A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Forty Two

Rubab's POV:

I couldn't believe my eyes right now. I thought he was sane. Or perhaps a little more reasonable than this. But he was just petty. Very petty.

I should have seen the alarms blaring at my face when he insisted on taking me back to Lahore. He said he had to talk to my parents because he 'missed' them. Like hell he did, this manipulative prick. Once during the trip back, he grinned at me in his typical satanic way and said he would show me his 'sincerity' now. I should have seen it then. I didn't know it would be this way. Or atleast not to this extent.

"Oh, Fahad beeta, yeh tou bohat acha khayaal hai. (This is such a splendid idea.)" I gaped at my mother who smiled at the villain in all his glory. He leaned down to get his head patted by mother. He peeked a glance my way and gave me his most sinister wink. I gulped.

"Lekin ammi, meri baat sunen, meri university ka masla hoga. (But mother, listen to me, I will face problems with my university.)" I protested to which my father clicked his tongue. Whose side was he on?

"Kya masla hoga? Fahad Lahore men hi hoga. Woh apko pick bhi karlega wahan se aur drop bhi, haina beetay? (What problems? Fahad is going to be in Lahore. He can pick and drop you off, right son?)" Ammi replied to which Fahad nodded his head like some puppy.

"Gee auntie, bilkul. Abbu ne kaha hai aik factory Lahore men bhi kholo tou uski tameer menay dekhni hai yahan. (Yes auntie, absolutely. Abbu said that we plan to construct a factory in Lahore so I have to overlook it's construction here.)" My parents seemed satisfied while I just stared between the three of them.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go on, now, start packing. This is for the best, my dearest daughter. Let me know if you need my help." Ammi hugged me and then ushered me to my room. "Come Fahad, let me bring out the custard for you."

I stood in my room, alone and completely shocked. Fahad had somehow convinced my parents to allow me to live with him literally in his penthouse in Lahore. His faulty and suspicious reasoning was that Zohaib was discharged and would try to kidnap me again and so it would be best for all of us if I stayed with Fahad.

In his exact words, he said and I quote, 'As a husband, I promised to protect Rubab when I signed the nikkah nama. This is me fulfilling one of those duties.'

Ammi and abbu were already team Fahad ever since ammi found out that Fahad's mother was ammi's longterm best friend. In their rose coloured lens, Fahad and I were completely in love and this was in our best interest. Plus, we had our nikkah done so it wasn't a problem. Similarly, since Misha was married, ammi was already planning my wedding as well.

Fahad was just speeding up the process beyond control. It was like he was driving 120 km/hr on a 60 km/hr lane.

Fahad entered the room and closed the door behind me. I suddenly felt more conscious but he didn't need to know that.

"You are crazy."

"You are at fault for that, begum." Fahad stood right behind me and placed his head on my shoulder. His entire front touched my back. "I told you, I would show you my sincerity. Here it is. Maybe you shouldn't have had so much fun talking to Sultan at the wedding."

"You are still holding onto that?" I shivered when he nuzzled his face in my neck. It didn't help that I had my hair tied in a bun. "Fahad, you are starting to act like Zohaib and it is scaring me."

"Begum, if I was acting like Zohaib, you would be tied against my bed, heads and feet spread apart. Without any clothes to make sure you can't leave even if you want too." Goose bumps erupted on my entire body at his seductive voice in my ear. "On second thought, that sounds like a pretty darn good idea. What do you say begum?"

I stepped away from him because my cheeks were just about to catch flames from the way he was whispering in my ear and holding onto my waist. He laughed as he sat down on my bed and picked up some medical book that was sitting on my bedside table.

He gave up after a few minutes and grabbed his phone. I could feel his burning stare on me from time to time.

"Be a good girl and pack properly. The penthouse I have bought has the best night time view. It has a floor to ceiling window on one side. I can't wait to press you against it and-"

"Fahad, shut up please." He just grinned while I ignored him as I made my way to the attached bathroom to collect my makeup and skincare products. I was in a state of shock and my brain wasn't truly processing the fact that starting tonight, I was going to be living with Fahad. Literally. In every possible way.

The only solace I had was that for the time being, it was only for a week until the Zohaib issue was resolved. Fahad said he had a plan. The smile that accompanied that statement solidified my resolve to not ask what the plan was in actuality.

I wasn't getting sentimental because I had lived away from family before. Or more like my parents travelled to different cities alot for their job. That plus the fact that it was just 7 days. Still, a week with Fahad. That is 168 hours of us spending time together.

Fahad seemed like he was on cloudnine. He had bought a penthouse to assure us 'privacy' because the farmhouse was often visited by friends. He said he wanted to spend time alone with me. For some reason, that gave off a very ominous vibe.

After a solid 6 hours of overthinking on my items, Fahad messing around with my stuff and not keeping an appropriate distance from ma, I had finally packed a large bag that included all my necessities. Half the stuff was taken by books.

Fahad was particularly interested when I opened my lingerie drawer. He hoovered over me and continued to grin while watching me fold each item until I shoo-ed him away. He was truly shameless.

Once I said my goodbyes to my parents, I was off to Fahad's car. Sohail had gone to the United Kingdom so he was already away. I had texted him the update and he had sent me a dancing cat sticker on whatsapp as acknowledgement. Typical him.

"This will be so fun, begum. I promise." Fahad remarked as he casually placed a hand on my thigh and reversed out of the driveway towards our new home for a week. I was regretting this already.