"Hum jo zinda hain, koi wajah nahi hai zinda honay ki"
As Hana stepped into the mansion through the massive doors, her breath caught in her throat. What had seemed like a fortress of terror in the night now appeared in daylight as something entirely different, a space that belonged to another world altogether.
The hall stretched before her, immense and towering. The marble floor gleamed like liquid silver, reflecting the enormous chandelier hanging above, scattering light across the room like fragments of shattered diamonds frozen in time. The walls were adorned with delicate, intricate carvings, and scattered antique lanterns gave the space the aura of a grand palace. Every detail whispered elegance—but beneath it all, an unspoken dread waited silently.
Hana stepped forward, cautiously. Today, her legs did not tremble the way they had the night before, yet her heart felt heavy with an unfamiliar burden. Every step she took echoed on the polished marble, a soft, resonant reminder that she was utterly exposed. Light revealed everything: the hall was not dark—it was deep, profound, suffocating, much like Rahil himself.
Rahil stood across the hall. Gone was Serpent's terrifying attire, gone was the mask of cruelty the world feared. In its place was only a serious man, carrying words that seemed too heavy to speak.
"If you wish to meet Aamir Ali—" His sentence broke, fading into silence. A long, tense pause stretched between them, so long that Hana twisted her fingers nervously in the edge of her scarf. Rahil's eyes fell to the floor, as if wrestling with the weight of his own words.
Then he gestured toward the sofa behind him.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXwlrm3OPn
"Sit," he said simply.
Hana obeyed, silent, moving carefully to the seat as though stepping into some delicate trap.
Rahil walked to the kitchen, poured water into a glass. His hand trembled for a brief moment, then he steadied it. Returning, he placed the glass in front of her.
"Drink first," he said.
Hana took the glass with both hands. Her fingers were ice-cold, gripping the glass so tightly it threatened to crack. Rahil seated himself across from her, maintaining deliberate distance, as if honoring invisible boundaries she hadn't yet drawn. For a long moment, the only sound in the hall was their breathing.
He raised his eyes—not to her face, but to her shoulder—and spoke, his voice low, resonant.
"If you want to meet Aamir Ali, there is one condition."
Hana's breath caught.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJNEJzO3B3
"W-what... condition?" she whispered, voice trembling.
"You must marry me," he said, each word heavy, echoing across the hall like stone striking stone.
Hana's eyes dropped to the marble floor, her mind stumbling over his words: condition... marriage... captivity...36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGq70mPz6WF
"I—I don't understand," she stammered, voice shaking, "This is... so sudden—"
Her fear broke something within him. The man who had stood like iron before the world now bared his soul before a terrified girl.
He leaned closer. His voice was sharp yet trembling with intensity.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8vUK8bEuE
"Hana... to the world, I am only a name. A fear. But for you, I chose a path I have never chosen for anyone. From the day I first saw you on that road, my peace ended. I swore to protect you even when you didn't know my name. This... this is not sudden. My love is old. Only the path to reach you is new."
Hana froze. Astonishment, disbelief, and fear warred in her chest. The man offering her refuge was claiming love? Yet the rumors—the name Serpent—haunted her.
Mustering courage, her lips trembling, she asked the question burning in her mind:36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv8GJTi9UYp
"I... I've heard so much... People say the city's greatest monster, Serpent... and Rahil Qadeer Khan... are they... the same person?"
The hall went deathly silent.
Rahil raised his eyes slowly, meeting hers directly. There was no veil now—only brutal, unflinching truth.
"Yes," he said evenly. "I am Serpent. The same man whose name terrifies you. My hands are stained with the blood of those who prey on the innocent."
Hana's face went pale. She slammed the glass on the table and shot to her feet. Her only thought was escape—she could not stay under the same roof as a killer.
"No! This can't be!" she screamed, rushing toward the door.
Then, at the very instant, Rahil raised a hand—a subtle signal. The massive wooden doors slammed shut with a thunderous thud, echoing through the hall. Hana's hands pounded against them, desperate, but the doors held firm. The chill of the marble under her fingers collided with the cold reality of her helplessness.
Rahil did not move. Then he stepped forward, deliberate, calm, eyes fixed on her. Hana stumbled backward until her spine met the cold marble wall. He approached until she could feel the heat radiating from him. He placed both hands on the wall beside her head, enclosing her within his presence.
"Let me go," she whispered, trembling.
"I won't destroy myself for that man," she cried. "Kill him if you must—but let me go!"
Rahil's face moved closer. Their noses almost touched.
"So you feel no sympathy for him?" he asked evenly. "Then marry me. Do it for yourself."
"Never!" she hissed, defiance and fear mixing in her voice.
A dangerous smile curved his lips. He reached out, fingers brushing the edge of her scarf.
"You've only heard Serpent's name," he said, voice now a whisper of menace. "Not his nature. I gave you shelter with respect. But if you defy me... I will become worse than your father ever was."
Her breath caught.
"This world only tells stories of your father's crimes," he murmured near her ear, voice venomous. "But imagine—behind these closed doors—if I did the same to you, who would save you? No one breathes here without my will."
He tugged lightly at her scarf, eyes locked on her lips.
Hana's knuckles white as she gripped the door handle, her small frame shaking with a sob that came from the very depths of her soul
. "I know you won't touch me..." she gasped between broken breaths. "You're a killer, but you're not... you're not like them. Just... just let me go... please."
Rahil froze....
The hand he had raised to signal Raza stayed suspended in air. For the first time since she had entered his house, the mask of the Serpent slipped or maybe it shattered.
In his world, trust was a weakness that got men.
He was shocked. Truly, deeply shocked and still he played the last card.If she trusted his nature,then he would show her the nature of the world she was trying to return to.
Hana's hand was on the door handle, pulling with a strength born of terror, when Rahil's voice cut through the air like a blade.
"You want to go back to him? To Zubair?"
Hana froze. The mention of her fiance's name felt like a splash of acid. She turned, her back pressed against the cold wooden door.
"How do you..."
Rahil didn't answer. He signaled Raza, who stepped into the shadows and dragged a man forward. The man was gagged, his face swollen from a brutal beating. As the hood was ripped off, Hana felt the room spin.
It was Sajid, Zubair's brother.
The memory hit her like a blow. She remembered the way Sajid would accidentally brush against her at family dinners. She remembered the night in the hallway of Zubair's house when Sajid had trapped her, his whiskey breath hot against her neck, whispering that Zubair didn't deserve her, but he did. When she had cried to Zubair, her protector had only laughed, telling her not to cause trouble in the family.
"You think Zubair is waiting to save you?" Rahil stepped closer, his eyes dark with a cold, predatory fury. "Look at the monitors, Hana."
He pointed to a screen on the wall. Outside the mansion gates, three black SUVs were parked. Through the moniter, she saw him, Zubair. He was leaning against a car, smoking a cigarette, looking at his watch with the bored expression.
"He didn't lose you, Hana. He sold you."
Rahil tossed a heavy envelope onto the marble floor. Bank statements and a signed contract spilled out.
"Zubair owed a debt to a gang in the north. He didn't have the cash, so he offered them...." He stopped. His jaw tightened until the bone looked ready to snap through his skin. The sentence died there, unfinished, because even for a man who had seen the darkest corners of world, the words felt like poison. He couldn't bring himself to say it—that the man she was goingto marry had put a price tag on her.
Hana's breath came in ragged gasps. Every "I love you" from Zubair, every "You're safe with me," had been a lie.
Rahil walked over to Sajid and grabbed him by the hair, forcing his head back. He looked at Hana, his voice dropping to a low, vibrating hum.
"This man touched you with hands that should have been burned. And the man you called your fiance is waiting outside to finish the job. If I open these doors, I'm not letting you go to freedom. I'm letting you go to them."
He pulled a knife from a sheath on the table. He didn't hold it toward the prisoner; he held it toward her.
"If you walk out there, you are a piece of meat. But if you stay... if you sign that Nikahnama... you become the wife of the Serpent. And in this city, no one not Zubair, not Sajid, not even the devil himself dares to touch what belongs to me."
He stepped so close she could feel the heat of his rage.
"I will give you their lives, Hana but in return, you give me you .Total. Completel"
Hana let out a harsh, broken laugh
"You're lying!"She screamed on his face but her last sentence was as if she herself was trying to believe what her mouth was saying.
"Zubair loves me. He's been there for me since my childhood"
Rahil didn't flinch at her outburst. He looked at her with a pity that felt like a slap.
"Love is a luxury men like Zubair cannot afford. He doesn't want you back."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He tapped the screen and turned the volume to the maximum.
"Listen," he said.
It was a recording. The audio was a bit grainy, but the voices were unmistakable.
"Is the deal still on? I don't care what you have to do. Just get her." It was zubair's voice
"And your brother? Sajid wants his turn first. That wasn't part of the original price." It was a voice she couldn't recognise.
"Sajid can do whatever he wants with her. As long as the debt is wiped off.. for me she's just a body." Agian zubair but this time his voice was impatient.
Hana's world stopped. The phone slipped from Rahil's hand as he let the audio play one more clip a video file.
He turned the screen toward her. It was a hidden camera feed from a hotel room, dated only two nights ago. She saw Zubair sitting at a table, laughing and clinking glasses with a group people.
Zubair's voice on the video was clear; "She's a pretty thing. She'll fetch a high price in the northern auctions once I'm done with her."
Hana felt the air leave her lungs. The room began to tilt. The man she had dreamed of building a life with had been calculating her price per pound while she was crying for him in the dark.
"Still not enough?" Rahil asked, his voice low.
Hana's eyes were wide, filled with a desperate, dying hope.
"You're a master of shadows, Rahil. You could have faked that audio. You could have staged that video. Why should I believe a killer over the man I was going to marry?"
Rahil didn't look insulted. He looked like a man who had expected her to fight. He glanced at Raza, who stepped forward and placed a sleek, expensive smartphone on the marble table.
"This is Sajid's phone," Rahil said calmly. "It was unlocked with his thumbprint five minutes ago. See for yourself."
Hana's hands shook so violently she had to press them against the table to steady them. She picked up the phone. The wallpaper was a photo of Zubair and Sajid laughing together at a club.
She tapped the messaging app. The top chat was with 'Zubair'.
She scrolled up and that when her body started shaking
Zubair [8:42 PM]: Is the buyer from the North ready? I can't keep Hana in the dark much longer. She's starting to ask about the wedding dates.
Sajid [8:45 PM]: The buyer is ready. But remember our deal, brother. I get her for forty-eight hours before she's shipped off. I've waited long enough to get her.
Zubair [8:46 PM]: Do whatever you want. Just don't leave marks where the buyer can see. I need her to look 'premium' to get the full debt cleared. Once she signs the papers making me her legal guardian, she's yours to break.
Hana felt a wave of nausea so strong she nearly collapsed. But there was more. She clicked on the media gallery.
And then, the final proof: A photo of a bank check, made out to Zubair, with the memo line: "First installment for H. Ali."
The date on the check was the day he had proposed to her.
Hana dropped the phone. It clattered on the marble, the screen still glowing with the image of the check that had bought her soul. The man she had loved hadn't proposed to her out of affection; he had proposed to secure his life.
She looked at Sajid, who was making muffled sounds behind his gag. His eyes weren't full of apology they were full of the same predatory hunger she had seen in the messages.
"He's outside," Rahil whispered, his voice like the coil of a snake tightening around her. "Zubair is at my gate right now, thinking he's here to collect you from me so he can hand you to his brother. He thinks I'm just another player in his game."
Rahil stepped into her line of sight, blocking out the rest of the world.
"The man you wanted to marry is a ghost, Hana. He never existed. There is only the debt, the buyer, and the Serpent. Now... do you want to be delivered to them? Or do you want to watch me erase them?"
Hana's breathing changed. The panicked, shallow gasps of a victim vanished. In their place came a slow, cold, and steady rhythm. The tears in her eyes didn't fall they seemed to evaporate in the heat of a new, burning rage.
She looked at the phone on the floor, then at the man standing before her. Rahil Qadeer Khan was a monster, but he was a monster who was offering her the one thing Zubair never had: Truth.
"He sold me," she whispered, her voice sounding like ice cracking.
"He did," Rahil affirmed.
"And Sajid... he .... ."her voice broke.
"He won't live to see tomorrow if you say the yes."
Rahil's smile was slow, dangerous, and utterly beautiful in its cruelty.
"Zubair is waiting at my gate. Sajid is at my feet. As my wife, their lives become your wedding gift. I will make them realize that the debt they tried to settle with your life... is a debt they will pay with their blood."
Hana closed her eyes for a moment, letting the girl die in the silence of the hall, she used to be the girl who believed in love and Zubair's promises or maybe deep inside she knew the real zubair but he was the last option in her life. When she opened eyes, they were as cold as the marble beneath her feet.
Hana's body trembled violently. She realized that escape was only possible through the path he offered. She closed her eyes, swallowing fear and pride.
"O-okay... I accept," she whispered.
Rahil's face showed no joy, only a grim, unsettling satisfaction. He turned and called out, voice booming:
"RAZA! BRING THE QAZI!"
A new bond was beginning—not of love, but of fear, compromise, and possession.
________________________________
"Meri siah-bakht dunya mein woh ek ujla savera hai,"36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC36t22ojJQ
"Zabardasti hi sahi, magar ab woh 'sirf' mera hai."
The mansion's hall—only moments ago echoing with threats and screams—was now submerged in a heavy, graveyard-like silence. Outside, clouds roared across the sky, thunder cracking again and again, as if nature itself was enraged by this unnatural union.
At the center of the hall stood an old wooden table. White candles burned upon it, but their weak light failed to dispel the darkness clinging to the room. The Qazi, well aware of the name Serpent, held his pen with hands that trembled faintly. He had solemnized countless marriages in his lifetime, but never had he witnessed a scene like this—where the bride's face was drained of color,and the groom sat in an unsettling, unreadable silence, heavy with power and finality.
Rahil had pushed his hoodie back. Strands of his disheveled hair fell across his forehead, and his eyes held a strange mixture of exhaustion and obsession. He removed his long white coat and draped it over the back of a chair, as though shedding the attire of Serpent for this new relationship.
Hana sat on one side, motionless. Her body looked so lifeless it seemed she was nothing more than a shadow. She clutched her scarf with such force that her nails dug into her palms. Tears no longer fell from her eyes—only a flat, hollow emptiness remained.
Raza, Zayn, and Azlan stood behind them.
Zayn lowered his head; he could not bear to witness his brother in this form. For the first time, Azlan's eyes held no mischief—only shock and sorrow as he looked at Hana. Raza's gaze remained fixed on Rahil. He knew that today, Rahil had killed a part of his own soul.
The silence in the hall was so profound that even the flicker of the candle flames could be heard.
The Qazi opened his register, glanced once at Rahil's hardened face, then turned toward Hana.
"Beti Hana Zara, bint Aamir Ali," the Qazi's voice echoed softly, trembling despite his effort to remain composed.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaqNf4tulKW
"Kya aap ko Rahil Qadeer Khan bint-e-Qadeer Khan, ba-iwaz pachaas laakh rupay naqd aur is mansion ke malkana huqooq, bator Haq-e-Meher, apne nikah mein qabool hain?"
The hall seemed to hold its breath.
Hana's ears rang. Rahil's presence pressed against her senses even without him touching her. Her mind replayed chains, threats, locked doors—her father's sins binding her wrists tighter than iron.
Her lips parted. No sound came.
The Qazi repeated, more gently this time,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNDBYLAvsL
"Beti Hana Zara... kya yeh nikah aap ko qabool hai?"
Hana clenched her fists in her lap, nails biting into her palms. Her voice finally emerged—thin, broken, but clear enough to be heard.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHGmN7pRSt
"...Qabool hai."
A shiver passed through the room.
For the third time, as tradition demanded, the Qazi asked, his voice barely above a whisper now,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNBV5OUlOF
" kya yeh nikah aap ko qabool hai?"
Hana closed her eyes. Something inside her collapsed forever.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV9FPSbuOJw
"Qabool hai."
The words sealed her fate.
Now the Qazi turned toward Rahil.
"Rahil Qadeer Khan bint-e-Qadeer Khan, kya aap ko Hana Zara bint-e-Aamir Ali, ba-iwaz Haq-e-Meher-e-mu'ajjal, apne nikah mein qabool hain?"
Rahil did not hesitate.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQiBWacSZab
"Qabool hai."
The Qazi repeated, watching him closely,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡns6vTfpH0L
"Kya aap ko yeh nikah qabool hai?"
Rahil's gaze never left Hana.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWga7pYwDAj
"Qabool hai."
For the third and final time,36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhAj5fiaZWJ
" Kya aap is nikah ko qabool karte hain?"
Rahil's voice was firm, unwavering—final.
"Qabool hai."
When the declaration had been repeated three times, the oppressive heaviness in the hall seemed to lift—only to be replaced by a new, sharper tension.
The Qazi placed the register before Hana. The paper looked ordinary.But to her, it felt heavier than chains.
"In par dastakhat kar dijiye, beti," the Qazi said softly.
Hana stared at the page. Her name was already written there in careful ink, waiting—empty, expectant. Right beside it was the space where Serpent's name would soon exist beside hers. Permanently.
Her fingers moved toward the pen... then froze.
Her hand trembled so violently that the pen slipped from her grip and rolled a few inches across the table.
The sound echoed in the silent hall.
Raza looked away.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCzBZwekLn3
Zayn shut his eyes.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaWlzYNYS4
Azlan swallowed hard.
Rahil noticed everything.
He stood up.
His footsteps were slow, deliberate—each one landing like a verdict. As he came closer, his shadow fell over Hana's hands, swallowing them whole. The warmth of his presence contrasted cruelly with the ice in her veins.
He bent slightly, close enough that Hana could feel his breath near her temple.
"Dar lag raha hai?" he asked quietly.
Hana didn't answer. Her eyes burned, but no tears came.
Rahil picked up the pen.
For a moment, everyone thought he would hand it back.
Instead, he took Hana's trembling hand in his.
His palm was warm. Steady. Inescapable.
He placed the pen between her fingers, closing them around it—not roughly, but firmly, like someone claiming what was already his.
"Sign karo, Hana," he murmured.
His voice no longer carried rage.36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuTb38eMEtm
It carried possession.
"From today onward, your sorrows are mine."
Her hand shook violently as the pen touched the paper. The ink trembled with her. Each letter of her name formed unevenly, as if resisting being born.
H36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLJR1J0skK
a36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡje7GjtjLgX
n36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZATvzeSg1j
a36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLDnOdqalcG
Z36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyw1qmOZ8j
a36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xveEMSaBO
r36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEJUmuHnNgK
a
When the last stroke was done, her grip loosened and the pen nearly fell again.
Her signature lay there—crooked, fragile, terrified.
Rahil released her hand.
The damage was done.
Now it was his turn.
He sat down calmly and took the pen. His fingers didn't shake. His grip was firm, practiced—like a man used to signing fates.
He wrote his name in one smooth motion:
Rahil Qadeer Khan
The letters were bold, confident, mercilessly clear.
As he lifted the pen, its tip pressed too hard against the paper, leaving a deep mark beneath his name—say something carved, not written.
A final seal.
Their names now stood written together forever on the marriage contract.
The Qazi raised his hands for prayer.
"O Allah, grant this new couple love and blessings..." his voice echoed through the hall.
Hana lifted her hands, tears streaming down her face—but there was no prayer in her heart. Her hands trembled as though a crushing weight had been placed upon them. She closed her eyes, memories of her and zubair flashed in her mind and the sins of her father that had delivered her into captivity.
Azlan and Zayn raised their hands silently.
Azlan glanced once at Rahil—his hands were raised in prayer too. There was a strange calm and gravity on his face. Rahil closed his eyes slowly and said Ameen in a tone so certain it was as if he truly believed this marriage to be a blessing by God.
"O Allah, make them a source of peace and protection for one another..."
A suppressed sob escaped Hana's lips.
Peace?36Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYKTVLy5O42
She felt as though that word had been erased from her life forever.
Before the prayer even ended, she dragged her hands down her face and buried her head in her knees. For her, this was not a blessing—it was a seal upon her punishment.
When the prayer concluded, the Qazi congratulated Rahil. Rahil dismissed him with impeccable courtesy.
After the Qazi left, the atmosphere in the drawing room grew even heavier.
Rahil gestured for Zayn and Azlan to leave. Both cast sorrowful glances at Hana but dared not speak in Rahil's presence.
Raza approached Hana. His tone was gentle, but authority lay beneath it.
"Bhabhi... come with me. I'll show you your room."
Hana rose on lifeless feet. Seeing her pale face and tear-filled eyes, Raza lowered his gaze for a brief moment. He led her to the second floor of the mansion.
It was the master bedroom—luxurious beyond imagination, yet for Hana, no less than a grave.
"Please rest. If you need anything, a guard is outside," Raza said before leaving.
The sound of the door closing struck Hana's heart like a hammer.
She looked around the room—everything was expensive, every corner designed for comfort. But comfort had become nothing more than a distant dream for her.
She sat at the edge of the bed and stared at a large painting on the wall—clearly Rahil's choice. A black ocean stretched endlessly, white birds flying above it.
That night, the marriage was completed—
but peace found its way into only one heart.
_____________________________________
NOTE TO READERS:
Will this relationship change...
Or will the wounds only deepen?
What are your expectations for the next part?
Don't forget to share in the comments ✨
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