Part 18
Caller: Really? So the best lawyer claims to be the best husband too!! Impressive! But I am so sorry to say, that doesn't seem like. Do you even know where she is now? Iqtiaar heard the annoying laugh again and became worried for a moment.
Caller: I'll call you again in five minutes Mallik! Hopefully you'll know where she is by then! He cut the call saying this. Iqtiaar put the phone down with his eyes full of rage.
Nassir: Is everything alright? He whispered standing just behind Iqtiaar. But Iqtiaar without saying another word immediately called another number on his phone.
***
The phone in the living Area of the penthouse rang and Maddy who was working in the Kitchen picked up the phone in the kitchen using the intercom.
Maddy: Mallik residence, may I know whom do you wish to speak to? She greeted in her rehearsed welcoming tone.
Iqtiaar: Maddy, transfer the call to Razia please! He spoke in a voice which showed no sign of any anxiety or worry which he was going through. Iqtiaar had very well learnt in his years of experience in the law profession to control his emotions.
Maddy: But Iqtiaar, Razia isn't home. She went to see a friend of hers. She answered confused about Iqtiaar not knowing that Razia would be going out for the day.
Iqtiaar: WHAT? He shouted but immediately calmed down realizing Nassir to be standing next to him, who himself was at the peak of anxiety as he had no clue what Iqtiaar was talking about.
Iqtiaar: Ah! Okay I'll call Jean Paul and ask him where they are?
Maddy: Oh no dear! I am afraid that wouldn't be possible.
Iqtiaar: I beg your pardon?
Maddy: Ah! I mean Jean Paul hasn't gone with her. He's still outside with the other guards. She said hesitatingly. But this time Iqtiaar completely lost his cool.
Iqtiaar: Are you SERIOUS? Maddy how the hell could you let such a thing happen? Didn't I tell you to be with her until I get back home?
Maddy remained silent knowing she should have made sure Razia knew to take Jean Paul with her. On the other hand Nassir by now understood that Razia wasn't safe and that bas***d had definitely put her in some kind of a trouble. He immediately turned around and started calling someone on his phone.
Iqtiaar: Maddy I need to talk to Jean Paul right now! He said through gritted teeth trying to make sure he doesn't shout as he didn't want to disrespect Maddy.
Maddy: Iqtiaar, actually Razia left her phone number, maybe you could try and contact her on the same?
Iqtiaar: is it? Maddy please tell me the number?
Maddy: yeah sure! And she told Iqtiaar the number Razia had given to her reading from the small piece of chit on which she had written it.
***
Nassir had immediately called Zaroon and asked him to leave for Manchester the same evening as soon as possible to get the work on track before the guy blackmailing Iqtiaar did something disastrous to postpone the case in any way.
Zaroon: Alright Nassir Bhaijaan, so I'll leave from the next available flight itself. But is Bhabhi alright?
Nassir: Don't worry about her. Donny is trying to track where she is and I am just going to help him with this. But you should start working on the case as soon as possible because I don't want Donny to worry about this too. And yes one of our juniors will be accompanying you to Manchester also. Ask Laila to assign one of them to you.
Zaroon: yes got it. He said worried.
Nassir: And Zaroon ... Take care of yourself! He said smiling but the worry was clear on his face.
Zaroon: yes I will!
***
Nassir returned back to Iqtiaar's cabin but saw him coming out leaving for somewhere. Iqtiaar could understand that Nassir wanted to know what exactly was going on but before Nassir could say anything Iqtiaar spoke up.
Iqtiaar: It's alright you don't need to come with me. Make sure everything is fine here. Nassir disagreed and wanted to go with him but just then Iqtiaar's phone rang again. Iqtiaar picked it up this time on loud speaker so that Nassir could hear too.
Iqtiaar: What the hell is it now? He shouted.
Caller: Time UP! So the best husband would know by now where dear wifey is?
Iqtiaar: where is she? He said through pressed lips.
Caller: Too bad Mallik! Too bad! I am sure your wife wouldn't expect such a thing from her husband! Now will she? You have to ask others where your wife is. What a pity!
The man was by now truly testing Iqtiaar's patience. Nassir looked up at Iqtiaar's face knowing completely well that Iqtiaar-ud-din Maliik wasn't going to take such an insult easily.
Caller: But you know something. I like you my friend. So I'll give you one more hour. Find her or else... the same irritating laugh followed which was cut in between as Iqtiaar cut the call before listening to all of it.
Nassir: Now would you mind taking me with you?
***
Iqtiaar sat on the passenger seat of his SUV continuously trying to call Razia's phone number while Nassir drove the car as fast as he could. But to Iqtiaar's luck Razia's phone was switched off. Still he didn't give up. Iqtiaar frequently kept calling back home to know if Razia had reached back home or not. But every time he got the same answer from Maddy that she hadn't. It had already started to get dark in London which was making Iqtiaar tenser.
Nassir and Iqtiaar tried to look for her in all possible malls and famous shopping centers but all in vain. They were coming out of the parking lot of a shopping complex when they saw that an accident had taken place just a few meters away from the exit point of the place. They rushed to it and Iqtiaar realized that it was his own black Mercedes benz car!
But before Iqtiaar could understand anything in between all the chaos his phone rang again.
Caller: So Mr. Mallik! How's the view?
Iqtiaar: I'll kill you, you understand me I'll kill you if you even dare touch her!!!
Caller: Seems like you haven't seen the condition of the car yet. I wouldn't need to touch your delicate wife anymore. There are other ways I realized which would ... He cut the call.
The earth below his feet shifted and his world came crashing down as he realized the possibilities of the scene in front of him. Nassir held Iqtiaar firmly to support his body weight as Iqtiaar had just gone mute and had become stiff like a stone.
The car was in a very bad condition and it was clear that anyone inside the car would not have survived. The crowd had encircled the whole of the area with police officials trying to clear off the road to tow away the car. Nassir almost dragged away Iqtiaar from the scene and made him sit in his car while he went to enquire about the accident. All he could gather was that there were two women and a man present and they all were taken to some xyz hospital.
Nassir called for his own car and then rushed back to Iqtiaar who sat in his car like a half dead man. Nassir realized that Iqtiaar was in no condition to go to the hospital right now, and it would be better if he went himself. He tried calling back Maddy to tell her that Iqtiaar would be coming back home but nobody picked up the phone in the penthouse. He then slowly tried to talk to Iqtiaar.
Nassir: Donny! I'll go to the hospital myself. Don't worry she'll be fine. He tried talking to him but it felt as if he was talking to a statue. But he still continued. I've called for my car; you should just go from here right now. Go back home. I'll call you soon.
Iqtiaar looked back towards Nassir and whispered: Razia!
Nassir had never felt so helpless. He for the first time of years knowing his friend was seeing him so vulnerable and broken. He held Iqtiaar from the shoulders and said: You won't lose her. You love her don't you? He said searching for an answer in friend's eyes.
Iqtiaar looked back at Nassir with teary eyes and uncertainty trying to get something out from his mouth but nothing came.
Nassir: then you don't have to worry; even god cannot take her away from you. She will always be yours and with you.
Nassir's phone beeped again and he saw that Fatima had texted him. He assumed it to be something regarding the party and ignored it seeing the issue at hand keeping his phone back in his jacket.
He assured Iqtiaar that he'll inform him very soon and asked him drive back home as he wasn't in the right state of mind to think right now.
***
Iqtiaar drove back home while it rained heavily on the streets of London. He just couldn't understand what was happening to him. But then suddenly a strange power made him to stop the car and Iqtiaar pressed on to the breaks making the car to come to a halt. He had gripped on to the steering wheel as tightly as it was humanly possible making his palms form red rashes all over them. His breathing was uneven as he took long breaths in and out realizing the extreme fear his body was reacting to. He feared losing her, losing her forever. And when he tried to calm himself down remembering Nassir's words he felt the salt water flowing down his cheeks. He was crying!
Iqtiaar: She'll be fine! He told himself. She won't leave me. No she won't!
His mind was just not working. He should have gone to the hospital. How could he just leave her to suffer through all that pain alone? How? He questioned himself. But no answer came. He didn't know what was right or what was wrong! He just needed her close to himself; just them, away from everything else and away from all the evils. He was scared and his body language was shouting and telling his state of mind at the moment.
Iqtiaar somehow could drive back home and without saying anything just passed by the four bodyguards who looked at him wanting to tell him something. He got out of the private Mallik lift in front of the huge door to the apartment and rang the bell.
He was lost in his own world not reacting to anything around him. When the door didn't open irritated he again rang the bell but then immediately realized that nobody was home, not even Razia!
How he had wished that Razia would be there to welcome him back home from work on their first day of starting their new married life. And here he had just left her in the hospital all alone. Anxiety and hatred for himself more than anyone swept into him as he immediately decided to go to the hospital and turned around to the lift when the door of the apartment opened and he stood there stunned to see his angel standing in front of him.
Razia: Good evening! She wished him with a bright smile on her face.
***
Iqtiaar stood at the door dumb folded as he couldn't process the right words to utter. He just looked at her shocked rooted at his place. It took him a few seconds to realize that he wasn't dreaming and she was actually in front of him all okay. Razia came a little forward and took his jacket from his hand and then turned around expecting him to enter the apartment. She started blabbering about her day to Iqtiaar without realizing that he hadn't moved an inch yet.
Razia: How was your day? Thanks for the notes in the morning. I felt good seeing them or else I would have been hell worried to have not found you home.
Iqtiaar: Where were you? He simply whispered with great effort trying to get something out.
Razia: Oh! I had a really good day. I finished some work which Dad wanted me to do and then went to see a friend. Actually she's Nizam Chacha's daughter. I used to visit him back in Delhi almost every day; she said in a low voice and then again continued excitedly. So I went to see his daughter, Fatima. You know even Fatima's husband is a lawyer. And they seem to be really happy together ...
Iqtiaar wasn't listening anymore. His mind was filled with the horrifying images of the car and the sound of the disgusting laugh of the caller. What the hell had just happened? He looked back at Razia who was standing in front of him smiling and telling him something with great excitement. But he couldn't hear a word.
Without a word, he came in, put his cold hands on her face and kissed her...
Razia made a soft cry: Iqtiaar! and left his jacket to drop to the ground out of his sudden reaction. His mouth carried the flavor of rain and a decade of yearning, and Razia reached for him wondering what his yearning was about? She tried understanding as she met the raging and paining kiss and those lips, the tongue that plunged into her mouth. Razia caught his upper arms, and felt the tenseness of muscles beneath wet cotton. Iqtiaar backed her against the wall and pressed his body into hers kissing her face, her chin, her throat and her mouth again; feeling every inch of her, checking if she was fine; feeling his life; living his life..again!
The sound of rain, the smell of hot earth, came in through the open door and the open glass window and with it a wind bearing raindrops that sprayed over her face and her hair. His clothes were wet, but they warmed as he pressed into her, warmed with the heat of her flesh. Razia arched into him, put her arms around him, pulled him closer, Iqtiaar didn't want to even think about what happened or if what he thought was true or just all a misunderstanding. The thought brought a jolt in him..
He was not sure, he was reassuring himself, feeling her more and more. All the incidents just flashed in front of him; all at once and he shuttered remembering them. His weeping was no longer a soft, silent thing, but great gulping sobs that ripped through his hard chest and throat, the fine trembling in his fingers and wrists turned to bone-cracking shivers that rocked his limbs and his spine.
As if Razia knew and understood, she only gathered him into her and wrapped her delicate arms around him enfolding him completely. She bent her face against his wet chest while he buried his head into her neck and wept. Twice Iqtiaar tried to raise his head, tried to find some way to pull himself back under control, and twice she simply held him more lightly, stroking his back, his hair, his face close against her neck and he wept as if he was grieving, wept in a way he had not since the day he had lost his Father.
Razia: What happened?
Iqtiaar: shh!!! Don't say anything! Just let me be close to you. Safe in the circle of her embrace, Iqtiaar simply rested, listening to her heart and her breath, feeling the life in her and smelling the scent of her skin. He closed his eyes and let go of a shuddering breath. He didn't know how long it was till he finally stirred. He thought he might have fallen into a stupefied doze, lying against her that way. Razia raised her head.
Razia: The windows are open Iqtiaar, you'll catch cold...
Iqtiaar's eyes, those deep, bottomless, beautiful eyes, were liquid, drenched: Don't! He whispered, and moved the hair from her face. Don't you ever do this to me again! He said against her lips.
Razia realized that there was something terribly wrong and she felt worse because it was because of her he felt so!
Razia: I... I am sorry, I didn't mean ...
Iqtiaar: Razia! How did you go there? He interrupted her in between desperately wanting to know what was happening. She realized that Iqtiaar was worried for her because she hadn't been home all day. She tried explaining ...
Razia: Actually after we both came out of the mall, she remembered that she had to return some fabrics to the store, so I told her that I'll wait for her in the car, next to the exit. Iqtiaar became attentive. I parked the car next to the exit and saw her coming out of the mall. She couldn't see me so I came out and was walking towards her to call her when this truck came behind and crashed into the car.
Iqtiaar was speechless as he just heard Razia telling him about the accident. He could have actually lost her. Lose her forever!
Razia: I am sorry Iqtiaar; I took the car without asking you. I could never even imagine of something like this to have happened. And I wanted to call you immediately but my phone battery was dead. I am really sorry! I thought I would tell you about the accident while having dinner; I didn't want to put you in a bad mood just when you reach home...
Iqtiaar let out a sigh and immediately hugged her back. It was then that Iqtiaar realized how intimate he had been to Razia. He felt her stiff torso in his arms as she didn't react even a bit. She just held him to sooth his tense body but hadn't physically responded to his touch.
Iqtiaar: I shouldn't have done this! He mentally told himself and then slowly left her. He looked back again to read her expression which seemed to be embarrassed and shy. Iqtiaar smiled slightly and then to lighten her mood told her of the invitation.
Iqtiaar: Forget about the accident! Your friend is fine too, right?
Razia nodded slightly. Iqtiaar: Okay so just forget about the day and tell me you haven't cooked dinner?
Razia spread a wide smile and excited tried to tell him about the party invitation: No I didn't cook, actually Fatima has invited ...
Iqtiaar: Great! Then quickly get ready, we have to attend a dinner party! He said smiling down at her.
Razia looked up surprised. She had waited for him all evening to tell him about Fatima's anniversary invitation, hoped that he would not be too tired and would agree to go and was just about to tell him but now he has plans for some other dinner party???
Razia: Ah! Iqtiaar... But before she could continue, Iqtiaar's phone rang. It was Nassir.
Iqtiaar: Just a sec, he left Razia and went to attend the call to tell Nassir that Razia was fine and he need not worry. Razia looked down disappointed and just went up to change and get ready.
***
Iqtiaar: Yes, Nassir! Ya don't worry, Razia's home and she's fine.
Nassir: Oh! Thank god. He sighed a relief standing next to the hospital reception. But then the accident? He asked curious.
Iqtiaar: Actually Razia and her friend weren't in the car when the accident took place. Don't worry everything's fine. You go back home and get ready to celebrate! He said trying to cheer up Nassir.
Nassir: Yeah! But Iqtiaar is Razia alright? I mean will she be okay to come to the party?
Iqtiaar: She seems fine! And anyhow coming to the party will only cheer up her mood. We'll try and reach soon then!
Nassir: Alright, see you soon! Bye.
***
Next : Nassir and Fatima's wedding anniversary party!
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