OS: When the con woman is conned.
Rehaan was still musing over the memories of evening while walking back from the Masjid. The way Sanam had given him that radiant smile of hers and held his hand as if...nothing. He couldn't go there. Rather, he shouldn't go there. Sanam is Aahil's wife and he must respect it. There is no scope of a relationship anymore. Even though they both behaved as if they hated each other, he had noticed with a heavy heart how they both looked at each other. They looked at each other as if they were the only ones in the room. He no longer wanted to be the third wheel. He would just help Sanam find out about her parents and leave it at that.
He had just spoken to that old man again in the hope of getting some more information but to no avail. Probably, he could find out something from the internet. If Asad Ahmed Khan was that rich and respected, surely there must have been records on the internet. It would certainly expedite matters...
Rehaan was lost in these very thoughts when suddenly, he dashed into a woman and he was brought back to his sense of surrounding thanks to the words uttered by her, "Dude, what the eff?"
Surprised as he was with the use of such brash language rarely heard in this locality, he knew he was at fault and he was ready to correct it. Because of the impact of the clash, she had fallen down and was inspecting her elbows to see if any injury was sustained.
Rehaan bent down to take the blame for his mistake and apologize to the woman in question but he was at an absolute loss of words when that woman looked at him through her kohl lined eyes.
Rehaan had heard of the concept of doppelgangers but he had never believed in it. Now in front of him, was the doppelganger of the woman he had just vowed never to think of!
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Seher stood bored around the Masjid looking for potential...victims. Rich people were easy to con because they were stupid. Crowded places were easy because everyone is in a hurry. The area outside the Masjid had dual advantage: it was crowded and rich people were too easy to spot.
In this entire crowd, she spotted that one man who was going to make her day. Handsome face, decent suit and great shoes--these three things together translated to the following for Seher---Game, Set, Con!
She walked into him purposely and so lost was the poor guy in his thoughts that he felt as though it was his entire fault. He bent down and she put on her best impersonation of being hurt and angry.
He began to apologize but froze on looking at her. She loved seeing people stunned when she walked past them but this guy looked like he had been slapped...repeatedly.
I'll have time to nurse my ego later, time to get on with the act she thought.
"What? First you walk into me and make me fall down. Then, instead of apologizing, you stare at me like a stalker? Nice way of showing you have obviously never heard of the word called 'chivalry' but you'll never fail to use magnanimous words like 'tehzeeb' when it comes to defending yourself", she went on ranting, hoping to elicit some kind of reaction from the man but his expression still refused to change. Probably the 'weak woman, chauvinistic man' card had been overused. She was just about to give up when the man finally replied, "I am so sorry that I wasn't looking where I was walking. Are you alright?"
Sweet! Yes, that's what his voice was. It was just the right balance between husky and tender. Puberty certainly did justice to him she thought to herself.
"Of course I am not alright. I think I have a sprained ankle", she said, trying to sound as helpless as possible.
"Here take my hand. I have a first aid kit in my car and I'm sure there is a spray in there", he said, offering her his hand which she took gladly.
He helped her up and couldn't help but notice how much she resembled Sanam yet was completely different with her attire. Low waist jeans, coral peasant top, different chains around her neck and matching hoop earrings. She was Sanam. Except that she wasn't.
She on the other hand had never seen such soft features in a man. He had the kindest eyes that she had seen complimented by those eyebrows. He didn't have the face with sharp edges which arrogant rich snobs usually have. And then there was that tiny smile of his, like he was having some kind of joke with himself---it was melting her. She wondered what would happen if he grinned at her.
Even though he was looked really humble, there was a certain air around which made her want to respect him. His grip on her arms was not too hard as if trying to push her ahead but it was firm enough so that she can walk on her own but with help from him.
He was just so...cute!
Yeah, in a span of five minutes, Seher had developed a crush on a man she was going to con. That's a first for sure, she thought. But then, she never mixed her professional and personal life. The crush would have to wait for a while.
Her hand on his waist for support and his arms supporting both her arms, she fake-hobbled towards his car. It was during this hobbling that Seher managed to sneak her hand inside his coat and obtain his wallet and car keys. She wanted to take the phone too but then it was risky because he would be able to track it down. Besides, she was feeling sort of guilty. The last time she had felt guilty was...never.
Just then they reached his car and he asked her to stand supporting herself against the car while he got the spray.
He was about to leave her, when she kneed him hard and because of the surprise of the attack, he went down on his knees. She got her gun and pointed it at the back of his head.
"Okay Mr. Prince Charming, listen to me and listen to me good. Don't even try to make any kind of noise or any move to your mobile phone. This is not the first time I'm pointing a gun at someone and it's definitely not a first when I will use it to shoot someone for making matters messy. You will stay here till I get in your car and drive away. If I see you so much as move a hair, I swear, I will shoot. Got it?" she said, trying to sound as threatening as possible. Acting was the key component of conning after all. Especially if the gun in your hand is just a prop.
"If you just wanted the money, you could have simply asked for it. There was no need for all this, near a religious place that too", said a disappointed Rehaan, his heart sinking lower on realization that this woman only looked like Sanam. She was nothing like her. Never could be.
Cute and a believer in Allah! Wish we had met you under different circumstances she thought wistfully before returning to the act.
"Oh please! Save it for someone else! I'm not a beggar. My profession has a respected name. I am a con woman and I don't ask for things. I take it. Besides I always wanted to drive this car. Thanks! And Khuda hafeez!"She hurried into his car, turned up the engine and drove off but not before giving him her most genuine smile. Let's see if we meet again Mr. Prince Charming she thought hopefully.
Rehaan immediately checked for his things. The wallet in his coat was gone. He checked the wallet in his trouser. Still there. He smiled to himself. Life in an orphanage had taught him many things. Including how conning worked. For safety, he always kept his actual wallet with all his money and credit cards in the trouser pocket while a fake wallet with newspaper slips in his coat pocket. Seeing people wear a coat always misleads them into thinking that the wallet will obviously be in the coat.
She was a good con woman no doubt about that though he thought when he saw that she had not taken his phone.
He couldn't help but smile imagining her reaction when she will realize who had actually been conned!
He contacted the police, gave them the details of his car and asked them to track it down thanks to a GPS locator in the car which had tracking software.
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Seher had discarded the car a long time back. She was sure it had a tracking device and she just couldn't risk it. She finally opened the wallet, to see her day's earnings and was shocked to see newspaper slips instead. She should have been angry but she couldn't help but grin. She flipped the wallet in the air and caught it. Well played, Prince Charming. That makes him cute, believer in Allah and smart. These three things translated to one thing for Seher: We must meet again.
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Yes, I am guilty of day dreaming again okayđ? So on one of the posts about Seher-Rehaan, I thought of Seher falling for Rehaan and so I came up with this. I wanted Seher to meet her match and not just fall for a cute Rehaan. Obviously, because it's a crime in Gul Khan's world for any lead to be smart, I know for sure that this shall never happen. But it's enough for me that I could pen it down đ. Hope you'll enjoy it and do leave your thoughts in the comments. Any kind of feedback is absolutely welcome!
DEVANSHIđ
Arjun
Cricket
Indian Mythology
