The Politician's Girl

27. The Ultimate Betrayal

-Some promises crave scars-

Naina

"Naina, I am here to take you back home." Zaroon had one solid grip on my wrist, as he tugged me forward. We were standing outside my parent's house, on the footpath that met with the open road. There were street lights lit. There was no one else on the roads. The atmosphere was calm, toasty and friendly.

The sky was warm and starry. 

I looked up at Zaroon with a hurt expression. "I-I can't." He had come back for me. The moment he knocked on the door and announced his presence, my heart squeezed with so much relief mixed with gratitude.

The way he had spoken to me...it had been torturous to go against him. The yearning, the emptiness, I had missed him so much. Nothing felt right when there was so much distance between us. I had meant to reach out and was overjoyed to find him missing me too. 

The misunderstandings, the realities...I never wanted them to depart us. 

"Naino, these people...they are using you. Come back. If you think that Zafar Malik tried to hurt you, that he was behind it all...then you need to come home and talk to him. He raised you while these people, whom you are suddenly trusting, never bothered." His gaze blazed into mine, as he towered above me with an intense look-jaw clenched, eyes holding heat and command. 

This was Sher Khan talking.

He kept holding onto my wrist, as his other hand tipped my chin up to make me understand. 

"I won't lose you, Naino." His voice bit out low in anger. "I won't let them hurt you anymore."

"Z-Zaroon..." My voice cracked, as I looked at him with a rather broken expression. "You have got it wrong. My parents...they are good. T-They have proof of how Z-Zafar Malik-"

"Hush...No more. Let's go." His eyebrows furrowed a bit, as he then turned around and began walking to his car parked down the streets, easily pulling me along. 

"Zaroon...please...no!" I began fighting against his grip. "I am not going back again. I am going to fight against it. I will prove Zafar Malik's corruption. I will shout and scream if you don't listen!"

By doing what!" He harshly pulled me towards his front and hotly gazed down at me, getting all in my face. I had to take one scared step back. His alpha display was on the show, his voice was booming deep. "Do you know what you are even doing? Your parents...they will get you killed! They don't care about your safety. I do! And I will not let you stay here anymore. You are mine to protect! I won't let anyone use you!"

"T-That is not true..." I protested, staring up at him while feeling extremely intimidated and scared, as I fidgeted with my fingers. "They stopped me. This was m-my decision-"

"And do you know what your decision can do!" This time, he harshly grabbed my shoulders and sneered out words. "Shahnawaz Begum, her parties, so many other parties, they are not tolerating this. Not when elections are so close." His voice softened at the end. 

"They can give orders to get you hurt, Naino." He then lowered down, bending as he pressed his hands on his knees to get closer to my height and gave me a gentle look. "You are innocent, unaware of how dirty politics can get..." He pushed a lock of my hair with the backside of his palm, in a tender form of affection and pain.

"Z-Zaroon..." My own gaze turned watery, as I suddenly felt parched because of the hurt; hands folded and ringed.

"Shahnawaz Begum had ordered people to hurt you." His voice held anguish. "Naino, I will never let anyone get to you. That is why I want you by my side. Don't let your longing for a family do this to you. I am here. I promise I will never let anyone hurt you again," he spoke earnestly, breaking my heart.