SURPRISEEE!!!!!!!!!
AASSSALLAMUALAIKUM EVERYONE:)
UNEDITED CHAPTER
ENJOY;)
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The presence of Aariz in the car was making Laiba feel kind of claustrophobic and to top it all, his tough demeanour was making it only worse. She couldn't believe how the dude had just made it clear for her that she was not as welcomed for him as she was to the rest of his family. Although, she knew not everyone was going to like her but it still felt bad to be not liked. Fortunately, Urooba turned out to be too good for a companion and way too friendly for someone meeting for the first time. All the way to the stores, she constantly kept talking about everything and nothing, which, Laiba was actually grateful for as it was just her who was filling the silence otherwise neither Aariz nor Laiba had said a word since they had started off.
Amidst one of her stories, Urooba's cellphone started ringing. Her face beamed as she saw the caller ID, "I gotta take this Laiba...excuse me." She said to Laiba with a cheeky smile before answering the call.
Laiba nodded at her and involuntarily, moved her eyes towards the rear view mirror. To her misery, even Aariz simultaneously eyed the rear view mirror only to find Laiba looking at him. Her breath hitched at their eye contact and she quickly looked away but not before noticing his scornful eyes that were narrowing at her. Her heart beats betrayed her again and she found herself holding her breath for what she did not know. She hugged herself and stared out of the window, feeling intimidated by his smouldering gaze.
Fifteen minutes later, the car stopped outside a huge, ostentatious looking bridal-wear showroom. Laiba got out of the car with Urooba and breathed with relief when Aariz drove past them right after dropping them at the stores. "Here we go," Urooba smiled at her which she returned effortlessly. "Ready for the dress hunt???" She raised her eyebrow at her, stopping in front of the glass door which was held open by a guard.
"Totally!" Laiba said as they entered the stores together, laughing.
It took them two hours to finally find the right dress for Laiba. That too, it was Urooba's choice and not hers. She settled for it merely because she was too irritated and tired between the constant visits to the trial room and trying out heavy dresses. She was just not used to shopping and it was always Sarah who brought her dresses. Urooba liked the dress and that was more than enough as she wanted nothing more than to just go back home and sleep.
"You sure you like this dress, don't you?"
"You no need to be formal with me, remember that."
"Honey! You sure are satisfied with this dress, aren't you?" Urooba kept asking her and she made it sure to convince her that she liked the dress as much as Urooba did. "It's great. I love it. I'm sure we can't find anything better than this." She said to her sister-in-law, convincingly.
"I know right!" Urooba squealed, hugging the blush coloured lehenga and rocking herself right to left like it was a baby. Laiba smiled at her childishness, finding it really cute. Lucky are those who are completely oblivious to the dark side of the world. They are the ones who are capable of confining a trait in them as such of a child, away from all the cruelties of the world. Some people may find immaturity unimpressive but not Laiba. For her, immaturity was like a dream, a wish that she had never experienced what she had experienced and stayed happy and carefree as a child forever.
"Okay! So this is it!" Urooba's voice brought her back from the reverie, "I'm getting this packed, what do you say?" She asked, handing the dress back to the salesperson.
"Sure," Laiba shrugged.
After paying the bill, Urooba left Laiba at the counter as she had to make a call. That is when she saw the dress, the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. She went up towards it with twinkling eyes and halted in front of the dressed mannequin, completely in awe. Laiba quickly turned around, "Excuse me!" She summoned a salesperson and asked them for the dress. She took the dupatta and elegantly wore it over her head as she stared at herself in the wall mirror. Her whole face lit up at what she saw. This is it, she thought, biting a smile. She was sure Urooba will like it and would not mind if she exchanged the dress. She walked up to the counter and told the manager, "I would like to exchange the dress I bought just now."
"I'm afraid that's not possible, mam." He said apologetically, referring to the board that read, 'No Exchange'
Laiba's smiled vanished in a second, she felt her heart sinking. "Are you sure you can't do anything about it? I really like this dress." She tried to convince him but he only shook his head in negative.
"My apologies. We don't bend our rules for any customer." He lowered his head in courtesy.
Laiba opened her mouth to say something but closed the next second as she realised, nothing she was going to say would work there. She sighed defeatedly, the overwhelming feeling of loss suddenly wearing on her.
"Pack the dress." A men voice ordered from her back.
Laiba snapped her head at the voice, startled, only to be stunned when she found Aariz standing there. He nonchalantly moved forward and leaned against the counter, leaving a good five steps space between them. She gaped at him, wearing a bewildered expression on her face, wondering from how long he was in the stores.
And she really needed to stop reacting the way she does every time he is around, she thought.
"Wh-what was that for?" Laiba blinked at her own voice that came out so hoarse and so foreign. When her throat had dried was out of her mind.
"What?" He replied without looking at her, his eyes on his phone and his fingers working on the screen.
"The dress?" She said after clearing her throat.
"Oh that!" He pocketed his phone and whirled around, resting his elbows on the counter and clasping his hands together as he gave her his full attention. "Consider it your wedding gift." He appraised her with a polite smile, tilting his head towards her, "From your brother-In-law." He added.
Laiba raised her eyebrows and glanced away, finding it weird. Just that morning, he was so indifferent towards her and now, he was her brother-in-law and giving her wedding presents so expensive. It was unsettling and hard to settle for, "That's rather nice of you but I already bought a dress so..thanks." She pressed her lips, looking everywhere but at him.
Aariz turned his head away from her and rolled his eyes, already bored of her. He hated being nice to someone he doesn't feel like being nice to but right then, he kind of had to. He straightened up from the hunched position and turned towards her, "Take it. I know you want to." He simpered, recalling the look on her face when the manager had refused to exchange.
Laiba bit her lip, wishing the ground to open up and swallow her. She couldn't take the dress, not from him or anybody else. It was different accepting it from Urooba because it was a ritual but with Aariz? She just can't. "No, I don't like it anymore. I just realised, it's way too heavy for my liking." She refused outright but Aariz unheard her protests and paid for the dress, adamantly. All she did was, shook her head while eyeing the shopping bags on the counter and wishing for Urooba to return. "Thanks." She said at last, defeatedly, tapping her phone on her palm.
"Sure." He said, leaning his back against the counter and folding his hands. "So.." He started, not sure how to begin the conversation.
"Yeah?" Laiba raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to speak.
"I was thinking.." He grazed a finger against his chin, sporting a pondering look. "Have we met before?" He asked straight forwardly, not knowing any other way to start it up.
Laiba furrowed her eyebrows, "Yeah! You came home last Friday." She said in a matter-of-factly tone, trying to decipher what he was up to?
Aariz shook his head, "Before that, before all of this even started." He traced a finger across his jawline, observing her expressions intently.
Laiba squinted her eyes at his words, "No, I don't think so."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure we haven't met before."
"Then why do I feel like I have seen you before?"
She narrowed her eyes, perplexed. "I don't know?"
"Why are you lying?" He sneered.
"Excuse me?" Laiba widened her eyes, taking offence. She couldn't believe the guy. One second he was super nice and the next second, he was plain rude.
Aariz ran his fingers through his hair, composing himself. After a moment of thought, he looked back at her, "Okay! Let's believe you for now." He began, bobbing his head. "If it was, then why were you so shocked to see me the other day." He arched his eyes as he questioned her, feeling leveraged.
Laiba was completely caught off guard by his question. Her expression contorted into so many shades as if she was caught red handed lying to him.
"You okay?" He dipped his head, watching her from under his eyelashes. He then knew that he was not paranoid and all of it was more than his imagination. There was sure something that Laiba was hiding.
Laiba was panicking but that for a completely different reason. The truth was what she was saying but how was she going to convince him? "Yeah!" She quickly gathered herself, "You-" She paused, rolling her lip in and biting it. There she couldn't tell him why she was shocked to see him and so she searched her brain for something reasonable to tell him. "You reminded me of someone I know." She told him the first thing that came to her mind.
Aariz squinted his eyes, a sly smile making its way on his lips. "Does my brother need to know about this 'Someone' of yours?" He quoted the words, playfully. "Cause, you seemed really surprised." He laughed lightly, knowing well what he was saying and what he was implying. It was all with an intention to get a reaction out of her and Laiba was easily falling for it. She was palpably furious at him right then and Aariz wanted exactly that.
"No! He.doesn't." She grunted the words out, blinking at how agitated she was. At the moment, she was sounding just like him.
Rude.
Aariz had invoked something that seldom came to her and that was anger. She couldn't believe he just indirectly questioned her character. What was he trying to say? That she had an ex? She clenched her fist, nails digging her palm. There was nothing in the world that she hated more than false accusations.
Aariz felt like patting his own back. People show their true faces easily on two occasions; when they are drunk and when they are angry. "Anyway," He nodded, "That only explains why you were shocked to see me but my puzzle remains unsolved." He stretched his hand, straightening up. "Can I ask you something?"
Instead of answering, Laiba turned her face away, feeling a new kind of hatred developing for the guy.
"Just out of curiosity, what's your surname?"
Laiba scoffed, shaking her head. He is crossing his limits, she thought disdainfully.
"You know, since it's not a secret anymore that you are not really Haider Ahmed's daughter. I was thinking what surname you'd prefer on your wedding card?" He was pushing her, well aware that now he had left her on the edge.
Laiba folded her arms and stood straight with all her defence up, "Why don't you ask me what you want you ask?" She asked with a straight face and clenched teeth.
Aariz shrugged, "Fine, your asked for it." He took a step forward tentatively, stuffing both of his hands in his jeans pocket. He halted a two step away from her and lowered his head, "Who are you?" He pronounced, emphasising each word.
Laiba titled her head up and looked at him in the eye, "Wha-what do you mean?" She blinked her eyes with her words, gulping the lump in her throat. His eyes were like sun, that she couldn't hold her gaze longer than a second but she fought it through because she didn't wanted him to know what he was doing to her. She wanted him to believe that she was unaffected by the question that in reality was scaring the hell out of her.
Aariz wasn't sure what he was doing was a right thing to do but since he already started it, there was no going back. He continued staring at her eyes that looked petrified but there was also a gleam of something else that he couldn't recognise. "I want to know who you really are?"
Laiba held her breath in her throat as she stared at his questioning eyes.
"I want to know who your biological father is?" His voice was low and only and only for her ears to hear. "How you're related to Haider Ahmed and how did you end up here?
She felt her eyes burning but she refused to look away.
"Why did those Hamadi's cancel the wedding?"
Every question he asked, hit her like a dart on the board. Every dart hurting her more than the previous one.
"Is there something you are hiding?"
Her heart was banging the walls of her ribs, threatening to bust out.
Aariz frowned and titled his head, "Because nobody really knows anything about you."
She said nothing neither did he. They both just stared at each other in silence.
Aariz? He was trying to decipher her and Laiba?
Laiba was terrified.
Every hair on her body had stood up with the way Aariz's eyes were intently assessing her. Looking for answers. Answers, that she was afraid to give him. Answers, that she never wanted to give away to anybody. Answers, she herself was afraid of. She closed her eyes and reminded herself, 'You don't have to tell him, if you don't want to.'
'You don't have to tell him, if you don't want to.'
'You don't have to tell him, if you don't want to.'
'You don't have to tell him, if you don't want to.'
With that thing her mind, she opened her eyes and found him waiting for an answer. She felt her knees trembling but she still kept her head high as she spoke to him, "Did Zeeshan asked you to ask me all this?"
Aariz leaned away from her, looking away. "Nope!" He sighed, suddenly feeling the tables turning. The hold he had on the conversation, felt like it was gone.
Laiba smiled a satisfied smile, "Then I don't think I owe you an answer." She said as she turned away from him, picking up her purse and cellphone from the counter before walking away.
Aariz clenched his jaw and his fist as he saw her walking towards Urooba, who appeared quiet apologetic. He stood there staring at them with blazing eyes, his fists balled. He kicked the mannequin in utter fury on his way to the door.
Urooba and Laiba, along with everyone else in the shop snapped their head towards the direction of the noise.
"OHMYGODD!!!" Urooba exclaimed as she spotted Aariz exiting the shop, "AARIZZ!!!!" She shouted, waving a hand and running behind him with her forehead creased, worriedly.
Laiba pressed her lips and stood on her place, closing her eyes and shaking her head. A salesperson came and cleared his throat. Laiba turned back and saw him holding the package. The dress, she sighed as she took it from him. As she pushed the door and came out of the stores and into the streets, she felt only exhausted.
Urooba had stopped a cab and was sitting inside, gesturing her to get in. She nodded and took a step forward, hugging the bag closely to her chest. The moment she sat in the cab and shut the door, she felt her chest heavy with guilt.
"He bailed on me. I should have known. This is going straight to dad. How can he leave us like that on the streets??? He's gonna pay for this I'm telling you..." Urooba was non-stop blabbering but Laiba's eyes where fixated on the bag that was on her lap. She stared out of the window and bit her lip, engulfed by the feeling of remorse.
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I'M BACK GUYZ,
I WROTE THIS IN A DAY AND I'M SURE THERE ARE MISTAKES. IT'S JUST THAT I DIDN'T GIVE MUCH IMPORTANCE TO WRITING IN THIS CHAP AS I JUST WANTED TO WRITE THE STORY.
AGAIN, I'M SORRY FOR THE SHITTY WRITING BUT I HOPE YOU LIKED THE CHAPTER?
TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF IT?
ALLAH HAFIZ🙌
LOVE YA❤️
QUASH:)