyal Bhai, for your kind information, I don't get everything ready-made in my mouth just like you. I need to do part-time jobs to get what I have now. And don't ever try to speak about my character. When you don't consider me part of this family then why you are so bothered about my character?"

She glares at him before heading towards her room. Before she can even move her feet, Daniyal grabs her hair from behind and slap hard on her face. He is about to slap her again when I hold his hand.

"Daniyal. Are you in your senses?" I shout as I twist his hand.

"You bitch. How dare you mock me?" He again comes forward to hit her but I pull him before he can get near her.

"Now I get what this bitch wants. I am calling that boyfriend of yours to take this filthy thing away from us," he yells as he frees himself from me.

"He won't come. Because there is nothing between us, " Zainab shouts.

"Oh. So that guy also gets to know that you are a useless thing," he lets out an ironic laugh.

"Then get ready for your engagement with Shakir this Friday," he announces.

"Fine with me. I'll marry whoever you want."

I stare at Zainab with eyes wide open in shock. Has she gone insane? How can she say this? She is agreeing to marry the person she hates the most.

"Good for you then." Daniyal gives both of a cold eye before going back to his room with a satisfied grin on his face.

When he has gone, I divert my attention to Zainab. I panic seeing the side of her lip getting bruised and blood coming out of it. Due to the slap from Daniyal, her hair along with her lips is disheveled. She looks up at me with tearful eyes, the corner of her lip curl up to form a smirk.

"You remember when I call him hubby back then at ice cream parlor, I didn't know it will come back on me," she asserts in a hazy state.

I walk towards her hastily and grab her arm.

"You can't marry a drunkard, a flirt like him. I won't let you do this," I tell her in a rough voice.

"I will reject one Shakir and they will bring another one. It's of no use now," she shrugs her shoulder.

My eyes again land on her lips. After some thinking, I take out a handkerchief from inside my pocket. I give it a quick glance to ascertain its cleanliness before putting it under her lips. Before it can touch her lips, she moves away.

"Its sanitized, Zainab," I blurt out.

"How many tears, bruises, and sorrows will you wipe from my face and heart?" She asks while smiling wearily.

My hand remains fixed in the same position as my eyes stay at her face.

"You will get tired while wiping them but they won't end. Go home already. I can see how sleepy you are!" She slightly smacks my forehead while chuckling.

Behind this laugh, I can see how sad she is.

I grab her arm and turn her towards me.

"You are not okay, Zainab."

"I am absolutely okay dude. Now leave already. Look the amount of sleep in your eyes," she says while twisting my cheek.

"Stop this, Zainab. I won't let you ruin your life," I yell at her.

"It has already ruined, Shaiq. And I don't care anymore."

She rushes away as soon as she finishes what she wants to say.

"I will marry you." I don't realize how it gets slipped from my tongue.

Zainab stops in her track and turns back to face me. Her face has a hint of shock and surprise. She walks towards me as her expressions remain the same.

"What did you say just now? You were kidding, right? Now, my best friend has also started mocking my state?" She yells.

"Zainab, I wasn't mocking. I mean what I said."

She hits my chest with her fists, "do you have any idea what are you saying? I thought you will be there for me but no, I am made to live alone my whole life. You also make fun of my condition "

"You...you have hurt me, Shaiq. You have hurt me more than anyone else," she sobs as she moves away from me.

"Zainab. That wasn't my intention. I..."

"That's enough, Shaiq. Today, I have recognized that where I truly belong to. And you don't have to come to me anymore." She runs to her room without looking back at me.

Oh God, what have I done!

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Salam guys!

So Shaiq and Zainab's track has changed a little. Do you think Shaiq really meant it about marrying Zainab?

About Zara and Armaan, the next chapter will have a really important development concerning their relationship. And the next chapter will just show them.

Okay, okay, I think I should spoil it now, next chapter will have romantic scenes of Zarmaan.🙈

If you like this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment.