Chapter 20: Deception

His name was Hannan. He was a nice guy—rather, a very nice guy, more like a gentleman. He had been helping her throughout and was there to support her whenever she needed someone to encourage her.

And she could feel the signals he was sending her way. She knew he liked her, but he never stepped out of line. He never made her feel awkward. He respected her and respected the boundaries she had set. And respecting her boundaries was the thing she liked the most about Hannan. He wasn't like Rafay. Who was about to rape her only because he was infatuated with her. Hannan was different. Different from the men she has come across. And she appreciated him.

She was busy with her work when Hannan came in again.

"Hi, how are you, Sheharzaad?"

"I'm good. How are you, Hannan? Come, sit," she said with a polite smile.

"Thanks," he said while sitting in front of her. "Do you need any help with work?"

"No, not yet. I know I can count on you whenever I need someone’s help."

"Haha, that’s my girl. At last, you learned it."

"Yeah, thank me later. Would you like something? Tea, coffee?"

"No. I just came here to check up on you and chill out. I was so tired. I have been given bundles of work. The workload on these tender shoulders is too much."

"I swear. Same here."

"Sheharzaad, I came here to talk with you about something important," he said, his voice suddenly turning serious, and on cue, her phone rang.

It was Amna's doctor. She picked up immediately.

"Yes, Dr.?" she asked worriedly.

"What? By next week?" Her eyes almost bulged out, grasping Hannan's attention.

"Oh, I'll try, Dr. I'll try. Please hold on. I'll try."

"How much is the amount?"

"What?! And by next week?"

"Yes, yes. I understand, sir. I understand."

"Fine. I'll meet you ASAP."

"Thank you so much. Allah Hafiz."

Sheharzaad put her phone on the table and sat quietly, not saying a word. Her eyes were staring at the floor as if in a trance.

"What happened? Are you okay, Sheharzaad?" Hannan asked, his voice full of worry.

"Money. I need money, or she will die."

"Amna?" he asked, and she nodded.

"How much?"

"5 million."

"What?! And by when?"

"Next...next week. Or I'll lose her."

"What? 5 million? By next week?" he asked, astonished.

"Tell me, Hannan. Tell me. What should I do? Please help me, Hannan," she cried, looking at him hopefully.

Hannan contemplated for a while when an idea hit him.

"I have a solution."

"What is it?"

"Ask for a loan from the company. I know it hasn’t even been a month since you joined, but tell the authorities about your situation."

"I will do it today, rather now."

"Wait," he said after a moment of contemplation, "ask the CEO directly."

"Directly? Why?"

"It would take some time to process your application, and you wouldn’t be able to get the money by next week, so ask him directly."

Hannan was making sense. Who would give such a large amount to an employee who had just joined the company?

"Will he agree?"

"Don't know, but maybe yes."

"Ok, I'll go now."

"He’s out of the building for now. I'll inform you when he comes back."

"Ok, thanks."

"Don’t worry. My boss is calling me. I gotta go."

He stood up to leave when Sheharzaad stopped him. "Thanks, Hannan."

He passed her a smile. "Mention not," he said, and with that, he left her office.

After a two-hour meeting, Shehryaar finally came back to his office when his secretary entered.

"Sir, a parcel came for you today in your absence," she informed.

"Bring it," he said, going through some papers. She entered again and handed it over to him, her fingers intentionally touching his in the process, which made her heart skip a beat.

She had a mad crush on her boss.

"Fine, go," he ordered without looking at her.

She felt dejected; he didn’t even give her a glance. But that other night, he was so passionate in bed.

After he was done with his work, he proceeded to go through the parcel. He opened it and found a note:

I was afraid to come in front of you, but I am the sole witness of that night. Sheharzaad is at fault. Rafay's phone is inside the box. You can read the text messages she sent him. I'm sending you this because Rafay was a great friend of mine. The last time I saw him was when he got these texts from her, and he had left for the company. I was also with him. I was in his office when Sheharzaad was seducing him in her office. Rafay had left his phone in his office, so I took his phone with me. I don't want to reveal my identity because I saw your men carrying his body away that night and that Sheharzaad is a bitch. A slut.

He frowned after reading the note and then opened the box to find a phone. He switched it on, and it was already unlocked. He went into the SMS section, only to be more surprised.

There was a text message from Sheharzaad:

"Come to my office at sharp 11:30. I want you to fuck me, Rafay. I like you. I will lose my virginity to you. Please take me."

Your Sheharzaad

To confirm it was Rafay's phone and that the message was sent by Sheharzaad herself, he did all the investigations, and it turned out to be his phone. And the text was sent from Sheharzaad's phone as well. So that meant Rafay wasn’t lying when he was dying.

Sheharzaad did invite him.

On cue, the door opened. He looked up only to find her standing there.

What a great surprise.