Khushi stood beside Muskan in the kitchen with her jaw dropped.

"Cutie....are you sure you're really .. um.... blind?" She questioned astounded observing Muskan's every action at how efficiently she was doing all the work to cook the Pulao. Right from chopping the veggies to cleaning the chicken.

Muskan giggled continuing with her work.
"I did had to learn all the household chores myself along the years."

"Wow! You're amazing, cutie. Even I can't cook this good." Khushi said.

"Actually Jaan, you cannot cook at all." Yasir said coming from behind and wrapping his arms around his wife.

"Oh shut up! I can cook ok." Khushi defended feeling flustered.
Yasir chuckled nuzzling her neck.
"Jaan, being able to make Maggie doesn't count as knowing to cook."

Muskan bit her lip trying to suppress her smile.

Khushi angry elbowed him, but he just held her tighter laughing.
"It's ok. I'll love you anyways even if someday all we could eat is Maggie for the rest of our lives." He said kissing her neck.

Khushi huffed.
"Oh yeah? What if you get bored? Will you leave me then?"

"Nope. Then for a change in taste.... I'll just eat you." He said and bit her neck.

"Ahhh.... Yasir!!!"

Although she couldn't see, Muskan was blushing just hearing them behind her. She was happy for them but also quite envious.

Every girl dreams of a romantic husband and such naughty but cute romance in her life, but Alas, that wasn't possible for our Muskan because she was disabled.

Atleast, that's what she thought.

"Astaghfirullah! La hawla wala quwata!" Zarina ma walked in muttering and hit the overly cuddling couple.
"Kuch sharam hai ya nahi tum dono ko? Jab dekho kahi bhi shuru ho jaate ho. Besharam bacche!
(Don't you two have any shame? Whenever I see you, you two just start anywhere! Shameless kids.)

Yasir pulled her cheek while still not letting go of his wife.
"Zarina ma....this is called romance."

"Aree bhad me gaya romance shomance! Yeh mera kitchen hai. Ye yaha nahi chalega. Tumhara ye romance shomance le k aapne room mei jao. Chalo."
(To hell with your romance shomance! This is my kitchen. This all won't be tolerated here. Take this Romance shomance and go to your room. Come on.)
Zarina Ma scolded.

They both pouted like little kids.

"Ok..." Yasir said and in one swift motion lifted Khushi off her feet and into his arms.
"...we will continue this in our bedroom." He winked grinning from ear to ear.

"To the bedroom!!!" Khushi announced pointing ahead.

Zarina Ma shook her head watching them leave and Muskan giggled.

On the way, they met Rehan who glared at them crossing his arms.

"Oh hi bhai!" Khushi said grinning.

"Shameless as always." Rehan sighed.
"Yasir. Put her down. You're coming with me." He ordered.

"Huh...bhai! We're in middle of something." Khushi pouted.

Rehan watched them unfazed with his usual stone face.
"You two are always in middle of something. And it's broad daylight. Have some shame you both. Now come on. Work is more important than your everyday romance."

Yasir smirked.
"Bro.... you'll soon understand the importance of this everyday romance over your work when you get married too and won't be able to keep your hands of your sweetheart." He winked.

Rehan's eyes widened for a second clearly slightly shy which didn't go unnoticed by his sister.

"BTW bhai, if you're in mood for some romance, cutie is right there in the kitchen." Khushi teased.

Rehan's heart skipped a beat and his eyes momentarily lingered towards the kitchen.

Khushi and Yasir shared a glance.

"Shut up!" Rehan grumbled getting out of his daze.
"You two are..."

Khushi giggled.

"See you later bro. Good luck." Yasir winked and ran away with his wife in his arms not letting him complete his sentence.

"You!"

Rehan gave up sighing. There was no point arguing with those knuckleheads.
He gulped, unable to resist the urge to see her and failing the conflict with his mind to walk away, his heart won drawing him towards her and he was already in the kitchen.

Muskan's clenched fist went towards her heart as she noticed His footsteps. She tried to concentrate on her work but....her heart was pounding on the walls of her chest.

Rehan quickly turned towards fridge. They both were again alone in the kitchen as Zarina Ma was in the storeroom attached to the kitchen.

Should I make a conversation? But what?

Fidgeting with the water bottle stepping towards and backwards her, he finally gulped the cold water and kept the bottle back in. Just then...

"Um....you can cook?" He asked

"Y...yes."
Muskan got breathless just saying that. She always got nervous speaking to non mehrams, although the need hardly arose in the past, but speaking to him or even having him around made her weak to her knees.
She couldn't understand what he was doing to her heart because, what she felt was a strange mixture of happiness, excitement, nervousness, helplessness and.... sadness.

Rehan's heart sank hearing her response. She was getting breathless and scared to even answer a simple yes to him. Ofcourse, even his tough men trembled at his voice. It was soo heavy and harsh. She was just a fragile young girl. Even if he tried to speak softly, it sounded heavier as if he was threatening.

I'm not falling for that again.

He couldn't stop smiling whenever he remembered that. But now....

"I'm sorry..."

Muskan raised her head in surprise.

Why was he apologising? Shouldn't she be the one to apologise? She thought.

"I scared you. I'll make sure I don't do that again." He said and she could hear his footsteps walking away. But she didn't wanted him to leave....in reality, she wanted to impress him a little...with her cooking if not anything else.

"No!"

He froze in his steps and turned to her.

"I.... I'm not scared of you.... I can never be...R.... Rehan ji."
She managed to say breathlessly.

Rehan's heart almost jumped out of his chest and a huge smile came on his face. It was the first time she ever took his name. He never thought his name could ever sound soo good.

Rehan ji

Rehan ji

It kept echoing in his head. Also, the most important part was that....she said she wasn't scared of him. His delicate butterfly wasn't scared of him!!! That's what got him over the edge. He had nothing to worry about anymore. Just her words gave him such a huge satisfaction that.....he almost went forward to hold her in his arms.

"Muskan.... thank-you."

Muskan gasped hearing that. He not only thanked her, but also uttered her name for the first time. She got butterflies in her stomach and heat rose to her cheeks. She could hear his footsteps nearing her that's when...

"Aree Rehan....help me a little." Zarina Ma said struggling with the stuff in her hands.

"Oh oh... Zarina Ma!" Rehan rushed to her taking the things from her.

"Hayee my back!" She complained.

"You should really ask someone else to do that. How many times should I tell you?" He scolded gently.

"Ok...ok... but only I know where the things are kept." She said.

"Take care of your health too."

"Yes yes. You're my older son no, to worry about me soo much." She said rubbing his back.

Rehan said nothing just smiled slightly. She was the only person closer to him to be called like a parent.

Muskan's heart warmed up hearing them. He cares for everyone soo much. He has such a pure heart.

But Alas, our innocent Muskan didn't know what kinda man he actually was and in what dark world he lived in or....how much darker his hands were painted with red.

To her, what she was witnessing was the truth. She was only seeing the side of him that he had hidden from the world. And that side was what....

...... she was unknowingly falling for.

∆∆∆∆
Muskan sat back on her prayer mat after finishing her Salah and for the first time, instead of tears in her eyes, she had a smile on her face.

She thanked the Lord for giving her this happiness, a new family, a sister like friend and.....a kind hearted person. Although, she was confused what to call him.

Zarina Ma was like a mother to her, Khushi like an older sister and Yasir, who called her little squirrel, was like an older brother to her. So now, what was Rehan?

Just thinking about him made her heart flutter and made her smile. She didn't know how to explain that feeling. However, he was someone special to her no doubt.

Maybe, all she could do was pray for him....and for everyone else.

As she was busy in her prayers, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" Muskan asked.

"It's me cutie. Can I come in?"

Muskan smiled beautifully stretching her hand.
"Khushi didi! Please come in. This is your home afterall."

Khushi smiled going to her and took her outstretched hand in hers sitting beside her.

"Who were you praying for?"

"For everyone!" Muskan said with excitement in her voice.

"Everyone huh? Even.... Rehan bhai?" She teased

Khushi noticed how her emrald orbs widened for a second and her other hand clenched in a fist resting on her heart. Seeing that she couldn't smile any wider.

"Cutie...tell me honestly....do you like my brother?"

Muskan's face turned red and heart palpitated at her question.
"U...um...as a person....yes...he..he saved me so..."

"Oh no my silly dolly. I meant as a man.... romantically. You know, like I love Yasir." Khushi explained knowing how naive the girl was.

Muskan turned red like a tomato completely tongue tied and Khushi giggled.
"Then I'll take that as a yes."

Muskan blushed harder if it was even possible.

"Cutie....no, Muskan," she held her hand tighter.
"This time I'm asking you seriously. Would you like to marry my brother?"

Muskan's face sank.
"Didi, every girl wishes to get married someday. I'm no different in that....but, I'm someone, whose wish can never be fulfilled."

"Why not?!"

Muskan smiled a sad smile breaking Khushi's heart.
"Look at me Didi. I'm blind, I'm weak.... someone like me can never be a capable wife to take care of her husband, she can only be a burden on him."

"What nonsense! Who says that?! Cutie, you'll be an excellent wife for any man! You're amazing! So what you lack something? Everyone else does. Beside, even without your sight, you can do anything and everything. It's like your superwoman! Not to forget extremely beautiful. Both inside and out." Khushi retorted.

Muskan shook her head.
"Didi, I'm pathetic! You have seen me haven't you? Like an idiot, I bump around on walls and pillars, stretch my hand ahead while walking like a broken string puppet. No man can love someone as pathetic as me. Men are attracted to a woman's body right? But I'm soo skinny. My sister once told me even my bones stick out and I look horrendous."

Khushi's temper roze hearing that last part. That bitchy sister of her's. She was already planning a huge calamity on that bitch in her head.

"If you're thin then we can fatten you up within a month or so. And as for you being blind... cutie
He can be your eyes and you can be his heart. You both are incomplete in someway but the way we all see it, Allah has made you in a way that you both complete eachother."

Muskan was confused. He was incomplete? In what way. As much as she has noticed, he was the perfect man. With a kind heart.

Khushi noticed her confusion.
"Yes cutie. My brother is incomplete to...in the matters of the heart." She said and her heart ached as flashes of their past flashed in front of her eyes

"The way we grew up...my brother has only learnt how to protect....but not how to love and cherish. But Muskan, you can teach him that."
She held her face gently between her hands.
"With such a pure and gentle heart of yours, with that angelic aura of yours, you can soften his heart too and teach him to love."

Muskan gulped.

"How can I?"

She knew nothing about thier past or much about thier present. What Khushi was telling her to do, were huge words that her weak shoulders couldn't handle.

"Even if.... I try to do so, how can he love someone like me...who was almost tainted by her own cousin brother." Muskan said as her voice broke remembering the awful condition she was in when they first met. He doesn't even know if she was pure or not.

Khushi sighed heavily looking up at the ceiling blinking back her tears as she answered.
"Exactly how, my Yasir chose to love me even though.....

I was tainted by my own Father."

_____________________
Scroll up for next....