The next morning, the doctor cleaned up my open wound and warned me against moving again, bringing a small smirk out of Khizer’s sullen expression. He looked as if he hadn’t slept at all last night, which was probably true.
I don’t want to think about last night though, so I focus on what the doctor is saying instead. The sooner I do as he says, the more chances I have of getting out of this goddamn bed early.
“I won’t be staying with you today.” Khizer says once the doctor leaves after giving him a list of medicines.
“Yeah?”
“My secretary will be with you from here on out. She’ll help you change and all.” He gestures towards my bloody clothes.
Thank god. These clothes were making me itch all over. Not to mention the smell. I smell like a dead man.
“Okay.”
“And when she feeds you, don’t say no.”
“I’ll see.”
“Oh and Mansha?”
The cobwebs on the ceiling still don’t have any spider visitors.
“Yeah?”
“If you aren’t being given the male privilege, claim it.”
I take my eyes away from the ceiling and look at Khizer, standing near the doorway. “What?”
He points at my phone. “Tell your parents you can’t come and that you’ll explain later. That’s it.”
“They’ll kill me.”
“They don’t know where you are.”
“They will once I go back home.”
“They won’t.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“When you go back, you won’t just be Mansha Haseeb, your father’s daughter. You will be Mansha Haseeb, your fathers daughter and Khizer Malik’s fiancee.” I blink. “Do you think your parents will say anything if ?’? ok with you disappearing for a week?”
This man was asking me to use our society’s stereotypes to benefit myself. He was telling me to use him to steer things in my favour. How did I not think of this?
“You so sure my parents like you enough to leave me be just because you approve of something they disapprove of?”
He grins. “Do they not?”
They do.
“Well, I suppose there’s no use of making you my fiancee if I don’t get to exploit you.” I say, and the very thought of playing such a game makes me smile with excitement.
-×××××××-
Khizer’s POV:
Mansha doesn’t look like Mansha when she smiles.
She looks happy, and it makes her dark eyes light up. It’s not that she isn’t pretty. She is.
Her long nose and high cheekbones bring out the authoritative look in her eyes, and her arched eyebrows only highlight it further. Even her features support her commanding aura and that’s beautiful in its own way.
But a smile doesn’t suit that face. It softens her hard features and makes something in my heart flutter.
I look away. “I’ll ask my secretary to apply a cold pack to your face. It’s bruised and swollen.”
She picks up her phone, which was lying on her stomach. “Is it?”
I pluck the phone out of her hand, before she can check her face in the camera. Her screams last night are still fresh in my head, and I don’t want her to go through it all over again. “Don’t. You’ll scare yourself.”
“Give me my phone.” She snaps.
Someone wraps on the door, and I turn around to see Ahsan walking in along with my secretary.
“Great.” I turn to Mansha, who was looking at them with a frown on her face. “Mansha, this is my secretary, Sana, and she’ll be taking care of you while I’m gone.” I turn to Sana. “Sana, this is Mansha.”
Sana greets her with a smile, but Mansha raises an eyebrow in response. “What will you do without a secretary?”
“I can get another.” I hand Sana Mansha’s phone. “Give this to her after she’s had some breakfast. I’ve already sent you the list of things you have to do. Did you go through it?”
“Yes.”
“Can I ask why your secretary is my nurse?” Mansha turns to Sana. “And how are you ok with doing something that is not your job? If you’re told to do something that is not part of your job, you don’t-”
I roll my eyes. “She is doing it because she’s going to be paid double her monthly wage in return.” I give Mansha a pointed look. “Just like some criminal lawyers who take on a contract case because of the extra money being offered.”
She glares in response. “The urge to say fuck you is very strong right now.”
Ignoring her, I give Sana a couple more instructions, then leave the room with Ahsan, walking to my car.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave Saleem behind. He’s your guard.” Ahsan says as I get into the passenger seat.
“It’s worse leaving two woman alone with three men fresh out of prison, don’t you think?”
They were trustworthy men, and I knew them well from prison, but I couldn’t leave them alone with Mansha all day.
“And anyway, I’ve asked Irfan and the others to leave by noon. Then we only have Saleem.”
Irfan used to be one of my inmates, and had been out of prison for just three weeks now. Hired security cannot be trusted, so I had to ask him for a long pending favour.
The man’s in his late fourties, and someone who has spent most of his nights behind bars.
He’d led a group of protestors to the Parliament House, to demand employment rights from the government, and was imprisoned that same day. The court held he was guilty of aiding terrorists and sentenced him to twenty years of imprisonment.
That’s where I met him, and that’s where he helped me in ways no one else could.
“Have you thought what we’ll do with Ahmed?” Ahsan asks after a while.
I look out the window. After Mansha calmed down and fell asleep last night, I had nothing better to do then think.
I wasn’t able to push the memories away this time. The blood had already triggered them, but Mansha’s screams made them dance in my head.
Every single moment of it. And with each second, it burned in me a hole deeper then the last, until the only thing I could think of was having a blade
of my own in my right, and Ahmeds throat in my left hand.
I need a coffee.
“I have a mediation session scheduled with him today. Let’s see what he brings to the table.” I rub my forehead. “Usman said they’re working on a new contract.”
Ahsan nods. “I was about to tell you. Ahmed has a meeting with a real estate agent today as well.”
“To sell or buy?”
“To sell, if he’s as smart as he shows himself to be.” We’re silent for a while. “You could always ask Ms. Haseeb though, she’s working for him isn’t she?”
I ignore his remark. “Stop by a cafe will you? My heads about to split up.”
After grabbing a large cup of coffee, I go to the meeting with KMC’s engineers. I’m halfway through it when my phone rings.
It’s Ahmed. I power off my phone and go on with the meeting, then call him back an hour later, after the meeting’s over.
“Your secretary wasn’t picking up the phone, so I had to call you.” He says.
“Why?”
“I’m calling off the mediation session due for today.”
I frown. “Hopefully because you’ve decided to accept my offer?”
“Don’t grace it by calling it that.” I smirk. “And no, you agreed to have mediation, and we will have it. Just not today. I’m held up somewhere else.”
“I see. Well, have fun being held up.” I’m about to cut the call when he speaks hurriedly.
“Wait, Khizer.”
“What?”
“How are you?” I purse my lips. “It’s been so long since I last talked to you properly, as uncle to nephew. How’s mother?”
I rub my forehead. “We’re both doing amazing, thank you for asking. What about you? Stole any more properties yet?” I chuckle. “I dunno, maybe expanded your business even more? How much money you spent yet on bribing those ministers anyway?”
“Khizer-” He says reluctantly.
“Oh but I hope none of that is having an adverse impact on your health. We can’t have you dying, now can we?” I let out a disappointed sigh. “Tch tch. No, that certainly won’t do. Whatever will happen to the business you worked so hard on stealing?”
“Khizer-” His tone is harsh this time.
“Take care of yourself Mr. Ahmed, and try not to die.” I cut the call.
Pressing the intercom, I order another coffee.