Surprise Dinner

Surprise Dinner
Since that day, Amna has been sending her secret messages. And her recent message told
Sheharzaad that Wali asked Sheharzaad not to tell anything about him to Shehryaar. He has
been working on a case against Shehryaar and for that, he needs her help. In case they move
back to Lahore from the haveli, then she needs to inform him. It was necessary to tell him
about each and every activity of hers.
"And?" he asked.
Her heart began to palpitate fast.
"No one,"
"Whom do you talk with on text messages?"
All the life squeezed out of her.
Text messages?
She has never talked with someone on text messages.
"No one," She began to take a step back.
"Every day you talk with Amna for two to three hours. What is it that you talk about?"
"N-n-n-nothing,"
She was getting short of words.
"Tell me, Sheharzaad, what is brewing in this mind?" His voice got further hardened as he
tapped his finger against her temple.
"I called... I called the rider today," It immediately hit her that she had ordered something
online for herself and she contacted the rider today. "And on text messages... it is... an old
classmate, Humaira... because I only have her number in this SIM, except for Amna and you.
And... Amna... and I... we talk... about nothing... it is just that we talked after so many days...
and I miss her, so I... I call her."
His face was blank.
Did he buy her words?
"Are you lying?" he asked directly in a no-nonsense voice. She took a step away from him,
shaking her head in the negative.
"No... I'm... no," she said, moving away from him.
On cue, the door to the room was knocked, making her sigh in relief.
He got up, and Sheharzaad quickly got up and, in a flash, rushed towards the restroom,
locking the door as her hands shivered.
She wondered why she was even seeking the protection of this trivial door at this point. He
would just have to command by dropping his voice octaves down, "Open the door,
Sheharzaad," and she would instantly unlock the door for him. She stood there still like a
statue for a good five minutes, trying to plot her next move, but no solution came up in her
mind. Rather, she felt she had committed a grave error by running away without his
permission. She could feel fear clawing at her entire being and to remedy her mistake, she
unlocked the door and stepped out, peeking here and there.
Once she was in the middle of the room, it was then her eyes landed on him. He had changed
his clothes, now wearing a black t-shirt with sleeves rolled up, revealing the veins that were
protruding from his arm. His eyes were fixed on his reflection in the mirror as he was
spraying perfume.
"Come here, Sheharzaad," his sudden voice caught her off guard.
She knew she had no other option, so she stepped closer to him, whispering, "Ainda nhi...
nhi karunh gi, waada."
(I won't do this again. I promise.)
He curved his arm around her waist and bobbed her head up. His thumb traced her brow
down while looking at her. With a quiet expression, he said, "Alright. Get ready. We're going
for dinner."
...
The haveli members were heading towards the hotel to celebrate their little five-year-old
angel, Alizey's birthday. They all were busy getting ready.
Dua was in Sheharzaad's room, helping her get ready.
After that day when Shehryaar confronted her about the text messages, he seemed off,
which made her walk on eggshells. And due to the danger of Wali hanging over her head like
a sword, she did behave abnormally so that anybody around her would suspect her of doing
something suspicious.
"Surprise dinner," Dua told Sheharzaad.
"Surprise dinner?" She asked with a frown.
"I arranged a surprise dinner for you and Bhai."
Sheharzaad's eyes widened.
"No! No! Dua. Please, I don't want to go."
"No excuse would do. The preps are done. You will have dinner with Bhai and then join us at
the birthday."
"Dua... no."
"Sheharzaad," Dua scolded her.
"Please no."
"Please for me," She insisted. "I have all the preparations done with a lot of effort."
Sheharzaad looked at her for a moment before nodding her head in agreement.
"Okay."
Dua clapped her hands in excitement.
"So the driver is already waiting for you outside and will lead you to your destination," Dua
took a step back from her to analyze her. "And you look absolutely beautiful." She fixed the
smudged lipstick near her lips. "And done. You look so pretty, MashAllah."
"Thank you."
"Now go... the driver is waiting for you. Hurry."
"But-"
"Go! You have to join us at the birthday as well later on."
"Okay," she had to agree as she went out and sat in the car, which now drove towards her
destination. She had sat in the car only to realize that she had forgotten her phone at home.
She cared less, hoping Dua had made all the arrangements necessary for them.
The last dinner she had with him kind of encouraged her to have this dinner with him. He
was nice. He didn't scare her.
Rather, he asked her about herself. About her family. Little incidents in her childhood. And
she proudly told him about the bond she had with her parents, reliving those moments. Her
brain was in the past as her tongue kept on reciting those pictures of the past to him.
That dinner was nice.
Soft and calm.
She also asked him about his mother.
The woman in whom she was particularly interested.
She so wanted to know about her mother-in-law. Because Sheharzaad knew that there was
much more to her. She only knew about her name.
Jaha Ara.
A name which entailed tragic stories of the past.
A name which she knew deserved justice. Deserved its story to be told rather than being
suppressed in the pages of history.
Shehryaar remained quiet on the mention of his mother. Rather, he changed the topic and
did not let her talk about her again.
She reached the hotel at last. Alighting the vehicle, she entered the building. A male escort,
after enquiring her name, led her to a secluded cabin which was booked under her name.
And her eyes widened upon seeing the person sitting there.
"Hannan," the whisper escaped from her lips.