A Tale of Hearts

Chapter Sixty Five

Kamran's POV:

"Don't do anything rash!" I heard Ibraheem call out to me. All of us had gone alert. My rationality had decided to give up on me. The moment the bell rang, I grabbed the revolver in my waist band and headed towards the main door. I had no plan. I had no idea what I was going to do at all. All I felt was sheer unadultered hate and rage. I felt a presence beside me and noticed Zoya trudging close by my side. Is she out of her mind? This was dangerous for her. Why was she here?

I halted and blocked her path. My common sense was gradually coming back to me in the smallest of batches to make sure that I don't endanger my mother or Zoya. They were far too dear to me. 

"It's dangerous, go into one of the rooms, now." I turned to Fahad who was loading his gun too. "What room is Misha in? Send her there and lock them both inside."

"No chance. I am not going anywhere." Zoya stood rooted to the spot and crossed her hands over her chest stubbornly. I sighed before I tucked my gun back into the waistband.

I leaned down and picked her up over my shoulder. I looked to Fahad and noticed that he pointed to a room with a mahogany door. Zoya started to squeal and scream. She must really think I am out of my mind if I let her or Ammi join us in this. We have no idea how things would go. I had expected her to scratch my back but instead she pulled at my hair. 

"Ammi, you are coming with us too." Ammi looked like she wanted to object and looked at the door longingly but one look at abbu and me and she nodded reluctantly. She followed me. No one said anything. They all knew they would do the exact same thing for the people they love.

"Kamran put me down right now! I am not allowing you to go into harm's way on your own! I will stand by your side." I turned the knob and spotted Misha sleeping on the king sized bed. Good, the besties can keep each other company for now. "If you do this, I am never talking to you again!" 

I tossed her on the bed and gave her a warning look. Misha woke up in a fright and looked at me and then Zoya on the bed beside her.

"What the-" Misha slowly rose from the bed.

"We have a situation, meri jaan. Take care of them. I will be back soon." Ibraheem assured Misha who visibly relaxed.

"Behave, Zoya. I will be come to you soon. Stay with Misha and Ammi. Don't try anything stupid. You know what happens when you do that." Zoya was about to charge towards the door but I closed it on her face and locked it from the outside. She kept banging on the door and turning the door knob.

"You will regret this Sher! You will surely regret this!" Zoya spat out bitterly. I will appease her once I sort this mess out. 

"Call Rubab and tell her to go to the safe house with Nisha auntie." I told Fahad who was already dialling auntie's number. It was good that taye ammi, Ibraheem's mother was in Malaysia. She was already safe.

"Already on it." Fahad looked tensed too. "Hello, mom, once you are done with the Rubab's teeth implants procedure, go to the safe house. Something urgent came up at the house so yeah. Yes, we are all fine, yes, I love you too. I will talk to you in a bit."

Once all of that was settled, a heavy silence descended among us. All of us looked at each other for a minute before accepting the reality of the situation. This could go in any direction. There will be bloodshed. It might just be the last time I see any of them.

"Let us do the talking first." Abbu spoke up and I understood that he didn't want the children to intervene when the elders were talking. I didn't want to agree with it but I had to respect the decision. I felt my body vibrate with anger but reluctantly gave a single nod of acceptance.

"Assess the situation before losing it." Fahad advised me though he knew it was falling on deaf ears. All of us loaded our guns and when the bell rang for the second time, I grabbed and turned the door knob.

"Khol bhi dou derwaza ab! (Open the door already!)" Uncle Buland's booming voice welcomed us. He was standing on the other side of the door wearing his usual attire: black shalwar kameez with a shawl draped over his shoulders. I was about to charge towards him until I noticed him holding a cake box in his hand. What? "About time you guys opened the door. I thought y'all slept or something."

His pleasant demeanour faded when he noticed the unwelcoming aura around us. He narrowed his eyes before stepping forward. Abbu couldn't see anything from behind me so he marched forward and grabbed uncle's collar. The cake box dropped from his hand as Abbu shook uncle while gripping his collar.

"Kahan hai Kainaat? Kahan hai meri beeti? Tum kabhi nahi sudhar sakte! (Where is Kainaat? Where is my daughter? You can never change!)" Abbu roared in uncle's ear. 

"Kya bol rahay ho? Paghal tou nahi hogaye? Kainaat kahan se agayi? Hosh men tou ho? (What are you saying? Have you gone crazy? Where did Kainaat come from? Are you in your senses?)" Uncle grabbed abbu's collar in return and I took a step towards them to counter but Ibraheem placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head.

"Men tou hosh men hun but tumhara dimagh kharaab hogaya hai. (I am in my senses but I think you have lost your mind.)" Abbu head banged uncle and the two of them stepped back while holding their heads.

"Tameez se baat karo, Azmat! Men tumhara bara bhai hun. Yeh maat bholo. (Talk with respect, Azmat! Do not forget that I am still your older brother.)" Uncle stood at his towering height of 6'4. A few inches above Abbu's 6'1.

"Tameez ke kabil apne chora hi kya hai? (What is there to respect now?)" Abbu pushed uncle back and Uncle Saqib decided to step in. The three of us parted the way for uncle. He had the worst temper out of all three of our father's. He had zero tolerance for disrespect and despite being the middle child, he had a more authoritative and rationale personality.

"Just what are you talking about? Saqib, how are you allowing this? Does anyone want to tell me just what happened this time? And what is this about Kainaat?" Uncle Buland looked at each of us one by one before turning to Saqib who was walking towards them with a scary expression. 

"Are you still playing dumb, Buland?" Saqib uncle's powerful voice tore through the hostility with a new kind of deathly atmosphere. "We already know that Wassal has Kainaat."

I had expected many things to come out of Uncle Buland's mouth to defend himself and his son but the absolute look of confusion left me perplexed. He looked genuinely confused. He had no idea we were talking about at all. Why? How?

His reaction was picked up by all six of us. When you have been in the business of reading body language to maximise profits and success for as long as all of us, especially our fathers, you can tell when someone is bluffing. Uncle Buland, however, wasn't bluffing. He looked taken aback.

"Wassal has Kainaat? Kainaat isn't dead?" Uncle Buland repeated more to himself and then to his brother. Both Uncle Azmat and Uncle Saqib looked at him with a scrutinizing stare. They were assessing the situation. After a few seconds, their aggressive stances relaxed.

"You really don't know, do you?" Uncle Saqib asked the question that had been on all of our minds.

"No I didn't. That doesn't make sense. At all."

"And yet it does. Wassal has Kainaat."

"How is that possible?" 

Uncle Zubair gave a summarised version of what Zoya had told us to Uncle Buland I watched his body vibrate with anger. He looked betrayed. But more than that, he looked like a mixture of humiliation and anger.

"We are going to Wassal. I want answers. I know I haven't been the best brother to you or Saqib in the past but separating a child from her parent is never a decision I could live by. I have my dignity and morals." Uncle addressed abbu with a determined look on his face. "We are getting to the bottom of this."

Author's Note:

Hello and Asalam o Alaikum lovelies!

So it appears that Uncle Buland doesn't know what is happening either. What do you think Wassal is planning? Where is Kainaat? Is she alive or dead?