Chapter 65: Are you in love?

A few days had already passed. Sheharzaad had secretly signaled Khaleda that she had

something to share, and as Khaleda had instructed, she was waiting for Khaleda to contact

her.

They weren't using her phone to communicate because there were high chances it was

tapped by Shehryaar, and Khaleda had prohibited that too.

She kept coming to the office, and Shehryaar was busy with his work. Since he had been

absent the past week from the company, he was catching up on some things and working on

some deals. Yet somehow, he would find time to call her to his office, asking her to work on

a particular file while sitting in front of him. He wouldn’t let her leave, and all the while, she

would feel his gaze on her, making her anxious and nervous. She ended up spending more

time in his office than in her own.

Whenever she was near him, tremors escaped her body as the deal she made with Khaleda

kept running through her mind. She tried to act normal, but his dominating presence

suffocated her within seconds. She remembered getting so nervous that her hands visibly

shook while receiving a file from him. She knew he noticed her shivering hands. He asked

her the reason and she responded by saing, that her body has begin to function like that

whenever he was around. Which was partially true.

She had minimized her contact with Hannan for his sake. She knew if Shehryaar even got

wind of her being near Hannan, only God could save them both. He had Hannan beaten

badly just because she went with him to a restaurant and he held her hand. She couldn’t

forget what he did to her for disobeying him. The burn in her tongue still hurt.

He was cruel.

So cruel.

Barbaric.

A dictator.

He only wanted things his way, not caring about others.

Above all these, he was arrogant.

Sheer arrogance dripped from every word he said.

His persona conveyed two things to her: dominance and arrogance.

But her name was Sheharzaad too.

She had to teach him a lesson he would never forget.

One thing that always hindered her was the fear—the fear rooted deep within her heart.

She dreaded him. She dreaded him from the core of her heart. No matter how much she

tried to act strong and bold in front of him, it was all pretentious—just an act to camouflage

her fear. Just to console herself, to give herself hope that she didn’t fear him as much as she

actually did.

Whenever she talked back to him, regret and terror tortured her the very next second.

Just like these days, four things were working up her mind at the same time.

First, what he would do with her in Dubai.

Second, what if he found out she had his recording and was working with Khaleda.

The third was her cursing herself for having to open her mouth and give him a long speech

that day, knowing how much of a maniac he was—how unpredictable he was.

It was slowly killing her day by day, not knowing what awaited her in Dubai. She had

thought numerous times about running away, but she couldn’t. Because of Amna. Despite

her treatment, Amna’s health wasn’t good. Often, she had seen her coughing blood. She

couldn’t leave Amna at his mercy and then run away. What if he caught her and killed her?

Neither could she take Amna with her and run away because of her health.

So it was better to wait patiently for her house to sell. She would get some money through

it, and that money would help her survive in another city. She had kept the money she got

from Shehryaar for Amna’s expensive treatment. Just to escape from Shehryaar, she

couldn’t waste that money.

The last and fourth was him discovering the sale of her house. She wanted to get things

done quickly before he found out. She completely depended on Hannan for it. Hannan was

doing all the work but still hadn’t been able to find anyone for her. She had already started

making preparations by packing her things into boxes, hoping Shehryaar wouldn’t pay her a

visit. If he saw those big boxes, she would be truly caught.

She was enduring his threats for now, waiting for the right time. She knew she would

eventually run away before handing the evidence over to the agencies.

Right now, she sat in front of him at his desk when her phone lit up with a message from

Ahmed.

Ahmed was a great friend to her. She admired him for how selfless he was. He was one of

those men she could trust with her eyes closed. He was more than a brother to her.

Whenever she looked at him and Amna, she felt assured that true love exists in this world. It

gave her hope that one day she would also find a man who would truly love her.

Yesterday, both Sheharzaad and Ahmed had talked the whole night again, and he didn’t stop

making her laugh. She had been feeling vulnerable about the impending Dubai trip with

Shehryaar when his message popped up, and they started talking. The conversation went on

all night, which was why she was late for the office today.

Sheharzaad told Ahmed that her boss was sitting in front of her, so she couldn’t talk. He

understood, not before throwing in a joke that made her smile, and he left as she placed her

phone on the table.

Her lashes rose, and she looked at Shehryaar, whose eyes were focused on his laptop

screen.

“We will go to Dubai in three days,” he informed her before focusing his grey eyes on hers.

Fear spiraled through her nerves at the thought of her impending doom as she looked at

him fearfully.

Nevertheless, she gave him a nod, knowing she couldn’t leave his highness unattended

when his brows rose. “Okay,” she answered, gauging that he was expecting a verbal

response.

She had come to know by now how much just head shakes irritated him.

“Are you in love?” he suddenly asked.