Fariya Shafiq's life seems to have become a series of unfortunate events after a life riveting accident that took everything from her, leaving her painted with scars, quite literally.
She struggles to find herself everyday, to find even a trace of h...
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The white sedan screeched to a halt in front of a brown gate to a simple two-storey house.
Fariya's soft, quiet whimpers died down into sniffles as she didn't look up from her folded hands even once. Shehryar side-eyed her, overcome with this insane urge to take her in his arms and soothe her until her beautiful smile was back.
But he clenched his hands into fists to stop them from slipping over hers, and decided to give her time. It was okay if she wanted to cry when she had to leave her mother, her home. And she was most certainly missing her father, too.
Fariya sat in the seat silently, knowing that they'd reached home, but not quite having the energy to get out just yet. She didn't trust her legs to keep her upright and allow her to walk in this moment.
Shehryar, noticing the vivid turmoil on her face, got out of the car and came to her side to open her door. He bent down and gently peered at her with a smile, enough to take some weight off her chest.
She had left her home but at least she was with a man she trusted. A man who was her husband now. Oddly enough, that idea didn't scare her as much as she thought it would've. She liked it, being his wife, even if all she had done was weep ever since she signed the papers. But it wasn't because of him.
He made her happy, that's why they were here today as husband and wife.
Shehryar held out his hand for her, and she stared at it, chewing at her lips. "You don't need an excuse to hold my hand now, Fariya." He said, a hint of tease in his tone. She couldn't help but smile as she scooted closer to the edge of the seat and slipped her hand in his warm one, letting her help her out of the car. He thanked the driver before the man drove off with the car.
Fariya's hand tightened into a death grip around his, trying her best to stay upright on her wobbly legs. Taking note of this, too, he held out his arm for her and put her hands around it, grateful for the help.
He inserted the key into the lock on the gate and closed it behind them before curling his hand over hers on his arm to offer more support as they walked up the two front steps on the door and he unlocked it, quickly turning on the lights as they entered their new home— a place unfamiliar to both of them.
Shehryar, obviously, had seen around the place and made it livable with the fridge stocked and all necessary utensils bought and put away for future use. All his belongings had been shifted here too, since he'd brought most of his things to Pakistan with him because he'd known he would be staying here. But, just like her, he'd be spending his first night in the house today.
Her breath hitched when he led them toward the staircase, easily made of at least twenty steps.
"Stairs?" She asked, swallowing the lump in her throat. She could barely walk right now as it was, going up these stairs would take far too long.
"Our room's upstairs... Oh, shoot!" He pinched the bridge of his nose at the realization of his extremely dumb and insensitive mistake. "I'll make sure to change the rooms. We can shift to the one downstairs until—" he paused, searching for the right words. "Until its convenient for you."
Fariya nodded, feeling slightly embarrassed but held her head up high. She wasn't an inconvenience, not to him, and she wanted to believe it with all of her.
"As for now, we can go slow." He said, taking the first step and helping her up. But as she stepped up, mischief lit up inside of him as a lazy smile formed on her lips. "Or, I can carry you, if you allow me to."
Her eyes widened once she processed his words and nearly stumbled at the image that formed in her head at his offer. Her mouth opened and closed, finding a way to answer.
Shehryar chuckled silently, patting hr hand on his arm. "Relax, I'm just kidding. But, I'd do it, if you want me to."
Fariya's cheeks tinged a bright red and she ducked her head, hiding the blush. "No, I'm okay."
So, arm-in-arm, the two of them made their way up the stairs and he pushed the door to their now temporary room, revealing a king size bed in the center, a dark wooden closet behind the door, a dresser right across from the bed, a window on the opposite wall of the door and another door beside the dresser which was the en-suite bathroom. The two other rooms in the house had a similar layout and were the same in size but were left empty for now.
He sat her down on the bed and proceeded to unbutton and remove his waistcoat. She watched him, seeing him in a new light now, as her eyes shamelessly raked over him and the way his arms and back rippled from the movement. He tossed the waistcoat on the bed and sat down, letting out a 'haye'under his breath.
"Now what, begum ji?" He asked her, propping his chin on his hand as he stared at her, too enthralled by the beauty sitting in front of him, who'd become his a few hours ago.
As he remembered something, he jolted up straight on the bed and flung open the drawer of his nightstand, pulling out a sleek black velvet box, the length of his hand.
His hand twitched by his side once again, eager to reach over and tip her chin up so she would look at him. But instead, he held the box out in front of her, under her bowed head, urging her to look up at him herself.
"What's this?" She inquired, eyeing the box curiously. When she didn't make a move to take it from his hand, he opened it, revealing an elegant bracelet resting on the black cushion inside. Lined with small diamonds was the band and in the center was a small rose, also encrusted with diamonds.
Fariya gasped at the sight of the jewelry that looked like it worth so much. Too much. "Shehryar, I can't—" she started to object but was immediately silenced when he grabbed her hand and pulled it toward him, peering up at her through his lashes.
"Pehnadun?" Realizing he wasn't going to relent, she sighed and nodded with a smile.
He picked the delicate piece from its box, placed it over her slender wrist, and turned it to clasp the hook together. Fariya looked away, catching sight of the scar on the back of her head, but another gasp slipped out of her parted lips as she felt him kiss the back of her hand before setting it back down in her lap.
"So, pizza for dinner?" He suggested with a crooked smile, leaning back on his hands on the bed, but her heart thumped against her ribcage, blood rushing to her face.
She shook her head, about to speak again and reject the idea, but he best her to it again. "Don't think I didn't notice you not to eating earlier." He pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest as he stood above her. She suddenly felt like a child getting scolded, and struggled to hold back the smile that was threatening to break free at that thought. He narrowed his eyes at her mouth.
He wanted to... kiss her.
Shehryar forced himself to look back up at her eyes, inwardly shaking his head to push away those thoughts.
"So, miss, either you'll eat by yourself, or I'll be left with no choice but to feed you myself." He teased her, turning around to head out of the room.
She bit her lip as she spoke. "Correction: missus."
