"You walked into the lion's den, sweetheart," he whispered, stepping closer. "And lions don't let go so easily."
He looked down at her leg, at her trembling hands, and the fear in her eyes.
"A beautiful young girl like you," he chuckled, "shouldn't...
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I fluttered my eyes open to the bright ceiling lights of the hospital. The sheets felt cold against my legs and I could feel something weird, like a dull ache, deep between my thighs — a heaviness that told me enough. My face turned red, even in the emptiness of the room. God, did we really…? But more than that, what disturbed me was the emptiness around. Sultan wasn’t there. His side of the bed was cold. My fingers clutched the blanket and a sudden panic crawled up my spine. It was just me, alone in this big sterile room with the beeping machines and that irritating smell of antiseptic. Where did he go? My brain instantly started imagining things — maybe he collapsed somewhere, maybe something went wrong with his wound, maybe someone attacked him. My body didn’t wait. I threw the blanket off and dashed barefoot into the corridor,wiping my face with the back of my hand. Nurses were giving me strange looks, but I couldn’t stop. I needed to find him.
And then I saw him. That familiar tall frame, that lazy posture, the bandage peeking out from the side of his shirt. Standing near the corridor end, laughing with Zubair and Baseer like nothing happened. I didn’t even think — I just ran and clung to his back, arms wrapping tight around him.
“Sultanji… you idiot!” I sobbed.
He jerked a bit in surprise and turned slowly to look at me, clearly confused.
“What are you doing out of bed? You should be resting,” I cried, slapping his arm weakly.
He blinked at me like I was the mad one. “I just came out to get some fresh air, amore.”
But I wasn’t listening. My heart was beating so loud, I could hear it in my ears. And now that I was looking at him properly… he was staring at me strangely. Like I had two heads or something. Then I saw Zubair and Baseer looking at me the exact same way — like I’d grown horns.
“What?” I sniffled. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
I suddenly felt like a dwarf. I mean literally. These three were built like human walls, and I was standing in the middle of them with tears on my cheeks and puffy eyes.
“Nothing,” he said smiling finally, eyes glinting. “Just wondering… you were that worried when you didn’t find me?”
“You’re injured, Sultan. You’re not supposed to stroll around.”
