"Cancel the engagement!" I whispered to him sternly.

"As if I will," he whispered back, giving me an innocent look.

"I know you want to destroy me, so I'm ready to compensate you. I'll even give you a blank check. Just cancel this," I pleaded with him, because there is no way I am marrying this Mr Mafia and ruining my life.

"Do you think I have a shortage of money?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Then what do you want from me?" I asked, utterly confused by his useless questions.

"I just need YOU!" he whispered, leaning closer to my ear.

At this point, I was completely done with his nonsense.

"Are you a psycho? When I canceled the deal, it's obvious your profits took a down. If this is about money, then why are you after me?" I retorted in a whisper, conscious of the eyes on us. I didn't want to shout and cause a scene in front of everyone.

"Maybe it's just about profit to you, Ms. Aleena, but you have no idea how big of a loss I've endured because of your simple 'No,'" his voice was stern, yet he sounded calm.

"Then I'll run away," I declared.

"With whom?" he laughed, and I felt the urge to punch him right there.

"I was all set to kidnap you today, but when I found out I'm your fiance, you can't imagine how I was on cloud nine, thinking how incredible your fate is. You're going to be with the person whose only dream is to destroy you, Ms. Aleena." Asad's voice dripped with pure hatred, and his smile confirmed the deep trouble I had gotten myself into.

"I hate you!" I said to him firmly.

"And I love to hate you," came his mischievous whisper.

"It's good to see you both getting to know each other," our whispered argument was interrupted by Asad's mom's voice reaching our ears. We both looked at them and forced fake smiles to ease the awkwardness.

"Let's start the ceremony," Ammi announced.

Then I saw Ayesha and Jasmine approaching me. Ayesha helped me to stand, but with my long veil trailing to my heels, I suddenly lost my balance, and before I could fall, Asad caught my hand.

"Be careful," he said sternly, tightening his grip on my hand and straightening my veil.

I didn't respond and simply stood up, but something stirred in my heart. Even when I was losing consciousness, I felt him running toward me. I sensed him lifting me up and saw him feeding me, and now this. Why are you doing this, Mr. Mafia? You say you hate me, yet you save me before I can even fall.

"Asad, put the ring on Aleena," Asad's mom said lovingly while handing him the ring.

Asad, whose hand was still gripping mine tightly, loosened his hold, took the ring, and turned slightly toward me, asking me to extend my hand. Both my heart and mind screamed for me to say no and run away. But in the next moment, Ammi and dad's faces came to mind.

I knew they love me, but they had chosen the wrong person for me. Being helpless, I extended my hand, and he slid the ring onto my finger. After putting the ring on, he leaned in slightly and kissed it.

I knew it was just an act, but why did I feel real emotions for him?

"Aleena, now put the ring on Asad," Ammi said, handing me the ring.

With utter hesitation, I took the ring. Asad already extended his hand, and with a heavy heart, I placed the ring on his finger. I was about to withdraw my hand when he suddenly grabbed my left hand and kept holding it until everyone finished congratulating us.

I was embracing my family with one hand!

What is his problem? I thought as I saw him unwilling to let go of my hand, even for a second.

After the congratulations, we sat down again, giving death glares to each other.

"Oh my God! I finally got the chance to meet you, Aleena!" My thoughts were interrupted by a familiar male voice. I looked up, only to be shocked to see him.

"Taimur? You?" I was confused yet happy to see him here.

I jumped up in excitement and felt Asad stand up as well. I was about to embrace my best friend, but Asad pulled me toward him.

"What's your problem?" I asked Asad with a sharp look.

"How can you embrace him?" His voice was stern, but there was something else behind it.

"Pardon me, sir?" I replied, done with him.

"Who is he?" he asked again, now glaring at Taimur.

"My best friend," I said proudly, turning to Taimur, who was patiently waiting for our argument to end.

"I missed you so much!" Taimur said desperately.

"I missed you too! But how come you're here?" I asked, confused to see him suddenly show up.

"Aunty invited me, and I wanted to catch up with you, so here I am," he said with a smile.

I felt happy for a moment; he was gentle, calm, and knew how to show respect.

"Aleena, you're not going to introduce me to your fiance?" Taimur asked, and suddenly all my happiness vanished instantly.

"Ye-yeah, umm... he is Asad," I said calmly, trying to maintain a fake smile.

"Nice to meet you, Asad. If you don't mind, can I dance with my best friend for a while?" Taimur asked genuinely.

"Sure-"

"No, you can't!" Asad cut me off before I could finish.

"He's joking, Taimur-"

"I'm not," Asad interrupted again.

"Ahh, well then, see you later, Aleena," Taimur said, giving an awkward smile as he half-embraced me and walked away to dance with my other friends.

As soon as I saw Taimur walking away, I instantly turned toward this fake mafia who was now giving off the vibe of a real mafia.

"What on earth is your problem?" I retorted, fuming with anger at his behavior.

"Are you telling me or asking yourself?" he asked the most nonsense thing ever.

"You have no right to control me!" I said sternly.

"I have all the freaking rights over you, Aleena!" he replied, pulling me closer to him.

"And I dare you to smile at him. I won't think for a second before ruining the eyes that saw your smile," he whispered sternly, tightening his grip on my wrist.

I hate you from the core of my heart, Mr. Mafia, I wanted to shout at him.



While still holding her hand, I somehow managed to text Zaid.

"Turn off the lights," I texted him.

When I looked around to see him, he was standing next to a woman, busy staring at her.

I knew this man wouldn't see the text, so I called him instead.

I saw him finally moving his gaze from the woman in the red outfit to his phone, and he picked up the call.

"Check the text I sent you," I said and hung up the call, then looked at Aleena, who was busy enjoying the dance.

Within a few minutes, the lights dimmed.

Without wasting a second, I tightened my grip on her hand and started leading her toward one of the rooms.

"What are you doing, Asad?" Aleena yelled, trying to free her hand from mine, but without responding, I opened one of the doors, pulling her inside and closing it with a loud thud.

She flinched a bit but quickly stood straight with her usual furious look, which only attracted me more. She's absolutely not the kind of woman who gets scared of me, and that confidence of hers captivates me.

Aleena stood in front of me, expressionless, just giving me death glares.

I held her hand and pulled her closer, securely placing my arms around her waist.

She tried to free herself again but failed as I pulled her even closer.

"I'm uncomfortable, Asad," Aleena said, looking into my eyes.

And in that moment, my heart skipped a freaking beat just by looking at her addictive eyes.

"Didn't feel uncomfortable when Taimur embraced you and placed his hand on your waist, love?" I whispered in her ear. Though I wanted to yell, I held back all my emotions.

"What?" she asked, utterly confused.

"I'm warning you, Aleena. No one has the right to touch you except me, so stay away from every man, except me." I commanded her.

"I'm not your slave to follow your orders," she retorted with the same firmness.

"You're absolutely not a slave; instead, you're my queen, Aleena. No one else can touch you or even smile at you. Get that in your mind!" I said again before leaning down and kissing her neck.

As my lips touched her skin, her fragrance hit my nose, making me lose my mind and wash away my anger. Her scent is soothing, but why? Why am I losing control in front of her? I tried my best to resist, but failed when I heard her say my name.

"Asad!" Her stern voice is even more addictive than her soft one, which she doesn't use with me anyway.

I moved slightly, still kissing her neck, then trailed up to her jaw, kissing her sharp jawline and resting my lips there.

"Don't do this," Aleena said, trying to push me away, but I pulled her even closer.

She looks absolutely like an angel today, and her unique outfit is the cherry on top, perfectly accentuating her curves. Her open hair is another weakness of mine, and if all this wasn't enough, there's her intoxicating fragrance too.

"Everyone is waiting for us. Let's go," she said again, but this time softly. Softly?

My eyes instantly shot open, and I looked at her with utter shock. I take my words back-her soft voice is even more addictive.

"Let me first have my time with you. Others can wait," I said, continuing to kiss her left jaw, then without stopping, I kissed every part of her neck.

Her veil was in the way, but I couldn't take the risk of doing anything more right now. So, with a little patience, I gently moved her veil aside and continued kissing her neck.

"I love someone else, Asad!" I heard her voice, which made me stop and look at her. In that moment, all my peace vanished.

"Just tell me his name, and I'll take you to his funeral," I said before kissing her innocent neck.

___🖤___

𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀! ❤

I hope you're all enjoying a relaxing weekend. I'm thrilled to present the latest chapter, which offers both perspectives in a longer format for you to dive into!

I can't wait to hear your thoughts, favorite lines, and opinions on the characters. Your feedback means the world to me, so please share your reactions!

Also, if you could help me reach my goal of 𝟯𝟵𝟵+ 𝗩𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟭𝟱𝟵+ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, I would truly appreciate it!

Happy reading!

With love, Author Almas ❤

___🖤___

𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 :



___🖤___