My Emir ✅

Chapter 35- Mess

... I'm telling you now, perfect picture families have the most flaws. And when those cracks become obvious, they can never be ignored.

~Latifah Efua

It was inescapable, and she knew that. Showing up at work meant that her hide-and-seek was over. It was an ineffectual attempt, but at least she tried.
Mariya responded to the greetings of those who offered her salutations as she walked through the lobby of the law firm. She replied with the same energy without dropping her seemingly collected mask. One would reckon that she was living life to its maximum. Some resented her because they assumed Emraan lessened her work burden. After all, she was his sister-in-law. If only they knew. It was a blessing that she still held her place at the firm. The attorney in her told her that was Emraan's mechanism to get her back to work.

In her office, she sat behind her desk, making a last-minute review to make sure she was thoroughly prepared for the court trial.
She looked up from the MacBook in front of her when she heard a gentle tap on her door. Suddenly, her heart was too wild to be caged in her chest. Every single iota of her being dreaded it to be Emraan at the other end of the door. She dreaded meeting anyone who knew about her dilemma. Assembling the little scattered amount of courage in her, she spoke.
" Come in."

Anticipation built up as the door slid open. She hoped it wasn't Emraan.
Heavens!
It wasn't him. She let out a barely visible breath when she saw the person who was now standing in front of her. She didn't celebrate much because it was Emraan's secretary__ Khalil. He shot her a small smile.

" Good morning. It's been long." He greeted.

" Yeah." She returned.

" Mr.Malik asked to see you. He just arrived." He didn't even think of stalling about it.

That was all it took for her heart to run berserk. Her facade was burning. " Which one of them?" There were a lot of them.

" Haba, Ranki ya dade." He chuckled. "Which of the Mr.Maliks do we work with? Emraan Malik, of course."

" Yeah." She laughed awkwardly. There was no retreat. " Sure, I'll be at his office soon."

He gave her a subtle nod and made his way out of her office. She shut her eyes for a brief moment before making a few clicks to save the document she was working on. Reluctantly, she got off her seat to make for Emraan's office. Her gaze fell on a bunch of withered daisies in a ceramic vase just beside her window. It was from the day Zayn had surprised her at work. She smiled at the beautiful memory.

The last time she had been so anxious to meet Emraan was the day of her first interview with him at the firm. Back then, she knew him as nothing short of unapproachable. She stood in front of the door for a while, contemplating whether to knock, or just pack her things and scurry away to her apartment. Somehow, her feet never complied with the latter.

" Come in." Emraan's voice ordered even before she could think of knocking. Then again, she reminded herself that he was the Emraan Malik.

She creaked the door open, stepping inside while muttering a greeting. She was welcomed by the cold air in his office.

" Have a seat." He said after she closed the door behind her. She complied. An unspoken question loomed over her senses. He looked up to her and a frown tugged his expression almost immediately. "Would you care to explain your absence from home and work for the past few days?" He threw it at her.