After reaching home for dinner I went to her room. I pushed open the door to her room, expecting to see Izel curled up on the bed, maybe scrolling through her phone, lost in her thoughts.
But the room was empty.
My brows furrowed as I called out, "Izel?"
Silence.
A strange unease settled in my chest. My eyes scanned the room, landing on the black fabric draped over the edge of the bed her abaya.
My heart skipped a beat.
I strode toward the bathroom, pushing the door open.
Empty.
I turned back, my mind racing. She wouldn't just leave. Not when she knew when I had just... I clenched my jaw.
Where the hell had she gone?
I pulled out my phone and dialed her number. Voicemail. A frown settled between my brows as I dialed again.
Nothing.
Damn it.
I rushed downstairs, my heartbeat quickening with each passing second. Scanning the living room, I found her parents sitting there, oblivious to my growing panic.
"Izel kahaan hai?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
Her mother frowned. "Beta, woh toh apne kamre mein thi."
I clenched my jaw, forcing down the frustration bubbling inside me.
"Toh ab nahi hai?" My gaze flickered to her father, who was watching me with the same wary expression he always had. As if he still had no idea what i talking about.
I took a deep breath, trying to keep my temper in check, but the frustration was clawing its way out.
"You don't know?" I scoffed, my eyes dark with irritation as I turned to Izel's parents.
"How can you not know where your own daughter is?" My voice was sharp, laced with an accusation I didn't bother to hide.
Her father's lips parted in protest. "Irfaz, beta, woh toh bas apne kamre mein thi, shayad so rahi ho..."
His words did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me.
"If she had been in her room, where the hell was she now?" I ran a hand through my hair, my patience wearing thin.
Something wasn't right. I could feel it in my bones.
I took a step closer, my gaze locking onto her father's. My voice was dangerously low, laced with a warning they wouldn't forget.
"Let me warn you. If she left this house because of you guys..."
I let the words hang in the air, thick with unspoken consequences. My jaw clenched, and I took another step forward, my eyes burning into his.
"Ulti ginti shuru kar do."
Their expressions shifted, uncertainty flickering in their eyes, but I wasn't done.
"Jahannam ki saza kya hoti hai, uska trailer dikhata hoon." My voice was ice-cold, but the fire inside me was anything but.
I turned my glare toward Asma Kazmi, pointing a finger at her, my patience long gone.
"Especially you, Mrs. Asma Kazmi."
A flicker of something fear, guilt, maybe both crossed her face. But I wasn't in the mood to wait for answers.
They had no idea what storm they had just unleashed.
I didn't care for their discomfort. Not when my wife was missing.
With a sharp exhale, I turned away, my fists clenched at my sides. If they weren't going to tell me where she was, I'd find out myself.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed again.
Voicemail.
My teeth gritted.
This wasn't like Izel.
She wouldn't just disappear.
I marched toward the door, throwing it open with a force that rattled the frame. The cool night air hit my face, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning inside me.
If she had left on her own, I needed to find out why.
And if someone had forced her to leave if someone had dared to take her from me They would wish they never crossed paths with Irfaz Ahmed ki Amanat
I stormed out of the room, my hands clenching into fists.
Pulling out my phone, I called Zayn. He picked up almost instantly.
"Bhai, kya hua?" he asked, amusement lacing his tone.
"Izel's missing," I snapped, my jaw tightening.
"What?! Kya? Bhabhi gayab ho gayi?" His voice turned serious.
"Yes, and koi bhi nahi jaanta woh kahan hai. Bina bataye kaise ja sakti hai?" My grip on the phone tightened. "Jaldi aa, Zayn. Abhi."
I ended the call and stormed out, my heart hammering against my ribs.
'Kaha hogi woh? kuch khaya hoga bhi nhi?'
The thought of her alone, wandering in the dark, sent an unsettling chill down my spine.
"Izel, tum kahan ho?" I muttered under my breath, dialing her number again.
No answer.
I clenched my jaw.
"Bas Irfaz... just find her," I muttered to myself, pushing down harder on the accelerator as I drove deeper into the night. As I revved the engine, my mind whirled with a thousand possibilities.
Did she leave on her own?
Did someone take her?
Was she safe?
I couldn't find her. Neither could I trace her location.
"Kaha ho, Izel?" I muttered, frustration clawing at my chest as I slammed my head against the steering wheel.
The weight of the unknown pressed down on me, suffocating. My hands tightened around the wheel, knuckles turning white.
I glanced out the windshield. The sky was dark, heavy clouds rolling in. It was going to rain soon.
"Baarish hone wali hai shayad... aur tum bahar ho," I exhaled shakily, my voice barely above a whisper.
My mind raced with questions that had no answers.
Who was she with? Where had she gone? And why the hell hadn't she told me?
"Kiske saath ho... Yeh toh bata ke jaati..." A bitter chuckle escaped me, laced with exhaustion and something dangerously close to desperation. "Main rokhta thodi hoon kuch bhi karne se?"
But deep down, I knew this wasn't just about her going somewhere.
Something was wrong.
And I was running out of time to find out what.
"Damn it, Izel!" I growled under my breath. "You should've told me where the hell you were going!" I hit the gas, speeding into the night.
Raindrops splattered against the windshield, blurring my vision, mirroring the chaos in my mind.
Great. As if the night wasn't already suffocating enough.
I turned on the wipers, but they did little to clear the storm raging inside me. My fingers tapped restlessly against the steering wheel, my jaw tightening with every second that passed without a sign of her.
My pulse pounded in my ears as I scanned the empty streets, hoping...praying...to catch a glimpse of her.
But there was nothing.
The rain grew heavier, drumming against the car roof. A sharp exhale left my lips as I ran a hand down my face, drenched in frustration and something far more dangerous fear.
I called her again.
Voicemail.
My grip on the phone tightened, a fresh wave of frustration washing over me. The rain pounded harder against the car, the rhythmic drumming matching the erratic beat of my heart.
And then.....
The phone buzzed in my hand.
Izel.
She was calling back.
For a second, I just stared at the screen, disbelief paralyzing me. Then, with a sharp breath, I swiped to answer.
"Izel!" My voice came out harsher than intended, desperation laced in every syllable. "Where the hell are you?"
Silence.
Only the sound of rain and faint, uneven breathing on the other end.
Something was wrong.
"Izel, talk to me!" I demanded, gripping the phone tighter.
"Where are you?"
A shaky breath. Then, finally, her voice soft, broken.
"Irfaz..."
Just my name. Nothing else.
And that was enough to send my blood running cold. I was bringing her back. Even if I had to tear this whole city apart to do it.
"Where are you?" I asked, my ears straining to catch every nuance in her voice over the sound of the pounding rain.
"Home," she murmured, but something in her tone was off.
I clenched my jaw.
She was lying.
"Izel, don't lie to me," my voice rose, frustration bubbling over. "Haad hoti hai Izel! Agar tum ghar pe hoti toh mujhe kaise pata chalta ki tum wahan nahi ho?" My grip on the steering wheel tightened.
"Kaha ho? Batao mujhe! I'm coming to get you. Do you have an umbrella with you or not?" I demanded, my voice laced with urgency.
Silence.
Just the sound of raindrops hitting her side of the call.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to control my frustration.
"Izel, don't test my patience right now. Tell me where you are. It's raining do you even have an umbrella with you?"
Another shaky breath. Then finally, a barely audible whisper
"I... I don't have one..."
I exhaled sharply.
Of course, she didn't.
"Stay right where you are," I ordered, already shifting the car into gear. "I'm coming to get you. Don't you dare move, Izel. Just tell me where you are."
Silence.
For a moment, I thought she wouldn't answer.
Then, softly "By the old bridge... near the market."
A curse left my lips. What the hell was she doing there, alone, in the rain?
That place was practically deserted at this hour.
"I'm on my way. Don't move," I said firmly before hanging up.
Without a second thought, I stepped on the gas, tires screeching against the wet road. The rain blurred my vision, but I didn't care.
I had wasted enough time.
{REB: Guys, did I overwrite everything? 😭
Did I end up repeating the same thing too much?
Aren't emotions supposed to be like this, or did I overdo it?
Let me know, I'll revise the chapter if needed.
Don't be shy or feel bad I'm genuinely asking for suggestions!
No matter what, just share your thoughts. ❤️}
----
As I pulled up to the deserted road near the riverbank, my heart pounded wildly in my chest. The rain hadn't let up it poured relentlessly, turning the pavement into a mirror of shimmering water.
And then, I saw her.
Izel.
She sat on an old wooden bench near the river, completely drenched, her head slightly bowed as she hugged her arms around herself for warmth.
The soft glow of a distant streetlight barely reached her, casting a dim golden halo around her shivering form. Her long, dark hair clung to her face, soaked through.
Her dress was drenched, sticking to her like a second skin.
My chest tightened. What the hell was she doing here, alone, in the middle of a storm?
I grabbed the umbrella and rushed toward her. The cold wind bit at my skin, but I barely felt it. The only thing that mattered was her.
Without a word, I opened the umbrella, shielding her from the rain as I came to a stop in front of her. She flinched slightly at my presence, her arms hugging her soaked frame as she stared at the ground
"Izel!" I called out, my voice cutting through the downpour.
She didn't turn to look at me.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I demanded, my voice louder than I intended.
But she didn't react.
She just sat there, staring at the water, her expression unreadable. She looked so small, so vulnerable, and yet, she wouldn't even look at me.
I huffed in frustration and pulled off my jacket, draping it over her shoulders.
"Why are you here?" My voice was quieter this time, but no less firm. "Why did you leave the house, Izel? And why the hell didn't you tell me before going out like this?"
She finally turned her head, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.
"I just... I needed to get away," she murmured, her voice nearly drowned out by the downpour.
I clenched my jaw.
"Away from me?"
My fists tightened at my sides.
"Get up. You're coming with me."
But she shook her head. I ran a frustrated hand through my soaked hair, rain dripping from my face.
"I don't have time for your stubbornness, Izel. You're drenched, and it's pouring. Either you walk to the car on your own, or I'll carry you myself. And trust me, you're not going to like the second option."
"I should have just left that day... I should have died that day," she muttered, her gaze lost in the distance.
A sharp pang shot through my chest.
I inhaled deeply, forcing down the frustration, the anger, the helplessness threatening to choke me. I reached for her cold fingers, enclosing them between mine.
She let out a hollow laugh, shaking her head.
"If I had left that day, no one would have had to bear with me. You wouldn't be stuck with me. I wouldn't have ruined everything. No one would have to deal with me."
the pain increase at my chest at her words, a pain so deep it left me breathless. It felt like someone had reached inside me and squeezed my heart in their fist.
My mind screamed in protest, rejecting the very idea of her being gone.
Izel....Gone.
No.
The grip on the umbrella loosened without me realizing it, and in the next second, the wind snatched it away, sending it tumbling through the rain.
But I didn't care.
My arms wrapped around her, pulling her in as tightly as I could, as if my hold alone could stop her from slipping away. As if the moment I let go, she would disappear, like smoke dissolving into the storm.
She was shaking yah ALLAH, she was shaking so badly. My fingers trembled as I held her cold hands, her skin ice against mine.
A storm raged inside me, fiercer than the one pouring down on us. Anger at whoever or whatever had made her believe she was a burden. Frustration because no matter what I said, she wouldn't see herself the way I did. And fear because the emptiness in her voice, the hollowness in her eyes, scared me more than anything else.
"Izel," I murmured into her hair, my voice thick with emotion. "You have no idea how much you matter."
She didn't respond, but her shuddering breaths against my chest told me she had heard. And that was enough.
"Izel," my voice cracked as I whispered her name, pressing my cheek against her damp hair. "You're here. You're with me."
I squeezed my eyes shut, my chest tightening with something too raw, too painful to name.
"Don't you ever say that again," I whispered, my voice raw. "Not ever."
She didn't fight me. She just clung to my shirt, her fingers weak, her body trembling against mine. I buried my face in her soaked hair, my own shoulders shaking now.
"Izel, if you had died that day, you would have taken me with you."
"I don't know how to keep going," she finally admitted, her voice so small it barely made it past the space between us.
"You don't have to," I said. "I'll do it for you."
"You wouldn't be saying this if you knew the truth," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper.
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