Ironic is a term we hear a lot through the courses of life. Everything in this world is ironic. Even our existence is ironic. People with life desires to die and people near death desires to live. We only learn to value things once we completely lose it. We all live in an irony of pure delusions.

Same was with Sanari. Her life was nothing less than an irony. In an attempt to escape one cage, she stepped her foot into another. This one might turn out to be more dangerous than the previous one but there was no backing away now. She was already trapped.

Haani could hear her slow and passive breathing. Her chest rising and falling as if she was struggling hard to survive. After her prison encounter, she didn't speak a word and he didn't feel like urging her to. Maybe her silence was comforting her.

She trailed behind him towards the car and without a protest, seated herself in the passenger's seat. Turning around, he hopped into the driver's seat himself. He waited for her to clasp the belt but she didn't budge and kept staring ahead into a void.

Sighing audibly Haani twisted in his seat and reached out to grab her seat belt, bending a bit in her direction. Her warmth radiated from her numb body. He wanted badly to make her talk to him and tell him all about her void thoughts and terrors, but he knew too well that if he pushed her now, she wouldn't return back to him.

Clasping the seat belt for her, he fixed himself in his seat and started the engine to drive away.

For a few minutes, the silence settles down between both, filling in the chasm between them. For a moment it felt soothing to connect without words.

"Take me home, please." She requested him in a broken voice. Haani paused to look in her direction for a moment but she refused to meet his gaze.

Nodding more to himself, he understood at once what she meant by home.

He halted in front of Abdul's house and got out. Walking towards her side he opened the door for her. Without a word she got out and started towards the house before Haani clasped his large hand around her arm to stop her.

She abrupt stopped and turned around to face him. Her face as blank as a stone sculpture yet to carve. "It's unsafe here." He informed her with concern.

"Then where is it safe? With you?" He noted the alertness in her small voice.

"Anything can happen here. You can't stay here all alone, I won't let you." He refused to answer her question and pointed out his genuine protectiveness. He didn't know why the thought of her getting in danger troubled him so much.

"This is my home and I'm safe here." She wanted to yell back at him but she knew too well that her voice would only lose away in the cold breeze of the divergent night.

He wanted to tap her senses back to work but realised it would only cause her further distrusting him. "Come with me Sanari."

"No," Pain reeked through her voice. She was hurting and he noticed too well. She brought her hand to his clasped one, tearing it off her body and walked towards the house.

Haani sighed in frustration. No person before had been this tough on him. She was bent on getting on his nerves and annoying the living hell out of him. In defeat, he walked after her.

She stopped at the entrance door and bend down stretching her hand behind a flower pot. Fetching out a key chain with a few keys, she inserted it into the door nob and turned.

He had made sure her door was fixed back after the incident but never thought she'd have the guts to return here after what had happened. Haani observed that; despite all odds she was courageous.

On opening the door she entered the house in complete silence. Walking further into her home, she reached out and flipped on the lights. The place was cleaned with no traces to pin down memories from the incident that happened here.

"I'm tired..." she finally announced. It wasn't just a statement linked to her physical exhaustion but rather her emotional wearying away. She was a mess of shattered pieces only if the world could see it. She had been pretending to be strong for too long but right now all she wanted was to scream out her pains at the top of her lungs.

He understood everything without needing her to speak out loud.

Silently she dropped the keys on the nearby table and walked towards Abdul's room. Opening the door she looked around and took in the view. Closing her eyes she engulfed herself in the remaining scent of his.

Haani came from behind her, observing her shattered form. It wasn't easy to always stand firm against the crude world; something he understood quite well. And it made him understand her emotions even better.

"I'm tired of being strong, I'm tired of being on my own, I'm tired of left out in cold, I'm tired of fighting through, I'm tired of-" her sobbing didn't let her speak further. Her back towards him she shed the remaining of her strengths and let her emotions invade her being.

"I know," he answered her defeated. He wanted so badly to reach out for her and comfort her but he understood all too well that he needed to give her space to warm up to him on her own. And in such a state as hers, he was sure it won't take her much time to break down before him. He was ready to gather and mend her broken pieces. And this time it was out of pure feelings. He felt her hurt.

"You don't, no one does." She refused him and turned around to face him. Tears streaming down her sea-green eyes. Making them more prominent to his vulnerable emotions. "I won't forgive him for leaving me alone like this. I won't forgive him. I can't fight this anymore, it's killing me. It'll kill me." She sniffed and wiped away her aching tears.

"I do, trust me. Just trust me. You don't have to fight anymore-" she paused to look up at him and calculate the genuineness in his soft glare.

He slowly closed in the gap between them and calculated her reaction. He was well aware of the fact of how invading her private space made her alert. This time it was different, she just kept staring back at him with huge glistening eyes. Trying to understand how fair he was being with his words.

Everything that Behlul had uttered about Haani, and how all he wanted was to quench his desires, seemed to dissolve away. She saw the honestly of his confessions in his eyes. She didn't see lust or guileless, rather she saw etching concern and warmth.

He reached out and brought his thumb towards her cheeks, touching, he wiped away her tears. She didn't flinch at the contact. Her heart wrapped around the warm gesture.

Haani saw the progress he had made and smiled all achieving, "You're not alone." He assured her. Her eyes didn't leave his face even once.

Closing her eyes to the warmth of his touch, her inside started to tremble in defeat. His sudden softness towards her made her feel even more vulnerable. Small cries started constricting her throat.

Seeing her react this way and break away, he didn't give much thought and engulfed her tiny body in his warm embrace. Her head barely reached his chest but it seemed as if she was designed for his size.

She held onto his shirt like her life depended on it and let the sobs shudder her in defeat. Crisping his pressed shirt in her tiny fists and shaking with each muffled cry.

He tightened his arms around her and held her frail body closer to his. The warmth radiated from both of them and fused together. "Shhh" He tried to silence her sobbing. Placing his chin atop her head; he held her closer to himself. The moment seemed to freeze for a bit and they seemed to stand like that in oblivion.

Slowly he walked her towards the bed and made her sit. She didn't let go of his shirt and clung onto him. Moments passed and her cries seemed to dissolve away into endless silence. He held her patiently.

"Sanari?" He asked for the silent room. He pulled back a bit and inspected her unconscious form. Removing a small strand of hair off her face that had made its way out of her tight hijaab. He watched her sleeping face, tear lines streaming down her delicate cheeks. He wiped them away.

Once again he found a means of pure advantage. He could just take off her hijab. But taking advantage of her in such a state didn't feel right to him when he was holding her defeated body in his arms, fast asleep. Worn out from the day, from life itself.

Sighing deeply he bent down and kissed her forehead. Finally, she seemed to be at peace, sleeping off her troubles. She didn't deserve such harshness, he concluded. But then again he knew all too well about the unfairness of life itself.

~~~~~

She twisted in the soft blanket wrapped around her securely. Snuggling closely to something warm and soft, she inhaled the sweet smell. She hadn't slept this oblivious in ages and it felt nice. On hearing someone's soft breathing, her sleepy mind started registering facts.

Abruptly she rose but realised she was held back in place with two strong arms. She stared into Haani's sleeping face. His slow breathing and the peaceful look on his face tugged at her heart. He seemed so innocent. Unaware of the world or how arrogantly brooding he was in it.

With her free hand, she pressed her palm to his warm chest and tried shaking him up. Panic constricted her chest, she was in bed with a man who shared no legal relationship with her.

After a few shakes, Haani abruptly awoke up sending Sanari to the ground along with the blanket. She winced at her sudden contact with the hard wooden floor. Blinking confusedly at her, he finally registered his surroundings.

"I'm so sorry." He cried out in panic and reached out to help her up but she dragged herself back from his touch. She got up, collected the blanket and thrashed it back on the bed. Haani watched her confusedly. Something was off about her, he concluded.

"Are you okay?" He voiced his concern. She curtly nodded at him and left the room relentlessly, muttering a chain of unknown words with herself.

Haani took out the extra set of clothing he always had in his car and marched towards the house. On entering he saw Sanari descending down the stairs all freshened up and cleaned. She stopped in her track on seeing him. What was up with her this morning, was something Haani pondered over.

"I need a shower, can you show me to the bathroom?" He questioned statistically. For a moment her eyes wandered as if she was calculating each notation. "Follow!" She finally answered. He followed her atop the stairs and into a room that spoke pure female.

The walls were covered with different patterns. A central double bed laid with nightstands on each side. To the right side, a cupboard was present with many books and frames atop of it. To the left, a study desk stood firm with piles of neatly placed notes, stationary and decorated glass jars. Everything seamed neatly put and displayed the elegance of the inhabitant.

"Are you done surveying my room?" Her voice brought him back to the present. He nodded repulsively. "That's the bathroom." She pointed towards a door that was located just behind her room's door. She didn't want him to use her father's room anymore, so it left her with no choice. She fetched him a fresh towel from one of the drawers and handed it to him. It had flower patterns on it. He smiled at her amused.

"We need groceries since I wasn't home for a long time. I'll be back soon so don't freak out if you don't find me around." Sanari informed him curtly. Not that she thought he'd even care if she wasn't to be found at the house but her past night memories told her otherwise.

He didn't know why she brought him to her room. The bath was too small for him but what could he expect. The bathing gel and shampoo both smelled like vanilla, he wondered if she smelt that way too. He was impressed by the way she kept herself, organised and elegant. Not many females he met were that way, rather they only cared about the amount of makeup they had on and the barely enough clothes they wore, they cared nothing of how they represented themselves. But Sanari was different.

Taking the last step, the strong smell of brewing coffee hit his pleasure nerves. "Hmmm that smells good..." he called while entering the kitchen. He caught a glimpse of her self satisfied smile with her back on him.

"French toast with omelette and good coffee." She announced. Maybe marrying her would not benefit him in a single way, he mused.

Halfway through the breakfast, Haani decided to speak, "Why were you so upset this morning?" He eyed her cautiously.

"I woke up with you wrapped up around me and you're asking me why I was upset?" She answered him like it was quite obvious.

"We didn't sleep together if that's what you're implying, not in the allegorical sense at least." He stopped eating.

"No, we didn't but you should have had the decency to have woken me up or just left me there sleeping, rather than sleeping with me." She was beyond crossed and he didn't quite seem to register the seriousness of the situation.

"I just couldn't." His blunt honesty took her aback.

"You just couldn't? But you could touch me without any relationship, even sleep with me while holding me in my father's house, in my father's room and on his bed? Do you even know how that made me feel? I felt exposed and embarrassed and I committed such a huge sin. It felt like even Allah got upset with me and I missed my morning prayers. Do you even realise it? No, you don't. Because to you religion, limits, all of it means nothing. You can do whatever you want, however you want without thinking of consequences. You-you-" She blurted out her hurt in a one go and couldn't make it to the end.

He noticed the sob forming in her voice, "Shh just shh, I'm sorry I should've realised. I'm ashamed of making you feel that way and I promise to respect your religion and your limits after this. I won't make the situation an excuse but just know this that the way you broke down last night, I just couldn't find the heart to leave you on your own like that. I'm sorry." All Sanari heard was 'sorry' and 'heart'. Did he actually have a heart? She wondered.

~~~~~~

"Where are we going?" Sanari questioned his haste. He seemed too focused on the road ahead. She wanted to hear his further plans and about the proposition, she had accepted. With each ticking second, it filled a void inside her. "We're getting married in two days." He finally answered her delusively.

"That's-" she sank back into her passenger seat to let the reality sink in. It felt too heavy upon her chest.

"Too quick? I know. I might not find time around again, I've got many projects to handle plus you've got a problem with being around me. Your religion doesn't allow it all that. I want to close that chapter as soon as possible." Was he that eager? Her mind constricted with Behlul's blunt words. Was it actually all aimed to let him active his vile desires?

He seemed to read her reeking tension, "Relax okay? I won't even touch you without your consent even after you become my wife and I get a legal right over you." He didn't want to put her trust at stake, for he had stayed patient all this way till now. She nodded her head slightly and turned away.

"How will your parents react to it? I mean marriage in two days to a girl you've barely known and who happens to be one of your late employee's daughter." He turned his head suddenly at her but she was still staring out of the side window.

"I have no parents." He sternly answered her with agony bleak in his voice. She turned her head to eye him. "I'm sorry to hear that, but you might have other family members." His grip on the staring wheel tightened till his knuckles turned white, "No, I don't." He answered through gritted teeth. "How could that be? Everyone does have someone. " He eyed her in pure range, "Not kids from orphanages." Sanari fell silent and didn't investigate the matter further.

When the car came to a halt she looked around to inspect where he had brought her. "Why are we at the airport?" She asked in pure confounding tone. "Because we need to fly off to Birmingham." That information left her mouth gaping at him. "Are you serious?" He blinked at her in confusion.

"You're dragging me to Birmingham which is in the UK, without even asking me? And now is when you're informing? I don't even have a passport or visa."

"So?" He shook his head.

"You're unbelievable, you ask me so? So, that I cant travel without a visa and passport, and I don't want to go to jail for travelling illegally if that's your genius plan."

"Well, not genius exactly but rich for sure darling. You haven't been paying attention, have you? I get tasks done with a mere snap of the fingers," and he snapped his fingers right in her face. "I have your passport and visa made already. Now don't embarrass yourself further by asking how?"

"I don't even know what you're up to and you didn't even inform me earlier so I'd have packed at least my necessities because I have no other option but to follow your commands because that's how bossy you are and because if I don't you'll ruin my career and make me beg on streets and because you're literally inclined on making my life a living hell and because I hate your guts so much and-and you set my nerves on fire." She huffed in annoyance after she finished her deliberate speech in just breath but instantly blushed after realising the double meaning behind her last statement.

He shook his head and a laugh rumbled from within his chest, "You're cute. Don't worry I'll buy you whatever you need." She folded her arms over her chest with her face turning a shade of red from pure humiliation. "Explain this to me Mr Haani Fateen." She only addressed him by his full name when her seriousness would elope her brinks.

"Okay okay, I want you to meet someone there who's the only family I consider having and plus I don't know anything about Islam or the marriage rituals but she knows so we'll get married according to it, she'll instruct me and all. As I don't want you disappointed anywhere in it." Sanari felt the urge to smack him across his head but she bit her tongue from making her dip knee-deep in big trouble. The family wasn't a subject Haani seemed comfortable about.

At first, they stayed silent on the plane across each other. It was Haani Fateen's private jet and she didn't expect any less either.

"Sill mad?" She rolled her eyes at his statement. "Enjoying the flight with me? " He further asked, her irritated form amused him to such an extend.

"I'd rather jump off this plane than enjoy with you." She kicked in annoyance.

"That eager to die?" He smirked at her with a glint of humour in his eyes.

"Oh no actually, I'd rather murder you here instead and breath in the air of pure freedom later." She squinted her eyes and bit her cheek from sticking out her tongue at him. He suppressed laughter in an attempt not to ignite her further.

"Try with poison. Costs less require less equipment and work really fast so no way of failing your chances at killing me." He wanted to sound serious but failed to do so.

"Snake venom doesn't work on snake itself." She gave him a mocking reply and twisted in her seat to halfway turn her back on him. He let out the laugh he had been holding.