●6●

Fariya was sitting on the small dining table with a cup of warm chocolate milk in her hand. She couldn't sleep as she had slept during the day. And now her thoughts kept drifting to the whole drama which happened in the evening. She couldn't help but blame herself for everything. She had caused a rift between her husband and his mother. All of that wouldn't have happened if she had gone to her room instead of sleeping in Haider's room. Or....maybe Salma would have accepted her if she was a slim fair girl. She thought as her nails dug into her thick thigh. She once tried to diet but she started feeling unwell and her blood-sugar level dropped. She didn't try to diet after that-well more like her mother didn't let her diet.

She got startled when someone whispered 'hey' in her ear and she looked over her shoulder with wide-eyes only to find Haider breathing down her neck with a smirk.

"Ahh!- Haider ap! God you scared me." She quickly removed her hand from her thigh and clutched her heart. All too soon she realised she doesn't have her duppata around her and remembered she had taken it off and drapped it over a chair because it was quite hot.

"Bas itni si baat se darr gayi."(You got scared so easily.) He chuckled lightly and his bare shoulders shook. Fariah stood up from the chair and her face came upto his naked chest due to their height difference. She-wait what? Naked chest?!

"Haider, where is your shirt?" Fariah turned around with red cheeks and her back faced his front. She moved her hand towards the chair to her right to retrieve her duppata but Haider noticed her advance and caught her hand turning her around to face him.

"I usually sleep without a shirt. It's just too hot, you know?" Haider gloated with a smirk. He was well-aware of the effect he had on her but he was damn sure she must be oblivious to the things she was doing to him standing in that light pink cotton kameez which was slightly snug around the chest area. He had seen her like this for the first time and his eyes feasted on her curves. He was getting excited and he hoped Fariah didn't notice his excitement.

"How are the cramps? Are you awake because of the pain?" He asked when his gaze fell on the steaming cup of milk lying on the table and he remembered what she told him. He put his hand on her lower back and rubbed it lightly.

"I'm okay. I just couldn't sleep. Uh-why did you come down?" She stumbled a bit forward as he lessened the gap between them and became hyperware of the heat radiating from his large hand through the thin cotton shirt she wore to bed.

"I was thirsty." He cleared his throat and blocked the double-meaning thoughts as it was already quite hard to hide his situation down there. "I came to get some water."

"Oh." She now noticed the empty water-bottle in his hand which he placed on the table beside her as she was leaning on the table to create some space between them and their arms brushed.

"Mai bhar deti hun bottle." (Let me fill the bottle.) Fariah tried to move away but Haider stopped her.

"I am not thirsty anymore. Not for water atleast." He mumbled the last part to himself.

"Haider, wo...I wanted to say something." Fariah mumbled nervously and again tried to move away from him and this time Haider let her. She picked up the bottle from the table and went to fill it with cold water.

"Jee. Bolain bolain." (Yeah, sure.) Haider said in a playful mood. He took the bottle from her and sat on the table behind him as he drank the much needed cold water to calm him down.

"Uh-I think you shouldn't stay angry with Mumani like this because of me. She loves you alot and-" She got cut off by Haider jerking her towards him as he made her stand between his thighs. Now, they were face to face.

"She disrespected you Fariah. I am very sorry I couldn't protect you from her." He touched her left cheek that his mother slapped and looked at her with guilt. "And I won't forgive her for all the shit she said about you. She had no right to say that."

"Haider, she's your mother. She was just trying to protect you from me." Fariah got a bit more flustered due to their close proximity but she had to clear his mimd as she was feeling very guilty. It was her fault that their mother-son bond got strained like this.

"And who are you? What relation do we have?"

"Huh?" Fariah, who was looking on the floor beneath her bare feet, looked up in his eyes at the sudden question.

"Who am I to you, Fariah? Answer me." His expression were stern and she concluded his playful mood had evaporated into thin air.

"You-uh...You are...." She felt nervous claiming him as her husband.

"You tend to forget our relation very often, Fariah." Haider said in a taunting tone. "After rukhsati, I'll make sure you won't forget who I am." He said with a heated gaze.

"I am your husband. We both have all the rights to do much more than sleep in the same bed." He wrapped his left arm around her waist pulling her more close as his right hand played with thin golden chain around her neck which had been teasing him for quite a while.

"Mom or anyone else has no right to say anything about you or our relation much less label you as...whatever she did. And I don't want you supporting her in things which are wrong. I love my mother but I also know how manipulative she can be. Are we clear?" He slightly tugged at her chain when she looked down making her look up. She nodded her head in relpy.

"Words, Fariah."

"J-Jee." She said as her eyes moved down to his hand still holding her chain. She couldn't handle the heat in his ashy orbs.

"Good girl. Now tell me, what do you want as your wedding gift?" His hand moved from her chain to her soft-looking earlobe and he massaged it lightly with his forefinger and thumb. Fariah almost moaned at the pleasurable sensation. No one has ever touched her like this. His coarse warm hand felt so good on her skin she doubted her sanity. Such a simple action of his made her blush crimson red.

"Um-noth...thing." She stuttered as Haider kept massaging her earlobe with curious eyes.

"What rubbish! Tell me what you want or I'll get something of my choice and then you'll behave all shy with your cheeks looking like tomatoes. And you already know, I love eating tomatoes." Haider's voice went from demanding to husky in a matter of seconds making Fariah shiver at the desire in his voice.

"I really don't want anything."

"My choice it is then." He shrugged and went back to his conquest on her earlobe. It was so squishy and soft.

"Haider, I'm sleepy." Fariah said when she saw he didn't plan on leaving her-actually her earlobe-anytime soon and her thighs had started to hurt again.

"Oh, should I take you to your room?" He asked and his eyes resembled a confused child's eyes.

"No, I can go myself." She giggled at his antics.

"Okay. Goodnight." He kissed her cheek. She stood there stunned with an open mouth and then ran from there grabbing her duppata on the way out. Haider's laughter echoed through the empty kitchen.

"Cold shower, here I come." He muttered under his breath and left to his room.

~

"Mehndi lagau gi mai sajna k naam ki"

Girls were gathered in the living room for a small dholki gathering as tomorrow was the rukhsati function. Fariah, Afeefah, Rahima and Amara were busy in shopping all day. Salma had denied to come along giving the excuse of tending to the guests. They all did shopping for the bridal dresses and other fancy dresses. Much to Fariah's embarrassment, the also shopped for night gowns and lingerie. She tried to object that she didn't need them but they shut her up with a glare. Then she tried to say that Affi shouldn't be seeing all this to which Afeefah gave a laugh and said, "Bhabhi, you're too innocent."

After shopping, they had spent a few hours at spa making bridal bookings and Fariah getting the bridal treatments. Thankfully, she didn't need waxing and threading as she had it done a few days ago. They all went home and most of the relatives had already arrived.

Fariah changes into a sleeveless light yellow short kameez and capri pants with a heavily embroided dark green duppata. She protested about the lack of sleeves and short length of capri but Amara told her that it was because she had to get her bridal mehndi done and only girls are present inside the house as all the guys will be in the garden having a barbeque party. She reluctantly agreed and Rahima and Amara did a light makeup on her with flower garlands decorating her braid and only her mother's thin golden chain around her neck.

The henna artists decorated her arms and feet with mehndi as the girls sang and danced. They all really enjoyed and Salma didn't try anything big so Fariah was still fine.

When Fariah was done with her mehndi, Afeefah brought a plate of fried rice for Fariah and started spoon feeding her. Fariah smiled and said "thankyou" because she was really hungry as she hadn't eaten anything since morning. She opened her mouth as Afeefah brought up another spoon but closed it when Haider's maternal cousin Rumaisa made a comment.

"Affi kitna khilao gi isko. She should be dieting, not stuffing her face with food with that body of hers." Rumaisa said with a said with a fake smile.

"She doesn't look like a malnurished patient atleast." Afeefah said back with a similar fake smile and continued feeding her but Fariah stopped her.

"I'm full." She told her with a small smile, controlling her tears at bay.

"Bhai ka order hai apko apne hathon se khana khilau. He said unko andar ana mana hai warna wo khud aa jatay apko khilanay. He doesn't want his bride to stay hungry." (It is Bhai's order that I feed you myself. He asked me to tell you that he would've fed you with his own hands but he's not allowed to come inside. He doesn't want his bride to stay hungry.) Afeefah said in a loud voice so that the girls who were continuously talking about Fariah's curvy physique would shut up.

"He himself went to buy chinese food for you as it's your favourite. Now finish this plate before I complain to Bhai." She said the last line sternly to Fariah and she quitely opened her mouth with blushing cheeks and Affi happily fed her as the gossiping ladies had finally recieved a shut-up call.

Rumaisa had always had a crush on Haider and the way her Khala favoured her made her think that she wanted Rumaisa to be her daughter-in-law but when they recieved a call from Salma inviting them for Haider's marriage, she was furious. How the hell such an ugly duckling took her place? She had met Fariah a few times and she had always advised her tips to loose weight and lighten her skin which made Fariah uncomfortable but she only gave her a polite smile and listened to her shit.

Fariah's mehndi had dried and the guests had retired to their sleeping places as they had a function to attend tomorrow. Amara took Fariah to her room and asked her to change into something comfortable and have a good sleep. She was alone in the room tonight as Afeefah and Rahima were sleeping with their cousins in the lounge. No guest was allowed in the bride's room as it had all the gold jewellery and the bridal dresses so she had the room to herself tonight.

Fariah unpinned the heavy duppata from her head and starting working on the garlands. She was still feeling uncomfortable in such exposing clothes and wanted to change as soon as possible. She was trying to unwind a stuck piece of garland from her braid when the door to her room knocked. She thought it must be her sister as no one else was allowed in so she opened the door but was shocked to find her groom standing there in brown shalwar kameez and trimmed beard looking handsome as ever. She was standing frozen in her place as Haider let himself in and locked the door shut.

She came back to her senses and realized her lack of cover and turned around hurriedly.

"What are you doing here?" Fariah said looking here and there for something to cover her up.

"Football khel raha hu. And why the hell are you facing the wall?" He said sarcastically and then questioned her turned form. He grabbed her upper arm to turned her around and was surprised when his hand came in contact with her bare skin.

"What are you...wearing?" He lost his breath when he took in Fariah's appearance. The sleeveless shirt left her smooth arms on display and it was snug around her bossom. Her pants only reached her mid-calves. Haider had never seen her so exposed and this sight was definitely appealing to him.

Fariah quickly grabbed her green duppata and covered herself the best she could.

"Why did you come here?" She asked with her face down to hide her blush looking at his dark brown kheri.

"Well, I came to meet my wife but I didn't know she was planning on surprising me like this." He pulled her a little closer by her waist as he didn't want to ruin her mehndi by holding her arms.

"I would've definitely come earlier if I knew." He whispered in her ear.

"Haider, koi aa gaya to problem ho jaye gi ap jayain yahan se." (Haider, it'll be a problem if someone came. You should leave.) She tried to step back but Haider had a firm hold on her.

"Apni biwi se milne aya hu, chori nahi kr raha koi." (I came to meet my wife, not to steal.) He retorted back.

"Chalo shabash. Apni mehndi mai mera naam dikhao mujhe." (C'mon now, show me my name in your henna.) He said grabbing her hands and tried to find his name.

"Nahi likhwaya maine." (I didn't have it written.) She took her hands back from him and didn't meet his eyes.

"But why?" He looked at her with big wide eyes and lips in a pout. He looked like a child who had lost his favourite toy. Fariah couldn't stop the laugh escaping her mouth and Haider also couldn't help but smile at the chiming sound of her laugh. She didn't laugh often as she had quite a reserved nature but when she did, it brightened up the whole room.

"I thought it'd be such a filmy thing to do." She said after controlling her laughter and then realised she had put her hand on his shoulder during her laughing episode so she quickly removed it.

"Well, I actually brought something for you but ab nahi dun ga." He said turning his head to the side trying to show his narazgi.

"Na dain." She shrugged nonchalantly and walked to the dresser to remove her makeup.

"Wha-... Okay, fine then. I'll eat these chocolates alone." He said shrugging his shoulders just like Fariah did and sat on her bed. He took out the chocolates which he had stuffed in his pockets and heard a loud shriek.

"Chocolates! Mujhe bhi khani-" (I also want to-) Fariah was about to grab the chocolates from his hand but then stopped herself as she remembered what Rumaisa said.

"Why did you stop?" Haider, who was smirking at her childish behaviour on seeing chocolates, frowned when he saw her change of expressions. He pulled her towards himself by her hand and she stumbled in his lap. Thankfully, her mehndi had already dried so it didn't mess up their clothes.

Haider would definitely have focused on her bare arms under his hands but he was more concerned about her change in mood. He thought she had grown comfortable enough with him to accept gifts from him.

"What happened?" He grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him.

"Nothing." She said in a low voice.

"Fariah." He said in a warning tone.

"Really nothing happened. I just- i think I should start controlling my diet now." She said with her eyes tracing the embroidery on his collar.

"And who the fuck asked you to do that?" He knew Affi was blabbering about some gossip ladies she had shut up but he thought it was nothing serious. So this is what she was talking about.

"N-no one." She whispered still not looking at him.

"Look at me." He was furious. The world would never let you live peacefully if you keep listening to them. He knew that but maybe his wife didn't. Well, now he'll make sure she does.

Fariah musterred up the courage and lifted her chin up. She saw his eyes burning with anger but they softened a bit whe he saw the unshed tears in her eyes.

"Baby, you don't need to do anything. You have a beautiful body. You stand at a healthy weight. Being stick thin is not a standard of beauty. Beauty lies here in your brain and here in your heart." He kissed her temple then placed his index finger exactly over her heart making it skip a beat.

"And you are the most beautiful person I've come across. Don't listen to someone who only wants to let you down, okay? The only person you need to satisfy is yourself. If you are healthy and you are happy then do hell with everyone else." He cupped her face and rubbed his thumb on her cheekbone.

"Understood?" He asked looking directly in her eyes.

"Yes." She first nodded but the replied with her words as he always asks her to do that.

"Good. Now open your mouth." He unwrapped a chocolate bar and broke a piece placing it near her mouth.

She opened her mouth and bit into the already melting chocolate and moaned.

"It's so good." She closed her eyes to relish the taste of the heavenly goodness.

"It is." He ate the remaining piece in his hands to get his mind off of her inviting lips.

"As much as I would love to spend all night here," He cleared his throught as his voice was coming out very husky. "I shoud go before someone finds me here."

Fariah nodded her head and stood up. He also got up from the bed and picked up her duppata which had fallen down from her shoulders when he pulled her.

He wrapped the duppata around her and kissed her forehead.

"Good night. Dream about me." He winked at the last part and left his blushing bride standing there with only one thought in her mind.

"Shukar Alhamduliah."

Author's Note

🌚♥