23. It feels suffocating

*****

The special commando force departed without a second thought on the command of Major Mathur. Hafeez was left behind by Marwan to take care of his family in his absence, knowing well that Waheed might be busy coddling his business empire.

The shrill sound of the phone brought Madiha back from her worry-filled thoughts. Stopping midway through her spinach chopping, she wiped her hands in the nearby towel and took hold of her phone. Her eyes widened in surprise on seeing the name of her husband glistening proudly as the caller and she didn't waste a moment before sliding the green button.

"Assalamu alaikum."

She greeted him with a small smile. The gruff voice from the other side replied and silence stretched between the two for a few seconds. If possible, Madiha's smile widened even more upon realising what the call could potentially be about and she tried her best to keep a casual tone.

"Has he left?"

"Ji, kuch ghante pehle hi nikal gaye woh sab."

Waheed hummed in reply from the other side as he fiddled with his fountain pen. Sitting on the leather chair in his office at the 54th floor, he stared at the papers kept on his desk with a far away look.

"Aap lunch karne ghar aayenge?"

The timid voice of his wife made him blink a few times. Gripping the pen more firmly in one hand, he straightened his posture and cleared his throat.

"Nahi, I've an urgent meeting to attend."

Madiha bit her lips to stop a chuckle and she waited for him to say something more- precisely, say what he had called for.

"How long will he be gone for?"

"A few weeks is what he said. Baki sab bhi hai uske saath, aap fikr na kare."

Waheed's eyes widened a little before he composed his stance. Scoffing lightly, he put on a look of defiance even though there was no one around to look at his expressions.

"Mujhe fikr karne ki zaroorat bhi nahi hai. It was his decision after all. Kare jo karna hai use."

The two stayed silent after that. The call wasn't cut but the even breathing of the two was the only thing that was heard. Madiha sighed as she pushed away the knife and voiced to her husband.

"There are chances that this mission might be more dangerous than the previous ones."

Waheed's grip on the pen tightened. The tip of the fountain pen was pressed more firmly on the papers, the ink that flowed made a hole on the material due to the force with which it was being pressed.

"Did anyone force him to go? Nahi na, he brought it on himself."

Saying that, he abruptly cut the call, not in the mood to discuss his son's latest schedule. Releasing the pen from his death grip, he brought his hands to rub his face. Once, twice, but the tension that had entered his form didn't lessen even a little bit.

Trying to find a way to calm his roaring blood, he unlocked his phone and opened the gallery. Swiping through endless paper images, work sites, their branch buildings and unwanted stuff, he finally reached the one he was searching for.

The familiar brown orbs shone with light and happiness as they stared down at the small figure in his arms. A young Madiha was grinning fondly at her 5-year old son who was perched in her husband's arms with a silly look on his face. Waheed had a small smile playing on his lips as he watched his wife and son interacting through funny expressions. The small family was wrapped in their own little bubble of happiness and delight.

Staring at the familiar photo to his heart's desire, he closed his eyes and leaned back on the leather chair. A dua left his heart, one that wasn't heard by his ears but was surely noted by the All-Mighty.

A plea to keep his son safe.

*****

Laiha slumped down on the couch after a hefty session of paperwork and reviewing documents for her branch. She wore the most casual of outfits- an oversized hoodie with black trousers. Her hair was tied in a messy bun since she hardly got any time to focus on herself since morning.

After the departure of her friends, she decided on diverting her mind and to ignore her concerns by finally making time for her new venture that she had opened a few months back by collaborating with a close friend of hers. The shop was still new and she had left it in the care of her business partner up until now.

Hafeez sauntered in the whole house with a troubled look. Never in his 22 years of life had he stayed in this huge mansion, let alone spend more than a few days here. Groaning in dismay, he rubbed his face and walked into the living room only to pause on his steps.

The once annoyance deflated as soon as he caught sight of the lady sitting on the couch with a look of sheer seriousness on her face. A sigh left his lips and he crossed his arms across his chest and gazed softly at the woman who was oblivious to his presence.

Hafeez had first met Laiha a few years back when she had come to visit the Qureshi family. He was there to tag along with Marwan to a nearby bookstore in search of materials needed for his new academic year.

Needless to say, his young self and the present one were equally smitten by her- if not, then the present one was almost neck deep in admiration for the woman.

Laiha shifted in her place on sensing eyes on her. Frowning a little, she looked up only to find a dazed looking Hafeez staring her way. Her eyes squinted in confusion as she looked at herself and then towards the large window behind.

Was he looking at her or was the view of the creme blinds more beautiful?

She cleared her throat to bring him out of his thoughts but if only it was that easy. Doing it a few times, she felt like smacking his head hard enough to bring his brain back in place. Not seeing any other choice, she coughed loudly, startling the poor guy who tripped on his feet and hit his head on the nearby wall.

Laiha bit her lips to stop herself from chuckling and instead, subtly cleared her throat and watched in amusement as he quickly scrambled back to his feet and rubbed the back of his head lightly. A blush rose on his cheeks and the tip of his ears as he gave her a sheepish smile, in return to which, Laiha burst out laughing.

The sound broke the once silence around but neither seemed to be complaining about it. Laiha chuckled a few times and finally came down from her laughter spree while Hafeez just stood still, afraid that if he moved, the voice would be disturbed.

"Pair jam gaye hai waha?"

She raised an eyebrow at him, slightly fearsome about the fact that he wasn't breathing with the way he stood still, as though frozen in place. Hafeez's subconscious almost melted in a puddle of shame with the way his brain stopped its rational activities and made him immobile to any movement.

"Hafeez, we're not playing the statue game. You can unfreeze."

Laiha didn't know what had gotten into him. She always found his shenanigans amusing but this was something on another level.

"M-main, ahm, Madiha aunty might be looking for me!"

He squeaked like a shy girl and sprinted out of the room, not like he was inside to begin with. Laiha could only blink and then release a sigh at his behaviour that made her feel as though she were a descendant of Hitler.

She didn't look scary or did she?

The newfound feeling of self consciousness made her frown in annoyance. The lady wore confidence like it was her second skin and here was this man, making her doubt her looks and personality.

Grumbling incoherently, she gave a stink eye to where he stood a few minutes back and turned her attention to the emails that she was yet to reply.

Her shoulders drooped in exhaustion when she saw 3 new ones in the inbox and with a loud annoyed groan, she got back to torturing her fingers by typing replies after replies.

-Half of them being too formal for her liking.

*****

Ziah hadn't left her room since the early hours of the morning. A weird ache kept building in her guts, something that made her uneasy and at the same time a little alert. Her sixth sense was awake after these many days and by the looks of it, it didn't seem to be anything pleasant.

Her phone lay beside her. The device wasn't used much apart from occasional searches on google and news headlines. If she were being honest, she had no idea in general about what to do with it.

Social media was never her field of interest, instead, she tried to avoid it as much as possible. Maybe because it took her into a world that was once parallel to her reality and often made her question about the path that her life was written on.

But her faith was strong enough for her to not give up hope.

"Ab toh nikal jao room se."

The high pitched voice made Ziah shriek in horror. Scrambling up from the bed, she glared at the door that was then opened and walked in an equally distorted looking Parizad who tried to cover it with a stern look on her face that was directed towards Ziah.

"Nahi nikalna."

Ziah murmured and was about to lay back on the bed but one look at Parizad's expression and she quickly straightened up.

The woman could get scary at times.

"Chalo neeche, we'll have a girls day today!"

"Nahi karna-"

Parizad shrugged off Ziah's words that were yet to be completed and pulled her out of the room. The two looked funny enough playing tug of war with Ziah's hand as the two tried to pull- one towards herself and the other away.

"Rassi ya dupatta nahi tha kya ghar pe?"

The familiar voice of Laiha made the two pause their actions. The woman was finally done with her replies and wanted nothing more than to doze off but the interaction between Parizad and Ziah was too amusing to ignore.

"Ise bole na mera haath chode."

Ziah pleaded with her eyes wide and a helpless guise on her face that could deceive anyone though all she got in return from Laiha was a gesture of surrender and Parizad successfully dragged her into the living room.

Laiha debated between walking to her room and then towards the two and with a sigh, she too followed them for a lazy day.

"Chalo, let's watch something. Wait! You both choose, I'll call aunty and bring some snacks!"

Parizad left with an excited look mixed with a stern one that clearly said to do as she asked and Ziah groaned before shuffling deeper into the couch.

"You look depressed."

A snicker was what followed Laiha's statement as she jumped beside Ziah with a soft force. Ziah gave a stink eye to the woman but didn't bother retaliating because it did feel like she was depressed.

A bile rose in her throat and the flow of her blood heightened. Her abdomen felt like it was being twisted in knots and the feeling of nausea crept in. The alarms in her head didn't know when to stop and before she could dwell deeper in this imaginary pain, Laiha shook her shoulders, snapping her pained daze.

"Ziah, what's wrong?"

Laiha watched with concern when Ziah's skin kept turning pale and pale. Her eyes seemed dull, as though surrounded by a painful mist. The expressions changed from dull to almost horrified and at the same time, came in Parizad followed by Madiha and Hafeez.

"It's a girls day!"

"Consider me as a girl until I have company!"

Parizad and Hafeez argued back and forth. Madiha could only take a deep breath to stop herself from scolding the two adults who were behaving like children.

Laiha glanced away from Ziah but only for a second. The three who had just come seemed to have gotten the hint that something was wrong due to the intensity of the silence around.

It felt as though the clock was ticking to notify an impending doom and Ziah knew she couldn't take it anymore.

Quickly sitting up, her anxious eyes looked around for a glass of water which Laiha seemed to have caught on to. The latter immediately took hold of the jug kept on the table and poured a glass of water for her disturbed friend.

"Ziah, bete kya hua?"

Madiha made a bee line for the female who seemed ready to faint. She took a seat beside her and rubbed Ziah's back gently as she gulped down the water in one go, hoping for the feeling to go away but it didn't.

"I-It f-feels su-suffoca-ting."

She whispered the words through what felt like a blocked windpipe. Hafeez's eyes widened on seeing her condition and as he was about to dial the doctor's number, the sound of the doorbell was heard across the house.

He debated between his phone and the door, but the person seemed a little impatient and rang again. Hafeez cursed under his breath and looked towards Ziah who was being calmed down by the ladies.

Keeping the phone back in, he raced towards the door and pulled it open only to come face to face with two unknown men.

"Hello sir, I'm Karan Sethi, head of the information department in the commando base located in the city."

Karan forwarded his id card for a check and Hafeez confusedly went through it. He returned it back and waited for the man to continue and he did so, after a glance at the one beside him.

"Is this Mr. Marwan Qureshi's estate?"

"Yes."

The man beside Karan straightened up and Hafeez didn't miss how he tried to take a look inside the house. Suddenly feeling defensive, he closed the doors a little and stood outside with them, not sure about what the whole ordeal was.

"Mr. Qureshi was given responsibility for a female, named Ziah Aslam. I've come here to inform you that her family has reached out and would like to take her back with them. The order has been sanctioned by the main department. Here's the confirmation letter."

Karan handed a white envelope to Hafeez who seemed lost all of a sudden. Taking hold of it, he quickly opened it and read through the content, slightly puzzled and finally understanding where Ziah had come from.

Marwan hadn't bothered disclosing about how he had found her, only sharing the details of the fact that she was under his care until further notice from the headquarters.

"Badar Sehani?"

"That'll be me."

The man beside Karan spoke up, taking a step forward. Hafeez did a once over of the man and to say that his aura was nothing but of negativity would be an understatement.

"Mr. Sehani is her legal guardian and fiance. He had filed a missing report for Miss. Aslam a month back but due to the case being confidential, it took some time to get in touch with them."

"This is all fine but Marwan sir is currently out of the country. Can we solve-"

"I don't see how he has anything to do with this."

Badar butted in, successfully annoying Hafeez just by his voice.

"Technically he was Ziah's guardian for more than a month and he still is since Major Mathur was the one who-"

"Let me talk to her."

Badar protested again, getting on Hafeez's nerves.

"Listen-"

"Sir, I understand your concern but I would have to ask you to stay out of this matter. The order has been given and if Miss Aslam wishes, she can leave with Mr. Sehani. Now, if you could please call her out or let us in."

By Karan's tone, it was clear that the interaction was agitating him enough to lose touch of his polite self. He was here to deliver an order and not to tame two grown men who were arguing without having any right to say on behalf of the woman.

Hafeez glanced reluctantly between the two and with a deep sigh, he finally opened the door wide and walked with them to where all the ladies were.

"Hafeez, kaun-"

Madiha spoke as she got up but stopped upon seeing new faces behind the young man. Everyone looked confusedly at Hafeez for explanation who stood there with a clenched jaw and annoyed eyes.

Ziah felt a shiver run down her spine as a gaze stopped at her. Her once closed eyes opened themselves to look at the source only for her blood to run cold. It felt as though snakes were crawling up her skin, her mind felt blocked and so did her throat. The beats of her heart seemed still for a moment before they took a fearful thump and afore the terrorising feeling could reach its peak, her tormentor spoke up,

"Ziah!"

**********

Woahh! Too many things in one chapter, no?

And what is this that I read, Waheed is concerned? Or is he?

Oh oh oh! A crush seems to be brewing in the air. Gosh, it smells divine but but but, I can feel the heat of it leading to heartbrea- nevermind, we'll see...

Anybody who has a sign-up for one free murder? Cuz I sure as hell can track down Badar if you'd like. The next chapters are all dull and sad, soooo buckle up!!

P.S. Is it just me or does anyone else rely on their sixth sense more than the people around?!

************