𝐀𝐘𝐀𝐓: 𝐀 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐐𝐮𝐫'𝐚𝐧

chapter 14

Kinza turned around to see a furious Nayla standing there, glaring at her. She quickly composed herself and stood up straight.

"What were you doing a minute ago?" Nayla asked, raising her eyebrows and looking down, her strict tone evident. Just then, Sumaiya came downstairs to bring breakfast for herself and Aafaque, and she noticed the tension.

"What happened, Mumani?" she asked hurriedly, stepping in front of her sister to defend her.

"You should ask your sister how she was behaving with my married son!" Nayla replied harshly, causing Kinza's eyes to fill with tears. She quickly wiped them away. Ashar, who was standing there confused by Nayla's reaction, noticed her tears and made a concerned expression.

"Um, what happened? She was just teasing me; we were playing around," Ashar said in defense, while Ayat stood in the kitchen, astonished by his behavior.

"Should I add peanuts or not, ma'am?" the maid asked Ayat, but she was lost in thought and just nodded absentmindedly.

"Don't you dare defend her in front of me, Ashar!" Nayla said again in a harsh tone. Ashar stepped back, surprised because his mother had never spoken to him like this.

"Mumani, just because she was playing with Ashar, you can't shout at her like she's committed a crime!" Sumaiya argued, standing up for her sister. Nayla glared at her.

"Whatever the case may be... but you, Kinza..." Nayla pointed a finger at Kinza and continued, "stay away from my son, got it?" She said her last words while heading into the kitchen, changing her expression to a neutral one, hoping Ayat hadn't heard everything.

"Kinza, please don't cry. I don't know what's gotten into Ammi..." Ashar tried to console her, but Kinza cut him off.

"Don't talk to me, Ashar. It's your Ammi's wish... so please," she replied, her voice trembling with tears. Ashar was shocked; this was the first time she had addressed him so formally. She ran upstairs, and Sumaiya gave a worried look.

"I'll soon send my sister to London again... I can't let her live here being insulted," Sumaiya mumbled just loud enough for Ashar to hear. Then she went to the kitchen, leaving Ashar standing there dumbfounded.

"Ayat, did you eat your poha?" Nayla asked sweetly as she entered the kitchen. Ayat nodded absentmindedly.

"But ma'am, the poha isn't even ready yet," the maid said, noticing her nodding at Nayla.

"Oh! Hmm, sorry!" AYAT replied, looking confused, and she turned to leave, accidentally colliding with Ashar, who was standing outside the kitchen..
Soon after balancing herself, she looked at Ashar, who didn't make any move to save her from falling. Hurriedly, she went upstairs while Nayla watched her with a worried expression.

"Hey you, where is our breakfast?" Sumaiya asked harshly, and the maids immediately handed her the breakfast to get rid of her. She stormed out of the kitchen, furious.

"Ammi, you shouldn't have scolded Kinza like that," Ashar said as Nayla came out of the kitchen.

"Now where are you going? Listen to me first," he whined, trailing behind Nayla, who paused and turned around, folding her arms across her chest.

"Say it," she replied unenthusiastically. He held her shoulders, bringing her to the sofa to sit with him.

"Ammi, Kinza and I are childhood friends. You know I always joke around when she visits, but what happened this time?" he asked, explaining himself, while Nayla was clearly done with her son.

"Ashar, the time before your marriage was different. Now things have changed; you can't just play around with any girl. Can you imagine how Ayat would feel if she saw you?" She tried to make him see it from Ayat's perspective, and this sparked wrong thoughts in his mind.