DECEPTION

11

TW: Harassment

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At Marjan's office, Abdullah knocked and entered,

"This arrived for you."

She didn't have to open the letter to know that it contained an order from the Police Headquarters, the emblem printed on the top right corner spoke for itself.

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"What are you doing here, Zaraar?" Manar asked when he barged into the recording room.

"What do you want, Zaraar?" Manar asked, again visibly displeased at his intrusion into the room without any regard for her work or personal space.

Ignoring her question, Asraar continued to approach her until she was backed up against the wall with him towering over her.

"It's Asraar," he corrected her, and her eyes were drawn to the tiny mole on the bridge of his nose, which Zaraar did not have.

"Everyone, out!" Asraar bellowed, causing her to flinch. People quickly dispersed, leaving her alone with him. Manar's heart was pounding in her chest like a drum, she couldn't shake off the feeling of being trapped as Asraar loomed over her.

"Where's your recorder?" he demanded, his voice laced with fury.

Manar's mind raced as she looked around the room, noticing the mirror in the corner that revealed someone might be watching them. She tried to push past him, but he held her in place, his grip tight on her hands.

"You're humiliating me," she managed to choke out, meeting his dark gaze.

"This is nothing," he said, pressing her further into the corner with his body.

As he invaded her personal space, Manar's breath caught in her throat. She would have slapped him if he hadn't been holding her hands captive above her head.
She felt the heat of his body against hers, and felt a twinge of desire, even though she knew she shouldn't.

"You're hurting me," she gasped out, trying to pull away from him but Asraar only squeezed her hands tighter, a smug smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Don't even think about it," he warned her, his eyes glinting dangerously as she raised her knee in an attempt to hit him in the groin. The heat from his hand seeped into her thigh where he held her, exerting a tight squeeze as a warning.

Manar gritted her teeth. "What do you want?" she demanded, her voice shaking with rage.

"You made a grave mistake by going after my brother, Manar," Asraar said, his voice low and menacing.

"The girl is dead. Your brother is a murderer and a cheat," she spat out, her eyes flashing with anger.

Asraar only leaned in closer, his warm breath tickling her ear. "You've been misinformed, Manar. I was with Gulbahar that night, and many other nights before that," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "But let me make one very thing clear, while I may have been with Gulbahar that night, I am not capable of murder. So your accusations against my brother are not only baseless but also unfounded."

Manar felt her heart sink as his words sunk in. She had been convinced of Zarrar's guilt all this time, thinking that he was tainted by association due to his brother's reputation as a liar and cheater. She had even gone so far as to suspect him of murder. But now, as Asraar spoke, she realized that she had been wrong all along.