𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 27

Islamabad was getting colder with each passing day. It was the start of January. The coldest month in the city. It was midnight and the sky was cloudy, ready to precipitate at any moment. The wind was blowing, I felt tingling as it touched my face.

I closed the door of my car, put my hands in my coat's pockets. The cool breeze stiffened my facial muscles.

I walked inside the building and got the comfort when I entered my apartment where in the lounge my wife was sitting on the sofa busy knitting a sweater.

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Aslamo alaikum" Her sweet voice greeted me.

"Walekum salam" I closed the door behind me and walked to the sofa where she was sitting. I removed my coat and laid it on the sofa before sitting down.

"Why are you still awake. I told you to go to sleep" I muttered, sitting next to her. I had messaged her about my late arrival.

"I couldn't get asleep" She replied.

I just shook my head. It was of no use telling her to fall asleep. She waits for me every time I come late as if I am going to run away from her.

Wherever I would go at the end of the day I had to come to her only.

"What are you doing at this time of the night?" I pointed at her hands.

"I had nothing else to do at this hour so I started finishing it. I had completed most of the work today" She showed me the pattern she was knitting.

I glanced at the sweater which was in the making process.

"It's not time for this" I showed dislikness.

"How is it?" She ignored my comment and asked for my opinion on the sweater she was making.

She was no doubt very talented. The sweater she was knitting was a fine work of her. I liked it.

"It's good" I told her.

"I am glad you liked it. I am making it for you" She added at the end.

"Thank you" I moved my hand to touch it and my hands collided with hers.

"You're cold" I held her hands in mine, freeing her hands from the yarn she was holding. Her hands were cold as ice.

"I don't know why" She muttered.

"Mehrbano! It's not rocket science. You will get cold if you sit in the cold. When the heating system isn't working wy are you then sitting here?" I asked grumpily. She always does things that make me angry.

"I like to work here" She gave her lame reasons.

"What's so special about it?"

"It's cozy"

"Come on! Nothing is more cozy than your bed in winter" I mocked her.

"I don't believe it" She shared.

"Leave all of this right here and get into the bed right now. Enough of the madness!!" I instructed her seriously. This woman gets on my nerves sometimes.

"Okay" As usual she didn't refuse me.

When I entered the room after changing my clothes she was already tucked in the bed like a baby kola.

I turned off the heater, switched off the lights and joined her in the bed. It was so cozy. My tired body got some comfort. I held her hands under the quilt. They were still cold as ice.

"Next time if I say something. Just do it Mehr! Don't test my patience" I said to her.

I didn't like her sitting in the cold, waiting for me. The inverter in the lounge had some issues and instead of getting into the bed. She entertained herself in the cold.

"Okay" She muttered like an innocent child. Sometimes she just effortlessly plays with the strings of my heart.

I could just get to see a little of her face in the dim light coming out of the dressing room. We don't sleep in utter darkness because she can't. She get scared if it's too dark.

I don't know how she manages without me when I go abroad.

I kept rubbing her hands with mine to give her warmth. We were lying close, with hands in our hands. Nothing could be more peaceful than this for me. The room was filled with silence.

"How was the party?" She asked about the business party I had gone tonight.

"It was good" I told her.

"You enjoyed it?"

"Yeah"

"How was the food?" She asked further.

"Good" I chuckled lightly at her silly question. Sometimes she is too cute, hard to resist.

"It's getting colder" She murmured after a short period of silence.

"That's why you were sitting in the lounge" I taunted her calmly.

She chuckled and her sweet laughter echoed around me in the darkness as a sweet symphony.

I wanted to ask her to keep laughing but I couldn't embarrass myself for saying that to her.

"I was just waiting for you to come back" She replied.

"You could have waited in the bedroom" I said.

"I have fallen asleep if I was in bed" She innocently revealed the actual reason now.

"So. What was wrong with it?" I asked.

"Because I can't sleep without you at home" She replied.

"You always have the same answer" I have heard it a lot of times.

"I always say the same thing because it's the only reason" I never understood her reasons.

I didn't say anything and kept rubbing her cold hands with my warm hands till hers turned warm.

"Beside it, you sometimes come home very late. It makes me worried for you. Don't stay out late" She complained to me which she hardly used to do.

"I get busy at work. That's why I get late" I replied and left her hands.

"Mujhy bhi shoq nahi hy ghar se bahir rehne ka" She doesn't know, I wait for off time the whole day, so I could be back at home with her. Alas! To earn money we have to make sacrifices.

(I also don't want to stay out late)

"You too always have the same answer" She mumbled.

"Shh! Bohat bolti ho tum. So jao ab" I pulled her closer to me, ran my fingers through her curly hair.

(You speak a lot. Now go to sleep)

I know I have never said it to her but I loved her hair. I think she definitely knew about it because of how many times I used to run my fingers in her soft hair.

I have never seen such beautiful curls of a woman.

"When will we go to your parents house?" She broke the silence between us.

"Not anytime soon" I closed my eyes.

"Why?" She sounded sad.

"I am very busy with work these days" I explained.

"Oh" I could hear just disappointment.

"I will take you there in some time" I assured her after a silence of a few seconds.

"Okay. I will wait" She kept making patterns with her index finger on my shirt. I was falling asleep in her peaceful embrace.

"Ehan!" She broke the silence once again.

"Hm" I didn't move.

"I want to work" She asked me out of nowhere, about starting a job for which I had refused her earlier at the start of our marriage.

Ehan had always been emotionally unavailable. He didn't share himself with her which is a necessary part of marriage. His trust issues and introvert nature made their marriage toxic.

He is my most toxic lead till now only second to Faris. If any one of you had read that old story of mine. Any old readers?😶

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