"I don't think you need to guess who killed her?" Ace speaks after about a half and hour of driving mindlessly.

"Don't" I say.

"Don't what?" he asks annoyed.

"Don't make assumptions without solid concrete proof." I say.

His nostrils flare and he taunts me "I am sorry I actually care about what happens to my mother."

I stiffen. "Don't let your emotions get the best of you, Ace." I whisper patiently.

"I don't have any emotions towards anyone." he deadpans.

Okay not gonna lie, that one hurt.

He walks out of the car slams the door and enters my house. He walks straight into the guest room and shuts the door, locking it. First of all, it's my fucking house and second, he has never slept in the guest room. Not when he was six or sixteen or even now.

I keep knocking the door but he pays no heed. My knuckles hurt and I am sick of his sudden outbursts. I understand his mother just died but why can't he just grieve normally. I know for a fact that I would grieve by throwing a party for the entire city when my parents die. Touchwood.

"You loved her, that's why you are reacting like this." I say the one thing that he doesn't want to hear. I really have a death wish today.

He opens the door with a huge jerk.

"You really loved her, didn't you Ace?" I whisper lacing my voice with pity and sadness.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP" He puts his hand on my neck, squeezing the oxygen out of my body. I refuse to show any weakness. He closes his eyes and presses his had against mine as a tear escapes his eyes when he stares at my discomfort. I show no tears and remain stoic. He then kisses every inch of my neck apologising, uttering words I never thought he would ever utter.

"You are trying to push me away." I state as he looks at me and shakes his head. He makes me sit on his lap and pecks my neck again and again. I put an arm around him and heave a sigh, we have come a long way.

He looks into my eyes, kisses my lips softly, putting my legs around his waist and whispers "Just stay like this."

ZOHRAVAR

I don't know how to feel anymore. It's not that I am numb, I am just confused. I have hated my mother for a huge part of my life. I know she had her hands into some dirty things. She wasn't particularly awful to me. But we never had a relationship to begin with. Her life was surrounded around my dad. From making him jealous, impressing him, obsessing over him, doing some disgusting shit to his sex partners, pleasing his business partners and the list goes on. He was always her first priority. Even when she saw him beating me when I was young, or when he was beating her or when she saw his business partners touching me inappropriately.

She truly loved and obsessed over him just like I know Alizeh does over me. Just like I know she forgets everything else when it comes to me.

But my mother could never do the one thing Alizeh can. She can never love herself like my girl can. I stare at Star as she stands across from me staring at my mother's coffin. She stands tall and emotionless. People say I have no feelings and call Star a bundle of joy. What they don't know is behind her bubbly facade, she only cares about two people in this world.

Her and Me.

She doesn't need to tell me that. I know.

No love is fully requited. No love is equal. No love is fair. There is always one side that loves more. And you better not be that side—because it suffers.

My mother was that side and I am that side as well.

Star would leave me if I ever cheat on her. Me? Even if one day, Star wakes up in the morning and decides to fuck every single man on my contact list, I will never ever let her go. No matter what. She is caged to me till we both live.

I would suffer, cry, make her cry, punish her but never let her leave. Because I know Star has more loyalty in her pinky finger than my dad had in his whole body.

Star is not my dad. She loves me unconditionally and uncontrollably.

I stare at my dad as he stands stiffly with his head held up. I manage to think of a thousand reasons why he slowly and steadily poisoned my mother.

I observe my dad and realise I don't want to find out why me and Star witnessed a nightmare in real life six years back. I don't want to know why my mother knew and didn't help. Why she kept us trapped.

I know it will make me hate my mother more than I already do. And I killed everyone I had promised to kill. The six men. My mom is dead. And Star's mom is already living a hell.

There are only two people left- Our dads.

I don't wanna kill them cause it would lead to a lot of causalities and may be a potential hindrance to my future with Star and football.

I just want them to suffer every day they breathe, knowing I have them wrapped under my fingers.

Alizeh

Ace silently walks with me as I chomp on my chocolate ice cream. He abruptly stops and glares at me, heaving a sigh. He flicks my nose and says "Could you be a little more sympathetic? We just buried my mother an hour ago."

"Are you okay?" I ask my mouth full of ice cream.

He just kisses me and steals my ice cream from my mouth as I kick his leg with my heels.

"How did you manage to walk in heels?" he quips.

"Very funny"

I am reminded of the time when I fell flat on the floor in front of Ace and Zain because I wore heels. Zain had been kind enough to give me a hand while Ace pulled it away from me and walked out, dragging Zain along with him.

We are just near my house gate when I ask him "How are we going to find proof against your dad?" He simply shrugs.

"You have CCTV cameras all over your house but I think he is smart enough to pull away most of the suspicious footage" I continue.

"No shit Sherlock." He grins. What a dork.

I go to my house to take a shower while he goes to his club.

He comes back to my room at night with a grin on his face telling me he got enough evidence on my dad through call records, housekeepers and doctors.

He said he would pay our housekeepers to lie a little more about Armaan hating Sia. He asked me to act as a neighbour witness and construct a lie weaving a narrative his dad would never be able to come out from.

The art of lying by telling the truth.

That night as he picked up about a hundred phone calls, Ace was busy being bad and I let him. He was doing what he was the best at, wrecking havoc bundled with truths and lies.

We had rough sex that night, like we used to before we confessed our feelings. His eyes were clouded as he pounded inside me harshly. But I didn't care. I knew he would come back to me the next morning. And he did, I woke up with whipped cream all over my neck and pancakes on the bed side.

"I wanna eat my breakfast before you eat yours" he says with a gleam in his eyes.

It was the cringiest thing I had ever heard him say but it was also the happiest I had ever seen him. I couldn't help control my laugh as he continued licking and kissing his previous bites all over my body.