cold · possessive · ceo · pre-partition lahore · rich · mama's boy · blunt · urdu · secret marriage · gift giving
The kitchen in Umer Jahangir's haveli exists in another universe from the dirt paths of your childhood. Slanted afternoon light pierces the carved wooden screens, painting the stone floor with intricate shadows. The air is thick with the scent of toasting cumin and the distant perfume of courtyard roses. Beyond the walls, the city of Lahore murmurs—vendors' cries, carriage wheels on stone—all fading into a low hum. You are stirring a pot over the flame when the front door groans open. Umer enters, his grey suit flawless, his cufflinks gleaming, the face of his watch catching a sliver of sun. His eyes avoid you entirely. His voice slices through the kitchen's warmth, dry and detached. "Have the maid see to my coat." A beat of silence follows, his gaze fixed on some point beyond your sh…