Amna had already gone home with her Mama because her in-laws had arrived. During off-time, she was waiting for her van when Kayan asked her to come with him. She silently sat in the car.
"You will come and go with me every day."
"Why... are... you... doing... all this...? I cannot go with you every day like this. To whom will I keep giving explanations? I am just an employee of yours." Today, she spoke with great courage, and even this courage was given to her by Kayan.
"You are not an employee, you are my wife..." Kayan cut her off and spoke in a harsh tone. She was startled but then gathered courage again and said:
"But I don't want to reveal this relationship yet.""Why...? What kind of illegitimate relationship do we have that you feel so much trouble in telling? I have performed Nikaah with you... What exactly is the problem, Hoor?"
"After doing so much, you are asking what the problem is? You are my problem, which I am unable to solve. Whatever happened is only known to Mama and Papa and no one else. If anyone else finds out, everyone will think I am wrong; no one will believe me that you did all this... why you did it, I don't know myself. You know what all the people who saw me coming with you for just one day said. After so much happening, I don't have the strength to endure anything more..."
She was venting her heart out bit by bit, which was the effect of Kayan's company for two days. If he had given the wounds, no one else but he could apply the ointment. Because of his company, his trust, and his love, her self-confidence was returning, but there was still not as much fluency in her tone as there was when talking to others. She spoke very carefully because there was no telling when Kayan might react to what. Kayan stopped the car and, leaning toward her, said:
"I did all this for you. You are my obsessive love. You are my love at first sight, whom I found after searching a lot, and that too when I had lost hope. At that time, whatever I felt was right to make you mine, I did, and in the future, too, I will do whatever I feel is right. As for people, I don't care about them." Having said his piece, he leaned over Hooreen. Understanding the meaning of his gaze and perceiving his intention, Hooreen immediately hid her face with both her hands and said:
"Please... no..." At such an action of hers, Kayan pulled back while laughing heartily and said:
"Go, your house is here." She immediately got down and walked with quick steps toward the house. He spoke to himself:
"How long will you run away from me? You have to come to me eventually, but before that, the fear and hatred hidden in your heart must be brought out and converted into love. I will have to make you realize my love. A day will surely come when you will also feel the same as I do for you." *** "Sir, you here...? We are so happy to see you here!" He was visiting the classes when he met Shehrbano and Maryam in the 10th grade, who spoke with great joy and excitement upon seeing him.
Kayan gave a slight smile at their words and said:
"What about your studies?""All good, Sir.""Ok, let's see. Tell me the formula of sucrose?" Shehrbano answered immediately:
"C12H22O11""Now tell me the difference between hexadecimal and binary numbers." At his next question, Maryam answered immediately. He asked questions related to every subject, in which all students gave correct answers for Chemistry, Computer, and Math. The children were very weak in Bio and Physics. Hooreen taught Computer and Math, while Amna taught Chemistry. Sir Arham was teaching Physics, and Ms. Noureen was teaching Bio.
He called those two and insulted them greatly, and held a meeting for all the staff, in which he praised Amna and Hooreen quite a lot and guided everyone else on how they should make the children work. During the meeting, Kayan's gaze was everywhere.
Even during the meeting, Arham was not refraining from staring at Hooreen. Hooreen was repeatedly shifting in her seat with anger and restlessness. While talking, Kayan's gaze fell on Arham, so he changed the angle of his gaze, but his filthy looks could not remain hidden from a sharp man like Kayan. His veins tightened with anger.
On the other hand, getting fed up, Hooreen also stood up and said:
"Sir, may I go...?" Everyone looked at her in surprise at her words. If anyone else had done such a thing during a meeting, Kayan would have fired them right then, but here was the one he loved. Kayan looked at her and gave her permission to leave with a nod of his head. While leaving, she stopped again and spoke once more:
"Can I take Amna along too?" At her new request, while everyone was surprised, a smile appeared on Kayan's face.
Along with the Principal, Samara and Mahjabeen were also angry at what kind of actions she was taking in front of Sir, but she didn't care.
Instead of speaking, Kayan gave them permission with a nod of his head. They came outside.
"Hooreen... how did you get so much courage to take permission to leave from Sir right during the meeting? Weren't you scared...?" Amna asked in a doubtful state.
"I am very scared of him, and I was even then, but at that moment, that scoundrel Arham's gaze was just making me angry, and anger overcame fear." After the meeting ended, he stopped Arham and, giving him a clear warning, said:
"Mr. Arham, this is a school; refrain from these actions of yours. Do not think that I don't see anything or that I am unaware of anything. This is your last warning; if something like this happens again, these eyes of yours won't be safe to see anything. Now get out.""Sir... I... I..." Arham wanted to say something, but Kayan spoke in a harsh tone:
"I said get out!" He went out, while Kayan began to normalize himself by taking long breaths. But he was Kayan, after all—if someone looked at his Hoor with an evil eye, how could he let them go? He called Waleed and assigned him a task. Finishing his words, he said:
"Do the work in such a way that no one suspects a thing."
When they arrived at school, they discovered that someone had severely beaten Arham, leaving him badly injured. There were several marks on his face and a significant injury to his head, which meant he would not be able to come to school for a few weeks. Hearing this made Hooreen feel quite peaceful, though she felt a little bad for Arham as well.
Three weeks passed in this manner. Kayan had managed to dispel Hooreen's fear to a great extent. He would deliberately tease her and make her angry so that she would speak up and vent the frustrations hidden inside her. This was working, but Kayan was longing for Hooreen's closeness; he wanted to make her realize his love, yet Hooreen continued to run away from him.
She had just finished a class and walked out when the attendant told her that Sir Kayan was calling for her. Firstly, she was already annoyed because of the students' tests, and secondly, it was her lunch break. She hadn't even had breakfast since the morning. She was ravenously hungry, and Kayan's summons made her head spin with frustration. In her anger, she walked inside without knocking.
Mr. Jilani had come to the school to meet his son and daughter-in-law. He was sitting on the sofa talking to Kayan. It was at his request that the attendant had called Hooreen. Seeing Hooreen enter like that, Mr. Jilani became worried, as he was well aware of Kayan's temperament. Hooreen, however, had not seen Mr. Jilani; her eyes were only on Kayan as she walked up to him and spoke.
"Yes, please tell me, Sir, what is the problem that cannot be solved without me?"
At her tone, Kayan spoke with a smile on his face.
"Wow! So the timid and frightened Hoor knows how to speak up and get angry, too?"
"Yes, along with anger, I know how to do many other things. You'd better be careful."
Kayan let out a thunderous laugh at her style and said:
"Wow, you've even learned how to give threats...?"
"Yes, it's the influence of your company," she replied tit-for-tat.
He was Kayan, after all, possessing the ability to silence and overpower the best of people.
"Didn't you learn to love from my company???"
He silenced her by speaking with great playfulness and mischief.
Hooreen lowered her head, while Mr. Jilani watched them both in surprise and bewilderment, noting the prominent changes in both. The once-terrified Hooreen was talking without any fear, and a man like Kayan was speaking with a smile. She had entered his office without permission, and it didn't even matter to him—it was as if he had changed all the rules just for Hooreen. When Hooreen fell silent, Mr. Jilani burst out laughing. Hooreen looked toward the sound in surprise, seeing Mr. Jilani laughing there. She bit her lip in embarrassment. He came to her, placed a hand affectionately on her head, and said:
"Keep straightening this owl out just like this. He doesn't even listen to me; he has troubled me greatly."
Hooreen recognized him well—he was the kind man who had felt her pain and applied balm to her wounds. She saw a reflection of her own Papa in him. Moving closer to him, she whispered:
"This owl cannot be straightened even by me. On the contrary, he will make me just like him."
He laughed loudly at her remark, while Kayan read the words she had whispered from the movement of her lips.
"Dad, I am thinking, why not formally bring your daughter-in-law home? Because, MashAllah, she has learned to talk quite a lot."
At his words, the color drained from Hooreen's face. Now it was Kayan's turn to laugh. After talking to Hooreen for a while, Mr. Jilani left. She was also about to leave, but Kayan stopped her and said:
"Hoor! Wait. Sign these papers before you go."
Hooreen signed them without saying a word or reading them. Seeing her sign like that, he couldn't help but ask:
"Hoor, why did you sign without looking...?"
"What would I do by reading them? And what valuable thing do I have that I would fear losing? When I signed the Nikaah papers against my will, nothing else matters."
She spoke with indifference. Her words stung Kayan's heart, but he ignored them and asked again:
"Don't you want to know what is in them...? Fine, I'll tell you myself. These are property papers. From today, you are an equal partner in all my property, and this school belongs to you as well."
She looked at Kayan in a state of doubt. How could someone just give their property to someone else like that...? She spoke in astonishment.
"What...? What were you thinking when you did this????????? If you think you can bring me close or trap me by tempting me with greed, then that is your misunderstanding."
She spoke sarcastically. Suppressing his anger, Kayan said:
"Hoor, is this what you think of me... what...? Do I seem that cheap to you...? Do you think I possess such a low mindset...?"
At his words, she unintentionally shook her head and said:
"No, not at all..."
Her manner forced Kayan to smile despite being so angry. He said in an assertive tone:
"As for coming close to you, I don't need to trap you for that. I can do that whenever I want."
She lowered her head at his words. Watching her bowed head, he spoke mischievously again.
"Stop watching these Indian dramas and movies that have spoiled your brain... start watching Hollywood ones so you can learn something useful for me..."
His tone became suggestive at the end, which went over Hooreen's head because she was preoccupied with how Kayan knew. Expressing her surprise with extreme innocence, she said:
"How do you know??????????????? I really did watch a movie last night where the hero tempts his heroine just like this... that's why my brain is getting spoiled by all this..."
In her distraction, she didn't realize what she was saying—and that too in front of Kayan.
Kayan asked with interest:
"So you admit that I am your hero and you are my heroine...??????"
She was struck with fresh surprise at his question. She spoke with her mouth hanging open in shock.
"When did I say that???"
Kayan laughed thunderously at her reaction. Remembering what she had said and seeing Kayan moving toward her, she bit her lip and started running toward the door, but Kayan caught her by the arm, pulled her toward him, and trapped her in the circle of his arms.
"Tell me, is this all you see and learn in movies? Try learning how to romance sometimes, too."
"What is there to learn in that? Everyone knows that..."
Once again, her tongue slipped. Kayan looked at her with great interest; she had turned as red as a tomato after saying those words.
"Does that mean you also know how to romance...?"
He whispered close to her ear.
"Leave me, please..."
She hid her face against his shoulder.
"What were you saying to Dad...? You said I am an owl that even you can't fix, and that I'll turn you into someone like me...?"
"No... I... that... Let me go, I have to go."
She placed her hands on his chest to push him away, but Kayan gripped her by the waist and pulled her even closer. Whenever Kayan came near her, she would start to feel overwhelmed. She didn't yet have the strength to endure Kayan's proximity.
Kayan placed his lips on her forehead, then on her eyes... Hooreen's body was trembling; she was sweating despite the coolness of the AC. Kayan's lips were brushing against her cheeks, and Hooreen's heartbeat began to race.