Bakht- Pt 8

*****

Zoya sat on the bed, a conflicted look rested on her features as she stared at her phone and then at Haider who was busy going through a few of his work emails. The airlines had granted him enough days off and he'd soon be asked to join again.

"Haider, mama ka call aaya tha."

Haider paused what he was doing, his eyes glanced at her for a few seconds before he sighed and kept the phone aside. Samra had been contacting the two relentlessly, asking them to come back and solve the matter rather than breaking all connections.

"Haider, it's been a month. Wapas chalte hai na."

Zoya placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with a hopeful expression. She enjoyed staying with him all alone. Having him all to herself but she couldn't be selfish. His mother was worried and so were the others.

"Gussa nahi aa raha hai tumhe? Don't you feel anything after what happened?"

He questioned with the slightest bit of curiosity. They hadn't spoken of the matter after that day and Haider couldn't see any signs of anger on her face either.

"Aaya tha but if I look at it through her perspective, I'd have been disheartened too. Yeah, her way of doing it was wrong lekin Haider, she was just looking out for you. I'd not forgive her for disrespecting me when I was nowhere at fault but I can't bring myself to be angry after knowing she did it for you. Talk to her Haider."

He sighed at her words, feeling torn between the emotions of a brother and a husband. Not wanting it to eat up his thoughts, he pulled her in a tight hug. Zoya smiled when he snuggled into her. Her fingers brushed his hair lightly while he took his sweet time to arrange his thoughts.

"Let's go back then."

He murmured after more than a few minutes. Zoya gave him a wide smile and kissed his forehead and closed eyes. Haider couldn't stop himself from sharing her smile, feeling grateful for her.

"Main kya pehnu?"

Zoya placed her hands on her hips. She had nothing of hers in the apartment and was living off of his clothes. It wouldn't be too sophisticated of hers to appear in front of his parents in his shirt and her leggings that had been washed and thrown in a corner of the wardrobe.

"Kyu? Itni shirts mein se koi achi nahi lagi?"

Haider teased with a light smile. He was enjoying the privacy they had, but knew he had to mend things with his family.

Zoya gave him a stink eye at the question and huffed in dismay. Haider looked outside the window and then came up to her. Kissing the tip of her nose, he pulled her rogue pink coated cheeks with a smirk.

"No matter how much I like you in my shirts, it's not the most appropriate for the situation. There's a store a few lanes away. I'll buy you something real quick, hmm?"

Zoya nodded her head, curious about his choice of clothes for her and Haider adjusted the shirt he wore and was out to do the task while she waited and kept the dress she wore on her walima in a bag to carry back home.

Haider came back not long after with more than a few bags in his hand, leaving Zoya bewildered and amused.

"Itni kapde kyu?"

Haider shrugged, unsure about it himself. He had gone to get just a set of clothes but they had many good designs in store and he couldn't bring himself to not buy them.

"Haider!"

Zoya shrieked in embarrassment and quickly tucked the lacy material into the bag. Her wide eyes looked almost comical with the way her cheeks turned a darker shade of red. Her husband had the audacity to look innocent in all this as he tipped his chin at her, asking her what the matter was.

"Kyu? Achi nahi lagi? We can exchange them if you want."

"A-aap- ahh! Astagfirullah! H-how-"

Zoya shook her head at a loss of words. The man had bought with himself 3 sets of clothes and 3 lingeries- a soft pink, a peach and a crimson red- all of which had more than a few lacy edges than proper covering.

"Why am I even trying?"

Zoya whined in dismay when she found him trying hard to control his laughter but in the end, succumbed to the urge and hollered until his stomach hurt. Zoya glared at her husband who wiped the tears that escaped his eyes and pretended to be serious.

"Aap bahot bure hai!"

She threw the bag with the lingeries at him and rushed into the washroom with another bag in her hands. Taking a quick shower, she changed into the casual black frock that ended a little inches above her ankle. The ends of the full sleeve and the dress were lined with white lace, giving it a pretty look.

Coming out of the washroom, she found Haider arranging the bags. He was already dressed and ready to go and she just had to brush her hair.

"I'll do it."

Haider quickly pulled the brush away from her and made her sit on the stool. He gently combed through the tangled mess, not letting her feel even the slightest bit of pain through it all. Once it was done, he put the strands all together in a low ponytail and kissed the crown of her head.

"Don't try to act cute. I haven't forgiven you yet. "

Zoya huffed and Haider could only chuckle at her expressions. Pecking her lips fast enough for her to not be able to push him away, Haider picked the bags and was on his way out of the apartment while she sat blinking after what he had done.

Hiding her face behind her palms, she groaned in annoyance and patted her cheeks to reduce the redness in them. Huffing and puffing under her breath, she ignored her husband for the rest of the ride back home, amusing Haider to no extent.

"Zoya?"

She remained silent, staring out of the window while he drove to their destination.

"Zo?"

She scowled at the nickname Ayaan gave her. He pronounced it as 'zoo' and it often got on her nerves. Now that she had remembered her twin, Zoya's hands itched to give him a call just to annoy him but it had to wait for some time.

"Jaan-e-Haider?"

Her heart skipped a beat at the endearment and her traitorous body relaxed itself on the seat. Colour bloomed on her already gazed with pink cheeks and Zoya tried hiding the shy smile that had pushed its way on her lips.

Haider held himself back from patting his shoulders in appreciation when he saw her smiling. Clearing his throat, he quickly parked the car seeing as they had arrived at the Razdani mansion.

Zoya stopped herself from opening the door when Haider gave her a look. Rolling her eyes, she got out of the car whilst he showed his chivalry.

"Haider, don't ignore her."

Zoya tried to remind him while he only hummed in response. She offered a hand to pick a few of the bags but Haider had already started walking into the mansion. She followed close behind and not seconds after they had stepped inside the eerily silent house, Samra's loud voice greeted them with disbelief.

"Allah ka shukar hai tum dono aa gaye. Haider, beta baat toh kar lete. Aise chale jaana acha toh nahi hai na?"

The older woman clearly looked unhappy with what her son had done. Fawad too stood by her, silently agreeing as the matter had been stretched for so many days when it could've been dealt with almost the same night, though, a part of him did understand his son's need to demand for some space. The incident sure left a cryptic mark on all of their memories.

"Haider, talk to them, main bags rakh kar aati hu."

Zoya smiled reassuringly at him and took hold of the bags while he sighed and with a last look at her, followed his parents to the living room.

Zoya rearranged the bags in her hold. They weren't heavy enough to her relief and she quickly skipped steps to her room. Opening the door, she found everything the way it had been left. Their things were untouched but the room looked clean. Samra had made sure to not let dust accumulate here and there without invading their privacy.

She stuffed the bags in the almira and checked herself once in the mirror to see if she looked alright. Patting the baby hairs that had stood straight on her head, Zoya rubbed a hand over her face and got out to walk back to the living room.

She paused on her steps and squinted her eyes at who stood near- hiding near the doorway of the living room. Sameera was silently standing outside the place, listening into her family's conversation and trying to muster the courage to appear in front of her brother.

Zoya hesitantly placed a hand on the oblivious woman's shoulder who instantly covered her mouth to suppress the surprised shriek. Sameera's wide eyes looked into Zoya's confused ones and they instantly drowned in guilt.

"Yaha kyu khadi ho? Let's go inside."

Zoya smiled at her, hoping to calm the mirage of thoughts and emotions that were crossing Sameera's face. The latter kept quiet and took a deep breath. After a wait of a few minutes, she slowly stepped into the living room, halting the conversation between her brother and parents.

Haider glanced at his sister who had her head hung low. She didn't meet his eyes nor anyone else's as she stood fumbling on her feet. A part of him wanted to yell at her a little more but the other had said that it was enough. She had to have realized her mistake and maybe, a gentle way to come to the point would do them all good.

Walking up to her, he raised her head so that he could look at his sister's face. Haider was taken aback when he found her eyes welled with tears. It was clear that Sameera was holding a lot of guilt inside and his heart broke seeing her in such a state.

"Sameera, ro toh nahi bacha."

He cooed gently at her and the next second his sister took him in a hug, crying her heart out. Her sobs were loud enough to make him gulp and control his own tears and he gently held her, rubbing her back while silently asking her to calm down.

"I-I'm so-sorry. I-I'm so-so sorry bhai. I- I didn't mean to disrespect anyone. M-main toh bas..."

She couldn't bring herself to speak properly as she tried to control the sobs that weren't ready to stop. The past days had left her in a hold of utmost darkness, leaving her with the mere thoughts of the disappointment in her brother's eyes and the guilt of tampering with her bhabi's respect.

"I know, I know. Ab chup ho jao. We'll talk about this calmly, okay?"

Haider patted her head in affection, hoping to convey that he wasn't too naraaz with her. His eyes found his wife's and Zoya smiled widely as she gave him a thumbs up. Covering the amused look on his face, Haider shook his head at her and pulled Sameera away to wipe her tears.

"You realize what you did? You realize your mistake, don't you?"

Sameera gave him a rapid nod as she rubbed her eyes. Haider smiled down at her, finally at peace after seeing the glimpses of the sister he knew. One who was polite, a little cheeky and kiddish and not rude, judgy, and disrespectful.

Sameera had always had the freedom to speak her mind. She had always known the boundary and would stop way before she reached the point but at that moment, she had made the mistake to overlook the logic and the right.

"Did you talk to, mama?"

Sameera looked at her mother who wore a guilty smile of her own and she gave another nod to her brother.

"So, are you still upset? Still angry with your bhabhi?"

Sameera shook her head in denial. Turning around, she subtly looked at Zoya who stood awaiting. Mustering up the tiniest bit of courage, Sameera walked up to her and took her in an unexpected hug.

"Maaf karde mujhe, bhabhi. I'm really sorry for behaving like a brat and not asking you directly. I didn't realize when I became so bitter and blind that I couldn't differentiate between the innocent and guilty. Please maaf karde. I promise I'll be a good nand to you. Main aap ki har baat manugi. Please find it in yourself to forgive me."

Zoya laughed at how cute Sameera sounded. Her voice was a complete contrast of the snarky tone she had heard from for so long. Pulling back, she pulled the puffed cheeks of her sister-in-law and ruffled her hair.

"Maaf kiya. I don't hold you guilty for anything. Haan, but I'll hold you onto the promise that you just made."

Sameera sighed in relief and clapped her hands in glee. The dull clouds from her eyes were lifted and they shined with joy as she looked between her brother and sister-in-law. Both of them were glowing with happiness and she muttered a quick 'Masha'Allah' and 'Alhumdulillah' under her breath.

"Waise, the girl I was talking about turned out to be your bhabhi, Sameera."

Haider casually dropped the bomb and a dramatic gasp was heard from all around the room.

Sameera's wide eyes stared at Zoya in wonder. The latter blushed at the look and gave a stink eye to her husband who was smiling slyly at her.

"Couch for you."

Zoya mouthed the words to him and almost instantly, the smug look dropped from Haider's face as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"You're joking."

"Try me."

"I did."

He winked along with the reply and Zoya bit back a whine at his blatant teasing. Knowing well among whom they stood, she shook her head to calm the hues of dawn on her cheeks while Sameera gushed about the luck her brother wore on his sleeves.

Bakht toh hai zamane mein har koi,

Farq toh sirf shukr-e-dil ka hai.

(A/N: A failed attempt at shayari from yours truly *bows dramatically*)

**********

Ayaaaaa! Just the epilogue is left! Haye, that was pretty quick...

Na bhai na, I'm having exams from next week, a tons of assignments to complete but here I am, crying and gushing over fictional characters, like whyyyyy?! Why do I have to make things so tough for myself?

**********