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"Why do you keep calling her that when this marriage means nothing to you?" Haider whispered sternly against her ear.

Ishmal stared at him with widened eyes. One of his hands was possessively tugging at her wrist while the other one was behind her head on the wall. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hard.

"Because I consider her my mother and because she gives me the love which I always got from my mother," she stated, trying to free her hand from his steely grip because certainly it was causing unusual feelings to root in her heart. 

Haider smirked. "She only does this because you are my wife. If I tell her right away what's the real deal between us then she wouldn't waste a second before throwing you out of this house."

"But even then, I will always consider her respectful as my mother. Because she gave me love, respect, and honor like a real mother does when I lost my own family. Even if this marriage is not real but just on paper, I still regard her as my mother," Ishmal snapped back.

If only he would stop being so threatening and treating her as some culprit, Ishmal maybe would have listened to him. But not now. This man didn't owe her anything for her to lean in front of him. Except just one thing and it was her stupid body and heart's reaction to his closeness and touch. She wished Haider didn't have this effect on her. But this was only a wish.

Haider stared at her with gritted brows. Wasn't it he who had brought her here in the first place? And yet again she was calling their marriage fake which irked him on the same level as had been occurring for many days. But of course, he never gave her a reason to think good about him.

He looked at her more meticulously. She was wearing a yellow floral shirt with white trousers and a dark yellow lined dupatta placed delicately on her shoulders. She definitely was evoking a desire in him. She was his and suddenly he got a dire need to tell her that the woman she was so keen to keep the mother relation was actually related to him. And Haider was someone with whom she always linked the word fake. It was very ironic which made his blood boil.

He needed to tell the whole world including Ishmal herself that this girl was only his and just he had a right over her. An urgency arose in his heart to rip that mindset and her innocence out of her and claim her as his. So that she would also know that this was what he always warned her about. That was the aftermath of what she continued to be doing opposite to what he said.

His dark heart and soul. He wanted to save her from it but Ishmal had called it upon herself by appearing in a time like this when he was fuming over his hurt ego due to Nisha and then when she called his mom a mother.

He placed his palm on the small of her back and curled his fingers in her soft skin. A gasp left her mouth and here Haider's lips twisted over her reaction. The exciting touch he felt from her made him stare into her mesmerizing brown eyes and then he pulled her towards himself. Ishmal looked at him with a dropped jaw.

"You love to say the words like fake, on papers and contracts. Don't you?" He whispered near her ear. "But one thing you need to know is that you are my wife. Nothing else matters then, Ishmal."

He stroked her earlobe with his lips causing Ishmal to suck in a breath. Haider trailed his lips from the area under her ear to her neck, peppering small kisses on every nook. Ishmal bit her lower lip to stop herself from giving any reaction to this madness. Haider reached her throat and then pecked and nibbled on her skin, causing a moan to slip from her mouth. A satisfied grin came on his lips while Haider himself found it hard to control himself. Ishmal's sweet fragrance had made him numb and the only thought penetrating his mind was her and just her.

And this acted as a rain on the harsh environment of his heart and mind. He finally came to his senses even though it was only filled with this girl standing in front of him. Haider glanced at her who was looking so lovely right now that he wanted to protect her. Protect her from this cruel world and become a man who would love and cherish her. Knowing that if he would continue being this near to her, he wouldn't be sure whether it would be good for her or not, he pulled away.

Ishmal's whole blood came into her cheeks. She didn't dare look up. She shouldn't have liked his touch but she did. It made her feel unusual and incredible. But that was not the first touch she wanted from her husband. She never wished for love. Ishmal never considered herself this worthy that anyone would fall in love with her. However, she did want respect, affection, and admiration. And nothing was present in the touch that Haider had just bestowed her. He wanted to show his strength, possession, and ownership over her. He was definitely making a point here that she was weaker than him and he could do anything with her.

Soon cause of the redness on her cheeks got changed from shyness to humiliation. She bit her lower lip and tried to walk away. But Haider was quick, he held her wrist impulsively. She reacted pleasantly to his touch and today he wanted to find delight in this feel. He needed to find peace of mind in this girl's proximity because she indeed was the one and only person who had relieved the fire which always got ignited inside of him whenever his ego got hurt. 

Ishmal first looked at his hand over her wrist and then at his face while scowling.

Haider brought his face near her which made her still. "When you don't consider me your husband then why do you refer the ones related to me as your family?"

"Because they made me feel like a family. Family isn't just blood-related. They gave me respect when I was helpless. Even when they didn't even know anything. Unlike you who even though had every knowledge about what happened to me yet treated me like a culprit, shoving his orders on my head and giving the punishment of doing of someone else to me by behaving with me like I was one of your prisoners who had to abide you no matter what." Perhaps that was the first time in her life Ishmal spoke so much but she couldn't see this man humiliating her over and over again.

Haider paused and his whole body tensed. The initial uncertainty soon faded as he quite understood what she meant. He glared at Ishmal.

"What the hell are you saying?" He snarled.

"I know we aren't going to last long and we have nothing real between us but I won't let you treat me badly just because of some heartbreak in your past with some cheating fiance of yours," Ishmal spatted.

The lines on Haider's forehead increased. The lava which got pacified a while ago again boiled. Upon seeing his silence, Ishmal decided to sneak away but it was too late. Haider's harsh hand was on her arm now. His eyes were spilling daggers at her and this made Ishmal gulp. For a moment, she realized that she might have made a mistake by saying this. It must have been his secret and she was no one to call out this secret of his.

Haider frowned at her. "Who told you this?"

It was the question of his hurt ego and when Ishmal almost slapped on his face by saying this, it irritated the hell out of him. It was a reality. At the beginning of their marriage, he did give Ishmal the punishment for what Nisha did with him. And now when he started to like this girl, he didn't want her to pinch on the same thing as Nisha and everyone else from his family did. How did she get to know this?  

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you treat me badly just because I am the second woman who came into your life after her. You talk to me as if I am her. Next time, if we ever will be having any discussion, talk to me as if it's me, not her. Because I am not Nisha who hurt you for whatever reason," Ishmal said in a stern tone and then finally left the room, leaving Haider deep in his thoughts.

She never aimed to bring this woman in front of him. When Haider and this marriage meant nothing to her, then anyone from his past also shouldn't mattered. But that wasn't the case now. Haider became important for her as did their marriage. The mention of his ex-lover bothered her. And she didn't know why all this was happening.






               
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AssalamoAlaikum/ Hi guys!

How are you?

I hope everyone is doing fine.

So I somehow got time today so wrote a small chapter.

How is it?

Do you think Ishmal did right by provoking Haider by mentioning Nisha?

What do you think Haider will do now?

What do you think will happen next?

If you like this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment. ❤❤❤

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