Love Means Sacrifice

Ch. 41: A Day in London

Mehwish's P.O.V.

After we got home, we said goodnight to each other and went to our respective rooms. I changed into my pajamas then called Ma.

"Mehwish, my sweetheart, how are you?! I miss you so much!" she exclaimed in a loud whisper, "I'm at work, which is why I can't talk for long. How's it going?"

"I miss you too, Ma. It's going great. I just got into bed after coming home from a business meeting. The clients signed the deal, alhamdulillah! Zahid's going to speak at an event for them in a few days."

"That's amazing! Beta, my boss is coming, I have to go now. I'll message you later and maybe we can work out a time to call again. Please take care. Goodnight. Bye!"

"You too. Bye." I blew her a kiss.

I remembered Javed had replied to my text from earlier and said that we should call when I was free, so I decided to ring him; however, the call eventually went to voicemail.

I turned off the lights and pulled the covers to my neck, forcing myself to go to sleep so I can adjust to the time difference.

I awoke to the sweet smell of maple syrup at 9 AM. I brushed my teeth and made my way to the kitchen to find Bernard making fresh Belgian waffles and eggs. Zahid was sitting in front of the kitchen counter with his tablet in front of him, holding his phone to his ear, "Yes, Abba. It all went smoothly, alhamdulillah... Yeah... How are things going at the office? Are we on track?... Good... Why are you up now? I would've called you in the afternoon here. It's the middle of the night there. Go to sleep, Abba... Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm fine, what about you?... You don't have to worry... She's fine... Yes, I will-"

He looked at me and smiled, "Good morning, Mehwish."

He was still wearing his pajamas—sweatpants and a shirt.

"Good morning."

He went back to his call, "Yes, she's right here, okay, okay," he handed the phone to me, "Abba wants to speak to you."

I nodded and took the phone, "Assalamwalaikum, Ayaan Uncle."

Zahid's P.O.V.

Does she always glow like this when she wakes up?

"I'm great, Uncle, thank you. How are you?... I'm glad to hear... Of course, don't worry. I'll tell him if I need anything... Yes, today we're going sightseeing then Nikita Aunty's house... Alright, take care, Uncle. Goodnight... Haha, yes good morning! Okay, bye."

She handed the phone back to me before sitting down next to me.

"What are you working on?" She queried.

"Just coming up with some points I wanted to make in my statements for day after tomorrow."

She took the tablet and made some revisions.

"Ma'am, how would you like your eggs?"

"An omelet would be fine. Thank you."

"I was thinking we could head out in an hour and a half?" I asked Mehwish.

"Sounds good."

I let Mr. Anand know and we met back in the living room at 10:30.

I was wearing a black bomber jacket, a beige shirt, and black jeans, while Mehwish wore a red and white polka dot dress with a black trench coat.

In the car, Mehwish admired the sight out the window. I looked out my window myself. It felt good being in London. Javed, Ayaara, and I had randomly visited with Abba if his meetings coincided with school holidays. Later on, when I joined the company, I would accompany Abba sometimes. But there was something about being in London right now that brought so much peace. Was it because it was winter and New Year's was around the corner or was it because Mehw-