Chapter 14 – A Dream I Forgot

The office was quiet—unusually so. A rare afternoon lull had descended over Khan Global Enterprises, the kind of silence that seemed to echo off glass walls and chrome furniture. Even the buzzing elevator had gone still. Outside, the sun filtered through the tall windows in streaks of soft gold, painting the marble floors with light.

Andaleeb sat at her desk, her pen barely moving as she doodled random patterns on a post-it note. A curly line, a confused heart, a jagged thunderbolt. Her thoughts were elsewhere.

She was still replaying that night in the alley. The glow from her fingers. The man collapsing. And then... Zayan. The look in his eyes when he saw her. As if he had finally found the answer to a question he didn't know he was asking.

She hadn't told Eman everything. Not the way his gaze had locked onto hers like it might shatter. Not how her hand had lingered on his temple just a second too long. Or how her heart cracked watching him collapse, helpless. And she especially didn't mention how close his lips had been to hers in that moment—how she had almost whispered something else instead of erasing him.

Her cheeks flushed at the memory. She sipped her tea too fast to hide it and burned her tongue.

Meanwhile, Zayan was having an unusual day of his own.

He had looked at Andaleeb's desk at least twelve times in the last hour alone. Every time she shifted, every time she brushed her hair back, something in his chest reacted. Like his heart was remembering something his brain had no access to.

He hadn't been able to sleep properly since that night. The dream came back again and again—vivid, surreal, too sharp for a dream.

Lightning. Blue light. Her glowing eyes. And a voice.

"You're not supposed to know."

He would wake up gasping, his sheets damp, his chest tight. And then—nothing. Just the echo of her voice fading in the dark.

He clenched his jaw, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

Something had happened.

He could feel it—not in his head, but in his bones.

---

Troubled Eyes

Aryan entered the room with a stack of files, pausing when he saw Zayan staring blankly out the window.

"You okay, boss?" Aryan asked. "You look like someone who saw a ghost and forgot it."

Zayan turned slowly, blinking. "Do you believe in lost memories?"

Aryan tilted his head. "You mean like amnesia?"

"No," Zayan said. "Like… something happened. You know it did. You feel it. But you can't remember it."

Aryan raised an eyebrow and set the files down. "That's either someone who's been hit really hard in the head… or someone who's falling in love."

Zayan gave him a sharp look.

Aryan held up his hands. "Hey, just saying. You've been off since that night. You've barely spoken. You forget meetings. You called me 'Andaleeb' once by mistake, by the way."

Zayan froze. "I did not."

"You did," Aryan said with a grin. "But don't worry. I took it as a compliment."

Zayan shook his head, barely listening. The feeling in his chest was growing heavier.

---

Secret Meeting – Rooftop

That evening, drawn by a strange pull, Zayan walked to the rooftop garden. It was a place he rarely visited—too open, too quiet. But tonight, he needed air. He needed distance.

He didn't expect to see her there.

Andaleeb stood near the railing, her silhouette bathed in gold as the city lights came alive below. She didn't hear him approach. Her eyes were lost in the skyline, her arms hugging herself lightly against the breeze.

"Miss Shah," he said quietly.

She turned sharply. "Oh. It's you."

He took a few steps closer, his voice calm but probing. "Why were you in that alley that night?"

Her eyes narrowed. "What alley?"

"The night I fainted," he said. "You were there."

"You fainted," she said casually. "Maybe you hit your head harder than we thought."

"I'm not joking," he said. "I keep having dreams. You were standing there. Your eyes… they were glowing. You said something."

Her fingers tightened around the railing.

Zayan watched her carefully. "I remember pieces. Not everything. Just enough to know something's missing."

"You're imagining things," she murmured, voice tight.

"No," he said, stepping closer. "You said—'You're not supposed to know.' It wasn't a dream. You whispered that."

She looked at him then—really looked. And her face crumbled just slightly.

"You're hiding something," he whispered. "And I don't know what it is. But every time I look at you, I feel it. I feel like I'm chasing something I already held once."

Andaleeb's mouth parted. She looked like she wanted to say something—anything. But nothing came out.

He leaned closer, voice low. "I don't know what I saw that night. But I know what I felt. And I know you felt it too."

Silence stretched between them.

Then Zayan stepped back. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it was just a dream."

He turned and walked away.

Andaleeb clutched the railing harder.

I'm sorry, Zayan. I'm doing this to protect you.

But even she wasn't sure from what anymore.

---

Meanwhile at the Café

Back at the café, the cozy atmosphere was dimmed by the weight of tension. Eman restocked sugar jars and cups while Haroon leaned lazily against the counter, sipping a warm latte.

He had been unusually quiet.

"You're quiet today," Eman said without looking up.

"You erased his memory, didn't you?" Haroon said casually.

Eman froze mid-reach.

"Zayan," he added. "That night in the alley. You covered for your sister."

She slowly turned to face him. "How do you know that?"

"I don't," Haroon replied. "I guessed. But judging by your expression, I was right."

She crossed her arms. "Are you going to report us?"

"No," he said simply. "I'm not here to expose anyone. I'm just wondering how many lies we're going to keep telling before they crash down on all of us."

Eman narrowed her eyes. "Don't act like a hero. You're hiding something too."

Haroon smiled faintly. "Fair enough. Let's call it a… mutual pact of mysterious secrets."

She looked away, muttering under her breath. "Idiots. All of you."

---

The Glitch Returns

Later that night, Zayan sat in the dark of his office, a cup of untouched coffee going cold beside him. The skyline beyond the glass was silent. Peaceful.

But his mind was not.

He reopened the building's security files—specifically, the footage from the elevator that day. The one that glitched.

He had watched it over and over already.

But tonight, he noticed something else.

A flicker. Not just light.

Sound.

He isolated the audio, turned the volume up, enhanced it.

Static crackled.

Then, through the noise, a whisper.

"You're not supposed to know."

His breath caught.

He froze.

It wasn't his imagination.

It wasn't a dream.

It was her voice.

And it was real.

Zayan stood slowly, the sound looping again and again in the background. He didn't move for a long time.

Then he whispered to the empty room—

"Andaleeb Shah… what are you?"

End of Chapter 14