At her nod, he spoke with a smile:
"Kayan is behind all of this. After you left, there was only hatred and anger in my heart for him. In that hatred and anger, I told him to give you a divorce, which made him writhe in pain. I was in a state of grief and anger myself, so I ignored him; at that time, only you were important to me. When I found you and saw your condition, my anger increased, but your love for Kayan stopped me from taking any wrong step. At Jilani Bhai's request, I went to see Kayan once because his health wasn't good. Child, for the first time I saw a man crying and wailing like that, and that too a man like Kayan who lacks neither money nor women. That arrogant prince used to yearn for you day and night; he had no sense of eating or anything else. He was wandering around like a madman searching for you. Whatever hatred and anger were in my heart vanished. Then I started going to him every day, talking to him, and your Mamma would be with me too. Just as we took care of you, we took care of him too, but he only wanted you. I wanted to talk to you about this, but you were perhaps angry with us too and weren't talking. I left everything to my Lord, and He ended Kayan's trial too. Seeing him like this today has given our hearts great peace. Now, take care of him along with yourself."
Hooreen's eyes were tearful at Mr. Ilyas's words. Kayan's "Ishq-e-Junoon" (obsessive love) had made everyone a fan of him, along with her. Placing his hand on her head, he walked away. Haleema Begum took her to one of the tables and, wiping her tears, asked fearfully due to her inner doubts:
"Child... you are happy with all this, right?"
Understanding the meaning behind her words and the fear hidden within them, she spoke:
"Mamma, I am among those lucky women in the world whom God blesses with the great status of a mother."
She ended the conversation with these words, making her mother feel proud of her. While she was busy talking to her mother, her gaze fell on Natasha, who was walking toward Kayan. She stood up and headed that way. Before her eyes, Natasha had already hugged Kayan.
Leaving Hooreen with Mr. Ilyas, Kayan had been standing to one side, busy with his phone. He was talking to Waleed, explaining some points related to a meeting, when suddenly Natasha appeared before him. She too was wearing a black saree today, but it was far too bold and vulgar. Kayan ignored her. That day, seeing Hooreen so close to Kayan had set Natasha's soul on fire. She had decided she would get Kayan at any cost, no matter what she had to do. This seemed the easiest way to her—if Hooreen, as a mere assistant, could get so close to Kayan, then she was the Product Manager. That's why she had dressed up specially for Kayan today. But when Kayan ignored her and stayed busy on the call, she spoke in a sweet tone:
"Happy Birthday, Sir."
"Thanks."
Kayan spoke in a busy manner without looking at her. After the call ended, he stayed occupied with his mobile. She felt insulted by his dismissive attitude, which she ignored and spoke again:
"I dressed up so much specifically for you on this special day, so tell me Sir, how do I look?"
Kayan ignored her and her words again. He felt the heat of Hooreen's gaze on him. Sensing it, he looked up and saw that "enemy of his life" glaring at him, and upon seeing Kayan look, she stood up and walked toward him. Seeing her possessiveness, a smile appeared on Kayan's face, which Natasha misunderstood and, without thinking, hugged Kayan. Kayan was stunned by her action in front of everyone. A sharp wave of anger ran through him. Before he could roughly push her away, someone grabbed Natasha ruthlessly and separated her from him.
Seeing Natasha hugging Kayan, Hooreen's entire being caught fire; lava of anger began to fill within her. She ruthlessly grabbed Natasha by the arm, pulled her away from Kayan, and without any regard, gave her a resounding slap. People were already watching Natasha's act in surprise, but at another girl suddenly coming and slapping her, everyone stood stunned with their mouths open.
Natasha screamed in anger:
"How dare you lay a hand on me?"
She replied in a steady, cold tone:
"The same way you dared to hug Kayan. I have been tolerating all your antics for a long time, but no more. After today, I don't want to see you near Kayan, nor even in this company."
At this insult, Natasha looked as if there was no blood left in her body. She spoke in a venomous tone:
"Who are you to talk to me like that? You cheap servant, stay in your limits."
Her words and manner were making Kayan fly into a rage. He started to move forward in anger, but Mr. Jilani caught his hand and stopped him. As he was about to say something, Mr. Ilyas and Haleema Begum smiled and signaled him to stay quiet. They were all seeing this side of Hooreen for the first time, and like Kayan, those three knew what was coming next.
"Whether I am cheap or not, leave that aside. As for limits, you are about to find out right now. Anas, have Miss Natasha's termination letter prepared and brought to me right now. Within 2 minutes."
After speaking to Natasha, she addressed Anas. Her tone was authoritative; hearing it, he immediately left, while everyone else listened in astonishment. Smiles appeared on the faces of Kayan, Mr. Ilyas, Mr. Jilani, and Haleema Begum. They watched the scene with smiles, like silent spectators enjoying the show where Hooreen was completely dominating Natasha with full confidence.
On the other hand, Natasha became even more furious at her words. How could she remain silent after such humiliation in front of everyone? She looked at her and gave a sarcastic laugh:
"Hahaha... perhaps you are truly forgetting your place. You, a mere assistant, are talking about my termination letter? Let me inform you for your knowledge—not even that Anas you asked to bring the letter can fire me from this company. Only the owners of this company can fire me; that is the policy. And Kayan Sir or Jilani Sir won't fire me just because you said so. So come out of your world of dreams. Just because you got close to Kayan Sir, do you think you own this company?"
In response to her bitter words, Hooreen just kept smiling. Just then, Anas gave her the termination letter along with Natasha's file. After signing it, she handed it toward Natasha and said:
"No need to come to the office from tomorrow. You can leave."
Taking the letter from her hand and looking at it, Natasha laughed:
"You really are living in a dream world. By what right are you giving me this letter, and that too with your signature which is invalid?"
At her sarcasm, Hooreen, who was already smiling, spoke in a heart-burning manner with great pleasure and pride:
"By the right of being Kayan's wife, I, Mrs. Kayan Zarrar, fire you from this job. You cannot work in this company, nor in any other company. And you talked about limits? Gauge my status from the fact that I am Mrs. Kayan Zarrar."
"Now get out."
At her words, it was as if the ground had swallowed Natasha. She couldn't believe it; she stared at Hooreen in disbelief. Meanwhile, the joy spreading on the faces of everyone else was worth seeing. Kayan was both surprised and happy to see this "dabang" side of his wife—after all, his great wish had been fulfilled: that his Hoor would accept this relationship in front of everyone without any fear. And that's exactly what happened.
Natasha was at the peak of disbelief; she kept looking at Hooreen and everyone else with wide eyes. Seeing her not moving from her spot, she said to Anas:
"Call the guards and have her moved out of here. I don't want to see her here anymore."
"Yes, Ma'am, I'll call them right now."
He replied obediently, then called the guards and sent Natasha away. Devastated by the shock, she left silently. Hooreen came to them and glared at Kayan, who started laughing. Mr. Jilani introduced her to everyone present at the party. She was still glaring at Kayan when he leaned close to her ear and said:
"Wifey, don't look at me like that. If I do something again, you'll be hiding your face from me once more."
At his double-meaning remark, she elbowed him and said:
"You're talking big now, why didn't you speak up before? And why didn't you push that Natasha away yourself? Why didn't you say anything?"
"If I had done that, how would I have seen this side of my Hoor? Believe me, seeing you like this today, I've had 'love at first sight' with you all over again. And you know how my Ishq-e-Junoon is regarding you...?"
At his words, she blushed and said:
"Let's go cut the cake, it's getting late."
"First, give me my gift."
"I already gave it by planning that surprise."
"That was then, and even that was left halfway because of Dad's call. Give it now before cutting the cake."
He spoke while focusing on her lips. Understanding the meaning of his words, she blushed further and said:
"Another surprise is waiting for you, but you'll only get it upon cutting the cake."
At her words, he spoke with dissatisfaction:
"You are very cruel, wifey. If I don't like that surprise, the punishment for tonight will be doubled."
Saying this, he held her hand and came to the cake stand, which was beautifully decorated.
When the cake was brought out for cutting, the writing on it stunned Kayan for a few moments:
"Happy birthday to-be Dad"
Kayan looked at Hooreen in disbelief and wonder, and she nodded yes. Tears of joy welled up in Kayan's eyes. His Lord had bestowed such a great favor upon him; not only had He completed his obsessive love, but He had also granted him the status of a father. Among so many people, he cut the cake with great difficulty, reigning in his emotions, and fed it to everyone. When it was Hooreen's turn, Kayan signaled to Waleed standing far away. Understanding the signal, Waleed left, and seconds later, the lights of the entire hall went off. Taking advantage of this, Kayan took Hooreen into his embrace and, without giving her a chance to say or understand anything, placed his lips on hers, pouring his thirst into her being. The poor girl was stunned at his mercy. This time, she didn't try to pull Kayan away. When Hooreen felt she couldn't breathe, she lightly tapped Kayan's chest a few times as if signaling him to stop. Understanding her signal, Kayan pulled back and whispered in her ear:
"You won't be spared tonight, wifey. Be ready."
At his words, Hooreen, who was taking long breaths to recover, felt her breath hitch again. Kayan's breath was hitched too; normalizing himself, he messaged Waleed, and the hall lights came back on. Moving away from him, she immediately went to Haleema Begum and tried in vain to hide by hugging her, as she could feel Kayan's eyes on her. Haleema Begum pulled her back to look at her; she was flushed with shyness. Haleema Begum smiled, took a tissue, and fixed her lipstick. Hooreen looked as if someone had poured red paint over her. Looking at her Barbie-doll-like daughter, she prayed sincerely:
"May God always keep you happy. Ameen."
To hide her embarrassment, she hugged her Papa, who had just come to the table. On the other side, Mr. Jilani, who was standing with Kayan, saw the lipstick on his lips. It didn't take him a second to realize the lights-off scene was his son's doing. Immediately turning Kayan toward him and handing him a tissue, he said angrily:
"Young man, don't you have any shame doing such things? Wipe your face before someone else sees."
Teasing him and hiding a smile, Kayan said:
"This is what happens when you become a 'cruel society.' Who told you to ruin your son's romance by being 'cruel society'? When you do that, this is what happens, right?"
"I don't know what your mother was thinking when she gave birth to you, producing such a shameless child."
"Oh... Dad, what is there to think so much about? Obviously, she was thinking of you, that's why I came. A complete carbon copy of you."
Saying this, he smugly walked away before he could get hit by a slipper, while Mr. Jilani was left shaking his head.