Hiraeth

40

"YOU ARE ANSWERABLE TO ME." His voice barged into her ears, causing them to nearly bleed with the way he was being so harsh and cruel. Each word of his spat fire and she could only close her eyes, wishing for this to stop. 

"I'm not, alright? Please leave me alone." She pushed the lump forming in her throat and replied back on the phone. She was nothing but shaken with everything that happened, but she had nothing else to mask that fear except anger. 

"I have already left you and I regret none of it, not even for a single day." Even though they were so afar, she could feel him standing right in front of her. His voice caused goosebumps all over skin and her feet trembled in fright and anxiety. 

"But you have this false belief that Abeer solely belongs to you and that is my problem." 

"Asad, we can talk on this but please get your men out of the office. My colleagues are very scared." She pleaded, hearing loud noises of banging and crashing. It wasn't difficult for her to guess that he had been intending to cause damage. 

"Then come here. Face me, just like you do in court. Udhar toh bohot zubaan chalti hai." He hissed, downright threatening her in a way and she could feel it in her bones. She knew that he wasn't that toned down Asad anymore. He had really stopped himself from being his usual self as he was still campaigning for the election and was under the radar of some officials. He was playing safe until the very last minute and now that he got exactly what he wanted, there was nothing else in his mind except tormenting her like before. 

"I'm calling the police on you, it's enough." She took out a frustrated sigh, looking out for the landline although she was sure that someone from the office would have already done that. She could never take a risk, considering how twisted he was. 

He breathed over the call. She could feel the air leaving his mouth as he mumbled out a curse for her. He had used it on her just once before this, but it still ran a chill down her spine like it did for the first time. She wasn't the same naive Sitara who was yet to find out a lot about him and had hopes, she was older and wiser and had now been well versed with him and his ways but it still scared her. His voice still made her tremble.

"Sitara, have you seen the car keys?" She almost shifted in her place, watching the bedroom door open in complete horror as Rehaan came inside. He was still unaware of all the mayhem unfolding at her Delhi office. 

"Kya hua?" His eyebrows furrowed as confusion clouded his eyes. He could sense the discomfort and fear in her eyes when she raised her gaze at him, too helpless to say something but also nearly wanting him to leave. 

"You're there or you died already?" Asad yelled, making her flinch. Tears stung her eyes and she looked down, biting on her own lips in order to muffle her cries. 

"Who's on the phone?" She felt dumbfounded at his question. No answer left her throat and she watched him stand there, turning more and more skeptical with each passing second. 

"Asad." 

He clenched his jaw. With enraged eyes, he looked at her and she could sense that he didn't appreciate her talking to him. 

"Give me the phone." He demanded. Her eyes widened at that. She didn't want to complicate this further. Everything about him winning the elections was giving her a pretence of something bad that was about to unfold. 

"Main kar rahi hoon na baat." She gulped, moving herself away from him. 

He seemed both taken away and irritated with the way she had nearly snatched the phone away from his hands. He didn't understand why she was doing that.