"Nahi behenji, hum toh flower shop se..." Sanam cut him off mid sentance, with a decisive waving of hand.
"Toh phir allu-bhindi aur flowers ke farak toh samajh na chahiye na aap ko? Arre yeh flowers hai flowers, thoda pyaar se, samhal ke handle kijiye na!" Sanam thumped her head in frustration "Sab kaam mujhe hi dekhni padti hai" she murmured before turning her attention to the paper lamps hanging overhead.
"Latif ji! Latif jeee..." Sanam's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls as she spotted a rogue lamp dangling at a dangerous angle just above the entrance.
"Kya hua ladki! Itni chilla kyon rahi hai..." Latif huffed and puffed as she made her way towards Sanam.
"Koi bomb phoot gayi hai kya, Sanam?"
Sanam pointed towards the dangling lamp, pulling off one of her adorable puppy faces she made when nothing was going according to her plan.
"Hai Allah! Ab isko kaun thik karega? Tum log bhi na...ek bhi kam thik se nahi karte ho! Ab Ahil baba dekhega toh kya sochega? Laat sahab ko toh yehi lagega ke hum unke sagai ke din unke nayi begum par lamp girane ki koshish kar rahe hai!" Latif's eyebrows were lost in her hairlines. She looked equally distraught.
"Woh electricity wale bhaisaab ke paas ek ladder hai..." Sanam turns her pleading eyes to Latif again.
"Ya Allah! Main nahi chad sakti koi ladder wadder...agar main gir gayi toh! Meri phool jaisi nazuk badan ko kitni chot pahuchegi...nahi baba...waise main to hu hi chui-muhi." Latif swirled her dupatta like the drama queen she was.
"Nahi nahi...phir toh aap rehne dijiye...main dekh leti hoon." Sanam sighed. "Ab yeh kam bhi mujhe hi karni padhegi." she muttered under her breath.
As she took her first two steps up the ladder, she cursed herself inwardly. Even though she tried to keep her steps feather light, the ladder screeched ominously.
Her heartbeat quickened as she took one more step with utmost care. Obviously, that didn't stop the nerve wrenching screeching and creaking of the ladder. Worse even, it was now shaking under her feet.
Sanam's little hiking trip up the ladder had already garnered a small audience. The boys from the flower shop and catering agency were clearly enjoying this little distraction from their mundane chores.
"Kya lagta hai tujhe? Yeh giregi ya nahi (is she going to fall or not)?" one of them quipped.
"Chal bet lagate hai...if she falls, I give you 10 rupees. Lagi shart?" Sanam heard the other one responding enthusiastically.
"Sanam, samhalke! Kahi gir mat jana...warna Laat sahab ke sagai ke din apshagun ho jayegi!" Latif showered her pearls of wisdom from the safety of the ground beneath.
"Kisiko meri fikar hai bhi! Koi bet laga raha hai, toh koi Laat saab ke sagai mein apshagun ke bare mein tension le rahi hai...sach mein, nobody gives a damn about me." Sanam thought gingerly.
"Ah...I am almost there. Buss Sanam, two more steps..." she gripped the corner of the upper platform on the ladder and tried to haul herself up with a little extra effort.
Perhaps that effort was a little too EXTRA...cause the next thing she knew was the rung of the ladder had magically vanished from under her feet and the ground was moving towards her at an alarming speed.
"Allah Miyaan! Mujhe bachaiye!" Sanam squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact of the hard ground against her body.
But the impact never came...rather she found herself propped against something equally hard...
It was Someone's chest!
A pair of beastly strong arms had scooped her up moments before she hit the ground. She found herself trapped between the steely grips of the forearms and chiseled hard chest. The familiar smell of cologne that accompanied this new arrival need no more telling who it was!
Sanam opened her eyes oh-so-slowly, mortally dreading what's to come next.
Moments like this made her wish she could swear loudly at her own clumsiness, or something better, like the ground beneath her parting and making way for her confused soul to drown itself deep inside like Sita Maiya.
Nothing miraculous happened though, and she found herself staring into those intense, midnight black eyes. There was a hint of concern in them, perhaps a little amusement...but thankfully, Sanam gulped, no fury or hatred...the familiar expressions that crept up his eyes whenever they'd fallen on Sanam earlier.
Sanam's breath hitched as she spotted a single crease appearing on his forehead. "Brace yourself for another rough one, Sanam." Her inner voice warned; and as expected, he thundered, but it was not Sanam who was at the receiving end of the Lord's fury this time.
"Yeh ho kya raha hai yahan! Tum sab log kar kya rahe ho?" His eyes darkened as he shifted his gaze from one dumbstruck face to another. An unnatural silence had fallen in the room. Everyone looked as if the proverbial cat had got their tongues.
"HOW ON EARTH DID YOU LET THE GIRL TO GO UP THE LADDER!" Aahil raja Ibrahim made no effort to hide the disgust in his voice. "I don't believe this! Itne sare log hai iss ghar mein, aur yeh kaam ek ladki kar rahi hai...I mean look at the ladder, it's a bloody mess of rusty iron and wood."
"Latif, main tum se kuch puch raha hoon. Jawab do mujhe." Latif tried to hide her face behind the dupatta, shuddering at the mention of her name.
"Laat sahab, galati ho gayi hum se. Mujhe kya pata tha yeh Sanam aise gir jayegi...main toh pehle se hi isse mana kar rahi thi. I was ready to fix the lamp but she won't let me do it." Latif's ability to lie with a straight face was once again coming handy.
Aahil's gaze shifted back to Sanam's face. "Apparently, some people think there is nothing in this world they can't do, even though the reality is far from it." He scowled at her.
Sanam's inner angel pinched her, warning her to concentrate on the words he was speaking. But all she could see was his lips moving, the words blurred in a haze of the glorious gorgeousness in front of her eyes.
The radiance of anger had rendered his sharp features an otherworldly beauty. The darkness in those jet black orbs was all-consuming. A few strands of dark hairs fondled his forehead. All of a sudden, Sanam had this freakish, overwhelming urge to pull them back from his forehead and gently wipe those pearly beads of sweat that had started to appear at his hairline.
Suddenly she remembered he was still carrying her in his arms and probably ten minutes had passed since her fateful fall. A tiny voice in the back of her head was telling her to let go off him before it's too late. She might start thinking his lap was the only rightful place in the whole world for her to belong.
...only she knew too well that it wasn't so.
She forced herself to look away from his face and stirred slightly in his arms, mumbling something like a quick apology.
"I am sorry. I...didn't mean...to fall for you...I mean fall on you." Sanam gulped several times as words seemed to fail her more than ever. " Mujhe jana hai...kitchen mein bahut kaam baki hai." She tried to climb down from his hold, but he had no intention of allowing her to do so.
"YOU..." Aahil's eyebrows shot up defiantly. "I hope you've had your share of accident for today, cause I swear to God not in my entire life I've seen..." he took a deep breath "someone as singularly disaster-prone as you. Aur Museebat ki maharani, aap ka jo bhi jaroori kaam hai, usse kahiye ke thoda intezaar kare, because you're going nowhere. You are coming with me, since in case you've not noticed you are bleeding...and you're in immediate need of medical attention." He explained to her with deliberate slowness, as if she was some six-year old unable to take care of herself.
*I hate that tone.* Sanam grumbled as she took a look at her hands. An uneasy feeling set on her stomach as she saw the bruises on her finger. Apparently, she'd managed to cut herself without even realizing she was hurt.
*Oh Great! Now he has one more reason to gloat about the things that I failed at. Allah Miyaan! I can't even fix a silly paper lamp-shade.* Sanam closed her eyes wearily as Aahil carried herself to his bedroom.
**********************************************************************
"Ouch...that hurts!" Aahil shrieked as Sanam's finger nails dug deep into his skin. Tears welled up in Sanam's eyes as she fought the burning sensation in her bruised fingers as soon as they came in contact with the pungent smelling anti-septic liquid. Before she could stop herself, tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, Sanam! Ssshhh...it's all right. It's fine." Aahil voice was soft as petals. He gently rubbed the liquid soaked cotton on her fingers, all the while murmuring comforting words to her "I swear I'm not going to hurt you. A few more minutes and it will stop hurting. I promise."
Sanam stared at him through her tear filled eyes. His words had a magical, healing quality about them. She could feel the pain gradually wash away, replaced by a new found serenity in her heart.
She felt safe with him. She felt home with him.
"There you go...brave girl." Aahil wrapped a little band-aid around her ring finger. He sensed her silent gaze on him and quietly looked up. A pair of kohl-rimmed eyes, brimming with thousands of unspoken emotions greeted him.
Aahil's heartbeat shifted to a racy, erotic rhythm as he found himself hopelessly drawn towards the bottomless depth of her honey-coloured orbs. Her cheeks were glistening with tears, the kajal in her eyes had smudged, the messy, soft tendrils of hair stuck to her forehead on which a thin sheen of sweat had appeared...yet it was the most beautiful face he'd ever seen.
He leaned closer to her. She didn't move. She didn't break the eye contact. Her trance like gaze was fixated on his face.
His thumb gently circled the corner of her lips, wiping the tears away.
Sanam stared at him breathlessly, unable to look away, rooted to the spot by some unknown force.
Another unshed drop of tear rolled down her cheek as if in protest.
Ahil caught it carefully on his finger tip and studied the crystal droplet for a moment.
Then he slowly put the finger in his mouth and sucked it.
Sanam felt thick, hot flashes surging through her heart like tidal waves. A tremor rose somewhere deep within her, the pounding of which she could feel in her ears. She realized she'd stopped breathing...and he had not even touched her or done anything to her.
Aahil's night eyes were filling her vision again. He stood up slowly; gripping her shoulders and making her stand up as well.
This sudden movement finally cut through the thick mist of raw, sexual tension building up around them. Sanam realized she could stand on her feet again and somehow managed to get her voice back.
"I should go. I have to go..." She whispered before sprinting towards the door. She managed to stumble across the room and her hand was just about to wrap around the door-knob when she heard a metallic click.
"Iss kamre main tum apni marzi se aa toh sakti ho, par yahan se bahar jaana...well, that depends on my wish, you see." She heard Aahil's voice from behind.
"You obviously don't know that I have an automatic lock for this door, do you?" The voice was closer now. Sanam knew he was standing right behind her and she felt goosebumps rising at the back of her neck.
Sanam felt a tug at the strings of her kurti. She wheeled around instinctively to protect her decency.
Her lips almost brushed against her tormentor, who was standing so close to her that she jumped back in shock and found herself propped against the wall.
Sanam tried to muster up all her courage and throw one look of utter contempt to him. But, the dangerous proximity was killing her from inside.
He was never so close to her before.
*heck, in her 24 years of uneventful, insignificant life, no man had stood this close to Sanam Ahmed Khan or done things like this to her...not even in her dreams*.
His smoldering eyes were burning great holes in the carefully crafted shield Sanam had managed to build around her all her life. Sanam knew she was losing it, and it annoyed and scared her to no extent.
What's worse was, he was perfectly aware of the havoc he was creating on her body and soul. His mouth was twisted slightly in the corner, leaving no doubt about the enormous pleasure he was taking in tormenting her like this.
Sanam felt angry tears pricking her eyes once again, and Aahil's expression softened within moments.
"Sanam, look...I don't know to say this, but I guess we need to talk...about something...about that night." His voice had mellowed down, but his hands were firmly placed around her on both sides of the wall, making her movement impossible.
"Aahil jee, aaj aapki sagai hai, aur saat din baad aap ka nikah hone wala hai, Nida mam se." Sanam recited like a lifeless doll.
"Sanam, I am not here to talk about that, not today. Today I want to talk about us...that night in the graveyard." The earnestness in Aahil's voice took her by surprise.
"Aahil jee, uss raat ke liye main aap ko sorry bol chuki hoon...I swear in the name of Allah that I remember nothing...absolutely nothing about that night." Sanam pleaded.
Outside, a thunder pierced the evening sky. A dark veil of cloud was wrapping the earth, announcing the advent of a stormy night. Almost immediately a soft drizzle started to pour down from the grey sky.
"Sanam, how can you say that you don't remember anything? Tumhe kuch bhi yaad nahi? KUCH BHI?" Aahil jerked her with frightening force, his voice rising to a desperate yell "Yaad karne ki koshish karo, Sanam Ahmed Khan...you told me not to leave you...EVER! You told me to be there for you...mujhe chhod ke mat jao, Aahil, yehi kahan tha na tum ne?"
"Aap mera yakeen kijiye...Allah ke vaste...main nahi jaanti aap kis bare mein baat kar rahe hain! Please mera yakeen kijiye." Sanam was sobbing softly.
Aahil let go of her shoulders and tugged at his hair in frustration.
"Ya Allah, kaise yaad dilaun tumhe Sanam...it all means nothing to you, RIGHT? Mera sagai kisi aur se ho jaye, main Nida se nikah karloon...tumhe inn baton se koi farak nahi padhta...AM A BLODDY RIGHT, SANAM, AM I?" His thunderous voice vibrated in the room.
A terrified Sanam tried to escape through the nearest exit, the open window, only to find herself pulled back with great force and collapsing against Aahil's stone-like chest.
"Bahut bhag liya hai tum ne, Sanam. Kyon bhagti ho mujhse itna, Sanam? Am I a beast? Tumhari life ka sabse bada villain hoon na main?" a maniacal grin had demented Aahil's face.
"Tumhari aur tumhare Rehaan ji ke love story mein sab se bada villain main hi hoon na? Oh don't give me that look...that fu*king innocent look won't work on me, girl. You think I don't know what's cooking between you two lovebirds! Aahil Raja Ibrahim hoon main...meri aankhon ko dhoka toh maut bhi nahi de sakti...toh tum kya cheez ho!." Aahil's voice was downright menacing now, sending shivers down Sanam's spine.
"I hate you. Mujhe nafrat hai aap se, aur aap ki gandhi soch se. I HATE YOU! HATE YOU! SUNA TUMNE AAHIL RAJA IBRAHIM, I HATE YOU!" Sanam wasn't able to content the anger and hurt boiling inside her anymore. Her blood-shot eyes were blazing with pure hatred.
Aahil couldn't take his eyes off an angry Sanam. "Oh God, she'll be the death of me." He thought.No girl had ever dared to reject his advances on them. No girl had ever made their contempt for him so clear, hell, they were rather happy drooling over his hot bod...but then, he realized with a slight awe, Sanam was not just another girl, was she?
That look of raw, unadulterated hatred in her eyes was oddly turning him on. His eyes moved towards her lips. Her rosebud lips were soft, moist, like she'd just taken a bite of melon. Her dress was soaked in rain and sticking to her slender form. Aahil could feel...her against him through the fabrics of his black shirt.
He moved closer to her until his entire body was pressing against hers and there was literally not an inch of space left between them. He felt her stiffening under him.
He stopped and stole a glance at her face. Droplets of rain water were dripping down her angelic face. Her eyes squeezed shut in apprehension (or despise, was it?), her breathing shallow and racy. Before Aahil could stop himself, his eyes moved down to her front...and the erratic movement of her soft features drove him into downright insanity.
He shouldn't have looked...Dear God!
"Sanam." His voice was husky "Chalo maan liya ke tumhe uss raat ke bare mein kuch yaad nahi...par kya tumhe mere hone ya na hone se koi farak nahi padhta? Do I matter to you even the least bit? Ask yourself Sanam. Maine tumhari ankhon mein woh feelings dekha hai, jo kahin na kahin mere andar bhi chupa hai...kya main itna galat hoon Sanam?" His lips brushed against the skin of her neck.
"I...hate you." Sanam breathed, not believing herself a bit. The feel of his lips on her skin had awakened some deep, unrelenting desires within her she wasn't sure even existed before. He was like fire. He was like poison...and either way, Sanam was sure to end up dead.
He had stopped tormenting her with those little nibbles on neck and was staring at her face again. Sanam stole a glance at him through her long lashes. His silence frightened her even more.
"Let me go!" Sanam whispered.
"Ssshhh! Stop talking", he tilted his head sideways, checking her from the corner of his eyes. "Let me see something." His thumb brushed her lower lip. "Let me see how so much anger, so much hatred tastes like."
"Nahi...please stop..NO...Please" Sanam made one more attempt to wriggle out of his grip, but he had the strength of a man who's not in his senses anymore.
"There is 99% chance that you're going to hate me after this, but there is still 1% chance of you to see what a blind eye you've turned towards THE obvious...and I am ready to take that chance, even if you hate me for the rest of your life."
The next thing Sanam could feel was a warm, moist touch on her lips. Then the world around her collapsed into pieces and vanished as Aahil raja Ibrahim captured her lips in a brusque kiss.
NEXT PART: SEE BELOW đ
Real Estate
Fan Fictions
