NOVEL~*Hiding behind a Stranger*~CHAP 60-Epilogue-COMPLETE! - Page 62

Good night, darling Sahibas and James Banna. See you tomorrow. 🤗

Bindup🤗

Here is a quiz to test your memory as well as your love for the lives of the protagonists in the novel HBAS..

Please point out the reference with the context of the passages given below in the novel..if possible, with the Chapter number.

1.

She let him lead her anyhow - for anything would be better than being trapped down this hell-hole haunted by evil voices. But their first step together, and her heart was already telling her something - that it'd found what it was searching for. It'd found home! And not long thereafter, they seemed to be walking towards light, the cackles of the demons steadily waning.

'Who are you?' she asked, as soon as she'd found her way out 'And why have you helped me?'

'I have no home and family either... so I understand...' whispered the boy, before he began retreating to where he came from.

'No don't go... I'll be your family...' she immediately held her hand out to stop him from leaving.

But her palm was barren. She could feel him no more, his silhouette having vanished into the cave again. 'No... don't go...'

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2.

Arching forward with his elbows resting upon his knees, he began tapping his fingers impatiently, one against the other.

It was only a few hours past sunrise. But within the beige peeling walls of that dingy area, the smoke had already formed pools of clouds in the air. Pools of clouds that aimlessly floated around. Just as aimlessly as the men who were blowing them out.

When a fresh puff of smoke came swirling in his direction, the lone man turned aside to avoid the suffocating vapours. But that only reminded him of the stifling stench of liquor looming from the furnishings scattered around.

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3.

She stopped.

His fingers had already moved up to the collar.

Below the neck, he untangled the first knot.

Then, by the chest, he removed the second one.

And beside the ribs, he loosened the third.

Tilting his head sideways, he gently let the tunic slip down his arm, exposing his left shoulder..

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4.

But the silence that succeeded didn't disappear till Heera spoke up 'A little more than 10 hours... actually, 10 and half hours to be precise' she gave him the answer to their problem

'What?' his eyes narrowed

'The time it would take you to travel 42 koss!'

'Oh yes...' he muttered, betraying no reaction to the fact that she must have figured out the answer, a split-moment before he had 'But, that's only if we take no breaks...'

'Of course!'

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5.

'Pure'

THAT was the first sentiment that crossed his mind. So pure that her aura stood out despite being bathed under a thick beam of sun. So pure that his chest felt refreshed merely from breathing the change of air that she'd brought with her. Portions of her hair were still damp - possibly from having rushed to tend to a matter before she could dry her hair out. And of those damp tresses, was a particularly wet curl that evidently refused to stay tucked behind her ear. Well, in the few blinks that he'd seen her, he'd already caught her trying to pin it back twice.

'Subah Bakhair...' his shoulders finally claimed their resting spot on the cushioned back of the chair.

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6.

'Wh... who are they?'

'Who are these people?'

'Why are they here, baisa?'

'And do you see what I see?' a couple of ladies griped, not long thereafter 'They're wearing Mughal finery...'

'Yes... they're MUSLIMS!'

'What are these Muslims doing here?'

'Wait... wait... wait... are they Khalil and his army?' added a few others, striking immediate terror in the hearts of one and all.

'Have we been captured, baisa?'

'Must we run?'

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7.

WHOOOSH!

The steel of a blade flashed across the room!

And the youth ducked in a blink. But in this real contest, even his quick reflexes were no match for the Sahib's

'ARRRggghhh!' he immediately winced when the blade found its mark

The businessman leaned back on his couch, calmly.

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8.

'Oh my Lord...' A faint voice-of-reason cried from within when she watched herself dangerously crossing boundary-after-boundary with him. Then again, maybe this was how it was when two impassioned people held back by numerous shackles, briefly broke free. Maybe she wasn't in the right frame-of-mind either, still recovering from the grief of nearly losing him forever. Maybe she was still reeling from the fear of not knowing what future held for HER. For THEM. But whatever it was - when she let her guard down and let herself be swathed by him, when she ignored the voices and let herself hear his beats, it was an epiphany like none other.

This was the sanctuary, the refuge that she had been referring to. A place within his strong arms, where no one else could bring her harm.

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9.

She was right. He couldn't corner her further. And while the Sahiba thought she was paying the price of her own brazenness, Akbar thought differently - she wasn't the only 'loser' in this banter. He had lost the moment he'd allowed himself be lured into her mind games and now, he was paying the price of his devilry too. By losing himself. By falling into temptation - at the sight of her partially-lowered eyelids. At the sight of her demure grins. At the sight of her fair skin dipped in red. At the sight of her femininity.

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10.

Besides, there was another reason he wished this would not end.

Because another side to him had just surfaced - a not-so-gentlemanly side that he didn't know existed within. The young man was deriving secret pleasure from the fact that he was lone audience to the Sahiba's unusual antics, where she had chosen to let her hair down today - both, symbolically and literally. Whether she was unaware of it, or whether she didn't care, the limp knot had finally come loose, letting her tresses flow freely, outlining her curves. And they stopped right by her waist, dangling demurely, as if toying with his sense of self-control.

A deep pang of desire to hold her was born in his chest just then. A desire that intensified further. And further. Till the young man was forced to look aside for a moment, away from the bewitching physical sights and sounds of her free-spirited form.

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KK.