Tere ishq ki aag mein
jal kar aye mehboob,
Kuch main raakh hua,
kuch main paak hua.
️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️▫️
"Geeta, what are you doing? See, there are so many magazines spread on the table. And why aren't the cushion covers changed?" Naila asked her househelp while putting fresh flowers in the vase.
Geeta, who was dusting the shelves, rolled her eyes at Naila. "Bhabhi, let me first finish dusting or else all the dust will get stuck on the new covers."
"Do it fast. There are only two hours left before the guests arrive." Naila stressed.
Shiza, who entered the living room, while holding her huge baby bump, said, "Maa, relax. Geeta will finish all the work."
"How can I relax? So much work is left, and Armaan and Qirat are still not home from the office." Naila said with a frown, "And what are you doing here? You should be resting, beta."
"I am fine. I got tired lying in bed." Shiza brushed it off. "Let me help you cook."
Naila denied Shiza's offer to help, but she was stubborn. So finally Naila made her sit at the dining table and asked her to chop onion and tomatoes for the salad. Naila was almost done with her chicken korma, when Qirat walked in the home.
"Have you seen the time?" Naila screamed at her daughter as soon as her eyes fell on her.
Qirat frowned and glanced at her wrist watch. "It is five."
"You're late." Naila placed a hand on her hip.
"No, I'm not." Qirat retorted back. "I've almost one and a half hours to get ready."
"And you think that much time is enough?" Naila asked with a raised eyebrow.
From the corner of her eyes, Qirat saw Shiza and Geeta giggling at her conversation with Naila.
"Maa, it is more than enough. I just have to quickly shower and change."
"You're putting on make-up." Naila informed her.
"What? Why? I'm not going to any wedding." Qirat made a face.
"Yes, but the Hussains are coming to see you. We're talking about your wedding here." Naila deepened.
Qirat shook her head at her mother's insanity and padded off towards her room.
Half an hour later, Armaan arrived with all the sweets and snacks that Naila had asked him to bring.
By six thirty, Naila had changed into a maroon colored silk saree. She looked around the living room and smiled in satisfaction upon seeing everything perfect. When the bell rang, Armaan and Shiza walked out of their room. Shiza was wearing a green colored anarkali suit with golden prints all over it, while Armaan was dressed in casual blue jeans and white shirt. Naila nodded at Armaan, and he went to open the door.
As Armaan pulled open the door, Parishay, Mahad and Zaroon came into their view.
"Assalam alaikum," Armaan shook hands with Mahad and Zaroon and welcomed them inside. Parishay hugged Naila and Shiza and also congratulated her on the baby.
The Hussains were made to sit in the living room. Naila gestured to Geeta to serve them water.
"I hope you didn't have trouble finding home." Naila started the conversation.
"No, absolutely not." Parishay smiled while checking the home through the corner of her eyes.
Armaan also made some small talk with Zaroon. He asked how work was, and Zaroon replied as politely as he could.
A few minutes later, Geeta served them tea along with snacks and cookies. Zaroon took the first sip of the tea when he noticed someone on his left. He turned and his eyes landed on Qirat for the very first time. Wearing a light blue suit with net dupatta, she had left her wavy hair open. Naila sighed mentally at seeing Qirat wearing some foundation, eyeliner and lipstick. Overall, she looked beautiful, but Zaroon was not the right headspace yet to acknowledge that fact.
Qirat smiled nervously at Parishay and Mahad and muttered a small salam before taking a seat beside her Shiza Bhabhi. From the corner of her eyes, she could see Zaroon looking her way, but she wasn't ready to stare back.
Parishay started talking to Qirat. She asked her about her qualifications, job, and future plans to which Qirat replied briefly and softly.
The tea was finished soon, before Mahad cleared his throat. "Mrs Hashmi, if you don't mind, I think the kids should talk alone and get to know each other."
Naila nodded. "Yes, of course. Qirat, show Zaroon around."
Qirat looked at Shiza, who batted her eyelashes to give her confidence. She stood up and held the end of her dupatta. Zaroon followed her lead and they both reached the balcony.
They stood in absolute silence for a while. Qirat used this time to sneakily check Zaroon out. He was dressed in blue jeans, blue shirt and white blazer. Coincidentally, they were matching. His hair was set perfectly, and she couldn't help but agree to the fact that his pictures didn't do justice to his beauty. He was much more sexy in real life.
"I was engaged before." He spoke suddenly.
She got out of her daze. "What?"
"I was engaged before to my cousin." He repeated and turned to look at her. He was expecting a shocked reaction, but her face held nothing but calmness. "She broke it off because she didn't love me."
"Where is she now?" She curiously asked.
"Happily married to my best friend and settled in London." He replied, and for a fraction of a second, he saw pity in her eyes.
"I'm sorry." She spoke.
He then removed his eyes from her and looked ahead.
"I had a crush in tenth standard." This time, she spoke. "I really liked him."
"What happened then?" He asked.
"Nothing. I could never build up enough guts to confess, and later I got busy with my studies." She shrugged.
He didn't speak anymore. After standing for another five minutes, she asked if they should go back inside. He gestured to her to lead the way, and then walked back to the living room.
The dinner was served soon after. It was not a silent affair, as Naila and Parishay kept talking, with Mahad and Shiza participating in the conversation. Qirat too spoke once in a while, but Zaroon was mostly quiet until someone directly asked him something.
It was almost nine when the Hussains took their leave.
"I liked the family, especially Qirat." Parishay said after they reached home.
Mahad nodded his head in agreement before they both looked at their son. Zaroon casually took off his blazer and said, "If you both liked her, then it is a yes from our side."
"Sure? Do you want to, maybe, meet her a few more times?" Parishay offered.
"No," Zaroon said with finality and walked off to his room.
On the other hand, when Naila asked
Qirat how she liked Zaroon, she also nodded at her mother and said a yes.
There was no reason for her to say no. He was good looking, polite, successful and most importantly, he was honest. Qirat loved the fact that Zaroon told her about his earlier relationship. Obviously, she didn't mind it. But what she didn't know at that time was, one day, this previous relationship of his would be the reason because of which their marriage would be on the verge of breaking.
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