she smiled before killing chapter 8
1373 Words
Her mother looked deeply hurt.
“Manal, how can you be like this? I’m only saying all this because I’m worried about you.”
Manal’s eyes turned cold.
“But Mom… you took away the most important person in my life from me.”
“How am I supposed to believe that you truly want my happiness?”
Manal spoke coldly while Suhana struggled to control her tears.
“Now listen to me carefully. I’m here because I’m working on a case. That’s the only reason I came back to this country. Once the case is finished, I’ll leave again.”
“And all of you… please stop getting involved with me. It can be dangerous for everyone around me.”
She paused for a moment before speaking again.
“And Mom… please end whatever relationship you’re trying to create between me and Kavish.”
“I know you wouldn’t want your best friend’s son to die because of me.”
Her words sounded more like a warning than a request.
Before Suhana could say anything, Manal spoke again.
“And please don’t tell me again that Kavish is a good guy. Yes, he is good… actually, he’s too good.”
“It’s me who isn’t good enough for him.”
“So please… stop this.”
After saying those words, she walked out of the house.
Without anyone knowing, she called her personal bodyguard and ordered extra security around her family.
---
The moment she left, Zeeshan looked completely stunned.
“Dad… was that actually our sister?” he said excitedly. “Oh my God… she looked so cool!”
“I need to talk to her!”
He immediately ran after her while Hannan followed behind him.
“Hey, Manal! Wait!”
Manal turned back and saw both of them standing there with pride clearly visible in their eyes.
“I still can’t believe it,” Zeeshan said dramatically. “You’re actually a police officer… and not just any officer, but a special officer!”
“I seriously can’t believe this!”
Manal and Hannan both looked at him, amused by his excitement.
A small worry appeared on Manal’s face.
“You both… aren’t angry with me?”
Hannan frowned slightly.
“Did you do something wrong?”
Manal quietly shook her head.
“Then why would we be angry?”
Hannan walked closer and gently held her face in his hands.
“I didn’t even realize when my little girl grew up this much.”
His eyes softened.
“I’m proud of you.”
“Bhaiya…” her voice cracked emotionally.
“I’m proud of you, my girl,” he repeated warmly.
Manal felt tears burning in her eyes.
Before she could say anything, Zeeshan jumped in dramatically.
“We both are proud of you!”
The three of them hugged each other tightly.
---
From upstairs, Sikander and Suhana silently watched them.
For the first time in a long while… they looked happy.
Seeing his children together, Sikander spoke softly,
“Maybe we should give our children some space now. They’re mature enough to choose their own lives.”
“After all… we only want their happiness.”
Suhana lowered her eyes, remembering the harsh way Manal had spoken earlier.
“Maybe you’re right,” she whispered painfully. “I was too hard on her.”
“She chose such a dangerous life because of me…”
“She was closer to death than to her own mother.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“If something happens to her… how will I survive?”
Sikander gently held her shoulders.
“Nothing will happen to our daughter. She’s brave.”
“And she’s strong enough to know what’s right and wrong for herself now.”
---
While hugging her brothers, Manal suddenly received a call.
Iqrash’s name flashed on the screen.
“Where are you?” he asked immediately.
“At home. Why?”
“Come to the base. We need to discuss something.”
Thinking it was work-related, she quickly left after saying goodbye to her brothers.
But when she reached the base, she realized something strange.
Iqrash wasn’t inside.
He was waiting outside.
The moment she stepped out of her car, he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward his own car.
Manal looked confused.
“What are you doing?”
He opened the passenger door for her before replying quietly,
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“I was feeling restless.”
Manal closed her eyes in irritation.
“So?”
He looked at her for a second before answering honestly,
“So… I wanted to see you.”
She stared at him blankly.
“Is my face some kind of joke that makes you happy?”
He looked at her with a softness that he could never hide around her.
“Peace,” he whispered.
“You give me peace.”
For a second, her heartbeat felt strangely uneven.
She sat inside silently while he helped her fasten the seatbelt carefully.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” she muttered.
“It’s not nonsense.”
He started driving.
After a while, he glanced at her.
“Ice cream?”
“Hmm… I prefer tea,” she replied softly.
A handsome smile appeared on his face.
“Okay.”
Manal quietly looked at him while he drove through the empty midnight streets.
Without looking at her, he smirked.
“I know I’m handsome, but staring at me like that without making any relationship with me is making me uncomfortable.”
Manal immediately looked away.
“Don’t make jokes like that again.”
He pretended to look offended.
“So me being handsome sounds like a joke to you?”
But deep inside, he understood.
She wasn’t talking about his looks.
She was talking about his feelings.
---
After driving for a long time, they still couldn’t find any café open at that hour.
Finally, Iqrash noticed a small tea stall beside the road.
He parked the car and looked at her dramatically before getting out.
“Miss Manal,” he said politely while opening the door for her, “would you honor this poor man by having tea at this beautiful five-star tea stall?”
The tea stall was almost empty.
Cold wind brushed against the silent streets while the city slept peacefully.
Iqrash stood beside the small stove, quietly making tea himself.
Manal leaned against the broken wooden chair, watching him with narrowed eyes.
“You know,” she said softly, “normal people sleep at this hour.”
Without looking at her, he smirked lightly.
“And dangerous people drink tea.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So I’m dangerous now?”
He finally looked at her while pouring the tea into a cup.
“You were dangerous the first day I saw you.”
---
He handed her the cup carefully, making sure it wasn’t too hot for her fingers.
“You didn’t have to make it yourself,” she murmured.
“I know.”
“Then why did you?”
“Because you look less angry when you’re holding tea.”
For the first time that night, the corner of her lips almost curved into a smile.
---
The streetlights reflected softly in her eyes while she took a sip.
Iqrash kept staring at her quietly.
“What?” she asked without looking at him.
“Nothing.”
“You’ve been staring for five minutes.”
“I’m just making sure you’re real.”
She looked at him then, slightly confused.
“And if I’m not?”
His gaze softened.
“Then I don’t want reality.”
---
The silence between them was strangely comfortable.
Manal rested her head slightly against the wall behind her.
“You care too much,” she whispered.
He stirred the tea slowly before answering,
“And you pretend not to notice too much.”
---
“You should stop waiting for me,” she said quietly.
Iqrash looked at her for a long moment.
“That would be easier,” he said, “if my heart listened to me.”
She stopped moving for a second after hearing that line.
But
Neither of them confessed anything.
- Writer
