Another Forever

2 1 | a d v a n c e s

• n o o r •

By the time Hayat dropped me back to our building, it was almost 8 at night. The whole back seat of the car was filled with our shopping bags and if Faaris was anything like a Pakistani man, he was going to have a heart attack on seeing the bill.

"Thank you, I really enjoyed hanging out with you." I said to Hayat.

"Anytime, sweetheart." She smiled at me.

Picking up all my stuff, I made my way to inside the building and then to the elevator. Balancing all the shopping bags in my two hands, I reached our apartment and then put everything down to unlock the door.

The lights inside the apartment were already on and there was noise coming from inside. As I walked into the lounge, I realized Faaris' presence in the kitchen, busy in preparing something.

Putting the bags on the couch, I stepped into the kitchen and poured a glass of water for myself. Faaris was making some sort of pasta in the pan, his sleeves rolled to his elbow, giving a hint of his muscular arm.

Just when I thought he wasn't going to acknowledge me, he said, "Take a seat. Dinner is ready." I hadn't thought he was making dinner for me as well. A faint smile appeared on my lips and I made my way to the dining table.

He reached the table few minutes later with two plates of steaming pasta in some sort of orange sauce. Placing one plate in front of me, he took the other seat and dug into his plate.

"I... umm.. I spent about 400 dollars. The jeans were a bit expensive and then Hayat said I needed some new makeup products. The foundation alone caused 24 dollars." I said, feeling a little guilty for spending so much of his money.

"You can buy whatever you want. You don't need to tell me every detail of the expenses." He said.

"I know. It's just... I feel bad for spending so much of your money." I said.

"You may not like it but you are my wife and whatever is mine is yours. That's how a marriage works." He said almost in a scolding manner that shut me up instantly.

The rest of the dinner went with an awkward silence prevailed on the dining table. Afterwards, he left for his study to do some work while I went straight to our bedroom with all the shopping bags.

One by one, I took each item and arranged it in the closet. I have bought two pair of jeans, two leggings, three button-up shirts, one silk blouse, two cardigans and one long coat. Other than that, I also bought two nightwear sets.

I chose the pink pyjama set to wear tonight and went into the bathroom to take a shower. When I returned to the bedroom, Faaris was sitting on his side of the bed, busy typing something on the laptop. When he noticed me, he gave me a quick glance from head to toe. I blushed on realising I didn't have my dopatta on me. Then again, who wears a dopatta with satin pyjamas?

I went towards the mirror and rushed my fingers through my damp hair. Sitting on the stool, I applied all my new skincare products one by one and once I was done with my night routine, I was smelling like flowers.

Not wanting to disturb Faaris, I tiptoed towards the bed and silently lay down on it, pulling the blanket over me. My mobile didn't have charging so I had nothing to do but wait for sleep to overcome me.

Putting my arm over my forehead, I kept staring at the ceiling. There were so many thoughts running through my mind, of Faaris, of Hayat, of my family back in Pakistan and of someone I was trying my best not to think about. How was I supposed to spend my whole life with a guy who was already someone else's?