Reminder: Pray and make dua for the people of Palestine, Afghanistan, Congo, Sudan, the Uyghur Muslims and all those who are oppressed and suffering.
Ashiya's PoV:
Ahan and I were back at our place. Throughout the drive back home, we didn't talk to each other. I kept stealing a few glances at his side profile but his posture remained motionless. When we entered our house, he simply made his way to his study room whereas I decided to change my clothes and do the laundry.
It was during lunch when I placed the dishes on the dining table and waited for him. He came out within a couple of minutes as he knew the usual time of our meals. Taking a seat beside me, he began to put food on his plate.
He had taken off his previous outfit and was now wearing a simple white tee shirt with grey sweatpants. Looking at his hair, I guessed that he had taken a shower though I couldn't understand when. He was starting to look like the man he was when I had first met him. Grumpy and arrogant. How could he not talk to me? Was the argument more important to him than our relationship? I'd have been fine if he had just shouted at me or scolded me instead of giving me this silent treatment. His calmness was getting on my nerves.
I took a bite of the bread and the chicken that I had cooked for us. The morsel felt too heavy to be swallowed. I could see him eating at a slower pace than usual, keeping his focus on his plate and chewing peacefully.
Deciding that it was time to give him a piece of mind, I opened my mouth but was stopped by the sudden ringing of my phone. I checked the caller id and saw that it was Asif, one of the new interns. Confused, I accepted the call and put the phone on speaker.
“Hello,” I greeted.
“Hey, Ashiya. This is Asif. I'm sorry to be disturbing you on your day off but this is urgent,” he spoke from the other side. I could sense that Ahan had stopped eating and was now listening to my conversation with Asif. “An old man with COPD has been brought to the emergency section. He's breathing heavily and his pulse rate has gone too slow. Today was supposed to be Dr. Rehan’s duty in this section but due to some reason, he is absent. The other doctors are busy as well. Can you please come quickly? I don't think I'm capable of handling the patient on my own.”
“Listen to me,” I got up from my chair and ran to my room, “don't panic and hear my words carefully. Do not give him oxygen. It will only worsen the situation. Just run an ABG test on him and I'll be there in twenty minutes.”
I grabbed my white coat and my stethoscope, and wrapped the first hijab that I could find inside my closet. I descended the stairs and was about to leave the house when I saw Ahan waiting for me at the door. He was holding his car keys when our eyes met and I, without saying or asking anything, understood his intention.
He was driving me to the hospital.
.
.
.
“Alhamdulillah,” I smiled as I exited the emergency room after taking care of the case and the patient who was now fine and breathing normally. Asif walked out with me as he sighed in relief.
“I was about to faint out of anxiety,” he let out a nervous laugh and I shook my head at him.
“Unfortunately, you aren't allowed to do that. As a doctor, you're supposed to stay strong in these situations and not panic.” I had not intended to sound strict but Asif straightened up and offered me an apologetic look.
“I'm sorry, I won't do it again,” he rubbed his neck.
I waved my hand at him, “It's fine. Just be careful and you'll do good.” We stepped out of the hospital building and talked about our work. Asif was twenty two years old and was put on training for six months under me. Being his senior, I felt the responsibility to share my experiences and learnings with him in order to encourage him. “You'll face many challenges like this in future, some will be even tougher. So be prepared, both physically and mentally.”
Asif nodded obediently, making me smile at him. Turning my head, I looked around to find a taxi or a bus when my eyes found Ahan leaning against his car that was parked right across the road that I was standing on.
Even at a distance, I could make out the frown on his face and I didn't understand why he looked so pissed. I thought his anger had faded when he offered to drive me in the afternoon.
Is he on his period?
Shaking my head at the absurdity of my thoughts, I bid goodbye to Asif and walked up to my husband. Wordlessly we made ourselves comfortable inside the car and Ahan began to drive.
I closed my eyes out of exhaustion and opened them when I realised that the vehicle had come to a halt. Raising my eyebrows at Ahan, I saw him taking his seatbelt off and going out. “You skipped lunch,” was all he said before entering the restaurant which I didn't realise was there until he walked inside.
I followed him, now frustrated with his hot and cold behaviour. What is the game that he's trying to play? Could he for once and all decide if he wanted to stay mad at me or take care of me?
Stepping in, I searched and spotted Ahan sitting at a corner. The menu on the table remained untouched by him as he sat patiently for me. As I took a seat across from him, I gave up control and blabbered the first thing that came to my mind.
“I'm not gonna eat if you're going to continue treating me like this.”
His unbothered gaze slowly shifted and landed on me, his orbs turning a shade darker as he studied me. A minute or two passed with us staring at each other in silence.
A waitress came to take our order but I didn't even spare a glance at her as I was busy glaring at my husband who in return was challenging my guts to stay silent.
I didn't care. Food could wait, my anger couldn't.
Finally, when Ahan understood that I wasn't going to budge, he turned his attention to the waitress and ordered a burrito bowl for us.
“I said I didn't want-” I started as soon as we were left alone but Ahan interrupted me.
“Behave,” his voice came out low yet stern.
The audacity!
“Don't you dare try to order me, Ahan,” I snapped.
Ahan shook his head as he scoffed, “You're so immature.”
That was it. The last thread of my self control broke and I got up and left the restaurant. Not listening to the reasonable thoughts that told me to wait for my husband, I took a rikshaw and made my way home, fuming red in vexation.
.
.
.
I threw my hijab on the couch and dashed to the kitchen to fetch myself a glass of water. Calm down, I told myself and inhaled sharply.
The sound of the main door being opened made my adrenaline rush at high speed and in the next second I saw Ahan stomping towards me, his jaw clenched and fists tightened.
He stopped when his chest touched mine, his height towering over me as he lowered his face to scrutinise me. “You…” he breathed and I closed my eyes as my heartbeat increased. “What the hell is your problem?”
His irate form was beginning to make me nervous but I still tried to look unfazed. “You're the one who is acting like a toddler,” I spat, “I can't believe you're angry at me because I refused to have sex with you! And you have the audacity to call me immature? One moment you pretend to be all caring and nice and then suddenly you change and get pissed. Are you crazy or something?”
“You think this is about sex?”
“I don't know,” I exclaimed, “if it's not then enlighten me what your real issue is.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, pushing it a little upward and making Ahan's focus waver down. His burning scrutiny made me shift on my spot and it slowly and torturously travelled upwards.
“The problem,” he inhaled as he inched even closer, “is you not giving all of your attention to me. You running away from me with a silly excuse when I want you is what pisses me off.”
“It wasn't an excuse,” I argued, “your family was there. They're important too.”
“More than me?”
He was now looking at me with a bit of desperation. His eyes had become hooded and the hard expression was gone like it never existed in the first place. His breath mingled with mine as he nudged my nose with his.
“Tell me,” he demanded.
I couldn't.
Not when his lips threatened to land on mine if I even made a move to utter a single word.
But I was tempted. Not to speak, not to debate or explain myself, but to give in to my desires and do what my carnal instincts were commanding me to.
And so I obliged.
Forgetting my anger and disregarding my ego, I rose on my toes and kissed him.
I didn't know where I was getting the confidence from. Maybe it was the tension between us or the anger that gave birth to this need and boldness, but I decided to push that question in a deep corner of my mind.
He didn't budge. He simply let me move my mouth over his as like he was a statue.
Exasperated by his lack of response I bit his lower lip and I could tell that that shocked him because he let out a low growl that made me hotter than I was already feeling.
“We should talk first,” I heard him but I shook my head and continued to pepper little pecks on his cheek and neck.
“I don't want to talk to you,” I mumbled sulkily.
He sighed as he gripped the back of my head and practically peeled me off his skin.
“What?” I whined which for some reason made him smirk.
“You don't wanna talk but you're ready to let me shag you,” he mocked me, riling me up like it was his favourite hobby.
His crude language should have offended me and it did to some extent, but it also aroused me even more.
“Why are you so petty?” I complained.
“Why are you so stubborn?” He retorted. “You prioritise the world over your own husband. How do you think that makes me feel?”
“I didn't…I..” I stuttered and searched for words to make him understand my point but I found none. Vulnerability had taken over both of us and now we were both ready to sort things out. At least I was. His question had made me wonder if I had really unknowingly hinted at him being of low importance in my life.
How could he even have a thought like that?
“Why do you think that I don't value you?” I brittled and saw his eyes softening. I cupped his face and caressed his cheek, “Why do you underestimate your ability to be loved, my love? You have no idea about what you mean to me. You say I prioritise the world over you? Screw the world, Ahan. It is of no value to me. You are.”
As soon as I finished my speech, it didn't take even a second for him to grasp my neck and smash his mouth onto mine. His other hand snaked around my lower back and he glued me to himself, groaning when I fisted his hair.
“I'm sorry for running away,” I uttered in between our battle of tongues and teeth, “I.. shouldn't have...ummm,” I moaned when he began to massage my upper back as his hand sneaked inside my top.
“Yes?” He teased me and descended to attack my shoulder by sliding the top off, “you have to be clearer, babe, if you want me to accept your apology.”
“I'm sorry for runn–oh! Screw you!” I threw my head back when his hand began to torture me explicitly.
He grinned and continued to devour me like I was his meal after a long period of starvation.
“Oh wait,” I panted, “I forgot to tell you that I'm on my period.”
His grin dropped and all his movements came to a halt. “What?” He looked flabbergasted. His hair had become messy and his skin looked flushed with lascivious yearning.
“Yeah,” I gave him a small smile, “I'm sorry for not telling you beforehand.”
I could tell by eyeing his face that he was shocked and had a lot to say but in the end he just gave me a pout of his delicious lips and nodded.
“Okay,” he straightened up and fixed my hair by patting my head a little, “I'll let you rest.”
Detaching himself from my body, he scratched his neck and was just turning away when I held his hand and stopped him.
I gestured to him to bend a little so that I could reach his ears and when he did, I squeezed his cheeks and whispered, “Just kidding.”
I winked at him when his mouth hung open but he recovered soon and launched at me like a man on a mission.
Wrapping one arm around my knees and using another to hold my waist, he threw me over his shoulder and began to take long strides towards our bedroom.
“You need to be tamed, you brat,” he threatened as he smacked my butt lightly but I was too busy giggling to be scared of anything. I knew he wouldn't hurt me.
“Good luck,” I challenged him and I knew I was only adding more fuel to his burning lust but did I care?
Absolutely not.
And did I look forward to his erotic assault?
Hella yes.
_________________________________________
This one was long and quite tough to complete but I did it anyway.
Hope this is up to the mark. I have no experience whatsoever in the department of romantic love. This is all my imagination so bear with me if anything seems cliche.
Having said that, I would like to thank all my readers again for showering this book with so much love.
You guys are amazing ❤️