Believe! [Completed]

Chapter 18

He walked over to her side who was stood by the door of the balcony now. Holding her hand, he had caressed it and then dropped a kiss on it. Minaal just stood still yet feeling it all.

"Minaal, I promise I will do all I can to keep this smile and happiness of yours like this always. You have no idea how satisfied I feel when I see you happy. This smile of yours, it completes my day, calms my inner storms and makes me strive harder to keep it intact on your face. Nothing else matters but you and your happiness."

He had kissed the hand again while Minaal just stayed silent but was letting every said word of his do its job itself. Every spoken word of his was soothing to her heart. She felt as if everything she had ever prayed and hoped for, came right into her hands. She would do anything to keep all of this the same forever. Having him as a part of her life had grown onto her so much that no form of distance would be good for her. A tear of gratitude left her eye and got lost in her scarf somewhere. She was so deeply in love. More than perhaps she had thought she was.

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They had stayed in the hotel for dinner where a traditional restaurant was open on the ground floor. Its setting had a traditional look to it, it was pleasing to the eye. Both Aariz and Minaal had ordered different dishes so they could experiment and try new food.

The dinner wasn't a silent affair as much, they had their talks in between, they made plans about the next day and what they should visit first. For Minaal, the spicy food was like a cake-walk but Aariz wasn't that lucky and his red face and heavy breathing was saying it all.

"This is so spicy. How are you so calm after eating this, Minaal?"

"Spicy food is the real deal. Pheeka khana is for babies not for adults like us."

"Mujhse toh yeh bardasht nahi horaha, I am going to order dessert as well."

"Let's order cake!"

"Jo bhi karlo bas karo sahi, I need something sweet."

Minaal couldn't help but laugh at his state. He looked cute when he was unable to tolerate any form of discomfort. They ordered a black forest slice of cake and that had helped Aariz's spice craze. Both finished their dinner and were heading out of the restaurant to make their way to the hotel room when an old-aged couple stopped them.

"Nayi nayi shaadi hui hai lagta hai?"

Minaal just smiled and Aariz nodded. "Gee."

"Allah khush rakhay." The man had said with a fatherly affection in his voice. Minaal and Aariz both had whispered Ameen.

"Aj kal ke bachon ko bas ek dusre se expectations hoti hain, khud ki kia responsibilities hain koi nai sochta. Isliye tum dono hamesha ek dusre se expect kam karna aur apni responsibility fulfil karne pe ziyada zor dena. Jab dono apni apni koshish karoge, hamesha khush rahoge."

The lady had a very kind and polite manner of saying it and it had very rightly affected them as well. Minaal and Aariz both smiled at the couple and bowed down to them for blessings. Both the man and the woman patted on their heads and gave them more prayers. After bidding them a farewell, Aariz and Minaal both made their way to the room with a big smile etched on their faces.

"That lady said such a beautiful thing. Mujhe unki baat buhat achi lagi."

Minaal said smiling as she walked towards the room hand in hand with Aariz.

"Haan, buhat pyaari baat thi. Kabhi kabhi aise hi barray nasihat kar jatay hain aur agar woh yaad reh jae aur uspe amal karliya jae toh zindagiyan sanwar jati hain."

"Bilkul."

They were now back in the room. Minaal took off her jacket and sat down on the bed and looked through her phone while Aariz went to change. After Minaal was done, she wrapped her warm shawl around her and went back to her favourite spot, the balcony. The lights illuminating in the area were in clear view now making Hunza Valley looking as gorgeous as ever. She had smiled seeing it all once again.

Aariz came out of the washroom and after seeing Minaal at the balcony again, a chuckle left through his mouth. She really loved the balcony and the views from there.

He walked to her and stood behind her. He gently held her from hand and brought her inside the room. She was facing him now. Minaal hadn't looked at him but he was looking deep into her being. Taking a step forward, he lessened the distance between them some more to a point that they could feel each other's cold breath.

Aariz bent down a little to end the height difference and slowly touched his lips against her forehead. Minaal closed her eyes and clutched onto his shirt as he moved over to her eyes and kissed them one by one. As her grip of his shirt tightened, he moved to her both sides of the face and dropped soft pecks on her cheeks.

The next part had stopped him for some moments. It had put him in a dilemma and just in those moments, Minaal let go of her hold of his shirt making him even more unsure. But he didn't know that Minaal had something else in mind. The next moment, she had held him by his shoulder and made him bend down again and coming closer, she had fused her lips with his. It was just a moment of union. A mere second.

Aariz wasn't sure if this was Minaal's deliberate doing or was it her reluctance but it had put him under pressure. Taking a step back, he just stared at her blankly unable to tell what had happened, meanwhile Minaal who also couldn't understand what just happened, looked on him confused. Aariz immediately walked off and went out of the room as Minaal stared at his retreating self.

A small conflicted moment for the both of them pushed everything to the brink of breaking. And that's when inside the room, her eyes itched with tears and outside, his heart felt heavy.

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