I groggily opened my eyes to find him missing from my side. Before my mind could imagine the worst, my gaze fell on his shirt that he had pulled through my head while I was almost ready to pass out.

Immediately a smile formed across my face and I had to bite down on my lips to bury it. Still lying on the bed to my side in his plain black t-shirt which fell just a little above my knees, I picked the neck of his shirt to my nose and inhaled in his sweet scent.

But my attempts at acting like a creepy pervert were sadly cut short when I heard the door to the washroom open, followed by his footsteps as he strode back into the room. I sat up with the support of heels of my hands to see him turned towards the dressing table cladded in his work clothes; fixing the tie around his neck.

"Rayyan—are you going somewhere—?" I asked puzzled and immediately his gaze snapped to meet mine in surprise.

"Sorry. Did I wake you, sweetheart?" He murmured while taking short steps towards me. I slowly shook my head in a no and saw him bending towards me on the bed with a small smile. His hands pressing on the bed on my either sides, caging me in his embrace as he brushed a soft kiss against my lips.

"Good morning." He murmured against my lips whilst peering into my eyes. Unconsciously, I caught my lower lip between my teeth and that's when I remembered what he said yesterday about it.

"Morning—" I gasped breathlessly before wrapping my both arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss which might hopefully last longer than the last one. I really couldn't get enough of him. Especially after realising how close I was to losing him.

"Do you have to go—?" I mumbled softly with the side of my face resting against his chest and my arms wrapped around his back.

"I do, darling. I am sorry but I'll try to come back as soon as I can—" He returned after a small pause and pulled me away from him. I sadly gazed into his eyes, puckering my lower lip while he held the side of my face in his big strong hand; his thumb caressing my cheekbone.

"Where—?" I intentionally left my sentence incomplete and saw a shadow pass over his face. He took that moment to get up and return to finish dressing up.

"I have to meet Ismail—You remember him? We met him that time, while visiting the foundation. He is a lawyer too—He takes care of it for me when I am away—" He returned unfazed without meeting my gaze in the mirror. I tried to conjure a picture of him but couldn't exactly remember the details of his face.

"Oh—so you were meeting him yesterday, too? Is everything alright?" I suddenly realised that while I was here worrying about silly things, maybe Rayyan might've had other worries that I had no clue of.

"Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about—" he returned slowly while turning to me with a small smile. I tilted my head at him unconvinced but before I could prod further, he softly dropped a kiss to my forehead.

"I'll try to comeback as early as I can. Until then, can you promise me to stay out of trouble?" He inquired without meeting my gaze, while softly tugging a lock of stray hair behind my ear. I opened my mouth in protest but quickly dropped all efforts when I caught him shooting me a quirked brow look. Exhaling a long sigh, I nodded at him.

"Be a good girl and don't leave Hani's side. I am leaving her in charge—" He continued without missing a beat and not paying any mind to my mouth hanging open in shock, he gave me one final kiss before getting up to leave with an I love you, my sweet Zai—

I would've continued sitting in my place grumbling, a long while after he had left; unless the morning sickness didn't make me run for the bathroom.

Right. I still need to get that test—

———————————

"Zaira—You didn't eat your breakfast and you're not even eating anything now—I swear if RB finds that you just barely fainted on my watch today, then he would without a second thought skin me alive and I am not willing to die just a week from my Wedding day—-!" I watched Haniya's face blankly while my mind was elsewhere. I knew even more surely than before what I would find on testing. So, I just needed to get an opportunity to sneak in some test kits without anyone knowing. Because the first one who gets to hear this news is going to be Rayyan—oh how happy he would be—! I am sure. But that wasn't what was occupying my thoughts at this moment.

"Zaira! You're not even listening—!" Haniya lightly slammed her fist on the table and we caught a few disapproving glances from the people in the restaurant.

"I am—! I was thinking—" My voice trailed off as I turned down my gaze feeling confused.

Rayyan was hiding something. I didn't know how I knew this but I just did—and it wasn't just one thing—Rayyan not responding to my calls last week and then suddenly coming back before schedule, without informing. His warning to stay away from Harris bhai—and the bruises on Harris bhai's face that I caught a sneak of this morning, before he angrily brushed past me; combined with the injured knuckles of Rayyan's hand—Even if I could go as far as to think of it as simple jealousy, I knew Rayyan wouldn't beat Harris bhai just because of that—there was more. A lot more which was purposefully being kept hidden from me.

The way Haniya was glued to me since this morning and Rayyan leaving me alone just after coming back—It was fishy. I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was somehow playing a role in all this.

"Haniya—I—Tell me I am wrong but I think Rayyan might be hiding something from me—" I began cautiously while eyeing her who was now choking up on her food. I got up to pat her back while she took huge gulps of her drink.

"Wha—why—who told you—this—" She gasped for breath but just looking at the scared look on her face was enough to let me know what I needed to know.

"So you do know—! Why you little minion of your RB—! Spill everything you know or I'll make up some lie to your RB to get you in trouble—!" I almost lunged at her but she pulled away just in time when her phone began to ring. As she took the call, I saw the blood drain out of her face. Finally noticing my penetrating gaze, she looked away guiltily before getting up and excusing herself. For a moment only, I watched her back turned to me while taking the call a few feet away from our table. The next moment, I had reached her side and pulled away the phone from her ear and put it on speaker.

"Zaira what—-" I didn't pay any heed to her cries who had lunged to grab the phone from my hand.

"—I don't know the hell is wrong with Harris bhai—We kept silent after his every antics but I think he has finally lost it today—How could he shoot him?! Thank God his aim was poor and the injury wasn't fatal—He's still in surgery but the doctors say it's not too serious—" Ahmed, kept on rambling but even without him mentioning the name, I knew who he was talking about.

"Who—who got—shot—" I found my voice coming from somewhere far. Haniya inched closer to take the phone away from my hand but seeing something on my face, she dropped all efforts.

"Uh—Bhaabi—that—" He finally said after a long pause and I had to repeat my question in a voice trembling with fear for him to answer.

"Rayyan bhai—" Before he could say anything more, I asked him where he was and with Haniya I quickly made way to the hospital that was an hour drive from here.

"Zaira—Please stop crying—He is going to be okay—Ahmed said he was going to be fine—Please Zaira—" Haniya tried to console me through tears herself while holding me close.

"Tell me—tell me everything—" I pulled away, wiping my tears roughly with the back of my hand. She watched me unsure for a moment before nodding.

"It started after you came here. Harris bhai convinced Dad to take away RB's shares in the establishment. RB held almost equal shares as Dad and Uncle Zubair—Even though RB never once took any money from his shares while Dad and Uncle divided everything between themselves—I don't know what bhai was thinking but somehow they came up with a plan to frame him for using the company shares to support the charity foundation, which RB had started on his parents' name. That day when they asked you if you knew about it and you said yes, they weren't talking about the foundation—they were pointing towards RB's corruption charges and they had recorded a video for proof—It wasn't hard for Dad to get that video to pass as authentic and unhampered—" She paused to see if I was following but I was still reeling from shock of it all when the last part struck me dumbfounded. Still, managing a nod, I beckoned her to continue.

"—Alongwith him, Dad and others had to charge you for fraud to get hold of RB's shares—Saying you kept quiet even after knowing everything. You could've gone to jail for it—if RB didn't do something soon. He didn't want you to know about all this. Especially how they used you to get to him. He didn't want you to find your involvement in it—most definitely not when he wasn't there to protect you. So, he asked me to keep you away from everything until he could wrap things back home—RB never would've mentioned anything to you—He was trying to protect you from the evil workings of this family. I have seen so much of it and I—-" Unable to go on, she turned away with quivering lips.

"Why—? What did Rayyan do to any of them—Why did Harris bhai hate him so much as to try killing him—-" I felt the sobs knotting my airway. Haniya wiped away her tears before continuing.

"Harris bhai has always been unjust to RB. He had been jealous of him for unknown reasons—He had hated him eversince Dad adopted him. Bhai maybe felt threatened by RB—I don't know—But he had always bullied him. He tried ostracising him—anyone who tried to get close to RB would be cast away—We all kept our distance—everyone except you, Zaira—" I felt my breath hitch in my throat at her words, as she looked right at me.

"Whenever Harris bhai saw you with him—he went back to call RB names—that I can't even take out of my mouth anymore—saying that you were only talking to him out of pity and not because you really thought of him as a friend. He tried to stop you from going to him too—but you didn't listen—so, he used Hafsa—to manipulate RB into thinking you were the one who was spreading rumors about him—RB was smart but he was in a vulnerable state—he knew he couldn't rely on anyone—and the last time he visited Pakistan—he lost the only friend that he had ever cared about—" I blinked away the tears brimming in my eyes, unable to think straight anymore.

How did I not know—I was so oblivious of his pain—I didn't—

Before I could think any further, we had arrived outside the hospital.

Hi guys! Hope you liked the update, InshaAllah. Do let me know in the comments, what you think about my rendition of CHACE CRAWFORD as Rayyan & FAHMEEN ANSARI as Zaira❤️☺️Don't forget to vote🥰