Atifa's pov:

"Assalamualikum ammi. Aa- aap jaldi aa gayi aaj?" I said, surprised as well as shocked, not knowing what else to say. What if she asked me about Amira? What would I do? It was the one question which was roaming in my mind, eating me up from inside.

(Hi mom, Yo- you are early today?)

"Walikumussalam. Hmm... Kyu, koi problem hai?" Opening the strap of her heels, she hummed before asking me nonchalantly.

(Hello. Hmm... Why, is there any problem?)

"Nahi. Bas aise hi puch rahi thi." I replied quickly, closing the door and wiping the sweat forming on my upper lip.

(No. I was just asking you.)

"Accha. Paani dena mujhe." Rubbing her neck, she said while heading inside.

(Okay. Bring me a glass of water.)

"Jee. Abhi leke aai." I replied, rushing into the kitchen. I just hoped for them not to return home now. Taking a glass of water back to her, I glanced at the clock behind her. It was getting late. They should have been here by now but ammi was here before them. Grabbing the glass from me, she gulped a few sips.

(Okay. I'm bringing it.)

"Amira kaha par hai?" Checking something on her mobile, she asked me the most dreaded question, halting my fidgeting game and making my breath come out shallow.

(Where is Amira?)

"Wo- hamare kamre me hai." Gulping, I replied, hoping she would believe me and wouldn't ask me any more questions. But we couldn't deny the eerie silence of the house which was usually filled with her chatter.

(She- is in our room.)

"Accha. Kya kar rahi hai?" She inquired, glancing up from her mobile and keeping her bag on the coffee table.

(I see. What is she doing?)

"Pata nahi. Dekhna padega." I replied whatever came to my mind, not really thinking about it.

(I don't know. I will have to see.)

"Accha." Getting distracted by an incoming call, she headed to her room, making me sigh in relief. I rushed to the kitchen, worried about them. What if ammi caught them today? Would the results be as bad as I think of them to be?

(Okay.)

"Amira I bought something for you." I was making tea when she returned to the living room to grab her bag and called out, making me sweat profusely. I was scared. What was I supposed to do now? "Atifa if she comes out, tell her it's on the table." She called out to me and before I could reply, I heard the door of the washroom closing shut, making me sigh in relief.

Just as I let my muscles relax, the doorbell rang, making me jump up in my place. Placing a hand on my heart, I calmed myself down before rushing towards the door. If it is him, then he is dead, I decided.

Opening the door, I saw him about to ring the bell once again. That was close. I was kind of thankful that he didn't ring it more than once, because I didn't know how to answer ammi if she heard it.

Amira was leaning her face on his hand and dozing off, making me sigh in relief at the fact that at least she was home now and I wouldn't have to lie to ammi about anything.

._._._.

My incessantly ringing alarm brought me out of my dreamland. Groaning, I moved my hand around to turn it off only to graze a stubble. My eyes shot open and I was about to scream when yesterday's events flashed in front of me, halting my actions.

Taking a deep breath and closing my mouth, I touched his jaw lightly with a small smile. He looked so peaceful while sleeping. The ringing of the alarm made me frown. Removing my hand from his face quickly, I turned around to turn it off.

Checking the time, a sigh escaped my lips. He should get going now before ammi wakes up and catches him here. It was going to be fajr soon.

Turning back around, I realised he had one of his arms draped around my waist lazily. My cheeks heated up and with a sigh, I tried to remove it before he could wake up. But I froze completely when I heard him groan, thinking that maybe I disturbed his sleep, but before I could think much, I was pulled closer to him as he tightened his arm around me with a sigh.

What just happened? Didn't I ask him to maintain his distance with me? Was I not clear enough? For God's sake, I hadn't even forgiven him yet! I mean, couldn't he have tried some more? Couldn't he have said sorry a few more times? Maybe I would have thought about it. But no! He didn't even do that! He didn't even apologise when I asked him to! What kind of a man was he?! And now, he was what? Snuggling me? What was I? His pillow?

I continued to stare at him with an agape mouth, not being able to believe him.

Removing my hand from his arm, I closed my mouth, thinking what should I do next. Looking up at his peaceful face, my hand went to his hair. They were so soft, so devilish that I couldn't stop myself from running my hand through them.

"Atifa..." He mumbled slowly with a frown on his face, making me halt my actions. I could see yesterday's event flashing before me once again, making my cheeks warm up on their own. It was the first time when he said my name, or maybe, I heard it for the first time from him. No actually, it was the first time when I noticed him taking my name and it was a beautiful feeling. And coming from him, it sounded so soft, so delicately handled that it felt like, for a moment, time stopped, giving me some time to cherish the moment.

Coming out of my trance, I pulled my hand back from his hair and kept it on his chest. I would have admired him for longer if time permitted and if things were a bit different, with him being forgiven and us not being in this kind of a situation. But since ammi might have woken up anytime, I decided to wake him up. An idea popped up in my mind and a slow chuckle escaped my lips. This was going to be fun. At least I would make it fun.

Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I pretended to sleep, fighting the smile off my face. Groaning, I tried to move my hands before slapping his cheeks - lightly of course - and shrieking loudly. "Ya Allah, there is a jinn beside me!"

"Oh my God, I need to do something." Continuing to mumble sleepily, I could feel him moving a bit, indicating that my plan was going well. At least for now.

"Please don't do anything to me, what have I done to you Mr. Jinn?" Trying to remove his hand from my waist, I continued to say whatever came in my mind. I could feel him moving his face as he groaned tiredly. "Can someone please help?!" I exclaimed in a panicked voice, squinting my eyes and looking around frantically, waiting for his reaction.

"What is it now?" He mumbled, exasperated, while throwing his head back on the pillow.

"I- I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I- I will start reciting ayatul kursi now. P- please... leave... me..." I stuttered, sniffing and turning to face him.

"Why are you crying now?" He muttered, lifting his head a bit to look at me.

"Oh- oh yeah, I- I remember that... that you jinns don't like it when we cry... you- you try to comfort us by hugging us.... I- I'm sorry, I wa- wasn't crying..." I said in a scared voice before sniffing. I so wanted to watch his reaction but because of darkness, I could only make out the outline of his face and notice a few of his features.

"Ya Allah, I'm not a jinn!"

"Every jinn must say like that to comfort us, right?" I sniffed before starting to recite ayatul kursi. "Allahu La Ilaha Illa Huwal Hayyul Qayyum, La Ta'Khuzuhu Sinatawwala Naum-"

"Ya Allah, I'm your husband begum, not any jinn. I can't believe this is happening again!" He groaned, interrupting me and removing his hand from around me while sitting up straight and running his hand through his hair.

"I know... Every jinn must say that to comfort us, right?" I mumbled in a scared voice, staring at him while biting my lip, trying to suppress my smile.

"I'm serious! There is no jinn here." He muttered, turning his face to look at me. I could barely make out his features in the dark, so I couldn't actually comprehend his reaction.

"But I don't remember letting my husband sleep while hugging me." I mumbled while sitting up and turning on the torch from my mobile to get a clearer view of him. Keeping the mobile aside, I turned to gauge his reaction.

"Are you actually serious right now?" He muttered incredulously, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Yeppp!" I replied, popping the 'p' before laughing. I couldn't believe he fell for it once again. I mean, I thought I made it clear that it wouldn't happen again.

"I'm not going to leave you." He growled and before I could comprehend anything, he was right in front of me, trapping me between himself and the bed behind me. My laughter ceased and my breath hitched as I stared at him wide eyed.

"Wh- what are you doing?" I stuttered, keeping my hands on his chest to create some space between us. He was too close for my liking.

"Nothing. What time is it again?" He replied with a grin, staring directly at me.

"Uh... It- it's going to be five." I mumbled, looking away, my cheeks heating up on their own.

"Accha. Then I should get going, shouldn't I?" He questioned while raising his brow, amused.

(I see.)

"Yeah, you should." I replied without missing a beat, looking up at him.

"I'm."

"Then go." I said, quickly removing my hand from his chest.

"Hmm... I just wanted to watch the face of that jinni which disturbed my peaceful slumber." He mumbled with a small smile, making me stare at him wide eyes, in disbelief.

"Okay, now you have seen it, so go!" Ignoring his words, I mumbled after a while, composing myself.

"Umm hmm..." He hummed and before I could see it coming, his lips touched my forehead in a quick peck and in the blink of an eye, he was away from me, wearing his shoes.

"I still haven't forgiven you." I reminded him while coming out of my trance and staring at him.

"Take care, Allah hafiz." Turning around to glance at me, he said before opening the window and covering his head with his hood. Was he not scared of the lizard now?

"Take care, Allah hafiz." I mumbled as I saw him jumping out of the window and taking off. 'Have a safe journey and I hope you don't get caught by anyone,' I thought while staring at the open window.

He was like a gentle breeze, with me, in front of me for a moment and just like that, away from me within a moment.

._._._.

It was an uneventful day, nothing really happened. Ammi was at work and Amira was lazing around in our room as I read a book, not having any other work to do. Ammi would be back in a while since it was almost magrib already.

Just as I reached an interesting point in the book, the doorbell rang, making me look at it in frustration. Why does this happen everytime we reach a cliffhanger? Why do people always have to interrupt us at that point?!

Sighing, I kept a bookmark on the page before heading to open the door, an annoyed look on my face. Who could it be at this time?

As soon as I opened the door, a surprised look replaced my annoyed one. And once again, I was reminded of the gentle breeze which left me in the morning. But what was he doing here?

Standing in front of me on our porch with devilish hair, a little breathless with a bouquet of flowers and a paper gift bag in his hands, was my gentle breeze. A relieved look crossed his features as soon as he saw me and immediately a smile curved on his lips.

"Assalamualikum." Raising my brow and hiding my amusement, I greeted him.

"Walikumussalam." He replied with a huff, his face contouring in pain as he kept his hand on his knees and bent a little, trying to regulate his breathing.

"What are you doing here?" Suddenly realising that ammi could be here anytime soon, I asked him anxiously, looking behind him.

"I- came here... to... give you this..." He panted, extending the bouquet towards me.

"First of all, take a few deep breaths and calm down. Then speak. And wait here, I'm going to bring water for you." Shaking my head, I told him while turning around to go in.

"No... need..." He panted, trying to stand straight.

"I didn't ask you." I muttered before heading inside. Grabbing a glass of water, I headed back out, hoping that ammi shouldn't return home early. "Here." I extended the glass to him.

"Jazak Allahu Khairan." He murmured, taking it from me before sitting down and gulping it in three sips, as sunnah.

"Wa Antum Fa Jazak Allahu Khairan." I murmured, taking the glass from him. "Now tell me what happened?" I asked once again, looking at him curiously.

"I'm sorry?" He replied, more like questioned, getting confused himself while looking anywhere but at me. "I mean... I came here to apologise... and to give you these..." He mumbled, extending the bouquet and the paper bag towards me. The setting sun behind him gave me a beautiful view, and I wished to capture that moment and keep it with me in my memories forever.

"Oh..." Glancing at his hands, I hesitantly took them from him, not knowing what else to say. Opening the bag slightly, I saw a box of Toblerone, my favourite chocolate, and a few bars of another chocolate, making me smile.

"So... Am I forgiven now?" Rubbing the back of his neck, he inquired, flustered. I could see a hint of pink tint on his ears, making my lips tug up in a small smile. Was he, by any chance, blushing?

"Maybe. I will think about it and let you know." I replied, biting my lips to stop the smile threatening to escape, it would give away the fact that I forgave him.

"Seriously?" Looking at me incredulously, he exclaimed.

"Where are you going?" I asked him, noticing the other bag on his arm.

"Office." He replied, running his hand through his hair.

"Right now?" Furrowing my brows, I asked him. Wasn't it too late to go now?

"Yeah, got some emergency work." He mumbled with a sigh.

"And why were you huffing?" Curious, I asked him.

"I ran here? I mean... I came here running from the shop because I was getting late. So you must forgive me, I spent a few precious moments of my life running for you." Looking at me, he mumbled like a child, making me smile slightly.

"I didn't ask you to do that." I retorted, looking away.

"At least appreciate my efforts and forgive me." He pouted.

"Isn't it getting late for you now?" Turning to look at him again, I asked.

"Uh... yeah... I totally forgot. I have to go now. Bye." Checking his watch, he replied in a hurried voice before turning to go.

"Wait! You forgot something." With my hand in mid air, I stopped him.

"What?" Turning around to look at me with knitted eyebrows, he questioned.

"Your hair... They are devilished, comb them back." I muttered while looking down. He was looking kind of cute and I didn't want anyone to turn around and look at him twice. I mean... He was off limits and they should lower their gaze, shouldn't they?

"Oh." He mumbled, combing them back with his hand. Watching him busy, I took out a bar of chocolate from the bag.

"And... Your forgiveness..." Looking up at him through my lashes with a small smile, I extended the bar of chocolate towards him. He looked surprised to say the least.

"I'm glad. Take care and Allah hafiz." But without wasting any time, he smiled before grabbing it and taking off.

"Be safe. Take care, Allah hafiz." I called out and turning his head around, with the smile still present on his face, he waved his hand before disappearing from my view. Did a movie scene just happened to me?

._._._.

"It's okay beta, leave it." Aunty Maria said as she took the tray from my hands and kept it on the table before ushering me to sit on the couch.

(Child.)

"Jee, mai bas abhi aai." I smiled before heading back to the kitchen to grab some snacks.

(Okay, I will be back.)

His mom and a few other ladies were at our house. We went to have a walk around here and met them by chance. Since it was ammi's holiday, she insisted that they come over. And here we were, having a mini get together with the neighbouring ladies. Thankfully, bhabi or Alayna weren't with them for the walk. Although she did mention them being in a park around the corner.

Heading back to the living room, I kept the tray on the table before taking a seat beside ammi. They continued to converse for a while until ammi's phone rang and she excused herself.

My gaze followed her as she disappeared in the lobby. I was thankful that at least she was talking and indulging with other people because with me and Amira, she had started being cold again.

"Api!" I heard Amira calling me from our room. Excusing myself with a small smile, I headed to our room quickly. What was it now? Was everything alright?

"Kya hua?" I asked her while entering the room, a worried expression on my face.

(What happened?)

"Api wo aunty to yaha par hai lekin Alayna nahi hai. Kya aap aunty se puchengi ke Alayna yaha aayegi ke nahi?" She pouted, looking at me with her big eyes. Was this girl serious right now?

(That aunt is here but Alayna isn't. Can you ask her if Alayna will come here or not?)

"Ya Allah Mira, seriously?!" I muttered, closing the door a bit so that our voices stayed inside. "Nahi, naa hi tum wo sawal karogi aur naa hi mai karungi. Samjhi tum?" I instructed her sternly while showing a finger to her.

(Oh God Mira, seriously?!)
(No, I'm not going to ask her anything nor will you ask her anything!)

"Lekin api-"

(But-)

"Atifa." Opening the door, ammi interrupted her while checking something in her handbag. 

"Jee ammi." I replied quickly, turning to face her.

(Yes mom.)

"I'm heading out for a while because I have got some work which needs to be done urgently. Should I grab some dinner on the way?" She asked me, still not looking up.

"But ammi... What about these guests?" Dumbfounded, I asked her. I didn't know what to do about them. Or what to talk to them about. It would be super awkward if she would just leave me here to deal with them alone.

"I was thinking about it. Will you handle them until they are here? I don't know how much time it might take for me to return, that's why I was asking you." She replied, looking up at me. Checking her watch, she added. "But if everything goes well, I will be back in half an hour I guess."

"Oh... okay. I- I will see..." I stuttered, not knowing what else to say or do.

"Jazak Allahu Khairan. No need to make dinner, I will just grab something on the way back." She replied while checking her phone.

"Wa Antum Fa Jazak Allahu Khairan. Okay." I said, glancing back in the direction of the guests.

"Take care of everything here." She smiled at Amira before heading out, leaving me stranded there.

"Okay." I muttered, watching her disappear from my view. "Now what am I supposed to tell them!?" I mumbled in worry while looking at Amira helplessly.

As I headed out of our room, and towards where they were seated, I heard the main door closing, indicating that ammi just left.

"I can't believe that she is the mother of that girl." Before I could even enter the room, I heard a woman's voice, making me halt in my steps.

"I know right. I mean, just look at the difference between them. Her daughter is so polite and modest while she doesn't even wear a hijab." Another woman commented, and I realised they were actually talking about ammi.

"It's okay, leave it Jumana." I heard his mother interrupting.

"Leave about her hijab, just look at the way she dresses! God! Like she isn't some woman with two grown up children but some fashion model or someone who is still young. I mean, at least she should dress according to her age." Ignoring her request, another woman commented, making me grit my teeth.

"Yeah. She wouldn't get her 'prince charming' at this age now, would she?!" The first one mocked, making me fist my hands.

"Exactly! I don't know what she even thinks of herself!" The second one said, I think her name was Jumana as aunty Maria mentioned.

"No offence, but at least she should dress modestly and cover herself." The first one commented. I was still standing at the door, contemplating whether I should let my presence known or not.

"She should at least think about what others will say. I mean... there are people who talk, you know..." The third woman spoke hesitantly, like she didn't comment about her dressing just a few moments ago and ignited the flickering flame.

"I can't even come to think of how many men she might have attracted towards herself. Or interacted with for that matter." The first one said. Who were they even to comment on her like that? I closed my eyes, feeling anger surge through me. I wished I could just ask them to leave if they were going to speak like that about ammi.

"With that gait of hers, I doubt she even prays." The second woman said, making my eyes snap open. Wasn't this getting a bit too much? And where was his mom? Why was she quiet? Did she agree with whatever they just said? Was her silence an indication for her agreement? I couldn't believe them!

"We are no one to judge! No more comments on this topic now, got it?! Do you guys know her that well to be making comments on her decisions? I don't even know what's wrong with you all." Before I could think much, she interrupted angrily.

"She wasn't like this before..." I finally intervened, letting my presence known.

._._._.

▪ So... What could be the reason behind Safiya turning like this?

._._._.