She went to Kayan's room; the door was open, and he was sitting at the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. Sensing her arrival, Kayan lifted his head and looked at her with eyes raining fire. His eyes were red embers of grief and anger. Hooreen's heart trembled with fear, then swallowing hard, she spoke, stammering:
"Ka... ya... n... I...!"
Cutting her off mid-sentence, he spoke:
"I don't want to hear anything from you. Get out of here!"
"Kayan... please... don't do this."
"Then how should I do it...? Leave from here right now!"
"I'm sorry...!"
"Sorry...???? Do you even know what you have done??????? How could you, Hoor...? How could you...?"
He spoke, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her close. She said nothing, just bowed her head with a sense of remorse. Kayan grabbed her hand, brought her outside the room, let go, went back inside, and closed the door, smashing everything inside the room.
"Why, Hooreen...? How could you harm yourself even knowing what you are to me...? Still, you committed this cruelty against yourself...? Why???? Just because I didn't talk to you, how could you go to this extent? You could have said anything to me, not talked to me—I would have accepted it all, but you shouldn't have harmed yourself. I will never talk to you again...!"
Hooreen stood outside, listening to all this noise and words. Tears came to her eyes; she had hurt Kayan very badly. And winning him back was the most difficult task in the world.
Hearing the noise, Mr. Jilani also came out of his room and saw Hooreen crying.
"Child, what happened...? And why has Kayan caused such destruction in the room...? Did you two have a fight...? And how did you get this injury...?"
She said nothing, just kept crying. He took her to the room, made her sit, and gave her water.
"Hooreen child, tell me what happened...? My heart is sinking."
"Dad, I have truly made Kayan angry. He is extremely upset with me...!"
Then she told Mr. Jilani everything. He also became angry and spoke:
"How could you harm yourself in this condition, Hooreen...? Along with yourself and Kayan, you have also hurt this tiny soul, and me too... How can my daughter be the cause of grief for four people at once...?????"
"I... Kayan wasn't listening, so in anger and madness, I didn't understand anything. It just happened... I won't do it again. Please, don't you be angry with me either."
"I'm Sorry, Dad...!"
He remained silent, so she spoke again:
"Please Dad, I'm really sorry. Don't be angry. Kayan is also angry, and I don't know how to end his anger, and that thought makes me want to cry even more."
Seeing her silently shedding tears, Mr. Jilani spoke:
"This was your first mistake, so I am forgiving you. But the punishment for this will be that I won't help you now. You will handle Kayan alone."
At his words, she immediately spoke:
"Dad, this is unfair. You know it's impossible to handle him, especially when he is truly angry with me."
"Now that you've made him angry, win him back yourself. And you still haven't told Kayan that good news which is his right to know. Perhaps that very thing will end his anger because the mistake you committed this time is not forgivable...!"
At his words, she bowed her head again and spoke:
"I want to tell him, but I just couldn't gather the courage. I will talk to him in the morning."
"That will be best for all of us. At least you people will stop fighting like Tom and Jerry."
Hooreen controlled her laughter with great difficulty at his words, so he spoke again:
"You know, I'm only silent because of you—so that you are the one to tell him. Now if you take any longer, I will tell him everything myself."
At his final threat, Hooreen laughed and said:
"Dad, Kayan's influence is rubbing off on you too!"
He, who was explaining things to her seriously, smiled upon understanding the meaning of her words, because his son was just like that.
"You've become very naughty. Go on, go to sleep. Let me see the 'Prince' and check if his anger has subsided or not...!"
Saying this, he stood up and walked toward Kayan's room. Standing outside the room, he knocked and then went in. As usually everything in his room became the target of Kayan's anger, it was the same this time. The entire room was in shambles, and he was sitting on the bed taking deep breaths, as if trying to control his anger. Before he could say anything, Kayan spoke.
"Dad, if you've come to recommend your 'darling,' then with apologies, please leave from here."
"I haven't come to recommend her, just to say that you are also the reason for her doing this."
At his words, he spoke in a tone filled with grief and anger:
"You know she harmed herself... caused herself pain. And when she was doing it, and after she did it, do you know that instead of signs of pain on her face, there was a smile? She was smiling after hurting herself; there was a strange madness in her eyes... I... for a moment, even I got scared... that if she does this again or harms herself more than this, then what... will I do...? How can she commit such madness...?????"
Hearing his words, for a moment even Mr. Jilani was stunned at such mad passion.
"Kayan, child, it's alright, she did wrong, but you can explain things to her with love too."
"No Dad, not this time. And this isn't something to be explained with love. Only my anger will keep her from even thinking of doing this again. I don't want to lose her because of this madness of hers. She knows she is my weakness and that I can't bear her pain nor see her in pain, but that doesn't mean she should torture herself just for my attention. Not this time, Dad...!"
Hearing his words, he went silent, stood up, and left. But while leaving, he turned and said:
"Just make sure her health doesn't deteriorate. The doctor has forbidden her from taking stress."
Having completed his statement, he left.
Many days passed in this manner. Hooreen tried her best to talk to Kayan and win him over, but Kayan wasn't giving her a single opportunity. He would often come home when Hooreen was already asleep and leave for the office before she woke up in the morning. Even at the office, he ignored her completely, to the point that she wasn't allowed into Kayan's office, and Natasha wouldn't let her near it either.
In the evening, there was a New Year party for all the office staff, which was also Kayan's birthday party. She had to talk to Kayan and reconcile with him at any cost before evening because she wanted to make a new beginning with him. She had been trying since morning to find a moment when Kayan's busy schedule would end so she could go to him. Finally, in the afternoon, she got her chance. Kayan had asked Natasha for some files. Before Natasha could go inside with them, Hooreen stepped in front of her and spoke:
"Give these files to me. Sir has asked me to bring these files to him. You look into the details of Mrs. Malik's project."
Confused, Natasha replied:
"Sir didn't say anything like that to me. Yes, he did strictly say that you shouldn't be allowed into his cabin, and I am making sure that you don't go into his cabin now, or ever."
Her tone became taunting at the end. Controlling her anger, Hooreen spoke in a soft but challenging manner:
"Then go and ask him yourself... whether Sir has called me to his office just now or not... By the way, you know he doesn't like people who question him... The rest is up to you."
Without thinking further, Natasha handed the files to Hooreen. She didn't want to take any risks in this matter; moreover, no employee could speak about Kayan Sir so confidently unless it were true. If someone pulled such a stunt, Kayan would make their life miserable—they'd lose their job and never find work in another company again. Thus, Natasha was satisfied. Hooreen took the files, flashed a victorious smile at Natasha, and entered Kayan's office without permission.
Kayan, who was engrossed in files, heard the door open and the sound of someone entering. He knew that without his permission, only his Hoor could enter any space, be it his life, his heart, or his office. She always came in without permission. Therefore, he remained busy with his work without saying a word. Seeing Kayan acting so indifferent, she addressed him herself while placing the files on the desk:
"These are the files you asked for."
Without looking at her, Kayan called Natasha on the intercom and spoke in a cold voice:
"Natasha, I told you to bring the files. If you cannot do your job, there is no need for you to work here."
Hearing this, Natasha spoke up fearfully:
"N-No... No, Sir... Hooreen told me that you had asked her to bring the files and...!"
"I didn't ask you for an explanation. It is your duty to do what I say, not to listen to everyone else. Come to the office and take Miss Hooreen away from here. I don't want to see her in my office again."
With that, he hung up the phone with a click. Hooreen looked at him angrily and spoke:
"I won't go anywhere until you listen to me!"
He replied in a cold tone:
"I don't want to hear anything from you. You may leave."
Hooreen was furious at Kayan's coldness, but she had come here to win him over; it was her mistake, and she didn't want to make things worse by showing anger. Thinking of something, she walked toward Kayan with a smile and sat on his lap. Kayan stared at her, breathless. His Hoor was not bold at all; seeing her like this, he was stunned into silence. He sat there in shock, watching her as she moved so close to him of her own accord.
Wrapping her arms around his neck like a garland, she spoke with a captivating smile:
"My dear husband, I've something important to tell you."
"So, until you listen to what I have to say, I will stay sitting right here."
She leaned closer and whispered in his ear. Before she could say anything else, there was a knock at the door. Kayan, who was in a trance due to Hooreen's proximity, snapped out of it. Looking at Hooreen, he signaled her with his eyes to get up and gave Natasha permission to enter. Both of them had already seen her on the monitor. Kayan assumed Hooreen would get up upon hearing Natasha was coming in, but today Hooreen had no such intention. She had come determined to give Kayan's heart a shock it wouldn't forget. Even after Natasha entered, she did not move from Kayan's lap. Natasha was stunned by the scene inside.
Seeing her, Hooreen looked at Kayan charmingly and spoke to Natasha:
"Your Sir is busy with me right now, so you may leave for the time being."
Red with jealousy and anger, Natasha left silently. Hooreen turned her attention back to Kayan. She took both of Kayan's hands and placed them on her waist, pulling herself even closer until there was only an inch of distance between them. She spoke:
"So, what were we talking about?"
Seeing this side of Hooreen and seeing her take the lead, Kayan's breath hitched, and his heartbeats became erratic—audible even to Hooreen. Before he could recover from all this, Hooreen placed her lips over the spot where his heart was, and Kayan closed his eyes. Then she spoke:
"I can clearly hear your heartbeat... and my name on it... I'm sorry, I'll never ever hurt you or myself."
Kayan closed his eyes and took long breaths to control his emotions. He was still in disbelief that Hooreen could do such a thing. Seeing him like this, something came over Hooreen, and she leaned in further. Placing her lips on his, she began to satisfy her longing. On the other hand, Kayan, who had been stunned and in disbelief, returned to his senses.
After a while, when Hooreen began to pull away, Kayan caught her again and captured her lips with his own. His actions grew intense; his hands were felt by Hooreen on her back and stomach. Feeling his hand on her stomach brought her back to reality, and she immediately pulled away from Kayan. Realizing what she had done, she stood up and ran toward the door.
Kayan, who had been intoxicated by those moments, felt frustrated by Hoor moving away. Before she could exit the office, Kayan caught her from behind, pulled her back into his arms, and whispered near her earlobe:
"You can't go anywhere."
"You can't come this close to me and then just leave. And don't try to pull away from me repeatedly."
"It hurts, Hoor."
Saying this, Kayan turned her toward him and pinned her against the wall. He took both her hands and placed them back on his shoulders. He placed his right hand behind her head and neck while placing the other on her waist, pulling her even closer. Hooreen's cheeks were burning with embarrassment and shyness at her own actions. Seeing the rosy hue of modesty spread across her cheeks, he felt even more carried away.