Damsel In Distress (COMPLETED✓)

CHAPTER: 29 | THE NEGOTIATION (PART-1)

ASSALAMUALAIKUM!!!
MY DEAR READERS, I'M SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE. I WAS ON A VACATION THIS WINTER HOLIDAYS. THEN WHEN I RETURNED, I GOT SO BUSY WITH LIFE THAT I HAD ABSOLUTELY NO TIME FOR WATTPAD. IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO GET BACK ON ROUTINE.
I'M SORRY I KEPT YOU ALL WAITING FOR SO LONG.
*UNEDITED*

***********************************************************

"Are we going to sit like this, all night?"

Aariz asked her in a strained voice as the silence between them stretched long enough to make him feel awkward.

Laiba, who had taken a seat on the edge of the bed, glanced up at him at his question and tentatively, shook her head in negative, her lips pressed together in a thin line.

Aariz threw his head back and rubbed his face, trying to erase the sleep that was slowing taking over his form.

"Why am I here???" She questioned, her voice cracking at the end.

Aariz lowered his head and looked back at the girl in front of him. "What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes, trying to decipher her.

She clenched her hands into a fist and took a deep breathe, bracing herself. "I don't understand what am I doing here when all I am, is an unwanted person in your life." She replied him, emphasising each word.

He gave her an apprehensive look but stayed quiet. He wanted to listen to her first before saying anything himself.

"I'm not stupid." She shook her head, tugging the loose strands behind her ear. "You might have accepted me in front of everybody but everything you're doing is telling me otherwise." She jerked her head down and fidgeted with her fingers.

"I don't know what made you marry me but-" She paused, "This is not happening." She shook her head, "This is so not happening." She repeated, feeling her eyes burn with tears.

"You and me?" She screwed her eyes shut and reopened them, "We are worlds apart." She blurted the words out with much difficulty, "This is not going to work."

He tilted his head and grazed his fingers across his dark stubbled jaw, "Definitely, not." He muttered, cold and impassive.

Laiba raised her head, meeting his gaze.

She bobbed her head, her chest tightened as she repeated his own wordings, "Definitely. Not." She mumbled, looking everywhere but at him.

Aariz searched her eyes while she clearly avoided him.

The curtains across the balcony, fluttered against the cold wind as they sat in silence, deep in their own thoughts.

It was after a while that Aariz sat upright, thinking of something.

He leaned forward, supporting his elbows on his lap and intertwining his fingers in front of him. "What could be done??" He asked.

Laiba dropped her head and stared down at the white rug on the floor, "I don't know," She sighed, slumping her shoulders in defeat.

"If you ask me," Aariz rested his chin upon his entwined hands, "It's too early to do anything." He told her in a calm and controlled voice, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration.