Be-panah

TWENTY ONE

Har raat sone se pehle tujhe yaad karna,
Yeh ishq kam aur ibadat zyada lagti hain.

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Zaroon had a frown pasted on his forehead ever since he had seen the place where Qirat wanted to shop. She had held his hand and dragged him inside the flea market, which was so crowded, as if half of Delhi was present there.

He even tried to convince her to go somewhere else, but she paid no heed to him. He helplessly sighed and looked at Jahangir, who was following them while keeping an eye on the surroundings.

"₹250." Qirat's high pitched voice gained Zaroon's attention. "There is no way I'm paying 250 for this top."

"Didi, I'm giving you a fresh piece. Look at the quality." The shopkeeper tried to reason.

"No, I want it for ₹150." Qirat stubbornly said.

Zaroon couldn't believe it. He had cracked deals of more than 100 crores, and here his wife was bargaining with a shopkeeper in a flea market for ₹100.

He wanted to step in, but the shopkeeper sighed and said, "Final, ₹200."

"Fine." Qirat started to take out money from her purse, but Zaroon beat her to it. He brought out his wallet from his pocket and took out a 2000 rupee note.

"Bhaiya, don't you have change?" The shopkeeper said.

Zaroon shrugged.

The shopkeeper frowned, but nonetheless gave him back the change and the top she'd bought in a plastic bag. She grabbed it, but Jahangir came forward to take the bag from her hand.

Then she hopped, skipped and jumped to countless shops over the next three hours. By the time they reached the end of the market, Zaroon was sweating, while Jahangir had his hands full of plastic bags. She had shopped for tops, dresses, kurtas, sandals, bags, and whatnot.

"I'm hungry." She pouted and scanned her eyes to find something to eat. "Ram ladoo," She chirped in happiness and ran towards it.

Zaroon sighed tiredly and followed her. "Are you sure this is hygienic?" He asked, looking at the street food stall.

She didn't bother replying and ordered a plate. Even though Ram ladoo sounded like a sweet dish, it was actually fried pakoras made from moong dal and chana dal batter, served with green chutney and grated radish.

She grinned as the vendor gave her a plate and she turned towards Zaroon. Picking up a ladoo, she forwarded it to him.

"No, I don't want to have it." He denied.

"Please," She pouted and forwarded the ladoo closer to his mouth.

He looked at her fake sad face, and his mouth opened on its own. She pushed it inside his mouth and smiled. As he chewed, she ate one herself. "It is so good. Jahangir, why are you not eating?"

"I'm on duty, ma'am." He formally replied.

She nodded and made Zaroon eat another ladoo. After they finished eating, Zaroon paid for the food and asked Jahangir to call the driver. In less than ten minutes, they were seated in the car, and on the way to the haveli.

Zaroon was checking his emails on his phone when he felt some weight on his shoulder. He turned and found that Qirat had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder. He thought of moving her away, but then decided against it and went back to his phone.

When they reached home, he tried to stir her up, but she just frowned in her sleep and muttered, "Zar, let me sleep."

Zar. She called him Zar. And he would be lying if he said that didn't flutter his heart. He stared at her sleeping face and for the first time he acknowledged how beautiful his wife really was. In all this time, he had never paid attention to her, the little details on her face, like she had a tiny mole on her left cheek, her eyes were small but the eyelashes weren't, her nose was a little sharp, and her lips were a natural shade of pink and damn kissable.

Jahangir opened the door of his side, making his chain of thoughts break. He cleared his throat, "Bring all the shopping bags inside." He instructed Jahangir, before wrapping his one hand around her waist, and the other hand went behind her knees. He picked her up easily, thanks to all the hours he spent working out. He carefully got out of the car, making sure he didn't hit Qirat with the door, and then walked inside the haveli. Jahangir stared at his boss with a small smile. It looked like Qirat was slowly changing Zaroon.

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When Qirat's eyes opened, she found herself in her bedroom, tucked inside the bed nicely. The sky outside was dark, indicating it was night time. She frowned and tried to remember when she fell asleep. She knew shopping had tired her out and she had rested her eyes in the car. But then how did she reach the room?

Zaroon, her mind answered. She blushed subtly thinking it must be him who would have carried her.

Her eyes snapped at the wall clock. It was a little past eight, so she decided to freshen up and go down for dinner.

Parishay was in the kitchen with the maids when Qirat walked in.

"Hey, ammi." Qirat smiled.

Parishay smiled back, "You're awake? How was shopping?"

"It was fabulous. I shopped for so many things. I even bought some kurtas for you." Qirat sat on the kitchen stool.

"I heard you went to Sarojini Nagar." Parishay commented.

"Yeah, you should have seen Zaroon's face when I said we'll shop here." Qirat laughingly said.

"I am sure." Parishay, along with the maids, laughed as well.

"Where are Baba and Zaroon?" Qirat asked, looking around.

"In the garden, discussing business."

The dinner was ready in the next few minutes, and they all sat down to eat. Qirat smiled at Zaroon, and served him a plate. He muttered a small thanks before eating.

Qirat was really happy today. Even though there wasn't a big improvement in their relationship, she still was feeling ecstatic. She was the kind of person who'd enjoy small moments in life, and be thankful to Allah for them. And she hoped that one day, these small gestures and improvements will together form a beautiful relationship between her and Zaroon, InshaAllah.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Lo aapka double update.

If you haven't eaten Ram ladoo yet, you've no idea what you're missing out on!