"Hooreen, isn't this the same man whose wedding we went to by mistake...?"
Hooreen spoke, trembling with dread and fear.
"No... like this...?"
Her voice was so faint that even Amna couldn't hear it, but Kayan understood her words by the movement of her lips. His lethal smile deepened. Seeing Kayan moving towards her, Hooreen's courage gave way; losing her senses, she collapsed. Amna caught her, sat down beside her, and began patting her face, calling out to her. The others also rushed toward her.
"Hooreen... Hooreen... wake up... Hooreen!"
Kayan approached her with long strides. Seeing him coming, everyone instinctively cleared the way. Kayan lifted Hooreen in his arms and addressed Waleed.
"Waleed, call the doctor and tell them to come immediately."
"Yes, Sir..."
Waleed called the doctor right away, while Kayan carried Hooreen into his office and laid her on the sofa. Everyone was stunned by this action of their new boss, but they ignored it, assuming it was just his good manners. While Waleed was talking to the doctor, they all entered the office without permission. At that moment, Kayan was only worried about his "Hoor" and didn't pay attention to anything else.
He knelt by the sofa and began patting her cheek. Her entire body was as cold as ice. He spoke:
"Get up... Get up..."
Amna picked up a water jug nearby, poured water into a glass, and brought it to Hooreen. Kayan took it from her and sprinkled water on Hooreen's face.
She dreamt she was at home, sitting and talking with her father. Then Amna and Sehrish arrived; despite her refusal, they took her with them. Outside, there was life and a crowd. Everyone was happy. Talking with them, she didn't realize where she had ended up. She looked left and right; no one was there. It was dark everywhere, and she was alone. Fear prevented even a sound from escaping her throat. Suddenly, someone grabbed her hand and began dragging her away by force—away from her father, away from her friends. She opened her eyes in a panic. Seeing Kayan leaning over her, she immediately sat up, recoiling into herself. Kayan felt a surge of relief. He stood up and turned on the AC. Amna also breathed a sigh of relief. Amna came to her and asked:
"Hooreen, are you okay...?"
She hugged Amna and, looking at Kayan with cautious eyes, spoke in a moist voice:
"Amna, I want to go home..."
Before she could say anything else, Kayan spoke:
"Rest for a while now. Let the doctor check you once, then you can go."
His tone was soft, but there were signs of sternness on his face. She started to say the same thing again, but Kayan noticed the rest of the staff standing in his office. He spoke angrily:
"What are you people doing in my office without my permission? Do none of you have any manners? Are these your manners? Walking into someone's office like this? Get out of here! No one should step foot in here again without my permission."
Apologizing and feeling embarrassed, everyone left. Amna was also about to leave, but Hooreen grabbed her hand to stop her, which Kayan noticed. Amna looked at Kayan, and upon her gaze, he said:
"You stay here with her."
Meanwhile, Waleed knocked on the door and asked for permission to enter. Upon being granted permission, he entered with Dr. Aafia. She was the same doctor who had treated Hooreen before. Leaving them, Waleed went outside. The doctor checked her; her BP was very low. She came to Kayan and said:
"Sir, her BP is very low, and she probably hasn't eaten anything. Give her this medicine after feeding her something. She will be fine by evening. Also, can I talk to you?"
Kayan went with her, but before leaving, he told Waleed to bring food for Hooreen.
"Look, Sir, I know I shouldn't talk about your personal matters, but it is necessary for your wife that you eliminate her fear. If you want her to recover completely, you must end the hidden dread and fear in her heart; otherwise, anything could happen. This can have a very bad effect on her mind. Her condition had worsened in the hospital too. To prevent this in the future, you must restore her confidence."
Kayan listened to the doctor's words in silence. Having said her piece, she left, while Kayan knew exactly what he had to do. Just as this fear had settled in her heart, he had to pull it out.
When he returned to the office, Hooreen was lying with her head in Amna's lap, and Amna was massaging her head. Seeing Kayan enter, she tried to get up, but Amna didn't let her.
"Waleed will bring the food shortly. You feed her and give her this medicine."
A little while later, Waleed arrived with the food. Amna's phone was ringing repeatedly, which she was ignoring. She had messaged Zaid that she was with Hooreen, but his reply came that his sisters and her mother wanted to talk to her. After the message, he called again, so Kayan spoke:
"Go outside and take the call comfortably or turn off the mobile; the sound is causing a disturbance."
Kayan was longing to talk to Hooreen, to feel her presence, but he was controlling himself because of Amna's presence and Hooreen's health.
Apologizing, Amna left. As soon as she was gone, Kayan spoke with a cold sigh:
"What luck I have—the girl I love with all my heart and soul runs away from me, fears me, and because of this, has brought herself to this state. Trust me, Hoor, I am not bad; I have just fallen into a mad love with you."
Hooreen didn't give any answer to this. He came and sat near her. She recoiled even further, so he said:
"Why are you running so far from me? I am your husband..."
At his words, she spoke fearfully in broken syllables:
"...For...ced..."
To her words, he spoke with a serious expression but smiling eyes:
"Regardless of how, a husband is a husband, right? Anyway, how is your health now...?"
"I... am... fine..."
She spoke haltingly. Then, gathering courage, she asked the question that came to her mind, but her manner was the same—terrified and stumbling.
"How... are you... here...?"
He smiled slightly at her question, but there was a mix of softness, seriousness, and pride in his tone, followed by that same lethal style that subdues an opponent.
"So, Mrs. Kayan wants to know how I reached her...? Even though she had challenged me quite boldly that I would spend my life searching for her."
At his words, she lowered her head. She just wanted to run away from there at that moment. She made an attempt; she got up to run, but Kayan grabbed her hand, sat her back in her place, placed his hands on both sides of the sofa, and leaning over her, spoke in a harsh tone:
"If you ever make the mistake of running away from me again or going anywhere without my permission, I will make your state such that you will remember it. It is mandatory for my permission and will to be included in everything you do. Believe me, you wouldn't want to see how bad my temper can be. Therefore, if you do anything like this, I will not forgive you this time."
Hearing his words, her senses failed her. All the plans she was making to escape from here remained stalled. Moreover, Kayan was standing so close to her that the slightest movement would make his lips touch hers. Beads of sweat began to appear on her face out of fear, and her color turned pale. He could easily hear the sound of her frantic, irregular heartbeat. Seeing her deteriorating state, he put aside his desires and, after saying his piece, stepped back.
He pulled up a chair and sat in front of Hooreen, bringing a morsel of food toward her mouth. Hooreen moved back slightly and said:
"I am not hungry."
After speaking, she looked at Kayan, whose eyes held a clear warning. She knew the consequence of refusing him again, so she quietly opened her mouth. Kayan put the morsel in her mouth and began talking.
"After the Nikah, you left me and came here without telling me, and you very enjoyably challenged me that I would search for you all my life and you would never meet me. You also said I would long for your proximity."
Saying this, he moved even closer to her until the distance between them was almost non-existent. Continuing his talk, he said:
"Perhaps you were under the delusion that you could hide from me, run away from me, and I would let you go so easily or forget you. But that is your misunderstanding. I would have cleared this misunderstanding of yours right then, but your deteriorating condition stopped me from doing so."
"W... what... mean...?"
Hooreen asked, looking at him in surprise, to which he said:
"It means that, my dear wifey, I had found you at that very moment and was standing outside your house, but because of your condition, Dad took me away from there. I stayed with you until you got better and went home. Because of your health, I stayed away from you for so long, giving you time so you could accept the reality of our relationship. I thought this much time would be enough for you, but coming here, I now feel that you have forgotten this relationship and are absorbed in your own world. But now that I have arrived, I will make you remember everything in such a way that you won't remember anything except me. And as for your proximity, neither you nor anyone else can stop me..."
This meant that the feeling of Kayan's presence she had even while unconscious was not a hallucination. It meant this man could truly do anything. More fear took root in her heart.
After cleaning her mouth with a napkin, he gave Hooreen the medicine, which she took without a word.
"How are you feeling now?"
At his question, she said:
"I... am... fine... May I... go... home... now...?"
Her manner was as terrified as before; in that same state, she was ruthlessly biting her lips. This action was tempting Kayan. Restraining himself, he used the thumb of his right hand to release Hooreen's lips from the grip of her teeth and spoke:
"Don't be so cruel to them. Doing this is only my right. Come, let me introduce my beautiful wife to everyone. I should at least introduce the one I came here for to everyone."
She panicked at his words.
"N... no... please... I... cannot... face... all this... please..."
"Hooreen, what is the problem after all...?"
He spoke in an irritated tone.
Upon his question, Hooreen looked at him with pleading eyes, but she didn't dare to speak. Kayan understood, but he wanted Hooreen to speak—to tell him what was in her heart. Only then would the burden and fear hidden in her heart diminish.
"You are my wife... our relationship is legitimate. For what reason do you not want to reveal this relationship? I stayed away from you for so long so that you would accept this bond from your heart, but you want to deny this relationship even before everyone? I will never let you do that. Let everyone also know who Kayan Zarar's wife is...!"