Inarah's POV,
"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach!"
I've heard Mom say that a zillion times, but I never really paid attention to it. I thought I could win Zayaan over with my charm and my love for him...but that stubborn rascal! Oops! I shouldn't criticize my own husband. What a bad wife am I?

My husband... his wife... oh my! Just thinking about those phrases gives me butterflies. I sometimes can't even believe it's true. How can I believe? My husband acts like my business partner at home and even sleeps in another room. Huh!

This time, I'm going to take Mom's advice seriously. I fastened my apron and pulled up my nonexistent sleeves.

"Alright! Let's do this!" I exclaimed with my hands on my hips and a bright, confident smile....but when I turned around, the maids weren't sharing the same excitement... they looked rather... frightened? Why?

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

They exchanged hesitant glances, taking a step back when I took a step forward. "M... madam, are you sure you want to try again? Yesterday, the kitchen was almost set on fire, and the oven almost blew up," one of them said.

I cleared my throat, embarrassed. Well, it did happen when I was trying to make cookies. Zayaan likes to munch on them during work, so I decided to start with them.

"Relax..." I said with a casual wave of hand. "It was just an accident, silly. In fact, today there is no oven work. We're going to make biryani, right?" I smiled, giving confidence to both them... and myself.

They took another step back, seemingly petrified.

"Oh, where's Rani?" I asked.

"She said she wasn't feeling well and had a doctor's appointment."

"Oh, what happened?" I asked, worried.

"Diarrhea... and nausea too."

"Oh poor thing. She was healthy till yesterday though." I sighed.

"Well madam. She did try the Custard you made yesterday," one of them said meekly.

"Huh? My Custard? Is she lactose intolerant?"

"I don't think that was the case, madam," another maid said with a nervous laugh. I scowled at her, and she flinched.

"I'm not that bad, right?" I asked nervously. They all exchanged anxious glances and nodded hesitantly.

I sighed.

"Oh well, maybe I'm not good with sweets, but this biryani will be superb. Alright then... let's get this chicken ready first," I said, lifting the knife above my head, aiming at the drumsticks... and they all screamed.

****
"So how is it?!" I asked eagerly, waiting for everyone's reply and scrutinizing their expressions.

Dad was chewing slowly, with great difficulty, and Mom was coughing. Emmad literally spat out the piece of chicken from his mouth into a tissue, making a face.

"Why is it like chewing gum? And did you inject a whole tub of salt in this or something?" he remarked with a yuck face.

"I... it's not that bad, honey... for a first try," Dad said nervously.

"Yes, my baby. It's good. Really!" Mom exclaimed enthusiastically.

I excitedly took a spoonful in my mouth and was nauseated as soon as it touched my tongue with the saltiness and the intense overpowering taste of garam masala. I immediately spat it out into a tissue.

"It's horrible! How are you guys even eating that? Please put your spoons down." I yelled.

"Yeah! Not even a dog would eat it!" Emmad sneered.

"Emmad!" Mom scolded him.

I sank my head in my hands hopelessly. "Don't scold him, Mom. He's right. It's that disgusting. I'm a horrible cook. Instead of falling in love, Zayaan will end up hating me even more if he tastes such nasty food from my hands." I groaned gloomily.

"Awww, my baby." Mom said and hugged me, rubbing my arm.

"It's ok. Mistakes happen. Cooking can never be perfected in one try. And biryani may seem like an easy recipe, but it's really hard to make," she said.

"Not for Inarah Qureshi! I'm an expert in perfecting things in one go. If I messed up this time, that means I can never cook perfectly." I moaned and whined, pushing my plate and sinking my head on the table. It was the first time I ever tried cooking in the kitchen. I've grown up having everything being served to me readymade. I never even had to lift a finger.

"Poor Zayaan Bhai!" Emmad teased, and I felt like crying now.

"Shut up, Emmad!" Dad said sternly.

"I challenged him soo foolishly. I wanted to learn to cook for him."

Dad got up from his seat to come and sit beside me. "Since when did my Princess begin giving up soo easily."

"But Pa..." I began, jolting my head up frustrated but paused and noticed Dad's eyes got wide for a second and got sad. I accidentally almost called him Papa. Damnit! It's just that Papa used to call me princess, and now that Dad did, I...

"I'm soo sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to..." I began guiltily, but he gave me a sad smile, caressing my hair. "It's ok, my darling. I'm not upset."

"Um... Inarah dear, if you make it with love for Zayaan, he'll eat anything. You just need a bit more practice, that's all," Mom said from behind us, changing the topic.

I turned to her. "No, Mom, I love my husband. In no way will I ever try to poison him with such food." I said straightforwardly.

Then I remembered... "Ah right, now that Dad's here, I wanna talk about what you guys did." I said a bit heatedly.

They both seemed a bit anxious now. "Tell me more about this recent shareholders' meeting, Dad," I emphasized. Then I turned to Mom. "You too, my mommy dearest!" I looked at them intently with a raised eyebrow and my arms folded to my chest.

*****
Zayaan's POV,
Tsk! Call me everyday huh? It's been 2 days since she called me last. Has she finally forgotten her husband going back to the enormous Malik mansion?! Huh! Women!!!

I was in a stupid underground meeting with all the other Mafia's from all over India. It was in a Villa in mumbai facing the sea. Not very underground eh? We do this annoying thing every year atleast once to keep a check on eachother's workings. Although, within seconds this place can turn into a warzone if any one of them snaps. That's why everyone of our men are always on thier toes protecting thier bosses.

"So, Zayaan! I heard you married the Qureshi group's daughter huh?" South India's current biggest Don Surya Murthy questioned me.

I just nodded. And that old man chuckled patting my shoulder.
"Very nice. I never thought you would ever settle down."

"I've heard she's quite a beauty. Is she more beautiful than me?" His daughter Leena asked giving me seductive glances leaning forward as she traced my jacket collar between her fingers, showing off her fake clevage.

I smirked leaning closer to her ear
"Even more soo." I whispered and she got back scowling at me.

"So you and Dilshad are having some tension?" Another gang leader asked leaning back before bringing his cigar to his lips.

"No wonder why he didn't show his ass in this meeting today." Yet Another one laughed.

I didn't bother telling them the details.

"Does anyone know where that rat is hiding?" I questioned in general.

"Maybe I have an idea?" Leela added eying me.

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"But you know... nothing is free nowadays." She said eyeing me hungrily. I clenched my jaw.
This sluty bitch!

She stood up and walked towards an empty room swaying her hips. I rolled my eyes and followed her.

She was already sitting on the bed trying to seduce me. I really wanted to snap that tiny neck of hers but I calmed myself and smiled.
"You know Leela I'm married now."

"So, why does it even matter? We can have our little fun and no one has to know." She purred in a seductive tone.

I strode towards her and grabbed his chin.
"Why don't you first tell me about Dilshad? Then I'll decide if we can have fun or not." I whispered glaring in her eyes.

"Umm... maybe, I'm not in the mood right now to say anything." She giggled.

I was losing patience now and I fisted her hair.
"I'm not a very patient man Leela."

Third person POV,
She kept his furious eyes busy with her flirty ones. She enjoyed this monsters side of him. His cold gaze always turned her on. However,  that wasn't the only thing she wanted from him. Knowing he was married truly pissed her off...she lost a good pawn...or did she?
So she took a chance and slid out his phone from his pocket.

"Sorry babe. I don't know where he is." She giggled.

Zayaan angrily let go of her chin and grabbed her neck hearing her gasp.
"Don't you dare try to waste my time like that ever again!" He grunted and stormed out of the room.

She smirked looking at his phone in her hands.
Oh how much fun can I have with this little device!

Just then it buzzed displaying a cute girls picture with the caller ID 'Inarah'.
And the fun begins...

Inarah's POV,
"Inarah, my baby. Just listen to us please. Forget that boy. For someone like you there are millions of good guys out there." Mom implored the same thing the umpteenth time.

"Yeah, and we all saw the 2 in a million among them how good they were." I rolled my eyes finger quoting.
Abid... the one who tried to molest me and Rahil....the guy who wore the  perfect guy mask and who slaughtered homeless children for fun.

She sighed.

"Mom. Zayaan is a great guy. He's caring, kind and he has a strong sense of justice. Sure his ways are a bit... different, but I love him, Mom. He has always been there for me, protecting me like my knight." I again beseeched.

"A little different?! Killing people is his sense of justice?!" She questioned in a disgusted tone.

"He has to do it in order to protect himself." I said in defence.

"Yeah right!"
She shook her head.
"You've mistaken dependency for love my baby. You don't want to see his bad side even though it's crystal clear right in front of you. You're blinded by this unrequited love."

"It's not unrequited." I mumbled knowing well that this part was true.
I sighed sinking back on Heena's lap on my bed.

"Heena, beta, atleast you try to talk some sense into her." Mom told her pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Aunty.... I've been trying it for the past 12 years and now she even married him. Let her be aunty. We've already lost her." She said exhausted putting her hands back.

I grinned and gave her an invisible kiss, but instead she kicked me out of her lap. How rude!

Mom let out a loud sigh and stood up in front of the bed
"I give up...but just for today. No matter what you say Inarah. I'll never give my blessings to this marriage."

Her words stung, but I smiled.
"Someday you will mom, because I know how much you love me."

"So you'll now use my love for you to emotional blackmail me?" She narrowed her eyes folding her arms to her chest.

I crawled on my knees on the bed and threw my arms around her hugging her from the side as she stood her ground.
"No Mom..." I kissed her cheek.
"I'll prove how worthy he is of your baby."

She shook her shoulders, but I held her tighter and she grunted.
"I can't even be mad at this girl."

I giggled and she gave a difficult smile.
"Go to sleep now both of you."

We wished goodnight and she left.

"Babe!!!" I yelled and lazily threw myself on top of Heenu crushing her under me.

"Ugh! Go cuddle with your new hubby you pervert." She groaned trying to push me off.

"Are you jealous~~" I sang smirking at her.

"Get off me." She finally pushed me and I pouted seeing her huff.

"I'm just worried, ok. After what he did that day with you and also the wedding. You yourself said that you saw prostitutes on his bed and he admitted it too that he slept with them."

My heart ached at that memory.

"M... maybe there was a different story to it." I tried my best to defend.

"Oh please....only you can imagine the non existent different stories Inarah." She snaped making a face.

"Whatever."
I shut my eyes and ears, blocking her. Alas, I can't block the truth, right? And even after everything, I just cannot bring myself to hate him. I'm afraid that my Love for him might end up killing me someday... but even if that happens, I'll happily lay my life on the line.
How much more pathetic can I be?!

"He's changed! And I'll prove it to you!" I challenged her and took my phone to call my darling while Heenu watched me with a bored and judgey expression.

"Hi hubby!" I greeted with a wide grin which disappeared immediately as soon as I saw the person who answered it.

A woman!?

"Um... pardon me, but who might you be? This is my husband's phone right?" I said forcing a smile as anxiety started settling inside me.

"Ah! So you're Zayaan's wife?" She giggled speaking in a sleepy tone. By the angle of the front cam it looked like she wasn't wearing any clothes but when she tilted it for a sec, I saw a very low neckline dress on her. I let out a subtle sigh of relief.

"Who's this woman answering your husband's phone in the middle of the night, Inu?" Heenu questioned with a raised eyebrow.

I gulped as I myself felt uneasy.
"W... where's Zayaan?" I tried to be cool. Don't want to be a jealous wifey now, do I?

"Zayaan?" She moaned his name quite leisurely. I really wanted to smack her face through the phone.

"Hey! That's my husband bitch! Mind your tone while taking his name!" I warned her losing my cool. "Now where the hell is he?!" I grunted.

"Ummm.... He was right here a minute ago...or should I say... he was on top of me." She giggled.

My blood ran cold in my veins.
What did that bitch say?! My Zayaan? That... can't be true!
"What?"

"Why do you have my phone Leela?" I heard Zayaan's voice, but I couldn't see him.

"Oh hi babe. It's your wife..."

The camera shook like it was snatched by her hand. I saw him and his hair was all messed up, tie disheveled. My eyes pricked with the dread of tears. He was in his suit and I could see he wasn't in the penthouse either
"Inarah.."

"Wh...ere are you Zayaan?" My voice cracked.

"I'm here to attend a meeting." He said avoiding my eyes and my heart clenched.

"Meeting? In the middle of the night? In a woman's bedroom? How original Zayaan!" The tears finally found thier way out.

"No... Inarah that's not..."

"Shut the fuck up, Zayaan! I had faith in you. Even after everything, I thought you'd change. You aren't even ready to touch your own wife, but you surely can rendezvous into another woman's bedroom." My rage, jealousy and the heart ache of betrayal was burning me... killing me inside out. I wiped my tears angrily.

"Inarah..."

"I hope you two have a good fuck and you two can keep on fucking till you both rot in hell!" I yelled and hung up before he could say anything.

I threw my phone as I broke down crying hugging my knees. The room was only filled with my cries as Heenu said nothing.

"Go on...tell me I told you soo." I said between sobs.

She just gave me a pitiful look and hugged me letting me cry even more. Great! Now even my bestie pities me. What kinda life am I living?!

The man I loved all my life is sleeping with sluts, my parents aren't happy, my best friend is mad at me, at the age of 22 I forced myself in a Unrequited love marriage, I agreed to hand my Papa's dream.... his company to such a man all for the sake of love?!
I'm soo pathetic and hopeless!!!

That's it.... I can't take this anymore!

"I have to go!" I got off the bed and walked into my wardrobe to get a jacket...then grabbing my car keys, I stormed out ignoring all of Heenu's complaints as she ran after me and I threatening the security to let me out....

Zayaan's POV,
"What the hell did you tell her?!" I growled grabbing Leela's hair.

She just chuckled and I pushed her in my rage. It was no use talking to that slut. She was crying....my Inarah was crying! That was enough to drive me crazy with worry. I suddenly had a bad feeling.

I tried to call her again, but Heena was the one to answer.

"Why are you calling now you scumbag?"

"Where's Inarah?" I asked calmly.

"Why? Are you done fucking other sluts, now you finally remember that you have a wife. Has your conscience finally awakened?!" She said sardonically.

"Where. is .my .wife?!" I said still trying to maintain my cool.

"There's no way I'm telling you. Go to hell you bastard."

"WHERE IS SHE!" I growled finally losing my shit

"S... she's...g... gone!" She answered stammering...her voice full of fear.

"Gone? Where?!" This isn't good.

"I... I don't know. She just took her car keys and ran out heartbroken."

I shut my eyes in agony. She was heart broken....my Inarah!

Asad's POV,
Zayaan was quite anxious as he left me here and set out to find Inarah pointlessly, taking his car. Those two really are a handful but they always come through at the end somehow.

I walked into Leela's room and leaned on the door watching her with my arms folded as she was busy fixing herself in the mirror.

"What are you looking at?" She snapped through the mirror at me.

"I'm watching what an idiot Zayaan is to leave such a sexy and gorgeous woman behind and go after a little girl." I said roaming my eyes all over her...good parts.

She let out a short laugh.
"And who are you? His Chaperone?"

"Ouch!" I winced rubbing my chest as I strode in. "Such cold words for me my lady." I took her hand and kissed it locking my eyes with her's. She calmed a little, smirking.

Works everytime!

I stepped forward till I was hovering over her and rubbed a strand of hair between my fingers never taking my eyes of hers.
"You're perfect in every way, hotness." I let my finger tips slip down slowly from her face and down her exposed clevage and curve of her breast all the way down to her bare thighs following with my eyes. Her lips parted as she took a sharp breath. I smirked victoriously.

"You really are something huh?" She whispered.

I snaked my arm around her waist and leaned closer to her ear whispering.
"You have no idea."

I then pushed her to a wall and moved my thumb over her lower lip.
"I'm glad I get to have you all to myself, my sexy goddess. Zayaan is missing out soo much for that dumb girl. Tsk tsk."

She smirked.
"Well, he's wasting his time anyways chasing after that bitch. She'll be dead meat soon."

I froze, but managed to smile.
"What do you even mean, gorgeous?"

She giggled wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Dilshad and his men are after her already... they're going to grab her and chop her the same way you guys did with his son."

"What?!"