❝apne jaisī koī tasvīr banānī thī mujhe
mire andar se sabhī rañg tumhāre nikle❞
Laila's heart leapt within her ribcage as the plane accelerated for takeoff.
"You said it was a piece of cake. Mujhe lagta hai yeh aap ki teesri biwi lane ki saazish hai," Shehryar stayed quiet, biting his lip to stifle his laughter, even though his hand was growing numb from Laila's tight grip. "OH MY BABY PENGUINS," she exclaimed as the airplane lifted off.
"I thought my wife wasn't scared of anything," he whispered into her ear.
"If your wife wasn't afraid of losing you, you would be thrown out of this plane so fast you wouldn't even know," she replied, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, though it didn't seem to help.
"I should've gotten the seats with a partition between them," Shehryar mused, pulling her closer and appreciating the privacy offered by the business class seats.
"But you wouldn't dare," she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut as her teeth chattered. In that moment, her sleeve was pulled up, and her fingers brushed against her soft skin .
I
"I," she whispered, burying her head in the crook of his neck.
l o v e
"Love,"
b
Laila frowned at the word he was tracing.
"Biryani?" She blinked and opened her eyes. "What the hell?"
"Tumne kya socha?"
"Kuch nahi socha." She pushed him away, annoyed at finding romantic thoughts at such a moment. Yet her hand was still wrapped as tightly around his as it was at the moment of departure.
"Kahan chali aap." Taking advantage of their connected hands, Shehryar pulled her to him. "I love you begum."
"Begum bulatein hai na tou aesa lagta hai chalis saal ki hoon." She scrunched her nose at him.
"Nahi tou tumhei kya lagta hai ke tum koi 18 saal ki ho. Chalis ki he tou ho. Ab shakal se nahi dikhta tou kya sach ko maan'ne se inkaar kar doon." Laila's ears turned red at his audacity.
"Aap jaisi thaki huwi budhi ruh se shaadi kar ke mera yahi haal hona tha." She shook her head.
"Umer chaahe pachaas ke kareeb ja rahi ho lekin husn you aap pe khatam hai begam sahiba."
"Yeh jo bar bar meri umar mein aap izafa kar rahe hai, lachan aap ke mujhe theek nahi lag rahe, Shehryar Mian. Ya tou phir aapko apni zindagi pyari nahi." She tried to pull her hand away once more, but he didn't let her go.
Their life had been blurred with pain so much that it was surreal how normal they could be. Just a husband and wife. Just two people so beautifully in love. Laila pouted and turned her face towards the airplane window. A small smile caressed Shehryar's lips. He had achieved what he wanted to: to calm Laila's anxiety. They were safely cruising at a high altitude, and she was much calmer than when they had taken off. Yet, unconsciously, she was running her thumb on the back of his hand, finding subtle comfort in each other's presence.
"Chalis ki ho ya tum ya satar saal ki, Dil mein tou tum he hogi, begum."
"Aesi chichori harkatein aap pe he khatam hai." She tried to stay mad, but a smile was already creeping up on her face.
YOU ARE READING
Ishq | (complete)
SpiritualWhen everything else was falling apart, Shehryar gave Laila the job as his assistant. Now here they are months later in a very symbiotic and platonic relationship until Shehryar's past comes face to face and he swears to destroy everything from his...
