4 August 2020

Hey guys! How's everyone? I hope you're all well! How was everyone's Eid? A late Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim readers! I hope you like this chapter!

"I promise, there's no safer place in the world than with me." - Safe Haven

I absolutely love this film. I watched it yesterday for the third time, and it's such a cute movie!

Alayna's POV

Me and Laiba share a secretive glance, excuse ourselves and leave the room to find Hanna. We find her pacing in the kitchen, her cheeks bright pink. I can't help but grin at Laiba, and she winks at me.

We enter the open kitchen, and Hanna hears our footsteps and jumps in surprise. 'Oh, hey. I came to eat something. I'm hungry,' she says, blushing.

She's blushing!

"We just had breakfast a short while ago Han, didn't you eat properly?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

She shakes her head, and then nods quickly. She looks confused. 'I ate properly. I wanted something sweet.'

She picks up an apple from the fruit bowl, washes it and takes a bite.

"Is everything okay, Hanna? You're blushing like crazy," Laiba says teasingly, but at the same time, she looks worried.

This makes Hanna's cheeks turn a brighter shade of pink. She nods furiously, looking away. 'Yes, of course everything's okay! Why wouldn't it be?' She's stammering.

Laiba looks at me thoughtfully for a second, before turning to Hanna. "Hanna, sweetie, you know you can tell us everything."

Hanna nods. 'Of course I know that! It's nothing. Nothing's wrong, everything's absolutely fine,' she says quickly.

"Yusuf Bhai looked worried about you, Han," I say a few seconds later.

Hanna whips around to face me, her eyes wide and cheeks pink. Her eyes are filled with surprise, with hope and excitement. 'H-he did? No, he wouldn't have been worried about me. Why would he be?' She says after a few seconds of thought.

I nod. "He did look worried, the way you ran out. Is there something you'd like to share with us, Han?" I ask her gently.

She shakes her head. 'There's nothing at all, Alayna. Honestly. But.. Yusuf was worried about me?' She asks again, her voice small.

I can't help but grin. Nodding, I answer, "He was. He cares about you."

Hanna's cheeks turn bright red, and a small, dreamy smile plays on her lips. 'He's a good guy,' she whispers.

I smile, as does Laiba. "Well, who's brother is he? Mine! Of course he's a good guy. He's the best!" I say excitedly. Now I know it for sure. There's no doubt left anymore. Hanna has feelings for my brother. And knowing that makes me the happiest.

'You know, Hanna, you and Yusuf Bhai would look pretty cute together!' Laiba teases, winking at her.

Hanna rushes towards Laiba and hits her playfully on her arm, her cheeks burning. "You're crazy! Both of you. Now.. let's go back into the living room. Alayna, your brother's here after so long, don't you want to spend time with him?" She says, blushing like crazy.

I laugh loudly, nodding. 'Of course I do, Han! And I think you do, too! Okay, okay. Let's go!'

We return to the living room, and the entire time, Hanna busies herself in playing with Adnan. She doesn't look at Yusuf Bhai once, but her cheeks are bright red. Me and Laiba keep sharing secretive grins and smiles that no one but us understands.

I can't wait to tease Hanna everyday! I'm going to make her admit her feelings for Yusuf Bhai. And I'm going to find out what's going on in Yusuf Bhai's mind and heart, too.

********

As soon as Zayan gets home from work the next day, I step out the house to head to the hospital. This is what the whole week will be like. We'll hardly be seeing each other this week, because we're working different shifts. When I get home from the hospital after working the night, he'll be heading out. It sucks.

I reach the hospital at quarter to seven, fifteen minutes before my twelve-hour shift starts. I already know it's going to be a long, exhausting night, but I'm looking forward to it at the same time.

Aunty and Laiba made sure that I slept during the day and got plenty of rest, so I'd be ready to work all night.

I step into the resident's room before my shift, sipping on my warm coffee. I check the schedule for the day, and then meet up with the night team. Four other internal medicine doctors will be working the night, and we'll be meeting with patients in the emergency department.

Our shift starts at seven, and I head downstairs to the emergency department to see if it's busy or not. It's relatively quiet when I arrive, with only a few patients who are already being looked at by other doctors and nurses.

I receive my first patient a few minutes later. It's a forty-year old man who has just come into the ER with his wife. He tells me that lately, he's been suffering from breathing difficulties and a cough. I find out that this patient has suffered from asthma most of his life, and that he's been a smoker for ten years. I order some blood tests and a chest x-ray to see more clearly what's going on in his lungs. It looks like a case of lung infection, that hopefully will be cleared up with a round of antibiotics.

I head upstairs to the resident's room and start typing up my notes on this patient. The rest of the evening isn't too busy either. I handle some consults over the telephone, and around two hours later, the patient's x-ray reports come up. I was right. It does appear to be lung infection, which thankfully isn't too severe. He came to the ER just on time, as with his medical history, the infection could have gotten much worse.

It's just over 9pm when I receive another page. A nurse from the emergency department informs me that a sixty-year old male has come in, confused. He's suffered from a fall and has hit his head, and is now confused and out of place. I head downstairs to meet this patient, and when I see him, it's apparent that he's very confused. He's trying to joke with me, but he doesn't really know what's going on. I order some tests on him to see what's wrong, but it's clear that he's suffered a concussion. He hit his head quite badly when he fell off the last few stairs, but he has become disorientated.

The next patient I attend to is a nineteen-year old female who has suffered a huge, nasty cut on her hand and requires stitches. She's in a lot of pain, and she cut her hand while cutting vegetables. I tell a nurse to clean her wounds and do her stitches, while I sit with her, trying to calm her down. She's in a lot of distress, crying in pain.

A few more patients come into the emergency department after suffering from minor wounds, burns and cuts. I attend to them, and then head back upstairs. It's midnight by the time I'm back in front of my computer, finishing off my patient notes.

I'm looking at some blood reports, when I hear my phone vibrate from inside my pocket. I take it out and smile when I see that it's a text from Zayan. I open it.

Zayan: Hey Alayna, how's it going? x

I reply with a smile.

Alayna: Hey Zayan, you're still awake? The evening wasn't too busy to start off with, but it's getting busy now. Go to sleep, Doctor. You have to wake up early for work in the morning.

He replies soon after, and his response makes me blush. Thank god there's no one else in here right now.

Zayan: I can't sleep without you.

Alayna: But you'll have to this week! Close your eyes and sleep!

Zayan: Are you missing me?

I blush.

Alayna: No. Let me work. Bye!

Zayan: Goodnight, Alayna. I know you miss me. ;) x

Laughing, I lock my phone and place it back into my pocket. Zayan's so right, though. I miss him like crazy. Even though I'm busy with work, I miss him. I miss him every second we're apart.

I look over the blood reports and have just turned off the computer to go and see if the emergency department's busy, when I'm paged.

I answer the page, which is from the ICU. A nurse frantically informs me that an extremely sick patient has just come in from the ward, and he's in a lot of pain and vomiting blood. I hurriedly tell her that I'll be right there.

When I reach the ICU, a team of nurses and doctors are surrounding the patient, and they all look stressed and nervous. I step forward, and what I see shocks me. The patient, who looks to be in his late thirties or early forties, is propped up in bed and is in a lot of distress. He's continuously vomiting blood which is everywhere. It's covered his clothes, the bed, the floor, it's splattered over the walls. The doctors, who I see are mostly junior doctors, are trying their best to help him, with fluids and medications but the vomiting isn't stopping or lessening.

Vomiting blood is known as haematemesis. It can be when a person coughs up blood, or it can be more severe where they're vomiting huge amounts of blood. He's losing too much blood, and it's very serious. It can be fatal, if the bleeding isn't stopped soon.

'He's going to need a blood transfusion, as soon as possible. He's losing too much blood, too fast,' I say frantically, picking up his patient file. The senior doctor of the ICU orders a nurse to inject a stronger medication into his IV to stop the vomiting, and to increase the fluids too. Then, he fills me in. 'This patient, Mr. Finnigan, was admitted to the ward earlier this afternoon. He had come into the ER with severe abdominal pain, which seems to be an ulcer. We think the vomiting has been caused by internal bleeding in his oesophagus or small intestine, as that's where the pain is localised.'

I nod, telling a nurse to collect another sample of blood from the patient. We need to conduct several tests which will give us a better idea of what's going on.

Thankfully, the vomiting calms down soon after the patient's given a stronger dose of medication, and he falls asleep. I'm extremely worried about this man, because the senior doctor tells me that when he came into the hospital, he was in a lot of pain but he wasn't nauseous or vomiting. It started very suddenly, and the huge amount of blood the patient lost made the nurses and doctors think we were going to lose him. Clearly, he was in a very bad state.

He quickly has a blood transfusion, and I return to the resident's room to write up some notes. That case was really terrifying. I haven't had many cases like this before, but when you see something like this, you have to jump up and get to work right away. Every second counts in a situation like this. We were almost too late.

A couple of hours later, I head back down to the ICU to check up on the patient. He looks to be in a better state, although he's still asleep because of the strong medications. He will be having an endoscopy in the morning, which will give a clearer picture of what's going on inside his abdomen. There's definitely been some internal bleeding and damage to his organs, most likely his small intestine, and perhaps he has an ulcer too. After the endoscopy, we'll have a better idea of his treatment plan.

After 3am, the next few hours are quiet. I check up on the patients that had been admitted to the wards earlier that day, and I order some tests to be conducted on them.

I finish work at 7am, and I'm absolutely exhausted by the time I reach home. Just as I walk inside, Zayan and Hanna are about to head out. Zayan sees me and gives me his handsome grin, and I feel my heart ache. They'll be heading out in fifteen minutes or so.

After saying 'hi' to Uncle and Aunty, I tell them that I'm absolutely exhausted and that I'm going to sleep. They tell me to have breakfast before I sleep, but I decline, telling them that I ate only a couple of hours ago, and that I'll have lunch with them.

I head to my room, Zayan following me. As soon as we're inside our room, he engulfs me in his warm, comforting hug. I smile, sigh, and hug him back, wrapping my arms around him. He kisses the top of my head.

'How was your night, Alayna?' He asks me gently when we break the hug. I take off my shoes and get straight into bed. I changed out of my scrubs at the hospital.

He sits on the edge of the bed, holding my hand. "It wasn't too busy, for the most part. The few hours after midnight were difficult, though."

'Why?' He asks.

"I was paged from the ICU. A patient had been shifted from the ward with severe abdominal pain, and when I got to the ICU, I froze when I saw him vomiting huge amounts of blood, everywhere. His clothes were covered, Zayan. The nurses' clothes were covered. The floor, the walls were splattered with bright red blood. I thought we were going to lose him."

Zayan nods, giving me a small smile. 'Haematemesis. Did he have an endoscopy?'

"He must be having it now. It was scheduled for 8am," I say, yawning. "You have a surgery today, don't you? Good luck, although I know you won't be needing it."

He nods. 'Thank you, Alayna. Yes, today will be a busy day for me.'

"I'm so tired," I say, yawning again.

He chuckles, kissing my forehead and standing up. I grab his hand, pouting. 'You're going already?' I ask.

He nods. "I'd better get going, I'll miss you Alayna."

'Me too, Zayan.'

"I love you. See you later," he says, shrugging on his coat.

I blush, my heart jumping in my chest. 'Bye, handsome.'

He laughs loudly, shakes his head and leaves the room. As soon as he leaves, I start missing him like crazy. My tiredness vanishes when I realise that I'll have to sleep alone today, and for the rest of the week. I miss him. He's made me get used to him, and now I can't seem to function properly without him.

He's taken over my mind, body and soul.

I can't wait for this week to be over.

With a lot of difficulty, I fall asleep almost an hour later.

********

The week goes by very slowly, to my dismay. The hospital is extremely busy in the next few days, and by the time Friday rolls by, I'm absolutely exhausted. I've been sleeping for four or five hours after I get home in the morning, but I can't sleep for longer than that during the day. Four or five hours of sleep is definitely not enough for a twelve-hour shift.

On Friday, I'm working my night-shift in the ICU. I'm helping to treat the sickest, the most seriously ill patients in the hospital. They require very close monitoring at all times, and in the ICU, each doctor is assigned to no more than two or three patients. In other wards, a doctor may be assigned to eight or nine patients.

At 9pm that evening, I'm sitting in the doctor's lounge of the ICU, talking to the nurses and senior doctor about the three patients I've been assigned to.

I go to check on the first patient, who has been moved to the ICU after heart surgery. This sixty-two year old man suffered from a heart attack two days ago, and he had heart surgery yesterday. The surgery was successful, but he's still in a serious condition as he has many underlying health conditions. This patient is having difficulty breathing, and he will need to be monitored closely at all times because anything can change with such sick patients.

Another patient, a fifty-four year old female, has been shifted to the ICU as she's suffering from severe pneumonia. She, too, is having difficulty breathing, and she has chest pain and a fever. The nurses tell me that she has a lump on her right lung, which was detected by ultrasound. This makes me extremely worried, as a lump, or a shadow on the lung, can be a sign of cancer. Lung cancer is extremely serious, one of the worst types of cancer. One of the main symptoms is breathlessness and pneumonia. This patient has a long history of smoking, and she suffered from a stroke a few years ago. Blood tests and many other tests have been conducted, and the reports will be coming in soon.

The third patient I've been assigned to in the ICU who I'll be helping take care of tonight is an young man, only thirty-three years old, who has come in with severe head injury. Under the influence of alcohol, this young man got into a serious car accident and hit his head at an alarming speed. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He suffered from a concussion, bruising to the head and brain, and difficulty staying awake. He's unconscious, hooked to many different machines and monitors, and is in a critical condition. Things aren't looking good for him at all.

He had a CT scan earlier during the day, and it showed that his head injury was extremely serious. We don't know if he'll get better because things aren't looking good for him right now, but if he does miraculously get better, he'll have severe brain damage for the rest of his life. It upsets me so much, seeing what damage alcohol and drugs can do for a person. They can ruin, and end, someone's life in one instant.

The whole night is extremely busy. I'm only assigned to three patients, but I don't get much time to sit down or have a break for food. I finally sit down at 3am, and I start to eat my extremely late dinner. I turn on the computer and open the records of this patient, the young man who's suffering from severe head injury. His scans have all come back, and I look through them.

My eyes widen when I see that they're not looking good at all. I already knew that, but it still comes as a shock. The scans show a large bleed to the brain, and also bruising of the brain. The patient's blood results aren't good, either. His breathing rate and heart rate aren't looking normal at all. There's severe bleeding which has happened inside his brain, a large brain haemorrhage which can be fatal.

My heart drops in my chest, and I sigh. I've lost my appetite, I'm not hungry at all anymore. I throw away my lunch and turn off the computer, and just at that moment, the door of the office bursts open and a nurse comes running in. I stand up, as does the senior doctor of the ICU who's also here.

'He's slipped into a coma. Mr. Michaels. It doesn't look good at all,' a young nurse says, sadly.

I nod, telling her that I'll be right there to check on the patient. I'm just about to go, when the senior doctor calls my name. I turn to him, my eyes wide with fear and nervousness. The ICU is the most difficult place to work in, in the whole hospital.

"I'll go with you, Dr. Alayna," he says, walking towards the door. I nod, and we both go to check on the patient.

********

Many hours later, at 5:30am, I'm back in the doctor's office of the ICU. I'm absolutely exhausted, afraid and very nervous. A lot happened in these last few hours. We've tried to do everything we possibly can for the patient, but there's not much more we can do. He's received too much brain damage, there's been too much internal bleeding. After checking all of his scans, reports and bloodwork, and after monitoring him again, the senior doctor informs me that he doesn't have long left.

I shake my head furiously, standing up. 'What? No, Dr. Smith. How can this be possible? We were talking about surgery earlier, maybe that will make him better,' I say, my voice shaking.

Oh, no. I can't get emotional now. I can't. Not in front of Dr. Smith. Not here. I'm a doctor, a professional. I have to control my emotions. I very well know that as doctors, we've done everything possible, everything in our reach. Inside, I know very well that this patient doesn't have long left.

"Yes, we were talking about surgery, but maybe that will kill him faster, Dr. Alayna. I understand how you're feeling. I've called his wife, and we need to have a talk with her when she reaches the hospital. It'll be up to her, up to his family."

I nod. 'I know what you mean. I'm so sorry, reacting like this,' I say, shaking my head at myself.

He gives me a small smile. "Don't worry about it, Dr. Alayna. You're a great doctor. As soon as this young man was brought in, I knew what the outcome would be. We have cases like this coming into the ICU every week. Several every week. Alcohol and drugs can ruin and take lives away in one second."

I sigh sadly. 'Thank you. When will his wife reach?' I ask.

"Shortly. Perhaps I shouldn't ask you to do this, but could you please have a talk with her?" He asks me, thoughtfully.

My heart aches in my chest, but I nod. It's my job. 'Of course.'

********

Mr. Michaels' wife is absolutely distraught when I inform her about what's happened. She hugs me, crying her heart out. I tell her that things aren't looking good at all, that we think he only has a few days, a couple of weeks at most, left to live. She asks me about surgery, and I tell her that if she wants, he can get surgery. But he's too weak for it. We don't think he'd survive the surgery, even if Dr. Zayan conducted it. He's had too much internal bleeding, a huge brain haemorrhage that can't be treated.

I sit with her for almost an hour, trying my best to comfort her, but knowing very well that it's not working. Nothing can work to calm her or comfort her right now. It's her husband. She tells me they got married only two years ago, that they were thinking of having kids soon. My heart breaks for her, and I feel my eyes well up with tears. I quickly blink them away, trying my best to stay professional but at the same time be there for her as best as I can.

She tells me that her husband had tried to stop drinking many times, but it had never worked. He drank large amounts of alcohol everyday, and he had severe liver damage too since many years. She tells me she knew that alcohol would finish him one day.

'Do you want to see him?' I ask her gently, a few minutes later.

She nods, wiping her eyes. "I don't want to cry in front of h-him. I know he'll hear me. It'll hurt him more to see me upset. I d-don't want to be upset in front of him."

I nod sadly. 'Whenever you're ready, you can go to see him. I'm right outside, if you need me.'

Nodding, she wipes hard at her eyes and rushes into the private room of the ICU. She's just walked in, when she runs out less than a minute later, tears streaming down her face. She breaks down completely, falling to the ground. She hugs me again and I feel my heart break. She talks to me about her husband while she's crying, she's laughing at the same time when she recalls their wedding day.

Half an hour later, she stops crying. She's extremely upset, but she's trying her best not to cry. She wants to spend time with him, she wants to be there with him for every second. She wants to hold his hand, sit with him and tell him stories. I tell her that she can, of course, that she can stay with him as long as she likes. Usually, there are strict visiting times at the hospital, but not in a situation like this.

I leave the hospital at 7:30pm, feeling sad and very emotional myself. But I control how I'm feeling, I keep my emotions to myself. I feel proud of myself, for the way I handled things. It was extremely difficult, but I stayed professional. I was professional, but I tried to comfort her as best as I could. My heart breaks for her. Their life together had just started.

Sighing sadly, I head to Starbucks to grab a coffee. I drive home while sipping the coffee slowly. I reach home fifteen minutes later.

I have breakfast with my family that morning. Zayan and Hanna haven't left for work yet, they will after breakfast. I tell everyone about my night at the hospital, and about how difficult it was for me that night. I don't disclose any private information about the patient, of course, but I tell my family bits and bobs, as much as I'm allowed to tell them.

They're extremely proud of me, everyone. Especially Zayan. He smiles at me, telling me that I was perfect. I love him so much, it's crazy. I want to tell him how much I love him, but I'm still too damn shy for that. It's so weird. At times, I'm extremely bold, and at other times, I'm very shy.

I go upstairs to my room after breakfast, to get some well-needed sleep. I'm absolutely exhausted. I worked for sixty hours this week, and I was kept on my feet for most the nights. I didn't get much sleep during the day because I always have difficulty to sleep during the day, and without Zayan. But today, if no one wakes me up, I'll sleep all day long. All day and all night, too.

I take a quick shower and change into my pyjamas, before getting into bed and falling asleep.

********

It's almost 3pm when I wake up that afternoon. I slept for six hours, and I'm actually feeling energised. I step out of bed, walk into my closet and take out some clothes. I head into my bathroom and take a shower, dry my hair, and change into a loose navy kurta. It has full, flared sleeves, and it's extremely comfortable. I pair it with black leggings. I slip on a pair of black flats, brush through my hair and slip it into a high ponytail, and head downstairs to my family.

Aunty and Laiba are in the living room, and they smile at me when I walk in. I take a seat next to Laiba on the sofa, smiling. It's finally the weekend, and I'm so glad about that.

'I hope you slept well, dear?' Aunty asks me with a smile.

I return the smile, nodding. "I did, Aunty. I was so exhausted."

'I'll go and grab lunch for us, I'll bring it in here,' Laiba says, standing up.

I frown, confusedly. "Laiba, you and Aunty haven't had lunch yet?" I ask her.

She shakes her head. 'We wanted to eat with you.'

I turn to Aunty and frown. "Aunty, it's almost half three! Why were you and Laiba waiting up for me? You should have eaten!" I say.

She grins, shaking her head. 'We weren't hungry, dear. We wanted to have lunch with you.'

I sigh. "Aunty, you know it's not good or healthy to have lunch so late. You should have woken me up!"

'Of course we wouldn't have woken you, sweetheart. We honestly weren't hungry.'

Laiba brings our lunch into the living room, and the three of us eat together while watching a Bollywood film on TV. We watch 'Chennai Express', and we laugh the entire time. It's great to watch a film like this after the craziest night at work. It's good to have a laugh.

After lunch, I spend time with Aunty and Laiba. We watch the film, and we talk about anything and everything.

'Alayna, are you missing Zayan?' Laiba asks me, smirking.

I turn to her, frowning. My cheeks are bright red. "Why would I miss him?" I mutter, my face hot.

'I know you do,' she says, teasing.

"Laiba, do you miss Usman Bhai?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

She coughs loudly, her cheeks bright red. She's too cute for her own good. 'Sometimes,' she admits.

I grin. 'Well, there's your answer then. I miss that crazy guy too, sometimes.'

Aunty starts teasing us both next. "Just wait for your husbands to come home. I'm going to tell both of them," she says, laughing.

Me and Laiba look at each other, blushing.

'Aunty, you too wait for Uncle to come home. I'll tell him too, that you were badly missing him all day,' I tease, winking at her.

Laiba laughs, nodding. "Exactly!"

Aunty shakes her head at us, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

'Alayna, Zayan was missing you so much. I woke up at 2am a couple of nights ago, and he was in the living room, watching TV and drinking coffee. He can't sleep without you,' she teases.

My eyes widen. "At 2am, Aunty? He's crazy." I say, laughing.

She nods.

Laiba coughs, smirking. I look at her, frowning. I know she's going to say something stupid. I just know it. 'Alayna, you've slept enough today, haven't you?' She asks me.

I nod. "Yeah, why?"

She looks towards Aunty, and then back at me. She coughs to stifle a laugh. "I don't think Zayan will let you sleep tonight," she says, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

I cough loudly, and then fake a coughing fit. My eyes are wide, I can't believe her! 'Laiba! You're so crazy, saying anything in front of Aunty! Oh, my god. I can't believe you just said that!' My face is as red as a tomato.

This is so embarrassing! She just said that in front of Aunty. Laiba laughs loudly, grinning at me. And Aunty does the same. Oh, god.

I shake my head, hiding my face with my hands. They continue to tease me. And guess what. Aunty's even worse than Laiba.

'Laiba's right, Alayna,' Aunty says, winking at me.

I shake my head, my blush constant on my face. I can't believe them!

"Aunty!" I say, laughing embarrassedly.

We continue to watch the film, and it's almost ended, when Laiba speaks again. 'Alayna, do you want to sleep with me and Adnan today?'

My cheeks turn bright red again. Aunty laughs beside her, and I groan loudly.

"Where would Usman Bhai sleep?" I ask her, raising an eyebrow.

'With Zayan, of course. I'm sure Zayan wouldn't mind,' she says. I'm going to kill this girl one day. She's so crazy.

"Yeah, sure," I say weakly.

Just at that moment, the living door opens and there he is. In all his glory. My heart jumps to a still in my chest, and my hands start to get sweaty. I wipe them on my knees. He looks so damn hot. He looks tired, but perfect. He's wearing a white button-up with black trousers and black shoes. His hair is tousled, he's definitely been running his hands through it. His eyes are tired, but they're sparkling. They're the most beautiful shade of blue and brown right now. Something in between.

He greets us, before coming to sit on the sofa opposite ours.

'How was work, Zayan? I need to tell you something,' Laiba asks him.

I frown at her, poking her arm but she just laughs.

"Yes? What is it? Work was the usual. Busy," he says, shrugging.

'Alayna's sleeping with me and Adnan today,' she speaks.

Oh, god. I feel Aunty shaking with laughter, and Laiba too.

Zayan's gaze fixes on me, and he raises an eyebrow. "Are you, Alayna?" He asks me.

I shrug. 'Maybe. I don't know.' I don't know what to say. Laiba! She's going to get it from me. I'm just waiting for Usman Bhai to get home.

Hanna walks in too, and she slumps down next to her brother on the sofa.

"Why the sudden plan of a sleepover?" He asks me and Laiba.

Laiba shrugs. 'Ask your wife.'

Damn her. "Oh, yeah. I.. I'm not feeling well," I lie.

Zayan frowns, worried. 'What's wrong, Alayna?'

I shake my head. "Nothing. Just.. a stomach ache."

'Why do you suddenly have a stomach ache?' He asks, confused.

I shrug. Laiba's laughing her head off, as is Aunty. Hanna just looks confused.

'Try to understand, Zayan. Cramps,' I mutter. Then I realise what I've said. In front of everyone.

I blush hard, smacking Laiba on the arm. "I hate you," I mutter.

'I love you too,' she says, chuckling.

'Cramps?' Zayan asks me, raising an eyebrow.

Oh god, kill me now.

"Alayna, didn't you-" Hanna starts.

I nod. 'Yes, cramps,' I mutter. Then, I glare at Laiba and Aunty who have been teasing me for over an hour.

"You don't have cramps," Zayan says, as a matter of fact.

I frown. 'Yes, I do,' I lie.

"How? Why?" He asks. I burst out into a coughing fit.

'It happens, Zayan,' I say, blushing.

"It hasn't even been three weeks," Hanna mutters, amused.

Zayan looks extremely confused. And he doesn't believe me at all.

'Zayan, I think I need to go to the doctor,' I say, standing up. Hanna, Laiba and Aunty are all laughing crazily at me.

"Well, you have a doctor right in front of you," he says, raising an eyebrow.

'My stomach hurts! That's why I'm going to sleep with Adnan today. Not with his mother, because I'm not on talking terms with her anymore. Only with Adnan.'

"He can sleep with us," he says. I cough loudly, embarrassed.

'I'm going to rest for a while, Aunty. I.. you know.. it hurts,' I say, trying not to laugh.

She nods quickly. "Yes, yes dear. Of course. Rest. Zayan, do you want to watch TV with us?" She asks him, teasing.

Zayan shakes his head. 'I'm tired, Mum. I'm going to take a shower and then rest for a while.'

Laiba bursts out laughing again, as does Hanna. I shake my head at the both of them. Actually, at the three of them. Aunty included.

'Alayna, me and Adnan will be waiting for you at night,' Laiba says with a wink.

I roll my eyes. "Okay." As if.

I rush out the room before Laiba speaks again. I quickly go upstairs to my room, my cheeks bright red. As soon as I get inside, Zayan steps in quickly and he locks the door, pushing me gently against it.

He's staring into my eyes, his dark and intense. The way he's looking at me makes me feel giddy, drunk almost. It sends a delicious shiver through my entire body.

'You have cramps, do you?' He asks, his eyes filled with want.

I nod, biting my lip to control my grin. It's been too damn long.

His eyes fall to my lips, and they darken even more.

'You had cramps less than three weeks ago. I'm a doctor, I know how it works,' he says slowly.

I nod. "Yes, but some people aren't regular."

'But you are. You don't have cramps. And you're not sleeping with Laiba tonight.' His lips skim my earlobe, making me shiver.

"I am," I say, my voice shaky.

He looks into my eyes, shaking his head.

'I'd love to see you try. I'll pull you out of there if I have to. You're not leaving me tonight. And you're not sleeping tonight, either,' he says huskily.

My heart skips a beat. I fake a yawn. "But I'm tired!" I say dramatically, placing both my hands on his hard, warm chest. I can feel his heartbeat under my touch.

'You're such a drama queen,' he says, his lips twitching.

I groan, shaking my head. "I'm your drama queen, Zayan!"

He chuckles, nodding. 'Yes, you are. Only mine.'

I pout. "You're annoying me right now," I whisper, frowning at him.

'Oh? Why is that?' He asks, both his hands on my hips.

I bite my lip again. "Because you're talking too much. Kiss me."

His eyes widen a fraction of an inch, and they're filled with amusement. His pupils are almost black. 'How much do you like this kurta?' He asks me, staring into my eyes.

I blush hard. "A lot."

'That's too bad then. I'll buy you a new one,' he says.

I'm confused for a second, but only for a second. He shows me exactly what he means when my favourite kurta is ripped off me in one sharp pull.

Oh, damn.

********

Hello! How's everyone?! How did everyone celebrate Eid? I hope you all had a good time? :)

How was the chapter, guys? It was a more hospital-based chapter. Romance is coming up. And a lot more is coming up too. Twists and turns. Shocks. So much! I have too much planned for this book, and I'm so excited for you all to read it!

What do you think will happen next? ;)

Question: What's your outfit of the day?

Btw, if you don't already follow me on Instagram, feel free to follow me! My Instagram is: kainaaaatxo ! I sometimes post sneak peeks of my chapters while I'm writing them, I do many Q&A sessions on my books, and also on other things! I have live sessions too sometimes!

Bye guys!