The waiter placed the Chow mein on our table. "She's amazing," he continued. I smiled at the affection in his voice. "You already know how I met Hania. It was at Farishtas wedding"

"Ah, weddings, our version of Tinder," I replied dipping the dumpling into the sauce. The restaurant buzzed with activity as people sat and conversed over dinner. We were seated at the back of the hall with two of our guards having dinner at the table next to us.

Rania walked in and sat next to me. Her guard joined the other two at their table.

"Please, go ahead and make yourself comfortable. Do you have any more calls left to answer?" I said shaking my head and unwinding the scarf around my neck. Rania stuck her tongue out at me as Izzy laughed.

"So, she walked in wearing this beautiful blue dress, her hair up in a bun and decided to tell me off for trying to sneak the groom out of the wedding"
"You were doing what?", Rania and I said at the same time.

He waved his hand to dismiss our indignant tone. "Mark my words, if it wasn't for the baby, they'd be broken up by now. Farishta should thank Hania for making sure that her wedding actually went through. Anyways, so I tracked her down through some mutual friends. They threw a party, which I had to pay for. I bribed several people to make sure she came", I laughed at his tone.
"So you were serious about her from the get-go?", I asked running my fingers through my hair to massage my skull. The time difference was giving me a headache. Izhaan rolled his eyes.

"When you know, you know. I apologized and introduced myself and the rest, as they say, was history"
"But that's how you met... what is she like?",
"She's amazing. She's kind and generous. You'll
love her. She's feisty too." He ducked his head, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.
"I'm sure I will. How did Ammi Jaan react to the news you'd chosen your own bride? So modern, so untraditional. Did you create a scandal that was big enough to cover mine?", Ranua coughed to hide her discomfort at the question. Izhaan gave me a strange look.

"Well, she's the only daughter of the head of the shipping and ports union, so no. I'm afraid you're still the black sheep of the family",
"That explains a lot. At least you fell for someone you could have and not ruin the family name at the same time"
"Rania's on the same path. Did she tell you about Hassan's brother? The designer? Apparently Hussain is the contractor for the new orphanage"
"You what? When did this happen?", I asked turning around to glare at her. Rania gave me a frustrated look.

"Nothing has happened. We're just friends" she answered stuffing food into her mouth. Izzy let out a short laugh.
"Friend. Some friend who decided to build the orphanage out of the goodness of his heart"

I looked at Rania. She stuck out her tongue at Izzy. "He's using it as a tax write off and we get to use our money on the important things, like the welfare of the kids who'll stay there?" She answered. Izzy shook his head and went back to his food.

"How close are the two of you?" I asked her.
"That was his call. He's arriving the day before the wedding"
"So I get to meet this man? Wait how old is he?"
"He's 28 years old"
"And his brother? The designer?"
"24"
" I didn't expect them to be so young."
"They're from his second wife...the first one has a son and two daughters"
"Oh boy. So you get the middle child?"
"I don't get him. We met at an event and became friends, that's all" she hissed stealing a dumpling from my plate.
"If you say so" Izzy muttered just before his phone rang. He excused himself and got up to take his call.

"Rania, Feroze is coming to the wedding. Did you know that?" I whispered to her as we both watched Izzy's guard walk towards him. Rania squeaked in surprise.
"What! No! Why? How dare he! That slimeball..." I breathed a sigh of relief. At least my sister was on my side.
"What do we do? Ammi is adamant that this is my chance to step up. I can't do that if he's here! I can't face him, Rania, I just can't!"

Rania took my face in her hands. Her eyes peered into mine as she tried to calm me down.

"Breathe Eli, breathe. Whatever he did to you that night? It's all over. Dad and Uncle EJ made sure of that. You have just as much power over him. He can not hurt you. You have to get this in your head" I nodded. She was right. I could ruin him. This was my home. This was my best friend's wedding.
"He has a son" I whispered.
"He can have a billion kids. He is a liar and a cheat. You're better off without him"
" I know, I know..."
"Besides Uncle EJ will know what to do. He'll be here tomorrow. Look at yourself Eli. You're successful and free. So much more than any of us. Why does Feroze affect you this way?"
"Because he reminds me of when I wasn't any of that"

Rania gave me a hard look and opened her mouth to reply but stopped when Izzy dropped back into his seat.

"So what did I miss?" he asked picking up his chopsticks.
"Eli was telling me about the hot Major she ran into today"
" Ugh, was it Uncle Azhar's son?"
"Not ugh, Zaroon is hot isn't he Eli?" I rolled my eyes at that. The guy was stone cold and full of himself.
"He seemed like a jerk" I stated, taking a sip from my glass. "I'm glad I won't have to see him ever again. Thirty minutes was more than enough time to make me realize that he was a boring sensible person"

Both Rania and Izzy laughed at that.
"He didn't recognize you at all?" Izzy asked amusement shining in his eyes.
"No, he thought I was a maid. He asked if I worked there and I said yes" Rania giggled.
"He's from around here. He's worked with Uncle EJ and Uncle told me he has some deep connection to this city" That explained why Ammi Jaan trusted him.

Later that night, I lay in bed thinking of all the ways I could avoid Feroze. A part of me relished the opportunity to show him who I was, that I was more than just my family name but I knew what would happen. He would find a way to undermine me. No amount of training could prepare me for dealing with that snake. Uncle EJ was the only person who could get me out of this mess. I would have to deal with Feroze at some point in my life.

"What's going on? Why did you send me a file detailing the fall in exports and the lack of taxes? I know we're not generating enough revenue" Ammi Jaan gave me a pained look. It was 8 in the morning and I was not up for any sort of conversation.

My mother had sent Alia with a file and orders to wake me up at 6:30. An hour later I was told I was to join her for breakfast.

Ammi Jaan sighed and picked up an apple. "It's not looking good. There are a lot of things that are interconnected. It's never black and white, but when people don't have food to eat and money to spend, things can spiral out of control pretty fast. We need damage control"

"You need damage control. I need to sleep. Just wait for the elections to be done so we can have a new budget. It's hardly a new problem"

"He's made quite an impression you know. Young, handsome, charismatic. A media darling. The new face of politics"

"Who has?" As my heart constricted from fear as Ammi Jaan turned her phone screen towards me. There he was with his arm around his wife and their son smiling towards the camera. The image of a perfect family.

"He wanted Rania to run his campaign but she declined, saying she was busy with the orphanage," Ammi Jaan said watching my reaction very carefully.
"She should not have declined. It was a good opportunity"
"That's what I said, but she doesn't like him",
"He seems to have won over most of the political elite. He seems to be very popular amongst the masses too" I said carefully, placing my cup of tea back on the table and focusing on keeping a blank face.
"The people wanted someone new. He's just that, someone new",
"Someone new does not translate to someone good", I muttered.

"He's a distant relative. He'll be more receptive to our city and our people. Feroze being elected is the best we could have hoped for. Think about it, a distant relative on the most powerful seat in the country? After all those years, our family would be back at the top"

"And what about the people? He's young and reckless. He'll mess this up"
"It's not your problem though, is it? You don't like this system or this game. You'll be gone next week" I shut up at that. There was a knock at the door and Andaleeb poked her head into the room.

"Major Zaroon is expecting you Bari Begum Sahiba," Ugh, that man, again?

"Wonder what he wants now," Ammi Jaan muttered getting up to go to the main sitting area.

I huffed and decided to go to my room. Izzy and Hania were to be here in an hour and I had to get ready to meet her.

A knock sounded on the door as I adjusted my necklace and rechecked my make up.
"Come in," I said turning around to see who it was. Izzy walked in with a big grin on his face.
"You look lovely," he said placing my hand on the crook of his arm.
"You don't look too bad yourself," I said hitting him on the arm. He was dressed in his casual wear. Khaki pants, white dress shirt, and a blue coat. He chuckled running his hand through his curly brown hair.

"I try my best. Hania's downstairs" I nodded as we walked towards the main hall.
"Has she been offered any refreshments?" I asked as we turned to walk down the staircase.
"I hope so. But she's avoiding eating anything till we get to the caterers"
"Wise choice"

"Hania! My dear! You look lovely. All ready for the wedding? How's your father?" I gave Izzy an exasperated look. It seemed like my mother had ambushed the bride to be. We increased our speed and entered the main sitting room to find five people clustered there.
"Uncle EJ", I exclaimed running towards him to give him a hug.
"Elena, how are you? You look stunning! Look at her Noor, she's radiant" I smiled and rolled my eyes. My mother laughed and nodded to show her agreement.
"Always the charmer" I replied, "We need to talk", I muttered in his ear as I stepped away. He gave me a small nod to show he had heard my whisper. Uncle EJ looked older than his years. He was dressed impeccably, but he looked tired and wary. Izzy moved forward to warmly shake Uncle EJ's hand.

I moved back to give him some space and looked at the other two occupants. Apparently, Major Zaroon loved having long meetings. He was talking to my mother and looked even more urgent and stern. The other person was a petite woman with a round face and kind eyes. Her brown hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Hania gave me a small, but warm smile. I smiled in return.

Izzy came up behind me and placed his hand on the small of my back.
"Eli, please allow me to introduce to you, my fiancée, Hania"
"It's lovely to meet you Hania. I've heard so much about you" I said giving her a brief hug.
"And I've heard so much about you! Izzy cannot stop talking about you and Rania" her voice was soft and pleasant. I laughed lightly giving Izzy a fond look.
"She's exaggerating", Izzy muttered moving to stand beside her.

My heart pinged. This was it. He was the first one of us leaving the nest. Izzy and Hania made a lovely couple and were definitely in love, but his switch from my side left me feeling lonely. Ever since I'd been conscious Izzy had been by my side. My constant support. My anchor. Now he was to become someone else's anchor and support. I forced a smile on my lips and rearranged my stature.

I looked around to see Uncle EJ conversing with my mother with Major Zaroon standing a few feet away from them. And he was looking at me.
"Captain", I said inclining my head. He visibly bristled at the title and my mouth curved into a genuine smile.
"Begum Sahib" he answered not lowering his head. Tit for tat. Major had some nerve.
"Izzy? Hania? Shall we leave? We wouldn't want to be late", I said glaring at the Major and moving towards the door. They said their goodbyes and I walked out without a backward glance.

****************************************************************************************

Uncle EJ

Hania