The room was swallowed by sheer darkness, the only light seeping through a crack in the distant doorway. A heavy, oppressive silence hung in the air, broken only by the low, gravelly sounds of breathing.
Then, out of the silence, a deep ice cold voice filled the room,

"Did anyone see you that day?"

"No, sir. The operation was flawless," the voice responded, laced with submission. "It was twilight, no one moves along that road at such an hour. There were no vehicles, no bystanders, no cameras. We ensured everything was in place."

The man in the shadows leaned forward, his voice cold, yet seething with restrained fury.

"Verify it again. I will not tolerate carelessness in this matter. He is far more cunning than you realize." His fist clenched, knuckles white.
"You've already failed me once. If your oversight costs me again, I will erase your entire bloodline from existence. Do you get it?"

"Yes, Sir. We'll  make sure that there is no loophole in that matter" the other man replied.

_______________________

At Sarfaraaz's Home

"Mamu (Uncle)!!" four years old Muneeb comes running towards Sarfaraaz. 

Sarfaraaz changes his cold posture into a slightly warm one seeing his nephew. He  picks his nephew in his arms and kisses as usual.

"Did my prince eat?" he asked Muneeb.

"Yeah. Can you play with me? I miss you. You come so late at night" the child said in a puppy eyes.

"Yeah, my prince. Let's go" Sarfaraaz tries to act cool. He just wants to make the boy happy.

He didn’t even give him time and care needed. He lost his first child, his little sister whom he raised from 5 years old. Now his princess left her child to be raised by him. He will try his best to fulfill his duty.

10 minutes later.

"Oh Mamu,  you are so boring. Even this cat is cooler than you" the little boy pouted.

The cat meowed instantly when Muneeb caressed it.

Sarfaraaz followed his nephew and tried to caress it but the cat scratched him and meowed in a louder tone.

He is just like her! He thought of resembling her angry face.

"Fuck!  Why the hell I'm thinking of her again" he cursed himself in mind.

_______________________

I open my eyes to find myself under the blue sky.  The cool breeze touched my skin and made me alive.

I was in a field of daisies. The scenic beauty literally blessed my eyesight. I took my phone to take some photos. Suddenly I saw a squirrel peeps through the grasses.  So I followed it to take a photo. 

After I took a photo I decided to go back. I turned only to see the tragic scenery .

A white colored truck came with high speed  and hit a car which was coming from the opposite direction.
The car toppled for some time and fell out about 15 yards away from me.

I screamed watching the horrific accident.

"Noooooooooo"
.
.
.
.
I woke up from my sleep having a nightmare of  the terrible accident I witnessed 6 months back.

I had had this nightmare 2/3 more times before.

But my life itself has turned into a nightmare. I should not have the luxury to watch this.

I get up from the lying position and groan in pain. 

I looked at my wrists where I felt the pain.

When I was released?  I asked myself.

I saw the mark of tying has turned  purple on my white skin.

The monster came again when I was asleep?  

I'll never forgive this jerk for causing so much to my father and me.

The revenge game he was talking about I don’t understand. My father was an honest army officer. He even got rewarded from the Government for solving a case which could not be solved by the police.

My father never harms any innocent people and I can vouch for him with my life.

The sound of the door opening broke my thought.

He entered the room covered in blood. My whole body shivered in seeing this look of him.

He went to the washroom silently and returned without the shirt he was wearing. He was only in a grey color tank top. His bulky muscles in his  biceps, shoulder, and forearms were visible. There were lots of old cuts in his arms. I saw him changing into a black turtleneck sweater.

He smirked at me as he caught me observing him.

Well I don’t have anything to do. Who would look at the monster like him otherwise.

"Why did you return? It's only 4 am in the morning" I asked.

"I'm not answerable to you. It's my room anyways" he said to me glaring. 

"I don’t want to hear the answer either. Your shirt told me everything" I glared at him back.

"Don't argue with me. We both know where this will lead," he said, his gaze intense, lingering over my body before settling on my lips.
A shiver ran down my spine.This jerk.

I stood abruptly, heading toward the washroom to escape him, but he caught me by the forearm.

"Put this on your wrist," he said, handing me an ointment.

"Shameless, aren't you?" I retorted coldly. "Why bother with healing when you're the one responsible for these wounds?"

His grip tightened as he pulled me closer, his towering frame lowering to meet my eyes.

In a voice rough and low, he growled, "You're my prey. Mine to hurt, and mine to heal. Don't forget that."

He seriously needs therapy.

I shot him my most venomous glare."I hate you with everything I have. Remember that. You can't stop me from saying that"

My  narrowed hazel eyes are locked with emotionless ones. Slowly I saw the cold gaze turned into a softer one which surprised me.

"Who are you?" he asked.

_________________

There is something in her eyes which makes me restless every time I look at them. It was like an intoxicant or a repeated dream.

I just got a flashback of a pair of hazel eyes just like her.

"Who are you?" came from my mouth subconsciously.

"Just a girl who was living a peaceful life. Now her world has been destroyed by you" she retorted.

I need to check her identity again. I'm getting a vibe that I have seen her very recently before this.
_________________

"Sir, we got news that he captured the daughter of Major Shafiq. We also have a report that he married her forcefully" a man in a dark suit told a man who was in a chair reading some magazine.

His clenched fist hard which made the magazine in his hand shriveled.

"He is ahead of us a hundred times. End both of them in a way that nobody suspects. No mistakes shouldn’t happen this  time, okay?" he growled.

_______________________

In the afternoon

Sarfaraaz sat back in his office chair, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips as he watched the share price of Shafiq Pharmaceuticals to fall.

The game has begun, he thought, his eyes narrowing at the screen. This way you’ll lose everything, Major. Your reputation, your precious daughter, your trust, your wealth. Everything will crumble. I'll snatch the peace from your life.

Before going home he went to his secret hideout to handle some matters and see her.

"I want that land at any cost. Bribe him, blackmail him, I don't care how you do it. What I care about is not losing to Mizan's group," he growled, his eyes sharp and unyielding. "No one enters my territory. Make sure of it."

"Yes, boss," his man responded without hesitation, his voice steady and obedient, fully aware of the consequences of failure.

He went to another room instead of the room he usually stays in to take a nap. He doesn’t want to face her. Her fierce mouth is always ready to attack him verbally which will make him lose his patience.

About thirty minutes later he woke up smelling a burning smell.  He opened his eyes to see the whole room filled with smoke. He hurriedly got out of the room with his laptop and saw men running around. The whole house caught on a fire.

He got out quickly with all his men and started panting.

"Did you check the basement? No one is there, right?" he asked Rahat.

"Yes, boss we moved them and locked them in the cavard van

"Good" he replied standing straightly.

But suddenly he remembered..

'a francba! még mindig bent van!' he muttered in Hangerian.
(The fuck! She is still inside!)

He rushed inside without hesitatation while his men shouted from behind.

The fire raged through the house, consuming everything in its path. Flames licked the walls, casting a hellish glow as the heat pressed down like a suffocating blanket. Smoke filled the air, thick and choking, but he pushed forward, determined.

How is she?

His heart pounded in his chest as he burst into the room, the door groaning as he kicked it open.
There, on the ground near the washroom, her body lay motionless. Her skin pale against the darkened floor, the mini under-dress clinging to her . She was unconscious, vulnerable, the fire growing dangerously close.

"No!" he shouted, rushing to her side. His hands trembled as he checked for a pulse–relief flooded him when he found it, weak but there.

He removed his overcoat and covered her so that the blazing flame could not touch her. Without hesitation, he scooped her into his arms, her limp body cold against his skin despite the inferno surrounding them. The flames roared louder, walls cracking under the heat, but his focus was entirely on her.

"I'm getting you out of here," he whispered, more to himself than her, forcing his way back through the thick, burning haze. Each step felt heavier as the fire closed in, but he didn’t care. He would save her. He had to.

As they reached the edge of the collapsing house, the roof buckled behind them, a final warning from the inferno. He lunged forward, crashing through the doorway, out into the open air, both of them collapsing onto the cool ground, free from the blaze.

He cradled her in his arms, desperate for her to wake, guilt gnawing at him for being the reason she was there in the first place. His hand shook as he brushed a strand of damp hair from her face. "I'm sorry," he whispered hoarsely, his voice breaking. "But you're safe now."

But....he shouldn’t be sorry right?

His men surrounded them and one of them asked, "Are you okay boss?"

"Call the fucking Ambulance right now" he snapped out loud.

All eyes shifted to her at his words. One burning gaze from him made them advert their eyes on her.

"Bring me some water" he asked not removing his eyes from her.
He started checking whether she was injured or not. Thankfully there was none except a few minor burn. But the sight of  her motionless pale state puts him into remorse.

He splashed some water on her face but there was no sign of her waking up. The ambulance came and a stretcher was bought to carry her there from his very embrace. 

The air was thick with the acrid stench of smoke, but the chaos outside was a distant hum compared to the storm raging within him.She lay on the stretcher, face pale and still, eyes closed, and the medics worked with swift precision, voices a muted backdrop to his twirling thoughts. He watched as they rushed her into the waiting ambulance, his mind screaming at him to follow, but his body was frozen in place.

Rahat was calling him to get up but his mind was somewhere else.

The ambulance doors slammed shut, and the vehicle sped away, leaving him in a fog of self-loathing and uncertainty. He knew he had to follow, to make sure she was safe, but the weight of his actions held him back. Each step he took towards his own car felt like a step deeper into a hell of his own making.

"Don't die, Hazel" he whispered to himself.

At the Hospital

Sarfaraaz sat in the waiting room, eyes locked on the double doors leading to the emergency unit.

His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides, knuckles white with tension.When the doors finally swung open, the doctor emerged.

"How is she?" Sarfaraaz's  voice cracked, betraying the storm of emotions swirling inside him.

The doctor sighed, pulling off his gloves as he approached. "She inhaled a significant amount of smoke and suffered minor burns, but the worst damage was to her lungs. We've stabilized her, but she's in a medically-induced coma to help her body recover."

The words hit him hard.

"A coma?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

The doctor nodded. "It’s a precaution. Her body went through a lot of trauma, and this will give her the best chance to heal.

The doctor’s words echoed in his mind like distant thunder—detached, almost irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Her body was recovering, her lungs were damaged, and she was hanging between life and death. None of this should matter to him.

She shouldn’t matter to him.And yet, she did.

She was nothing more than collateral damage in a war that he had started when she was only one year old.
So why did he feel like the fire that had nearly killed her had ignited something deeper within him?

Sarfaraaz's jaw tightened, his throat closing up.
"How long?"

The doctor hesitated, his gaze softening. "It's hard to say. It depends on how her body responds over the next 24 to 48 hours."

"What…what if she doesn’t wake up?" The question came out as a choke from him.

__________________