Sheharzaad neither looked left nor right; she just stood up and ran away as fast as she

could, out of the premises of that hotel. She kept on running until she was out of breath.

Without any realization where she was headed. All she wanted in that moment was to

somehow get far far away from that cursed hotel. She was breathing heavily. And when her

legs gave out, that was when she stopped. Bending, she placed her hand on her knees to

support erself while she caught her breath. She didn't look back because if she did, she

would be a witness to a murder, and she knew they wouldn't leave the witness alive.

A few moments later, she looked up only to find herself in utter darkness. And in this

darkness, a certain whisper was made in her ears.

'Move and you'll die'

Her eyes widened as she double checked her surroundings to confirm whether someone

actually whispered it around her or her mind was playing games with her. And it was then

she knew that whisper would haunt her until her death. More than that scene, the sentence

was traumatizing for her.

Move and you die

This whisper alone made shivers travel down her spine. A certain darkness and broodiness

was depicted in this sentence.

His voice was mysterious and that made Sheharzaad wonder how much his persona would

be mysterious?

When he had uttered those words, a certain urge to look in her left and witness that man

came over her but the voice of her mind told her that the man was stronger than their

organization. And if she didn't act according to his command then there would be bigger

problems for Sheharzaad.

Her guard went down as she realized the hotel was now far away from her reach. She

booked a cab and went to her home.

Her whole body shivered all night; she couldn't sleep. The scene of Usman falling to the

floor played in her mind repeatedly. Not an ounce of sleep reached her eyes. She felt anxious

and too stressed to sleep. Her anxiety wasn't letting her sleep anymore. Her mind was full of

questions and horrendous scenarios. Her brain ran a chain of what-ifs.

What if she was also killed tonight?

What if Usman had made her a prostitute?

And what if that unknown man had taken her to that room instead of that receptionist?

The horrible thoughts brought waves of goosebumps on her skin.

That scene of his lifeless body falling to the ground made her body shiver even more.

Now she was too scared to even step out. She had made a mistake by trusting some random

person. It was too wrong. Anything could have happened to her tonight. She had nearly

escaped death. Even that unknown man could have shot her. One bullet to her head, and she

would have been buried by now. And her friend wouldn't even know.

Her heart became restless, so she got up to pray. She knew if she let her brain get

submerged in those thoughts, it would lead her nowhere but make her more anxious. She

wanted peace and solace, so she offered her prayers. When she was done, she closed her

eyes.

"Don't move or you'll die."

That voice rang again in her ears, making goosebumps rise on her skin before she drifted

into a deep slumber. But one question was on her mind,

Who was he?

It was the only lingering question in her mind. The answer of which was meant to remain

unknown.

Forever.

....

"No way!" Out of her excitement, she forgot she was on the phone. "No freaking way!" She

reiterated, her eyes shining with happiness. She was almost jumping.

"That's true, ma'am," the person on the other end of the phone confirmed.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She repeated, feeling her limbs

shaky out of happiness.

"You're welcome, ma'am. You can join from today," the man said and cut the call.

"AMNA!!!!!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as soon as the call ended, and Amna came

running towards her.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"I AM!!!!!" Sheharzaad almost screamed.

"What happened, Shehar?"

"You know what? I GOT A JOB OFFER!!"

"Oh, that's great. From which company?" Her voice couldn't hold her excitement. It seemed

as if she wanted to scream. Scream to her fullest. Out of happiness. This job offer was like a

silver lining in the cloud. Rather it was whole silver cloud. After that incident she had been

so worried sick to even step out of the house, Her paranoia wouldn't let her go out. She felt

as if she had lost but today she received a call for job.

"You won't believe it!" She said dramatically.

"I will tell me."

"Syed Enterprises."

"No way. How come?"

"I don't know. I DON'T KNOW! LET'S PARTY!!!!"

"Wait, didn't you tell me they already hired the PA?" Amna asked.

"I don't know, but they called me today."

"What's the position, Shehar? Tell me."

"I don't know."

"Did they call the other four candidates as well?" Amna asked.

"Again, I don't know. But... I don't think so. Maybe yes, no," She answered while scratching

her head.

"Listen, why did they call you out of all the candidates, even when they hadn't conducted

your interview?" Amna questioned, raising a point. A week had already passed, and Amna

was fine now. Sheharzaad had told Amna about what happened last time at the company,

and she was still on the job hunt as wherever she went, they rejected her due to lack of

experience. Yet she didn't lose faith, and today, unbelievably, she got a call from her dream

company.

"I don't know, again. Why are you thinking so much, Amna? That company is trustworthy.

Believe me."

"You know, given that experience in that hotel, I've become overprotective of you,

Sheharzaad," Amna said. Sheharzaad had told her about that incident, and Amna had gotten

so stressed and apprehensive after that day.

"Don't worry, Amna. That company is trustworthy. It's multinational, you know. It's like an

office, not some random hotel," Sheharzaad reassured her.

Amna nodded, still looking at her with anxiousness in her eyes.

"When will you join?"

"Today. I've been called. Now I'm off to my office," She smiled and rushed into her room to

duck into her closet.

Let fate play its game