𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

Chapter 33

Zaidan's POV

I glance at the person in front of me and then gesture towards John to do what he's been told. The person in front of me is blindfolded, and I kidnapped him just for fun. John dials Anthony's number, and when he picks up, I sit on my chair and get ready for the show.

"Hello, my friend," Anthony says. "I hope you're comfortable in your seat," he jokes.

The man's lips curl upward in anger. "Anthony, what is going on?" he says through gritted teeth, trying to control his anger.

"Nothing, I just wanted help from you."

"A help? Then why the hell didn't you call me? And why the hell am I tied up and blindfolded? And where the hell are you?" he snaps, while I enjoy looking at him like that. Ah, brother-in-law, you seriously can't control your anger.

"Woah man, calm down. I'm in the hospital with my brother, looking after our mother, and my boss needs you to do something since I can't do it. I mean, I can do it, but I won't be able to."

"Who's your boss? And why didn't he just call me or something? Why kidnap me?" He frustratingly shakes his whole chair, but before I can stop him, the chair falls backwards with him. Ouch, that must've hurt.

I hear him mutter something under his breath, then he shouts, "Is anyone going to help me?"

"Only if you stop being angry," I reply, motioning John to help him stand up.

When his hands are free and I'm about to remove the blindfold, my bodyguard grabs a massive lamp and places it in front of him. As I remove the blindfold, he instantly comes face-to-face with the lamp's dazzling light and closes his eyes, covering them with his hands.

John laughs when my brother-in-law, Hassan, opens his eyes, blinking several times. "Zaidan Bhai?" he questions when he sees me. "What are you doing here?" he asks, as I guide him outside of this abandoned building.

We settle ourselves in a café, and I order a black coffee for him because that's what he drinks, and for me, a glass of water since I'm not a fan of coffee.

"So," he looks at me, clearly not understanding what's going on. "How can I help you?" I look at him, and instantly my mind goes to my wife. They look alike, not too much, but you can tell from their features that they're siblings.

"You will have to hack into someone's account and a camera," I say as his eyes go wide.

"Whoa, hold on there!" he whispers-shouts, glancing around before clearing his throat. "What do you mean by hack–"

"No need to act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I know you're taking technology classes and you're an expert at computers, which includes hacking," I reply as the waiter brings us our order. Taking a sip of water, I meet my brother-in-law's gaze, noticing his contemplative expression. "Don't worry, your sister won't find out about your hacking skills."

"I wasn't thinking about that," he says, savoring a sip of his black coffee and closing his eyes in contentment. "Did Zehra give you the idea to kidnap me?"

"No, why?" I raise an eyebrow, curious. He shakes his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "You and Zehra are a perfect match because you both have the wildest ideas."

"I know that. Now, let's set that aside and get serious, shall we, chottu?" The nickname slips out, and Hassan looks at me with a less-than-gentle expression, placing his coffee on the table. "I'd be willing to help you, but don't call me that ever again. I respect that you're my sister's husband, but you don't have the right to call me that," he says, his tone unsurprising. He still doesn't like being called a "little one" in Urdu by anyone except the younger version of me, from ten to fifteen years ago.