REEM : Ishq ya Junoon?

"Khair... aisi bhi kya baat ho gayi? It ghussa kyun karne lag jaate ho tum?" I teased him, turning around at the edge of the huge table.

His jaw remained clenched, eyes furious as he hissed low under his breath, "Wapis. Karo. Tumhe pata hai mujhe dohraana pasand nahi."

My smile was pure evil. "Dohraana toh mujhe bhi pasand nahi-" I leaned over, whispering in finalty, "Nahi. Wapis. Karoongi."

His teeth gritted and before I could process I was pressed against the wood of the table. My fingers trembled before I tightened my hold around the edge of the journal.

His hand roamed, audacious, my breath catching when his calloused fingers brushed my bare waist, slipping past the the fabric of my pallu. My pulse hammered, eyes shutting as a sharp gasp left me.

He bit my earlobe, voice a husky murmur, "Is khel ka maahir mai hoon, Vardah."

My breath hitched and when I looked up, he was gone.

Idiot. Asshole.

But even as I cursed him, my cheeks burnt a traitorous shade of crimson.

. . .

Reem Vardah Kazi was the seal to a pact between two families. The bonds were old, momentarily broken, and were now being mended.

And what better than a wedding?

She's married off to the very man the city fears-Zarrar Asad Mallik. He's a man of numbers. Power and control.

And she walks in expecting anything but a burning passion. She hates, yet loves the way her husband looks at her. Not as a liability or a responsibility, but someone he claims that belongs to him.

Her ishq.

His Junoon.

And when fire and storm collide, the consequences are never soft.

It's disastrous, messy, intense.

But at the end, it's them.

. . .

"Jab ishq junoon hadd se badh jaaye,
Haste haste aashiq sooli chadh jaaye.

Jab ishq ka jaadoo sar chaddh kar bole,
Khoob lagalo pehre raste rab khole."

A tear slipped down her eyes, and she whisper-sang back, "tune kya kar daala mar gayi mai, mitt gayi mai, ho ji, han ji, ho gayi mai... Teri deewani. deewani."