The time seemed to pause as Mashal processed what was happening. She couldn't believe the sight in front of her. But she wanted to. The familiar tall and delicious looking muscular figure of her husband seemed too good to be true. But those muscles look very much real. It couldn't just be imagination.
Imagination can't look this real, can it?
She held her breath while he walked towards her. With every step he took forward, she took two steps back. She couldn't take the disappointment of realising him being unreal. She didn't want to.
But he seemed true. She could feel his scent. That familiar intoxicating smell. She'd know it anywhere that it's him. Her eyes teared up feeling overwhelmed. His deep black eyes gazed her at with longing and her breath hitched as she hits a wall. She can't move any further now. But he keeps walking towards her.
And now there was no gap between them. Mashal lifted her head to gaze at his face. She was in shock. He was real. She could see it, his breathing, his achingly handsome face. Everything was so real. But she couldn't get herself to believe any of this was actually happening. The incidents in the office have shaken her mentally and she was too overwhelmed.
Without another word, Murat pulled her into his arms, engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. He was very much real. Unshed tears welled up in her eyes. She gazed at him in disbelief while her hands goes to touch his face. He has a beard now. She was so eager to touch them as he showed it on one of their video calls and now that she could finally touch them, her heart exploded with so many emotions.
It was relief. Happiness. Excitement. Emotional. Overwhelming. All at once.
Mashal was so relieved that her husband was here at this moment even though he is supposed to be back after ten days. She felt his absence badly today as she drove back home. As if listening to her prayers God has sent him to her. She wrapped her arms around his torso and hugged him back just as tightly.
"Murat. You're back." Her voice cracked at the end, she was still in shock. He just hugged her tighter in response, "yes, I am." He replied.
"Murat." She called his name again. Her voice was muffled due to tears. Mashal cupped his face and looked into his eyes, which gazed back at her with longing and one emotion that she couldn't read. It made her insides churn. He leaned down, placing his forehead against hers, their noses almost touching. Their heartbeats rose frantically.
"I am not able to believe you're here even after all this. It feels like I'm dreaming." She laughed in between her tears, his hands goes to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer to him. His eyes gazed down at her with adoration whilst wiping off all her tears.
"Still dreaming?"
Before she could respond, his lips were slammed against hers, taking her for an intense kiss. She ran her hands through his hair, pulling him more into the kiss. And he was only happy to oblige.
This kiss was nothing like the ones they've shared before.
It was full of need, passion, lust and everything undefined. They poured all their emotions and feelings into this, telling how much they've missed each other during the past twenty-five days. They couldn't get enough of it.
"Still a dream?" He asked in between, she shivered at the proximity whilst kissing him more wildly. They had to break apart due to lack of oxygen, his desire filled eyes meet her overwhelming ones. Both were filled with fire and need.
Mashal panted softly, her gaze never left his. She felt this uncontrollable urge to just keep kissing him and did just that. Her hands go to wrap around his neck, as she tiptoes and takes him for another earth-shattering kiss. She felt him lifting her waist and her legs dangled in the air. She broke apart before kissing him again and again and again.
"Still a dream?" His voice was husky and low. She felt her cheeks heating up gazing at his slightly swollen lips. Mashal was sure hers were worse.
Anyone who will see her right now can just guess how thoroughly she was kissed. The very thought left her blushing furiously.
"More like it." She replied, giggling softly as he made her wrap her legs around his waist, whilst moving her hair behind her back, "you dreamed of kissing me? Like this?" He asked teasingly. Before she could retort, he silenced her by placing another kiss on her now exposed shoulders.
Her breath hitched as she felt his beard coming in contact with her skin. It was a weird sensation and she kinda liked it. She fisted his shirt tightly as he peppered kisses around her neck. Her toes curled and there were goosebumps all over her hands.
She felt so utterly cherished with every little kiss he was showering her with.
"Murat," Mashal called out his name as he trailed soft kisses from her neck to her face continuously, making her feel giddy and all those butterflies she described in her stories. No skin on her face was left unkissed.
Murat couldn't get enough of her it seemed.
It was very random but she felt so inspired at that moment that she could write plenty of new chapters effortlessly. Murat's absence has also turned her so uninspired. She was so glad that he's back.
Her heart was thumping so fast she wondered if it was running any marathon.
"Did you dream of this too, Mashal?" He asked teasingly, throwing her on the bed. She landed with a small bounce. Her cheeks flushed at his question.
"Murat, I'm being emotional here. Stop with your flirting," she sat up with a cute pout, he joined her on the bed and leaned in to kiss her pout. Her cheeks now turned bright red. A small smile appeared unknowingly.
"You look so adorable, smiling like this. But don't cry now. No more tears okay?" He wiped her tears again. Mashal didn't realise that she was crying. It was happy tears if anything.
His hands then gently cupped her jaw, she nodded in a daze.
"You came." She couldn't stop grinning ear to ear. It still felt unbelievable.
"Yes, babe. I did. For you," he replied sweetly. Her stomach did a summersault at that, "you still think it's a dream. After all the kisses?" He became mischievous at the end.
"Murat!"
"Mashal," he copied her tone making her blush yet laugh.
"But thank you for coming soon, Murat. You don't know how much I have missed you." Mashal huffed as she settled on his laps, hugging him tightly. She wanted every excuse to be close with him that day. He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her back just as tightly. She could finally feel breathe.
Unknowingly, he has become her strength and weakness in such a short period. It was like she couldn't survive without him.
"Don't you dare leave me alone like this ever again," She ordered with puffy eyes. He chuckled at her cute demand, "it's not possible, babe. I'll have plenty of other trips to go. It's what my job demands from me but I promise you, next time I'm definitely taking you with me. I swear I can't seem to stay away from you. I don't know how I managed in the past. Never again."
Murat's words left her grinning in delight. She nodded happily, already planning their future trips.
"You could have called me," she complained unhappily, "I was so worried and distracted at work today."
The very distraction led her to make plenty of mistakes at work. That indirectly made Aryan Hossain corner her at the office today and take advantage of her. That stupid jerk. She can't believe he dared to even lay his hands on her. The freaking nerve of him.
But the way he looked at her after she had slapped him sent chills down her spine.
Thinking about all of that made her face pale in worry.
Just the thought of what else could have happened made her shiver in fear. She was so thankful to be safe and secure in her husband's arms at this moment.
"What happened?" Murat asked, sensing the change in her mood. She felt hesitant, debating if she should tell him about the office incident but decided against it. Now was not the time, she thought.
"Nothing...I'm just happy you're here. Please don't leave me, Murat." She placed her head against his chest, burying her face into him, not having the heart to lie straight to his face.
"I won't leave you, Mashal." He was confused with her sudden change of behaviour.
"You can share with me anything, you know that right?" He ran his hands through her hair, she hummed softly, feeling slightly better. Now that he's here, everything seemed okay.
"Seriously, what is it? You're frightening me." It was scary how well he has come to read her these days. He could smell something was wrong and she wasn't in the mindset to talk about it at the moment, "I'm fine now, Murat. I'll tell you later. Just hold me tightly."
Her voice was barely a whisper. He need not be told twice. His hold on her tightened in response.
She has forgotten all about her worries for a while. It was just them. She felt at ease and relaxed even though she knew Murat deserved to know what has happened in the office. But he just came back, she didn't want to worry him already.
"Your cat is looking at me with his judgemental eyes" Murat murmured with a chuckle.
Harry was licking himself but paused to gaze at them both every once in a while.
Mashal bursts out laughing, she has almost forgotten that she carried the cat to her room, who was here all this time.
"He's very judgemental, actually. I don't think he likes you very much. He doesn't like anyone anyway. Only Meher is his favourite," Murat felt relaxed after listening to her infectious laughter, he knew something was definitely wrong but she was not ready to share that. He'll give her the time and space to open up to him but he was not sure he can be very patient.
A relationship is all about compromises anyway.
"Did you meet everyone?" Mashal gazed up at him, he nodded sheepishly.
"Everyone knew except me, huh?" She glared at him angrily.
"I was so worried, Murat."
"It was supposed to be a surprise and you were pretty much surprised." He grinned cheekily but she smacked his biceps with a huff.
"Hania auntie wanted us to meet her up after you return, I told her yes" He smiled listening to her as if pleased to hear that she's keeping in touch with his mother.
"When did you come back and how long were you planning on not informing me about this,"
"Leave about that, babe. I'm just so tired and jet-lagged. Can we go home and sleep? I missed sleeping with you."
She wanted nothing more than that. A nap with her husband. It sounded like a dream until yesterday, but now that he's here, all she wanted to do was to sleep like a baby in his arms.
"I'd love that, Murat." Her voice was suddenly very tired.
"What are you doing?" She squealed in surprise, as he lifted her in his arms, taking her off guard.
"Taking you home," he replied cheekily while heat raised on her cheeks.
"I can walk," She whispered horrifiedly, what if her parents or sister walked in at this moment? She can't bear the second-hand embarrassment just by thinking about it.
"I can carry you," he had his usual mischievous smile plastered on his face.
She stared at him wide-eyed, the blush remained constantly on her face.
"What if my parents caught us like this? It won't look good, Murat." Mashal squirmed in his arms, trying to get down. But he was obviously stronger than her.
"Nothing will happen. They'll understand." He grinned mischievously, she couldn't fathom from when did he turn so brave. He did love PDA but she wasn't aware that it could get to this to extend.
"Murat, drop me." She was silenced by his sudden kiss, a tint of redness spreads on her cheeks setting her insides on fire.
This guy!
"You're so stubborn," she huffed as he started walking down, "am I not heavy?" She asked whilst encircling her arms around his neck, now that she's sure that he won't let go.
"Nothing I can't manage," his eyes shone mischievously.
"You're impossible," she sighed. Although a happy smile played on her lips as she enjoyed being carried like a princess. It was cool. She loved this pampering.
"Ya Allah! I didn't see anything," Meher's dramatic shriek took them both off guard, and Murat immediately dropped her on the land. Mashal huffed while standing on her feet and glared at her husband and sister. She covered her embarrassment with anger. But they could see right though her facade.
"You! I'm told you it was a bad idea," She poked his chest with her tiny hands and walked away from there while her sister laughed out loud.
"You guys are worse than mama and papa." Meher joked.
"Meher stop," Mashal yelled behind her shoulders and watched how her husband followed her with a nervous smile.
PDA was never a good idea in the desi households anyway.
***
The sudden vibration of her phone woke up Mashal from her deep slumber, she blinked open her eyes lazily and sat straight whilst clutching onto the blanket tightly.
It was still eleven in the night. The evening was eventful. Thinking about it makes her blush crimson. Slipping Murat's favourite robe, she stepped out of the bed in search of her husband.
The right side of the bed was almost cold, he was away for a while. She noted silently as she brushed her hair gently.
"You're awake. Finally," Murat's voice made her pause, she eyed him through the mirror, passing him a smile. He returned her smile whilst back hugging her, "slept well?" She asked him as he placed his chin on her shoulders.
Shivers ran down her spine at his gesture. He didn't wear any shirt. She could feel all those muscles as he hugged her like that. Everything inside her exploded in fire.
"Yes. I did, but some call woke me up. I went to order dinner for us," He replied, eyeing her with adoration. She raised her brows at that.
"I could have cooked."
"I know. It's from your favourite restaurant. They're bringing the food soon. I wanted to give you a break. You've been cooking alone for the past days and it's too late now."
"How thoughtful," she leaned against his chest with a cheeky grin.
Unknowingly, his every little gesture was making her fall for him. He was just too sweet.
"I've also set up our terrace patio with bonfire and all. It's been a while since I've been there and ate something." He muttered lazily.
The way he said, 'our' like he truly meant it. It made her heart flutter in absolute glee. And the thought of having a late-night bonfire dinner date sounded so good. She was suddenly very excited to eat this dinner. A wide grin appeared on her face at that thought.
The doorbell rang, breaking their moment. Murat pulled back from the hug and she missed his warmth almost immediately, "looks like the food is here. I'll be back soon." Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he walked out of their room, not before wearing a shirt. It was so funny how she finds him handsome in every he wears.
Mashal looked at him in a daze before she decided to get dressed for this little random date night.
Her breath hitched as she walked up to the terrace patio and noticed the decorations he made. It was simple yet breathtaking. The night was dark and cold. Few fairy lights were hanging on the plants while the fire was lit up in the centre.
"This is beautiful, Murat." She muttered in awe as he sets the dinner on the little table beside the sofa.
"Not more than you," he winked making her cheeks flush. She looked down at her little red frock that only reached till her knees. It was her wedding gift from her dear cousin Duaa, which she wore for the first time tonight and fell in love almost immediately.
"Seriously, you look so good." He walked towards her and placed a kiss on her hands, "stop being cheesy," she followed him behind as he made her sit down.
"I ordered your favourite food," he served her the dinner and there was only comfortable silence as they ate.
"You know I can't believe I've wrapped up my work earlier than the intended date. My staff were so shocked. They were happy regardless." Murat grinned as they finished eating.
"Oh yes. How can I forget? You are famous for working till late at night." Mashal chuckled as she placed her head against his shoulders, gazing at the stars.
It felt nice. Almost like a dream. But it wasn't. That's the best part about all this.
"Yes. Until I met you, I had no reason to come back home soon. It used to be so lonely here. That's why I got Ginny." Murat intertwined their hands together, smiling in nostalgia.
"But ever since we got engaged, I always came back home as early as possible. Just to catch that little glimpse of your shadow near your windows." He laughed and she was lost in his laughter, it was so contagious.
"You know. It's so funny because, I'll always wait by my window, hoping you'd come back soon. Just to catch the little glimpse of you."
Mashal almost wanted to say how obsessed she was with him before their marriage. Her crush on him and all about her stalking him continuously. But decided against it. Murat would never stop teasing her about that.
"I used to be working till late at night because I hate coming back to an empty home, but now, I look forward to being back home every time," he sighed.
"What happened to your parents home? I'm sorry, you don't have to share if you are uncomfortable." She bit her lips, regretting being her over-curious self.
"They wanted me to make a choice. To stay under their roof or be with Eliza. I had to move out." He couldn't look her in the eyes while Mashal sat up straight, not liking the idea of her husband leaving his childhood home just to be with some other woman.
Even though it was long ago, it still made her annoyed.
"I've regretted nothing more than that. My parents always knew Eliza was bad news. But I was so stubborn and stupid." He chuckled dryly as she shifted uncomfortably on her seat. She tried to pull her hand back but he tightened his hold on them.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you." He noticed the change in her mood and apologized immediately.
"Murat, are you sure you're over her?" It was her deepest fear, just the thought of her husband still pinning over his ex made her heart clench in pain.
"I've taken my own time in getting myself back. Before I married you or anyone else, I made sure I was over Eliza. She's never coming back in my life, Mashal. Please trust me with this." His words held sincerity and she wanted to trust him so bad. But it was definitely hard.
"You've invested five years of your life with her. Was it hard? To let her go? What happens if she really came back?"
Will you leave me? She wanted to ask but couldn't get herself to do that.
"I would never in my life leave you, Mashal. You're like the biggest blessing of my life. How can I ever leave you?" He gazed into her chocolate brown eyes sincerely.
"Thank you for removing Eliza from this project, Murat. You don't know what it means to me." She shifted close to him and placed her head back against his shoulders.
"The past me would never do that. You can say, I was too money minded and selfish." She was very surprised hearing him confess about his dark side.
"But you're more important to me than everything else, Mashal. I knew working with Eliza will be the last thing you'd ever want."
"Thanks for valuing my feelings, Murat." She smiled softly as she leaned in to place a small kiss on his cheeks.
"I'm too scared to ask this, but I wanted to today. How did you and Eliza meet, Murat? Why did you guys break up after five years of relationship though?"
"Who told you about the years?" He asked a little surprisedly.
"Google." Came her grumpy reply. He shook his head with amusement.
"Can't you make all those pictures disappear from the internet though? I don't like how people still keep hoping you guys will get back together." She confessed annoyedly.
"First of all, we're never getting back together. People on the internet are jobless anyway. We shouldn't give a damn to their useless opinions." Murat sighed.
"And coming back to your questions, I and Eliza met during one of my commercials that my team was shooting. I was starstruck when I first met her. She was too beautiful. And I couldn't believe how she was equally interested in me."
Even though hearing about his attraction hurt her heart so bad, she wanted to know everything about his ex. They've never discussed her. And she wanted this to be the last time they ever do.
"And I pursued her soon enough. She said yes. I was on top of the world. Plus, she was an emerging model at that time. I just started getting recognised in the advertisement industry. People gave me more projects and I used her in all those projects. Her face was everywhere. All the top brands which chose us to shoot their commercial will be having her face without fail."
His voice was low and gruff. As if he was in pain just by thinking about it.
"Soon we were both using each other. She was with me because I gave her more opportunities and I was equally using her face for grabbing those opportunities. It was a two-way thing." He paused, searching her face for a reaction.
"I'm not judging you, Murat." She spoke softly, nodding at him. He relaxed at her words.
"I was too caught up with the fame that came along because of being with her. It took me years to realise how pathetic was our so-called love."
"Turns out there was no love. I don't know how did I turn so shallow and stupid," He chuckled dryly. She squeezed his hands, "it's okay, Murat. We all learn from our mistakes. I can see you're not like that anymore."
"Thank you for marrying me despite all this, Mashal. I swear I'll never let you regret this decision." He cupped her face and promised her with all his heart. She smiled with a small nod.
"I married you because I liked you," she confessed. He gave her a surprised look.
"What? I never told you, did I?" He shook his head.
"I married you because I liked you. Don't make me rethink my decision, okay? I can't bear the thought of you choosing Eliza over me," Mashal confessed her deepest fear and insecurity. She couldn't look him in the eyes. But he made sure she did.
"Never, I wouldn't dare."
They passed soft smiles.
A small buzz from his phone broke their moment. He left her face with a sheepish grin and looked into his phone but his face paled reading the message his best friend Chris just sent. It was links to the latest gossip news from the top magazines. There were so many and a particular one caught his attention.
Supermodel Eliza Hossain's ex-boyfriend FINALLY moved on. But here's why Murat Saeed and his mystery woman's relationship won't last long. Click here to see the pictures.