Author's Note
I am very sorry. I have been facing a very bad writer's block for like two months now. And today also, I could only post this chapter due to Shiba_Sakeen 's generosity as she wrote down a complete scene for me after I gave her an outline of what I wanted the scene to be like. The second scene is written by her and I am really thankful to her. I know you all have been waiting for this for so long. Again, I apologise for updating after so freaking long. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
~
"Hasifa, yaar, I'll miss you!"
Badiya exclaimed with a pout hugging her new bestfriend and Hasifa laughed at her cute expressions.
"I'll miss you too but you're coming to Lahore anyways. Haina, Mrs. Shehryar Badr." Hasifa wiggled her eyebrows at Badiya and she just rolled her eyes in response.
"Anyways, how are you going to travel back?"
"Well, there aren't any airports around here so I'll just go by bus or train, whatever is available. It would be a hastle for a driver to come and take me from home." Badiya shrugged her shoulders and said non-chalantly stuffing the snacks the maids brought in her hand-bag.
"What? No!" Badiya exclaimed. "Ese akele nai bhej rahi mai tumhe." (I'm not going to let you travel alone.)
"Array, kuch nai hota. I'll be fine." Hasifa said with a wave of her hand.
"Kaha janay ki tayari hai?" (What are these preparations for?) Kaleem Shah came and sat on a couch which was placed on the left side of theirs in an L-shape.
"Wo mai ab ghar wapis ja rahi hu. My classes are going to start soon." Hasifa replied politely.
"Itni jaldi? Mera tou dill bilkul nai kr raha apni beti ko jaanay dene ka but education is also important. Ab apne atay rehna hai ghar, acha?" (So soon? I really don't want to let my daughter go but education is also important. Now, you have to visit us frequently, okay?) Kaleem Shah said patting her head lovingly.
"Ofcourse, Uncle." Badiya said with a smile.
"Uncle, dekhain na Hasifa bus ya train se janay ka soch rahi hai." Badiya whined coming to sit beside him.
"What? Not at all. I am not letting you go through local transport." He exclaimed and gave a stern look when Hasifa tried to protest.
"Wali, beta, where are you headed to?" Kaleem Shah called his younger son when he saw him passing by the door and asked.
"I was just going to the garden for some fresh air." Wali casted a look to the brown-eyed lady who has decided to take a permanent stay in his head and replied to his father.
"Chalo phir Lahore ki hawa bhi kha ao. You're dropping Hasifa to her home safe and sound." Kaleem Shah got up to tell his son and left after receiving a meek but excited 'Jee' from Wali and bidding farewell to the guest.
"I'll go get my keys. Meet you outside in five minutes?" Wali asked controlling his grin and Hasifa nodded at him.
She went out after bidding farewell to everyone and found Wali standing against an SUV with his aviators on doing something on his phone. She went up to him and he put his phone back opening the car door for her.
"Welcome to my humble abord!" He cheekily said making Hasifa giggle.
They started the three-hour journey and Wali was the one to break the ice. The awkwardness evaporated into thin air as they chatted about anything and everything.
"What?! No. You haven't been to a dhaba?" Hasifa asked as Wali swiftly overtook the car infront of them.
"No. Never got the chance to. You like to explore?"
"I love to explore and travel but I haven't done as much as I would want to." Hasifa said with a bright smile and Wali hmm'ed trying to focus on the road instead of his lady love's glimmering brown eyes.
They were talking about their study courses when Hasifa suddenly asked him to stop the car.
"What happened?" He asked her with furrowed brows.
Hasifa pointed at something outside and said, "Come."
They both got off the car and walked towards the dhaba named 'Chaudary Hotel'.
"What are we doing here?" Wali asked with a nervous smile.
"Well, it's lunch time and I'm hungry." Hasifa said with a shrug and continued walking towards the area restricted for families. Usually, the dhabas are divided into two portions. An only men area and a family area to maintain a little privacy for the ladies.
"Hey, we can go to a restaurant or something." Wali said scratching the back of his neck. It was not like he looked down upon eating at a small place but he wanted to take Hasifa to a special place for their first lunch date.
"Don't worry. I have eaten here before. They have really good food and it's hygienic." Hasifa pointed at a poster and while walking towards what looked like a small hall. Wali looked at the poster which read 'the customers can come at anytime to check the refrigerators and kitchen. Cleanliness is half faith.'
Wali sighed and followed her to the small table with two seats. A young guy came to take their order and Wali asked Hasifa to order.
"Aj apki choice dekhte hain." (We'll see your choice today.) He said with a wink and leaned back on the chair since his legs were too long to fit under the table and Hasifa giggled at his awkward sitting position.
"Has lo, has lo." (Laugh all you want.) Wali said rolling his eyes at her but a smile broke out on his face. He had always faced these difficulties due to his long legs but seeing Hasifa so amused at it made him amused as well.
A guy came to take their order and Hasifa ordered palak gosht, karele qeema and roti with raita and salad. When the food came Wali looked at it incredulously and Hasifa shook her head with an amused smile not leaving her face. Wali was behaving like a kid. You could guess what was going in his mind just by his facial expressions.
Hasifa grabbed a plate and filled it with food, making sure to remove the oil from the salan first. Wali took the first bite and his facial expressions changed to surprised and he exclaimed.
"This is so good!"
"I know."
They both had their meals with light chatter going on and left after having some chai. When the bill came, Wali was about to pay when Hasifa took the check from him and paid saying, "It was my treat."
"Here we are." Wali said after stopping outside her house.
"Come inside." Hasifa said with a polite smile and Wali declined saying he has to rush back home.
"Thankyou for everything." Hasifa thanked him because she genuinely enjoyed the stay there and the car ride with him and Wali gave her a nod in reply.
"Hasifa?"
"Jee?" She was about to get off the SUV when Wali called her.
"This is...umm my business card." He forwarded a black card towards her with slightly pink ears. Hasifa accepted it quitely much to his shock and got off. He stayed till Hasifa had gone inside her house and then drove the car away leaving his heart behind.
~
(This one is written by Shiba_Sakeen till the next ~ sign.)
The ringing of the alarm woke him up from the deep slumber he was in and he smiled looking at the familliar grey curtains of his room. It had been a month since he got married to the love of his life and they came back to Lahore last night from the Haveli.
It is not like he didn't love his ancestral Haveli but all the shenanings that happened there and all the visitors, all the responsibilities didn't give him much time with his beau. Now that they had finally come back home, Shehryar felt he could breathe a little easier as he didn't have to share his wife's attention with twenty other people.
Wife.
That word itself brought a smile to his face and he leaned down to kiss her head that she had so rightfully laid on his chest while holding his waist like a koala bear. She had taken on this habit of sleeping literally on him and he didn't mind one bit. It felt like she wanted to cling on him to never let him go away from her. Well, he felt the same about her so it was just fine.
He didn't always articulate it but his feelings ran deeper than just casual attraction and infatuation. What he felt for the woman, that he now can proudly call his own, is beyond any logical earthly measure. It was love in it's purest and most intense form. Love that ran deep in the crevices of his heart and painted his soul. Love that would make him do anything and everything for his wife. His woman. Badiya.
The incoming texts alerted him of his agenda and despite it being dark outside, he was already running late. The time difference in their various headquarters led to them conducting conferences at odd timings and today was one such day. He had to supervise the audit for their Tokyo headquarters and then be present for the SEC inspection.
Badr smiled hearing her protests when he went to detangle their limbs that were still entwined passionately, a reminder of their last night's tryst. They were extremely tired after their journey but the prospect of making love on their bed for the first time had rejuvenated his energy and their marital bed was put to good use. He placed his pillow in her arms and kissed her head before getting started for the day.
Badiya woke up to an empty room and frowned not seeing her husband anywhere. She grumbled under her breath while getting ready for the day and walked down with lead feet to the dining room.
"Why did you came down so early, beta? You must have been tired from last night's journey." Her mother-in-law passed her a cup of coffee and a plate of toats.
"Safar se tou nai, wese thak gayi ho shayd." (Not beacause of the journey, but she might've gotten tired due to other things.) Wali said before she could answer and stole the strawberry jam toast from her plate winking at her and finished it off in two bites much to Badiya's irritation.
"Wali! I'll kill you with my bare hands if you touch my food again." She yelled at him with irritation and the silly boy just laughed it off.
"Keep these wild antics to your husband, thankyou!" Wali stole yet another toast from her plate and ran away with it before the spoon she threw at him could hit his head.
"You both would never grow up." Her mother-in-law had an amused expression on her face.
"Nope!" Badiya said as she buttered another toast for herself giving a cheeky look to her Mama
"Mama, wo...Badr kahan hain?" (Mama, uh...where is Badr?) Badiya asked her after a lot of apprehension, not wanting to be teased by her.
"He's been locked in his study from morning. I think he has some overseas conference call to attend." Sharmeen Shah replied with a pleased smile on her face. Her little boy had someone else to dot on him now.
Badiya just 'hmm'ed in reply. She didn't like waking up to cold sheets in the morning and she'll definitely let him know that.
"Diya beta, I have invited a few of my friends this evening as they wanted to meet you. I hope you aren't busy today?" Sharmeen said as they finished breakfast and the house help came to clear the table.
"I just have to complete my transfer papers but I'll do them tonight. What's the menu?" Badiyaa helped the maid clear the table after their breakfast and came back to sit beside her mother-in-law.
"Don't worry about the food. I have instructed the househelp about it. You just get ready to come with me to the spa. I want to show off my daughyer to everyone." She gave her a cheeky smile and Badiya threw her head back in laughter.
"I think I'll go and check up on Badr, take breakfast for him." Badiya said with a small shy smile and her mother-in-law carressed her head lovingly and excused herself to her room.
Badiya walked in the study and saw her husband engrossed in a discussion that sounded utterly foreign to her. Quite literally! For her husband was speaking what sounded like Japanese or Mandarin to her ears.
Badr looked at his wife standing with his breakfast and he silently thanked her but he couldn't leave the conference midway. He just nodded at her and discreetly instructed her to leave his plate on the table.
Badiyaa gave him an irritated look, not liking the fact that he hasn't spoken to her since they woke up. She covered the plate with another and banged the door slightly while walking out. What did he think she was, his maid!
Badr sighed but he would make it upto his wife later in the day. He ate when they took a five minute break and thanked his wife for the glass of orange juice, the coffee had given him slightly frazzled nerves. He stretched his limbs after a few hours, the SEC inspection finally ending. He knew for a fact that they will get their trading licences renewed and that too with the highest accreditation and recommendation.
And now to appease his wife!
"Badiya!" He called out to his wife but she wasn't anywhere in sight.
"Babe?" She wasn't present in the room as well and now he got worried for her.
"Where are you?" Was his first question as soon as she picked up his call.
"I am with Mama at the salon. Everthing okay?" Badiyaa was getting some relaxing treatments with her mother-in-law, preparing for their soiree.
"Yes. When will you be back?" Badr asked irritated. He wanted to spend some time with his wife.
"We'll be eating out so definitely after lunch." Badiyaa stifled a smile at the annoyance in his voice but she wanted to make him suffer just like she did.
"What? No!" He whined but Badiya had already cut the call.
It was her own sweet revenge on her husband for ignoring her since morning!
Badr sighed when he heard the car doors slam shut indicating his wife's arrival. He had been missing her immensely and just wanted her in his arms, right that second!
"It's way past lunchtime." Shehryar grumbled as soon as she came in sight.
"We actually ran into your aunt and had tea with her." Badiya said and smiled internally at his restlessness that he had reigned in just because of his mother's presence.
"Hmm. Come with me. I have to talk to you." Badr took the bags from her hands and urged her to walk with him to their room.
"Wo actually Mama asked me to come straight to her room. Her friends are coming over for evening tea so...." Badiya eased her wrist out of his possessive hold and rushed to the kitchen much to her husband's annoyance.
It had been an hour since his mother's friends had left and there still wasn't any sign of his wife. Badr threw the pillow in irritation and stood up to go down for dinner when the maid came to call him. The maid and not his wife like she usually did. Maybe they should have stayed back at the Haweli, atleast she fussed around him more in his grandmother's presence!
It was chauvinistic but he loved when his wife pampered him, showered extra attention on him and smiled that special smile reserved only for him. All these little things made him feel like he was the only person in her life and today it felt like he didn't even exist for her!
He had called out to her a few times to get her alone with him but she was either busy with the guests or with his mother. Even his brother had gotten some time with her when she had approached him with a problem regarding the WiFi.
He wanted to go godzilla on everyome for taking his wife from him but made his thoughts a bit rational.
Badiya had dressed up all traditionally looking like a siren before the guests came in a poweder pink jora with golden zardozi work on it with all sorts of jewellery including bangles, jhumkay, anklets and a necklace but she didn't even let him kiss her and left before he could even reach her.
Now they were sitting at the dinner table and he wasn't even ready to look at her. Badiya sighed because she knew that she had taken the teasing too far. Her husband had called her countless times and she had given him one excuse after another, not meeting him once throughout the day!
Badr noticed how his wife shone radiantly when she served him dinner, how her bangles clinked together melodiously when she poured water for him or how her earrings reflected the light of the chandelier falling on it. Everything about his wife was alluring and he would have to keep himself stronger to ignore her fully!
Shehryar had just taken his first morsel when he felt something soft on his leg. He choked on his food because it was his wife's soft foot rubbing against his leg provocatively.
Badiya gave him her most innocent expression when he turned to glare at her but still caressed his leg with her toes.
" Behave!" Badr shrugged her feet from himself and continued answering his father about the morning conference.
"Badr?"
Badiya was now sitting beside him on the couch in their room as he worked on his laptop. She was looking at him expectantly and he didn't even spare a glance at her.
"Sunain na."
Badiya huffed and shut his laptop close with unnecessary force and Shehryar glared at her.
"What the hell?! Stop behaving like a spoilt child!" Badr took her hand off his laptop and yelled.
"Spoilt child?" She was irritated at being called a kid yet again by her husband.
It seemed to be his favorite go to taunt whenever they were in an argument!
"I'll be in the study." Shehryar got up hastily, even a second longer with his seductress of a wife and he wouldn't be able to take her in his arms forgetting the tricks she pulled on him.
Badiyaa huffed and looked at the door which closed after her husband left. She would show her husband how wrong he was and that she wasn't a child, she was a grown woman. She took determined strides towards the bathroom.
Shehryar came up after an hour and the sweet smell of flowers and mint hit him. He looked at the source and saw his wife coming out of the closet in the skimpiest outfit he had ever seen her in. A deep red negligee with black lace on the trims and its robe no where in sight. Badiya walked towards the dresser with an air of nonchalance and stood in front of the vanity as she secretly eyed her husband from the mirror. She picked up her moisturizer and took a generous amount on her palms before sensuously rubbing it on her legs, enjoying the look of pure want on his face.
"Badiya?" Shehryar finally found his voice when she gathered her hair to tie in a bun showcasing her shoulders and upper back.
"Jee?" Badiyaa gave him an innocent look, still not moving from her place.
"Come to bed." Badr ordered her huskily.
"I have to complete the transfer papers for university. And why would you want a spoilt kid in your bed anyway." She moved towards the small study table he had set up for where her laptop was kept. She finished tying her bun and Badr felt he had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life.
"Babe." He grabbed her wrist as soon as she was in his range while passing by the bed and tugged her towards himself making her stand between his legs.
"I am a kid right. And you shouldn't touch a...kid...like...this." Badiyaa still tried protesting when she felt his palms on her hips, pulling her closer to himself, while one of them eventually slid off to her butt and gave her the lightest squeeze on it, earning a moan from her.
"You've been teasing me since morning. Don't do this to me. Please." Shehryar said huskily, dragging her closer by her butt and she stradled him locking her arms around his neck.
"First, I woke up to an empty bed. Then you treated me like I am some unimportant person who will just serve and leave. Then you didn't even compliment me. And then you called me a child." Badiya ran her fingers along his neck making him sigh and leaned forward towards his ear.
"You've been a bad boy, Badr. You don't deserve candy." Badiya teased him while skimming her lips over the shell of his ear making him even more aroused.
"I can show you this is a man, who definitely deserves this candy." He tried to buck his hips up but Badiya stopped him.
"Na-ah. First admit that I am not a child. I am a woman and you will not scold me like a kid."
"You are definitely not a child. You're my woman who I want to pleasure so bad so please let me." He made a swift movement shifting there position making Badiya land her back on the bed and him above her.
"But...you...ahh." Badiya trailed off as she couldn't think straight with her Badr was raining kisses on her neck and just bit on her weak spot.
"Shh...Just let me be your man."
~
Badiya was sitting at their study table finally completing her transfer application when Wali came barging into her room heaving for breath heavily.
"Wali? Are you okay? What happened?" Badiya walked up to him and held his arm.
"Diya...Diya wo Bhai...Bhai ko..." Wali stuttered with a panic stricken face and Badiya felt her own throat closing up.
"Bhai had an accident with a trailer. He's very critcal."
It had been five hours. Five hours of complete agony for the Shah and Hussain family as they waited in the lobby outside the operation theatre. Shehryar was driving his car to his office when a trailer lost control and crashed his car completely. He was taken to the hospital in a very bad state and no one had updated them about his current sitution. Badiya couldn't stop her tears as they silently fell from her eyes. She had been reciting all the duas she knew to somehow convince Allah to spare her Badr's life.
The doctor came out of the operation theatre towards the family with a solemn look on his face and what he said next mad Badiya's ears ring as she heard her world shattering into pieces around her.
"We are sorry."