Zainab's POV

If I were, to be honest, I didn't know at which thing I should be reacting at this point. Whether on once again getting a vivid and intense confession of love from Shaiq or him hinting at he would divorce me on my own wish and also end our friendship.

When he first time claimed that he had fallen for me five years ago, I let it slide away since I felt he was being impulsive just for his best friend's sake. He was trying to divert my mind by saying this so that I would not waste my life; more like, my family wouldn't get a chance to put me at stake by getting me married to Shakir or his likesome once again.

I was sure he was lying since he could never fall for me; his childhood friend whom he never saw other than a sister. I remembered he once said that he didn't want a bubbly and fun-loving girl as his wife otherwise she would be just like him. He yearned for a life partner totally opposite of himself who could let him experience an entirely different angle of his life. And he just needed only one person who would be the replica of his himself; his best friend Zainab.

"You know what Zainab, I want just you to be the reflection of my personality forever. I don't want our bond to break or fall into any so-called relations of this world which can separate our emotional bonding. I wish I could tell this whole world when we will grow older that look she is my best friend; we became besties when we weren't even a year old and we have been together for fifty years, sixty years, or maybe hundred years."

He chuckled out loud at this and I could hear his same laughter in my ears. A tear trickled from my eye when I realized it was been so long I last saw him laughing.

But the condition of mine was different. Even while in a relationship with Armaan, I always felt the home feelings with Shaiq, not him. Whenever I used to be in any difficulty, I consulted Shaiq. Whenever I got some achievement, the first person I used to tell this was Shaiq. Whenever I was sad, Shaiq used to console me which caused my emotional bonding with him to went on a completely different level. I subconsciously started to like him more than a friend which I always brushed off under the cover of thinking of him as a brother. My feelings got revealed when he became my husband and then I realized, my admiration for him was more than what I used to believe.

The old Shaiq's niceness when him without discerning, got mingled with husband-like actions, he finally grew over me, and then I didn't know when my fondness changed into love for him.

And when he once again came back to me when I was in my parents' house after leaving his farmhouse, he again said he loved him. At that time, I felt that it would have been some instant attraction or him surrendering his own choice for my sake by accepting me as his wife and professing to start a normal marital relationship with me. After few years, he would regret it since I was never what he always wanted to see in his life partner. And it would hurt both of us. When he also would find his "Zara", as Armaan got, he would also leave me as he did. And frankly speaking, at that time, I had no courage to see another Armaan.

But now the deep confession of him left me off guard. After this many years, he had absolutely no reason to lie or to compromise his life for my sake when he constantly got a rejection from my side. The Shaiq I knew would never force anyone or himself as well. After five years, the circumstances were different. There was no cruel Daniyal or heartless family of mine who would again try to destroy my life if he would leave me. The sole reason he married me and lied about being in love with me was this so now, there was no reason for him to still apparently fabricate it.

So it meant he really had fallen for me? And he was right all along. Just like how I started to love him, he also reciprocated my feelings, and all this while, I was thinking that he had been lying for my sake. My heart was sinking at this moment and my whole body was shaking in fear.

Any normal girl would have been shooted up to the seventh sky after getting to know that the one she loved also loved her back. But for me! I was lost right now. My mind started to get clouded up when I found I couldn't even think anything. 

An unknown fear embraced me. The fear of Shaiq going away from me. So far away that I wouldn't be able to see him again ever.

Suddenly my ears perked up when some faint noises came into my hearing which actually put a halt to the train of my thoughts. I looked here and there and then on myself. I was still laying on the cold floor of Shaiq's room after he left announcing whatever he had to say.

The voices got a little more pronounced but were still indistinguishable. I slid it away by thinking my mind was playing with me. As I tried to stand up from the floor, I found my legs throbbing with pain. With difficulty, I made my way towards the washroom.

I stood in front of the washbasin and stared at my reflection in the large mirror. My whole face was filled with tears and was red and swollen. I bent down and opened the tap. Warm water started to pour out of it. I softly splashed it on my face. As I was drying my face with the towel, I again looked at myself.

"Please forgive me for still having feelings for you, for still loving you. I can't guarantee you will I ever be able to stop loving you."

The towel got slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor. My hands started trembling as I gulped a lump down my throat.

I didn't know that someone's confession of love would have this unusual effect on me where he would talk about leaving me and loving me one after another. I crouched down, picked up the towel and placed it back to where it was, and walked back into the room.

The voices were still audible in the room and now I finally got to know who it was. Why Aunt and Nofil were back tonight when they said that due to no flight, they would come in the next week? I opened the door and stepped out of the room. From the upstairs, I could see Nofil and Aunt standing in the lounge, and on their opposite side, Shaiq was also there.

"Mom, you could have told me, I would have come to pick up you guys," Shaiq was saying this to his mother but I couldn't see his face as his back was towards me.

"Oho- even we didn't have any plan to come tonight. It is just coincidently one of my friends was also coming to Lahore in her car. She offered us to join her as well so we thought to come since Nofil also needed to go for her internship the next morning, " Aunt answered him back.

"Argh, I am so tired!" Nofil exclaimed in frustration as she almost fell on the couch.

"You didn't walk to come here, Nofil," Shaiq teased her, and I couldn't help but smile at this. It was after such a long time I was seeing the old Shaiq in him, even if it wasn't with me.

"Oh please Bhai, it was worst than this. My poor legs almost got froze while being stuck in the same position for such a long time," Nofil snapped back at her brother as she rolled her eyes.

I walked downstairs earning their attention who were busy talking.

"Assalam o Alaikum Aunt!" I mumbled as I stood in front of her. Nofil lazily waved her hand at me at which I smiled at her.

"Walaikum Assalam! Did you wake up? I think we disturbed your sleep. Shaiq was saying you were sleeping," Aunt chuckled as she came near me and patted the side of my face with love twinkling in her eyes.

At this comment from his mother, I looked at Shaiq who just glanced away from me when our ears met. He must have been thinking I wouldn't be able to come in front of his family after what happened between us so he might have made an excuse that I was sleeping. And at that time, I was thanking Allah that subconsciously I decided to wash my face.

Suddenly Shaiq's phone started ringing, "I am sorry, I'll come back after attending the call," Shaiq told his mother with an apologetic smile. 

"Who is calling you this late at night? Keep your office works in the office, Shaiq," Aunt glared at him with a fake grin.

"Tck, Mom, it isn't from my office. My friend is calling me. You know him as well. It's Ahmad!
I'll come in a while," he stroked his mother's face before striding away.

"I don't know why he made this Ahmad as his friend. He seemed so careless to me," she mumbled while wobbling her head sideways in dismay.

Ahmad! This name sounded familiar. Like I had heard about it before as well.

"Mom, why do you find that friend of Bhai so bad?" Nofil asked her mother while settling her hand under her chin.

"Not bad really, but he seemed careless and unnecessarily happy go lucky to me. I want Shaiq to get serious in his life now but I can't believe he has made friends just like how he himself is," Aunt replied while settling on the couch beside Nofil.

After putting more stress on my mind, I finally remembered where I came across this Ahmad name. When Shaiq came back, on the very first night, that Ahmad named guy called him and I accidentally peeped on his phone's screen.

"And Zainab, how are you now? Have your fever got down?" Aunt implored me as she placed a cushion behind her back.

"I am fine now, Aunt, "I replied with a big smile. It felt so good when someone asked me about myself after such a long time and that's why I love my Aunt. She was and still bigger than my mother for me. Before she went to Islamabad, I had a terrible fever that's why she was still anxious for me.

"Why your eyes are looking so red and swollen?" Aunt asked as she squinted her eyes in worry which caused Nofil as well to look at me.

"It's because I was sleeping earlier and woke up from raw sleep," I replied with a smile. at that time, I thanked God that what I was telling her wasn't a pure lie. I did get like this whenever I got forcefully wake up and since Aunt knew my this habit, she seemed to understand it too as she slowly wiggled her head in acceptance.

"Oh yeah! By the way, Shaiq didn't bother you, right?" She once again asked with a chuckle.

Bother was a small word. He caused the ground under my feet to slip away by his actions and words when you were not around. I finally got to know the reason for his attitude and it was nothing but a nightmare.

"Not really, " I beamed while maintaining a fake smile on my lips.

"Bhabi, is there anything to eat? I am dying from hunger, " Nofil suddenly cried out while straightening her back and look at me with puppy eyes.

With that, I remembered I also didn't eat anything since morning. The meal I made for Shaiq was still untouched which I placed in the freezer.

I nodded my head, "yes, there is. I'll bring it for you guys."

"No, Bhabi, I will take it by myself, don't worry" Nofil asserted as she tried to stand up.

"It's okay, Nofil. You would be tired from all the travel. Aunt, you guys go and freshen up, I'll warm the meal till then," I suggested with a smile and headed towards the kitchen.

After entering inside, I walked towards the giant-sized fridge and took out the bowls of food from inside. As I put the rice platter in the microwave oven and set the timer, my eyes flickered to see a phone near the oven. Just beside it, a water bottle was also placed which was uncapped and its lid was thrown away at a distance. It must be Shaiq who came here to attend his call and went out without taking his phone. I sighed as I grabbed the cap and attached it back to the mouth of the bottle. As I was about to pick the bottle to place it back in the fridge, Shaiq's phone again glistened. This time it didn't ring; he perhaps had put it on mute or vibrate mode.

The same Ahmad was still calling him. Why he again ringing him when a while ago, Shaiq must have already talked to him? I looked behind towards the exit of the kitchen but Shaiq was not there. Why did he place his phone here and left himself? I ignored it and grabbed the water bottle and put it back in the freezer.

Three minutes must have gotten passed as the oven's timer rang. I rushed towards it and took out a hot bowl of rice carefully. At that time, my gaze again went to Shaiq's phone's glistening screen which still had Ahmad written on it. Getting irritated, I grabbed the phone in my hand and wait for a second or two to wait for Shaiq to come if he were to. When he didn't, I, at last, attended the call.

"You idiot Shaiq, why weren't you taking my call? Now tell me what I have to do?" As soon as I placed the phone on my ear, a person shouted which was loud enough to tear my eardrum.

                      ________________________

Assalam o Alaikum guys!

How are you?

I'm finally back on this book after such a long time.

This chapter is really really important. I hope, by this chapter, the people who found Zainab unreasonable for sending Shaiq away and not accepting him as her husband (till now before his confession) found justification for her actions.

The two most importnt twists are also got revealed in this chapter out of which I would tell you one.

.

.

But first, guess! What unusual thing did you find in this chapter?

Okay, lemme tell you.

Zarmaan are going to make a special appearance in this book. When? That I can't tell you but they will surely come with their baby.

Do you want a baby grl or baby boy for them?

Now coming back to this chapter; who do you think is Ahmad who was constantly calling Shaiq and even yelled at him?

If you like this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment.