19. Dear fiancé

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The memories of the day felt fresh on her skin and in her mind. Ziah had woken up to a nightmare, sweating profusely with heavy breaths. The night was still young but she feared closing her eyes. The unconsciousness that she had welcomed back then made her now self vulnerable and alarmed.

More than a month had passed and not once did she have trouble with these thoughts, maybe because the people around her made her suppress the majority of those memories unlike yesterday, when randomly the topic had been brought up.

Her heart ached slightly to see the familiar walls of the haveli that she had grown up in. The sweet laughs that she had shared with her parents even if it was just for a while. A small smile tugged at her lips as she remembered Malak, the young girl whom she had forgotten about during the whole ordeal.

Almost instantly, a frown stretched between her brows. Malak had seen enough at such a young age and the thoughts of how she'd be doing without her sent the slightest bit of panic through Ziah's mind.

Hugging herself tight, she looked towards the window in her room that was covered by cocoa mist coloured blinds with small floral patterns spread across its smooth surface. Contemplating her thoughts for a few minutes, she decided to walk out of the room for a little while, just to get some air.

Taking hold of her shawl that lay beside her on the bed, she draped it over herself, as though trying to hide. With hesitant steps and shivering hands, Ziah walked out of the room after closing it with a soft thud.

The house was eerie silent, something she did expect but in the chill of the night and the darkness around, it did send her mind into a frenzy short lived.

Taking deep breaths, she got down the stairs. The house was too big for its own good and Ziah couldn't help but scowl at the useless space that seemed like the party ground for the ghosts that were created by her mind.

"Why are you being as quiet as a mouse?"

Ziah shrieked in terror. Her leg slipped by the last stair that she was about to walk down and her body embraced itself for the not-so brutal fall. Closing her eyes, she waited for herself to kiss the ground but it looked like the place lacked gravity because even after a few seconds, she could feel nothing but air caressing her body.

And maybe an unidentified touch on her arm.

Scowling at the awful sensation that felt like leaves rustling against the wind, creating an invisible magnetic force sending zaps around, she opened her eyes to meet the horror filled umber brown ones.

Her scowl instantly turned to surprise and as she was about to reprimand him for sneaking up on her, the man beat her with his words.

"Dhyan kaha rehta hai tumhara?"

Marwan whisper-yelled at the lady who would have sprained her ankle for sure if she had met the fall. His narrowed eyes stared down at the lady whose hand he was holding onto for her dear ankle.

Ziah gaped at the man who had oh-so easily put the blame on her. Within seconds, her expression mirrored his and without a warning, she snatched her hands from his and got down the stairs, standing straight with her hands crossed across her torso.

The sudden move took Marwan by surprise, who himself was about to slip down the stairs but he quickly caught onto the railing, thanking the heavens for the quick reflexes of his brain.

"Woman! What if I fell?"

Ziah rolled her eyes at the exaggeration. She didn't know from where the attitude had come into her body although she did have an inkling that it might have to do with the comfort zone that she had developed with the commando man.

Comfort or more like a dangerous zone.

"And what about the fact that you sneaked up on me out of nowhere in the dead of the night? Mujhe heart attack aa jaata toh?"

She waved both of her hands in the air to add the needed effect and Marwan could only give her a bored look.

"Drama karna sab ke bas ki baat nahi. Let that be my job."

He cleared his throat and then continued,

"Aur waise bhi, if you were to walk down in this kind of silence, your guard should always be up. What was the need to wander around the house at 2?"

Ignoring Ziah's bewildered stare, he walked down the remaining stairs and past her to the living room. Ziah stood at her place for a few minutes before his sarcasm filled voice brought her back.

"You coming? Ya phir waha ki gravity abhi bhi test karni hai?"

The embarrassing blush that creeped down Ziah's cheeks made her huff in annoyance.

It wasn't even her fault!

Turning on her heels, she silently followed him to the living room. The house was once again blanketed with silence and Ziah didn't know which silence she liked more.

The one that she was suffering alone; or

The one that surrounded her in his presence.

Marwan got comfortable on the stone grey coloured couch that was too plush and comfortable for him to almost melt on it but since he had a reputation to hold, he could only sit straight with his back resting against the cushion.

Ziah gave him a curious look when he gritted his teeth. His eyes closed a few times before they snapped to her and she gulped not knowing whether she had done something wrong or he was simply being moody.

She heard a grumble from him and within seconds, the once sophisticated position that he was seated in was forgotten and Marwan tucked his legs under himself in a cross, brought a cushion on his lap and kept two behind him- one atop the other, like a ladder.

Ziah bit her lips to stop herself from giggling when he closed his eyes and sighed in relaxation. The soft material must have provided immense comfort to his muscles, because he not-so discreetly snuggled into them.

He sometimes reminded her of a man child- a cute one.

And just like that, Ziah felt the once subsided blush making its way back to her cheeks and the silent breeze being coated with shyness.

Back to the phase of the first crush that she had ever had.

Wanting to keep her heart safe from any unhealthy movements, she took a seat at a good distance from him, making herself cozy on her seat.

"Why are you awake?"

His tone held curiosity and something else, something she wasn't in the mood to identify since his question had ruined her once hazy mood.

Shrugging in reply, she said the typical excuse.

"Aise hi. Neend nahi aa rahi thi."

"Neend nahi aa rahi thi or is something bothering you?"

Marwan opened his eyes to stare at the maiden who sat staring at fingers as though she'd twirl them and glitter would fall like a fairy testing her magic- he wouldn't be surprised if that did happen seeing her looks and the way she behaved but that's besides the point.

His head rested on the cushion and he turned his neck to the left, where she sat without lifting it up from its comfy position.

"N-nahi. What would bother me?"

She chuckled towards the end, a sound that they both knew was as fake as the alien sighting news from the west.

Marwan's eyes stared at her for a good few minutes. His guts told him that he was familiar with the reason and he somewhat agreed. He was sure yesterday's talk had brought back memories she didn't want to recollect or look at. Incidents like these are never forgotten. They are just overlaid by many others, being buried deep somewhere in a person's mind palace.

But all it takes is a few words for it to come to the surface, crushing all other thoughts away, creating of havoc of peace and a test for sanity.

Ziah cleared her throat, not wanting to talk about it or open up. Her fingers entangled with each other, caressing the skin once in a while.

"So, kab hai shaadi?"

Her question was out of the blue and unexpected.

Her heart cursed her for the reminder while her mind just sighed, remaining calm and silent, not racing with thoughts that she feared it might.

Marwan casted her a confused glance. His eyes gleamed with interest as he stared down at her.

"Kis ki shaadi?"

His question was all but of awareness. Ziah looked up and rolled her eyes at him. The two now stared at each other, both buried deep in lanes and assumptions of their own.

"Tumhari, aur kiski."

Marwan almost got a whiplash. His body was quick to hover off the couch, the cushions falling down, meeting the ground in the most unpleasant of ways. His eyes wide with alarm and panic as to who in the seven heavens had arranged his marriage without his permission out of nowhere in the dead of the night?

"Shaadi? Meri? Kisse? Kab? Kyu? Ziah, who even told you that?"

He fired the questions one after the other, not breathing neither giving her the chance to answer.

Ziah hit her forehead in annoyance. How could he forget about his own fiancé? That two the one living under the same roof as him.

"Marwan sahab, seriously? Out of everything, you had to forget this?"

Ziah shook her head in mock reprimand. Her tone was dripping with sarcasm but her eyes, oh her eyes spoke words her tongue couldn't form. She didn't stare into the pools of mud that resembled the ground after the first drops of rain, knowing well that just like the hardness in the ground, she'd melt without any delay.

Her feet fumbled on the ground, nothing too obvious though. She made it all look casual- her question, her stance, her expression, her emotions.

"Ziah, for the love of the Lord, kya bol rahi ho?"

Marwan gritted the words out. The once placid playfulness in his demeanor was gone and who stood in front of her now was the tough and uptight commando, the one who was seeking answers that he had apparently forgotten.

"Gosh, Marwan, itna kya serious ho rahe hai? I get it, it might have slipped from your mind in all this but, do you not actually remember?"

"You remember things you're aware of. And whatever it is that you think you know, please do share with me."

Even in the state of sheer seriousness, his sarcasm didn't miss the chance to surface.

Ziah now looked highly confused. Did the man have some memory issues? Or was it not important enough for him to remember? But how couldn't it be? Laiha and him just seem too close for something like that to happen.

Getting up from her seat, she furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head to the side as she gazed at him. Her orbs assessed his form, trying to find something to diminish the ridiculous hope that was starting to stem in the pits of her beating organ.

"Tumhari aur Laiha ki shaadi. You're engaged to her, remember?"

There was a certain hesitancy in her tone that both of them had noticed. One was nervous while the other went still. Marwan binked a few times, his tense posture didn't relax even a little while he gazed stupidly at Ziah, as though her words were alien to him.

"Engaged..."

He whispered the word to himself. A nod from his side was what followed before he heaved a deep sigh, a smile formed on his lips and his tense posture relaxed.

And that was all it took for Ziah's heart to fall back in between the curtains of hopelessness.

An emotion that now seemed to have been etched to her being ever since her young mind could recall.

"Chalo acha hai tumhe yaad aa gaya. Anyways, mujhe ab neend aa rahi hai. Main chali. Good night."

She as subtly as possible kept her tone and feelings in check. Offering him a small smile that reflected only on her face and not her eyes, she waved a hand to bid her farewell and marched back to her room, taking deep breaths to suppress the unwanted tears from welling in her orbs.

Meanwhile Marwan stood in the living room, watching her retreating figure that soon got lost from his vision. The smile from his lips was wiped off and a glare was what took its place.

Gritting his teeth, he bit his lips to not yell or make a sound of distress.

It took him less than a minute to race to the first floor, crossing two stairs at a time. Walking towards the far end of the corridor, he banged on the door in urgency.

"Kya aafat aa gayi hai?"

The groggy voice of a sleepy Laiha sounded in his ears. What followed her complaint was the opening of the door and Marwan crossed his arms across his chest, watching as she yawned and rubbed her eyes.

A sickly sweet smile spread across his lips, making a sleepy Laiha turn alarmed without a second being wasted.

"Sorry to interrupt your sleep, dear fiancé."

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~ I knew you were trouble when you walked in ~

Taylor swift and me just keep getting in an on and off relationship...

Acha, here's a very distinct question, something I never asked but if you read my update on another one of my story yesterday, you might know what it is.

So, is there nothing worth commenting for on my updates? I mean, Posheeda doesn't have a huge number of comments from the start and I was fine with it, you know it'll come with time but the previous update that I did, there was not a single comment even after people voting on it.

Sappy story, sad life, I know. But the thing is, votes and comments motivate me. A little bit of appreciation for my efforts is all I ask for, nothing more...🤧❤

P.S. we're halfway through Ramadan and I'm still trying to process that it's Ramadan. koi batao ki yaha ho kya raha hai?!!

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