Ibrahim frowned at his mobile irritably when his driver's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, "sir... We've reached." The frown on his face deepened as he eyed the time and nodded at the driver.
"Sorry for making you stay so late at night, Ali bhai. You can take an off tomorrow." the driver sighed inwardly, thankful for the offer. His wife was going to kill him for coming back home so late at night. He also wondered how'd his boss' new wife react to see him working till late at night. It wasn't his business but still, he was curious.
"Thank you, sir." Ibrahim nodded his head whilst suppressing a yawn and got down from the car.
It has been a week since he got married, he stayed back home for five days but his precious office couldn't survive anymore without him, hence he had joined back two days ago, and an issue at the office was driving him nuts. Which also made him kind of regret the two and half weeks break that he took for his marriage.
The word marriage brings a wide smile to his face, making him forget everything for a while.
Being a married man was not very different but only a few changes were made in his routine and now, he had a new person to look after. A new responsibility on his shoulders, which Ibrahim was sure that he can manage. He and she were still in the getting to know each other phase and he was okay with that. They both have mutually agreed to take it slow.
He did marry to be a young father, but Mawra was scared regarding that big step, and he told her it was okay. He can wait. And he will.
Ibrahim was welcomed with silence and darkness as he opened his bedroom door, confusion washed over his face, "Mawra?" he called her name, as he looked into the bathroom and then in the closet, but she was nowhere to be found.
The frown on his face was replaced with a grin as he guessed where she could be, with a shake of his head, he walked towards the library which was on the same floor as his room; very convenient for her. He once heard Mawra mumble to him that the library was her favourite place in the whole house.
Just as he has guessed, the lights in the library were on. But there was complete silence, as he walked in and his breath hitched for a second at the sight in front of him. He had no idea that seeing someone sleep with a book in one hand could be that cute until he saw his wife doing that.
Mawra looked so breathtakingly cute as she held the book tight in her hands even in her sleep, while her body laid on the bean bag, uncomfortably. He took slow steps towards her and bent down to her level. And just gazed at her sleeping face lazily.
Her hair was made in a messy bun, lips pouted cutely and her face had no makeup on. All of this added more to her cuteness. She was so beautiful even when sleeping!
A smile etched on his lips as he continued eyeing her. In the past week, if there is anything interesting which he has learned about her, that would be her sleeping habit. Mawra sleeps like a log. No jokes. Even if an earthquake comes, she'd still be sleeping. He didn't want to exaggerate but it is what it is.
Slowly after taking away the book; The Enemy by Sarah Adams. Ibrahim leaned in to pick her up in his arms, she didn't even flinch nor had any idea of what was happening around her. As he said, she sleeps like a log.
Mawra didn't weigh that much. She was easy to carry. He turned around, as he switched off the lights and fan and gazed down at her sleeping face.
Ibrahim carried her to his room, carefully. Her hair smelled like jasmine and he smiled at that observation.
After placing her on the right side of the bed, he gazed at her adoringly for a moment and then walked into the closet and changed into his nightdress. Ibrahim was too tired for a shower at that time, not caring about throwing his dress in the laundry bag, he strode to his bed and sighed contently as the mattress hits his tired body.
Sleep overtook his eyes as soon as he closed them, and in between the night, his hands goes to hold her close to him while she shifted her body comfortably beside the crook of his neck. A small smile etched on her lips in her sleep as she snuggled more into him.
Everything happened in between their sleep, neither of them had any clue and they were in for a cute surprise the next day.
***
The loud alarm buzzed from under her pillow, which made Mawra groan in annoyance but she blinked open her eyes anyway and blood rushed to her cheeks as soon as she did. For a while, she couldn't even move. Speechless and frozen, she stayed still in his arms.
One because Ibrahim was holding her tightly in his arms, and two because she was so close to him that even his heartbeat was audible. How in the world did they end up in this tangled position?
"Off that stupid thing." his groggy voice snapped her out of the daze and she tried to move her hands but his hold on her was so tight that she couldn't move an inch. "I-Ibrahim..." She called his name meekly, feeling shy of their extreme closeness. They've always maintained some distance, even after being married.
He respected her want for space, time and she was glad that her husband was so understanding. But surprisingly, she didn't feel as uncomfortable as she thought she would. This was rather warm and nice. Being in his arms felt surprisingly so good.
"Ibrahim," she called his name again, he snapped open his eyes and met with the pair of gorgeous brown eyes, looking back at him shyly. He was confused for a moment. Blinking twice, he observed everything and realized their sleeping position. That explained her red cheeks.
"Good morning," he whispered huskily, making her cheeks go on fire once again, she was surprised that he didn't try to pull away immediately. The annoying alarm still rang from under the pillow.
"Morning." her reply was so meek and low. Ibrahim grinned at her teasingly, "how did this happen?"
Looking at their positions only made her blush harder. How was he so cool though?
They've always stayed on their sides while at night and yesterday was totally unexpected. Even Ibrahim was surprised.
"I have no idea." she looked away unable to meet his teasing gaze, "leave m-me. I hate being late."
Mawra was joining back in the office after a month's break. She was eager and excited to get back to work, the past week of being married was good and all. But she missed her job equally. And looked forward to work even if that was so time-consuming and tiring.
"It's literally only seven in the morning." Ibrahim chuckled as he finally removed his hands from her. She blushed furiously, before getting up and dismissing the alarm and turned to look at him, "as you know, I take some time in getting ready, you can get bathed first if you want."
Both of them missed the warmth of being close almost immediately but chose to ignore that feeling.
They smiled at each other and she looked away immediately.
"I'll get bathed first then," he looked thoughtful before going into the bathroom and got ready for the day.
It took him exactly fifteen minutes, Mawra always wondered how can he take such fast showers and still manage to look hot and handsome? Shrugging those thoughts, she walked into the bathroom and took exactly forty-five minutes to get ready.
A grin appeared on her face as she took a final look at herself. She thought her white cotton shirt and blue jeans looked cute on her. Combing her hair in a high ponytail, she matched the outfit with a golden pendant and stud.
"Wow! You really do take a lot of time in getting ready." Ibrahim stated amusedly, as he looked up from the newspaper. He sat comfortably on the sofa and sipped his coffee. One thing Mawra noted in the past week was, he drank a lot of coffee. It was like, he is obsessed with them.
"You should really stop drinking that so much." Mawra chuckled as she looked into her handbag and made sure all her necessities were there for the day.
Ibrahim smiled at the hidden care behind those words. It was a different kind of feeling when he realized his wife cared for him.
"Old habits die hard." he smiled whilst continuing to drink.
"Hmm." she smiled distractedly, as her eyes fell on the bangles in her hands. It was her mooh dikhai gift from him, which he gave on the next day of their marriage. Even if it slightly didn't go well with her outfit, she lets them be.
They looked gorgeous and fit her hands perfectly well.
"I almost forgot, how did I get back to bed last night? I was in the library, right?" Mawra questioned him curiously, as he placed the empty mug on the coffee table and looked up at her, "you were sleeping when I came home last night."
"And when exactly did you come?" She raised her brows, "it might be somewhere around two. I carried you here." he replied with a sheepish smile. She would have blushed, had it been some other day, but there were other important things to ask now.
"Caught the culprit?" There was a concern in her voice, recently their company's main system has been hacked by some enemy and few important information was stolen by them. Ibrahim had to cut short his holidays and get back to work, he was furious with his IT staffs for letting it happen so easily and was working hard on finding who it was, and what exactly did they steal.
"We are almost there. Nothing to worry about." his smile didn't reach his eyes.
On the other hand, Ibrahim was glad that she didn't whine about him being late, rather understood how important it was for him to be there at the office. Mawra even insisted that she'd join along with him, but he denied for the sake of his mother, lest she'd kill him.
Her offer was really tempting though. It would have been a lot easier with his assistant beside him, to pass on the information and call someone for him. But he adjusted for Salika's sake. His mother was so against the idea of him going back to the office so soon after marriage. He can imagine her reaction if he said Mawra wanted to work as well. It took a lot of coaxing for Mawra to join back today.
"You'll find out soon, don't worry." "Shall we have breakfast?" Looking at the time only made Mawra panic. Her obsession with reaching the places on time has been driving her crazy for years, but she couldn't help it. And it would also help him distract his mind somehow, so it was a win-win.
"Sure..." Since it was her first day at work after their marriage, Ibrahim had no clue about her crazy obsession.
***
"Where and how did you find that girl?" Usmaan's sister, Fariha asked her sister in law, "I mean she is not even equal to our status."
"What did you even see in her?" It was a clear truth that Fariha disliked Mawra for some weird reasons, Salika just smirked in return, "anyone is better than your daughter. Mawra is perfect for my Ibrahim."
Salika and her sister in law had an unsaid cold war. And she knew how Fariha always tried to lure Ibrahim with her daughter. There was no way that she'd let it happen. The smirk on her face only widened as Fariha's face turned into a scowl.
"Good morning, mom. Morning, phopho." Ibrahim greeted the ladies as he took his seat on the dining table.
"Morning, aunty." Mawra smiled at them both, as they sat side by side. Only Salika returned the smile though. Fariha came to visit them yesterday evening and she didn't have much chance to talk with her, more like her mother in law didn't let them both talk about anything. So, she is yet to know the real Fariha.
"Is that what your mother taught you?" Fariha's face scrunched in disgust, as she eyed Mawra from head to toe, who blinked in confusion, "wow, bhabhi. Look at your daughter in law's guts. Wearing such cheap clothes and roaming shamelessly in the house. Where is your dupatta?"
Wearing western clothes is highly frowned upon in some desi families, and Fariha belonged to that category. Mawra clenched her fist, trying her best not to snap back, considering Fariha was her elder.
"Fariha. Stop talking nonsense. My daughter in law looks good in everything, Masha Allah. If her husband doesn't have a problem then we shouldn't too." Salika replied with a smile, making Fariha fume.
"How can that be okay? Go and change, you shameless girl." Fariha was still very adamant.
Mawra glared at the lady in front of her, "what I wear and what I don't wear is none of your business, aunty."
"How dare you!" She flinched at the loud yell but maintained her composure.
"How dare you disrespect me? Do you even know who I am?"
"Enough!" Ibrahim yelled irritably, "you can be whoever you want to be, phopho. But you have no rights to ask Mawra to change her dress, in my house. It is totally her choice and as her husband, I give her all rights to wear whatever she wants. As long as it covers her properly, I don't see what the problem is." Fariha flinched by the end and threw daggers at a grinning Salika and frozen Mawra
"We will have breakfast out today, mom," he announced before standing up and gave one last look at his aunt, who was fuming in anger. Nothing could change her, he thought with a sigh and grabbed his wife's hands and walked out of the dining hall. And she followed him behind without saying any word as a small smile etched on her lips.
Mawra's respect for Ibrahim has grown to a whole new level after what just happened. Damn... How did she get so lucky?