Fahad's POV:

Fahad, behtar hai ke tum mujhe bhool jao. Jitna jaldi yeh khel tamasha khatam hoga utna behtar hai. (Fahad, it is best that you forget about me. The sooner this pretend game ends, the better it is.)

I gritted my teeth as I remembered her farewell words before she left me in the café and walked away.

"Aj tak yeh sunta aya hun ke 'Fahad mujhe kabhi na bhoolna' lekin yeh pehli dafah sun raha hun ke koi keh raha hai 'Fahad mujhe bhool jao.' Ajeeb halaat hen yahan tou. Kis mitti ki bhani howi hai woh? (All my life, I have heard women say 'Never forget me Fahad' but this is the first time I have heard someone say that 'Fahad you should forget me.' Such weird circumstances. I honestly don't know what she is made of?)" I muttered to myself in annoyance while Kamran rolled his eyes and uncorked a bottle of whiskey, pouring us both a glass each. "Mujhe tou abhi bhi yakeen nahi araha. Usko takleef kya hai akhir? Aik din mere par yakeen rakh kar madad mangay gi aur aglay din wapis jaan churane lag jayegi. (I still can't believe this. What is her problem with me? One day she is relying on me and asking me for help and the next day she is back to getting rid of me.)"

"Kaam az kaam, Rubab tumhe mun lagati hai, meri wali tou waise hi bhaag gayi hai Allah janay kidher. (Atleast, Rubab gives you attention, my girl just ran away to God knows where.)" He sighed as he downed a shot. Oh boy, here we go again. Maybe I should just tell him. Nah, I need to set my cards right first.

"Tum apnay gham le kar baith jao ab. Men Rubab ko bhagne bhi nahi dena. Kidher jayegi bhag kar? Men waise hi dhund nikalna hai. (Yeah, bring your own depression in. I won't let Rubab get away. Where will she run off too? I will find her wherever she goes.)" I replied proudly. She can't escape while the fun goes on. She is currently the main lead character in my life after all.

"Bhagne menay bhi nahi dena tha but aisi cheezen honay ke baad hi pata chalta hai. Ab mili tou hargiz nahi janay dunga. (I wasn't going to let her run away either but you find out these things after they have been done. If I find her now, I am not going to let her go again.)" Kamran gripped the glass tightly and I felt it crack under the pressure.

I gave him a thumbs up as I started muttering about how women begged me to not forget them ever. Ibraheem stepped inside dropping a stack of files on his desk. He took out an energy drink from the mini refrigerator and looked between the two of us before stopping his gaze on Kamran.

"Isko kya hua hai? Yeh apnay ap se baat kar raha hia kya? (What happened to him? Why is he talking to himself?)" Ibraheem pointed a thumb at me while asking Kamran. I wasn't talking to myself. These piece of shits just weren't listening to me. 

"Rubab lar gayi hai isse. (Oh, it's just Rubab. She is like poison for him right now.)" Kamran shrugged before handing me a glass of whiskey. We didn't offer alcohol to Ibraheem anymore because we knew he had stopped drinking for good. We had decreased the amount quite a lot ourselves but still drank when we were in a shit mood which was quite often these days.

"Mujhe aik baat bata Ibraheem. (Tell me something, Ibraheem.)" I turned to look at him and he took a seat before looking at me as if he was urging me to go on. "Mujhe lagta tha Misha Bhabhi dheet hai lekin Rubab tou koi nayi hi balah hai. Samajh nahi arahi usko kaise phasaoun. Woh tou jaan churwane ke puray plan men hai. (I thought Misha was stubborn but Rubab is a whole different level. I don't know how to tie her to myself. She is fully intent on getting rid of me.)"

"Nikkah karlo jaise Ibraheem ne kiya tha? (Marry her like Ibraheem married Misha?)" Kamran suggested and the two of us turned to look at him as if we were making sure he wasn't serious and it was just a joke.

"Misha Bhabhi ko tou phir Ibraheem ne emotionally blackmail karke nikkah- (Misha agreed to marry him because Ibraheem emotionally blackmailed-)" I was cut short when Ibraheem spit out his energy drink and looked at me as if I had personally attacked him.

"Oye! Menay emotional blackmailing koi nahi ki. Menay bas usko humare pyar ka ahsas dilwaya tha. (Hey! I didn't emotionally blackmail her. I just made her realize the love I had for her.)" I rolled my eyes. Yeah, that's called emotional blackmailing but who was I to judge? We were all peas of the same pod.

"Haan wohi, jo bhi. Khair mujhe yeh pata hai ke agar menay apnay ap ko gunpoint par rakha tou Rubab ne kehna hai haan mar dou apnay ap ko goli. Usko tou farak hi nahi parna ulta menay marjana hai. (Yeah, yeah, same thing. All I know is that if I put myself on gunpoint and ask Rubab to marry me, she is going to look at me with her stony face and tell me to kill myself. She wouldn't bat an eyelash and instead I will be dead.)" The more I thought about it, the more realistic it sounded. It really felt like something Rubab would do given her heartless, icy nature.

"So the date didn't go well then." Ibraheem remarked as he aimed his can at the dustbin from where he was sitting. He threw the empty can towards the dustbin and it landed inside on the first try.

"Yeah it was fan-fucking-tastic." I remarked sarcastically before moving my fingers through my hair in irritation. "I wanted it to go good. I went out of my way. I even got her roses but she looked at them with distaste as if I had given her a burden instead."

"Wait, I don't understand something." Ibraheem pipped in. So he was listening to me huh? When I gave him the 'what?' look he put down his phone and looked at me seriously. "If Rubab doesn't want you, find someone else? Leave her alone? She has been through enough shit as it is."

"Are you saying that because she is Misha's precious sister like friend? Waise tou tumhe Bhabhi ke ilawa kisi bandi se garz bhi nahi. (Because normally you don't care about women apart from sister in law anyway.)" I narrowed my eyes at him and he just grinned in return as if I had caught him red handed. This man was whipped alright, he didn't care for his brother no more. "I don't know why but I don't want to leave her alone. She is like a challenge to me. It's hard to understand her which makes it all the more interesting."

"Well yeah, I obviously don't want to hurt Misha in any possible way but neither do I want to see my brother so frustrated. It's odd to see you like this. Don't you agree Kamran?" Kamran nodded lazily. He had been pouring himself whiskey silently while listening to the two of us. He was probably drowning in his own depression. 

The moment he finds out I have been lying to him about Zoya's whereabouts, he is going to drown me in the Karachi sea as payback. Well that was a concern for another day. "Fahaday, tujhe yeh suit nahi karta. (Fahaday, this doesn't suit you.) Being so subdued and annoyed. You are always the mastermind. Why aren't you acting like the Fahad Abroo we know? Aren't you the man who pulls the strings from behind the scenes? Since when have you started playing like this?"

I take my words back. His statement twisted something inside me. At that moment I felt something inside me turn. It was a wheel. A wheel that gave energy to my inner demon. Slowly, but surely, I felt him awaken and gain power as a chill spread through my skin.

'So? What's the plan now?' I heard my inner voice. The intrigue was clear as day. 'Don't forget, Fahad, it is all just a game. Life is just a game. Let the flames take over. Playing it safe was never your thing anyway.'

"Now that is the expression I recognize. Fahaday is back." Ibraheem smirked as he stood up toasting me with another can he took out. "Just don't hurt her, Fahad. Misha will kill me. And don't crash my wedding either. I will kill you." He rolled his eyes before he sat on his desk and grabbed a pen.

"Ah, I can't promise that but I will try my best." I winked and he just rolled his eyes.

"Hum sab ko marwayega tu. (You will get us all killed.)" I laughed at his statement. But neither of us knew how true it would become. I switched on my phone and looked at her messages. She had seen-zoned me again. Smirking, I turned off my phone again.

"I will catch you guys later. Something came up." I waved my hand as I walked towards the exit. Ah, Rubab, you should enjoy it while it lasts. It takes a while for the fire to burn down an entire forest to ashes anyway. Now then, what should I do first? Pay a visit to the parents who treated me so well? Or better yet, where is Zohaib? And Salman? Let's see what the Iftikhar Steel Mill boys were up to. The climax revolves around them after all.

"I miss Anushay. I wonder where she is." Kamran said suddenly causing me to halt. Fuck, I wanted to tell him about Zoya but I had to keep my word for now at least. I will tell him but I have to play it out safely. I looked to Ibraheem. I had to tell him that Zoya was back but when I saw him, he was already looking at me with the exact same expression. Did he know something? He looked almost as guilty as I did.

Kamran looked at the two of us with narrow suspicious eyes. Shit, this guy and his animalistic senses. He can detect even the slightest changes. Nothing gets past him. His heightened senses scare me at times too. Especially when I have something to hide like this. Zoya really gave him the correct nickname. He was a lion in so many ways. Especially when cornering his prey.

"Why are the two of you looking at each other like that? Do you guys know something?" Kamran left the question hanging and I didn't know about Ibraheem but I grinned at him calmly.

"We probably feel like shit for not being able to find Anushay. Don't worry though. How about we go to Lahore in a while? We can find out clues about her." I offered and Kamran agreed while keeping his eyes on us. I was sure my plan would be complete by that time. I can break the good news to him then. It would all work out. Unless something happens which causes me to form a contingency plan.

"Not clues. Clues won't do anymore. I will just have to find her now." Exactly something like this. No worries though, it is all part of the bigger picture. 

Author's Note:

Hello and Asalam o Alaikum Lovelies!

My extremely sleep deprived self wrote this chapter and I AM SO EXHAUSTED but I wanted to update it because I am actually excited for what is to come in the future. Anyway, what did you think of this chapter? Since this is just the beginning of the book so I am going rather slow but obviously this will pick up pace with time.

What do you think Fahad will do?