Chapter 2: When pages turn real
858 Words
Five Months Later
Saba’s novel had exploded on Dreame, eventually becoming a top-charting E-book. Her fame spread like wildfire, yet no one knew the creator was a mere cashier at a massive shopping mall. It was the only job she could find without experience, a bitter pill of reality she had to swallow.
Exhausted after a long shift, Saba stood up and stretched.
"Hey, Saba," her coworker, Mahra, called out. "I can't walk with you today. My fiancé is waiting downstairs with his motorcycle."
Saba smiled warmly. "Go ahead, sweetie. Stay safe."
As Mahra left, Saba locked up the clothing boutique. She adjusted her sweater and began her usual walk home, enjoying the cool night air. She pulled out her phone to read the latest comments on her novel, a small smile playing on her lips.
But before the smile could fully form, a massive hand clamped over her mouth. Her world went black.
Hours later, her eyes fluttered open. The room was shrouded in darkness, save for a single, dim bulb hanging from the ceiling. She blinked, her vision clearing to reveal a mountain of a man in a sharp black suit. He sat on a wooden chair, legs crossed, lazily exhaling a cloud of cigar smoke.
"Welcome back to the world, 'Author' Saba Mehran," he said, his voice a cold, gravelly rasp.
Terror surged through her as she realized she was in a basement. "Who... who are you?" she stammered.
The man rose, his movements slow and predatory. He leaned down until his face was inches from her cold, sweating skin. When he spoke, it was a lethal hiss.
"I am Fahd Ahmed Azzam."
Saba’s breath hitched. She stared at him, tracing the sharp line of his jaw and the cold intensity of his eyes. It was him. The name, the face, the aura—he was the exact protagonist she had written into her story. She had even used his photo—the one from that mysterious online ad—as the cover for her "stupid" novel.
She looked at him as if searching for confirmation. When he gave a slow, silent nod, the fear vanished instantly, replaced by a delirious, childish excitement. Suddenly, she began to hop around the basement like a maniac.
"Seriously?! I finally met him! The ultimate 'Handsome Hero,' Fahd the Leopard! You actually kidn*pped me and threw me into a dark basement!" She squealed, her eyes sparkling with delight. "Okay, tell me, what’s next? Are you going to torture me, and then I’ll forgive you and we’ll get married?"
Fahd stood frozen, staring at her as if she were a glitch in the universe.
"Wait, wait!" Saba continued, her words tripping over each other. "Are you going to force me into a marriage of convenience? And then I'll slowly fall for you? Come on, where are the servants? How many conglomerates do you own? And—"
"Shut up!" he barked, his palm slamming over her mouth to stifle the nonsensical torrent. "You’re giving me a migraine. I’m starting to regret k********g you in the first place."
He pulled his hand away, expecting her to cower. Instead, she looked at him with tearful, pleading eyes. "No! Please don't let me go! I’ve waited my whole life to be kidn*pped by someone with this much charisma! If only my cousin Heba could see me now, locked up by this masterpiece of a man!"
Fahd shook his head, convinced he had abducted a lunatic. He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.
"Wait, Captain! You’re leaving? But I... I need to use the bathroom!"
He raised an eyebrow in sheer disbelief, but kept walking.
"Hey! This isn't part of the torture schedule!" she shouted after him. "Oh my god, someone get me to a bathroom!"
Two days passed. He had kept her in the cellar, providing nothing but dry crusts of bread to weaken her. He wanted her broken, but Saba was mostly just annoyed. She missed her phone, and more importantly, she missed real food.
When he finally returned, he ordered his men to leave them alone. Saba scrambled to her feet the moment the door clicked shut.
"Have you come to your senses so we can talk?" he asked coldly.
Saba decided to play it cool this time. "What do you want from me? Is all this because I put your face on my book cover?"
Fahd tilted his head, a dark, mocking smile playing on his lips. "Just my face? You stole my name, my image, and you exposed my identity as an officer to the very syndicate I was infiltrating. I was undercover as an actor, and you turned me into a 'hero officer' in your trashy novel. They dug into my background because of you. You ruined a high-stakes mission, you little idiot."
Saba smiled defiantly. Fahd lost his patience, lunging forward to grab her by the collar of her sweater. "Who are you working for?!" he roared.
- Writer
