"dil mera dharka tha kass kay, kuch kaha tha tune has kay, may usi pal tera hogaya."

---------------------------------------------

WOMEN are dangerous.

Zain was well aware of this fact ever since his ten-year-old self had watched his mom chase the robber who had stolen her necklace.

A crappy golden artificial necklace.

It's a gift from your dad, she had yelled driving the car maddeningly after the stealer with mini-Zain sitting in the passenger seat, witnessing the thrilling hunt.

It had ended with the poor robber's bike running out of fuel and his rage-fueled mom attacking him with her heels and retrieving her precious gift.

From that day, he always remembered to never forget this fact.

Untill tonight.

Tonight, when he had finally made his way inside the notorious mafia leader's territory even Karachi Police couldn't dare to step into, and was very close to meet the man himself so he could fulfill the task he had spent months working on; he made a terrible mistake of disregarding a woman.

The maid slash gang-woman or whatever the hell that wily brunette was, had been eyeing him up and down since the moment she had seen him. At first, Zain had overlooked her constant leering because, duh who wouldn't stare at him?

But it was only when she unexpectedly revealed his identity to her fellow gangbangers had it dawned on his thick mental horizon that he was fucked.

The act had elicited a gruesome fight; the big goons with ugly mustaches charging on his ass with murder in their eyes and weapons in their hands.

Zain wasn't a weakling; nor was he unarmed. He had done a mighty fine job sparring with the wild boars but one of them had knifed him in the chest, on the left upper side. Thanks to his quick reflexes, the dagger couldn't penetrate deep into his flesh but fucking hell did it hurt.

He had somehow managed to get out of that hell hole with his head still attached to his body but the clingy pack of crooks wasn't keen on leaving him alone. They had been on his tail.

Under the dark blanket of autumn night sky speckled with a cluster of stars and the brilliant silver orb proudly glowing among them, his wounded figure ambled through the street, his speed gradually de-escalating because of the sharp pain shooting through the stab wound.

"Dammit," he gritted out breathlessly, halting at the end of a dark alley and clutching his stinging chest. He could feel the red greasy liquid soaking his hand and his heart pounding wildly.

He couldn't even call his squad for help because he had dropped his cellphone somewhere while running this marathon to save his life. He only hoped he had lost those bloodthirsty assholes.

As if instantly jinxed, he heard the sickening rumbling of the men coming from few miles away.

"Fuck my life!" he groaned.

His legs continued the cycle of motion as he steered to the left and entered into a wider block where a white ionic hotel building stood tall with golden lights illuminating the exterior.

Zain couldn't run anymore. Not with that injury. Dragging his gaze to the far end of the space the hotel covered, he spotted a dark brick wall and without mulling over, he sprinted towards it and hurling himself up, he jumped onto the other side―landing on the parking lot.

He made his way out of the dimly lit area and covertly made his way inside the sumptuous lobby, passing by a bustling banquet hall and drifted to the right, entering into a corridor with a row of doors.

He turned the knob of the first door but it was locked. Tried the second, but it was also secured. When he moved onto the third door and twisted the steel handle, it clicked open.

Slipping inside noiselessly, he locked the door and leaned against it, a sigh of small relief leaving his lips along with the shallow puffs of breath.

A thread of faint sobs stealthily reached his ears and his body instantly turned around in alarm, catching the sight of a feminine figure slouched against the bed with her head down.

A...bride? He mused as his eyes knitted into an intrigued frown and before he knew it, his feet started carrying him towards her.

The veil on her head streaming down to her quivering frame curtained both sides of her face, not allowing him the clear vision of her profile and she was probably oblivious to his sudden appearance as she was busy wallowing in her misery.

"I... don't want to marry... him." A small wobbly voice vocalised between the sorrowful wails, making him flinch.

Was she being forced to marry?

Moving towards her in an intriguing daze, he didn't notice the small wooden table placed at the corner of the bed and the tip of his leather shoe bumped into it hard, clattering the glass items perched on the top.

The sound startled the wailing bride as her head shot up and her frame rose to her feet at lightening speed.

Zain observed the fraught motion which she wiped her tears with and when she finally allowed him the full glimpse of her appearance, a bewitching stillness befell him and his heart that had barely stabled after running started thrashing so loudly against his ribcage.

His obsidian irises locked with her grey ones before his gaze travelled down to her lean nose and the bow- shaped roseate lips; further glided down her sylphlike frame sublimely encompassed in the heavy crimson bridal dress.

Women are dangerous. Zain clenched his jaw, powerless to look away.

One had gotten him stabbed earlier but this woman in red slashed him right in the heart repeatedly with those glistening grey eyes and her vulnerable face stirred something inside of him.

"W-Who are you?" she asked with shock contouring her features and
he couldn't help but answer her question with a question that burned within him.

"Whose bride are you?" He took a step forward, his eyes firmly pinned on her face. "Because I'd like to kill that bastard for making such a beauty cry."

Threatening words wrapped in a velvety voice made a shiver crawl up Iman's spine as she stared at him with widened eyes.

Something about his imposing dark appearance was unnerving; she felt exposed under the scrutiny of his charring gaze and to make it worse, Iman had to fight against the daft urge to admire the stranger's frighteningly handsome profile.

She reminded herself to focus on the frightening aspect only because there was nothing amiable about his sudden appearance in the room and she had a nagging premonition something bad might happen if this man didn't leave.

Solidifying her nerves, she barked out in the stringent tone she could, "What nonsense! Get out of here."

His thick brows winged. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"...Why not?"

"I'm kind of... in a pickle, you see," he hissed, placing his hand on the left side of his chest.

Iman gawked at him. "What?! I don't care, h-how can you barge into someone's room like that?"

"Well, I was desperate and the room's door was unlocked," he shrugged. "It's locked now though."

Iman's eyes popped out of their sockets upon hearing that and the danger alarms started ringing in her head. "You... locked the door? Why did you do that! Are you out of your―" her voice died down in her throat when her eyes involuntarily fell on a trail of red coating the sheeny white floor and her gaze horrifyingly connected the origin it was dripping from.

"Is that... b-blood?" she stuttered, looking at his hand that was planted on his chest.

Zain removed his hand from the twinging wound that he had to tend quickly to stop the bleeding. "Yeah, what else genius? I'm in a bad situation here."

The sad, now-horrified bride went quiet for a second as if contemplating her next move before a muscle in her jaw twitched and she roared, "Get out of here right now. I said, right now!"

"I told you I can't do that so just shut your mouth and cooperate," he snarled.

Iman was taken aback by his gruff tone but equally irked by his crazy command.

"What makes you think I'll obey your stupid orders?" she scoffed incredulously, levelling a glare to his searing onyx eyes that were fixed on her.

His dark frame moved past the crimson smear of his blood on the floor and he stalked forward like a wounded lion, making her swallow hard and instinctively recoil like a timid deer.

A swift gasp escaped her lips when she felt her back hit the wall and her eyes widened in shock when he briskly closed the distance between them and slammed his right hand into the hard surface next to her face―trapping her body against it.

Do something! Her mind screamed at her but the way his eyes smouldered into hers, and how his flawlessly carved profile leaned dangerously closer to her face, she felt a treacherous haze steadily clouding her senses.

In a desperate attempt to escape his penetrating stare, her eyes descended to his vacant hand and she wished she hadn't made that mistake.

He bent his arm backwards, his hand disappearing into the hollow of his leather jacket but when it came out, it wasn't empty. Instead, a shining black weapon fitted his hand that made the blood in her veins run cold.

Her panic-stricken eyes watched the horrifying movement of his equipped hand slowly rising up to her face, and the air left her lungs when he placed the muzzle of the gun underneath her chin.

The room went deadly still and so did her heart.

Not liberating her from his piercing gaze even for a second, he lifted her chin with the deathly metal and a lascivious smile decorated his devilishly handsome face as he whispered, "This."

The metallic weapon in his hand was something incredible because it held the power to control the toughest of humans but Zain wondered what power did the woman confined between his arms possessed.

Goddamn, her looks could kill.

Her angelic heart-shaped face with plump cheekbones and delicate jaw tugged at his heartstrings. He could see the faint tint of paths her tears had taken down on her cheeks, disappearing into the sides of her lips and the moment his eyes fell on her cruelly parted scarlet lips, his gaze couldn't move beyond.

He didn't know if it was the proximity, or the exhaustion caused by the injury obscuring his rationality, but he was madly enticed to lean in and―

For fuck sake, get a grip! She's someone's bride!

He peeled off his gaze from those sinful petals of rose and looked into her beautiful feline eyes―losing himself in the depths of smoky pools of grey widened with fear and uncertainty and he despised the fact that he had caused that look in her eyes.

He drew a sharp breath and lowered his hand, removing the gun from her chin.

Iman breathed.

Barely in relief because she was still trapped against his enormous form and his hand still carried the deadly weapon that could cease her breath anytime he wanted. She whispered silent prayers in her heart because her tongue had most definitely abandoned her.

An abrupt loud knock at the door caused a startling gasp to break out from her mouth and the deadly stranger's head swerved in the direction with palpable panic.

"Fuck."

A/n: I'm so sorry for taking such a long time to update. Finding RED and BLACK synonyms wasn't easy, as you can see the whole damn chapter is filled with the aforementioned. :')

Anyway, Zain is finally here to light up Iman's miserable life (or make it worse) so show some love to him plis.

Also, he told me to dedicate this chapter to LihaMirza coz he thinks she has a beautiful heart.

If you liked reading this chapter then plis do a little thumb workout and tap on that STAR.

Oh and can anyone guess who's at the door? Sameera? Haider? Gangbangers? Extra points for those who guess correctly.

Updates will be faster after Ramadan so please bear with me.

P.S, guys never forget that third door, I mean, third time is the charm. ;)