Yakeen Ka Safar: A Sequel

Chapter 16

After Rizwan chacha and his family left, life in the Usman household returned to normal. Asfandyar had noticed that Zubia had done way more exertion in these days, helping out and taking care of their guests, despite everyone telling her not to. It had ended up making her more exhausted than she usually was. Her fifth month had more lows than highs as far as her overall health was concerned.

She was frustrated at the sudden attacks of fatigue that would render her almost useless. Some days she felt light as a feather and went about doing her work with great enthusiasm. Other days, she was a prisoner to her bed.

Asfandyar told her it was because she was always overworking herself and urged her to rest more. He even tried to get her to take a few days off from work but she always refused, hating the thought of sitting at home with nothing to do.

Zubia liked keeping herself busy. She felt like these days would pass by more quickly that way. He had even scolded her for this careless attitude, though he rarely ever scolded her.

"Tum bilkul khayal nahi rakhti apna! Dekho kya haal kar lia hai" He said one day, frowning. They were sitting in the lounge.

"Main theek hun. Just a little tired. So kar uthun gi toh sahi ho jaongi" She replied, trying to ease his mind.

"You know what? I've decided ke tumhara kal day off hai. Samajh ayi?" He said, his tone bossy. It made Zubia laugh.

"Isme hassne waali kia baat hai?" He replied, looking at her like she was crazy.

"Kuch nahi bus purane din yaad aagaye. Issi tarhan daante rehte they aap har waqt" She said, still laughing.

"Mujhe lagta hai sahi karta tha bilkul. Uss waqt tum meri baat sunti toh thi."

"Uss waqt darti jo thi aap se" She revealed, smiling.

"Acha?" He said, putting his arm around her. "Aur ub nahi darti?"

"Nahi. Ub aap mujhe bohat ache lagte hain. Balke bohat bohat ache."

He stared into her eyes, trying to read her expression. "I think yeh aap iss liye keh rahi hain na taake main aapko kal jaane dun hospital?" He guessed.

"Nahi toh!" She said innocently. "Kya main waise hi aapki tareef nahi kar sakti?"

"Kum hi karti hou" He said, smirking. She laughed and leaned her head back on his shoulder.

"Acha main abhi sone jaa rahi houn. Kal day off ki zarurat nahi hogi phir" She said suddenly, escaping from his embrace and standing up.

"Lekin-" He began.

"Please na" She interjected, her face pleading. He had a iss-larki-ka-kya-karun-main look on his face. "Fine" He said, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. He always had a hard time saying no to her.

***

The next morning Zubia decided to wear a suit Asfandyar had gifted her a few months ago. It was one of her favourites. However, after struggling with the kameez for about two minutes, she lost the battle. Riiippppp. Zubia froze at that sound. There was a long tear on the shirt. No, she thought, panicking. After staring at the ruined shirt in her hands, she trudged back to the closet and eyed the still unopened shopping bags of maternity size clothes that Lubna aunty had bought for her a few weeks ago, despite her saying she didn't need them yet.

The truth was she had been avoiding them for as long as she thought she could. She knew it was normal to gain weight during this time but the fact that she could still fit into her regular loose fitting clothes was something she was sort of secretly happy about. Now, however, that bubble had just burst. She had definitely become healthier. Her bony physique had become less prominent, and she actually had curves now. Not to mention her baby bump, which was becoming bigger day by day.