***

ہے تیری عنایت تُجھ سے  جوری ہے۔
ہوٹھوں پر میرے ہنسی جو کھلی ہے۔
ِایسا میرا چہرا چھپا بھی نہ پائے
تجھے پاکے حاصل ہہوئی  جو خوشی ہے۔

Hai teri inayat tujhse juri hai,
Hothon pe mere hansi jo khili hai
Ise mera chehra chipa bhi na paye
Tujhe pake hasil hui jo khushi hai

***

The thing with Saman Shah was, her happiness was contagious and extremely obvious. Even anyone meeting her for the first time could tell that she was over the moon and here the talk was about her own family.

Each one of them had picked up her zeal.

"May Allah always keep you happy." Munazza had lovingly caressed her head seeing her laugh.

"Meri gudiya." Her father had hugged her while leaving for work when she had smiled at him widely, with a smile that reminded him of her mother.

Saman Shah was back to being herself and it was enough for her family. More than enough.

"Naddo meri jaan!" Saman slumped beside her as soon as Nadia sat down. "How are you?" Her million dollar smile sent Nadia to a shock realm. She gaped at her then at Ahad who was also smiling.

"I am fine, what's up with you darling?" Nadia asked coming out of her initial shock. Saman giggled and shrugged her shoulders,"More than fine. Batao kuch khaogi?"

"Saman, abhi to aayi hai, thoda araam karne do. Phupi se mil lo jakar." Saman nodded and soon was on her way to meet Nadia's mother who had come for a visit along with her other puphi, Nadia's khala.

"What has happened to her?" Nadia faced Ahad, completely confused and intrigued at the sudden change. She had left the next day of the party, so she was unaware of this whole switch.

"Muhabbat." Ahad whispered.

"Hein?"

"Han."

"Don't blabber nonsense," She flicked his forehead, making him frown.

"And why would I utter nonsense in this matter?"

"But,with whom?" Nadia was half convinced. It was possible, when she herself,out of all the people could fall in love then anyone could.

"Armaan bhai."

"WHAT?" Nadia all but screamed earning everyone's attention even though all of them were at a good distant from them. Ahad could just facepalm.

"Ahad don't trouble her." Munazza scolded him, his jaw dropped.

"I am not doing anything!" He cried. He could tell Munazza didn't believe him but she refrained from saying anything.

"Tum na–" he faced Nadia, only to find her still in shock. He couldn't blame her. He waved his hand infront of her eyes, snapping her stupor.

"I don't believe you." She mumbled, shaking her head.

"Why would I lie?" Ahad groaned.

Nadia observed him carefully, why would he lie.

"Tell me everything." Nadia spoke, enunciating each word. Ahad grinned like a child and then narrated the tale in detail. She went through various stages of emotion in those few minutes. If she thought her own story was unbelievable, this was even more bizarre.

"Shut up!" She murmured.

"Why?" Ahad was confused.

"I mean not literally, I was just shocked."

"Ek aur baat bataun?" Ahad asked when he thought she was done processing everything.

"Ab kuch baki hai?" Nadia chuckled through her words. She was sure nothing could top what he had just told her. Poor her, she didn't know what was coming.

"The three musketeers know about us." Ahad dropped the bomb but before she could even decipher, he pressed his palm on her mouth. Seeing her widened eyes, he knew she would have screamed.

"Don't yell." He spoke removing his hand slowly.

Nadia had gone mute. She did not speak a word even after a minute or two while he patiently waited for her to grasp the information.

"March me april fool bana rahe ho?" She laughed nervously, but Ahad was still staring her with a straight face. Her smile dropped.

"You told them didn't you?" She snarled. Nadia sure was experiencing vivid emotions today.

"Do I look like an idiot?" Ahad was offended.

"You are actually and I know you told them. Why can't you be careful for once, do you realise–" Ahad had once again clasped her mouth.

"Ye jo teen titliyan hain, bewakoof lagti hain tumhein?" He spoke through gritted teeth.

"They figured it out themselves, apparently I was too in love to be cautious."  He spoke with nonchalance

"Now what?" She asked, ignoring her increasing heart beat at his last words.

"Now nothing, if you want to confront them, go ahead. It would be better that way, or else they might soon circle you." Nadia would be lying if said she wasn't scared at the perspective of the three interrogating her.

She was well aware of their tenacity.

________________

"Phupiiii...." Saman dragged her words as she launched at her aunts. The two stumbled a little but laughed at her enthusiasm.

"How are you two? Apki dewrani ne tang kiya hai apko aur aap apki jethani theek hain?" Saman teased Laraib and Laiba one by one. Both the sisters were married in the same house, Laraib being the jethani she was talking of and Laiba her dewrani. It was a family joke that they would often tease the sisters regarding each other.

"Laiba phupo apke dono namune kaha hain waise?" Saman wasn't done with her interrogation.

"Saman saans to le lene do dono ko." Munazza chided Lovingly. A sheepish smile adorned Saman's face.

"We are absolutely good Saman and no my jethani did not trouble me, right baji?" Laiba replied with a chuckle.

"Umair and Uzair are on their way from school." Laraib replied.

"Girls, have you cleaned the room for Farha?" Nausheen asked after a while of chatting.

"Yes chachi, just–"

"Farha is here!" Rameesha announced, with sparkling eyes as she spotted her daughter entering.

"Assalamualaikum." Farha all but ran towards them, with a sleeping Arhaab in her arms.

"Walekum assalam, beta be careful."

"Idhar dein ise–" Saman was quick to reach her and take the sleeping baby from Farha.

"Arey....what about me?" Farha whined as she watched the whole lot's attention on her baby who was sleeping soundly.

"Assalamualaikum aapi." Nadia greeted coming towards them with Ahad.

"Walekum assalam, look how they are ignoring me." There was a fondness in Farha's tone even though she was complaining.

"Aapi, main bhi wohi karne ja raha hun." Ahad grinned at her with all his teeth on display and ran towards them.

"Dekhlo–" Farha shook her head, making Nadia giggle.

"How are you aapi?" Nadia asked as the two made their towards the couches where now Arhaab was being pampered, finally awake.

"Alhamdulillah couldn't be any better." Farha replied through her smile, her eyes sparkling.

Nadia wondered if she would ever feel this way. Her eyes wandered to him who was rocking his nephew back and forth, making the baby giggle. His eyes shone with the intensity of a star and his smile…it could marvel the whole galaxy. Nadia knew at that moment, he would make her feel the way Farha felt...perhaps even more.

"Farha beta, go get freshened up and meet your dada jaan and dadi jaan."

"Give me my kid back you bandar mama, he needs to change."

"Aapi, don't call me that." Ahad whined as she grabbed Arhaab from him.

"It suits you Ahad." Farha deadpaned and the people around him couldn't stop anymore and broke into laughter.

___________________

Armaan gaped at his mother with a passive face. He was done with her. The woman had taken it as a mission to irritate him, and he couldn't say anything to her. She was his mother after all.

"Ammi, please ?" he sighed. He was already getting late for work and Nausheen had started her rant, again !

"Jawab do."

"Kya jawab dun?" He cried helplessly, picking up his watch.

"Bade badtameez ho, didn't I ask you to marry someone?"

Great! Armaan hardly fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"Ammi not now." He spoke, taking a brief breath.

"Don't do this Armaan, tell me now! Do you agree to marry or not?" Nausheen all but yelled at him. It sure stunned him, he hadn't seen her this riled up in a long time.

"Has anyone said anything Ma, you look stressed." Holding her hand in his Armaan made her sit on the bed.

"Nobody said anything, I am just concerned about you, don't you think it's the right time for you to settle down?" She voiced out, her eyes twinkling with unshed tears.

Armaan felt bad, he shouldn't be making her this worried.

"I agree with you ammi, but can you wait,just a little more. For me please?" He asked, looking at her with a soft gaze.

"If you agree then why can't I just start the search, I am sure it will take a lot of time." Nausheen wasn't convinced at all. Armaan knew it, his mother was a classic example of ‘desi mother insearch of a daughter-in-law’. Terribly impatient.

"Ammi–" he inhaled deeply, "Just a little time okay?"

"Not more than a week." Nausheen said with a stern gaze. Armaan shut his eyes briefly, there wasn't any chances of refusal.

"Fine."

__________________

Nadia wondered how Ahad was feeling in this situation.  Nervous? Scared? Worried? Whatever it was, he might be more distressed, because the three musketeers were scary.

She had come clean infront of them a while ago, and they hadn't uttered a word since then. It felt like a court proceeding, with the three as the judge and her as the convict.

"Please say something, you all are scaring me." She murmured. The three scrutinized her even more for a few seconds.

"We are trying to find a reason not to get angry on you." Saman started making her sigh in relief, but that relief was short-lived.

"We expected the betrayal from Ahad bhai because he was our enemy but you api–" Mansha chuckled dryly." You have stabbed us in the back!"

"Guys–"

"Don't!" They chorused together.

"Did you not find our loyalty enough? Were we not your closest people? Tell us what do we do now?" Sara faked a cry." When our own comrade has betrayed us?"

Nadia wanted to slap the drama out of the three of them, but alas her hands were tied. She was solely at fault here. They were hurt, she was aware of that, even though they were masking it under their dramatics.

"I am sorry, I really am. Everything happened so quickly and –"

"It's okay."

"Huh?" She wasn't sure if she heard it right.

"We said it's okay Naddo, we know things weren't ideal. It's not your fault entirely, though we were hurt, just a little bit, we are fine now." Saman assured her with a smile.

"Actually we are more than fine, we are extremely happy!" Sara exclaimed, earning a chuckle from Nadia.

"It wasn't less than a shocker to be honest, but it was a pleasant one. I am so excited for your wedding!" Mansha exclaimed making all of them laugh at her excitement.

"I am so lucky I have you all." Nadia was brought to tears, she wasn't expecting them to be so understanding. She feared she had hurt them and perhaps had ruined their relationship. But she was glad she was wrong there.

"Aww meri hone wali bhabhi mat royein please." Sara cooed hugging her making Nadia cry even more. They were soon followed by Mansha and Saman for a group hug.

"I love you all." Nadia babbled through her tears.

"We love you too."

_____________________

"I can't believe this!" Ahad was aggravated. He paced around while Nadia couldn't help but watch him with mirth. She pressed her lips together, trying not to enrage him even more.

"They didn't ganged up on you and accepted your apology immediately and even hugged you happily?" He asked with exasperation. Nadia nodded with a grin.

"They called me kutta, kamina ,zaleel and what not and they said 'I love you' to you?" He looked heaven wards. This world is surely not fair.

"Calm down Ahad, you are blowing this out."

"No, I will not calm down, ek ek se badla lunga main!" He again started pacing around. Nadia shook her head, all of them were so similar, so dramatic.

"Bache ho?" She chuckled making him frown.

"Don't drag this, they are in our team only." She spoke gesturing him to sit down. He obliged.

"What else did they say?" He asked, propping his face on his palm.

"Mansha was literally screaming, she said she was excited for our wedding." She narrated fondly. Ahad might have lost himself more to her there. The way her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and the way her face had lit up was making him breathless. She was stunning.

"Nadia–" he interrupted making her look at him with anticipation."If I...umm I ask you, like hypothetically...if I ask you to umm...marry me, will you? Hypothetically asking, you don't have to answer now–"

"Yes–" Nadia whispered, shutting him up.

"Hein?"

"I will say yes, hypothetically or in reality." 

She had said that with such calmness and such confidence that Ahad was rendered speechless. He could just watch her with rounded eyes and agape mouth.

"I..I...thank you." He spoke softly, holding her hand in his.

"So when are you asking? In reality?" Nadia teased yet she was anticipating his answer with her whole heart.

"Soon, sooner than you think." He replied giving her a small smile. And now it was her turn to be stunned and speechless.

_______________

Zeeshan stumbled as soon as he entered the apartment. The initial shock of hitting something, right at his doorstep was short lived as his eyes landed on the mess.

"Noor!" He called his wife who had taken up on herself to clean every nook and corner of this 3 bhk flat.

"You're here!" She came out of their bedroom, with a broom. She had her dupatta wrapped around her face and wore a protective glasses on her eyes.

"Dakoo lag rahi ho." He spoke suppressing his laugh. Carefully dodging the boxes and shoes he reached her and removed her glasses first.

"Couldn't you wait a little?" He asked removing the dupatta from her face, finding it covered in sweat.

"I just started." She was breathless. Zeeshan gave her a challenging look and took the broom from her.

"Rest a bit." He said moving towards their room.

"Be careful–" Noor couldn't even complete her sentence as she heard a thud. Clenching her eyes for a second she tsked.

"I am okay!" She heard his voice but knew not to believe him. Walking inside she found his entire six feet self sprawled amongst the books.

"I just organized them into sections and you had to ruin it all." She whined seeing the books scattered around him.

"Love, I fell." He spoke with a pained voice, hurt at her inability to see him.

"I can see that, " Noor helped him up.

"Let me do this room atleast, you go and wait."

"But–"

"Everything else is left, don't worry you will do that." She said taking the broom from his hand.

Needless to say, the cleaning agenda involved more scolding than actual cleaning. It took them more than four hours to complete the dusting, and the night was already over them. Things were still scattered around and the only place they could sit was their living room couch, where both of them were now seated on.

"Kitna danta hai tumne mujhe aaj." Zeesha complained making Noor glare at him.

"Koi kaam dhang se kiya hai tumne?" She retorted rolling her eyes.

"I did! Who cleaned the upper shelves in the kitchen?" He sat up straight.

"And knocked off every single box on my head?" Noor spoke getting up.

"You made me nervous with your nagging, or else I could have easily cleaned everything." Noor stared at him with a 'I am done with you' look in her eyes.

"Yeah I saw how clean your apartment was." Scoffing at him she got up only to get pulled back. She landed on his lap. With widened eyes she faced him who was smirking as if won a lottery.

"Leave me now! I am hungry and angry and I will not refrain from punching you!" She wiggled, trying to remove his hands that had caged her.

"Nope, stay here." He whispered smuggling into her neck.

"Zeeshan I am stinking!" She cried pushing him away.

"Actually you are." His nose wrinkled with disgust. Noor's eyes widened.

"Main tumhara muh tod dungi." Her voice lowered as she clenched her jaw. Zeeshan saw red, but he was having too much fun to stop.

"Here, break it." He said moving his face closer to hers, while she tried to free her hands.

"Leave my hands first."

"Nope."

"Zeeshan pito ge." Zeeshan laughed, throwing his head back.

"My tomato, calm down." The corner of his eyes crinkled as he tried to stop his laugh.

"Food will be here soon so don't bother cooking and relax...okay?" He spoke calmly making her stop wiggling. She sighed, knowing he wasn't planning to leave her so she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Too tired to fight anymore.

"I am sleepy." She whispered against his neck.

"Then sleep." He replied softly.

"There's still so much to do."

"I will do that." She raised her head hearing him, a frown on her face.

"No! You will not, we will do it together." Zeeshan watched her leisurely. Her face was flushed, a rosy glow decorating her cheeks. He wondered if he had ever seen such a beautiful sight.

"Fine, but rest some more." He said. She nodded and laid her head back on his shoulder.

By the time the food delivery reached, Noor was fast asleep. Zeeshan tried to wake her up but she didn't, so he laid her on the couch and covered her with a comforter. The rest of the night he cleaned up as much as he could and once done joined her.

It might not be a wise decision to sleep on a couch that was too small for two people but he knew he wouldn't regret it. Not when she was so close to him.

_________

Assalamualaikum everyone.

An early update for the lovely people who have been so patient with me.

Thank you so much for reading.

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