Ishq | (complete)

27 | karb

❝Tu Nigaahein Jo Phair Le Mujh Se
Mera Qissa Tamaam Ho Jaye.❞

Khuda sab ka hota hai bus pukaarne ki dair hoti hai.

There was something in Rapunzel's words. They wouldn't leave him. If he dared to call out for someone, would there be a higher power to answer him? Shehryar sucked in his breath. He wasn't sure of his own thoughts and beliefs anymore. On one side, he had convinced himself that he didn't believe in anything. On the other hand, there was that scared broken man who didn't want to call out for help because he was terrified of being returned empty-handed.

"Why are you so purely religious?" He asked her as the car gradually got closer to the impending doom.

"I'm not. I'm a sinner like everyone else. There are sins I commit knowingly and then some unknowingly. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop following my faith. It just means that by the end of the day when I sit down in front of Allah, I have this unwavering faith in him that there is forgiveness and if I repent sincerely, Allah will forgive me"

If I repent sincerely, Allah will forgive me.

He closed his eyes for a moment. Something in that hollow darkness cracked as if just a thread of light had passed through. He'd forgotten and left the path long behind in his past so why was it that there was a taste of hope in those words.

"It's never too late to repent. Uske darwaze hamesha khule hote hai. Yeh alag baat hai ke hum khud apne dil ke darwaze band kare aur tareeqion mein apne aap ko qaid kar lein. Aur jab hum koi darwaza band karlein to woh humein khud he kholna parta hai... koi dusra nahi khol sakta chahe kitni bhi koshish kare."

His eyes shot open as she faintly said those words. Maybe, just maybe, telling him something, but Shehryar Ali had not only closed his doors but also sealed them. It'd take him a long while just to hear the knock through those cold walls.

Laila. Na jaane uska naam Laila kyun tha. He watched her with half-lidded eyes as she secured the navy-blue dupatta on her head, getting ready to hop off the car as it finally came to halt. Uska naam Roshni hona chahiye tha. Lekin Roshni to bewafa hoti hai kabhi kisi baadal ke piche chup jaati hai to kabhi barish mein bheeg ke madham ho jaati hai. Jab din ki Roshni dhalti hai to apne saath ajeeb udasi laati hai.

Laila. The daughter of Night. Haan. Uska naam sahi tha woh aisi raat thi jo logon ko agli subha ki umeed deti. Woh aisi raat thi jis mein chaand ki Roshni bhi thi aur sitare bhi. Woh aisi raat thi jo logon ki ghaltiyon ko chupa kar unko roashi ka raasta dikhati. Laila. She was a mix of darkness of the night and the light of galaxies... a breathtaking chaos.

"Rapunzel..." He called her out as they were about to get out of the car. She turned around making him suck in his breath. Those eyes were so striking, blended with the scars and kindness she carried all together. "No matter what happens with me or the project, never let any of them inside make you feel less. No, you are above and beyond their level. Always remember that."

"Thank you." The nervous jitters visibly calmed in her hands as she curved the corner of her lips in a smile.

He'd expected his skin to be crawling with nervousness, but there was a weird sense of calm. The strong belief in the project they held so carefully in their hands, but more than himself he trusted her. He knew if he faltered at any point, she'd carry the whole thing on her shoulders. This sense of trust was nerve-wracking for him.

For the past decade he had trust no one but himself, even kept the thirst of revenge hidden from Zain.

Following the vicious swarm of people, they stepped inside the building. His assistant was hot on his tail, the most nervous he'd ever seen her. He was stopped by someone he knew from his previous contracts as he continued with the conversation, his eyes were still on Rapunzel. She was driving him crazy with her jitters. She twiddled her fingers like a kid, then found the lace on her 100ft-duppatta fascinating as she pulled the threads from it to finally biting her nails. He excused himself stepping to the side and rightly so she followed.