Saad's pov:

What are we supposed to do when we realise that our doom is near and we have no chance of escaping it? That was my first thought the moment we got to know that bhabi called about an hour ago. Oh and she got to know about our 'emergency' and what we were doing all along. But I think even that wasn't the worst part yet.

Alayna had informed us happily that the way bhabi told her not to disturb us sweetly was so nice. I think that, was the worst part. I mean, what could be worse than knowing that she didn't even get angry at us or ask her to hand over the phone to bhai or me and yell at us but just stayed calm? It's called the calm before the storm. And we should have been ready for it from the start.

But alas, here we were! Pacing around the room trying to call bhabi, but she wouldn't pick up her call. As bhai tried to call for the umpteenth time, I paced in front of the bed, eyeing the kids as they continued to giggle while running around. They seriously didn't have any worries, right? But I couldn't even blame them. They weren't the one who planned to lie and come here to watch the match.

"Yaar chote! Zara calls nahi utha rahi hai. Ab kya karu mai?" Popping his head in the room with stress lines visible on his forehead, he asked me, worried.

(God! Zara isn't picking up my calls. What should I do now?)

"Pata nahi bhai. Unlog abhi bhi wahi honge kya?" I asked uncertainly, being confused myself.

(I don't know. Will they still be there?)

"I doubt that. Bohot der ho gai hai uski call aaye hue. And wo log to yaha bhi nahi aaye. To pata nahi kaha gaye honge." He replied while shaking his head in concern.

(I doubt that. It has been so long since she called. And they didn't even come here. So I have no idea where they might have gone.)

"Bhai sab aapki galti hai. Aapne apna phone apne paas kyu nahi rakha?" I complained with a groan. If he would have kept his mobile with him, then maybe we wouldn't have been in such a big mess.

(It's all your fault. Why didn't you keep your phone with you?)

"Chotu tumhe bhi pata hai ke mere mobile ki battery khatam ho gayi thi. Lekin tumhare mobile me to battery thi na, to tumne kyu nahi rakha?" He retorted with a sigh while checking something on his phone.

(You also know that my battery died. But your mobile had charging, right? So why didn't you keep your mobile with you?)

"Bhai aapko bhi pata hai ke maine wo mobile bacchon ko kyu diya tha. To it's not my fault either!" I replied in a tired voice.

(You also know why I gave my mobile to kids. So it's not my fault either!)

"Haa, wo bhi hai. Aur yaar inn bacchon ko aur koi kaam nahi hai kya? Yaha hamari zindagi line par lagi hui hai aur ye log khel rahe hai!" He whined, staring at them with a scowl.

(Yeah, you are right. And man, don't these kids have any other work? Here my life is on line and they are playing!)

"You can't blame them either bhai. Inn sab me unki kya galti hai?" Shaking my head, I replied dejectedly.

(What's their fault in this mess?)

"Ufff. Mera dimaag phat raha hai." He groaned while looking away and clutching his head.

(God! My mind is going to burst.)

"At least it's better than having your head broken by bhabi." I muttered, looking away at Alayna. She was trying to tie Amira's hair now.

"This isn't the time to joke around chote. Although you are right." Bhai retorted, muttering the last part.

"I'm always right." I replied smugly.

"Choteeee!" He stressed as a warning, glaring at me.

(Little one!)

"I think we should go and check out the grocery store and the shops around there before heading to Amira's home." I suggested, thinking about it. Maybe they decided to roam the shops around there? Or maybe they already headed home. But we couldn't take any risk so it was better for us to check out the stores first before heading home.

"Hmm... Most probably. Good idea. Chalo phir, let's get going." He replied, a faraway look on his face as he stared at the wall in front of him before looking at me. His gaze flicked behind me and an involuntary groan escaped his lips as she squeezed his eyes shut while shaking his head. "Aur yaar inn bacchon ko taiyyar karo. Inhe aise dekh kar mujhe ajeeb si feeling aa rahi hai."

(Okay then, let's get going.)
(And man get these kids ready. I'm feeling weird watching them like this.)

"Now don't be jealous of them bhai." I muttered with a small smile, turning to look behind me.

"I'm not being jealous, I'm envious." He murmured furiously while turning around to head out of the room.

"Bhaiii!"

(Brother!)

"Okay okay, I'm just kidding! Ya Allah, please help us!" Laughing, he replied.

"Aameen." I murmured silently while staring at his back before turning to look back at the kids. Time to get them ready and drop them at their respective homes! And also to head back to our home because I was already sure that today bhabi would be too angry to let bhai enter their room.

._._._.

"I can't believe they are nowhere around here. Where did they even go?!" Bhai exclaimed, frustrated, as he slammed his hand on the steering wheel.

"I seriously have no idea bhai." I replied while looking out of the window, trying to find them.

"Are you sure we checked each and every store around here?" Turning to look at me, he asked me uncertainly.

"Yes bhai, I'm sure." I replied, now turning to face him.

"Then how can we miss them if they are here only!" He groaned, hitting his head on the steering wheel.

"How are you so sure that they are here only?" I inquired curiously.

"I'm not?" He muttered, which came out more like a question.

"Then let's head to Amira's house, maybe they went there because it was getting late?" I suggested after thinking about it for a while.

"Maybe. I just hope that they are actually there." He replied, taking his head off the steering wheel and starting the car once again.

"They will be there In Sha Allah." I muttered hopefully, concern lacing my voice. Finding this silence odd, I glanced at the back seat, just to see Alayna and Amira about to doze off. They must have been extremely tired.

._._._.

Praying that she should be at home and that ammi shouldn't have returned by now, I rang the doorbell. Bhai was in the car with Alayna, waiting for me to return while Amira dozed off, holding my hand and leaning her head on it. Just as I was about to ring the doorbell once again, the door opened with a very worried Atifa standing on the other side.

As soon as her gaze landed on us, a relieved sigh escaped her lips before the worried look took over her features once again. Glancing behind her, she quickly grabbed Amira's hand and pulled her inside. I was just about to ask her what the matter was while taking a step ahead when she pushed me back, a terrified look on her face.

"Ya Allah, what are you even trying to do?! Do you have a death wish or something?" She whisper shouted, glancing behind her. "And Amira, don't sleep now! Go and change into something else before ammi watches you like this!" Looking at Amira, she said before ushering her to go in. I saw her lazily strolling to their room.

"What's wrong?" I asked her while kitting my eyebrows, confused.

"Ammi is here. And I will take care of you later on. Now go!" She replied fiercely, an angry look taking over her features.

"Oh. I-" I was about to say something when shaking her head with wide eyes, she quickly shut the door on my face, making me wince. Wow. Okay. Not only was bhai screwed but even I was. Happy realisation!

May Allah save us both from their warth now. Aameen. I prayed silently.

With wide eyes and a shocked face, I returned back to our car. As soon as I sat down, bhai started the car before driving out of that lane and heading towards our home.

"Why do you look like that?" Bhai inquired curiously while glancing at me sideways.

"Look like what?" Coming out of my trance, I asked him, confused.

"Like you just saw a ghost." He replied after a while, his face scrunched up in a thinking one.

"Oh... I don't know about that, but we are actually doomed. Only Allah can save us now bhai. Seriously." I replied while shaking my head and covering my face with my hands.

"Okay, what happened? Why are you talking like that?" He asked, sounding a bit scared.

"Her ammi was home." Rubbing my hands on my face, I replied in a tired voice.

"Oh shit! Ya Allah, are you sure about that?!" The car screeched to a halt, making me jerk forward.

"Ya Allah bhai! Aaram se!" I groaned, glaring at him. "And yeah, I'm sure about it." I added, looking away.

"Sorry." He replied sheepishly before starting to drive once again. "She saw you or what?" He inquired skeptically.

"Nothing like that alhamdulillah, but yeah... I guess she suspected about Amira." I replied uncertainly, knitting my brows in confusion.

"Allah hi khair kare ab to." He muttered under his breath while shaking his head.

(May Allah have mercy on us now.)

._._._.

"Why were you guys so late?" Mama asked us when we were sitting on the dining table later that night, starting our dinner.

"Kuch nahi mama, bas aise hi thoda raasta bhatak gaye the hum." Glancing at bhai, I replied absent-mindedly with double meanings behind my words.

(Nothing mom, we just lost our way for a while.)

"Accha. Lekin ye batao, Zara tumlogo ke saath kyu nahi aayi? Tumlogo ne use akele kaise aane de diya, haa? Kya yahi sikhaya hai maine tum logo ko, ke aise hi ek ladki ko akele ghar aane ke liye chod dete hai? I'm so disappointed, really. I don't even know what to say. You guys should know better than this." Mama scolded us, ranting on. And she had a point. We shouldn't have done anything like that in the first place.

(I see. But tell me, why didn't Zara come with you guys? How can you guys let her come back alone? Is this what I have taught you both, that we should just leave a girl alone to come back home?)

"Jee mama. Hame pata hai. It was our mistake and we are sorry..." Looking down, bhai replied.

(Yes mom. We know.)

"Mujhe sorry bolne se kya hoga? Usse jaake maafi maango na, mere se kyu maang rahe ho. Aur agli baar se aisa kuch nahi hona chahiye, warna dekh lena. Anjaam accha nahi hoga." She replied sternly, glaring at us.

(What will happen by saying sorry to me? Go and apologise to her, not to me. And nothing like this should happen again, or else it won't be good for you both.)

"Jee mama. We will apologise to her." I replied, giving her a small smile.

(Okay mom.)

"Hmm... Waise wo kaha hai abhi?" She asked us with furrowed eyebrows, looking around.

(By the way where is she?)

"Pata nahi, shayad kitchen me hogi." Bhai replied, unsure about it himself.

(I don't know, maybe in the kitchen.)

"Accha..." She hummed, turning her attention back to her food. "Waise tum logo ko yaad haina ke kal kaha jaana hai? To yaad se jaldi ghar aa jaana." After a while, she broke the silence around us with another remark.

(I see.)
(By the way you guys remember where we have to go tomorrow, right? So come back early.)

I was lost in my thoughts, a smile playing on my lips as I reminisced today's events, the good one's obviously when mama's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Kaha?" Taking a bite of my food, I asked her, getting confused.

(Where?)

"Ya Allah, how can you forget? Shanzay ke ghar jaana haina, bhul gaye?" She exclaimed, a frown forming on her face at my question.

(We have to go to Shanzay's house, remember?)

"Oh..." I had totally forgotten about it. And honestly, I didn't want to think about it even now. But I couldn't just ask her to stop talking about it because then, she would again ask me questions and I didn't know how to answer them.

"Waise wo subah subah aayi to thi hamare ghar. Kitni pyaari lag rahi thi, dekha tha na tumne use Saad?" She added with a smile, making me lose my appetite as I thought about that encounter. Couldn't she just leave that topic alone?

(By the way, she did come here in the morning. She was looking beautiful, you saw her, right Saad?)

"Kya? Wo subah subah idhar aai thi?" Bhabi asked her, shocked, disbelief clear in her voice as she entered the room with a bowl.

(What? She came here in the morning?)

"Haa. Bohot pyaari lag rahi thi Ma Sha Allah. Saad ne bataya nahi tum logo ko?" She asked, looking at me with a raised brow.

(Yes. She was looking beautiful. Saad didn't tell you guys?)

"Lekin kyu aai thi? I mean, kuch kaam tha ya aise hi aayi thi?" Bhabi asked, knitting her brows and sitting beside bhai.

(But why was she here? I mean, was there some work or she just visited?)

"Pata nahi. Shayad Saad ko office ki kuch files dene aayi thi, haina Saad?" She asked me uncertainly. But why was she even asking me all this, couldn't she just tell them herself?

(I don't know. Maybe she was here to give some office files to Saad, right?)

"Jee mama." Swallowing my food, I replied quietly. I was starting to get irritated by these talks.

(Yes mom.)

"Dekha kitni mehnat karti hai wo. Mai bata rahi hu, hamare Saad ke liye to bilkul perfect hai. Tum logo ko kya lagta hai?" She remarked happily, making me clench my jaw as I fisted my hands.

(See how hard working she is. I'm telling you guys, she is perfect for Saad. What do you guys think?)

"Pata nahi Maria. Abhi se hum ye sab kaise bata dein. Wo to ab Allah hi jaanta hai ke kon kiske liye perfect hai. To tum itni umeedein mat baandho iss rishte se. Abhi tak to kuch baat bhi nahi hui hai." When no one replied anything for a while, baba interjected, glancing at me before shaking his head while I forced myself to finish the food on my plate quickly so that I could leave.

(We don't know Maria. How can we decide this so soon? Only Allah knows who is perfect for whom. So don't have this many expectations from this alliance. We haven't even talked to them yet.)

"Uffoo Faisal! Mujhe pata hai. Lekin mai bata rahi hu na, inn dono ki bohot jamegi." Mama insisted, beaming at him.

(God Faisal! I know that. But I'm telling you, they will be perfect for each other.)

"Mera khana ho gaya. Mujhe office ka kaam pura karna hai to mai jaa raha hu." Just as she said that, I slammed the glass on the table - the noise echoing a bit too loudly then intended - before walking away.

(I'm done. I have to complete some office work so I'm going now.)

"Dekho Maria, tumhe dikhai nahi de raha hai ke Saad ko iss rishte me koi dilchasbi nahi hai? Lekin phir bhi tum ek hi topic ko baar baar upar laa rahi ho." As soon as I left the room, I heard baba's booming voice ringing in the room as he slammed the table angrily, making me halt at my spot.

(Can't you see that Saad doesn't have any interest in this alliance, Maria? But still, you keep talking about the same topic again and again.)

"Now why are you getting angry? I can clearly see that. But don't worry, jab ek baar wo usse mil lega aur jaan lega to mana nahi kar paiyega." I squeezed my eyes shut at her reply, the urge to bang my head somewhere was strong but instead, I continued to walk away, towards my room.

(But don't worry, when he will get to know her once, he won't be able to reject her.)

"Karte raho jo tumko karna hai phir. Don't ask me anything on this matter until and unless he agrees himself. Just because he doesn't say anything and agrees to whatever you say, doesn't mean that he will be happy with every decision of yours. Get..." I could faintly hear baba replying to her angrily before I closed the door shut, drowning his voice out.

(Then keep doing whatever you want to do...)

Sighing, I closed my eyes before taking a deep breath. I never wanted my parents to argue because of me, but alas, look at the situation in which I was stuck! I had no idea how to get out of it without hurting some people's feelings.

._._._.

I was going through a file, trying to complete my pending office work when I heard a knock on the door. Inquisitively, I looked up, already troubled by my messy thoughts.

"What are you doing here?" Raising a brow, I asked him.

"Aaah chote! Yaar maine kabhi socha bhi nahi tha ke wo mere saath kabhi aisa bhi karegi." Bhai groaned, coming inside the room and plopping on my bed, a pillow clutched in his hands.

(God man! I never even thought that she would do something like this with me.)

"And what exactly are you talking about?" I asked, knitting my brows in confusion.

"The fact that your bhabi kicked me out of our room. I'm talking about that. I still can't believe she did that." He complained with a scowl before closing his eyes.

"Oh... Wow... Bhai..." I couldn't stop the laughter which escaped my lips after that. She seriously did that?! Even I couldn't believe it. But given the situation which we created, I couldn't blame her, and that punishment wasn't too much either.

"Don't laugh, chote! Agar tumhari biwi abhi yaha hoti to tumhara bhi yahi haal hota." He whined with a pout, looking at me with narrowed eyes.

(If your wife would have been here then even you would have been in the same situation.)

"I- I don't think... so bhai..." I managed to reply in between my laughing session, making him shake his head in return.

"Mujhe bhi yahi lagta tha shaadi se pehle. Aaj tak yahi lagta tha. Lekin aaj dekh liya na kya hua." He muttered with a sullen face and voice, looking away. 

(Even I used to think the same. Until today I thought the same. But look what happened today.)

"Bhai..." I continued to chuckle, trying to suppress it too. "I think this is still a small punishment for doing such a thing. And knowing bhabi, I wonder how are you still fit and fine or how come she didn't do anything else. Or anything worse." I added after a while, looking at him from my laptop.

"Or maybe, this is just the starting..." He muttered, horror clearly visible on his face.

"Ya Allah bhai! You are right! This could be just the starting and now the real torture will start." I exclaimed, horrified. He had a point. "Don't tell me I will have to share my room with you from now on." I groaned as another thought entered my mind, making me throw my head back on the couch.

"Oh hello! Agar ye meri punishment ki shuruat hai to what's your punishment? Huh?" He snapped, turning his face to glare at me enviously.

(Oh hello! If this is the starting of my punishment then what's your punishment? Huh?)

"Honestly, I don't know..." I mumbled, thinking about it.

"It will be so unfair if you don't get any punishment and only I suffer. Because un dono ko akela to hum dono ne mil kar choda tha na." He said, throwing his head back and leaning on his arms placed behind him.

(Because we left them both alone.)

"Excuse me bhai, it was all your plan. I wasn't involved in it." I protested with a frown taking over my features.

"Oh really? You weren't?" He retorted in disbelief.

"Okay, maybe I was involved a bit. But it was your plan." Thinking about it over, I muttered.

"A bit?" He questioned, glancing at me.

"Okay whatever. Now just let me complete this presentation." I replied while sitting straight. Not wanting to argue about it more.

"It's not whatever. Complete it fast and turn off the lights." He muttered in annoyance before laying down on the bed.

I hummed, trying to concentrate on my work once again.

Sighing in frustration, I ran my hand through my hair before squeezing my eyes shut. I couldn't focus on the work, my mind was troubled by thinking about what would happen tomorrow and how was I supposed to ask her forgiveness.

Getting fed up with myself, I slammed my laptop shut before keeping it on the coffee table in front of me. Standing up, I rushed towards the cupboard to take out some stuff.

"Ya Allah what happened?! Where are you going now?" Startled, bhai inquired curiously, sitting up on the bed.

"I can't concentrate on my work even after trying so hard. I'm just going to go out now." I muttered, taking out my hoodie.

"But where? And that too this late at night?" He frowned while narrowing his eyes at me.

"Oh, you know where." Turning around, I smirked at him.

"Wha- oh. Good luck with that chotu. Iss kamre ki khidki tumhare liye khuli hai agar kuch... masla ho to." With mirth glimmering in his eyes, he replied.

(The window of this room is open for you if... there's some problem.)

"Jee shukriya bhai, but I don't think I will need it." I muttered, heading to the dressing table to comb my hair.

(Okay thank you,)

"Wo to baad me hi pata chalega." He retorted, amused.

(We will get to know about that later on.)

"Exactly! To abhi se kuch mat sochiye." I replied, going back to fetch my shoes.

(Exactly! So don't think about it now.)

"Theek hai. Dekhte hai." Laying back on the bed, he replied lazily.

(Okay. Let's see.)

"Thank you for understanding." I replied sarcastically, tying my shoelace.

"Lights off karte hue jaana aur dhyaan se bach bach ke jaana." He called out as I headed towards the window.

(Turn off the lights while going and be careful.)

"Okay. Cover up for me, will you?" I replied while turning off the switch.

"Yeah sure, don't worry about it. I'm just happy that I got the whole bed to myself today, after such a long time." He replied in a tired voice, snuggling in my comforters. Only if I wouldn't have planned to go, would I have told him what a crime it was to snuggle like that.

"Yeah, enjoy." I muttered, opening the window. The warm air hit my face, reminding me that it was still summer and I would surely sweat while wearing this hoodie. "Allah hafiz."

"Allah hafiz." And with that, I jumped out of the window, making a run towards my destined destination.

._._._.

▪ What do you think will happen now? Will Atifa let him in or will he have to return back home just like bhai said.

And if your husband becomes this careless, even for once, and maybe by some mistake or misunderstanding, then what will you do?

._._._.