"What do you recommend?"

Her question brought him out of his thoughts. He looked at her with mild surprise. Was she really talking to me in a civil manner? But it seemed that tonight was a night of surprises. She was looking at him with raised eyebrows, bottom lip between her teeth.

He looked over at the waiter who was waiting patiently for her to order.

"You want me to order for you?"

She couldn't help the amused smile that graced her lips on his shocked tone. She bit the inside of her cheek to try to conceal it. But he had already seen it. He thought it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in a long time. If he wasn't now convinced that he did not, infact, love her and it was just some obsession, he would've swore to do anything just for that smile.

Ozhan was right. He really didn't know what love was. Not even a single clue. In this regard, he was the dumbest person ever alive. When he was dead sure that what he felt for her was ishq, it was anything but. And now when he was actually subconsciously starting to love her, he was forcing the fact that he wasn't capable of it on himself.

Timing really is the essence, isn't it?

"If what you're gonna order won't get me six feet under the ground, why not? Be my guest."

He tilted his head slightly giving her a serious look and ordered the waiter something in Pashto, all of which went over her head. Eager to serve the most famous man in Hunza, the waiter hurried off. Was he notorious or popular, she neither cared nor was curious.

"Are you sure they aren't gonna serve me something with Copper Sulphate or Cyanide in it?"

It took a moment for him to recall that she was referring to the time he had threatened to blow up the hospital she worked in.

"Are you alright?"

She frowned. "Yes, Alhamdulillah. Why?"

"Because you are talking civilly with me."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Its cause i'm exhausted now."

He didn't argue on it. They both were exhausted by now.

"What did you come looking in my study for?", he asked. At this point, he genuinely didn't know if he truly wanted to know or it was just for the sake of conversation. He wasn't in his right state of mind after the recent events.

"It was your study, so obviously i was looking for you", she replied in a "duh" tone.

He leaned back in his chair, placing a long finger on his mouth. His narrowed eyes were enough to pass her the message,

I really don't want your smartass mouth right now.

She rolled her eyes and gave him the reason. "I wanted my phone back." She really hoped that it didn't end up in an argument because she was really hungry and she can't eat in anger, no matter how hungry she is.

It seemed to her as if he was assessing the pros and cons of giving her phone back to her in his mind. But he was so tired, he merely asked her, "Why?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that the tap in the washroom is not working, so i thought i could open it with the pop-socket on my phone."

She looked him dead in the eye, as if she didn't utter the most nonsense thing she could ever think of.

Closing his eyes and pleading for patience, he said in a strained voice, "Would it kill you to reply without sarcasm?"

"Would it kill you to not ask so many questions? I have a fair share of questions myself but you don't see me asking those, do you? Its my phone. I need it. I want you to give it to me. That's it."

"If you think that I'm going to take crap from you just because I've taken you to out to dinner and you have won some sort of challenge, you need to think again."

His voice dropped a few octaves and his eyes took a dangerous glint which reminded her that sitting in front of her was a man who could kill her in cold blood. It would have scared her if not for the countless times he had given her the same look and his word.

That, and all the rational thoughts had left her mind and her survival instincts had gone down to zero.

Narrowing her own eyes, she hissed, "if you think that you have done some sort of favor towards me by bringing me out to dinner and that i'm going to thank you for it, you need to think again."

He opened his mouth to retort but she slapped her hand on the table and leaned in slightly, "If you think that just because you've realized you don't love me and you feel crap that you ruined my life and i'm going to forgive you just like that out of pity, you need to think again."

That definitely shut him up but he continued to glare at her. It seemed as if hunger had really messed up with her head because she didn't shut up just yet.

"And if you think i'm going to give you the happiness by leaving here with an empty stomach, you definitely need to think again." Having said that, she leaned back and allowed the waiter to place the amazingly smelling dishes on the table, her attention completely diverted from the furious male towards the delicious food.

"Thank you", she said to the beaming waiter.

She looked at the dishes and they were what she knew. A plate (the portion was big enough to feed three people) of Harissa, and three Chapshoro. Scooping some of the Harissa into a plate, she dug in, completely oblivious of the man sitting infront of her who was now looking at her in fascination.

She took one bite and the minute it touched her tongue, her eyes closed in bliss and an unintentional moan escaped her mouth. It was as much from the burst of flavour in her mouth as from the feeling of eating real food again. It seemed to spread warmth in her entire body, immediately showing its magic on the headache that had been a constant for about a week now.

After a few bites, she looked up and noticed that Yazaan wasn't having anything. This was not acceptable to her at all.

"Why aren't you eating?", she asked him after swallowing the bit in the her mouth.

He raised his eyebrows in reply as if saying, isn't it obvious? Which should've been, actually. And she too caught up on the reason behind him not eating.

"Please don't tell me you aren't eating because i'm paying." Knowing that was exactly the reason, she continued, "That's just ridiculous!" She put a plate in front of him and served him a big portion. "Come on! Have some."

When he didn't make any attempt to eat, she groaned. "Come on! You can consider it as a treat!"

There wasn't any particular reason for her pushing him about it. She just didn't like it when other people she was with didn't eat while she enjoyed a hearty meal. It gave her a weird sense of anxiety.

"A treat for what?" He had gone still, his expression deadly. To him, she had insulted him in the worst way possible. It was already a blow to his ego by letting her pay for her meal. Now he eating what she was paying for? That's something he would never even consider.

"What time is it?"

Checking his watch, he told her, "quater to twelve."

"For my birthday!" On his confused expression, she explained, "You can consider it as a treat for my birthday. I'm turning thirty-two in fifteen minutes."

On his shocked expression, she again struggled to keep the laughter in. "What? You didn't know you married a woman this old?"

He didn't actually. Or well, he didn't pay much attention to her birth information collected by his men. She wasn't a threat to him so he didn't listen to everything about her, only her present which he apparently needed to threaten her.  Even if he had, he wouldn't have believed it because she looked so young, there was no way she was thirty. She looked as if she just entered in her twenties.

Amazed by her beauty and youthfulness yet again, he picked up his spoon and started eating it. She smiled internally on seeing this and resumed her eating too. There was silence after that except for the clinking of spoons against the plates and hushed sounds of conversations around them. Until,

"Why didn't you marry all these years?"

She choked on the stuffed bread she was eating. Trying to cough it out, her eyes started to water. He gave her a glass of water which she hurriedly grabbed and drank half of its contents.

"Excuse me?", she asked giving a final cough.

He shrugged, his eyes filled with concern. "Merely making a conversation."

"What a great conversation starter! 'Why didn't you marry?' I guess i was waiting for you to come and threaten me into marrying."

When he said nothing, she decided to answer. She didn't know why she did, but she gave him the truth. Maybe it was because she wanted to tell someone that she didn't marry because she was some anti-men sort of woman but there were actual reasons why she hadn't started a family of her own. She was tired of a lot of people just assuming that about her, labelling her like that. No matter how much someone says that they don't give a damn about society, things can be frustrating and sometimes, you can't help it.

"I don't really know. Its not that i was against marriage or anything. It just didn't happen. When i was of 'age' which by people's standards is twenty three, twenty four", she rolled her eyes slightly and air quoted age, "i had started my residency and was in New Jersey, so taking a long holiday for marriage wasn't something i could afford for my career. Becoming a neurosurgeon isn't a unicorn's ride, you know. And then, when i returned to Pakistan, i had fully given consent to my mother for marriage. But then Meerab's condition kept me constantly busy along with multiple others and- so yeah..."

She stopped, her grief was still raw. She bit the inside of her cheek and swallowed, trying to stop her eyes from watering. She looked down, playing with spoon in her hand in hopes that Yazaan wouldn't notice.

When she was certain her emotions were in check, she looked up again and straight into his beautiful green eyes and said softly, "I really need to go to Lahore, Khan. That's why i needed my phone and that's why i came in your study. Its really important to me."

He didn't reply but a flicker of understanding passed in his eyes. She was really starting to hate his ability to mask his feelings so well while she was like an open book. After a few seconds, she began to feel uncomfortable under his scrutinising gaze.

"I'm still surprised, you know", his voice surely did surprise her for she looked up suddenly.

"Huh? At what?"

"You are yet to blame me for her death. I mean, you put blame for everything bad that happens to you on me. And you still haven't done that." He was trying to divert her attention. He wasn't good at it, but hey! He was trying.

"I don't blame you for everything", she said flatly.

"You did when your brother was attacked. By the way, you do now believe i didn't order that, don't you?"

"As much as i want to believe it, i know you didn't. It was my own flesh's stupidity."

He leaned forward and intwined his fingers on the table, "So, you do know your brother- the goody two shoes' brother - was into drugs."

For the first time in that night, all traces of exhaustion left his face and Layeba thought the real Yazaan had returned. The one who enjoyed someone's misery. The smug expression on his face made her want to punch him.

"How do you know about that?" Instead of avoiding his gaze, which was her first intention, she looked at him accusingly.

"Never mind that. I have my sources. Anyway! You didn't answer my question. Why didn't you blame me for this? I was waiting for 'if you hadn't brought me here, i could've helped her' argument."

She swallowed. "I wish i could do that. It would be too much easier. But i can't."

"Why?"

"Even before you kidnapped me, i was already leaving. If not here, i would have been thousands of miles away in Istanbul. Yes, i could've had access to my phone. But in the end what would've it done? Just given me the news sooner, nothing else. So, i can't fire this one on your shoulder. . . i'm done, do you want something else?"

He shook his head once and summoned the waiter. She paid while he went out of the diner.

He was a few steps from the car when she called from behind, swallowing her ego which refused to ask him from anything.

"Khan?"

He looked back, "what?"

"Can we. . . take a walk for a while?"

He raised his brows, asking for a reason even though he already put the car keys back in his pocket and was approaching her.

"I don't want to return to the haveli just yet."

He nodded. And so they began to walk away from the diner. The market was still crowded though shops were beginning to close. She noticed he was leading her out of the bazaar not into it. The crowd eventually thinned and then, few people could be seen on the streets.

She gripped her shawl, missing the warmth of the diner but she liked the cold too.

"Why did you do it?"

She asked out of the blue, sort of continuing their previous conversation. It startled Yazaan a bit who was trying to comprehend his own weird behaviour throughout the night.

If i didn't love her, why did i feel so devastated seeing her on the hospital bed? And why am i filled to the brim with guilt right now?

These were the questions he was constantly asking himself but couldn't find an answer to.

"Do what?"

"Bring me here. You had gone for three months without anything. No threats, no calls, no unwanted visits - nothing. Then, all of a sudden, why?"

"You sound more disturbed by the fact that i didn't keep in touch rather than me bringing you here", he gave her a smirk.

"You wish! And don't stall."

"I had business to be done, and it would've been dangerous for your life to be exposed as my wife." She rolled her eyes. "And i guess it was impossible for me to ignore your command."

"Whatever."

She gripped her shawl again, the chill now getting to her. Her fingers were turning slightly blue and her face was flushed because of the cold. The October cold in Hunza was not something she could conceal with a mere shawl.

"Let's go back."

She nodded and they turned back. There were no more questions asked and she revelled in the peace.

But it was not the case for Yazaan. He was constantly checking his surroundings. The feeling of being watched, which he had gotten the moment they had stepped out of the diner, now stronger than ever. He increased his pace, making it hard for her short legs to keep up.

When they reached the car, the market was almost empty. Putting a hand on her back, he more or less pushed her into the car which luckily she didn't pay much attention to because she happy for the slight warmth the car provided. He roared the car to life, wanting to go to home as soon as possible.

This was not paranoia. He knew they were being watched. Cursing inwardly, he put more pressure on the accelerator. The opposition now knew about Layeba, and he wouldn't put it past them to try to hurt her to get to him.

Shit! I think its important for you to go to Lahore too.

•~•

"Boss, i've done background check on her. The file is on your table."

The grey eyes of the Boss took an evil glint which told everyone around him that they were going to enjoy whatever was to come next. They were sick and twisted like that.

"Good. Anything we can use to our advantage?" His gruff voice was enough to invoke shivers in the opponents voice. Except the one he actually wanted to. As much as he hated it, the young Boss of the rival family had managed to gain respect from him. Didn't mean he wanted to kill him any less.

Everytime he tried, he had failed. He kidnapped Yazaan's sister, but couldn't accomplish the main agenda. For years, he had been plundering Yazaan's goods trying to bring down the wrath of unhappy clients on him. But each time, the young Lord had bounced back harder. And it was fucking annoying. It was time to show who the real boss is. Yazaan should've never followed in his Grandfather's footsteps and listened to his father. But nevermind, now he will shown his real place.

"Quite a lot, actually."

"Really?", he smirked.

"Yes. We can use her own brother against her. Quite easily."

"My favourite thing. Bringing people down by their own loved ones, how tragic." He moved the Black bishop to kill White's queen. "Start speaking already!", he exclaimed like an eager child.

"His brother has been taking drugs for almost a year now. Our drug dealers in Lahore claim that he has been a constant customer of theirs. His relationship with his sister is quite fragile. Though he loves her, her strict nature and sense of morality keeps them apart. He could be a perfect pawn."

"I like how your brain works, Sheheryaar", he pointed at the man who had a sly smile on his face. "Recruit him."

"Recruit him? As in train him all?", Sheheryar asked confusedly.

"I take my words back. Your mind doesn't work fast as i'd like. Of course, recruit him."

"But he lives in Lahore."

"And she stays here in Hunza with him. If we want to take the King out, we need to weaken the Queen. And for that, that boy needs to be here as well."

"It could create problems for us", Sheheryaar warned.

"How so?"

"The family's well connected with the military."

He nodded. "Certainly a difficult task." He stood up and put his hand on Sheheryaar's shoulder. "I have complete faith in your abilities."

Having no choice, Sheheryaar nodded.

"Baba Zaman?" A young lad entered in the room, his grin broader than that of Cheshire cat.

"Mera sher!" He opened his arms wide. "You have brought the good news?" (My lion)

"Is it possible that i don't fulfill your wishes? I have brought him with me."

He laughed loudly. "Finally! The days are near when once again Hunza will have only one ruler."

"InshaAllah, Baba Zaman. He was a tough one. Killed four of my men, but i got him in the end." His son too was happy beyond bounds. Though he put up all the confident exterior, he was extremely nervous for this task.

"Allah un ki maghfirat farmaye", he said gravely, not actually meaning them. He didn't even care about them. The only thing that mattered to him right now was that the underboss was now in their grasp.

"Bring him in. Bring him in. Hum bhi to aankhein saek lein zara."

Shahbaz gestured to a man to bring him in. After a while, they brought a struggling man inside, a brown rag covering his face.

He laughed as if it were Christmas and he was given more presents. He removed the bag and basked in the small victory.

He had really captured the man. The man who was like a thorn in his side. The only one because of whom he had faced failure countless times.

The black eyes glared at him, amusing him further. His forehead was bleeding from a cut and a bruise was forming on his cheek.

Finally. Now how will you find your brother who found everything for you, Yazaan?

•~•

Assalam o alaikum folks! How are you all?

Finally an update!

How was it? Did you like it? I wanted to keep this chapter a bit light while still trying to cover some ground because the previous ones were just so out there. But i hope i didn't bore you all.

Anyways, i don't want to drag this note, so as always Please Vote🌟, tell me what you think of it in the Comments🖋 and Share it with others🤗

That's all.
Lots of love❤❤❤
Javeria