Ishq | (complete)

57 | kaanch

❝Jo bheji thi duaa
Woh jaake aasmaan se yun takra gayi
Ki aa gayi hai laut ke sadaa❞

Shehryar's hand pulled Laila away from the fire, but that fire had already incinerated her hope and dreams. The burn of that pain had lined against the walls of her bones, making her numb. She kept blinking at the scars the fire left behind on the white paint. Maybe it was just a flash of her imagination. A nightmare that had been chasing her for months. She shook her head, but the sight in front of her didn't fade away. She didn't wake up in her husband's arms from the nightmare. No, he was pulling her away from the reality that was way worse than the nightmare.

Laila furrowed her eyebrows. Her mind barely pushed through the smoke. I need to write the incident report. She blinked when Shehryar turned her towards him, cupping his hands around her jaw. He shouldn't be in the office or here. His lips were moving, but Laila couldn't hear anything. Her brain tried to push through something like an overbearing fog. I need to make sure there wasn't anyone injured.

"Laila." He whispered it so tenderly, it deepened the frown on her forehead.

"I need to be in the office. I must report this." She nodded to herself after saying it, without waiting for his reply. "I must report it to HR. The grand opening must be postponed until further notice. I have to notify everyone."

"Laila, my Rapunzel." He traced his hand up to her hair, dusting something out of it. Probably ash. She didn't know, she needed to work. She needed to figure out what everyone was going to do. So much work. So little time. Shaking her head, she opened her mouth, but no more words were forming. 

"We have to go to the office. I have to write the incident report." She tried to pry his hands off to get to the car but he put his hands on her shoulders to keep her rooted there. "Why don't you understand?" She blinked at him. "I have to go to the office?" She closed her eyes as if a heavy blanket fell on them.

"Laila." He pressed on her shoulders to keep her grounded yet again, but this time emotionally. "We are going home. You are coming with me."

"Home?" She opened her eyes and whispered at him. He made her sit in the passenger seat and strapped the belt in place. She leaned back, the news had yet to shatter her.

"Yes, we are going home." He cupped her face before kissing her forehead. She looked over his shoulder and the flames had yet to be put out. "Hey, hey, look at me." He turned her face, making her look in his eyes. "It's okay."

"Shehryar," Somewhere within her that didn't make sense. Nothing was making sense for her so she looked at her anchor, her Sherry.

"It's okay. I will fix it." He gently grazed her jaw with his thumb and nodded. "I have got you."

His hands were shaking so much that he couldn't stop it. He didn't know how in the world was he going to fix that as he drove away from the fire, taking her away from the flames that were about to burn her down. He knew it was not if, it was a matter of when she was going to realize the impact of what had just happened. He was only delaying the destruction. There was no fixing to that. It was the first time he had lied to her, but if that was going to save her, so be it.

He was delaying his own breakdown as well. He had invested his life, his business, his money... his everything in this hospital, and it was all in the dark smoke now. Every vein in his body was laced with anxiety and fear. All he wanted was to fall to his knees and scream at the sky, but he didn't have the luxury to do it. No. He had to hold her. He needed to pick up her pieces whenever they started to fall even if his own hands were shaking.