Afloat [Complete]

Chapter 7

Another month had passed with its wings. Alishba was stronger than ever dealing with courage whatever life had thrown her way. She was truly an inspiration for Waniya. The fact that she held no grudges against her was also soothing. They both were trying their best to help each other through this phase of their lives. Hayam was still in hiding. The court needed his presence for next hearing which was the final one. Ihtasham Amjad's family was under radar. First Hayam and then what Rehana did at the hospital had made their reputation turn into more of a defamation. They wanted to get away from the spotlight sooner than they could that's why they themselves were trying for Hayam to go into the court. After that Alishba would be free from the clutches of that toxic relationship. She was taking things in her hands and having meetings with her lawyer was one of them. She wanted the divorce proceedings to go as smoothly as they could, true example of a fighter.

Waniya and Yumna's relationship had also gotten better. The progress was slow as Waniya was always catious around Yumna. Yumna wasn't a mother figure in Waniya's life but she wasn't the mother in law with a cutting tongue anymore. She had kept her distance from Waniya which was far better than bearing her attitude. Waniya never minded though. She wasn't here to please Ahmar's whole clan. Yumna was the one who had tried punishing her for something Waniya had never committed. So it was only fitting to keep her distance. She wasn't going to just hug and forget that one month of her life.

As far as Ahmer was concerned, Waniya could say the guy was trying his best to make things work between them. These days his sole focus was her and their baby. He had always been very attentive towards her, when they were seeing each other and during that one year of blissful married life before the storm. He had let her down but after her coming back to his life, his concern had increased ten times. She was in a dilemma. His actions were compelling her to lose herself in his embrace, while her mind was telling her not to let her guard down. She was torn by the betrayal of all her loved ones, her family and her husband. The scars ran deep. He was trying his best to sooth her aching her heart and he was successful to some extent. But still it was not enough. Or maybe she was acting stubborn. She didn't know.

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Waniya stirred in her sleep feeling a pleasant smell hitting her nostrils even before opening her eyes. Roses? She inhaled deeply and opened her eyes slowly. Her hands came in contact with soft petals to her side. Frowning, she sat up straight when a gasped escaped her lips.

It was roses, lots of them. Soft red petals were covering a part of their bed and the rest of the room was filled with bouquets of every size and variety. Pushing the duvet off her, she stared around with a bewildered look on her face.

She was still dazed by this sweet gesture when he appeared in the door with his arms crossed on his chest. A bright smile reached his face realizing she had actually liked his surprise.

In long strides he had reached her with his hands cupping her face. She turned to him when his lips descended on her forehead in a gentle peck.

"Happy Birthday."

She held his hands and looked up at his face. In all this, she had totally forgotten it was her birthday today. But he remembered. He always did.

"I.. forgot."

She mumbled sheepishly making him chuckle.

"That's okay. As long as I'm here to remind you and I'm always here."

The honesty in his words was doing something with her heart strings. As if it gave her an assurance she was looking for.

"Today is your day. We're going out, just you, me and baby. We'll do whatever you want to do."