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𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓕𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓕𝓸𝓻𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓸 𝓜𝓮

A ray of rough and warm wind passed through Shahnawaz as he stared into the deep oceans of his regret. How his life could have turned beautifully only if he would have trusted Myza. Only if he wouldn't have gone blindly in the way his mother guided him. The only thing he doesn't regret is not marrying Isha.

Hope. It's a powerful word. He started to look up at hope. A ray of hope where it soothes him, where it consoles his regret, where it makes his guilt punish. The more he regrets the more it eats him alive. A soft sound of knocking made him look up at the actual scenario behind the window. He knew who it was, the maid Faheema.

The clock stroked 9 in the night when he called her in with a slow and hazy 'come-in.' The wheel of the food trolley scratched through the wooden floor. Shahnawaz sighed before speaking, "I am skipping tonight's meal. Do not bring my tablets either."

The screeching sound of the trolley continued even after he neglected to eat the meal. He spurred around towards the source of the words, which came out in a beautiful voice, "It won't do any better to your health."

"Sahar? Where are the workers? You don't have to do it, beta." His voice was rough and attained when he watched his daughter taking the tray out from the trolley, telling him, "I do not want my father to grow weak when I am with him."

A gentle smile craved out of his elegantly structured face. "You will not stop caring just like your mother, will you?"

She remained silent but glanced at him. He remembers so much about her. "Now eat your dinner, Mr. Siddiqui."

"Or else?" He chuckled making her heart smile with ease. "I will leave back to my home now," Sahar demanded. His face turned into an expression expressing shock and fear as he stated, "I will eat. Have you eaten?" Sahar nodded.

He was Shahnawaz Siddiqui, who never bend down in front of anyone's challenges. One of the ruthless and powerful kings of business. He never felt fear of losing in his entire as much as he felt now. He started eating fastly when Sahar stopped him in between by keeping her palm in his hand, "Slow down, Mr. Siddiqui. It will not do any good to your health."

He started eating slowly, munching down the morsel of roti dipped in the appetizing gravy. "How is my friend, Hashir?" He asked.

"He is well, Allhamdulillah!" She stated.

"I have missed Myza and him so much!"

"I understand," She said normally for the first time replying to any conversation related to Myza. After finishing the dinner, Shahnawaz got up and went towards his washroom to wash his hands when Sahar took his tablets kept in the second tray in the trolley. She gave him the tablets as soon as he came out.

"I did not have a peaceful dinner in the past two decades. You don't how much happy you made me by coming here, beta."

For a moment, it felt like her heart slipped into a cave of melting ice. Her mother was right, Shahnawaz never felt wrong. His heart was pure. As pure as a clear threshold of love. She brushed her feelings making sure it doesn't remain in her face.

"You should sleep early, Mr. Siddiqui."

"I will have a peaceful sleep tonight by sure," He closed his eyes feeling the warmth perception raising in his chest.

"Shabba Khair, Mr. Siddiqui!" She strolled out of the room before glancing at him, heartily. Taking it towards the lift of the floor, she waited inside as it descended slowly. As soon as it opened with an alarming sound. She got out of the lift walking towards the kitchen when Faheema interrupted, "Sahar bibi, you should have called me."

"It's fine, Faheema," Sahar let her take the trolley and went to her room upstairs. She opened the door of the large emphasized room. She sat on the fluffy mattress and took her phone from the bag which was kept beside the bed. Sliding through the contacts, she read the name carefully before tapping it.

Nani Ammi.

Nearing it to her ear, she waited for the person to take her call. She talked with her grandmother for a while, followed by Hashir. They sounded fine. She asked about Izhaan and they told her that he was busy with his study.

She knew that he didn't want to talk to her. Without talking further about him, she hung up soon after. She sighed loudly trying to let her nervous nerves calm down. Her eyes fell on the box given by Izhaan. She quickly walked towards the box kept above her suitcase.

She took the box and sat near the window where the moon can be gazed at. She opened the box dawdling. There it was, a beautiful pendant set.

Three leaves shaped small crown jewel, accompanied by a plum-shaped huge diamond as the dollar and earings just as simple and elegant as the pendant is.

A smile formed on her face, unknowingly. Even before being her fiancee, he was her best friend, her first cousin who was close to her ever since she was a kid. She locked the door and unpinned her hijab. Slowly taking the chain to her neck, Sahar locked it around her neck.

It shone in the moonlight. The reflection of herself standing in front of the mirror, smiling; made her heart feel delighted and lucky. She took her phone, hurriedly and dialled the number of her fiancee.

Izhaan

It rang for nearly a minute when attended the call. A moment of awkward silence before she greeted, "Assalamu alaikum?" Her words came out as a question for the deep silence coming out of the opposite side.

"Walaikum assalam."

Izhaan's voice sounded crouched. Hesitation ran through the air for both of them but Sahar knew she had to break it. "I loved it, Izhaan."

"Huh?" He asked startled at her sudden break of expressing love towards something he thought he wasn't aware of. "I am talking about the pendant, Izhaan."

"I am glad," he simply stated without taking the conversation any longer. She stretched the conversation for some reason she wanted to hear him, to comfort him that there is nothing to be worried for. "Thank you," she closed her eyes when she stood up near the window.

"You don't need to thank me, Sahar. You are more than just cousin or fiancee to me," Sahar knew how he was. Sensitive, lovable and kind. A living example of a sensible heart with brilliant intelligence.

"What were you doing?" Even after being aware of what he was doing, she asked. "I was in my study. Preparing for my upcoming presentation for the project that we have planned in the company." After a moment of brief pause, he questioned, "What about you?"

Daydreaming about a life with my parents.

"I just checked your gift," she shrugged off all the engaging thoughts that slowly beaded in her mind.

"It's late, sleep well Sahar." He stated.

"Same goes to you." She opened her eyes, gazing at the moon.

"Be careful and call me whenever you need," There he sounded worried and thundered. She agreed and kept her phone aside as soon as he cut the call.

• ° • ° •

2 Weeks Later

The moon of the night started to lurk over the huge sky like a cloak. The breeze blowing around was tepid and chilly, overall it did make Sahar feel a little better. Gazing at the huge circular planetoid, she remembered her mother in the vast green yard of the Mansion highly rooted with secrets of the family. Myza's and Sahar's bond was unparalleled.

As better as it can be, it was matchless for Sahar to find it in anyone but slowly as she lived here in Siddique Mansion, she had grown pretty well fond with her father, Shahnawaz. She was aware of it the moment she entered the arena, she got closer to her father a little by little but who disturbed her mind more was Shahveer.

His kind behaviour was the cherry on top. She was falling for someone, aware of the fact that she is someone else's. She couldn't figure out if it was love or just infatuation towards him but she knew this was what Izhaan was scared of. He was scared of losing her the moment she stepped inside his car. It doesn't matter if she sat in the front or at the back. All that solicitudes was she sat in that car on a journey that had many distractions which resulted in confusing her.

She heaved a sigh before turning around as she heard, "Sahar?"

There he was, wearing a turtle neck t-shirt in the colour lavender. He stared at her before walking towards her. She stood still looking at how perfect he looked. The wind passing by didn't help either. She knew she was falling. For deep trouble that she didn't want but was drawn towards it.

"It's cold here at night. You will catch a cold. Come, let's go inside," Shahveer convoked making sure she heard it through the hasty running of breeze. "It's alright, Shahveer. I am fine. You just came back from the office, you should go inside."

"Come on! Sahar yaar!" He stood in front of her tall, prolonged and powerful. "No, Shahveer. I can't."

The fine lines of the forehead grew wider as his eyebrows knitted together in the centre of his forehead. "What's wrong?" He examined her from head to toe noticing how she was shivering even when she had a pine-green coloured shawl wrapped around her diminutive frame.

"You are not coming even when you are shivering under this frosty weather," Shahveer stated concerned glancing at her emotionless eyes which had a charm sparkling with warmth everlastingly. "I said I can't," she peered back at the sky. "What do you mean by you can't?"

"It is what it is, Shahveer," she played.

"What?" He scrunched his nose, baffled. Lying his charcoal eyes on her ebony one's which asked several questions to her, invisibly but they were aware of it. "Your Isha Phupho and Tahir Chacha are here."

Momentarily as she spoke, Shahveer's gaze softened. Hesitant to call her in for a while that she might neglect, he opposed, "So what, Sahar?" She stared at him confused. "You should stay in the arena even if they are. You are forgetting that you have more connection and importance than they have with our family."

She couldn't respond nor did any words escape her lips. 'How much supportive can he be?', she pondered.

A moment of rough silence passed by before Shahveer continued, "You are the first granddaughter of the Siddiqui family. You should utilise that power before they try to snatch it from you. You standing out here in this penetrating and polar weather is what they wanted. I know you don't want to be weak in front of them, do you?"

Sahar shook her head, biting her inner cheeks as the baltic and brumal breeze etched on her uncovered cheeks. "I can't see their faces. It is just suffocating me, Shahveer."

"Be confident, Sahar. Taaya abbu will appreciate it if you stand as powerful as him in front of them. I know that Isha Phupho will be judgemental to you. Do not let her use your invisible flaws give her a chance to taunt you. Just be your confidential self. Everything will be fine. Don't let her stupid lies turn you off. I suppose she still doesn't know that you exist, imagine her face when she gets to know that you are Shahnawaz Siddiqui's and Myza Siddiqui's daughter,"

He paused letting out a sigh before smiling, proudly at her, "The colours of her face will drain out just like squirrel changes its colour."

A genuine and satisfied smile spread through her face when he asked, "Shall we go?" She nodded, slowly.

Entering through the main entrance of the mansion, they walked towards the living room. They could hear several voices mixed up coming out from the hall. Hesitant to invade, Sahar looked towards Shahveer to notice that he was already looking at her. Comfort, amenity and contentment dancing in his charcoal eyes glancing back at her fearful, scared and hesitant ebony one's. He simpered and they entered the hall together.

Silence; a brief silence passed in the living room as they entered. Sahar was greeted followed by Shahveer. Meesha and Jahangir were at the corner of the couch, while Zeenia with Isha and Tahir sat in the middle. Leaving the left corner of the couch empty.

Isha's eyebrows knitted together with utter confusion. She questioned with a smile playing on her lips, "Who is she, Shahveer? Your friend?" Before Shahveer could answer her, a voice from behind intervened. Shaking the confidence of Isha as he interrupted, "She is my daughter, Isha."

Shahnawaz walked forward towards Sahar, keeping a hand in her back, filled with respect and love. "She is Myza's and my daughter, Sahar."

Just like Shahveer had said, the colour of her face drained looking at Sahar. Standing beside her father, Sahar looked just like Shahveer told earlier.

Powerful, Confident and just like a ball of blazing fire that could harm Isha.

To be continued...

• ° • ° • ° • ° •

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