A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Forty

Zoya's POV:

I didn't bite my nails anymore. I had taken therapy to let go of this toxic habit. But right now, with Kamran growling some incoherent words at me and that crazy murderer smiling at me, I felt like ripping the skin right off my fingers to curb my anxiety. The driver was frowning at me through the rear view mirror but fortunately hadn't said anything as of yet.

Going to the hotel room right now is like jumping right into a trap. Knowing Kamran, I know for a fact that he is headed there or atleast has sent his people to the hotel room as well as the airport. I would be walking right into an ambush. I need to lay low for a few hours or days and then bail out. As a lawyer who has done an internship in the criminal court, I had read enough cases of easy murder and kidnapping to know the dos from the don'ts. A major don't was to walk right into a booked hotel room. I had to be one step ahead of Kamran at all times. Kamran and that psycho cousin of his.

Who do I tell this to? I can't tell Misha or Rubab right now. That is equivalent to Ibraheem and Fahad knowing which will eventually trail back to Kamran. I know Kamran is going to coerce them for answers they don't have, even without me saying anything.

I can't tell my cousins. Saad, Danish and Zain would lose their shit and quarantine me in the house or some foreign place. If it was upto Saad, he would just lock me up and go on a killing spree himself. He had never really gotten over the whole fiasco from 14 years ago. The same logic applies to dad and the brothers. Then just who do I tell? Someone who is not related to all of this mess. That eliminates family members and close friends. And then his face flashed for a few seconds in my head. The last time I saw his Instagram story, he was visiting Dou Darya in Karachi like 3 days ago. Should I contact him? Was it worth the risk?

I switched on my phone and scrolled through the contact list. My finger hoovered over the R of his name. I have only known him for like three years but he has been nothing but charming and reliable. He once told me to contact him if I am in any sort of trouble. I don't even know that much about him. What do I do? What could I do? Screw it, this situation couldn't get any worse. Let's do this. I pressed on Rafay's number and placed the phone against my ear. He picked up on the first ring.

"Hey Zo, what's up?" His voice wasn't overly husky but it wasn't shrill either. If I had to describe it, it felt warm and reassuring. If his jawline could slay lives, his voice could save them. What a dilemma this man was. I hadn't noticed before but he was panting slightly. Despite the awful situation, my brain just diverted to the worst possible scenario. Did I catch him at a bad time? As if on cue, he clarified. "I am at the gym."

"Rafay, listen, are you still in Karachi? I kind of need your help. Like right now." Maybe he sensed the urgency in my tone or something, the pants stopped almost immediately and there was absolute silence on his side.

"Yes, I am here for another week." A sense of relief washed over me. I contemplated whether I should go ahead with this. I didn't know him well enough yet to drag him into the endless dramas of my life but I was helpless right now.

"Ya Allah Shukar, send me your address. We need to meet. Asap." A thick raspy laugh escaped his throat which had a calming effect on me. He had very poor communication skills as he was somewhat introverted but this was working out in my favour.

"Always so demanding Zo, but your wish is my command. I will WhatsApp you the address." I thanked him and hung up. The address was fortunately not that far. Twenty minutes without traffic. Twenty minutes with it. This was good. I instructed the driver to change the route and he followed through. Surprisingly, Kamran wasn't on hot pursuit. I had expected him to catch up to us and swerve the car to force us to stop like in the movies but nothing of the sort happened. Maybe it was Rafay's laugh or the fact that I wasn't alone anymore, I felt suddenly more composed. I didn't bite my nails or slam my head in the window mirror. You have come such a long way, Zoya. I should pat my own back. I guess becoming a lawyer steels your nerves to some extent.

I looked up at the dark sky. There was no star in sight but that didn't lower my spirits. I knew that beyond this envelop of darkness, high above in the skies was Allah. He was listening to me. Helping me. When no one else could. He had always been there for me. Even in the darkest days, the most miserable moments, He was there.

Thank you, Ya Rabb. I would be lost without you.

After that prayer of gratitude, I felt better. Calm enough that my irrational side started surfacing again. Should I just grab KFC on my way there? I didn't get to eat the wedding food. Ugh, it looked so good too but nah, that would be stupidity. I am not going on a picnic. I can just order-in with Rafay. Do I perhaps have bipolar disorder? I was depressed and anxious a few minutes ago and now I am hyper again. Given all the screw-ups that happen in my life, I wouldn't be surprised even if I do have it. Damn it, I should have gotten diagnosed by Rubab when she had her psychiatry rotation. Oh well.

While I was conflicted between KFC or Chinese, we had already reached the so called 'location.' And this was not what I had expected to see. Why was Rafay here? At an upscale highly guarded resort like this? Wasn't this an international chain? I had seen adverts of it before. What was that suspicious, introverted man doing here?

Deciding to leave the investigation for later, I had the car moved through the security. Rafay had told me to tell the security that I was his 'guest' and that would be enough to let me pass. Once I told them, the guards saluted and let us in immediately. A man on a fancy bike also guided us to a particular building in the resort that screamed luxury. I have been to fancy hotels so this wasn't a surprise for me. I didn't feel odd or out of place here. What I do feel odd about is what is Rafay doing here? He never clicked me as someone who was into this stuff. I didn't want to sound crude but damn, this was surprising. A good kind of surprise, nevertheless.

The car stopped right infront of the building. It looked very exclusive and was slightly isolated from the rest of the resort. I texted Rafay that I was outside. He told me to wait in the car and that he would come pick me up himself. And so I did. Not five minutes later, he showed up in his gym attire and shit, he looked good. He had gotten leaner in a way but his biceps could easily hold me in a chokehold. His waist was snatched and his shirt was fitted to perfection. His gym bag hung low against his thighs. I remember, half the reason I had befriended him was because of how attractive he was. The years have been very kind to him.

He spotted me almost immediately and jogged to my side. Before I could grab the door, he opened it for me. His eyes fell on my outfit for half a minute before he looked at me again.

"Wow, you look gorgeous, Zo. Wedding?" He waited for me to get out as he gave me a gentle smile.

"You look pretty good too. Can't believe we are seeing each other after two whole months. Time flies huh?" I counter complimented as I got out from the car. The heels were biting into my skin now but I didn't want it to show. I winced a little and for some reason, Rafay noticed.

"Yes, it does fly. Why are you flinching?" He gave me a once over again and then noticed the shoes. "Heels aren't comfortable?"

"Are they ever?" I rolled my eyes.

"Wait, I have my slippers, wear those. They are clean." Before I could protest, he took out his stripped Adidas slippers from the gym duffle bag and placed them before my feet. "Go on, wear them."

This was very typical of Rafay. He was the only brother to four sisters and he was used to treating females like a true gentleman. Always so attentive. I wonder why I never dated him. He waited for me to change and before I could bend down to grab my heels, he grabbed them along with my rhinestone clutch.

"Let's go, we can talk inside." He tilted his head towards the building and started walking towards it.

"Sure but Rafay what are you doing here?" I indicated towards the whole resort. I should really refrain from being so blunt all the time.

"What do you mean?" His eyebrows knit in confusion until it dawned on him and then he smiled. "Oh, my family owns these. Baba sent me to Karachi because there were some operational issues going on in this branch."

It took all of me to hide my surprise and yet I failed. I gaped at him but he just laughed as one guard opened the door to the building and saluted Rafay and well...me.

Author's Note:

Hello and Asalam o Alaikum lovelies,

Long time no see. I hope all of you are well. I have truly missed you all. I have been so caught up with life, I barely get time for a breather but today, I really just wanted to forget everything and write and so I did. Here I am.