Fawad who came back from his part-time job began to cough vigorously as he entered his apartment.
"What is that smell?" He walked towards the smell and was surprised when it landed in the kitchen. How did he not guess?
"Salaam, Fawad. Did you come back early? Wow. Get bathed, I'll set the table." Mayra chirped excitedly as she waved her hands in the air, attempting to shove away the odour of cabbage.
"Wassalam, biwi!" Fawad smiled nervously as he looked back at the state of condition in which the kitchen was on.
"What are you looking at? Go and get changed." Mayra literally pushed him away and turned around to look at the kitchen's condition. But she did prepare something though, only the cabbage was a fail.
Without having anything much to say, Fawad walked into their bedroom. He didn't want to come out as a mean or rude husband but Mayra and cooking don't go along in the same line. He hoped this was better than the last time.
With a sigh, Mayra began to set everything on the table and waited for Fawad to come back impatiently.
Fawad who came back after twenty minutes had a towel wrapped around his neck and had fresh droplets of water running on his bare chest. He just had his sweat pants on. And looked smoking hot that it left his wife drooling.
"We can skip the dinner and do other things if you want," Fawad added playfully as he joined her on the table.
"Very funny! Now taste this and tell me how is it." even though the offer was tempting, Mayra denied it anyway as she served him the vegetable dish. And excitedly looked at him and his mouth. Her excitement levels went high as he took his first spoon.
Fawad was surprised, to say the least. Because the food was not what he has expected it to be, it was surprisingly good. His eyes lit up brightly as he looked at his wife.
"Masha Allah! you nailed it this time." Fawad praised her genuinely as he tasted another morsel, Mayra's face glowed in happiness but as she began to register his words, a frown appeared on her face.
"What do you mean nailed it this time? You said the last week's food was good, right?" Mayra asked, listening to which he began to choke. She passed him a glass of water and looked at him with mad eyes.
"Mayra, you know right... cooking is not your thing but you did try your best the last time and I didn't want to make you sad by saying something bad. But you've improved a lot better this time, I swear I'm not lying." Fawad placed his hands upon her as he explained to her softly.
"Why are you so nice, Fawad? I don't even know if I deserve you." Mayra's eyes became moist with tears of happiness as she listened to him.
"More like I don't deserve you?" Fawad chuckled casually and continued," but you didn't have to take any pressure, I'd love to cook for the both of us anyway." Fawad shrugged as he ate another spoon.
"I know but..." with the way she spoke, he knew there was something which she's hiding.
"Why did you want to cook for me suddenly anyway?" Fawad asked a little curiously.
Mayra knows there's no point in hiding it because Fawad has his way of finding the truth, so she confessed, "that day when we visited your aunt, you were praising your cousin and her cooking skills. To which she jokingly taunted me of not knowing how to cook. And I took upon myself to learn." Mayra didn't dare look at his eyes.
"From when did people's words begin to bother you?" Fawad asked a little angrily. He so wasn't expecting that.
"Your cousin has her way with the words and she made me feel so bad about me. Plus, from the looks of it, she clearly wants me gone and I'm not giving her that chance." Mayra still couldn't look into his eyes.
"Look at me, Mayra." the food remained long forgotten, as he made her face him and now, she was in tears.
"Why are you crying?" Fawad asked worryingly as he wiped away her tears.
"She said that I don't deserve you and pointed at things which I'm lacking as a good wife. She was true though," Mayra said in between her sobs. She's not the one who cries, and that made Fawad freak out.
"For Allah's sake stop crying, Mayra." Fawad pulled her into his embrace as he patted her back trying to calm her down. She melted in his arms like a candle and stopped crying at once.
"Look at me, and listen to me carefully...I know you're not perfect and I love you just the way you are. Nothing else matters." Fawad stared right into her hazel eyes which were moist with tears.
"I don't care that you can't cook or if you're a complete mess. I love you and your flaws are included in that too." Fawad cupped her face gently, who was looking back at him with awe and respect.
"Stop wasting your tears for useless people. Whoever that person is, let them be my cousin or anyone. Don't let their words affect you." Fawad gave her a pointed look as he wiped away her traces of tears.
"I know, Fawad. I know I shouldn't care but knowing that there are a lot of girls out there who are far better than me. Who can love and take care of you better than me, it scares me so much. What if you fall out of love or something?" Mayra spoke out her insecurities as she continued, "you're a very amazing guy and all the girls in our college envy me. Thinking that someday you might find someone better than me. It terrifies me, Fawad."
"Stop talking rubbish." He frowned at her whilst capturing her lips angrily. Which later turned into a passionate kiss.
"I can never fall out of love with you, Mayra. I'm crazy for you... The real you. Not this insecure you." Fawad mumbled against her lips as he planted another kiss.
"I love you so much that it's making me insecure." Mayra places her head in the crook of his neck as she hugged him tightly.
"All I want is you and your love, biwi. Nothing else. I just want your unconditional love." Fawad kissed her hairs as he tightened the hug. She was literally sitting on his laps as they were at the dining table.
"I can promise that. I swear I'm going crazy in your love because I've never cried like this before." Mayra murmured which made him smile inwardly.
"Please don't lose yourself in the process of loving me. I love you for being you. No one is perfect and neither am I."
"And you don't have to cook food for me. I can cook for both of us and I'll teach you if you want. Only If you want to learn it genuinely." Fawad suggested, listening to which she giggled.
"Fine by me. I did not like it that much anyway." she got up from his lap and got herself a glass of water, all the while he kept staring at her.
"What?" Mayra asked him blankly, Fawad just shrugged it off casually as he got up from the chair.
"I don't have the appetite to eat but keep this in the refrigerator, I'll definitely eat it tomorrow. Itne pyaar se jo banai hai." Fawad smiled at her, who nodded her head and thought of cleaning it up, but decided to do that tomorrow as well. She just kept the food in the refrigerator and made sure to lock the doors and was about to switch off the lights when she felt someone picking her up.
"What are you doing?" Mayra gasped as he carried her to their room.
"I'm going to show my biwi, of how much I love her. Hopefully, she understands that and stops caring about what the world talks." Fawad smiled mischievously as he shut the door of their room with a kick of his leg.
Mayra turned slightly red in shyness but smiled nevertheless. She was so in love with this guy that it was terrifying, but she's enjoying every bit of it.
"You're just mine," Mayra added possessively as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Only yours." Fawad pecked her lips as he made her lay on the bed.
Never in his wildest dreams did Fawad thought that Mayra would love him to this extent that, even the idea of losing him was making her cry. She was the same person who once wanted to divorce him but now his love has changed her, for good. He's happy nevertheless but he also made sure to make her believe that he's going nowhere and will forever and always love her. Only her.
Sometimes love drives us crazy! But Fawad and Mayra knew where to draw the line and kept it sane. That was the secret behind their happy married life.
