A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Thirty Seven

Fahad's POV:

Ibraheem's Waleema

"Oh my God, Fahad, it has been so long. How are you?" I winced at her. Her shrill voice almost pierced through my brain. Who was she again? Neha? Or was it Neelum? I really couldn't tell since her face was coated in infinite layers of makeup. Forget makeup. Did she shower in some cheap perfume or something? The scent made me scrunch up my nose. "Tum tou ab parties par atay hi nahi ho. (You don't show up to parties anymore.)"

Is jaisi larkiyon ki waja se hi dil nahi karta anay ko. (Girls like you are the reason why I don't go to parties anymore.) Who invited her to the wedding anyway? I wasn't really in the mood to deal with her. Just where is my begum? Why was she running late? I hate it when she seenzones my messages. I looked at our inbox. Last seen at 7:52 p.m. Damn it, ice queen. It takes less than a minute to send back a reply. 

Sighing, I opened the GPS tracker. Oh? Oh, she is outside. Finally. I can't wait to see how she pulls off the outfit I got her. I had wanted to drive her here but Ibraheem needed me to handle the decorations and preparation. I would have ditched the preparations but Rubab refused the offer as well. She has been acting distant since that cough syrup incident. Is she embarrassed? Or does she regret it or something? Not like that will make a difference. 

And then she entered the venue. I felt a surge of goosebumps as everything blurred around me. The voices around me droned away as I stared at her, forgetting to breath for a minute. Was she really my wife? How could anyone look so beautiful? Allah didn't really hold back when granting Rubab husan. Is there any colour she doesn't look good in? I am glad I chose this colour for her. Ice blue was truly made for the Ice Queen. She slowly scanned the area until her eyes met mine. She smiled softly making my heart stumble. Damn. That is unfair. I want to hug her. 

Her smile disappeared almost immediately as she slowly looked to my left. Why? What was on my left? Did Zohaib or Salman show up or something? I turned to see Neelum or Neha whatever from before caressing my arm with her witch like nails. Uh, shit. Rubab gave me her emotionless look, shook her head as if she was disappointed and then turned away. No, no. This is not what it looks like begum. 

"Where are you looking, Fahad?" That girl tried to follow my eyes as I watched Rubab walking away from me. I could tell she wasn't pleased with me anymore. I could only see her smile for a fraction of a second because of her. Her ice cold glare could freeze the Karachi sea right now. 

"If you touch me again, I swear, I will cut every single one of your fingers and make you chew on them." I replied, barely above a whisper. The event had barely stared and I was already in a bad mood because begum was annoyed. She looked horrified and then scampered away. I know I should be flattered that Rubab is jealous and I am tempted to tease her but she is already ignoring me and it is going to be hard to satisfy her now. Now then, what corner is she sulking in?

Except she wasn't sulking. She looked like she was having the time of her life. I didn't even know she could laugh like that. She covered her mouth as she nodded at something Sultan said. Wait, what? Sultan? What was he doing near her? Did they know each other from before or something? Aren't they standing a little too close? Should I just announce that she is my wife so they can stay the hell away from her? No, she doesn't want that right now. But the scene before me has me thinking otherwise.

I slowly made my way towards her until I was standing right behind her.

"Oh, so you are becoming a doctor? That's real sweet. I plan to open a hospital soon. Can I get your number incase I want advice?" Sultan smoothly added as he offered her his phone which I grabbed just before Rubab could.  

"You can get all the advice you need from Ibraheem. Or I will find you the best advisers since you fuck up every business venture you go for." Sultan seemed taken aback at my hostile response. I gripped the phone tightly to the point that I felt the veins on my arm become visible. "Fahad bhai, ap kab aye? (Fahad bro, when did you come?)"

Rubab hadn't said a word yet but I could tell she was staring at me. About time she turned her attention to her husband. 

"I have been here the entire time but clearly, the two of you were so lost in conversation, you didn't notice." I clenched my jaw. It was weird for me to be this annoyed and triggered. "Looks like you are having fun, huh begum?"

"Begum?" Sultan looked between the two of us and I felt Rubab flinch at the way I had addressed her. "Do you guys know each other?"

"More than you can imagine. Now go, shoo. I have to talk to Rubab. Go help out with the guests." I shooed Sultan away and he slowly tilted his head in confusion before walking away. Once, he was far enough, I turned to look at Rubab. I had to stop my entire being from placing my hands on her waist. "Do you two know each other? You and Sultan?"

"Nope, we met just now. He introduced himself as Ibraheem and Kamran's cousin and then we just started talking." Her eyes were cold but she was talking to me in a normal, monotonous tone.

"Oh? What did you talk about?"

"Weren't you very liberal? Why are you interrogating me?" Rubab countered and I couldn't hold myself back. I took a step towards her and grabbed her wrist as I walked towards a nearby pillar to hide us from the public eye and give us some privacy. Once we were behind the pillar, I pushed her gently against the wall and placed my hands on her waist while resting my head on her shoulder. She smelled heavenly. 

"I am not liberal when it comes to you, begum." I inhaled her scent. The hostility I felt for Sultan dissipating slowly.

"Oh really? Didn't look that way when you let some random girl hog your arm right before my eyes. I genuinely thought you would change, Fahad. I am honestly disappointed at myself for thinking you would change. Fahad Abroo, you truly only make false promises." Rubab sounded bitter and it was justified.

"I have absolutely no interest in the girl. I don't even know her. I got rid of her already." I explained but Rubab just gave me a mocking smile.

"It's okay, Fahad, you can talk to whoever you want. It is not like you are sincere with me in the first place. I am leaving. Our wedding is purely contractual remember? Now, move aside. I have to go meet Misha." For some reason, her words snapped something inside me. She tried to step away but my grip on her waist tightened. I rotated her so that her back was touching my chest. My head slid to the side until my lips touched the nape of her neck.

"Careful with your words, begum. If it wasn't for the setup here, I would have told you exactly how sincere I am to you. I would make sure your body and mind would understand this." My teeth grazed her neck and I felt her shudder beneath me. "Whether it was contractual or not, you are mine now. And nothing is going to change that. I am not going to be overly frank with any girl and neither are you going to be close with another male apart from me. Remember that, alright? We will talk about this in detail after the wedding." 

"Fahad, we are literally at a wedding. Calm down. We will talk about this soon enough so stop whatever you are doing." Rubab wiggled in my hold and I slowly moved away after inhaling her scent.

"Alright. But this isn't the end of our discussion." I kissed the back of her head before finally letting go and twisting her so she was facing me again. I placed my finger under her chin to make her look up at me. Her cheeks were flushed. "Don't try to get back at me, begum, I am not one to take it as it comes. Also, you look absolutely beautiful today. Enough to drive me crazy. Now leave before I change my mind about showing my sincerity."

Rubab rushed away almost immediately. I might not have seen her laugh that way with me yet but seeing her blushing like that was enough to light up my night. Little does she know about what I plan to do, to show her my sincerity.