Besabriyan

43|FORTY THREE

The empty mansion welcomed Maheen as she opened the main entrance while her husband unloaded their bags from the car trunk. The mansion used to be lively with the little girl running around and her mother chasing. She could picture her mother in law welcoming her after an exhausting day at the university. It made her heart clench and she already missed her in-laws. Though distant, her father in law would nod at her whenever he was home at the time of her return. She didn't realize it contained a sense of belonging until there was none. The house was cold and so was the floor.

Maheen heaved a sigh of despair as she walked into the house and slumped into the couch. It was still so early in the morning that birds had just started to chirp and for some reason, it was more irritable than melodious and she preferred to blame it on the way she woke up. The amount of sleep that she had been getting in the last few days was very less with the weight of Noorul Ain's wedding preparations on their head. She wasn't forced to do anything but she was willing and openly happy about doing it for the sake of Noorul Ain's big heart.

“Thori der ke liye so jao, Mahi.” Zaviyar walked through the door, dragging the bags behind him and rested them near the lounge before walking into the kitchen to get himself a fill of water.

“Aap bhi mere saath so jayein.” It took them almost an hour to reach home from the haveli and the clock had already struck at twenty eight past five- the time she would normally wake up for fajr and then sit down to do any work from university that was left undone the night before.

“I can't, it's already late. I'll be in the room with you and rearrange our things back in their places while you sleep.”

“Then I'm not sleeping either.” Maheen confirmed, jumping out of the couch and running towards her husband who was busying himself in making themselves a breakfast. Her lips twitched- it was too early to eat and stomach anything. She watched him moving from one spot to another; picking and examining things before putting them back.

He eyed her before his gaze returned to the instructions of ready-to-make pancake mix in his hands, “Yes, you are. You need to sleep for at least two hours before we take off to the company.”

“No, I want to help!” Maheen insisted as she walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door only to close it back in an attempt to entertain herself. Her defense mechanism at its highest after the previous evening. She had managed to convince her husband that she was fine but could she really feed herself such white lies? The way she shuddered under the blanket before her body gave in to sleep still made hair on her nape stand out. She could only heal when she came out of the hellhole for once and all.

“Maheen,” His low growl had her attentive, placing whatever she grabbed from the countertop back in its place and standing still- her ears perked, it ultimately had the grin growing on her face. The only person who could grin at him after the tone he just used, was her. The only person who had the audacity to be grinning at his authoritative tone.

“I don't need sleep, I slept well last night.” She said, taking the pack of cheese from his hand and putting it back in the refrigerator. The last thing she wanted to eat in the morning was a slice of cheese on a piece of toasted bread.

Standing there, she watched her husband stare back at her in amusement. However, it wasn't a lie that she slept well, she indeed did. She slept well until his warmth swept her back and she realized he had been absent for the entire time which had her open her eyes and call out to him. He was her home, solace and everything else she could point her finger at- also the only man who riled her up for no reason. He would randomly do things to irk her and walk away, flashing his teeth at her. He loved to irritate her and she didn't seem to mind it at all. Whatever he did, his actions were covered by his love for her.