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"We have a relation, a bond in between. Our mothers were best friends. We are not complete strangers!"

Zubab stares at his eyes. Numb. She didn't wanted the person, after practically ruining her day, making her resign her job wanted to invade her space. She sighed,

"There must be some mista-"

"It's fate."

"Stop dramatizing it!"

"I am not. I will meet Zarmain Aunty now."

"Shut up and go home, Asfand. I want to sleep and you are no one but a cab driver who dropped home."

He smirked at her tone and realised how rebellious she was, he particularly found it cute. Having no one beside him to admire, for the first time he felt like living when he heard her outburst.

"You are my employee and you will obey me," he uses his boss card at the most immaculate time making her close her eyes in frustration. He leaves a chuckle looking at the gate before saying, "You are so freaking cute."

"I resigned. I submitted the letter." She stated clasping her hands and standing as confident as she could ever be.

He went towards the back seat of the car and went through the recent files that he took from from the office. He took out the file that contained her resignation letter and walked back at her. She scrunches her eye brows with hunting eyes, examining him.

He took the letter out from the envelope and read out after having a quick glance overall, "The letter doesn't seems appropriate enough for approval."

He held the letter between his fingers and tore the paper. She gasps and shot him a glare. "You are still my employee, Ms. Zaheer."

"Oh my god, what are you?"

"Your long lost friend," he chuckles throwing the paper away. "You can have fun. I'll submit again tomorrow."

"Initial approval will be mine, babygirl!" He says entering the gate without turning towards her, he locked the car through his key and went inside the house.

She stomped her feet; yelling, "You pervert!"

Like he cared about her curses.

Asfandyaar pressed the bell twice as Zubab stood beside him in a mannered distance.

"Why isn't she opening the door?" He exhales frustrated and rings the bell again. She smirks and Knicks on the door. "My mom and I have a code. If I knock, she knows it's me. Other than that, guests usually ring the bell so we know it's the guest. Apparently she must be getting the mess cleaned thinking that it's a guest."

"What do you mean? Am I not a guest?"

"Of course not!" She exclaimed smirking. "Then what am I to you?"

"You are a NUTHEAD boss." She says before the door slowly opens with a fully covered in a hijab Zarmain let's Zubab enter. They exchanged their greetings before Zarmain noticed his presence. He greets him, "Assalamu alaikum!"

"Walaikum assalam?" She hesitantly laughs, "Do I know you bache?"

"He is my boss, Ammi!" She exclaimed before he could introduce himself as her dead bestfriend's son. He glared at her, she took it funny but she knew he was serious so she walks inside with her smirk fading.

"Ohh... Please come in, beta."

Asfandyaar enters. Warmth of being home hits his body, making goosebumps arise all along. He starved for this and he didn't know he could find it here. Having soo much of money didn't bought him the warmth that kept him hungry.

"I feel like I know you." Zarmain says after he sits in the sofa.

"Yes you do!" He tells her and leans a little forward. "I am Asfandyaar, Asfandyaar Shah. The heir of Shah Industries and the child of your dead best friend Aliza."

Zubab claps right after and sits beside his mother, munching the apple that was kept in the dinning table. "Asfand..." Zarmain stares at him with tears starting to flow in her eyes.

"I didn't knew it would turn so emotional," she murmurs astonished at them and gazes at her mother when she pats his head and he smiles.

"Jerk smiles?" She ponders smirking.

"How are you mere bache?"

"I am good, How about you?"

"I am fine," he said, Nodding his head while the only sound present there came from Zubab munching the apple. She gets up and walks towards her room up the stairs.

She changed her clothes and peaked from up the stairs. Asfandyaar was having dinner with her mother. She rolled her eyes for the way they laughed while talking to each other.

Zubab wrapped her hijab and walks down the stairs. Asfand glances at her before looking back at her mother. She sighs, sitting besides her mother.

"Looks like people have patched up well."

"Yes. Thank you for taking his ride for home," She scoffed at their smiles. She couldn't understand well what her mother and her boss were trying to say. She didn't wanted to either.

"The meatballs are delicious, khala. I still remember how much mom loved these made by you."

"Why don't I remember anything?" She whined looking at her mother. "Asfand was grown up kid. You were a toddler."

•

Asfandyaar enters the Shah Mansion with a smile. He felt lighter and happier tonight for uniting with his mother's best friend.

"Why were you so late? I told you to come home early tonight," he heard Lily. His brows knitted together and he smiles more, "What happened, Lil?"

He always called her Lil. From the moment she took him in. He glances at the heat formed in the middle of the room. His father and step mother were sitting in the middle of the room with his step brother.

He sighs.

He thought today was a good day.

"It's fine. It's not important I guess," he whispers to Lily and walks towards the stairs to go up to his room without getting his mood spoilt.

"Asfand?"

He doesn't stops.

"Asfand?"

He barely hears.

"Asfandyaar, get yourself back here."

He was standing in the last stair.

"Don't you see your family is sitting here?"

His father yells, he stops at the word family. He turns and walks down.

"My family is dead, Dad. They died years ago."

His father glares at him. His step family was the last one he wished to see in this beautiful day.

"Can't you see? Your father, your mother and your brother is sitting here waiting for you. We hadn't even had our dinner because we were waiting for you to come over so that we can have a good family time."

He smirks, walking towards his father. He stands in front of him and smiles. "So, this is what you call family?"

"Stop dramatizing things, Asfand. The past is past. Look up at the better things holding you up."

"So, you guys are the better things holding me up?" He laughs. "Asfand! Stop it!" Azeem tells at him but nothing scares him.

"Stop what, Dad?" He pauses, like really trying to get the burden out from his chest. "Stop what?"

He closes his eyes in dismay. Azeem stands in front of him. "Your indisciplined behaviour towards your family will not get you anywhere."

"Dad, stop it!"

"Stop what, Asfand. It's a give and take always. Stop what you are doing and I'll stop mine."

"Look at the things you started, Dad. Look how miserable we have grew up. We were better off without you marrying the second time." He yelled at him. To be better, he wanted to scream. Scream until his voice was taken away from him, until it hurts his ear to the point it bursts.

"You cannot stop it, Dad. The thing you started can never be stopped." Asfandyaar breaks the vase in the hall making his stepmother Maham and step brother Moosa stands up.

"Bhaiya! Please be aware of what you are speaking and who all are hearing it."

"Stop interfering yourself between Dad and I, Moosa. You might inherit his blood and business, you are forgetting the fact that father was only mine before even thinking that you will exist. Stop coming between us," he threatens him with his index finger pointed at his face. Moosa was not a bad wisher for his life.

He walks up the stairs, to his room. Closing the door behind him with a loud thud. He could hear Maham's voice, trying hard to manipulate Azeem. He stood in the shower for a while not giving a shit about what they talked.

He gave. He just didn't wanted to hear and know that his father might walk away from him.

He rubbed the towel against his wet hair and walked out in a comfortable tshirt. He was still too angry to even take things lightly. He completely destroyed the bed before going in the shower. He took the hot water flask and poured the hot water into a mug, putting the green tea bag in. He sat near the window in his couch with his laptop.

He started working to remove his mind off things. The fights were a everyday thing for them now. No one cared now.

His family was a mess. A complexed mess.

His father Azeem Shah, the owner of The Shah Industries was the handsome business tycoon taking the world by storm, he was blessed with the business royalty inheritance. That's when he met his mother, Aliza Meer, daughter of Jalal Meer, the heiress of Jalal Group Of Companies.

Azeem's father, Akbar Shah, Asfandyaar's grandfather wanted a heir, a clean heir. Akbar wanted Azeem to get married to a girl of a equally royal family but things took a drastic turn when Azeem couldn't fight his father to prove him that he doesn't loves Aliza, he had a liking for another girl who was the daughter of a housemaid in Jalal Mansion, Maham Farooque.

He married Aliza. For the sake of world, for the sake of his family, for the sake of his family's royalty. He tried to accept Aliza in his life but he just couldn't. After ten years of Asfandyaar's birth, Azeem couldn't take more, he finally decided to ask Aliza for parting ways because it was suffocating him for having his heart on someone else who was none other than Aliza's housemaid's daughter.

Aliza was too good to everyone. Zarmain Ishtiyaq, Maham Farooque and Aliza Meer were best of friends in their school. Aliza helped Maham to join her school which was the top expensive school of their times but Maham? She tried stepping on her shoes because she started liking money, the art of money.

Azeem was just a pawn for her to wear the crown.

Aliza was left too heart broken to know everything. She couldn't digest things right after it. She hated the fact that everything around her was a facade. Money and power came with a price too hectic to pay.

Because of continuous emotional breakdown, her health started detoriarating and she died in a fragile age of thirty five. Azeem re married with Maham after a year of her demise. Maham barely cared about the death of her friend.

Asfand was ten years old when she died. He was left with nothing in his hand but money, power and fame which came along with his father's inheritance.

Asfand wanted love, warmth and comfort but...

The door slashed open with a thud. Asfandyaar rolls his eyes and sips his green tea, still focused on the screen.

"Get out, Moosa."

"You said you'd treat me with brownies if I did well in the finals of 11th. It was my results today, I scored ninety two percent. Isn't it awesome?." Moosa says sitting next to Asfand, leaning in his shoulder.

"You are acting like my girlfriend. Get out, Moosa. I have work." Moosa starts whining like a baby.

"You have a phone. You can order it for yourself."

He smiles like a pretty young teenage girl, "Please my man. I want you to do so."

"I am this close to believe that you are actually a girl. Doesn't it sounds like the plot twist? I'll be the only heir," sipping the green tea for the last time before he realised Moosa glaring at him.

"Good for you. You are even going to get married within few days."

"What?" Asfand glares at him finally.

"Yeah, Dad was telling Mom to look for pretty and beautiful plus rich girls for you. You'd probably be married within 1 month. Who would buy me brownies?" He saddens himself and sits uncomfortably in the sofa with the side of his lips dropped down.

"Dad is talking about my marriage and all you care is brownies you fool?"

"May be."

•

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