Faraan passed a remorseful smile to the middle-aged lady in front of him when she needed to stop whatever she was saying due to the ringing of his call. He pulled out his hand and grabbed his phone placed it on the coffee table in front of him. He gazed at its bright screen only to get his relaxed forehead creased in confusion. Why this person was calling him now?
Seeing Alice's name glimmering on his phone he remembered everything which he had done with her. Alice was a Christian girl he had met in Islamabad two years ago when he had gone there for doing his masters. She was his classmate. Soon a strong romantic bond developed between them but the reasons were different for both of them. Alice was the only daughter of the owner of a multinational company in Canada and she came here as an immigrant student.
When she saw Faraan, she fell in love with him and proposed to him. On the other hand, Faraan got rich prey in the form of her. Being the only kid of a wealthy family, she was what he needed the most at that time. Even with her being with him, he didn't need to seduce other girls as she would be enough for giving him what he was in search of.
They got married as Alice converted to Islam and Alice was the first girl with whom he didn't abide by his rule- not to become intimate. That girl made him lose his senses altogether and then he didn't comprehend when and why he had maintained a romantic relationship with her after their marriage.
The real realization hit him when Alice's family broke every tie with her because she had converted and also married him without their approval. When Faraan didn't get the same amount of money and a luxurious lifestyle, he didn't think twice before divorcing Alice.
Now it was out of his perception, why Alice was constantly calling him now when he was no longer linked to her. Faraan disconnects her call as he looked up at his new prey with a smile, who was already gazing at him with a dubious stare.
"What were you saying, Maya?" He asked her while taking her hand in his.
"Who is calling you continuously?" She asked, the frown never lifting her face.
Faraan looked at her blankly before diverting his gaze from her to think of a better lie that could make Sana's suspicious mind at rest.
"My father," he simply replied.
"Why?"
Now he felt like slapping the aged woman in front of him. He never allowed anyone to ask him these intimate details and this woman had the nerve to do it. But he couldn't lash out at her because he hadn't cashed her until now and by shoving her away, would only be led to his disadvantage.
"He was telling me to come home for dinner but I declined him; you know why?" He deliberately stopped and rubbed his index finger on her jawline.
"Because I told him that today my whole day and night belonged to this beautiful lady sitting in front of me," he winked at her at which she shyly hit his chest.
"Flirt much, huh?"
"Just for you." Faraan bit his tongue when he realized what blunder he had done. He had just ascertained his true nature in front of Maya.
He recklessly thought of possible excuses in his mind by fidgeting with his fingers hard when he heard Maya's annoying chuckle. He looked up at her in a daze who was already eyeing with a smile.
"That's why I am saying let's get married," she asserted.
At that time, Faraan was urged to just smirk at this dumb woman's mindset. She was either too naive or too stupid to not give a mind to what he had said. He replaced his smirk with a smile as he took her hand in his and slowly rubbed the back of It.
"We can't marry right now, Maya," he declined her while giving an apologetic smile.
"Why?"
"Because I am not good enough to give you the luxurious life that you have always had. I don't have a job yet and in these circumstances, I don't want to..."
"Oho darling," Maya interrupted him as she looked at him with disturbing eyes, "you don't need to worry about anything. I don't need your money or status because I already have all of this. I need your love and nothing else. I will take care of our all expenses."
Faraan's heart was doing a happy dance on this. Maya wasn't bad for flirting and making money for a good amount of time. And he was succeeding in his plans.
"Whatever you say, baby. I will love you my whole life," he whispered in her ear in a husky voice making her giggle.
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The atmosphere of Islamabad was pleasant when he reached here in his car. A nice breeze was swaying around but it was nothing compared to the cool weather of Ghizar Village. There even in the morning the weather would be so gracious.
It was almost a year since he last visited this place only just because of Faraan's persistence that he wanted to celebrate their birthday together in the city. And now as well, he came here just for his sake. He loved his brother so much. Thinking about him, a smile crossed his lips.
Faraan despite being his twin and of the same age, sometimes felt younger to him because he was still quite immature and jolly. So he used to care for him more as an elder brother. He was a lively person who loved to crack jokes and make people happy. Everyone loved Faraan's company. He never let anyone bored.
When they would be together, Faraan would turn Faris back due to his vibrant personality even though they looked the same. Only Faraan would be remembered by every person, he always found himself a lot dull in front of him.
In short, Faraan was a show stealer while Faris was just someone sitting in the audience. It used to happened since they were children.
In school, despite Faris excelling in academics, every other person would only remember Faraan because he was a tiger of extracurricular activities. He always became the focus of everyone's praise; including the girls as well. He was quite famous among women. He remembered sometimes he got the letters written for Faraan accidentally since they had similar features. Faris chuckled inwardly at this memory.
But even this didn't make him feel jealous or hate him. He was the only own person to Faris after their mother. He could sacrifice his life for his twin brother.
As he entered the house, his father was the one who welcomed him. Burak Kirmani was an industrialist by profession and they were living a pretty reasonable livelihood. Not billionaire but something by which people called them moderately well off. This mansion got passed onto him after his father's death.
Burak pulled him into a hug and felt his strong, muscular, and young son opposite his heart. He was meeting him after such a long time.
"How are you?" He asked, now looking straight at him.
Faris nodded. "I am good. What about you?"
"Feels like my whole energy got replenished after seeing you," he cackled.
Faris gave him a tight-lipped smile and walked ahead. He placed his passenger bag on the floor. He was always like this. He wanted to keep his thoughts to himself. He never opened up to him. Not any father and son, they talked more like two clients. So formal and particular. Since his mother died and Burak married Raima, he became like this. Still going by so many misconceptions and didn't want to clear them.
"You changed the color coding of the lounge," Faris commented when they reached the hall. He remembered the walls were light brown when he last time saw them but now they were cream colored.
Burak also took a look. "Yes, it happened recently. Faraan wanted some renewal of the house."
"Talking about him. Where is he?" Faris asked, putting a hand in his pants pocket.
"He is out with friends right now," Burak answered.
Faraan was still the same. So reckless and fun-loving. He still didn't try for any job. Not to forget, he had no interest in studies as well. He did his B.Com a year ago just on Faris' stress. Perhaps their father would ask him to join his work soon.
Just then, a woman in her forties entered. She was a decent lady wearing a neat grey dress with a white dupatta placed delicately on her head. A pair of glasses were sitting on her nose. She smiled when she noticed him and stepped in his direction before cupping his face between her palms.
Her smile reached her eyes, looking genuine otherwise but he knew how fake it was. "How are you, Faris?"
He clenched his jaw and pulled away his face from her hands. Raima noticed it and her lips dropped into a thin line but soon she gain her composure.
"How was your travel?" She again implored. Something in her never wanted to stop caring for the sons of her husband even though Faris acted this.
"I am a bit tired. I want to get freshened up," he uttered, only looking at his father and completely ignoring the woman standing closer to him.
Burak too noticed it but what could he say? He nodded anyway. Also, it wasn't happening for the first time. When he couldn't make a young Faris understand, then this strong, tall, and powerful son of his would never vindicate the rigid thoughts which germinated in his mind when he was a child.
"After that, come down again. We will have dinner together. I specifically got prepared every dish which you like," Raima again announced in excitement.
Faris bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from lashing out at this cunning woman. He couldn't believe she still wanted to come into his father's good books by acting sweetly with him. He could see the decoy sweetness dribbling from her mouth. She was someone he hated the most but he didn't want to spoil the atmosphere of the house by making any chaos. Besides it wasn't even in his nature.
He shooter her a glare before picking up his bag and striding upstairs.
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In the night, Javaria after giving tea to her father, when came into the room, she found it empty.
Where this girl had gone?
She and Ajwa shared a room. She was five years older than her. But she found themselves too opposite to each other. Ajwa was so outspoken and courageous while she was so frightened. Sometimes she used to fear that her little sister would call some major misery upon her due to her long tongue and loose mind. Not that, she wasn't getting it now as mostly Ajwa became the target of their father's hands and admonishing.
But remembering their father, she quickly understood where she would be. She always used to do the same when he used to fight with their mother. Right now as well, Khalid was arguing with his wife about something when Javaria exited their room.
She ambled into the balcony and as usual found her sitting on the chair with earbuds in her ears. It was her way to ignore the humiliation of her mother which her Baba was doing or else she wouldn't be able to control herself. Javaria put her hand on her shoulder which made her attentive to her. Ajwa separated one of the earbuds and raised a brow at her.
"Aren't you sleepy? It's very late," she said, sitting next to her.
"Who can sleep in such an environment, Javaria Api?" She sighed but then quickly clenched her teeth and slammed both of her earbuds on her lap. "Sometimes I wish one murder was permissible."
"Ajwa!" Javaria snarled. "Are you out of your mind?"
"Yes, I have gotten mad! Ap, I will turn insane if I will keep on living here. Can you believe it he never for once talked sweetly with us?" She sobbed. "He had been hitting us and Mama since I gain senses. Our whole body would have bruises given by him. He had caged us. I just want to fly out of this cage."
"What can we do, Ajwa? It's our fate. Accept it. Our Baba was not meant to love us." Javaria patted her hair.
"When I was little, you always used to dodge me by saying it's my nightmare. His yelling and Mama's cries were something that I was having in my dream. I wish it was a dream. My heart hurts when I find my friends so happy with their fathers. Their fathers consider them their pride, someone so precious while here this man considers us a stain on his masculinity. They go to University for studies. Our father didn't let us even complete our study," she mumbled with now red eyes. She was going through so many emotions; anger, hatred, and sadness in the end.
Khalid stopped them from going to any institute after their college. Javaria accepted it while Ajwa stood against it as expected. At the request of their grandmother, Khalid agreed to her private education that too for just two years.
She harshly wiped her cheeks. "Is there any way we can escape this Javaria?"
Javaria bit her lip and hugged her. There was no escape from it.
She swallowed the tears. "I won't bear this."
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AssalamoAlaikum guys!
It's been so long since I have updated. But finally, it's here.
How is the chapter?
Who do you think has come in front of Faris?
Will Faris go to receive Ajwa's family? If yes, then will they both be able to see each other?
To know this, don't forget to read the next chapter.
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