ACT-4

"Hmm." I stole a quick glance at Dad. His eyes were fixed at the wall in front of him since the past 10 minutes while his facial expressions were solid and grim. Turning away from him I quickly gave a look over to Mum. Her fingers were frozen around the spoon which now laid abandoned on her plate but her gaze was hooked on Dad; mimicking his expression.

With a sigh, I averted my gaze to my plate and became busy playing with my food.

"That's al—Hmm—Yes—No, I completely understand—No—Yes, alright. Okay—Allah hafiz." As Dad, ended his call; I brought all my attention to eating, gobbling like it was my last meal.

"Well?" Mum asked, impatiently. I didn't dare look up when Dad began with a sigh.

"He told me that he had talked to Rayyan but we can only wait for now. Rayyan's grandfather is still in hospital and he has to take care of them." Dad paused and Mum took the opportunity to continue where he left off.

"But, its been 8 months now! Almost a year since nikaah. People are raising questions and we have yet to make reservations. Even the cards couldn't be distributed. " Mum expressed her suppressed anger not being shy about it one bit. I kept my eyes glued down.

"Yes, but he got the visa ready in half the time he promised. We can't do much now. Zia said he will come meet us tomorrow. They had been out of city—" Dad continued but I got up after a while. No point sitting around any longer.

"Are you done already?" Dad questioned as I pushed the chair in.

"Yep." I answered quickly and made for an escape, before he showered me with any more inquiries. Coming back to my room, I slumped down on the bed; keeping only one lamp on.

Staring at the ceiling, I thought about the past events. About him, mostly. Closing my eyes, I skimmed through the leaves of my memory, going back as far as our childhood. All the way to the first time I met him.

It was the worst of the times. I had just turned 4 and can still vividly remember the details. Never before had I witnessed such gloom and felt overwhelmed. Everyone had gathered at Hamdani's Haveli and were busy bustling around. There were so many people, all so sad. Some of them were crying. I felt mesmerised by the whole thing as I walked through the crowd, holding onto my sister's hand. Mum and Dad had left us with Harris and Hania's nanny as soon as we reached. There were many other kids besides ourselves, so it was getting harder to gain control. I don't remember exactly when, but it seemed like hours had passed until I couldn't contain my curiosity and escaped at the first opportunity. The crowd had shrunk to only a few people so, I walked quickly to the courtyard where all the noise was centred. I had to actually take a step back when I witnessed the scene infront of me.

So many women sat around and weeped but what caught my eye was the little boy sitting in the front, holding onto a bag to his chest tightly. There were no signs of tears on his face but his face was so dark and gloomy. He looked straight ahead with an old lady sitting beside him, whose face remained passive while other ladies clung to her.

"Zaira!" It was when Mum called out to me that he looked up. I couldn't see my Mum coming because I was captivated by his hazel green eyes.

'Ah! He has beautiful eyes'  That was the only thought that crossed my mind as I turned and stared at him even when Mum started dragging me away. He held my gaze for as long as I could see him.

Sigh. Maybe it had started at that time. My little crush for the gloomy kid whom I had met at his own mother's funeral. What a distasteful person I am. Though, It ended as soon as it began. Or, so I liked to presume.

I thought, while scrolling through the gallery of our nikah pictures. I watched his contact info on my phone. My finger hovering over the call button but in the end decided against it. Throwing my phone to the side, I got up.

-------------------

Sigh.

I exhaled another tired breath without noticing; my ears were plugged in with headphones blaring loud music, the kind I liked.

Watching the rain pour, I waited for my driver but my mind was filled with thoughts of this morning.

Mum had asked me to take a leave from job today, for my in-laws were visiting tonight. I didn't want to spend the whole day with my parents who would definitely fuss about every little detail. So, I made some hasty excuse and promised to be back early. They weren't impressed but after all that had happened, their expectation from me are set pretty low.

I wondered, where did all that time go, when we used to be a happy family and didn't have to put in so much efforts just to be able to stand the sight of each other.

I was immersed so deep in my thoughts that I didn't see the person standing next to me, until he called out.

"Zaira!!" I pulled out my earphone with a little more force than needed and turned to him with a huh??

"It's getting cold. Are you waiting for someone??" It was Sir Usman, a resident surgeon. He was half shouting, possibly to talk over the rain.

"Uh--yes Sir! My driver. He is on his way." I found myself matching his tone and suddenly realised it wasgetting pretty cold.

He nodded in response before folding his arms over his chest to ward off the cold. I waited for a moment, wondering if he needed something but he stood there silently.

"Are you waiting for someone, Sir?!" I shouted again. He turned and gave me a smile before replying.

"No, I thought that I would wait with you!" He returned kinda bashfully and I stared at him dumbfounded. Is he for real?

Sir Usman liked me, or so I had heard but never before had he talked to me about anything besides work stuff. He was a decent guy, a few years my senior and single.

I looked away without saying anything more. Nobody here knew that I was already married. I didn't think it was anything of importance. Everyone assumed on their own that I was still single.

"Would you like to wait in the cafe with me?" His voice was low this time. I didn't look at him. Couldn't, at least for a moment there.

"Uh—No thanks, Sir. I prefer waiting here. He is on his way." I tried to be as polite as possible because for one, this guy was tolerable. Until recently at least.

"Oh. Okay. Yeah. The weather is very nice too. Did you get off work early today?" He tried to smother the mood, but it was just one of those days.

I turned to him with a small smile, fully prepared to shoot the poor guy down but before I could open my mouth, I was blinded by the headlights of a car coming to a halt. I had to shield my eyes with my hand before the idiot driver could turn off the lights and as he did so, I realized that it was my own driver.

"Ah! My driver is here—!" I meant to be apologetic but couldn't completely keep the relief out of my voice when I turned to Sir Usman.

"Oh. Is that so?" He returned disappointed while looking behind him. I followed his gaze to find the backdoor opening.

"Alright then. I guess—" He was saying but I had stopped paying attention while I slowly turned to stone.

Neither of us moved. He stood with his hand resting on the door left ajar. I couldn't see anything but those hazel green eyes, which were fierce and cold but gentle and lonely all at the same time. All my thoughts had come to a halt, as if the time itself had frozen and everything around me had faded to nothingness. It was only him and me in that moment.

"Zaira." Huh? I looked away at Sir's voice; dropping my phone and bag in the process. Damn. I swore in my head, bowing to pick them but was beat to it by Sir.

"Are you alright—" Sir inquired, getting up and handing me my stuff. I was about to return with an unstable reply, when I saw him coming to stand infront of me.

He was half drenched in rain. And his dark chesnut brown hair were sticking to his forehead. I stood gaping at him like a fool and even if I tried I couldn't look away. Giving me a mere glance he turned to Sir Usman and took my stuff from him. I realized my mistake and turned my head down in embarrassment.

"Thanks." He returned curtly. It was only a single word but it was enough to make my heart race. I watched him sideways and then Sir Usman, whose expressions were no short of a shock. I was about to say bye to him, when Rayyan grabbed onto my hand and started pulling me away.

I looked between him and behind me, choosing to let him pull me in the end. He used his free hand and my bag to shield us from the rain. Pushing me inside first, he took his place beside me in the back seat. I still couldn't come out of the shock when he told the driver to go.

"What—" I quacked out, turning in my seat. He was in the middle of pushing back his hair with his fingers, when he answered without so much as glancing at me.

"What?"

"Wha—" I stammered. Again. He turned to me coldly and extended me a napkin. I looked between him and the napkin. Still very much in shock.

He raised his brow at me and then began wiping my face. I let him for a moment and then grabbed his wrist pulling it away from my face.

"What?!!" I half screamed. He looked at my hand clutching at his wrist and then my face.

"A napkin, I believe." He answered simply and I was this close to wring the guy senseless.

"I mean!!" I shouted dropping his hand.

"Yes?" He asked cutely with a tilt of his head.

'Cute? Am I out of my bloody mind?'

And as I watched him my eyes started filling with tears.

"I...." I whispered with quivering lips and pathetic attempts to keep my sanity intact.

"You—" I looked down from his face and a tear drop streamed down my cheeks.

"Yeah?" His voice was gentle and so was his gaze as I looked up. Before I could get another word out, I started crying with hiccups. As I realized that, I covered my face with my hands.

'Oh God! What am I doing?!' I scolded myself but still couldn't stop.

"Zai." I heard him say before his hand started pulling my hands away. I didn't resist but didn't have the strength to look up. However, I didn't need to because he pulled me against his chest.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." His voice was a soft brush of air against my ear. A sweet torture.

I placed my hands on his back while he stroked the back of my head gently. There was a light hum of raindrops crashing at the window pane and whilst still in his warm and safe embrace, I couldn't help but conclude.

Bloody Hell. I am falling in love.