Kayan came to pick her up. Ever since Hooreen had found out he was her cousin, he had told Haleema Begum that day that he would be the one to pick up and drop off Hooreen, and no one objected—not even Mr. Ilyas. When Hooreen told Amna about Kayan being her cousin, Amna remained in shock for a while like her, but later she was very happy that they no longer needed to hear useless taunts from anyone.
She was a bit confused about going with Kayan, but when her parents had no objection, how could she object to Kayan...?
She sat in the car looking annoyed and turned her face away. He started the car as soon as she sat down, but she kept her face turned. Seeing her like this, he finally asked:
"What happened, Hoor? Why are you sitting there so upset?"
"I don't want to go to school..."
She spoke with a pouted face. Kayan felt a surge of affection at her manner, so he teased her using her own words:
"Then shall we go to our home...? What do you think, should we plan the babies?"
At his words, Hooreen glared at him angrily, so he became serious.
"Tell me, why don't you want to go?"
"Will you give me whatever I ask of you?"
At Hooreen's question, he smiled and spoke in a firm tone:
"Try me and see."
"Fine, then give the Principal and the other two their jobs back, or else I won't go either."
At Hooreen's words, Kayan slammed on the brakes, and the car stopped with a jolt. He grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her close, and glared at her with predatory eyes, speaking in a rage:
"I don't want to hear those three names from your mouth again. If you don't want to come, then come home with me, but I will not let those people step foot in the school at any cost. I will make their lives such that they will be afraid to even look anyone in the eye for the rest of their lives. They spoke such useless and disgusting rubbish about my Hoor; how can I just let them go?"
"You will do no such thing. Can't you do even this much for me...? Forgive them and let them come back... for my sake..."
She spoke in a persuasive tone, looking into his enchanting eyes.
"Hoor... you...!"
Leaving his sentence unfinished, he slammed his hands on the steering wheel in anger and started the car.
"Kayan...!"
"Not a word, Hoor!"
He sternly commanded her to remain silent, then stopped the car outside the school gate.
"Go, Hoor. We've reached school."
"But... you...?"
Cutting her off, he spoke again:
"I said go, Hoor...!"
Terrified, she got out of the car. As soon as she stepped out, Kayan sped away.
"Hoor, you test my restraint every time and put me in a difficult position. How can I tolerate those who spoke about you in front of my eyes...? How can you expect kindness from me for those who tried to harm you? I had already decided their fate, but you, Hoor...!"
For a long time, he kept driving around the streets. Hooreen was calling him repeatedly, but he didn't pick up. He just sent her a message saying he wasn't coming to school and told her not to call him again. He also called Waleed and told him not to proceed with anything.
She hadn't taken any classes with the children today. She was thinking about Kayan. She kept calling him, but he wasn't answering. Then, after a while, she received a message from Kayan saying he wouldn't be coming today.
It was also Amna's free period. Amna had ordered tea for both of them. Hooreen was so lost in thoughts of Kayan that she spilled the tea on herself. Fortunately, the tea wasn't hot; otherwise, she would have been burned.
"Amna, this shirt is ruined, and it's white. What should I do...?" she said worriedly.
"Forget the shirt, tell me, are you okay?" Amna asked with concern.
"I'm fine, but this shirt...?"
"I brought a shirt to give to the tailor for measurements; why don't you wear that and wash yours?"
"How will your clothes fit me? They are so tight, and I can't walk around school in such clothes. And the staff room washroom is always so crowded—either someone is washing their face or someone is doing a touch-up," she said with a grimace. Amna pulled her cheek and said:
"Then use the washroom in Sir's office. It seems Sir isn't coming today; usually, he arrives early, but it's 11 AM and he's not here yet. So just go there."
When he got tired of driving aimlessly, he returned to the school. The three women were at the reception. Seeing him, they moved toward him, but Kayan spoke in a harsh tone without looking at them:
"The three of you can rejoin starting tomorrow. I have only allowed you to return because Hoor asked. If anything like this happens again, no one will be able to stop me from doing anything."
Having said his piece, he went to his office while the three of them breathed a sigh of relief. However, jealousy for Hooreen increased in Samara's heart.
When he entered the office, a white dupatta was lying on his chair, slightly damp. He knew this dupatta belonged to Hooreen, and anyway, only Hooreen dared to enter his office. Kayan picked up the dupatta and put it in a drawer. Just then, Hooreen spoke as she walked out of the washroom:
"Amna! My shirt...!"
Seeing Kayan, the rest of her words died in her mouth.
On the other hand, he stood mesmerized seeing her.
She always wore loose clothing. In the morning, she had been wearing a white shirt, but now she was dressed in a black shirt that made her entire silhouette clear. Moreover, the neckline of the shirt was quite deep. She scrambled toward the chair to get her dupatta, but it wasn't there. She leaned down to look for it, and Kayan's remaining senses vanished. The dupatta wasn't on the floor either. When she stood up, Kayan was standing right next to her. She panicked and backed up until she hit the wall. He came extremely close to her and said:
"What are you doing here? And like this? Where is your morning dress?"
Controlling her panic, she spoke:
"Since... today... you... weren't here... and... you... weren't... supposed to come... so I...!"
"So you what...? You roam around in my office like this in my absence?"
Hooreen looked at him angrily and said:
"No, because of your mood and message this morning, my mind was on you, and in that distraction, I spilled tea on my dress. It had been sitting there and had turned cold, which is why my whole shirt and dupatta were ruined. The staff room is always crowded, so Amna...!"
Her tongue hit the brakes as she felt Kayan's index finger on her neck. He ran his index finger over her collarbone (beauty bone) and said:
"So Amna, what...?"
His proximity once again made her heart race. Her state was becoming overwhelming.
"So... Amna... shirt... for the tailor... it... was tight for me... and the neck... was deep... so... I came here... because you... weren't supposed to come... that's why... and now... the dupatta... also isn't... being found...!"
She managed to finish her sentence in a broken manner with great difficulty because Kayan's finger had stopped on a mole, which was located three inches below her beauty bone on the right side. Then, Kayan placed his lips on that mole and bit down. Hooreen felt her breath hitch. A tear fell from her eye onto Kayan's hand, which made him regain control of his emotions. With great difficulty, he composed himself and moved away from Hooreen. Taking her dupatta out of the drawer and handing it to her, he said:
"I thought I would tease you a bit, but you have disturbed me greatly. Go and change. Don't go out like this."
"But the shirt is still wet," she said, lowering her gaze, her face flushed with embarrassment. Without a word, Kayan went out and returned with a shopping bag from the car, handing it to her.
"I bought this for you yesterday, but didn't get a chance to give it. Go and change before I change my mind."
At his suggestive words, she immediately took off the dress and went to change. When she was about to leave, Kayan hugged her from behind and, resting his head on her shoulder, whispered in her ear:
"How long will you test my restraint, Hoor? How long will you keep yourself and your proximity away from me? You are becoming a test for me day by day. Either come to me yourself, or let me come to you...!"
Hooreen pulled away and immediately ran out, while he was left with a cold sigh.
Arham, who had returned to school after many days, was on the ground with the children. One window of Kayan's office faced the ground and was slightly open today. While playing, the children's ball fell that way, and he came to retrieve it. But when Kayan hugged Hooreen, Arham witnessed the scene. He was furious. He had been trying to trap Hoor in his net for the past two years; how could he tolerate someone else taking his prey?
During off-time, she was on duty outside with the children when a girl from the KG class came to her and handed her a piece of paper. Hooreen was surprised. She opened it and read:
"Come to my office after everyone has left. I have some work for you. - Kayan"
She was very angry, but she couldn't refuse him. She also found it strange that this time the message had come through a child instead of a call or through her mother, but she ignored it. Had she paid closer attention, perhaps she wouldn't have made the mistake of going.
She came to Kayan's office, but no one was there. Seeing this made her even angrier. She dialed Kayan's number. He answered, and she spoke angrily:
"Where are you?"
"I've been waiting for you in the car for so long. Where are you?"
Kayan asked in an irritated voice because he had been waiting for a long time, and she wasn't coming out of the school—everyone at her home and Amna knew that Hooreen was commuting with Kayan.
"You called me to the office, and now you are waiting in the car yourself...? And on top of that, you are showing your anger to me...?"
"What are you saying, Hoor? When did I call you to the office...?"
"Then...!"
Hooreen's sentence remained unfinished because someone had come from behind and hugged her, causing her mobile to slip from her hand, fall to the floor, and the call to disconnect.
To free herself, Hooreen stomped her heel onto the man's foot, causing his grip to loosen and allowing her to break free. When she turned around, she saw it was Arham. Without any hesitation, she slapped him hard to bring him to his senses, but the slap seemed to not affect him.
Panting with rage, she spoke: "… how did you dare do such a disgusting thing…?"
"I didn't have the courage, but seeing you in Kayan's arms gave it all to me. Look, don't put on an act; just belong to me for a short while."
"What nonsense are you talking…? Get out of my way. I'm telling you for the last time, stay away and move back—I have to go."
She tried to leave, but Arham grabbed her by the arm, threw her back in front of him, and said: "You aren't going anywhere. First, make a few of my moments colorful, then go wherever you want. I said it's just a matter of a little while."
His words shook her to the core. She began to tremble with fear, but trying to appear strong, she rose and said: "Stop these vulgar words and actions and get out of my path, otherwise I will tear apart this face you've used to speak such filth."
She moved toward the door again, but Arham blocked her path. Looking at her from head to toe with lustful eyes and a demonic laugh, he spoke: "Today, I am the one who will tear you apart, this beautiful body of yours... this lethal youth of yours..."
At his words, Hooreen raised her hand to slap him again, but Arham caught her hand and used his other hand to pull her dupatta off, throwing it to the floor. He grabbed her waist, pulling her close. She tried with both hands to break his grip, but he was a man, and she was powerless against him. Tears welled up in her eyes. Crying in fear, she spoke: "Look… whatever kind of girl you think I am… I am not like that. Let me go…"
"It doesn't matter to me what kind of girl you are. I just want to make a few moments colorful with you."
"For God's sake, let me go, please don't do this."
She pleaded before him, but at that moment, Arham was possessed by a demon. "I misunderstood you before and tried so long to trap you in my net, but you wouldn't even give me the time of day. Then, seeing a rich party like Kayan, you gave him everything…? You went into his arms, so what's wrong with me? I will give you more money than Kayan, just for a little while…"