"Allah ˹even˺ knows the sly glances of the eyes and whatever the hearts conceal." (Al Quran 40:19)
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He tugged at her chin, coercing her to look up at him again.
Slowly, she lifted her gaze and peered at him through hooded eyes. Zargham continued to watch her with the same intense gaze fixated on her face.
All of a sudden, Alif felt an uncomfortable feeling in her chest—lurking somewhere deep, down in the depths of her very existence. She tried to put a name on it, identify it—but was unsuccessful; only knew that it didn't settle quite right with her.
She felt herself gulp, as heat radiated from her skin where his finger made contact with her chin. His touch stimulated within her a hint of recoil in reaction—as if every cell in her body was beseeching her to pull away.
Her lips parted in protest on their own, but before she could make any sound, a loud voice put abrupt halt to her thoughts. Raheela was calling out to one of the servants whilst coming out of the main house and into the courtyard. She hadn't yet witnessed the private moment being shared between the two; but still Alif had pulled away from Zargham with lightning speed, as if caught on fire.
Her face gawking back at him was stunned and flushed with embarrassment. She stood frozen in her place, mouth hanging open in shock at her own reaction. Zargham on the other hand was a picture of calm and serenity. He sat in his place coolly, watching her with the slightest glimmer of amusement; a shadow of smile tugging at the corner of his lips, while mischief danced in his brown orbs.
"I should go see—" She finally managed to say while turning to leave but Zargham caught onto her wrist and held on. Alif looked over her shoulder horrified to find him sitting comfortably in his place with no intention of letting go whatsoever.
"What's the hurry?" He teased with a half grin whereas Alif was visibly panicking. Before she could say more, Raheela called Alif out while stepping into the courtyard. She was still ways away from where they stood and couldn't see them from her standing.
An intense sense of terror gripped Alif as she began wrestling her hand free of Zargham's hold.
By now Raheela was halfway towards them and she was going on about a maid who was supposed to fix Alif's lunch but hadn't done so yet.
"please—" She turned to him and pleaded in a hushed voice, which only managed to earn her a chuckle from him. While her heart was jamming against her ribcage at an alarming pace, Zargham sat there thoroughly enjoying Alif getting worked up. Just as she was about to give up, he dropped hold of her hand.
Alif gawked at him wide eyed in surprise, who was still looking up at her smiling. But now it felt like a mixture of disappointment and hurt.
"Come bache, I'll fix you some snack until then—" Raheela said while coming towards them, capturing Alif's full attention. With a snap, Alif whipped her gaze towards Raheela who hadn't seem to notice what was going on behind the scenes owing to her poor eyesight. It was only by chance that the two weren't caught in a compromising state. Otherwise, Alif didn't know how she could ever for the life of her explain it to anyone.
She was still reeling from the after-effects of their guilty interaction, as she let Raheela tug her along. However, when she glanced over her shoulder, Alif found Zargham had switched to leaning back on the cot with support of one hand only. His measured gaze was fixated on Alif and Alif alone, without an ounce of fear—or regret. Instead, filled with an intense emotion, she had never witnessed before. Yet, it subconsciously willed her to look away abruptly, as blush and heat crept up her cheeks and neck.
