Ishmal's face turned white seeing Haider there. It felt like she was got caught by him doing something. Even the tears in her eyes also forgot to shed. Haider looked at her in confusion. What was she doing here in the night? And top of all, it looked like she had cried.

"Ishmal..." He murmured. "Why are you sitting here?

She swallowed thickly and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She didn't want to show this arrogant man that she was affected by him in any way. Placing her hands on her knees, she tried to get up but fell again on the same bench because she couldn't do so. A screech left her mouth and she touched her right foot impulsively.

Haider's eyes followed her hand and they widened finding so much blood around her foot on the ground. Her sole was bruised and now she was properly gasping because of pain from suddenly putting so much pressure on it. Haider crouched down before her legs and picked up her foot. She tried to pull away but Haider didn't allow it. What he saw was exactly like what he thought. Ishmal's sole was badly injured and it was bleeding as well.

He raised his head to see her face which was contorted due to both pain and anxiety. "What's this?"

There were a few chunks of brown thing impinged in her sole and it gave everything much away. Haider glared at her and then glanced around.

The guard stayed at the main gate and right now they were present at the part of the garden which led to the back gate. This wasn't used by anybody but perhaps Ishmal tried to use it to sneak away again. That was her bad luck that while trying to use the chunks of the bricks to make a block to climb over the gate, one of them got stuck in her foot and then she fell on the ground injuring her sole.

It was a week since she last attempted to flee from here but ever since that day, she was never at peace. Haider's presence was making her heart open up for him and she felt weird and unusual. Instead of giving her butterflies and a sense of relief, this change feeling was making her feel trapped. She didn't want to live here now with ditching so many nice people for no reason. She could never find herself falling for a man who had someone else in his heart and just wanted her in his life for his own selfish reasons.

When everyone went into their room, Ishmal thought about getting her plan to work. Unlike last time, she didn't take anything from here. If she wasted time on packing her suitcase, Haider would get suspicious again. After examining everything, she decided to use the back gate to escape. But she indeed was unfortunate that despite trying to her full strength after that brick poked against her soft flesh, she couldn't even move. And now Ishmal didn't know what would be Haider's reaction.

"What were you doing, Ishmal?" Haider asked.

"I don't want to live here anymore. I want to leave. Let me go," she replied sternly, trying her best to control her tears. She wanted to tell him that she didn't this marriage at all.

Haider's eyes darkened as he stood next to her again. "So you were again trying to flee. Huh?"

"Let me go by straight way and this won't happen," she mumbled, glancing at the grass on the ground since his black eyes still made her feel intimidated.

Haider clenched his jaw and placed his index finger under her chin to lift her face. But the way her bright eyes were now brimming with tears made every bit of anger to wash out of his veins.

She was in pain right now.

"And that isn't going to happen," he grumbled.

Placing his one hand under her knees and the other on her waist, he hoisted her up in his strong arms. Ishmal's mouth fell open at what he did. Haider walked ahead. She hit his taut shoulder with her fist.

"Set me down. What are you doing?" She panicked.

Haider gave her a grim look. "Think again. If I do it, you will keep staying here because certainly, your foot won't help you."

"It's better than taking your help," she snapped back.

He smirked. "Neither I am dying to do that."

It was of course a lie. He certainly couldn't see Ishmal in pain. He knew it would be hurting her like hell even though she was posing as stubborn in front of him now. He was again furious to find her attempting this for the second time but as soon as he discovered her injured foot and teared-filled eyes, his heart melted. He would take care of this thing later. First, he needed to get Ishmal out of this pain.

Haider acted to get her down on her feet but it was so sudden that she couldn't put weight on the injured one. This resulted in her falling to the ground. Ishmal winced in pain. Haider laughed under his breath. It was after a long time someone made him laugh. Ishmal scowled at him.

Haider bent down and again carried her in his muscular arms. The smile on his lips dropped off when Ishmal's face was just a few inches away from his. She was looking so beautiful to him right now. Haider's eyes fled to her lips and it made him want to kiss her again.

Being in Haider's arms with this warmth engulfing him and his own very masculine scent invading her nostrils, it was very difficult for Ishmal to keep her erratic heartbeats in a silent mode.

Haider brought her inside the room and placed her on the bed. Opening the drawer of the bed's side table, he pulled out a first aid box. Haider sat beside her on the bed. Tenderly grabbing her foot, he placed it on his thigh. Ishmal's leg stiffened and she tried to pull away but Haider's hand on her ankle prevented her from doing so.

After examining her injured sole for a while, Haider pulled out the chunks of brick out of it. Ishmal shrieked in pain.

Haider gave her a look. "It won't hurt now. That was the last part of it."

And Ishmal was stunned to find that it really didn't hurt anymore. He first cleaned her wound with an antiseptic solution and then bandaged her foot. Ishmal stared at him. Was this the same man who used to describe himself as a monster? The same man who humiliated her on the wedding night just because of his ex. This thought again made her revoked.

Haider delicately put her foot on the bed beside her other one. "That was in a bad taste, Ishmal. You even hurt yourself in the process."

She sniffed her nose. "I don't care about anything. I want to leave at any cost, Mr. Haider."

A sinful smile came across his lips. "Try as much as you want, girl. You won't be getting any way out. So don't tire your beautiful brain by making plans to flee away because I will make all of them fail."

"But you should also know that I will keep on trying till I get what I want," Ishmal muttered.

Haider lessened the distance between them and touched her earring. Bringing his face near to her ear, he sniffed in the usual vanilla scent of her.

"Then do that. I also won't get tired by making this more and more difficult for you," Haider grumbled and the living action of his words came quicker than any reaction when he pecked her earlobe. Shifting his lips away, he kissed, sucked, and nibbled her neck all the way to her collar bone making her moan.

God, why did she have to show him that she was affected by all of these things that he did?

He moved away from her and gave her a knowing look. Ishmal's cheeks were heated by now.

"Isn't that what you wanted from the start? To divorce me. You should be happy that you are getting out of it before the time. You can label me to your family as you want. I don't really care," Ishmal said.

She was right. The Haider from a few months ago would have been very happy that she herself wanted freedom for both of them. But not now. He couldn't leave her. A life without Ishmal seemed distressed now to him. Haider should have been gentlemanly enough to tell her this straightaway that he had started to like her. But he wasn't a gentleman truly. He was a bad man who had a high ego simmering in him. The monster inside of him didn't want to lean in front of women and that was the reason, all those twisting things were happening.

"It's getting late. I have duty tomorrow and I need a good sleep. We'll talk about all this tomorrow," he announced and got up.

"Now compensation for whose mistake I am doing? Perhaps Nisha." Ishmal's voice made him pause in his tracks.

Haider curled his finger in a fist and turned around to face her. The sudden dark which invaded the black of his eyes made Ishmal almost jump out of her place. But that was the last straw. Her only resort to get freedom was by provoking him by using his ex.

But did she do right?

                   ___________________

AssalamoAlaikum/ Hi guys!

How are you?

A new chapter for y'all.

How is it?

What do you think Haider will react at Nisha's name again?

Do you think Haider should clearly tell Ishmal that he has started to like her or not?

Do you think Ishmal will ever succeed in fleeing?

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

Till the next one, Allah Hafiz/ Bye. ❤