SLOVE

C H A P T E R S I X

Ilaya and Amna made their towards the dining room where everyone else was seated,the soft click of their heels announced their arrival as the guests looked up to see the mother-daughter duo standing together with soft smiles plastered on their faces.

"let me introduce you all to my daughter all over again"Amna said still smiling,she nudged Ilaya who was busy staring at Zaroon,trying her level best to recognise him who was acting oblivious of her gaze on him,which made him squirm in his seat.

Ilaya cleared her throat,tearing her gaze,glancing at the others she settled in a chair opposite Zaroon,besides Minahil.

"Zainab this is Ilaya and Ilaya this is my friend Zainab and her kids;Minahil and Zaroon"

"Assalam-alaikum"she smiled at Zainab."im pleased to meet you all"

"walaikum-assalam"Zainab replied smiling at the girl,pleased by her manners,unlike most girls she had met,greeting everyone she made small talk with with Zainab and Minahil,very much aware of the man gawking at her,when everyone was busy with eating,she turned her attention towards him who immediately looked down at his plate making her smirk slightly.

She scrutinised him,his every movement like a predator making him shift uncomfortably in his seat.He was never intimidated by anyone,but this women infront of him made him not meet her gaze.Ilaya,on the other hand was enjoying the sight,having enough of his unease she initiated a conversation.

"so Zaroon right?"she asked with a glint of mischievousness in her eyes.

Zaroon was slightly taken aback by how smoothly his name rolled off of her tongue,he never loved his name more,clearing his throat he turned his attention towards her who was observing him.

"ah..y-yes"he was shocked by his own statement,he had never stuttered infront of anyone,be it his mother when she caught him smoking a joint as a teenager.

Ilaya's smirk grew wider seeing the affect she had on him,it was always fun for her to hold power over people,but it disappeared when he stared through her eyes,right into her soul,no one dared to make eye contact with her for more than a few seconds except for...she was brought out of her thoughts when Minahil cleared her throat besides her,throwing a teasing smile towards her brother,who rolled his eyes,knowing exactly what was going through his baby sister's brain.

Ilaya too cleared her throat and looked away with a teeny-tiny bit of blush coating her cheeks,now,it was his time to smirk,all that she wanted to do was wipe that damn smirk off his face.She curled her fists in anger,her perfectly manicured nails digging into the soft flesh of her palms,it took great courage to not lash out on him right now.

"so..Ilaya?tell me about yourself,like what do you do"her anger knew no bounds,he was doing this to get on her nerves and she knew that damn well.

"where do you live?!under a rock?"she retorted with a sickly sweet smile.

"last time i checked i live in a house"he answered,the smirk,still present.

"oh you know there's a thing called internet,just letting you know"she shrugged and continued to eat the pasta in her plate.

Before Zaroon could answer,Mr.Qureshi engaged him in a conversation,while Ilaya busied herself with Minahil,who seemed to be intrigued with her and the fact she was a fashion designer.

"are they even siblings"she thought as Minahil and Zaroon were complete opposites.

Ilaya was still busy with Minahil when she heard the discussion about cars between her
dad and Zaroon.

She listened to their conversation intently,seeing the lack of attention Minahil observed her as she listened carefully to what they were talking about.

"so you have a thing for cars?"Minahil inquired.

"mmhmm a very big one"she replied as she glanced towards Minahil to answer.

Minahil nodded her head and she too listened to their conversation.

"i was actually impressed by your car collection"Zaroon said to which Mr.Qureshi smiled.

"not mine,hers"he pointed towards Ilaya who smirked at his shocked expression.

"wasn't expecting this from a fashion designer"he mumbled under his breath which Ilaya heard clearly and anger bubbled up inside her,so he was doing all that on purpose,she clenched her jaw.

Well two could play this game.

"what were you doing in the garage?i mean you could've just handed the keys to the valet?"she questioned very well aware of the answer.

"um i actually don-"he was cut of by Ilaya.

"oh its fine i understand"she waved him off with a fake smile.

"guys be treating their cars better than their girl"she pretended to mumble but it was loud enough for everyone to hear that,just how she had planned.

Minahil giggled beside her and their mothers too had a hard time controlling their laugh,while Hassan Qureshi smiled at his daughter,very well aware of why she did that.

Realisation dawned upon Zaroon as his ears tinged pink with embarrassment and his jaw clenched in anger.

Ilaya on the other hand smirked in victory,a little surprised to see him blushing.

So Mr.bad boy is a shy squirrel.

"here have some water your face is red"Ilaya passed him a glass of water with a small smile,fake concern evident in her tone,but their mothers were too dumb to notice that.

He wanted to snatch the glass out of her hand but prevented himself from doing so,as he took the glass from her hands while glaring daggers at her,their fingers brushed and electricity passed through both of them,she quickly retreated her hand as if his touch burned her.

They continued to eat without any bickering as Ilaya made small talk with Minahil and Zainab,which was important according to her mom.

The dinner ended with both of them ignoring eachother.

an updateeeee ok so hi lol thats prolly it