Chapter 158: A small interrogation

It was another night in the haveli. She was in a deep slumber. The air conditioner was on,

and she was cocooned in a blanket and a bear that she was hugging. A weird habit she had

developed since she came back from the cell was that she needed to hug a bear or a pillow

to sleep.

She was breathing heavily, and her whole body was drenched in sweat. Beads of sweat were

popping near her temples as she tightly held the bear.

The chains.

The chains were grasping her tightly, slowly coiling around her hands and feet. Her limbs

were totally shackled. The metal would pierce her skin whenever she tried moving.

Suddenly, her breathing stopped, and she tried to breathe but couldn't, only to realize a

chain was now binding her neck. The other end of the chain was in his hand, who was

sitting proudly on a sofa.

He called her closer, and without waiting, she stalked towards him and knelt down. Her

body shivered as she joined her hands.

She was aware. She did a mistake, but at the same time, she was clueless about what crime

she committed, and it was shaking her to the core. Her breathing was getting harsh and

rapid when his hand moved, and he tightened the chain around her neck before making her

look up toward him.

"You were talking to a man who was not me," he said, stating her crime.

She began to profusely apologize, but not an expression twitched on his face.

Her deepest fear—his blank, void, and emotionless face.

Her hands began to shake as she tightly joined them in front of him, her eyes begging him

not to punish her. But the ground slipped beneath her feet when he slowly reached for her

finger and took the ring away. The colors on her face changed, but he remained indifferent

to her plight.

His hand moved and further tightened the knot around her neck, that taking a single breath

took a whole minute.

"Take her to the cell. I will personally deal with her now," he said to a guard standing behind

her, and she couldn't help but let out a scream.

Her eyes opened in a flash as she sat up, breathing intensely.

"No. No," she shook her head to herself, "mei...ney...mei ney kuch nhi kia...meinay kuch nhi

kia.." she said to herself while shaking her head left and right as her eyes were fixed on the

wall.

(I didn't do anything)

Suddenly, she moved up her right hand, and the struck breath in her throat released when

she found the ring sitting there. "It's here," she whispered, "the ring is here."

"It was a dream. It was a dream," she reiterated to herself, but it all seemed so real. She lived

in that moment.

When she had calmed and assured herself that it was a dream, that was when her eyes

landed on a figure sitting on the sofa in the dark. A silhouette.

She turned on the lights, and to her surprise, Shehryaar sat there.

Her eyes widened, and she blinked twice to confirm if it was true or not.

And it was true.

Immediately, she stood up and abruptly took her scarf before quickly fixing it around her

chest.

She was breathing in rapid short breaths without even realizing.

Her foot tripped when he stood to his full height and took a step toward her.

She was aware that there was no running away from him.

She knew she was shaking. Her fear had completely overtaken her.

Sheharzaad didn't dare take a step back from him. She stood there, still in her spot, thinking

it would set him off if she stepped back as he kept on coming closer to her. Her anxious grey

eyes watching his every step.

She found herself paling further when he held her arm and gently backed her up against a

wall. Their faces inches apart.

Her eyes, full of fear, looking at him.

While his emotionless eyes stared back at her as she was struck between him and a wall.

The air they breathed was the same, but the way was different. Her shakiness and fear were

apparent from the way she breathed in, while his was a labored and calm breathing.

"Hasn't it been a long time since we saw each other?" he asked and caressed the smooth

skin of her neck, "eh?"

Her heart lurched to her throat, but she nodded, "j-j-jhee," she stuttered.

(Yes)

"So what have you been doing while I was away?" His eyes were fixed on her lips that were

shivering, and then the orbs slowly rolled down to her silky neck and to her chest that was

concealed by her dupatta.

"Noth-nothing much."

"Nothing, Zaad," he whispered casually with a frown when one of his boot-clad feet inserted

between her feet and instigated her right foot to move to separate her legs apart.

"What is nothing?" he muttered and bent forward, as he nibbled the skin of her neck

between his teeth. His one hand snaked around her waist and pushed her closer to him

while the other began to play with the hem of her trouser.

"Hmm Zaad?" he urged her to respond, and she produced a shaky 'nothing' again.

He chuckled.

"I heard you don't come for lunch," he said and continued kissing her neck as his hand

moved and began to caress her thighs above her trouser. He was slowly drifting away into a

world of pleasure where he wanted more and just more of her. When it came to her, he felt

there was no stopping. It would become so hard for him to control himself when she was

around him. And the way his mind, soul, and body would react to her presence, nobody ever

released those behaviors out of him.

In that moment, she felt nothing but blind terror, not just because of his closeness but also

because of his questioning.

"Why is that?" he asked again.