Zehal-e-Miskeen - A Tale of Lost Love [part 2 link, page 23] - Page 15

When she sketched over his face, the remnants of her dream a few nights ago flashed their way back into her mind.

It had been him, he was the one who had guided her. Guided her to stop holding back, to stop resisting, to let her mind flow and her fingertips narrate what her lips could not.

"I know you," she whispered to his handsome profile, as she ran her fingers over his eyes, almost touching the drawing but not quite.

"I know you, yet I do not know you. I can read your eyes, yet what lies behind them I cannot fathom. I'm afraid to ignore this, for I can't. But I'm afraid to try and unravel whatever web we are trapped in."

The glimpse of a figure outside the window caught her eye. She peered through the nets as she watched Maan leave the gates and take a left, adjusting his leather jacket over his frame.

"You are the question Maan, and you are the answer."

She picked up her palette once more to add the finishing touches.

***

He tapped his watch, waiting impatiently for 5.30 to strike.

Dev left the office at 5.35, settling into his car and heading east. Climbing back into his hired taxi, he directed the driver to follow yet remain fairly behind, as to not give the game away.

It was time to unveil the mask.

***

When Dev approached the counter with the prescription in one hand, a wad of notes in the other, a hand squeezed his left shoulder. Before he could turn around, the familiar musky scent hit his nostrils, and then the words were whispered in his ear.

"Ittefaq, huh? What a coincidence."

Originally posted by: mansi.tripathi

Wow
Amazing Update

Loved it

Originally posted by: goldenmoon

awesome update

Originally posted by: kaamchorni

Um... pardon my French but shit... that chapter. I finally caught up and am hooked again. So Dev is keeping Geet under this spell with the aid of drugs that mess with her mind? Very sinister indeed. Forgive me but I have forgotten... do we know what Dev does for a living?

Originally posted by: BloodDiamond

Wonderful update ⭐️

The car rolled to a stop, perched a few feet away from the cliff which overlooked the city. Dev recognised it as the same cliff where he often came to get away from home and gather his thoughts - a quick glance at Maan revealed that his sibling was all too aware of the fact.

"We've always taken a liking to the same thing, haven't we brother?" Maan smirked at Dev, but his eyes were stone cold as he climbed out of the driver's seat, slamming the car door shut behind him.

Dev followed suit, loosening the top two buttons of his shirt; why he did so, he wasn't too sure.

"It's beautiful," Maan murmured as he lit a cigarette, admiring the city sprawled beneath them.

"Why have you brought me here?"

"You think that I mean you harm?"

"I don't know."

"You see, I always thought I was the unpredictable one," he paced along the gravel, kicking up a few stones with the top of his shoe. "At least, that's what I was led to believe. But you truly have surpassed me in every aspect of life now, Dev. You can die a happy man. Dev 1, Maan 0 - even when it comes to rebelling."

"That is all it has ever been to you. Point scoring. Who wins over who, have you got one up on me or vice versa? Face it Maan, you didn't even come back for her - you came back for you."

It all turned into a blur, but then Dev regained his composure and found himself pushed against the car, with Maan hovering dangerously over him, his eyes a pinkish red and alight with fire.

"This is not about winning Geet and you damn well know it. This is about why she is the way she is, and how the hell it all happened." He twisted a handful of Dev's shirt in his palm, which made Dev clench his jaw and grit his teeth.

"You want to leave here in one piece? Get off me, go home, pack your bags, walk out of the door and never look back."

"Over my dead body."

"I don't think I'll have to wait too long for that scenario to come to life."

He pushed Maan away as he attempted to pin him down, but his younger brother's reflexes prevented him; instead, Maan grabbed his arm and held it across Dev's own neck, bringing them inches apart.

"You've been drugging her, you pathetic swine. Drugged her into memory loss, programmed her into this trophy model of a woman that you have wanted her to be."

Dev fell silent, but he kept his defiance firm.

"You can't even deny it... how could you do that?" Maan's face twisted with pain, pain of what he put her through. She had been broken when he had left, that much he was aware of. Her own family had fallen apart, and she sought the shadow of Dev - a place to soothe her fears and rest her head. For that he didn't bear any anger, for he had been the one to leave her behind. But for his own brother to take advantage of her vulnerability, snatch her of her soul... it was something he could not tolerate.

"What makes you think you can play God?"

"I will do what I want to get what I want. Now get your hands off me, Maan."

Maan scoffed. "Geet doesn't love you. The real Geet doesn't care for you. You were so insecure, that you had to cross boundaries and borders to attain her love?"

"Let go of me, I mean it."

"Not until I get my answers."

In a swift motion, Dev pushed Maan away from himself before grabbing his collar. He stepped forwards, causing Maan to stumble back, until they were perilously close to the edge of the cliff.

"Think twice, Dev," Maan warned, fully aware of what lay beneath him if he took one fatal step.

"No!"

There was a silence, and then the sound of stones scraping against shoes, an audible gasp and a profanity.

Someone had fallen.