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Tara

"Zoha?"

"Zoha, beta, kahan khoyi hui hain aap?" Arzoo Aunty asked.

*"Zoha, dear, what are you thinking about so deeply?" Or, 'where are you lost [attention wise]?'

Zoha jumped as she realised that our mother-in-law was talking to her. She had been staring off in the distance, biting her lower lip.

The three of us were seated in Aunty's room, helping her pack, as she and Uncle were going back to Lahore tonight. Zain has dropped me off from our hotel experience earlier in the morning, and now he and Talha Bhai were at their respective work places.

"Aunty, she is newly married. What do you think?" I grinned.

Zoha glared at me and I high-fived Aunty. Yes, I was the girl who high-fived her mother-in-law.

"Of course." Aunty smiled knowingly. "I was often lost in my thoughts when I was newly married."

I laughed hard, as Zoha looked like she was competing with a tomato for its redness.

I really hoped that this awesome relationship lasted between the three of us.

"Arzoo!" We heard Uncle call out.

"Jin ke khayalon main aap rehti thin, woh aap ko yaad kar rahe hain." I teased Aunty, who looked as embarrassed as Zoha, as she lightly slapped my arm and left the room.

*"The person whose thoughts you had lost yourself in, is remembering you."

"You are too much!" My sister shook her head at me, before also heading out of the room.

My eyes widened as I thought of a hilarious plan in my head. A mischievous smile appeared on my face.

****

"Aap agayein hain?" I kept my gaze lowered and twisted the dupatta between my fingers, like I was shy or nervous.

*"You're here?"

"What the f**k?"  The words seemed to unintentionally slip out of his mouth as Zain looked at me like I had lost my mind, as he entered our bedroom after work that evening.

I was wearing a dupatta draped over my head, over my blue and white flannel trousers and white tank top. Sometimes I wondered why my mind was so weird.

"Are you feeling okay?" He pressed the back of his hand against my forehead. 

"Na dekhain aise. Sharam aati hai." I covered my face with my dupatta. 

*"Don't look at me like that. I feel shy."

"You feel shy by the look of bewilderment and concern?" He asked. "Because that's what I'm feeling right now." 

"Hai! Aap ki har baat mujhe romantic lagti hai." I tilted my head back, looking up at him, fluttering my eyes.

*"Oh! Everything you say sounds romantic to me." 

"You didn't have some medication that made you high, did you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Sadqay jaaon. Kitne handsome hain aap, Ma Sha Allah!" I put my hands over my face.

*Sadqay jaaon: Said in a figurative sense, and means that someone is willing to sacrifice themselves for the wellbeing of another.
"You are so handsome, Ma Sha Allah!"

"I'm going to take you to the hospital. You're clearly not well." He headed into the room and set his laptop bag down onto the desk, before pulling off his work blazer. 

"Biwi ki doori bardaasht nahin hoti, aur uske pyar se darr lagta hai." I was fighting hard to stop myself from bursting out laughing.

*"You can't bear being seperate from your wife, and you're afraid of her love."

"You can't live with her, you can't live without her." I put my hand on his broad shoulders from behind. 

"I'm getting Mum. You've lost it." He turned and looked at me.

I bit the tip of my index finger, plastering a shy smile on my face. "Zain Ji, romantic aur shy biwi achi nahin lagti?" 

*"Mr Zain, don't you like a romantic and shy wife?"

"I actually love my Trouble the way she is." He said. "However, this cheekiness and drama is part of the Tara Charm." He smiled. He encircled his arms around me and rested his forehead against mine. "Always remain like this, Tara, happy and cheeky." 

We held onto each other, wordlessly hugging. I loved our teasing, playful relationship, and I silently prayed to Allah that we always remained like this. This was a part of the Tara & Zain Charm.

****

Zoha

I couldn't believe that I was doing this. 

Talha had called me to tell me that he was stopping at Tesco for some things, and wanted to know if I wanted something. This was over half an hour ago, which meant that he was almost home. 

I stood in front of the mirror in our bedroom, wearing leggings and a light blue button-down shirt of his, with the top two buttons opened. My hair was up in a high ponytail, and I was beyond nervous.

What if I'm trying too hard? What if Talha gets angry? 

Why the freak would he get angry, though? I rolled my eyes at my own silliness.

 The door opened and I froze, dropping my gaze. Suddenly, this seemed like a very bad idea. I wasn't Tara, I wasn't a confident girl. These kinds of things didn't suit me.

"Assalam Alaikum." Talha's warm voice turned up the heaters in my cheeks because they suddenly seemed like they were burning.

"Walaikum Assalam." I kept my gaze low, my head bowed down, like a schoolgirl who got in trouble at school.

I heard him come up behind me, gently clasping the back of my hands, his grip strong and warm. I finally dared myself to look up in the mirror and saw him intensely staring at my reflection. My own cheeks were a strong shade of pink and I was breathing hard enough for it to be obvious. Suddenly feeling like I couldn't bear this shyness, I turned around and pressed my face against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. 

He wrapped his arms around me. "This is going to sound like a cliché dialogue, but my boring, plain shirt looks absolutely beautiful because of the beauty of the person currently wearing it. Ma Sha Allah."

"Maine aisi harkat kabhi nahin ki pehle." I admitted, breathing in the faint scent of his ittar. Although Talha wore regular cologne as well, he mainly sprayed on ittar.

*"I have never done something like this before."
Ittar: an Arabic non-alcoholic perfume.

"So, I get the honour, huh?" He gave me a small smile, as he gently lifted up my chin.

"Sharam aati hai mujhe yeh sab karke." 

*"I feel shy doing all this."

"Kya kaha tha maine? Koi sharam nahin, koi jhijak nahin, hamare beech." He reminded me.

*"What did I tell you? No shyness, no hesitations between us." 

"How do I stop my shyness? It's almost automatic." 

"Look into my eyes, Zoha." He said, and I did that. "Just remember, you have a right over me, and you are the only one who does. And when you have a right over someone or something, you declare it openly and confidently." He tightened his arms around me. "Repeat after me, 'Aap mere hain, Talha.'." 

*"You are mine, Talha."

"Aap mere hain, Talha." I muttered slowly, not looking up at me.

"Good, now trying actually looking at me and saying that." He sounded amused.

I looked up at him, and I felt a surge of confidence as my eyes met his. "Aap mere hain, Talha."

"Aur aap meri hain, Mrs Zoha Talha." He kissed my forehead.

*"And you are mine, Mrs Zoha Talha." 

I against pressed my head against his chest, shy again. He chuckled. 

****

The next day, the kids had just gone home and I was tidying up the classroom, when I saw a neighbour of Abdul Rehman's, walking outside with her kids. 

I groaned. That lady was a major gossip. I didn't even know her name, but she always ended up giving me too much information about our neighbours, which convinced me that she talked about me to other people as well. These kinds of people act all sweet to your face, but are actually wolves in a sheep's clothing. 

I turned my back towards the open door, and hoped that she didn't see me. Unfortunately, the door of the classroom opened directly into the playground, and she did she me and she just had to come and greet me- in other words, she needed to know what I was up to these days and wanted to let my old neighbours know.

"Zoha!" She said, overdramatically, as her two kids played around outside.

"Oh, hi..." I cleared my throat, trying to remember her name.

"Joy." She frowned momentarily, before her fake smile returned. "How are you?" Then her expressions changed into sympathetic ones.

God, this acting deserves an Oscar!

"It's a shame, what happened with you." She said. "It's Abdul Rehman's loss. Although, his second wife is already pregnant, which means that he doesn't think that it's his loss." 

"Good for him." I continued tidying up the classroom.

"What are you up to these days?" She asked, curiously.

"You are literally standing in my workplace and asking me that." I smiled, trying to sound like I was joking, but it was actual a legit statement.

"Oh, dear. I meant in your personal life." 

"Actually, my divorce with Abdul Rehman was liberating." I said those words, knowing (and hoping) that they would get back to that ex of mine. "I'm happy in my life, without him being in it to damage my self-respect." 

"Oh, that's wonderful!" She said, looking 'absolutely delighted'. 

Good God! I would get tired being so fake for such a long time! I gave her a smile. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to finish up and head home. It was nice seeing you again."

"You too, dear. Take care." She headed out and I immediately closed and locked the door behind her.

I was feeling furious, wishing desperately that I could get rid of anything and everything related to Abdul Rehman from my life, when my phone buzzed.

I glanced down at it, and my anger evaporated immediately.

<Talha: Have you left yet? I'm here to pick you up, if you're still at school.>

A small smile appeared on my lips. He had dropped me off at school this morning, simply because he wanted to. He even offered to pay for my cab back home, but apparently, that wasn't necessary because Mr Talha Iftikhar was outside to pick me up.

<Zoha: I'll be there in two minutes.>

I quickly finished clearing up and grabbed my bag, before heading out from the main entrance of the school. The caretaker would be coming around to lock everything up, shortly. 

I practically skipped outside, and then tried to look nonchalant as I saw Talha's car in the car parking.

"Assalam Alaikum." I said as I got into the passenger seat beside him.

"Walaikum Assalam." He smiled at me. "How was your day?"

"It was fun. How was yours?" I asked. "In fact, shouldn't you be at work right now?"

"Actually, I have a flight to Dubai tonight, for a business trip." He said. "You want to come?" 

I blinked at him. "We're talking about Dubai, not the local supermarket."

He shrugged. "So? You are a businessman's wife. I already have a room arranged there, and I'm allowed to take my wife along. I just need to arrange flight tickets, and that won't be an issue."

"I would love to." I said. "But I can't. We have school trips and funfairs planned these days, and I have to be present for these."

"School trips? Where would you take such small kids? To an ice cream shop?" 

I laughed. "We're going to the aquarium and the London Zoo, chaperoned by at least one parent per kid, of course." 

"Well, our kids and Zain's kids will have the automatic benefit, In Sha Allah." He reached for my hand and squeezed it. "Teacher, parent and aunt, all in one." 

The way he confidently said that showed his incredible faith in Allah, and I felt proud of him. 

It was almost surprising how easily Talha and I were connecting. I thought we would take time to get used to him, but Talha was so warm and welcoming that I felt automatically and immediately at ease with him. It was just like any another arranged marriage, where the couple was already comfortable with each other. 

"When you will be back?" I asked, anxiously. 

"Day after tomorrow, In Sha Allah. On the evening flight."

"Oh." I glanced down at my lap. Two days.

"I thought that if you didn't want to come along, I'll ask Zain to accompany me, and make it a brothers' trip. Since Mum and Dad have gone back as well, you and Tara can go and stay at your parents', if you want."

And suddenly, a huge smile appeared on my lips. Yes! I would definitely love to stay with my parents! And with Tara being there, it would be almost like old times!

"Khush ho gayi hain lagta hai, meri biwi." He gave me another one of his gorgeous smiles. Like Zain Bhai's, he also had dimples, and I swear I could stare at him smiling all day.

*"Looks like my wife is happy."

"Trip extend nahin karwa sakte aap apni?" I teased him.

*"Can't you extend your trip?"

"Arey! Itni shararti hain aap, maine socha bhi nahin tha." He grinned. "If you want to stay at your parents', you can, even after I return."

*"Hey! I didn't even think that you could be so cheeky." 

As we rode in comfortable silence for a while, I realised that I had to tell him something. "Talha?"

"Hmm?" 

"I met an old neighbour today..." And I explained who she was and the sort of person that she was, and the kinds of things that she had been telling me.

He shook his head. "We should avoid such people, Zoha. One wrong word and they can use it against you in the future. These people have nothing better to do with their time than to talk about the personal lives of other people." 

"I know, I agree. That's why I barely tell her anything." I said. "But today, I wanted Abdul Rehman to find out through her that I have moved on and was happy. I know, it seems so petty, but the last time we came across him, at the shopping centre, I got the feeling that he thought that I was just sitting around miserably, missing him, and I hate that he thinks that, because I'm not miserable. I'm happy." I realised those words as I said them. "Alhumdulillah." 

"You're happy with me?" He looked happy, hearing that.

"Unbelievably." I nodded. "I cannot thank Allah enough for bringing you into my life." 

"I feel the same way about you, Zoha." 

With similar happy smiles on our faces, we headed home.

****

Zain Bhai agreed to go with Talha. Apparently, my husband's younger brother loved impulsive trips. 

And so, Tara and I decided to head to our parents' house, and we were both very excited about it.

"Next time, I'll take you wherever you want to go." Talha whispered to me as Tara and I came into the foyer to see our husbands off. 

"Take care of each other, okay?"  Zain Bhai told Tara. "And don't give your parents, Misha or Zoha Bhabi any trouble."

"I mean, you literally call me in 'Trouble', so why shouldn't I?" My sister grinned.

Talha and I headed outside, to give the two a chance to privately say goodbye. 

"Take care of yourself, Zoha." He said, looking down at me. 

"You too. Have a safe flight." 

He leaned down and kissed my cheek.

Tara and Zain Bhai came out a few minutes later, with my sister glowing not just due to pregnancy. I grinned at her and she made a face at me.

"Don't worry about Zoha, Talha Bhai." My sister got back at me. "I know that I'm her younger sister, but I'll take extra special care of your beloved wife." 

I widened my eyes at her. 

"Thank you, Tara." Talha said, warmly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "I can't help but feel protective of your sister." 

"Wah, Bhai! Kaafi romantic bana diya hai humari Zoha Bhabi ne aapko." Zain Bhai decided that it was his turn to tease his own sibling.

*"Wow, Bhai! Zoha Bhabi has turned you quite romantic."

"Behave, Zain." Talha warned him.He turned and gave me a hug. "Allah Hafiz, Zoha."

"Allah Hafiz. Fi Amaan Allah." I whispered.

*"Fi Amaan Allah" basically means, may Allah protect you/I leave you in the protection of Allah.

The brothers' cab arrived then and they headed off to the airport, as Tara and I headed to my car to drive to our parents' house.

****

I was tracking Talha's flight every few minutes. I was already missing him a lot.

"Zoha, beta, do you need anything else?" Mama asked, walking into the kitchen.

I was making myself a cup of coffee after everyone else had headed up to their rooms. Tara was back with Misha, while I was back in my old room. "No, Mama. I'm just going to have some coffee and watch TV." 

She walked right up to me and grabbed my hand. "Are you happy, my love?" 

"Alhumdulillah, Mama." I smiled at her. 

She kissed my cheek. "May Allah always bless all of you with happiness. Ameen. You and Talha, Tara and Zain and our Misha." 

"Dekhte hain humari family ka sab se chota damad kaisa hoga." I looked at Mama.

*"Let's see how the youngest son-in-law of our family will be."

"Misha is nineteen, Zoha. It's still too early for that." She said. "Anyway, I better go check on Tara and make sure she's going to sleep soon. She needs to be very careful with her health nowadays, and that includes getting good sleep."

"Oh, Tara lives to sleep. She would love that." 

Mama laughed and walked out.

Suddenly, a phone vibrated and I glanced down at my screen. It was a photo message from Talha, and I eagerly opened it. 

He looked like he was lying on a flat bed, looking sleepy with messy hair and that grin. Underneath his s*xy selfie was a message. 'Greetings from 30-something thousand feet above ground.'

These days, it was common to get WiFi on planes, and if you were travelling in a premium class, you get good WiFi for free throughout your journey in a lot of airlines. My husband was clearly taking advantage of that. 

I took a selfie of myself sipping coffee, which just my eyes visible over the mug. 'Greetings from home!'.

<Talha: You mean your parents' home? Your home is our home.>

I blushed and smiled to myself.

<Zoha: I apologise. Of course. Greeting from my former home.>

<Talha: Gorgeous photo.>

I was too busy melting into a shy mess to reply immediately. And then I had a cheeky thought.

<Zoha: Are you talking about your own selfie? Because I agree. Ma Sha Allah.>

I sent it before I could stop myself, and before I could delete it, he'd already seen it.

<Talha: What are you doing to me, Zoha? Torturing me while I'm literally flying away from you.>

I adored this little chat between us. It felt so romantic and sweet. 

I can't wait for these two days to pass by quickly, and for Talha to be back with me.

****

Tara

Zain sent me a photo of the in-flight meal. 

<Zain: You are a complete weirdo, but here you go. You asked for this.>

Hiding my phone light under the duvet, I stifled a giggle. 

<Tara: Oh my Allah! Zain, I'm so hungry. Save that chocolate tiramisu for me, please!>

<Zain: That's the first thing that I'm going to eat now.>

I sulked, as if he could see me. As I was typing away a sassy reply, Mum entered the room, and I pulled away the duvet and hid my phone like I was still an unmarried teenager.

"Tara, go to sleep!" Mum said, with disapproval, as Misha giggled on her bed.

"Mum, Zain was messaging me from the plane." I used the good old Zain-card. "I had to reply to him, didn't I?" 

She sighed, looking defeated. "Just take care of your health, for the sake of Allah!"

"Don't worry, Mama. I know how to look after myself."

"I wish you did." She muttered, before heading out and closing the door behind her.

"What are you laughing at?" I snapped at my younger sister, throwing a throw cushion at her.

"Hey!" She cried out, throwing it back towards me. 

We were both laughing so hard, and soon Zoha came into the room and joined us, and it was like we were having a sleepover, with plenty of laughter and shrieking and talking. It was good to be with my sisters again.

"Girls!" Mama's voice came from the Master bedroom, causing us all to explode in a fresh fit of giggles.

As much as I was missing Zain like ducking crazy, it was good to be spending time with my this family as well. 

Actually, come to think of it, Zoha was now also technically my in-law, so I was technically spending time with both sides of my family. How cool was that?

****

Zoha

I woke up a little late the next morning, as I had stayed up, talking to my sisters- and tracking the Iftikhar brothers' flight. I think Tara had been doing the same because we both had simultaneously said, while looking at our phones, "Landed!" 

I wasn't even out of bed yet, when my phone rang. I glanced at it, excitedly, hoping that it was Talha, but it was a private number. I wasn't due in school today, because I wasn't going to the class trip today, but the one tomorrow, but maybe they were calling for the funfair arrangements? "Hello?" I answered, cautiously. I don't know why but calls from private numbers always made me anxious.

"How long have you been having an affair with Talha Iftikhar?" Abdul Rehman's cold voice came through the phone. "Were you seeing him while we were married?" 

I was stunned into speechlessness at his blatant accusation against my character.

"Women like you belong in hell, you adulteress."

The call abruptly ended, leaving me shaking in upset and in tears.

****

Overlooking his own mistakes, Abdul Rehman had made a horrifying accusation against Zoha. 

How will Zoha deal with this?

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