CABINET MINISTER GASHKORI HAVING AN AFFAIR?
The young Parliament Member was seen with a beautiful woman while they attended the annual exhibition of the Belgian Royal Museum of Fine Arts. The couple looked very familiar with their surroundings hinting at a possibility of their long association with each other and the country. Furthermore, they were captured on various occasions throughout the town while taking a stroll in the park, going horse riding together or buying groceries at the farmers market.
Is this the end of his marriage with a wife the world is yet to be introduced to?
Head over to page six for more on Minister Mahad Gashkori and his sordid escapades with his mistress!
Dur Afshaan did just that and sure enough, the entire page was plastered with images of her husband and a woman who's face was always hidden from the camera. Like the angle was constantly kept away from her face but carefully capturing Mahad's face in detail.
There was one picture where he was holding shopping bags and standing behind the woman who was visibly arguing with the vendor over the produce. Another one was where they were casually walking under a bridge like many others and yet another one was captured minutes later when Mahad was kissing that woman's head as he pulled her in his embrace. The biggest one was of Mahad sitting behind the woman on a black stallion while holding her with one hand and the horse's reins with the other. And yet again the woman was looking sideways while Mahad looked at her as if she's the single most important person in the world!
Dur Afshaan marched angrily to her husband who was in the midst of attending a call in their study but looked up as soon as she banged the door open and furiously slammed the newspaper on his table. She folded her arms and waited for him to react but the man just smiled apologetically at her before mouthing a silent Chief Minister to her.
So the Head of the State was now more important to him than his wife? Than explaining the article!
She banged the door on her way out as well and Mahad sighed in defeat before answering the Chief Minister's questions about the new policy that was to be passed in the Parliament day after tomorrow. Even if he wants, he just cannot abandon the call and run after his angry wife.
His eyes did however fall on the newspaper and they widened in shocked disbelief!
What the heck!
Mahad replied as patiently as his state of mind allowed him to and was relieved when the Chief Minister thought it was enough for the day. He hurriedly said his goodbye and didn't even bother with placing the receiver in the holder before running out of the room.
" Afshi?" He called out to his wife but was met with silence.
" Afshaan!" Silence again.
Mahad sighed and walked out to the small kitchen garden that they had planted last spring and sure enough, his wife was angrily tending to the carrots, probably imagining his face when she cut off their leaves.
" Baby?" He approached her cautiously and jumped back when a carrot almost hit him in the face.
" I don't want to see your face right now Mahad" she said without looking at him.
" Babe just..." Mahad was cut short again by her angry response.
Distaste in his mouth when he heard his name from her.
Mahad!
" Aap please yaha se jaayein. Mujhe abhi aapka chehra dekhkar sirf gussa aaraha hain" Dur Afshaan glared at him and he had the good sense of backing off.
But that immediately flew out of the window when he heard her sniffs. Consequences be damned!
" Chodein!" Dur Afshaan shrieked when she felt herself being lifted up in a pair of strong arms.
Mahad ignored her protests and walked them inside the sun room where it would be warmer than the other parts of their house before plopping down on a huge couch with his wife still clutched in his arms.
" Kya masla hain aapka? Ab main naraaz hone ka haq bhi nahi rakhti hoon?" Dur Afshaan glared at him amongst her furious tears but he didn't loosen his hold.
" That's what I want to know. Why the hell are you angry?" He asked her exasperatedly.
" The fact that they're calling your wife A Mistress, our marriage An Affair is not worth getting angry? Oh my bad! I guess it's normal here in Brussels for the wives to be called that. How silly of me!" Dur Afshaan trashed in his hold again when he tried to kiss her and this time he did retaliate.
" But WE know the truth right? We know the woman in the pictures is YOU! The woman they're referring to is YOU! That I'm not having an affair with anyone!" Mahad sighed in irritation and this time her voice came out a timid whisper.
" But they don't. Out there is a woman just like me who's reading this article and cursing me for being a homewrecker. A mother judging me for seducing you away from your marriage and a man thinking if he has a chance with me. Just because they think I'm your mistress! Just because you wanted to hide the fact that I am your wife! Just because you wanted to keep my identity a secret!" Dur Afshaan slumped against his chest in defeat and Mahad breathed furiously.
" Because I wanted you safe! Because I don't want attention on the fact that my wife is the granddaughter of a man who's political career I ruined. The niece of a man who's drowning in debt because I, Mahad Qays Gashkori had sabotaged their business. Because I don't want the world's attention on our little piece of heaven that we've found here in this strange country" Mahad cupped her face and looked her in the eyes while saying that.
The grey eyes that he had fallen in love with!
" Because I don't want them to come after you for what I've done to them. Because I want you both safe" he kissed her teary eyes while palming her belly.
Her prominent baby bump!
" It's been over a year now Qays. They don't even care about my existence. They never did and they never will" Dur Afshaan whimpered as she leaned into his touch.
The mighty blow to Abdul-Qadeer Zardaari's business and political career that was courtesy of the International Courts of Justice shutting down all of his major businesses and the Prime Minister being forced to dissolve his Party. The man had been in exile ever since and according to what they'd heard, had taken to bed in chronic illnesses.
But still refused to believe that it was Karma!
" Hazaar dafaa kaha hain ki unn logo ki tumhaare Zindagi mein koi aehmiyat nahi hain. Apne aap ko unke baarein mein sochkar yun aziyat mat pohonchaaya karo" Mahad pleaded with his wife who threw her arms around his neck and sobbed.
" But they're my family. My Abba's family. They were supposed to love me just for the fact that I'm their son's child. All I needed was acceptance from my family" Dur Afshaan weeped and Mahad just held her closer.
" Baby, you're already loved and accepted by your family. Mama and Baba adore you like their own daughter. Infact they love you more than they love me. Aadab Bhabhi and Zartaaj think of you as their sister. Even Baasit and Shaaf Bhai do" he caressed her back softly and kissed her head every now and then.
" And now that our own little Gashkori Heir is here, don't be like this sweetheart. You're stronger than this and you're better than them" he smiled when she nodded her head, still buried in his chest.
" And I promise, once this threat is dealt with, I'll personally announce to the whole world that this wonderful beautiful kind woman is my wife! The mother of my children!" Mahad kissed her lips when she looked at him with love reflecting in her eyes.
" No. I don't want the world to know about us. To know about this little paradise that we've created for ourselves. Let them call us whatever they want to because at the end, we know the truth. And WE are all that matter" she kissed his chest and snuggled up even more in him as he pulled her legs around his waist.
" Meri Afshi" Mahad kissed her head repeatedly until her soft snores reverberated in his chest as well.
Pregnancy sure did tire her out!
It had been months since they were back here in Brussels. In the house that was previously occupied by Dur Afshaan and Husna but was now their own little world away from all the chaos. Chaos that comes with being a MP. Chaos that comes with being associated with the two most influential families in politics. Chaos that comes with being the harbinger of doom for an ancient ruler like Abdul-Qadeer Zardaari.
They had settled in a routine back home with Mahad attending his campaign rallies and Dur Afshaan being busy with her work and Aadab and Saafir. The little boy had everyone wrapped around his chubby fingers, especially his Durri Chachi!
All was fine until one day Dur Afshaan had almost fallen down the stairs and would have succumbed to the injuries had it not been for Baasit. The boy had pulled her to safety the second he saw her swaying by the railing. Mahad had abandoned a Party meeting when his Mama had called him up and his heart was in his throat until he laid eyes on his wife. All safe and sound on their bed.
Mahad was confused when his family began congratulating him and only when he saw his wife palming her belly, did realization dawn on him and he had ushered everyone out their room in a rather impolite way. A way that's typically Mahad and even his family didn't mind.
He had then jumped on the bed beside his Afshi and caged her in his arms, as his tears wet her hair. Tears of happiness and gratitude. Dur Afshaan had been just as overwhelmed with the impending arrival of their baby and she too had sought comfort in his arms.
The arms of her magnificent husband.
Everything was fine for a while and then one day Mansour Zardaari sent in a request to meet with his niece.
Mahad had been on alert then because this was the same Taya Abbu who had dealt her away to a man whom she knew nothing about. A man that was him!
Turned out that Dur Afshaan was entitled to her father's share of the company and properties, taking her charge as a member at the Board Of Directors as soon as she was twenty one years old. Which she would be in a week!
Mansour was just short of threatening her to give up her claim to the seat and Mahad had to physically restrain himself not to trash the older man. He did however had his offending presence removed from their house and got a restraining order against him as well as every other Zardaari.
Not trusting the Zardaaris to be silent in their quest, Mahad had whisked his wife away from the country and to their house in Brussels that not many knew about. And they've been here ever since.
" Jamaal?" Mahad dialled his trusted man the second his wife fell asleep.
" Yes, you saw it too?" He caressed her hair and tucked back a loose strand behind her ear.
" You know the reporter? Who gave away our location?" Mahad asked again and nodded when the other man responded.
" Yeah, have him dealt with and also take down the story. Especially the pictures" he instructed Jamaal and cut the call when he heard his answer.
SIR!
Jamaal's Sir is better than any written security deposit agreement!
Mahad lifted his wife in his arms and smiled when she snuggled up even more as he walked them to their bedroom. The room that was previously only hers, is now theirs.
He covered her body with a quilt and kept the door ajar before walking downstairs to make them supper.
He maybe a Member of Parliament and he maybe a Gashkori Heir but Mahad still loved doing his own chores. Especially taking care of his wife and child.
" What do you feel like watching tonight?" Mahad asked his wife as he fed her with his hands while she sat snuggled up in his lap.
Her favorite position ever since they've reconciled.
" Nothing blood related and nothing gory" Dur Afshaan shuddered with the images replaying from their last night's movie.
" I had warned you against picking that one but you wanted to see what the hype was all about!" Mahad teased her and wiped her mouth of the porridge that stuck to her lips.
" I didn't want to feel left out when you and your brothers talked about Leatherface!" She parted her lips for the next spoonful of the delicious chicken stew porridge.
The only thing that her stomach can keep down these days. Especially the one made by her husband. Their baby was acting up as it's time to come in the world is nearing.
" And the only logical conclusion of that feeling was for you to watch Chainsaw Massacre! Talk about FOMO!" Mahad teased her again and laughed when she hit his chest a little harder.
" Relax Princess. We'll not watch a slasher movie. I really don't want to subject my baby to yet another night of watching people get murdered by a serial killer" Mahad spooned her the last of her supper and wiped her lips lightly with a wet napkin.
" Let's watch Princess Diaries!" Dur Afshaan beamed excitedly and Mahad groaned hearing that.
" Not again!" He protested but it was all in vain.
Watching Leatherface slash and eat people is a lot more comforting than watch Mia Thermopolis prove to her grandmother that she's worthy of being the Princess of Genovia! They've watched it so many times now that the other day when he couldn't remember the name of the fruit his wife wanted from the supermarket, he had told the attender that he needed the NATIONAL FRUIT OF GENOVIA!
The girl did give him a weird look but she came back with a basket full of Pears!
That's how impactful the movie has been in their lives!
" Please Qays! Please?" Dur Afshaan pouted at her husband and widened her grey eyes at him.
She knew her man just cannot ignore this look!
And Mahad didn't disappoint. He glared at her cute face for a few minutes but then finally succumbed like he always does. It was a night of watching Anne Hathaway being groomed to be a princess of a fake country.
Again!
" Baby?" Mahad whispered softly in his wife's ears and smiled when he saw what he did.
His wife was drooling away on his shirt and had slept halfway through the movie that she had done so much drama for!
" G'night my love. Baba loves you so much" Mahad caressed her belly after laying her down in their bed.
He just cannot wait for their little miracle to be born and was impatient since the last month. It was hardly a few weeks now and they'll fly back home to welcome their own little ray of sunshine!
" And we love you too Baba" Dur Afshaan mumbled sleepily as she cradled her husband's head to her chest when he came up to kiss her goodnight.
" Sleep" Mahad rocked her body soothingly and his wife went back to her Dreamland.
" You sure you'll be fine?" Mahad asked his wife again and Dur Afshaan rolled her eyes at her exasperating husband.
" Yes Qays. You'll only be gone for a day and you're leaving behind Nabeel and Taahir Bhai with me too" Dur Afshaan packed his hand carry for him and waddled over to where he sat reviewing the documents.
" Promise me that you'll call me the second you're unwell?" Mahad said in a pleading tone and Dur Afshaan sighed before pushing the papers aside and plopping down in his lap.
" Promise" she kissed his lips and giggle when he pulled her head closer, smashing their lips together urgently.
" You drive me crazy with want!" Mahad pushed her back on the bed and straddled her bulging waist with his thighs encasing her hips.
" You drive me crazy too!" Dur Afshaan pulled him down to herself and tugged at his tie.
Mahad smirked at his wife before loosening his tie and her wrap around dress and indulging into the decadent dessert that is her!
Needless to say he was late for the airport!
He had to attend a one day congregation in Amsterdam on behalf of his Party and since it was hardly a few hours drive up there from Brussels, Mahad was returning back by the evening. Refusing to stay the night away from his wife and child. His heart however was in a constant unrest since the morning.
Mahad didn't know what it was but he didn't really want to leave them behind too. But he also cannot ignore his duties towards his Patty and decided only to take Jamaal with him leaving his other two men behind to protect his wife.
" I love you" he kissed her soundly after getting ready again.
" We love you too" Dur Afshaan straightened out his tie and smoothened his shirt of any creases that may have formed when he removed it in a haste.
Se blushed when she remembered what they had just done and Mahad beamed in pride seeing her like that.
" I'll be back by seven" Mahad bent down and kissed his baby too, whispering sweet nothing for their ears.
" Leave before I keep you here with me" Dur Afshaan bunched the hair at his nape and pulled his grinning face back from her belly.
" And don't forget to bring me Stroopwafel and croquettes" Dur Afshaan reminded him again and it was his turn to roll his eyes.
" I know that's the entire reason you're sending me for this meeting" Mahad accused his wife who giggled at being caught.
" Guilty!" She laughed harder when he peppered her face with little kisses and broke away only when there was a knock on their door.
" Sir?" Jamaal was ready with the car.
" Allah'Fiz Baby" Mahad kissed her one last time before walking out the door and into the awaiting car.
Dur Afshaan stood at the door with her hands cupping her baby bump as she looked at her husband's car drive out their street and disappear round the corner.
It had not been even ten minutes when she heard a thud outside on the patio. Frowning to herself, Dur Afshaan waddled up to the door and a horrified scream left her mouth when she saw her bodyguards lying unconscious on the porch.
The smirking man who stood over their bodies froze her blood and she made an unsuccessful attempt at closing the door on his face but he was far too strong for her.
Alam Shah.
" Hello Mrs Gashkori. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting yet" Alam Shah smiled sickly sweet at her before walking inside the house as if he owned the damned place.
" What do you want?" Dur Afshaan put up a brave front and covered her baby bump with her dupatta.
Not wanting his evil gaze on their child.
" Aahhh! That's a great question. Mind if I sit?" He asked her politely and did so anyway.
Dur Afshaan felt her body swaying due to fear because the idea of being alone with a man like Alam Shah was appalling, especially when he has incapacitated her bodyguards right in front of her eyes.
" Please sit Mrs Gashkori. I would hate to be the reason behind your distress" Alam Shah offered her a seat beside him with an evil smirk and Dur Afshaan visibly shuddered in fear now.
" I see congratulations are in order for the young MP and his wife. Please do accept mine" he eyed her dupatta clad belly and Dur Afshaan clutched it even tighter as she backed up into a wall.
" Please leave" she croaked out fearfully and Alam Shah laughed devilishly at her delusion.
" It had been months since my investigation team was coming up empty handed about your whereabouts. We had ransacked the entire country looking for the Zardaari Princess and the Gashkori Wife but my useless team of men always fell short. That is until yesterday, a local Belgian newspaper caught my attention and guess whom did I see on the front page?" He said crossing his leg over the other and leaning back in the huge arm chair.
" I asked you to guess!" He screamed at her when she didn't reply and smiled when she sobbed before mumbling something.
" Louder!" Alam seethed and Dur Afshaan looked at him with tear laden eyes as she answered.
" Us" Dur Afshaan wanted the clock to turn back just a few minutes and stop her husband from leaving her alone.
Alone at this crazy man's mercy.
" Exactly. YOU! Member of Parliament Mahad Qays Gashkori and his wife enjoying their life in Brussels while I, who was the rightful owner of that seat was left to rot away in a prison cell" Alam Shah stood up menacingly and walked up to where Dur Afshaan stood shivering.
" You asked me what I wanted, right? I wanted a seat in the Parliament. I wanted my chair at the Board Of Directors in Zardaari. I wanted to rule over the country. And I wanted to kill your grandfather before usurping his throne" Alam Shah screamed at her face and Dur Afshaan shriveled back in disgust at his proximity.
The man was reeking of alcohol and a thirst for revenge.
" But guess who thwarted all my plans? Go on take a wild guess" he smiled at her again and Dur Afshaan knew better than to anger him like before.
" Ma-Mahad" she whispered softly as he walked away from her, much to her relief.
" Exactly! Your husband Mahad Qays Gashkori" Alan sneered at the name that ruined his life.
" He thinks he's so smart? That he'll go to the European Union and complain anonymously and I wouldn't find out? That he will hide you away from the people who are on a hunt for you and they won't find out? That the Zardaaris would spare you?" He laughed manically and Dur Afshaan looked at him in disbelief.
" That's right sweetheart. Your Taya Abbu had promised me a share of your inheritance once he's sure you're dead. A death that should be an accident and what better accident than a pregnant woman succumbing to the injuries of falling on her bump? Killing the child and herself instantly!" He looked like the devil incarnate and Dur Afshaan prayed to her Allah to send help soon.
This mad man was out for her and her baby's blood today and her husband was not here to save them!
" I would suggest you recite your Qalma because I maybe a bad Muslim but I do want you to go to Jannah" Alam Shah pouted at her before pulling out a sharp knife from his pocket.
" You don't want to?" He questioned her when she refused to speak with him and just kept on sobbing as she clutched her belly tight.
" Sure enough. Let me do it for you then" he inched closer to her and hunched down to her huddled form on the floor by the table.
" La Ila'ha Il'Allah..." Alam Shah raised the huge blade and a painful scream reverberated in the house after that.
Mahad was feeling uneasy ever since he had boarded the car. Jamaal too felt his boss's unrest and had even asked him about it. Mahad shook his head at his trusted employee and they had continued on their way to Amsterdam. Five minutes into the journey, Mahad felt his heart rate spike up and he had to trust his instincts on this one.
Something wasn't right.
He tried calling his wife but it kept on ringing without an answer. Nabeel and Taahir too weren't picking up his calls and this time he was sure of his gut feeling.
" Jamaal, turn the car around" Mahad loosened his tie and kept on trying his wife's phone.
Jamaal did as he was told and swerved the Land Cruiser around, expertly maneuvering it out of the rush hour traffic. They reached home within ten minutes and Mahad felt his heart drop to his stomach seeing his men sprawled over the patio lifelessly with the front door wide open.
He tried to run past Jamaal but the giant man blocked him behind and went to check the house himself.
" My wife's in there Jamaal. Let me go!" Mahad struggled against his other guard's hold but Jamaal had already entered the house till then.
Mahad froze when a soul shattering scream was heard from inside and he broke free of the other man's hold before rushing inside, only to find the most horrifying scenes of his life.
Dur Afshaan looked up at Jamaal in shock as her body trembled in the aftermath of what just happened. Her hands cupped her belly to check for a wound and the source of bleeding but she found none. What she did however notice was Alam Shah's immobile body that was now slumped down on the floor beside her, bleeding out to death.
And that's when she saw the gun in Jamaal's hands.
The smoking gun with a silencer.
Dur Afshaan didn't even register anything else as she saw the man lying in a pool of his own blood and she only looked up when she felt the familiar touch of her husband.
" Afshi? You alright Baby? Are you hurt?" Mahad shook her body as he saw her terrified face splattered with blood.
The blood that belonged to the man lying dead on the floor.
" Afshaan?" Mahad picked her up in his arms and carried her to their room before taking her to the ensuite.
" You're safe Baby. You're alright" Mahad kept on chanting as he made her stand under the shower, washing the blood away from her face and hands.
The blood that could have been hers had they not returned on time.
" Qays?" Dur Afshaan whispered after a long while and Mahad felt his lips wobbling at the fear that her voice carried.
" Yeah Baby?" Mahad whispered back as he wiped her body with a huge towel.
" He wanted to kill us Qays. Me and our baby. He wanted to kill us" Dur Afshaan repeated like a broken record and Mahad sobbed silently as he registered the consequences of his actions.
The consequences of wanting a seat in the Parliament!
The consequences of being in politics!
The consequences of being his wife!
" It's all my fault Afshi. It's all my fault" Mahad kneeled down in front of her and sobbed loudly as he laid his head on her legs.
" Why would Taya Abbu want to kill me Qays? I was going to give him my share of the properties too. You told him that right? Last time you told him in front of me. Then why would he want to kill me!" Dur Afshaan continued mumbling and Mahad looked up at her surprised.
He did say that. His wife had decided that she didn't want any blood tainted money from the Zardaaris, even if it belonged to her late father and even if it was her birth right. He had even transferred half the property over to Mansour Zardaari last week, the other half reserved for when they go back home.
" Alam Shah said that?" Mahad wiped his face and held her hands in his, providing the support his wife was so desperately in need of.
" He said Taya Abbu promised him a share of my inheritance once my death is overruled as an accident. Why would we want me dead Qays? Did I mean nothing to him? Did my father mean nothing to him?" Dur Afshaan burst out into painful sobs and Mahad held her to himself as he let her cry it out.
The shock of being almost killed and the betrayal from her own family was too much for his pregnant wife and she fainted in his arms due to exhaustion.
A doctor was summoned and the local police was informed about the attempt of murder on his wife. That took up all day and Dur Afshaan had slept through the entire ordeal.
Mahad had never been more thankful for Jamaal than he was in that moment and he had conveyed it to him by hugging him tight after the authorities finally left.
" Jamaal!" Was all he could say and his trusted man smiled ruefully at his employer.
" Sir!" He replied somberly.
For his single Sir was worth more than a thousand words of gratitude and loyalty.
Mahad ran back upstairs when he heard his wife's faint whimpers and sure enough, Dur Afshaan was thrashing lightly in bed, her body drenched in sweat and her hands cupping her baby bump as if protecting it from something.
Mahad felt his eyes water at the trauma his wife had to undergo all because of men and their greed.
Men like him.
" You're alright Baby. I'm right here. You're fine and our child is fine too. You're alright" Mahad whispered in her ears and took her trembling form in his arms, rocking themselves back and forth.
He still was in disbelief over the events that transpired in the last few hours. The events that would have been avoided had he not been such a greedy man hungry for power. Had he not associated with greedy men hungry for power!
And that's when he decided.
He was going to give up his seat in the Parliament. Give up on all his dreams if it meant keeping his wife and child safe. If it meant sparing his family's life.
Because it was Alam Shah today and it could be someone else tomorrow. They had Jamaal to save them today and they would have no one to save them tomorrow.
One is never safe in the world of politics and Mahad knew that the easiest targets would always be their families!
Nothing was worth his family. Worth more than his wife and children and nothing will ever be.
They flew back home the very next morning and Mahad dropped his wife off at their Haweli, before driving to the one destination that had been plaguing his mind since yesterday.
" I always wondered why you would hate your own brother's daughter so much..." Mahad walked inside the office of a shell shocked man who looked like he had seen a ghost.
Mansour Zardaari.
" So much that you'd send in a man just to kill her even after she had promised and infact signed over half her properties to you" Mahad sat down on the chair in front of him, crossing his leg over the other in a power move.
Mansour gulped when the door to his office was flanked by Mahad's men and shut closed when one of them came inside.
Jamaal.
" Then Jamaal here contacted your family lawyer and turns out your deceased brother knew exactly what a bastard you are" Mahad stood up in rage and slammed his hands on the glass table.
Mansour shrank back in his chair, his face mirroring the fear that Dur Afshaan had felt just yesterday.
" Jawad Zardaari was aware of your cunning and greedy nature and he had made his will iron clad. He had specifically mentioned that the properties would be his daughter and his daughter's alone even if she tried to give it away. Especially under pressure" Mahad roared and Mansour tried reaching for the emergency button under his desk.
But Jamaal was faster than him as he restrained the struggling man back in his chair, holding him a prisoner in his own fortress.
" And the sly bastard that you are, found a loophole in the will. The accidental death of Jawad Zardaari's daughter and any heir that she birthed would make you the benefactor of her money. So you sent in another bastard like yourself, bribing him with a promise of getting the Lion's Share at her inheritance and my position in the Parliament" Mahad circled around to his seat and Mansour was now shaking in fear.
The exact same way Dur Afshaan had.
" But you forgot one tiny little detail. That your brother's niece wasn't just that anymore. She was also the wife of an even cunning and shrewd Asshole" Mahad raked up the knife on Mansour's face who was now screaming in fright but no one was going to come to his rescue.
For Mahad had done exactly what Alam Shah had done back at their house. Incapacitated his security team.
" That she is not Dur Afshaan Jawad Zardaari anymore" he made a cut on his cheeks and Mansour screamed in agony when blood oozed out of the wound, staining his pristine white kurta.
" She is Dur Afshaan Mahad Qays Gashkori. My wife!" Mahad yelled in his face and made a huge cut across his other cheek as well while the man begged for forgiveness.
" I'm sorry Mahad. Maaf kardo mujhe. Aainda se kabhi nahi hoga aisa..." Mansour pleaded again and Mahad laughed evilly at his pathetic voice.
" I know" Mahad kept the knife at his jugular vein and pressed it there ever so slightly.
" Because I may give up politics for my wife and child..." He pressed the knife deeper in the vein causing a little trickle of blood to ozze out.
" But I'll still be more powerful than all your governments combined" and he slashed the knife through his throat, killing the man instantly.
And that was the end of Mansour Zardaari and his torments.
Mahad finally fulfilled his promises that he had made to his wife. The promise to avenge her and her parents.
Jamaal looked on passively at his boss as he wiped his hands clean on a towel while the man lay lifeless in his chair, his throat slashed and his eyes still wide open. He didn't say a word to his employer because it wasn't his place to question him. And it never will be.
Jamaal Sahni Chief of Staff, Gashkori Securities; would always be a faithful man to his Boss.
" Jamaal" Mahad signalled at the crime scene and the man just nodded at him.
" Sir" he replied simply.
For his Sir would always mean more than a thousand oaths and a thousand pledges of loyalty.
That night Abdul-Qadeer Zardaari had a heart attack when he heard of his son's death at the hands of a Mobster. The police had ruled it out as a hate crime committed by the many Mob Men that Mansour had associated with and had shut the case for lack of evidence. The Zardaaris didn't try to reopen the case since they knew it would be even more damaging to their already tarnished reputation, spilling secrets that had been buried for centuries.
Abdul-Qadeer Zardaari didn't survive through the night and the Haweli mourned two deaths the next morning.
" You're free Baby. I finally got you justice. I finally avenged your family" Mahad whispered softly in his wife's hair as she slept, unaware of the things her husband had done for her.
Husna slept in peace for the first time that night and she had never been so happy than she was then. For their criminals were finally punished. And she knew that whatever the media says, the truth will always be the same.
Mahad Qays Gashkori had fulfilled all his promises.
Dur Afshaan sipped on the iced pear tea as she listened to Aadab Bhabhi retell a story about one of her catering clients. She laughed when the anecdote got too funny and had to grasp onto Zartaaj when she couldn't control her laughter for long, crossing her legs tight.
A habit that was inculcated after she gave birth two years ago. A weak bladder courtesy of her pregnancy.
But Dur Afshaan knew that she would bear this and any other pain if ultimately she gets to hold her baby in her arms. And that reminded her that she hadn't seen her baby or the baby's father since the past few minutes. Come to think of it, all the men and the children were missing from the lounge and Dur Afshaan went into a surge of panic noticing that.
Ever since she was ambushed two years ago, her senses have always been on alert. Even when her husband had made sure to eliminate all the threats from their life.
Especially when her child was involved.
She quickly made up an excuse and walked away from the group of women that she calls her own. Hearing loud voices from the backyard, Dur Afshaan rushed out only to be surprised.
" I don't think I can hold on much longer. My defense is weakening and this may be my last message to humanity" her husband was laying on the ground with a sword held to his heart and his shield laying discarded beside him.
" I don't think I would last either" Shaaf too had surrendered and only Baasit remained in the battle field.
" Cowards!" Jahaangir yelled at the two fallen men while fending off the attacks from the southern side of the warzone.
" Jamaal! Murtuza! Altaaf!" Jahaangir called out to his troops and they rushed in with refilled ammunition.
Water guns!
" Get these hooligans" Baasit smirked at the little army of monsters and smiled evilly when they shrieked in surprise.
" Who's gonna save your little asses now, huh!" Baasit drenched the soldiers that they called their children and the little ones just screamed in enjoyment.
" Enough!" Dur Afshaan yelled and that halted their actions immediately.
" Mama?"
" Chachi?"
" Mami?"
Five little voices came running to her and hugged her legs, soaking them with their wet bodies.
Badr Jahaangir Ali Dehwaar.
Bilaal Jahaangir Ali Dehwaar.
Hanan Jahaangir Ali Dehwaar.
Saafir Shaaf Muiz Gashkori.
And their little princess.
Darejaan Mahad Qays Gashkori.
The Gashkori and Dehwaar Heirs!
The soaking wet Heirs!
" I see only five kids here but these seven others that feel that they're still children, what the hell were you thinking!" Dur Afshaan picked up Darejaan and Hanan in her arms while she looked at the adults.
The seven adult men hanging their heads in mock shame.
" And you! Aren't you supposed to get married tomorrow? Or do you want your bride to cancel on you just because you were sneezing throughout the ceremony?" She narrowed her eyes at Baasit who gave her a sheepish smile.
" You three?" She pointed at her husband and his brothers.
Mahad, Shaaf and Jahaangir who were trying very hard to control their laughter while the children looked at them in arrogance. Happy they were getting scolded!
" Inside the house. Now!" She screamed at them and they had the good sense of following her orders.
" You? To your room and get ready for the Haldi function" she wagged her finger at Baasit who too scrammed away almost immediately.
" And Jamaal Bhai? Aap bhi?" Dur Afshaan shook her head at her husband's trusted right hand man who was looking down in embarrassment.
Embarrassment of being caught!
" Mulazim see kahein yeh lawn saaf kardein. Shaam mein function conduct karna hain yaha" she sighed when she felt the girls giggling at her bossy nature and the way seven giant men bowed their heads in front of her.
" Altaaf Bhai aur Murtuza Bhai, Zartaaj Appi aap se poochegi" she warned Jahaangir's body guards who looked scared at the name of their Lady.
Zartaaj was scary when she wanted to be!
" Aap sab mere saath chalein" she signalled the kids who followed her like tiny little ducklings and went to their mothers as soon as they spotted them.
The women were shocked to see their children look like mud drenched puppies and they knew who was to blame here.
Their fathers!
Dur Afshaan carried her own daughter to their room and found the entire floor wet and dirty with muddy footprints.
Mahad!
" Bachhon ke saath aapne bhi bachha ban jaana hain? Dekhein kaise sab bheeg gaye hain aur aap bhi! Ghar mein functions hain aur poora ghar beemar padega toh achaa lagega...? Qays!" Dur Afshaan called out loudly and her husband who was busy making funny faces at their daughter and straightened up hearing her voice.
" Bachhey subah se bore hou rahein they isliye hum bas unhe entertain kar..." Mahad stopped when his wife glared at him and walked inside the ensuite to wash her daughter.
Her adorable little baby girl who was almost a year and a half old!
Mahad sighed softly when his wife came out with a giggling little hurricane that is his baby and he sagged against the wall seeing them talk animatedly as his wife changed her clothes.
He had almost lost them two years ago when Dur Afshaan had gone into premature labour due to all the stress but Allah had been merciful on him when their daughter had survived the gruelling few weeks in the NICU.
" Main karta hoon" Mahad eased the onesie out of her hands and made her sit down on the bed beside their daughter.
" Baba ki Jaan!" Mahad cooed at his baby girl who laughed out loud at being tickled by his beard that he rubbed all over her beautiful face, tears forming in her eyes.
The eyes that were a mirror image of her mother's.
Grey like ash yet hazel in the centre like the smoldering fire within.
" Main ab bhi aapse naraaz hoon Qays" Dur Afshaan pouted at her man who was looking too cute as he interacted with their baby.
" I know Love" Mahad sneakily pecked her lips and Dur Afshaan smiled despite herself.
" Zyaada frank na hoyein Minister Sahab" Dur Afshaan teased her husband who was cuddling their daughter, looking in her eyes as she babbled away.
Even though he had left politics, his wife loved to call him just that.
Minister Sahab.
" Banda mar hi na jaayein Begum Jaan!" Mahad sighed softly as he cradled their daughter to his chest.
Looking at the woman who he gets to call his own. The woman who owns his heart and rules over his life.
And his baby girl, Darejaan.
The child of love from a marriage that was politically arranged between Hukmaraan Mahad Qays Gashkori and his Begum Jaan, Dur Afshaan Gashkori.