Chapter 161: The mysterious caller

As soon as Shehryaar sat next to her, her face began to pale, and she almost froze. It wasn't

usual when he was here, around her, as most of the time he wouldn't be present at the

haveli. When he would be, her hands would automatically begin to shake as her body’s

reaction to his presence. Everyone began their dinner, but Sheharzaad found her hands

shivering as she struggled with the utensils. Suddenly, a glass fell from her hand onto the

floor, grabbing everyone's attention.

Everyone's eyes went to her as the glass fell onto the floor and shattered into pieces. She

profusely apologized, getting embarrassed in front of everyone. The anxiety becoming

severe as she found everyone's attention on her. A servant was called to clean the mess.

After that, swallowing a small bite was becoming a task given her embarrassment and

nervousness. She was just subjected to everyone's attention, including his, and attention

always crumbled her confidence.

She thought of drinking water and then taking her leave when she moved forward to get the

jug. The jug fell from her hand, and the water spilled around.

The place was full of gasps now, and she was at the verge of a breakdown. The entire room

was silent; no chatter, no sounds of cutlery clinking against the plates, or chairs scraping the

ground.

Sheharzaad could feel her eyes starting to tear up, and her entire body trembled

uncontrollably. She tried to keep her head down and avoid their gazes, but Shehryaar’s eyes

on her were impossible to ignore.

Her lips got pasted, and now her throat wasn't able to produce an ounce of sound as she

didn't find it in herself to utter a word.

She sat back on her chair and looked around, only to find everyone's eyes on her. Their eyes

filled with curiosity and interest, wondering what was going on with her. Slowly, a tear

slipped from her eye, and she looked down. The tip of her nose turned red, and her lips

shivered. Everyone's attention was solely on her, and she could feel their gazes burning

holes through her.

She had never suffered from social anxiety as much as she was suffering from it now.

"S-s-sorry," she whispered and sniffled and was about to leave when Shehryaar held her

hand, sending an electric signal to her body, and she remained on her seat.

She drifted her attention towards him when everybody on the table began to laugh.

"Who cries on such a trivial matter?" Haseeb joked.

"What happened to you, daughter? Isn't this your house too?" It was his grandmother

"You don't need to cry, Zaad," Shehryaar tucked her hair behind her ear before turning her

face towards him and cleaning her tears with his thumb. "You're the lady of this house. The

owner. So you don't need to cry over petty things." His thumb slowly cleaned her face, and

his touch was gentle and soft, his eyes never leaving hers. Sheharzaad froze at the intimate

gesture from Shehryaar. Her mind went completely blank, and she could feel her heart

hammering in her chest. She watched when he tucked her hair behind her ear and brought

his thumb to her face. Then, he leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead, his lips

lingering against her skin for a few seconds, a little longer than necessary.

"And where do you think you were going?" he whispered against her forehead, making her

heart skip a beat, and he moved back. His words and his gentle caress seemed to soothe her

for a moment, making her forget about her embarrassment and the eyes of everyone else in

the room. The table was cleaned again as everyone continued with their meals, when

suddenly the telephone in the lounge began to ring. The lounge was connected with the

dining room, so the voice was loud enough.

The sudden ringing of the telephone interrupted the silence that had settled over the table.

Everyone's eyes darted towards the lounge, where the sound came from. It was unusual for

someone to use the landline telephone during dinner time, which added to the curiosity in

the room.

"It might be one of my friends," Haseeb said and went to the lounge to attend the telephone,

but he came back.

"What happened?" Haroon, his father, asked.

"Nothing baba. Again, someone called and didn't say anything. As I said 'hello,' the person

shut the call as if he or she abhors my voice.

"It happened with you too?" Dua suddenly said.

"Happened with me as well," Haya jumped in.

"And me too. I ignored it, considering it was a wrong number or some dumb friend of

Haseeb bothering us," Saif said.

"Oh, and I recall too, it happened with me as well. I picked up the call, and as soon as I said

'hello,' the phone was hung," Asma, Haseeb's mother, said.

Everyone looked at each other with surprise. Shehryaar’s expression darkened slightly at

the strange occurrence, and he couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling in his chest. He sat

quietly, observing everyone at the table, his mind busy considering the possibilities.

"Surprising," one of them commented, "no one can have our house's phone number just like

that."

"Oh, but I think the caller listens to Sheharzaad baji," Alizey suddenly said, and their eyes

darted towards her.

Alizey's comment brought a momentary silence in the room as everyone's attention turned

towards her. Shehryaar's eyes settled on her, his expression darkening even further. He

didn't like the fact that Sheharzaad's name was brought up when it came to the mysterious

call.

He wanted to say something, to address the matter directly, but he didn't want to make a

scene in front of everyone. So, he clenched his fists tightly, his jaw set in a firm line as he

silently listened to the ongoing conversation.