Love Obsession {Completed}

Hidden Paths

Faiza was engrossed in her work when she was startled by the sound of her aunt’s footsteps. It had been a week since she last met Fardan, and she needed to get the diary from him. She had been searching for an excuse. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she said to her aunt, "Auntie, I've been so bored at home for the past few days ... I don't have much work to do ... Can I go to the library to get some books?"

"Books? Will you get them for free?" her aunt retorted irritably.

"No, Hadi Bhai gave me some money, so I'll use that," she replied softly.

"How much money did they give you?" her aunt asked, raising an eyebrow.

"5000," Faiza answered honestly.

"Books worth 5000?" her aunt questioned.

"No, they won't cost that much," Faiza replied.

"Fine, keep 500 for yourself and give me the rest. You'll just waste it. If I keep it, it will be used for something worthwhile," her aunt said. Faiza quietly handed over the money and went back to her room.

She was sitting at the bus stop, waiting for Shehri. He was nowhere to be seen. After waiting for half an hour, Shehri finally appeared, making Faiza very happy. Shehri was completely disguised again today. Wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeans, a black cap, a mask, and sunglasses, he looked like he was on a secret mission. Shehri smiled and handed the diary to Faiza, then started to leave without saying anything.

"What's the hurry, Shehri? You seem to be in a rush today," Faiza asked.

"Yes, I have some urgent work to attend to," Shehri replied.

"Okay, then we'll meet next week," Faiza said and sat on the bench, waiting for the bus.

"Can’t we meet daily instead of weekly for the diary exchange?" Shehri asked.

"No, you know I live with my aunt. She doesn't allow me to go out. I came here with great difficulty," Faiza replied.

"You could meet me under the pretense of going to college," Shehri suggested.

"I mentioned in the diary that I can’t go to college," Faiza said, taking a deep breath.

"And I provided a solution for that. If you follow my advice, you'll surely get the chance to meet me daily soon," Shehri said with a smile.

"What did you write?" Faiza asked.

"Read it calmly when you get home," Shehri said just as Faiza's bus arrived. She got up and boarded the bus.

Flashback Ends.

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Faiza and Fardan didn't talk much about their past friendship and went to bed. Faiza spent the night tossing and turning, pondering the conversations between Shehri and Fardan. On the other hand, Fardan noticed Faiza's restlessness and smiled. Soon, sleep enveloped them both, and they drifted into the world of dreams.

At dawn, Faiza woke up, took a bath, performed ablution, and prayed. After praying, she noticed that Fardan was not on the couch. She knew this was his daily routine, so she pushed her thoughts aside and went to Ayesha, who was reciting the Holy Quran. Seeing Ayesha busy, Faiza went down to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast for everyone. Fardan returned home shortly after. For the first time since their marriage, everyone had breakfast together. After breakfast, everyone got ready, and Fardan dropped Faiza and Ayesha off at college on his way to the office.

To avoid being seen getting out of the chairman's car, Ayesha had the car stopped a little distance away. Faiza went into the college first, and Ayesha followed a bit later. This was all done at Faiza's insistence because she didn't want anyone to know about her relationship with Fardan until she completed her degree.

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"Sir, someone is here to see you," a man said to Fardan, who was deep in thought, engrossed in his laptop.

"Excuse me, sir?" the man repeated. Fardan turned his attention to him, and the man spoke again, saying someone was here to see him.

"Yes, let him in," Fardan said in a serious tone.

"Assalamualaikum (refers to greeting in muslim community), sir," the man said, bowing his head in front of Fardan.

"Walekumassalam. Please sit here and tell me what you need, Baba (A word used for older people of one's father's age to give them respect)," Fardan replied politely, surprising everyone with his respectful demeanor.

They were in Fardan's secret hideout. At least 50 men were present, ready to act on Fardan's command. Fardan was there to punish one of his men for a crime. He had around 20 secret hideouts in the city, where he conducted his illicit activities, such as murder or inflicting severe pain. Betrayal and theft were two crimes Fardan despised the most, and one of his men had stolen 20,000. Fardan had cut off the thief’s hand. If the man had asked, Fardan would have given him 2 million, but committing such a crime was unforgivable in Fardan's court.

"Sir, you know I am a poor man and don't have much. I’ve survived on the kindness of people like you, but after much hard work, I bought a piece of land in my old age, which my wife and I intended to rely on in our retirement. But a greedy man tricked us into signing over the papers, taking the land without paying us. Now we are destitute, sir. Please help us get our land back. I will be forever indebted to you," the old man said, weeping and trying to touch Fardan’s feet. Fardan quickly pulled his feet away and helped the old man up, saying, "Baba, please, there's no need to touch my feet. Just give me your command. I am your son."

Fardan struggled to control his anger but managed to ask calmly, "Just tell me the name of the person who dared to do this. I will meet him right away."

"Sir, I don't know his name, but I know his son's name. His son's name is Shamsher Sikander," the old man replied.

"Shamsher Sikander!!" Fardan thought to himself as he started making a phone call.

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