At around 6:15 p.m., Ali sat waiting in his office for yet another encounter with Noor Ain.
I will try to send her away within five minutes.
Abdul Ahad is all I need to sit with me.
I am not going to entertain her stares and her clumsy moves this evening.
Ali loosened his tie slightly and leaned his head far back against the headrest of his chair.
I'm sure if Omer had been in my place, he would have already ended this collaboration.
Just then, the intercom buzzed.
“Sir, Ms. Shahzaman and Mr. Abdul Ahad have arrived on the floor.”
“Send them in,” Ali replied.
So, the security officers have learned their lesson.
He smiled faintly.
He unlocked the door, and the two walked in.
Noor Ain followed Abdul Ahad, her eyes fixed firmly on the floor.
"Thank God," Ali muttered under his breath.
I pray she stays like that.
Abdul Ahad greeted Ali and pulled out a chair for Noor Ain.
“Ma'am, please have a seat.”
Meanwhile, Ali seemed to have forgotten all etiquette.
He did not greet her, and she did not greet him either.
Before Noor Ain could sit, Ali turned to Ahad.
“Ahad, just like yesterday, today I don't need Noor Ain Ma'am's assistance. I suggest she leaves for home.”
Abdul Ahad cleared his throat.
“Actually, Ali bhai, Ma'am couldn't go through the master field report earlier. Honestly, I only managed to finish typing it a few minutes ago, and she had no time to review it. Since we were expected at your office at this time, she suggested she'd rather review it here.”
A bitter taste suddenly coated Ali's mouth.
“So... your Ma'am will do the task here? In my humble office?”
Abdul Ahad nodded.
“Strange,” Ali added. “My office seems to unsettle your Ma'am. I wonder if she could actually do anything productive here.”
Abdul Ahad scratched his head.
“Pardon, Ali bhai? I'm apparently unable to guess the meaning behind your eloquent words.”
Ali smirked.
“I don't find my words particularly eloquent, but if you find them so, I'll take it as a compliment.”
He looked towards Noor Ain.
“So... I suggest Noor Ain Ma'am reviews the documents while you sit here, and I'll take a stroll outside.”
Ali rose from his chair.
Noor Ain spoke for the first time, her eyes still lowered.
“Tell Mr. Siddiqui I will review the file in the corridor. He must not leave his office.”
Abdul Ahad pointed towards himself.
“Are you asking me to convey this message to Ali bhai?”
Noor Ain nodded.
Abdul Ahad turned to Ali.
“Ali bhai, Ma'am Noor Ain is saying—”
Ali raised a hand.
“I heard what Ms. Noor Ain said.”
He looked towards the corridor.
“Tell her nobody works in the corridor in our wing. Offices are made for a purpose.”
A faint smile appeared on his face.
“But for someone who can sense unusual presences inside a few humble spaces, I might just consider placing a desk and a chair outside.”
Abdul Ahad turned back to convey the message.
“Ma'am, Ali bhai says—”
Noor Ain interrupted him.
“Adul Ahad, tell Mr. Siddiqui he does not need to go out of his way to make anyone comfortable.”
Abdul Ahad turned towards Ali once more, his shoulders slouching and an expression of utter helplessness on his face.
“Ali bhai, Ma'am says...”
He stopped.
“Oh, God.”
He finally groaned.
“Ali bhai, Ma'am Noor Ain... will our work start?”
He looked from one to the other.
“I am an intern here, for God's sake—not a mediator!”
“And if you both allow me,” Abdul Ahad continued, “I'd like to share my dilemma.”
He lowered his gaze briefly.
“I come from a humble household. There are no big names attached to me.”
His voice became more earnest.
“I need to carve out a place for myself here. And I can do that only through hard work, persistence, and completing my assignments on time.”
He looked at Ali.
“Ali bhai, if you remember, you advised me something along those lines.”
He then looked between Ali and Noor Ain.
“So please, if you both want to continue this... whatever this is... you can do it after the work is done.”
He glanced towards the clock.
“We've already wasted ten minutes.”
Ali suppressed a laugh at Ahad's honesty.
“You know, Ahad... it's probably the first time an intern has advised me to be mindful of the time.”
He glanced at the clock.
“So let's not waste any more of it.”
His gaze shifted towards Noor Ain, who was still standing across his desk.
“Ma'am Noor Ain, if you're finally out of your trance and have decided to add some value to my humble office with your presence...”
He gestured towards the file.
“You are requested to review the field report.”
Noor Ain inhaled, almost as though a convict had finally been informed of her sentence.
She looked towards Ahad, who was still standing beside her.
“Hand me the file.”
Before Ahad could pass it to her, Ali rose from his chair.
“Careful, man. I don't want those loose pages spilling onto my floor again.”
Noor Ain raised her eyes for the first time.
“The pages are not loose.”
She paused.
“Abdul Ahad had them stapled.”
Ali took a sigh of relief.
“Thank God.”
Noor Ain accepted the file cautiously.
Ali could sense that she was still uncomfortable, but at least she was making an effort to maintain her composure.
She began reviewing the documents while still standing.
Ali knocked lightly on the table.
“Ms. Noor Ain...”
She looked up.
“You can sit. It's perfectly allowed.”
“Oh.”
She seemed to realize it only then.
Noor Ain lowered herself gingerly into the chair.
The chair was far too large for her slight frame, making her appear even more delicate against its broad back.
Ali watched her for a moment.
Then he gestured for Ahad to bring his chair closer to his own.
Ahad dragged his heavy chair across the polished floor and positioned it beside Ali's desk.
By then, Ali was already opening his laptop, ready to begin.
Noor Ain flipped through several pages of the report.
The file was resting in her lap rather than on the table.
She was practically crouched inside the oversized chair.
To Ali, it looked as though she were trying to hide herself completely within it.
She suddenly stopped turning the pages.
“This boy made the same mistakes yesterday...”
Her head lowered further into the file.
“And look. Still the same.”
Ali glanced at Ahad.
Ahad glanced back.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Ahad leaned towards Ali, bringing his mouth close to his ear.
“She sometimes talks to herself.”
Ali slowly rolled his eyes.
What else does she do that isn't strange?
“Anything else I should know?”
“There are a few things.”
“She halts things. Sometimes she delays an entire procedure. At times, she suggests alternatives.”
“And so far, every one of those decisions has turned out to be effective.”
“But she gets frustrated when she can't find a logical explanation for why she made the decision.”
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“What?”
“You were saying what the people at the site say.”
Ahad glanced towards Noor Ain again.
“Oh.”
He lowered his voice.
“They say she notices things before everyone else does.”
Ali looked at the screen.
That much, I've already noticed.
Across the desk, Noor Ain turned another page.
She still did not look up.
But the faint flush remained on her cheeks.
Five more minutes passed.
Ali glanced at the clock.
His patience was beginning to thin.
“How much longer?”
Noor Ain finally raised her eyes.
For barely a second, her gaze met his.
Then she lowered them again.
“Five more minutes, sir.”
“Sir?”
Ali sounded genuinely surprised.
“So no more Mr. Siddiqui now?”
Before Noor Ain could answer, Ahad spoke.
“Actually, Ali bhai...”
He leaned slightly towards him.
“I asked Ma'am to stop calling us by our formal titles. I mean, I don't particularly like being called Mr. Malik.”
Ahad gestured towards himself.
“I have a perfectly good name—Abdul Ahad.I like it when people call me Ahad.”
Then a faint smile appeared on his face.
“And I like it even more when my grandfather calls me Hadi.”
Ali's lips twitched.
“Believe me,” Ahad continued, “whenever she calls me Mr. Malik, it takes me a second to realize she's actually talking to me.”
He shook his head.
“And I think Mr. Haider calling us by our formal titles is already a scene on another level.”
He glanced towards Noor Ain.
“But I definitely don't want Ma'am Noor Ain calling me Mr. Malik.”
Ali nodded slowly.
“So that's why she's calling you Ahad.”
“Exactly.”
Ahad pointed subtly towards Noor Ain.
“And I suppose that's also why she's calling you sir now.”
He shrugged.
“Not Mr. Siddiqui anymore. Just... regular sir.”
Ali looked towards Noor Ain.
She was already back to reading the report as though none of this conversation concerned her.
“But if I remember correctly,” Ali said, “I insisted on the same thing.”
Ahad looked at him.
“I also told her I'd prefer my own name.”
He paused.
“Ali.”
A faint smile touched Ahad's face.
“But well... Sir is still better than Mr. Siddiqui.”
“Definitely,” Ahad agreed.
Across the desk, Noor Ain continued reading, apparently paying no attention to either of them.
Then, as though suddenly remembering something, Ahad pulled out his phone and began scrolling.
"Wait."
He searched for something, then turned the screen towards Ali.
“Here.”
Ali leaned slightly closer.
The screen played footage of an event at Haideron Tech. Khizar Shahzaman was standing beside Mr. Haider, flanked by Sajjad and other senior executives from the construction wing.
Ahad scrubbed forward in the video.
“The site visit.”
He switched to another clip. Khizar Shahzaman was walking through the project site alongside Mr. Haider. A moment later, Noor Ain appeared briefly on the screen.
Ali kept his eyes on the phone, silent.
Ahad skipped ahead again. “Let me show you the part where Ma'am Noor Ain is with her father for about two minutes.”
He paused the clip.
“And listen to what he says.”
Just then, Noor Ain raised her head from the file.
“The review is over.”
Both men looked towards her.
“I have signed the file.”
She closed it carefully.
“It can now be integrated. But make sure, Abdul Ahad, that the corrections I suggested and the changes I made are not overlooked.”
Ahad nodded.
“Of course, Ma'am.”
Ali noticed a sudden firmness in her voice.
Noor Ain gathered her things.
“And if Ali Sir does not want my presence in his office anymore, I will take my leave.”
Ahad immediately slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Certainly, Ma'am.”
He rose from his chair and took the file from her.
Ali said nothing.
Noor Ain raised her eyes directly towards him.
Then she looked away.
Ali noticed the transition once again.
He forced himself to speak.
“You may sit, Noor Ain. I have no problem with that.”
He heard her reply.
“I may sit... or am I required to sit?”
It was the first time Ali had heard Noor Ain speak with such firmness.
He glanced towards the wall clock.
“I personally don't favour keeping female staff after regular working hours.”
He gestured towards his laptop.
“And this work will take roughly three hours.”
“So I won't mind if you leave early.”
Then he added, looking at Ahad.
“In fact, I suggest only Ahad come to my office at this time. Alone.”
Noor Ain sighed softly.
“That is very considerate of you, Ali Sir.”
She paused.
“But according to Mr. Haider's requirement, we're expected to remain together until the integration and simulation are completed.”
Ali couldn't seem to take his eyes away from her.
There wasn't even a trace of the woman who had been practically hiding inside the chair only a short while ago.
Nor was she behaving like the woman he had become accustomed to seeing around him lately.
What happened to her?
She isn't even showing a ghost of what she had been a while ago.
Ali studied her silently. He couldn't decide which version of her puzzled him more.
Ahad came to Ali's rescue.
“Ali bhai... let Ma'am Noor Ain sit through the integration.”
He glanced towards her.
“That way, if Mr. Haider asks her anything relevant to the integration, she won't find herself at sea.”
He paused, then looked at Noor Ain with an almost sheepish expression.
“Ma'am... I hope I'm still sounding professional.”
Noor Ain looked at him for a moment.
Ahad waited.
Ali suppressed a smile.
For once, the intern had managed to find a practical solution to a situation neither of his seniors seemed particularly interested in resolving.
“Yes, Abdul Ahad,” Noor Ain replied. “You do sound professional.”
Ahad gave a small nod, visibly relieved.
Noor Ain turned towards Ali.
“So... telling my driver to pick me up after an hour would be fine, wouldn't it?”
Ali couldn't tell whether she was asking him or simply informing him of her plan.
He shrugged.
“I suppose that's up to you.”
Noor Ain remained undecided.
For a moment, she looked from Ali to Ahad, who was now absorbed in the file.
Something seemed to shift again.
The firmness that had appeared moments earlier began to fade.
She started fumbling with her handbag, opening it anxiously and searching for her phone. Her movements became clumsy again.
She bit her lip.
Ali rose from his chair.
“Noor Ain.”
Her hands stopped.
“Tell your driver to pick you up exactly after an hour.”
Ali glanced at her handbag.
“And keep your phone somewhere easily accessible next time.”
Noor Ain looked down at it.
Ali returned to his chair.
There she is again.
Ali decided to leave Noor Ain to herself and returned to his work with Ahad.
A few moments later, Noor Ain finally found her phone.
“Thank God,” she whispered.
She dialled her driver's number.
“Assalamualaikum, bhai.”
She paused.
“Could you please pick me up exactly one hour from now?”
Another pause.
“Would that be possible?”
She listened for a moment.
“Thank you.”
Ali's fingers stopped over the keyboard.
Is that how a chieftain's daughter speaks to her driver?
Whatever confidence had appeared in her a few minutes earlier seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Noor Ain was now sipping water, her fingers once again closing around the gold pendant at her neck.
Ali watched her briefly.
Do spirit mediums always behave this uncertainly?
He shook his head.
Whatever the explanation was, he wasn't going to figure it out by staring at her.
Ali turned back to his laptop.
“Ready, Abdul Ahad?”
He glanced at him sideways.
“Yes, Ali bhai!” Ahad sounded enthusiastic.
“So, what data are we feeding into the software today?” Ali asked warmly.
“The reinforcement for the west wing is in place, Ali bhai. The concrete is expected to reach the required strength by Friday...”
He paused, noticing Ali's wandering attention, then pushed forward anyway. “...so we can begin the upper framework after that.”
Ali exhaled softly, his fingers drumming a restless rhythm against the desk.
Then, leaning back in his chair, he asked a rather abrupt question.
“So...” He turned his sea-green eyes towards Noor Ain. “What foods do you dislike?”
Noor Ain, whose golden eyes had been distant—perhaps she herself was too—blinked, caught off guard.
“Pardon? I mean... what exactly do you mean by that?”
Abdul Ahad also gave Ali a sideways glance, equally confused.
Ali folded his arms, a faint glint in his eyes.
“I asked a simple question. I didn't ask you to crack an algorithm.”
Noor Ain allowed herself a small, defensive smile before lowering her eyes.
“Which, clearly, I cannot decode.”
“Exactly,” Ali replied with a half-smirk. “That's my point.”
He leaned forward.
“If you've really decided to stay here, then simply sitting here waiting for your driver isn't contributing to anything productive.”
Noor Ain blinked again.
“I want to be productive... but I know I cannot contribute here.”
“Why can't you?”
Ali's tone was almost encouraging.
“Of course you can.”
“How?”
She genuinely sounded puzzled.
Ali gave a faint smile, his dimples becoming prominent.
“Simplify. Break things down for me.”
He gestured towards Ahad.
“Right now, Ahad is speaking in heavy civil-engineering jargon.”
Ahad lowered his eyes.
Ali continued.
“I'm basically a programmer. A computer engineer. An IT expert...”
He tapped the laptop.
“But I'm a comparatively slow learner when it comes to your dialect.”
Noor Ain moistened her lips before answering.
“You could have asked directly, sir. I would have assisted willingly.”
Ali leaned slightly farther forward.
“The problem with me is that I rarely ask directly. I try to figure things out myself, and most of the time I manage to solve them.”
He paused.
“But there are certain matters—and probably certain people—where I guess this philosophy isn't working.”
Noor Ain stiffened slightly in her chair.
“So... I'm getting direct now.”
Ali smiled again.
“I want to understand what you actually want me to integrate into the software.”
He tapped the laptop lightly.
“What is concrete curing? What is reinforcement?”
He gave a small shrug.
“I can read people. Faces. Eyes. Even animals. I understand half-spoken things.”
His expression turned mildly exasperated.
“But this... this is going over my head.”
Noor Ain couldn't tell whether he was indirectly hinting at her or simply referring to the field report.
Leaving her to her own thoughts, Ali turned slightly towards Abdul Ahad.
“Speaking of half-spoken things... how is Tariq Uncle these days, Ahad?”
Abdul Ahad's expression softened.
“These days, Grandfather keeps talking about his ‘good old days’... making deals.”
He hesitated.
“He says he secured land for something called Shahzaman Cinema back in the eighties. I think it's Shahzaman Mall now.”
Noor Ain, who had been nervously twisting her fingers together, spoke at once.
“Shahzaman Mall?”
Her golden eyes carried genuine disbelief as she looked at Ahad.
Ahad nodded.
“He also mentioned a Shahzaman Golf Course,” he added. “And a farmhouse.”
Noor Ain shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
Then both Ali and Ahad heard her speak.
“No offense, Abdul Ahad... but if your grandfather had really sold those properties to my father, you wouldn't be sitting here as an intern.”
She looked at him.
“You'd probably be among the wealthiest heirs in the port city.”
Ahad blinked.
“So those properties are yours, Ma'am?”
Oh yes... how silly of me to ask that question.
Noor Ain shook her head slowly.
“Not mine.”
Ali and Ahad exchanged a quick glance.
Noor Ain pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“They belong to Mr. Khizar Shahzaman.”
Her voice remained strangely neutral.
“Member of Parliament. Chieftain of one of the oldest dynastic states of Gulraizpur.”
Ali felt a brief flicker of unease.
He noticed something subtle about her tone.
She didn't sound proud, nor was she defensive.
She spoke of her father as a fact rather than a legacy.
Almost as if she were separating herself from him... and from everything that belonged to him.
Ali thought it was time to ask the question that had been disturbing both him and Omer.
He paused.
“Your father seems to be a close friend of Mr. Haider.”
Noor Ain nodded.
“Perhaps more than a close friend.”
She paused briefly.
“Raza uncle... that's what I call Mr. Haider on a more personal level. Because, well... he is like family.”
“Oh... I see,” Ali replied, keeping his tone casual.
But the answer had confirmed something he and Omer had been wondering about.
He turned towards Ahad.
“Ahad, you're unusually quiet.”
Ahad remained silent for a moment.
“I was thinking... Ma'am Noor Ain is right.”
A shadow crossed his handsome features.
“If Grandfather had really sold land to Mr. Shahzaman... our lives would be very different.”
He looked towards Noor Ain.
“Ma'am Noor Ain...”
His tone became slightly defensive.
“Ali bhai knows.”
He glanced sideways at Ali, who was listening intently.
“Grandfather isn't well.”
His eyes lowered.
“He talks big sometimes. Doctors say it's schizophrenia.”
He swallowed.
“He mixes things up.”
Ahad finally raised his eyes.
Noor Ain spoke after a moment.
“What if... sometimes your grandfather is himself?”
Ali followed her gaze.
She seemed to be looking at the wall behind Abdul Ahad rather than at Ahad himself.
She blinked slowly.
“A frail mind may fail in the present... but it can sometimes remember the past more clearly.”
Is it she who is speaking?
Ali wondered.
He shook his head slightly, the movement too subtle for either of them to notice.
Ali tapped his pen lightly against the desk, perhaps trying to bring everyone back to the present—including himself.
Noor Ain shuddered slightly.
Perhaps only Ali noticed.
“Noor Ain...” he said as her eyes met his. “You may be right about Ahad's grandfather.”
His expression became thoughtful.
“I've noticed some patterns too.”
Abdul Ahad looked from Ali to Noor Ain.
Ali's sea-green eyes went distant.
“Broken sentences... but not necessarily meaningless ones.”
Ahad wetted his lips.
A faint chill ran down his spine.
Noor Ain found herself asking, a hint of curiosity entering her voice.
“You've met him?”
She paused.
“Abdul Ahad's grandfather?”
Ali nodded.
“He was my father's childhood friend.”
“Interesting...” she murmured.
Ali said nothing.
His attention returned to his laptop.
Noor Ain suddenly felt as though she didn't want his eyes to move away from her.
“So...” she said, “do you really want me to simplify?”
Ali blinked.
“Pardon?”
“Oh... yes.”
He gestured towards the screen.
“This master field report.”
He glanced towards Ahad.
“And I'm sure Ahad won't be able to simplify it the way you would.”
Ahad looked mildly offended.
Ali continued.
“Frankly, yesterday's report was much more precise and easier to integrate.”
He looked at the current report.
“But this one...”
He sighed.
“Phew.”
Noor Ain stood up and moved towards Abdul Ahad.
Ahad heard her voice closer.
“Abdul Ahad...”
He raised his head from the report.
“Would you mind swapping places with me?”
Ahad looked at her, slightly surprised.
“Swapping places, Ma'am?”
She nodded.
“If I sit beside Ali Sir, I can simplify the technical details while he enters them into the software.”
Ahad looked towards Ali.
Ali's sole attention remained fixed on his laptop screen.
“My driver is expected soon... so I need to assist as much as I can before he arrives,” Noor Ain added, offering an unnecessary explanation.
Ahad immediately got up, placing the file on the table.
“Of course, Ma'am.”
He moved into the seat Noor Ain had been occupying moments earlier.
Noor Ain carefully picked up the file.
For a brief moment, she stood beside Ahad's chair, apparently uncertain whether she should actually take the place she had just requested.
Then she inhaled quietly and sat down beside Ali.
Ali glanced sideways at her.
She was close enough now for him to catch the faint fragrance of her perfume and see the fine details of the report in her hands.
Noor Ain opened the file.
“Shall we start?”
Ali nodded.
“Go ahead.”
She pointed towards the first section.
“The reinforcement data for the west wing is mentioned here.”
Ali's fingers moved over the keyboard.
“Tell me what I need to enter.”
She leaned slightly towards the screen.
“The number of reinforced columns, their spacing, the reinforcement grade, and the amount of steel used.”
Ali began entering the figures.
“Slowly.”
Noor Ain stopped.
“Oh …I am extremely sorry.”
Ali frowned.
“I didn't ask you to apologize. I was asking you to slow down.”
A faint smile appeared on her face.
She lowered her eyes to the report and repeated what she had said earlier, this time at a much more measured pace.
Ali's fingers moved effortlessly across the keyboard.
“The concrete curing information comes after that.”
Seeing his fingers stop, she spoke softly.
“Concrete curing is...?”
Noor Ain looked at him and explained it simply.
Then came another civil-engineering term.
She explained that too.
One by one, she broke down the technical terminology, translating the information into the specific details Ali needed to enter into the software.
Ali listened, occasionally asking a question.
Whenever he did, Noor Ain answered without hesitation.
Ahad watched them for a few seconds before quietly returning his attention to his own notebook.
The integration began moving smoothly.
Ali entered one set of figures after another.
Noor Ain checked each item against the report and explained anything that wasn't immediately clear.
There was no awkward silence.
No visible tension.
No unease.
Just the two of them working side by side.
Ali glanced at her once more.
She was completely absorbed in the report, calmly explaining each section while he entered the corresponding information.
So... she has finally begun to consider me a colleague and not an anomaly.
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and then Add to home screen.