She was lying face down in her room, weeping. The scene of Kayan begging for forgiveness kept replaying in her mind, increasing her pain. She had never thought he would do something like that. Kayan checked every room in the house and finally found her in the room directly opposite his own.
"Do you want me to stay away from you...?"
"Do you really want to stay away from me, Hoor...? Do you truly want this...? Fine then, if that is how it is, so be it. I have suffered enough punishment, no more. Whenever I come near you, you push me away. Every time, I come to you forgetting everything, but... you do the same thing again. So... it is better that I stay away from you and leave you to your own state. I will never cross your path again; you stay alone."
Having said his piece, he started to leave. Then, he turned back, came to Hooreen, and leaving a seal of love on her lips, he looked at her with moist eyes and walked away. She sat there with a flushed face. Kayan's words pierced her heart. She wanted to tell him everything, but she couldn't speak, and instead, she had said all the things she didn't want to say. Seeing Kayan bow before her like that was agonizing. That was why she had told him to leave—she didn't have the courage to face him. This was the second time she had seen tears in his eyes because of her. Kayan had misunderstood her words. She decided she would clear his misunderstanding, but before that, it was her right to tease him a little, just as he had teased her before leaving. She could still feel his touch; after so long, she had seen him so close and felt him. She sat there for a long time under that spell until Mr. Jilani knocked on the door and brought her back to reality.
Kayan went to his room and began packing his things. Since Hoor didn't want to live with him, he didn't want to stay and be the cause of her distress; he had already given her enough pain. He reached into his pocket for his phone to book a ticket, but it wasn't there. Then he remembered he had left it on the side table in Hoor's room. He went back to get it but stopped upon hearing his Dad's tearful voice.
"Child, aren't you sleeping...?"
"No Dad, I couldn't sleep."
While talking, she looked at Mr. Jilani, who seemed to be in some inner conflict. Seeing this, she asked:
"Dad, you look worried. Tell me, what happened?"
"I have come to talk to you as Kayan's father and to apologize for what he did. Please forgive him and end this resentment; he has suffered enough punishment."
He spoke with a moist tone and folded hands. Hooreen immediately caught his hands, knelt on the carpet near his knees, and lifting his face, spoke:
"Dad, look at me. Do you see any resentment, anger, or hatred for Kayan in my eyes or on my face...?"
At her words, he looked at her. Her eyes were filled with nothing but love for Kayan. He became confused because just that morning Kayan was apologizing to her and she had left the office for home without saying a word. He spoke:
"Have you forgiven him...? And if so, why haven't you told him...?"
She spoke with a smile:
"Dad, I had forgiven him the moment Mama told me the whole truth. There was just a lot of anger at him, and that anger vanished the moment I saw him pining and weeping for me... and that very night, I had forgiven him for everything from my heart."
"Then why are you behaving like a stranger with him...?"
He was still confused. A very charming smile appeared on Hooreen's face, and with that smile, she spoke:
"That is because, Dad, your son has teased me a lot, far too much. Even a little while ago, he didn't stop his antics. Now that I have the chance, how can I let him go so easily...? I will take revenge for everything, one by one. And anyway, I am enjoying it, Dad."
"I'm enjoying it, Dad."
At her words, he burst into laughter. Outside, Kayan, who was listening to everything, breathed a sigh of relief. There were tears of joy in his eyes. The weight on his heart vanished, and a love-filled smile spread across his face.
He spoke to himself:
"If that's the case, Mrs. Zarrar, then now I will show you what 'teasing' really means. I will tease you so much that you will confess with your own lips that you don't just love me, but you are madly in love with me...!"
On the other side, Mr. Jilani said while laughing:
"Don't tease my innocent and gentlemanly son too much, or later you'll be the one trying to win him over... and he won't give in."
At his words, she made a face and spoke:
"Yes, all the innocence in the world ends with your son. And he isn't a gentleman; he is a 'gentleman rogue'...!"
She immediately bit her tongue and fell silent, realizing she had spoken a bit too much in front of Mr. Jilani. Mr. Jilani was doubled over with laughter, and on the other side, Kayan also had a hard time suppressing his laughter. She continued:
"And anyway Dad, it can never happen that I would have to win Kayan over, because he can never stay angry with me. And if he ever does get upset, I will win him back."
Mr. Jilani was surprised and happy at her confidence, while Kayan was stunned, a mischievous smile playing on his face. He wanted to see: if he got angry with Hooreen, how would she win him over?
Stopping his laughter, Mr. Jilani spoke to Hooreen:
"Do whatever you want, child, but don't forget yourself in all this. You really need to take care of yourself right now."
Concern appeared on Kayan's face; if he wasn't with Hoor, then Hoor hadn't taken care of herself either. He began to feel remorse all over again. Hooreen spoke with a slight smile:
"Dad, don't worry, I will take full care of myself. And even if I don't, your innocent and gentleman son is here, isn't he...?"
Mr. Jilani burst into laughter again, while a look of mischief mixed with happiness appeared on Kayan's face. After that, Mr. Jilani kissed her head, wished her goodnight, and went to his room.
Seeing him coming out, Kayan quickly stepped aside. A little while after he left, Kayan entered the room. She got nervous seeing him, but Kayan took his phone without looking at her and went back. Hooreen found Kayan's departure strange, but then she brushed it off and lay down to sleep.
The three of them were sitting at the dining table for breakfast. Kayan was also eating silently. Hooreen was repeatedly stealing glances at him, which he was aware of, but he remained indifferent to everything. Hooreen looked at Mr. Jilani, who was looking at her with a smile. She gestured to him, and he nodded, addressing Kayan.
"Kayan, are you feeling alright????"
"Yes... what should happen to me?"
He asked a counter-question, so Mr. Jilani spoke:
"I'm seeing you eat breakfast in such silence for the first time."
"I used to be like this before. A change did come in me, but only for a while."
Having said his piece, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and stood up. Mr. Jilani spoke:
"If you're going to the office, take Hooreen with you. The driver is on leave for a few days, and I will stay home and rest. Now that you are here and my daughter-in-law is here too, I have no tension regarding the business."
"I've been telling you for so long to rest at home. Better late than never that you finally thought of your health. As for taking your 'darling' with me, sorry to say, I am not her servant, nor her driver."
Saying this, he left, leaving both of them stunned. Hooreen left her breakfast and ran after Kayan. Kayan had already started the car. She quickly opened the front door and sat down. Kayan spoke without looking at her:
"Get out of the car... I've already said I am not your servant...!"
She spoke sadly:
"Kayan, why are you talking like this?"
"Whatever way I talk, what is it to you? Since you want to stay away from me, I should stay away from you too."
He still wasn't looking at her, and Hooreen began to feel restless that he was angry with her.
"I didn't mean that, Kayan. You are taking my words the wrong way."
"Whatever I understand, you have nothing to do with it... Are you getting out of the car, or should I...?"
She was very hurt by his attitude and words; tears came to her eyes. Seeing Kayan open the door to step out, she got out of the car herself with moist eyes and went back inside the house. As soon as she left, Kayan angrily punched the car three or four times. He had caused moisture in Hooreen's eyes, and he punished himself for it. Addressing Hooreen in his mind, he spoke:
"I admit I have hurt your heart, but you aren't speaking your heart to me either. You're planning with Dad to tease me, but I will tease you so much that you will confess your love with your own mouth. You will accept this relationship of ours in front of everyone. It's true that I can never stay angry with you, nor can I ignore you. Only I know how I pretended to ignore you today. I also want to see how you will win me over if I stay angry with you. You've teased me enough, Hoor; now it's my turn...!"
She came inside with moist eyes. Seeing Mr. Jilani, she wiped her tears and spoke:
"Dad... Kayan is angry with me. I just said last night to stay away from me, and now he is actually distancing himself... What should I do...?"
He silenced her and spoke:
"Hooreen child, stop crying. Nothing will happen by crying. On the contrary, you will only make yourself unwell. And anyway, when we talked last night, you said with such certainty that Kayan couldn't stay angry with you and that if he ever did, you would win him back. So now, win him over with that same certainty. He loves you, child, and he can't stay angry with you; I don't know what is going on in his mind. Every time he takes the lead; this time, you do it...!"
Hearing his words, she spoke with a smile and a confident tone:
"I will win him over, Dad...!"
She reached the office late again today. Mr. Jilani had dropped her off. Seeing her arrive on the camera, Kayan called Natasha and said:
"Send this lady who just arrived late to me."
"Yes Sir, I'll send her right away."
Hanging up, she addressed Hooreen in her mind:
"You used to act so high and mighty because of the elder Sir... and you even addressed me as 'tu' instead of 'aap'... Now Kayan Sir will set you straight."
She came to Hooreen with a taunting smile and spoke:
"You're late again today, that's why Kayan Sir is calling you to his office...!"
Hooreen ignored her and walked away. Standing outside Kayan's office, she took deep breaths to normalize herself and walked in without knocking. Seeing her enter without knocking deepened the taunting smile on Natasha's face.
Kayan, who was checking files, spoke without looking at her:
"You are late again today...? Dad has truly spoiled you. But as long as I am in this company, I expect to see you being punctual."
His ignoring her felt very bad to Hooreen. She spoke, challenging him:
"And if I don't?"
At her words, he set the file aside, looked at her, and spoke in a firm tone:
"Then you can resign from your job. Anyway, an employee should know their limits."
She spoke angrily:
"I'm not an employee!"
"Then who are you?"
"I'm your...!"
She stopped before saying the word 'wife,' which made Kayan both angry and sad that Hooreen still hesitated to be called his wife. He wanted Hooreen to proudly state that she was Kayan's wife. He wanted her to have no shame or hesitation in admitting and saying it.
"You are my what, Hoor...? Complete your sentence. You are my...?"
At Kayan's questioning, she spoke with her head bowed:
"I will take care of punctuality from tomorrow. I won't give you a chance to complain again. Can I go now...?"
Kayan was very angry at her for changing the subject. He gestured with his head, and she left. After she was gone, Kayan slammed his hand on the table, knocking everything down, and spoke in a broken tone:
"Why, Hoor...? Why, after all this tim,e can't you accept our relationship...? You are willing to work here as an employe,e but not as my wife. This time I won't take the lead either; you will be the one to do it. If this is how it is, then so be it. Let's see how far this game goes...!"