Samiha's P.O.V
I woke up and checked my phone for the time. It was quarter to eight. I was used to waking up early for work, but now I had resigned. Asif was fast asleep. I quickly got up and went to the shower to get ready. As the warm water hit my body, I started recalling last night's events.
The car ride from home to here was awkward to say the least. We didn't talk to each other at all. When we finally got here, Asif wordlessly opened the trunk of his car, revealing my suitcase and walked away, leaving me behind. I quickly pulled it out and followed him, carrying it. I knew Samaah and Arif had just arrived but I couldn't wait for her as I needed to catch up with Asif. When we got to the house, he took the staircase with me behind him. He then led me to his room, which was bedroom 2.
When he opened the door, I did a double take. This room was way bigger than the size of mine, Saamih's and mum's room combined. It was beautiful, with its cream and light brown colour scheme. The floor was covered in a brown velvet carpet. There was a huge king-sized bed. There was an ensuite bathroom, a small snack-bar, a cream and brown velvety sofa set, a nice cabinet containing what looked like souvenirs and a lot of other interesting things. What caught my attention was the fact that Asif's room did not contain one, nor two, but three walk-in wardrobes. He had the regular closets, but along with that, he had three walk-in wardrobes! I resisted the urge to open them and see just how many clothes he owned. Arif had said that Asif was obsessed with brands but whoa! He probably had enough clothes to clothe the whole population of the town!
When I looked around for Asif, he was nowhere in sight. Then suddenly, the bathroom door opened, and he walked out, dressed in what looked like designer pajamas. I held back an eye-roll and opened my suitcase to take out my own pajamas. Mum had bought Samiha and I some new pretty pajamas. I was glad they were decent. I changed in his bathroom and came out, only to see him fast asleep. I turned off the light and climbed on the soft, comfortable bed, falling into a deep sleep.
When I woke up for Fajr, I was surprised to see Asif already awake and praying. I performed ablution and prayed as well. By the time I finished, he was already back in bed. I joined him and fell asleep.
Clearly, it was an uneventful night. We didn't speak to each other at all. I dressed up after my shower and went downstairs hoping that I don't get lost in the massive house. Luckily, I didn't. One of the maids guided me to the dining hall where we were supposed to eat breakfast. When I entered, my in-laws were about to leave, but when they saw me, they sat back down.
"Assalamualeikum Mr and Mrs. Hamid," I greeted them.
"Wa'alaykumsalaam dear. How are you?," they replied.
"Alhamdulillah." I answered.
"Please don't call us Mr and Mrs Hamid please. Call us mum and dad. We told your sister that too," Mrs. Hamid said.
"Oh, Samaah has gone to uni? Who dropped her?" I asked.
"She drove herself there. We gave her a car. And we are even going to give you one," Mr. Hamid.
"Oh my! Jazakallah, mum, dad! I really appreciate!" I said, unable to hold my excitement.
They both smiled warmly.
"Um, what should I cook for lunch? I thought since Samaah goes to uni, I should take over the responsibility of cooking lunch, and dinners sometimes, since Samaah may get tired when she gets back. She can cook dinner occasionally though. So what would you like to eat?" I ranted.
"Samiha, dear. You don't need to cook. Our cooks cook here," Mrs. Hamid said.
"Oh," I said, the disappointment clear in my voice.
"What happened, Samiha? Do you want to cook? You can cook if you want, but only if you want to. Remember, you and your sisters are princesses now. So you don't have to worry about doing anything, but you are free to do whatever you want. You can cook lunch today, I'd actually love to try your food," my mother-in-law said.
"Great! What should I cook?" I asked.
"How about something of your husband's choice?" She replied, her eyes glinting with mischief.
"Actually, cook some Indo-Chinese dish. Asif would like that," my father-in-law said. He noticed my discomfort at the thought of asking Asif what he would like to eat.
"Thanks dad. I will cook that then," I answered.
After eating breakfast, I asked my mother-in-law to show me the kitchen and she took me to one of the kitchens and showed me around.
"Samiha dear, you can ask the cook Mr. Suhail for help in case you need anything. He'll just be here," she said, and left the kitchen.
I got to work, wishing that Samaah was there. We always loved cooking together. I was glad Chinese cuisine was my specialty but I had to cook an Indo-Chinese dish. I had settled on preparing chicken schezwan with chicken fried rice and hakka noodles for the main course, and as for the starters, hot and sour soup and vegetable spring rolls.
"Mrs. Asif, what do you think about dessert?" Mr. Suhail asked me.
"Is there Vanilla ice cream? I was thinking maybe ice cream with lychees." I answered.
"That sounds good. And by the way, Mrs. Asif, you are an amazing cook. I feel embarrassed before you," he replied. I laughed and shook my head.
By noon, I was just adding finishing touches when my mother-in-law walked in.
"Samiha, darling. Is the food ready? Asif just woke up right now. He doesn't usually eat breakfast because he wakes up at lunch time. So he's at the table with his father and brother waiting for lunch," she said.
"Yes, mum. I'm done actually. I just have to take these things to the table," I said, gesturing to the food.
"Oh don't worry about that. The maids will bring them. You come with me," she replied.
As we walked, we started talking.
"You know Samiha, look at Asif. I know he's my prince, but he's way too spoilt. I didn't think that because we would have wealth Alhamdulillah, my sons would end up becoming the way they are. My daughters are certainly not like that. But those two, they've let this money get to their heads. They both have hearts of gold, but are too spoilt," she paused. "You know, we wanted them to get married for their own good. You and your sister can change them," she finished.
"How?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Honey, if there is anyone that can manipulate a person, it would be their spouse. I knew that Naila had given you and your sister excellent upbringing so I couldn't think of anyone better than you two for my twins. So you can change them for the better," she answered.
"Let's hope, mum," I muttered.
"Just look, your husband is so lazy. He just woke up right now. You need to change that. You need to wake him up early. He needs to shape up, dear," she continued. "Samiha, regarding Asif, I leave it to you to change him. Please," she looked at me, her eyes pleading with me. The amount of care and love she had in her heart for her sons was evident. She was an amazing person. I couldn't possibly tell her that her son didn't talk to me at all, and how much I disliked him, leave alone how impossible it would be for me to change him, so I just nodded slowly.
"I'll try my best, mum. In sha Allah," I said to her and she beamed at me.
"Here we are, sweetheart." She said, and gestured for me to get inside one of the dining rooms. I did and she entered behind me.
My father-in-law was sitting at the head of the table, with Arif and Asif sitting on either side of him. I took a seat next to Asif and my mother-in-law sat next to me. The maids came and placed the dishes on the table. Everyone served themselves and began eating. Asif was the first to speak.
"Mmm," he moaned. "This food is too good! My favourite! Mr. Suhail hardly cooks Indo-Chinese and even when he does, it's never this good!"
"Asif, your wife cooked today. Not Mr Suhail," his mother told him.
His head snapped to me and I concentrated hard on my food, avoiding his gaze.
When we were done, my parents-in-law and even Arif praised the cooking, but Asif didn't say anything now that he knew it was me who cooked, but I could tell from the satisfied look on his face that he enjoyed the food more than anyone else and I had a strange feeling of satisfaction.
○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○
Apparently, Asif is even more infuriating since he didn't even say a word to his wife, not that she wants to talk to him herself.
Some requests: please give this story a chance, and please vote and comment.
It's night-time here, so goodnight all, and I'll update tomorrow.