Chapter 5: The Stranger in the Shadows
566 Words
The lights were out.
The night was silent.
Too silent.
Noor sat up in bed, her breath shaky. The thick darkness wrapped around her like a noose. There were no streetlights filtering through the curtains. No hum of electricity.
Only the sound of a creaking floorboard… somewhere outside her door.
She clutched the blanket to her chest, listening.
Another creak.
This time, closer.
Her heart thundered. Her palms grew damp. She glanced toward the bedroom door — it was slightly open. She remembered Zayan always locked it from the outside before nightfall.
Not tonight.
She tiptoed to the corner of the room where a lamp stood — but flicking the switch did nothing.
Power outage.
Or sabotage?
“Zayan?” she whispered into the dark.
No answer.
She stepped into the hallway.
The corridor stretched out before her, dim and empty. The only light came from the occasional flicker of red from the emergency backup system.
And then…
A silhouette moved at the end of the hall.
Noor’s breath hitched.
Not Zayan.
This figure was bulkier… heavier… and armed.
She could see the metallic glint of a weapon in his right hand.
Noor froze.
The man turned — slowly — and she caught a glimpse of his face beneath the hoodie.
He was the same man who had been watching from the street.
And now, he was inside.
She turned to run — but bumped into something hard.
She screamed — until she saw Zayan’s face.
His hand immediately covered her mouth.
“Quiet.”
His voice was low, lethal. “Get back in the room. Lock the door.”
“But—”
“Now, Noor.”
There was something terrifying in his eyes. Not fear — but rage.
He pulled a gun from the small of his back.
Noor stared at it, stunned.
Zayan… carried a gun?
Who was this man?
Before she could process, he was gone — storming down the hall like a shadow himself.
Noor obeyed. She ran back inside, locked the door, and stood with her ear pressed against it.
A moment later…
Two gunshots.
Then silence.
Her knees gave out. She sank to the floor, breathing hard.
Everything was happening so fast.
The man watching her.
The photos of Meher.
The shadows in Zayan’s soul.
And now — bloodshed.
Ten minutes later, the door unlocked.
Zayan stepped in. Calm. Controlled.
A thin cut on his cheek. Blood on his sleeve.
“He’s gone,” he said.
“Gone where?” she whispered.
He looked at her — eyes darker than ever.
“Dead.”
She flinched. “You… killed him?”
Zayan didn’t blink.
“He came to kill you. I stopped him.”
“But—”
“Noor,” he said firmly. “I will do whatever it takes to keep you alive. You’re not just a stranger anymore. You’re mine.”
She stared at him, stunned.
Was this protection… or possession?
Was she safe… or trapped?
Zayan walked past her, removed his blood-stained jacket, and tossed it in the bin.
Before leaving the room, he turned back.
“From now on, Noor… you don’t leave this apartment without me. Understand?”
She nodded slowly.
But inside her heart, a thousand questions screamed.
Who was Zayan Shah really?
And if she stayed too long…
Would he protect her?
Or become the very danger she needed saving from?
- Writer
