Heart buried treasures

Chapter Seventeen: Invitation And Surprise

'Sometimes we struggle through a tasteless coffee till the last sip, then we find sugar lying at the bottom. That's life.. Sweetened but not stirred well' -anonymous

"Welcome!" she said ushering them in.
And he nodded.

"Hope you are fine?"

"Yeah.. Am good" he replied rather awkwardly.

"The promise I made that I would actually bring her again"

"Okayy.."

"Come in" And he reluctantly obliged.

"Aunt Hanan, you know, dad doesn't -" but stopped mid sentence when she saw Farida and Farhan and they both squealed when they saw her too. She left to meet them without further ado.

What followed was an uncomfortable silence. "Oh. He's here already."

"Asalam alaykum!"

"Walaykum Salam dear"

And he was offered a seat. After some minutes of awkward chattering they proceeded to the dining table where they were joined by the kids.
"It's yummie!"

After they've gotten home the previous day, Hanan narrated all that transpired where they went to sofia. And Sofia apologized zillion times about how sorry she was for her children's Mischief and Hanan actually reassured her all is well. But she insisted on making it up to them. She then told Mariam about the visit the next day but she didn't give any negative feedback. She was okay with it though her eyes stated otherwise.

The preparation was not like the last time, though she tried showing some enthusiasm but Hanan could see right through it. The kids seem to be really enjoying themselves. They made fun of themselves and laughed at how the other was eating. Other than that.. The elders made no comments. Table manners. Hanan thought ironically.

Just then, something came up on the TV. And the reporter mentioned some things and Hanan looked away unbothered and continued her meal.
The children then made noise and pointed to the TV. "See! That's Aunt Hanan's hubby!" Aneesah exclaimed.

And they all focused on the screen. The reporter continued. "Look who we have here today. The famous Faaiz Hasnayn, business tycoon. The CEO of Hasnayn's group of companies." She then whispered to the screen "Mr Poker face" and the kids giggled.

And his expressionless face came to view. He was wearing his black tailored suit and Navy Blue tie and his usual hairstyle neatly styled to the back. Hanan smiled cos she had chosen that for him amidst the clothes she packed. "So today we are going to ask some questions that has been running through our minds. In this session of interview, we are going to get to know little if not much about our hard hearted billionaire"

"So Mr Faaiz, how has the journey been so far? You know being amongst the top 5 richest men in the world isn't a day job."

Seeing him all elegant and ever so gallant on the screen. Looking so smart and most importantly handsome, confidence oozing from him. He rubbed his palms and crossed his legs. With his cool, husky voice he started " Yeah. Just like the popular saying 'the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step' it wasn't an easy job. It took lot of sacrifices and relentless efforts, many sleepless nights and determination. All in all, dedication and prayer."

"Hmm.. Impressive. Let me move on to my next question" he replied with a nod, his expression hidden.

"This question has actually been on people's mind a lot but I'm actually Happy to be the one to ask. You know, I've- I mean- we've never seen you smile before. Are you probably suffering from mobius syndrome?" His expression hardened for a moment when the question was asked but he masked it up and sat back making himself more comfortable on the seat.