© All copyrights belong to StarsAndMoon1447 on Wattpad

*

Arshiya

Eid had been beautiful.

We visited Mama and Baba, all four of us, during the day and had lunch with them. Mama had prepared a special feast for us, despite our insistence not to do too much. And in the evening, we had an event at home, where our close friends joined us for a wonderful dinner.

I missed Natasha a lot then, but she had gone to Dubai to be with some relatives, just for her mental peace. She'd been gone since not long after her family had to leave their home. 

"That was a great party." I stood in the wardrobe, taking my bangles off. I wore a lace peach Anarkali dress with delicate silver embroidery at the neckline, and with the dupatta tucked underneath the silver belt around my midriff.

Adam had worn a cream shalwar kameez suit, and it was almost startling how attractive he looked in that outfit. Ma Sha Allah. "Yeah, it was good." He took his watch off.

I took the clip off my hair, letting it fall loose around my shoulders. I was glad that it had grown out even more. I reached up to take my necklace off, but he stepped up behind me, brushing my hair aside to loosen up the string of the necklace. His knuckles brushed the skin at the nape of my neck. I clutched my dupatta. I took my necklace off and set it down in its box, before reaching up to take the earrings off (part of the set), and placing them in the box as well. The sleeves of my dress were three-quarters length, and his hands grasped my exposed wrists, stepping up close enough that his chest pressed into my back. I tilted my head back against his shoulder, closing my eyes. His lips brushed against my neck, and he placed one hand over my stomach.

Our baby. The thought made me smile.

I turned to try and leave, but he grabbed me by the upper arms, gently pressing me back against the closed doors of one of the other closets. Our hands clasped together, gazes locked. Words were not said, words were not needed. What we had between us required no verbal communication. 

Then he turned around and walked over to the closet on the other side, opening it and taking something out. He returned back to me and held up a thick envelope.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Your Eidi." He replied. "I almost forgot to give it to you. So much was going on this morning."

"Look, I was just messing with you. You have given me everything that I want or need. I don't need the Eidi. Next year, you can give it to our baby, In Sha Allah."

"Our baby will get it too, In Sha Allah." He took my hand and placed the envelope in my palm. "This is a husband's first Eidi ever to his wife. Accept it, Arsh."

I smiled. "Yeah, and what will your excuse be for every other year?"

"It's my right to give Eidi to my wife. I don't need excuses."

"Thank you." I accepted the envelope. "But I got you something too."

"You did?" He seemed surprised.

I safely placed my Eidi in the closet and took out my gift for him, feeling almost nervous about handing it to him. It felt so insignificant compared to the thick wad of cash he had just given me.

He took the slim box, grinning. "I'm not much into bracelets."

"Just open it." I lightly slapped his upper arm.

He opened it and saw the personalised black pen, with his full name written on it: Adam Ahmer Awan in gold cursive letters.

With hindsight, I thought how silly the gift was. With the amount of Eidi he gave me, I could probably buy hundreds, if not thousands of pens like this. I cleared my throat. "I bought this from my first paycheque from Aroma of Spices." 

He looked up at me, smiling. "This is perfect. In fact, this is easily my favourite gift that I've ever received in my life."

"Okay, now you're just exaggerating." I rolled my eyes. "You're telling me that this pen is your favourite gift, compared to all the cars, bikes and horses that you've received?"

He laughed. "Horses?"

"I don't know, sounds like a wealthy person present." I shrugged.

He put the pen back into the box, and place it on the shelf of the closet behind us. Then, placing his hands on my shoulders, he looked me directly in my eyes. "I swear to you, Arshiya. This is my favourite present ever." He pulled me into a hug. "Thank you." 

I slid my hands up his back, closing my eyes. 

There was a knock on our bedroom door. 

Smiling, I pulled away from him and walked out into our bedroom to open the door.

Qirat stood sheepishly on the other side.

"Hey, Qirat. What's up?" 

"Did you forget the Eid tradition?" She asked. "Silly rom-coms, snacks and coffee?"

Yes, we did have that tradition back home. My sisters and I used to stay up late into the night, having the time of our lives watching, frankly speaking, stupid films, while munching on snacks and having tea or coffee.

"I figured that we won't be able to do it next year, as I will be in London." She sounded almost sad as she spoke.

"Qirat..." Honestly, I'd wanted to spend some time with Adam. It was our first Eid together, and we hardly had a chance to be alone all day.

She seemed to have read my expressions. "Oh...yeah, sorry. Right." 

I sighed. "Okay. But not for too long, okay?" 

"It's fine, Arshi. I..." She glanced over my shoulder. "I did not come here to take your wife away, Adam Bhai."

I turned and saw my husband walking up to us. "I'm going to spend some time with Qirat. We sisters had this Eid tradition back home."

"No, it's fine, Arshi..." Suddenly, Qirat looked embarrassed, her gaze dropping to the ground.

"Oh, thank God, Qirat. I could use some silence right now." Adam winked at me, before looking at Qirat. "Please take her, and don't be in a rush to send her back."

I glared at him as Qirat laughed. I turned back to my sister. "What about Furqaan?"

She rolled her eyes. "He fell asleep." 

"Yeh sahi hai, kaam main karoon aur sab se pehle soye woh khota." Adam muttered.

*"That's right, I do all the work, and that donkey sleeps before everyone else."

Again, Qirat laughed. 

"Ab aisa bhi nahin hai. You just do the ordering. He does the actual work." I teased my husband.

*"It's not like that."

"Does he?" Qirat pretended to look sceptical, making Adam chuckle.

"Main change karke aati hoon. Tum decide karlo kya karna hai." I told my sister, who nodded.

*"I'll change and come. You decide what we should do."

She left and I closed the door, turning to look up at Adam. "You could use some silence?" 

"I was just stating facts." He looked beyond amused.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Well... let me state a fact too. Enjoy your silence for tonight... and all nights indefinitely. I am going to find another comfortable room to sleep in."

To my surprise, he got down on his knee, pressing his forehead against my stomach. "Baap ko itni badi saza milne dogay yeh dogi aap?" 

*"Will you let your father be punished so severely?"

"Aap ki hi aulaad hai. They'll do anything for my sake, even allow this." I said, before walking away towards the wardrobe.

*"This is your child, after all."

"You are merciless, Mrs Awan." 

"Biwi kiski hoon?" I laughed.

*"Whose wife am I?"

*

Third Person POV

FLASHBACK

"In a kingdom, the queen holds the true power, no matter what. Whether she inherits the crown, or whether she marries a monarch, her power is unmatchable." Zulfiqar whispered as he lay on his side, propped up on an elbow.

The lights of the room were off, but the curtains were pushed back to allow the moonlight to pour in, as bright as a spotlight.

Marina lay on her back in her white gown, her hair spread out on the pillow. "A powerful queen is further empowered by a king who doesn't fear her power, but one who nurtures it."

He placed her hand on her stomach. "You knew what you were getting yourself into, but I'm going to ask you once again: are you ready for this?" 

She placed her hand over his, over her expanding belly. "It's a little too late for that, isn't it?" She looked at him. "Zulfi, even if you and I hadn't married, I would have been a part of this dangerous world. My father was looking at suitors within one of his allies. Cruel, narcissistic men. With you I found love, humanity."

"I'm as inhuman as they are, Marina, if not more."

She moved closer to him. "There's nothing inhuman about the way you love me. True love is a strong sign of humanity."

He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her against himself. "Sometimes I wonder what kind of world we're bringing our child into. Sometimes I wish that the baby could be raised in a normal, safe environment. Where we don't need guards when going out."

"We can try?" She suggested. "We can leave the city far behind and raise our children in a small town." She smiled. "Imagine, our baby living a normal lifestyle."

"I'll try. I'll try and get out of this lifestyle so that our children could be raised in a normal, safe environment." He chuckled humourlessly. "I wish our baby, our children, would never even go near a gun... but I have a feeling that's just wishful thinking. Technically, they are descendants of two powerful mafia empires. Can they really run away from their legacy?"

"They can if their parents do everything they can to protect them from their legacy..." She said. "Imagine, living a life in a small town. You can do a normal office job, and I can work on my pottery. You can drop our children off to school, I can pick them up."

"This is our first baby. How many are we planning?" He tugged up her dress. He couldn't get enough of staring at her growing belly. It was their baby. The love of his life was pregnant with his baby.

She giggled. "We'll just go with the flow... I'd love one of each. A boy and a girl."

"Oh, you wouldn't want me to be the father of a daughter, Marina." He began to nuzzle her neck.

"Why not?"

"See how protective I'm of you... magnify that by ten." 

She laughed happily. "Oh, I love the sound of that. I would love to see you as the father of my daughter." She sighed in content. "Either way, I'm happy. It's our baby. I just want him or her to be healthy."

He looked concerned. 

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"In our world, it is more dangerous to be an heir than an heiress. If we have an heir, I'm already afraid for his safety."

She cradled her belly protectively. "I may be considered as shy and sweet, but I have mafia blood, Zulfi. I will never, ever allow anyone to hurt my baby."

"And I will never allow anyone to hurt my family. I'd do whatever it takes to protect you all." 

*

"It's a boy." The doctor announced, glancing at the scans.

With a tearful smile, Marina looked up at Zulfi, but blinked in surprise when she thought she saw genuine worry on his face. 

As they left the hospital, she whispered, "We will protect him, I promise."

"If anyone gets word of this... of the fact that my heir..." 

"It's our little secret, okay? Nobody else needs to know." She said. 

"But they'd know you're pregnant, sooner or later."

She pouted slightly. "Do you not want me or our baby?"

"Marina, what are you even saying?" He spoke softly, wrapping an arm around her. "You know that there's nobody in the universe that I love more than you. And our baby, our baby is my life, my heartbeat. I'm just worried."

"Allah will protect my baby." She said. "Now, come on. I want cake."

"You and your obsession with cakes." He spoke fondly.

"It's not me! It's your son! He seems to have a taste for baked desserts." 

Together, they walked towards his car, her arm through his.

*

PRESENT

Adam

"I baked a going away cake for you two." Arshiya showed Furqaan and Qirat the beautiful cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, with the words 'Good Luck' written in blue icing. 

"That looks good. Do I get a bigger share as an advantage of being the baker's husband?" I asked.

"You and your obsession with cakes." She smiled at me, shaking her head at me.

"With a wife who is so f**king talented in baking, how can I not be obsessed?" I took her hand.

"Get a room." Furqaan muttered. 

"Room? This is my house, as far as I remember." I told him with a smirk. 

"This cake looks delicious, but you look exhausted, Arshi. You must have gotten up very early to bake it?" Qirat looked at her sister sympathetically.

"I wanted to bake it for you guys." Arshiya smiled. "Now cut it, come on." She lifted up her phone as Furqaan and Qirat grabbed a knife. 

"Arshi, you're acting like Mama right now." Qirat rolled her eyes. "I'm just going to study for a year, not getting deployed to defend my country."

"Don't be mean, Qirat." Furqaan said, before looking at Arshiya. "Thank you, Bhabi."

"I'm not being mean, Furqaan. I'm saying it for her sake. She looks so tired. Arshi, you don't need to always put extra efforts for others." 

To my surprise, Arshiya whirled around and walked right out of the room.

"Yaar, Qirat, she did this for us. The way you spoke to her sounded almost rude." Furqaan looked annoyed.

Qirat looked guilty. "I'll go talk to her." She walked out of the room.

"Sorry." Furqaan looked sheepishly at me.

"If they weren't sisters, I'd be p**sed." I said. "But they are, and they adore each other. And Qirat was thinking about her. We'll let them sort it out between themselves."

He cleared his throat. "You think we're allowed to have the cake? It looks delicious."

I laughed. "What are they gonna do? Kill us?" 

"They're mafia wives. They might." He muttered, making me laugh again.

*

Arshiya

Somewhere deep down, I knew Qirat meant well. She was concerned about me. I did feel exhausted. But my hormones were also all over the place, so I was feeling angry that she was completely disregarding the effort I made for her and Furqaan.

There was a knock on my bedroom door. "Arshi?" 

I didn't reply.

"I'm coming in." She opened the door cautiously and stepped inside.

I was sitting on my bed, legs stretched out, hugging a pillow.

"Arshi, you know I love you, babe." She came over to stand beside me. "I appreciate the effort you made, but I hate it that you're doing it at your own expense." 

"I'm happy to do it. What's your problem with that?" I snapped.

"My problem is that I don't ever want anyone I love to cause themselves inconvenience for my sake." She sat down on the edge of the bed. "But, thank you. I mean it. The cake looks beautiful and I'm sure it's delicious."

"When Rubab Appi and Javeria Appi moved abroad, I was sad too. But you have no idea how sad I'm feeling right now, Qirat. Due to our ages, you, me and Maya have always been closer. And even when I got married, first we were in the same city, and then you came here too. I'm so, so happy for you, but I'm going to miss you so much. I guess that's why I'm being extra sensitive." Also because I'm pregnant and my hormones are losing the plot.

Her eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to miss you too, Arshi. I'm going to miss everyone. I've never even left the country, let alone go halfway across the world from my Baba and Mama." She leaned over and wrapped her arms around me. "Love you, Arshi."

"I love you too, Qirat." I hugged her back.

When the two of us returned downstairs, the guys were digging into the cake. 

"Umm... what's happening?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

"We are just tasting it." Furqaan said, acting like an innocent child. 

"What gentlemen, yaar." Qirat looked at me. "Couldn't even wait for us." 

"We can forgive them just this one time." I shrugged. 

"Bhabi, it's a truly delicious cake." My brother-in-law smiled at me. "Ma Sha Allah, you're very talented."

"And you watch, you'll be living your dream by the time we come back home next year, In Sha Allah." Qirat hugged me.

You have no idea, Qirat.

I almost wanted to tell her, but Adam and I had decided that we would keep it to ourselves until my first trimester was over.

She's going to kill me when I tell her over the phone. 

*

Furqaan

"Qirat, are you ready?" I called up the stairs.

"Coming!" She jogged downstairs almost immediately. Wearing black jeans, a black shirt and a tan poncho-style open cardigan along with trainers, she was travel ready.

"Security, check-in and immigration takes a sh*tload of time at Lahore airport." I glanced at my wristwatch.

Qirat immediately moved forward to hug Bhabi, while I walked up to Bhai.

I hugged him and I felt a strange udaasi.  Even when Dad was alive, even when we thought Farhat was our mom, Bhai and I only had each other most of my life. I'd been abroad, I'd travelled abroad, but this was the longest that I was going away for.

"Study hard, make us proud- both of you." He told me, patting my shoulder.

I hugged him and silently, internally, apologised for him because he was going to be p**sed as hell when he found out about my intentions. Ever since finding out about our biological mom, the Masters' degree had become unimportant for me. While Qirat genuinely wanted to study, I now had an ulterior motive.

I was going to hunt down the Aslam family.

Laikin Bhai bhi kam nahin hain; khaas kar ke woh kaafi had tak Dad ki jagga rahe hain mere liye.

*But Bhai is not an amateur either; especially since he had been in Dad's place for me to some extent.

He pulled back and studied my expressions carefully for a few seconds before speaking. "Leave it."

"Leave what?" I feigned obliviousness.

"I know that you're intending to track down the Aslam family." He said. "Don't do that, Furqaan. Think of Qirat, if nothing else."

"Why not? How are you even asking me to leave it?" I asked in disbelief. "I'd think that you would want to go after them too."

"They are not my priority right now." His jaw was clenched. 

"They may have been indirectly or directly involved in whatever happened to Mom. They certainly put her through hell!"

"Furqaan." He put one hand on the side of my head. "If they hurt you, I'd risk everything to destroy them personally. I'll kill them with my bare hands. Don't start a war that will destroy our family, along with them." 

I knew that he meant every word that he was saying. I knew that if I got hurt by the Aslam family, Bhai was going to go after them, and he was going to show them no mercy.

"Allah Hafiz, Bhabi." I moved away from my brother and smiled at Arshiya Bhabi.

"Good luck with your studies, Furqaan. And Allah Hafiz." She said.

Qirat gave her sister one last tearful hug, greeted Bhai, and then followed me out towards the car.

*

It was my wife's first flight, and she was nervous and excited.

"I can't believe that this is happening." She whispered as we walked down the jetty, hand-in-hand, while dragging our hand luggage trollies with other free hands. "I'm going to be studying in a UK university." She looked at me with an awed smile. "In Sha Allah."

Not too long ago, I hadn't realised how much I loved Qirat.

Not too long ago, it was out of my imagination that she'd ever forgive me.

But here we were today, heading to the UK together as a husband and wife, to continue our education. 

I couldn't keep the smile off my face. My intention of going to the UK might have changed slightly, but it doesn't mean that I wasn't living my dream.

My dreams strongly revolved around Qirat, and I was so glad that she and I were going to do this together.

*

Qirat

I smiled happily as I sat back in the luxurious seat.

It all felt so unreal. Going to London, leaving Pakistan for a year. I felt like I was dreaming.

I'm leaving Pakistan for a year.

I'm leaving Mama, Baba, my sisters. I'm leaving home.

And this is when reality hit me and tears blurred my eyes as I glanced out of the window. I don't want to go. Forget studies in London. I don't want to go! The plane pushed back and I started to panic a little. No, don't move! Stay. I want to get off! Somebody stop the damn plane!

And when the captain mentioned over the announcement that our altitude was going to be around 40,000 feet, I felt my heart almost stop.

Forty.

Thousand.

Feet.

Above.

Ground.

No, I can't do this. Get me out of here.

"Qirat?" 

I was at the single seat by the window and I turned my head to look at Furqaan who directly sat across the aisle from me.

"You okay?" He looked concerned.

"Is he joking about forty thousand feet?" I whispered.

"No, Qirat. Planes tend to fly that high." He spoke gently. 

"That's way too high." 

"Once the plane takes off, you'll be fine. If you don't look outside, it's easy to not focus on how high we're flying. Trust me."

"Cabin crew, prepare for take off."

The next thing I knew, I heard the increasing sound of the engines, and then the plane was speeding down the runway. Despite my new fear, I looked out of the window. The planes parked by the Allama Iqbal International Airport, the historically designed terminal building, all was left behind, and soon we were lifting off from the ground. The plane parted from the city of Lahore, leaving it behind, soaring higher and higher in the air. I looked outside at the maze of residential streets that could be seen below, at the hustle and bustle of my home city. I could even see billboards, ones that we often saw and ignored while on the road, now giving me a sense of homesickness. I pictured Baba and Mama down there, living their daily routine as I travelled further and further away from them. I thought of my sisters, and I thought about how I'd never pictured living away from them, even though marriage is practically inevitable for us. 

"Homesick?" Furqaan asked.

I turned to look at him, nodding. "I didn't think it was going to be this hard."

"You can complain about it, you can dislike living here, but home is home." 

"I just can't believe that I will not be living here for a while. How am I going to go such a long time without seeing Baba and Mama?"

"To be fair, you're only going away for a year. And we'll be back in December for our holidays, In  Sha Allah. What about Rubab Appi and Javeria Appi, who both live even further, in the US?"

"I know, I know..." I took a deep breath. "I'll be fine soon, In Sha Allah. Seeing my city being left behind was a bit of a shock, I suppose."

"We'll have so many adventures together, In Sha Allah, that you'll forget about homesickness. And before you know it, the year will be up and we'll be going back home."

I gave him a small smile. "Well, I look forward to these adventures with you, In Sha Allah."

If only I had any idea then what kind of 'adventures' we were going to face.

*

Arshiya

"You are almost almost eight weeks pregnant." Dr Khan, my gynaecologist informed me with a smile.

*Throwback to Jasmina's doctor lol. Not the same doctor though.

I glanced at Adam, who seemed distracted as he glanced at his phone. "Adam."

"Hmm?"

"The doctor said I'm almost eight weeks pregnant." I repeated.

His expressions softened, and he smiled, but it was a forced smile. I saw the worry in his eyes.

I spoke to the doctor, discussing how I'd lost my previous baby (without the gory details of being shot), and she gave me good advice regarding my care this time. She handed me literature about a healthy diet during pregnancy, as well as advising me about maintaining a healthy lifestyle throughout. 

"Just because you're pregnant, doesn't mean you should be bedridden." She said. "Do exercise, walk, don't overly exert your body, but don't sit and rest for long periods. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, as well as helping preparing your body for labour. The literature in here will also give you exercise recommendations. If you have any further questions regarding anything related to your pregnancy, don't hesitate in contacting me, okay?"

"Thank you, doctor." I got up and I had to place a hand on my husband's shoulder to alert him that the appointment was over.

As we walked out, a part of me was fuming at me, but a bigger part was worried. This was uncharacteristic behaviour for him. Anything related to me- and now our baby- he was always so attentive of. Rather than taking the angry approach, I took the concerned one. "What's wrong?" 

"Furqaan is not answering." He frowned. "I keep calling."

"They arrived there two days ago, Adam. They must be settling in. He'll call when he's free."

"No." He shook his head. "Something's wrong. I can sense it."

"Adam, you're overthinking..."

"Arsh, he's my brother, and he is f**king stubborn. If he makes his mind up that he's going to do something, he'll do it. I know, I can just feel it, that he's gone after the Aslams."

"He wouldn't do that. I mean, if nothing else, he wouldn't risk Qirat's life."

"No, he won't do that." He glanced at me. "Would you mind calling Qirat?" 

I tried my sister's WhatsApp number and she answered after three rings.

"Arshi, it's only ten in the morning here, and I'm still jet legged." She answered with a groan.

"Assalam Alaikum, Qirat. Is Furqaan there? Adam's trying to get through to him." 

"Furqaan?" She yawned. "No, he's staying with a friend. He went there yesterday. He wanted to have some thing sorted."

"He stayed with a friend last night?" I frowned. "Where are you?" Adam's jaw clenched.

"Currently, in a hotel room." She replied. "Apparently, someone messed up regarding the flat that we were meant to rent, so Furqaan is trying to sort that out."

"Oh, umm... well, when he comes or when he calls, can you please ask him to call Adam?" 

"Sure, everything okay?"

"Yeah, he just needs to talk to him, that's all." My throat felt dry. "Take care of yourself, okay? Allah Hafiz."

"Allah Hafiz." 

I turned to Adam after the call ended. "Furqaan stayed at a friend's last night. Apparently, someone messed up with a place that they were meant to rent, and he's sorting it out."

"What place to rent?" He asked. "We have an apartment in London, and Furqaan and Qirat were supposed to stay there."

I closed my eyes. Oh no. Furqaan, what are you up to?

*

FLASHBACK

Marina Awan

If it hadn't been for the support of my mother, I wouldn't have been able to run away.

"They'll kill you here, or destroy you, but they won't let you live."  She had told me. "To live, you must leave, my sweet pea."

I had left the mansion, and met my Chachu, my paternal uncle. He took me straight to the mosque, where he acted as my wali during my Nikah to Zulfiqar.

I was constantly crying because the events of the day had shaken me.

I'd had a major argument with my father this morning when he had declared that I was to marry a repulsive gangster from a rival gang. It was all a game of power for them. Dad had had found out that I had fallen in love with Zulfiqar Awan, a man he loathed, and he was hell bent on not letting me marry him.

I jumped now at the sound of the door opening.

I turned around and saw Zulfiqar stepping out, the sea breeze tugging at his white shirt and khaki trousers. 

We had arrived in Karachi yesterday, on the first available flight we could get to Pakistan. Now we were are in a reclusive beach house in the southern coastal city of Pakistan.

Zulfiqar Awan was a handsome man, the kind that would make a woman weak at the knees. But right now, I could only think about how he had saved me in so many ways. Our Nikah had probably put him at risk, but he didn't care. 

"You okay?" He came and took me in his arms. 

"I left my life behind for you, because with you I feel alive." I whispered. "Had I remained there, one way or another, my life would have ended."

"I would never have let that happen." He whispered, his intense gaze locked with mine. "I would have risked my everything to come there and take you away from there. Had they hurt you before I reached, I would have destroyed them, Marina."

"The Aslams are very powerful people, Zulfi."

"Then you don't know the Awan name, my love." He pressed his hands against my cheek. "My beautiful Marina, love of my life. I hate to sound cliché, but I'd die for you and I'd kill for you."

I smiled up at him. "I feel like I have a chance at life now, Zulfi."

"I promise to make your life as beautiful as possible." He kissed my forehead. 

I hugged him, my hands sliding up his back. As I closed my eyes, I pictured the tree-lined driveway that I had driven through, rushing to get away from the Aslam house as fast as possible, saving my life and saving myself.

I will never return there, and neither will anyone connected to me. My husband, my future children, will never return there. I would never, ever let them. The Aslam family won't hesitate in hurting or killing them, and I won't let that happen. I promised myself.

*

PRESENT

Furqaan

*A day before Arshiya spoke to Qirat on the phone*

I drove up the tree-lined driveway to a classic English mansion.

This is it. This is the Aslam family residence.

I got out, tucking in my gun in its holster. Carrying it was not an offence because I had a license. I just hoped that I didn't have to use it.

You f**kers have a lot to answer to. I glared up at the house. And if I discover any involvement of yours in my mother's death, I will set this place on fire.

I jogged up the front steps and rang the doorbell.

A snooty looking man answered. "Yes?"

"Does the Aslam family live here?" I demanded.

"Who's asking?" He eyed me from head-to-toe then back in disapproval.

I wore blue jeans, a white shirt and a brown jacket with brown Timberlands. 

"Who is it, Edward?" An elderly man's voice came from somewhere down the hall.

"Tell him it's Awan." I told the butler.

Edward's eyes widened as he clearly recognised the name. "S-Sir, it's Mr Awan."

"Send him away." The elderly voice from inside sounded irritated.

"I'm also the son of Marina Awan, a.k.a. Marina Aslam." I called out loudly.

Edward looked like he would faint with shock, and he actually gripped the wall to keep himself steady.

I heard the sound of a tapping voice on the floor, and the next thing I knew, a tall elderly man appeared in the doorway. He looked frail, pale, but arrogance dripped from him almost as obviously as sweat drips down someone's body after a long day of running in the sun. "Marina's son?" 

"You are?" I asked him, although I had a feeling that I knew the answer. 

"I am Shahood Aslam, the man in charge here." He replied.

"Were you in any way also involved in the murder of Marina Awan?" I felt furious just looking at this man.

"Holy gracious..." Edward placed a hand dramatically to his chest.

"And if I am, what will you be doing about it while standing in my territory, Awan?" He spoke my surname with repulsion.

I stepped towards him, the room that he had just exited coming into my sight. "I..." I froze as I saw a photo about the mantelpiece. 

The eyes... just like Bhai's, just like mine. The dimpled smile. The innocence on her face. "Mom?" 

She was smiling in the photo, but what surprised me was that her arms were wrapped around the younger version of the very same man standing in front of me... Shahood Aslam. In the photo, he looked like a proud father who adored his daughter.

Mr Shahood Aslam's expressions softened. "You came here thinking that I am responsible for her murder." 

I looked at him. "Aren't you?" 

"The man responsible for killing Marina was wiped off the face of this earth, along with his gang, by Zulfiqar Awan." He stepped towards me. "I adored my daughter, like any other father. We had our disagreements, but her death destroyed a part of me that I could never revive again." His jaw clenched. "But that doesn't mean that I have forgiven Awan for taking her away from me. He is the reason I didn't see her for the last decade of her life." His frowned. "All along, you and your brother... you're Marina's sons?" 

"We are." 

He waved a hand, and the next thing I knew, guards were rushing towards us from everywhere, surrounding us. "Zulfiqar Awan may be dead, and even though I was unaware that my daughter had kids with him, I vowed to myself that I will shed the blood of any Awan who comes near my property again. Your father is the reason I didn't get to see my daughter in her final years, and today I will get my vengeance by ending an Awan." 

"I'm not just an Awan. I'm Marina's son as well."

"I don't see her in you. I only see that b****rd." Shahood Aslam glanced at his guards. "Kill him and make it hurt."

*

Will he actually end up killing Furqaan?

I'm sort of getting invested in Marina and Zulfiqar's story too... it's fun to write.

Favourite part?

Thoughts and comments?

Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote.

Comment goal: 200.😂