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T

he sun had just started it's ascend on the sky, the thin rays of it's light had stated beaming on the glorious water of Bosporus and the sound of seagulls had taken over the silence silence of the night before.

She wasn't too sure if she should go or not but her mind had told her that it was for the best that she did, it was after all her annual office dinner and she had to be there. The company had new employees to welcome and new partners to meet, it was obvious the boss needed to be there.

She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes as the salt air did wonders to calm her throbbing head, the visions of her past had taken over heat another peaceful night and sleep had abandoned her to deal with them on her own.

She often wondered why she was putting up a fight and why her life even had a purpose but then she remembered all that she had fought for, all the people she needed to protect inorder to repent for her mistakes.

She traced the healed scar on her left cheek that ran down the line of her jaw nearly reaching her jugular vein and a chill ran down her spine at the memory. Zoya often wondered is she was wasting her money on therapy since she had to plans on letting her trauma go, in the past decade or so she had jumped from one therapist to the other, once for her mother's death, next for the revelation that she was adopted, next for the fact her baba had died a horrible death because of her foolish attempt at revenge and now to deal with the trauma of her months in that dark and disgusting dungeon.

Arbaz used to visit, he paid her some attention when he thought he wanted to see how he had ruined the woman who had rebelled against him. He was challenged with the kind of challenges she never understood.

A bitter laugh ripped past her lips followed by a wince as the pain in her head struck her like a sledge hammer, her eyes closed shut to let this wave of pain pass by before opening them to witness the weather changing, it grew humid and weirdly suffocating compared to the pleasant breeze that was blowing just a moment ago.

"Rain. Again" she heaved pushing the trip down memory lane for some other day as of today she had her hair to take care of.

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"I can't believe you got in" Ahmer exhaled in disbelief as he saw the invitation laying on Zahan's desk, eye wide and mouth hung open, his eyes darted from the card to Zahan's smug expression as the younger lad tried to exaggerate his shock.

"Well.. what can I say? If you're skilled, who wouldn't want you?" Zahan spoke in a voice too soft for his outer physique, Ahmer wondered if he was actually as intimidating as he had once thought of him.

Shaking his head Ahmer straightened his jacket and cleared his throat before picking up his iPad to get back to work, out of the both of them he needed to be on at least one of their good side and Zoya was no longer an option. For obvious reasons.

He sometimes wondered if Zoya picked the name wraith for herself or someone just chose to call her that, he had known her for nine-ish something years and she had never once entertained the idea of nicknames let alone her killer profile name.

That woman scared him to his core, she was nice but only to people she liked and he surely wasn't one of them. A shuddered ran through his body and started reciting the schedule to his boss Incase he started shaking like a wet dog.

Ahmer was a pigeon living with his eyes closed thinking that Zoya won't find out he outed her but he knew that she knew. There was no way she'd let him live for that long.

"Ahmer" someone yelled and the man jumped, nearly dropping his iPad, his eyes met his boss's and he raised his eyebrows before he could speak.

"Your phones ringing" Zahan beat him to the point and ahmer took his phone out of his pocket, he paled.

Placing the iPad on the desk Ahmer made a beeline for the door and Zahan narrowed his eyes at his assistance, the boy was really struggling to hold himself together but who was he to intervene. It Ahmer's personal matter after all.

A hint of a smile pulled at Zahan's lips as he was once again reminded of hamza, Ahmer was as goofy and idiotic like hamza and that was one of the reasons why Zahan kept him despite his inability to hold an eye contact and to speak without stuttering.

Zahan didn't have higher hope but when Talia contacted him to remind him of the coffee he had pending he had gone to meet her, it was then that he was presented the invitation card and his face had been an image of surprise as the girl started giggling. A shy smile took over his own lips as he accepted the cars while scratching the back of his neck.

"Sir Ahmed told me to invite you, after all it's a big day for you" she said with joyful nod of her head. She had a chubby face, her eyes were small and a warm shade of brown, they disappeared when she smiled.

"I'm guessing i have chance of getting accepted" i spoke re-reading the names on the card before I put it aside to focus my eyes back on the girl before me.

With the way I wanted to go home and sleep was startling based on how these interactions are necessary for me to grown in this country. I need to meet new people and make contacts and that's exactly what I've been doing for the past seven years.

Khan corporation may have been a huge name in Pakistan but here I had to start a new like this is my first time doing business, Chacho and baba made it look so easy when they launched their company, i could only stare that amount of work I had to do now as the boss.

The job wasn't all air conditioned rooms and signing papers, you had to read and re-read them before even thinking of putting a seal on the deal, you had to make sure your employees were well paid and to deal with clients that knew little to know manners.

The starting had me questioning my whole existence at how different the world here was from back home.

I stopped myself from yawning as the lack of sleep caught onto me and left me wondering that i was the same man who could go days without proper sleep but now I couldn't feel my body any longer. I was an inch away from dozing off.

"— oh god" i snapped out of my open eyes sleeping state when Talia shrieked looking at her phone, the rosy faced girl paled and started breathing heavily as she met my eyes with panic clear in them.

"Is everything okay?" I asked watching her phone shaking in her shivering hands.

"I didn't realize that time, I'm almost an hour late to work" she gasped the moment her phone started ringing and nearly threw the phone across the table.

"She's going to kill me" she whispered gathering her things, half of them falling out of her grasp because of her frantic movements.

"God how can I not know the time? It'll take me ages to get there" it was in this moment that i realized I was no longer a part of this conversation and that she had forgotten that i was even there.

"It's okay, I'll drop you off" i said hi doing my hand out to stop her from tumbling the table over —she honestly wouldn't have but I have no other way to describe how she was moving all the place in better ways— and to make her look up from her purse.

"No— I mean you don't have to" she was stammering and I could only assume that her boss was about to behead her or something gruesome like that.

"I insist" i said getting up and picking up my office bag and the invitation from the table following her to the car.

"The bill" I chocked on my breath as I remembered we hadn't even paid, the waiter was right behind me as I turned around and before he could burst in anger i apologized.

"I'm really sorry, i forgot in a hurry" i said with an apologetic smile but he wasn't having it.

"If i hadn't caught you you would've ran out, i know the likes of you well" he snorted sarcastically and I kept the eye roll to my self.

"What took you so long?" Talia asked as I unlocked the door.

"We forgot to pay the bill" i said and she bit her tongue.

"I'm so sorry, uh… how much was it I'll pay you my half" she said taking her wallet out while I backed out of the parking lot.

"It's okay. It wasn't a lot. I got this" i smiled and she turned red from embarrassment.

We soon reached the building where she worked and my heart raced with every step i got closer to it. The place was intimidating and I couldn't take the noose off from around my neck that this place isn't all that i think it is.

"Thank you Mr.Zahan, thank you very much" she said getting off the car and running inside.

"You're wel— Talia" i called behind her realizing she left her wallet on the floor of my car.

"Am I her babysitter?" I sighed stepping out to follow her.

"Ms.Talia" i yelled for her while trying catch up with.

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"Officer Burak wants to meet you"

"Why?" I asked looking out of my window at the hysteric figures trying to make it to their destinations. I didn't realize I was running a dating bureau.

"Atlas's wife has filed a complaint against you for his death, Burak is not being able to hold her off for long, she has contacts—" he spoke again as he was the president.

"Hendrik I appreciate the concern you've shown for my business but it's time we move on from the topic of the man who was after my life" . My voice sounds foreign and I like it, no more squeaky high tones to fake to make it seem as if I enjoy life too much. I like it when I'm here with people who don't deserve respect, people who can see who I really am, people who fear the person I've become.

Hendrik was a man of cheap tricks and a knack for stalking government officials. He loved his family and promised his life to me in exchange for their safety, though later he caught a hang of it and stayed past his contract. No one has been able to suspect a mediocre looking man in his forties to have high contacts especially if he lived in a barely held together house in the suburbs.

“Maam i—”

“It's getting late and I have an event to attend in the evening. It was nice talking to you Hendrick, I'll see what to do with the handless man." I couldn't hear what he had said because what I saw on my table took all my attention.

Khan Builders.

He's finally reaching the higher crowd.
Im working on something big, pray that i succeed.

You will.

Now that you've said it, I'll surely make it.

I chuckled at the thought of him working day and night for this company to hit the market and make it big. Baba believed in him and so did everyone else but most of all he believed in himself. He made it.
It took me some time to get over how much he has grown even though I've seen him build it up from scratch, which takes me back to the point where Ahmer has gone off the grid.

“Talia” I called upon walking out of my cabin when no reply came from her desk phone. She wasn't there and I took a deep breath. Lunch break was over an hour ago and she's still not back.

“Are you leaving miss mahtab?” the receptionist asked as i walked past her adjusting my blue coat on my shoulders, i pulled my hair out from under it and adjusted the strap of my handbag on as well.

“Yes, if Talia comes in tell her to have a word with me first thing in the morning tomorrow” i said and nodded at her as a goodbye, the day was still bright and lively but the past nights that i had spent working endlessly on my coming project i couldn't focus anymore. Back in my day I used to go weeks without proper sleep and look at me now, I can't stay up for more than two nights in a row.

I scoffed as the energy from my body drained with every step I took and my will to not wait till I go home increased, I can't drive like this.

The weather was good today, as cold as ever and all i wanted now was to get in bed and sleep but who was i kidding i had so much to do. Like meeting hameen in a cafe near his house for his weekly rant days that his parents could no longer handle and then to visit the shelter home to see how the kids have eaten zarya's brain out, it was fun thing to watch an adult gape at a five year old for asking her a question she would've never even thought of but first i need to wake up so hameen doesn't end up  canceling his subscription  to this weekly meeting.

The moment the elevator doors opened i was met with a panting Talia, her neck was sweaty and her hair was a mess. Behind her was the man who owned Khan builders, sweating and huffing.

"Ma— ma'am" her voice was gone as soon as her eyes met mine, i took in a deep breath and looked at the man behind her. Our eyes met and the anger in my veins slowed down, I hate that it did.

I could feel my heart coming to a slow rhythm as the man stopped any movement at all and stared at me with indifference. The kind that you force to let go of someone who stabbed you in your back. His jaw clenched and he cleared his throat while looking away abruptly, his hand wrapped around Talia's wrist and he turned her around forcefully shoving something in her hand and leaving.

He turned around to look me in the eye once and then stomped away.

He found out.

Didn't he.

Ahmer. He messed up.

Didn't he.

Assalamualaikum guys, hoe are you all?

Nothing much just dropping by to deliver something 🙂.

I hope this find you well, hehe (⁠ ⁠；⁠∀⁠；⁠)...

Love,
Hafsa Tahir