© All copyrights belong to StarsAndMoon1447 on Wattpad

*

The laws may not reflect the real UK law, although I do try my best to write it as accurate as possible. Guns are generally not openly used by the police here. Consider the legal rules/procedures/police matters real for fictional purposes!

*

Yamna

I woke up in the hospital, a drip attached to me.

My worried mother sat beside me, holding my hand, while Papa paced the room.

"Why am I here?" I whispered.

"Did you have anything to eat all day?" Mama demanded.

I shook my head.

"Yamna, what am I going to do with you?" Mama snapped, standing up.

"Saba." Papa shook her head. "She's in the hospital right now. Not now."

"Yasin, look what she's done to herself!" Mama cried out.

You did this to me. I wanted to say this to her, but I also knew that it wouldn't be fair to say that either. None of this was anyone's fault.

There was a knock on the door. "Chachu?"

I sat up straighter, pulling the bed sheet over myself.

"Come in, Arsal." Papa called out, wearily.

Arsal Bhai stood in the doorway. "Is Yamna okay? Anything to be concerned about?" 

"She's fine, Alhumdulillah. She just didn't eat properly." Papa explained, patting his shoulder. "Thank you for helping Saba bring her in, bachay."

"Chachu, why are you being so formal? We're all family here." 

"I'm going to get you some juice, okay?" Mama looked at me, her tone softening once again.

"Chachi, I can get it. You guys want anything?" Arsal Bhai asked my parents.

"That's sweet of you, Arsal. No, thanks. Just the juice is enough for Yamna." Mama gave him a warm smile.

Once Arsal Bhai had left, I took a deep breath. "Mama, say no to that rishta." 

My parents both looked at me, surprised.

"Yamna..." Mama began.

"Mama, please. Just say no!" I snapped.

"Okay, Yamna, nothing will happen unless you want it, okay?" Papa reassured me. "We will refuse that rishta."

Mama looked defeated. "Yamna..."

"I'm going to speak to Bhai." Papa said, firmly.

My heart skipped a beat.

"Without knowing or giving a regard to what Rohaan wants?" Mama gasped. "What if he doesn't want this?"

"We'll all discuss this and see where it goes."

"Yasin, I really..."

There was a knock on the door once again. "Chachu?" 

My eyes widened.

"Come on in, Rohaan." Papa called out.

The door opened and Rohaan walked in, his gaze instantly locking on me. "Assalam Alaikum." He seemed to have forced himself to look at my parents in turn.

"Walaikum Assalam." We all replied.

Papa walked forward to hug him, patting his back. It was heart-warming how much my father adored his nieces and nephews. And why not? Tayan had been no less than a fatherly figure for him. 

Rohaan came and stood by my bed, his gaze locked on me once again. "What did you do?" 

"Ask her what she didn't do!" Mama sighed in exasperation. "She forgot to eat!"

I met Rohaan's gaze, the intensity of which made me want to hide and blush at the same time. 

"You okay?" He asked, softly.

I nodded. "Alhumdulillah." 

"Alhumdulillah." He repeated. "Why do you not look after yourself, hamster?"

"I was so focused on uni that I didn't realise..." I wanted to move my gaze away, but I couldn't. I could sense Mama glancing from me to him, and then back.

"Your education is not more important than your health. Nothing is." He said. 

I felt speechless as our gazes remained locked for a long time, no words even necessary.

*

Haya

"Haya, what a pleasant surprise!" Mama hugged me tightly. 

"I'm glad you both are home.  I need to talk to you." I said to my parents, leading them into the living room.

"The kids are with Aariz?" Mama asked.

I gasped. "No! I left them all alone, Mama!" 

Papa chuckled as Mama shook her head at me.

They sat down on the sofa together, while I took a seat on the armchair facing them. "I'm not going to beat around the bush, since I'm short on time, but your elder son is a total Humpty Dumpty." 

"What did he do now?" Mama looked exasperated.

"Before anything, how do you feel about Yamna being your badi bahu?" Again, I was direct.

"Yamna? Our Yamna?" Papa asked.

"Yes, Papa, your beloved niece. Our Yum-Yum." 

Mama looked thoughtful...but not exactly shocked. "Hmm..."

"Hmm?" Papa looked at her. "Why do you not seem surprised?" 

"Things are starting to make sense now." Mama nodded.

"I feel, call it an instinct, that the two want to marry each other." I shrugged. "But Rohaan doesn't know what Rohaan wants. Yamna seems to realise what she wants, but she doesn't know what Rohaan truly wants. I know what Rohaan wants, but I can't get him to open up. But I know that they want to marry each other."

Papa looked thoughtful. Mama looked at him, placing her hand on his.

To my relief, Papa grinned. "If this is true, I cannot be happier." 

Even Mama smiled. "It's so strange I never considered it before. I'm usually the first one making pairs in my head."

I laughed. "But you two are happy with the idea?" 

"Your Papa gave away his two ladlis, and now his third ladli will come here." Mama slid her arm through his. "And I adore Yamna so much. We're more than happy to have her as our bahu."

"But..." Papa said. "Rohaan is the one who needs to come and speak to us about this."

"God help us then. We'd have to wait another decade." I rolled my eyes as they both laughed.

*

Rohaan

"Was Behaya here?" I asked Mama after I'd greeted her. "I could have sworn I saw her car driving off down the road."

For some reason, she beamed at me. "Yes, she was."

"I'm going to go shower. I smell like the hospital and the police station." I frowned. "Almost all of the emergency services locations, actually." 

"Hospital?" She asked. "Another serious case?"

"Yamna was in the hospital. She fainted due to forgetting to eat." I explained. "I swear to God, that girl..."

"What? Is she okay now?" 

"Yeah, she's gone home." 

"I'm going to call Saba." She instantly headed out of the kitchen.

I followed and headed up the stairs instead. 

*

FLASHBACK

"Come on." Yusuf grinned. "Answer Mira's question." 

"I have no answer to that." I leaned back in my chair in the café. 

"You must have an ideal girl." Tilting her head slightly, Mira smiled at me. 

I smiled back at her. She was as close to my ideal girl as I could imagine: beautiful, intelligent, confident, fierce and not afraid to speak her mouth. I shrugged. "I think it's too early for me to determine that."

"I think he needs someone who can handle him. Ro is really a handful." Yusuf laughed.

"Well, then the list isn't going to be very long." I also laughed. "I know I'm a pain in the a**."

"You need someone who can love you despite the fact that you're a pain the a**." Mira looked thoughtful. "Enjoy eternal bachelorhood!"

 I grinned. "I'm actually a very eligible bachelor."

"Eternally eligible." Yusuf also joined in the leg-pulling.

*

PRESENT

I ran my hands through my hair under the shower. Why the heck are my thoughts the clearest in the shower?

My idea of an ideal girl had changed a lot since my conversation with the Shafi siblings. When and how that had happened, I didn't even realise. 

I thought about the girl playing football with me in a maxi dress, wearing bangles and an anklet. I thought about the girl who had left a soft hamster toy on my pillow. The girl who always wore pink. The girl who still carry around fluffy pens and glittering notebooks. Beautiful in every sense of the world, sweet, intelligent, kind, caring, loving, shy...and most of all, she tolerated my annoying a**.

After drying off, I wrapped a towel around my waist before stepping out of the shower and walking straight into my room. As soon as I had put on my clothes for the night, there was a knock on the door. "What?" 

"Jeez. Which criminal annoyed you today?" Arsal opened the door and came inside.

I turned to look at him. "What do you want, grasshopper?" 

"Because none of us want to wait another decade, I'm here to give you a little clue." 

"Regarding?"

"Mama and Papa know and they are waiting for you to approach them about it." He flopped down on the foot of my bed.

"They know what?" 

He shook his head. "How the hell are you such a brilliant detective, when you can't even figure out your own life?" 

"Grasshopper, can you stop being so damn cryptic and tell me what you're chirping on about?"

"Mira is not the daughter-in-law that they are waiting for now." He stood up. "If I have to tell you more clearly, I'd ask them to reconsider getting you married cause you're a six-foot-something clueless toddler." He walked out, closing the door behind him.

And then I finally put two and two together. I sensed Behaya's hand in this.

Good God. No wonder Mama was smiling so much.

I got a notification on my phone and picked it up.

<Arsal: You can thank us later!>

I grinned at the phone screen.

*

Yamna

I changed into my pink night-suit trousers and the white t-shirt that had come along with it. The temperatures were getting warmer now and since our home didn't have air-conditioning, and our fans were still packed away for the winter, I had to manage in a t-shirt.

I snuggled under my duvet, smiling at Mr Bunny and the hamster toy beside it- bigger than the one I had left in Rohaan's room. I glanced around at my room, my safe haven, before taking my glasses off and turning off the lamp.

*

FLASHBACK

"I want everything pink and white!" I was determined when my room was going to be transformed from the room of a teenage girl to that of a young adult girl.

"So, nothing different?" Haya Appi teased.

"Yamna, now is the opportunity to change. Make it more mature, beta." Mama had gently chided me.

"But I like pink." I had to admit, I was a bit of a princess, and everyone had a hand in making me that.

"It's okay, Chachi. We'll figure something out." Haya Appi placed her arm around my shoulders. "Trust us."

"Hoor, Haya, please make sure she doesn't do anything impractical." Mama told my cousin sisters.

Hoor Appi and Haya Appi had taken me to IKEA to get decoration and stuff for my room makeover, and they had helped me set my room up.

"Ya Allah! Did a unicorn throw up in here?" Rohaan asked when he first saw my newly decorated room.

"Better than your dungeon of doom!" I shot back.

"My dungeon of doom is not Barbie's paradise, at least."

"Leave her alone, Ro." Hoor Appi told him off.

A corner of his mouth turned up and he chuckled. "You little hamster." Shaking his head, he left.

*

PRESENT

I smiled to myself.

I sat up, unable to sleep, my hair falling onto my face. I grabbed my hamster soft toy, hugging it close to my chest. I turned the lamp on and walked over to my desk. I might as well continue the bane of my existence- my dissertation.

But even as I tried to focus on that, I couldn't. My mind was miles away. I folded my arms on my table and rested my chin over it.

*

✿♡ DAYDREAM ♡✿

I was wearing a pink bridal lehenga, with a silver border, and I was in the garden of the Tariq family home, running while kicking a football lightly with my mehendi-adorned foot.

I was stopped by strong hands on my shoulders and I looked up, smiling instantly.

Rohaan, in an ivory sherwani, gave me his usual heart-stopping smile. "Are you still going to challenge me today, Mrs Rohaan?"

I dropped my gaze, blushing probably the same colour as my dress.

He stepped back, taking my hand and twirling me around, my lehenga spinning around me. Then he pulled me back towards himself, my hands on his chest.

He leaned down towards me and I closed my eyes, my heart pounding hard...

*

😑REALITY 😑

I jumped as my phone suddenly vibrated.

I glanced at it and it was a stupid email from Amazon, asking me for my opinion on my last order.

Shaking my head, I tried to focus on my dissertation again.

But just as I was starting to concentrated, my fickle mind decided that it wanted to sleep after all, and I got up and dragged myself to bed. Cuddling my toy hamster, I fell asleep almost instantly.

And I dreamed of that heart-stopping smile, as I have done for a long time now.

*

Rohaan

I could sense my parents exchanging a look and glancing at me, but I focused on buttering my toast.

"I can't even say nepotism." Papa finally spoke. "How come a clueless person like you became a detective when you can't even see the blatantly obvious clues?" 

"Rehan." Mama laughed lightly. "Don't tease him."

"I'm losing my patience, Anya." Papa shook his head. "You want to tell us something, Rohaan?"

Mama smiled knowingly at me.

Behaya, I will make you pay for this. I shook my head. "No." 

"Give your son some lessons too, Anya." Papa sighed.

"It's okay. I'll be speaking to Mira soon, and he will realise on his own, Rehan." Mama had a teasing glint in her eyes.

Mira? I tried to remain nonchalant.

"Speaking of rishtay, don't forget to find out about the rishta for Yamna. Yasin and Saba both asked you to help with the background checks." Mama added.

What the f**k is going on here? I thought they knew that... "Rishta for Yamna?" 

Mama nodded. "She went to her friend's Nikah, and a family sent her marriage proposal."

"What family? Let me know and I'll get the background checks started on the guy." My jaw clenched. Hopefully, I will find a good enough reason for the family to refuse him.

"Your Papa can do the background checks. You don't worry." Mama spoke almost dismissively.

"I'm in the police! I can do better background check. No offence, Papa." I stood up. "I need to go." I walked around and leaned down to kiss Mama's cheek, before patting my father's shoulder. 

Papa lightly grabbed me by the ear. "Kadon aawaygi akal tenu?"

*"When will you get the sense?" 

"Mujhe lagta hai bohat jaldi." Mama said, knowingly.

*"I feel very soon." 

"Allah Hafiz." Smiling, I left.

"May Allah keep you under His protection. Ameen!" Mama called out after me.

Oh, if only I knew how much the dua of my mother would be required today.

*

I was working in my office at work, when suddenly, there was chaos. Everyone started to get up and rush around.

"Hostage situation at a bank!" 

"Bro, let's go. We need all hands on deck." Ahmed patted my back before rushing away.

Kill me. The day I didn't want criminal drama. I got up and followed my friend out.

Ensuring my gun was fully loaded, I put it in my holster, and put on my bullet proof vest, before following my colleagues out. We got into the police van, and sped through the streets towards the bank.

The panicked crowd was already gathered outside, screaming and crying for their loved ones inside.

"CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE EMERGENCY SERVICES! COME ON, MOVE!" Ahmed shouted out. "IF WE CAN'T GET THROUGH, WE CAN'T GET PEOPLE OUT!"

Some of our team members started putting barriers, moving the members of the public behind it.

"DON'T COME FORWARD!" A loud shout came from the entrance of the building. "OR MY COLLEAGUES AND I WON'T SPARE ANYONE IN HERE!" 

I saw the man in the mask, and he was holding a girl, his arm around her neck and a gun pointed at her head. She was crying, begging him to let her go. My heart sank as I saw how much she reminded me of Yamna. "Let go of these innocent people." 

"WE SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE WITH THE CASH IF YOU WANT THE SAFETY OF THESE PEOPLE!" The man walked backwards, heading back into the building. His colleagues closed the door, standing guard.

"Mohsin, Tariq, this way!" One of our seniors gestured us to go down the side of the building through a narrow alley.

Ahmed and I headed through as instructed, followed by a couple of our other colleagues. It was a bank, so scaling the back wall wasn't going to be easy. But to our surprise, someone opened the door at the side, a bank employee. Looking pale and shaken, he gestured for us to come inside, putting a finger on his lips.

"They don't know about this. They don't know about me." He said. 

"Go." Ahmed ordered him to escape.

Without argument, the bank employee nodded and headed out towards the alley and towards safety.

"Wow, these Teletubbies really didn't cover the back, did they?" Ahmed whispered.

"Something doesn't feel right. It's too easy." I frowned, my hand reaching for my gun.

"Duck!" One of my colleagues shouted suddenly, and I just managed to jump out of the way before there was a gun shot...right where I had been seconds earlier. I looked up and saw a couple of guys in ski masks aiming their guns at us from a window on the second floor.

While my colleagues starting shooting back, I ran towards the building. A side fire exit door burst open and another man in a ski mask rushed out, but before he could do anything, I kneed him in the stomach and punched him before tossing him aside like used tissue paper. His head hit the side wall and he got knocked unconscious. I slipped in through the fire exit door and raced up the stairs. I was being a little impulsive, a little reckless, but I was pumped with adrenaline.

In my entire career so far, I hadn't yet faced a situation like this, where these many innocents were at risk. But I wasn't going to sit back and watch from afar. I was not the type to do so. I had to jump right into action. That's who I was.

But then someone lunged at me out of one of the room, knocking me down so that my head hit the wall. The gun flew out of my grip as the man reached back to punch me. The room spun in front of my eyes, but I had to fight back. I grabbed his wrist, pushing him away with all the strength remaining within me. Suddenly, the man was yanked away from me and held back. 

"Don't ever say I never did anything for you." Ahmed told me, putting handcuffs on the guy as more and more officers walked into the building.

Swaying a little, I got up, reaching down to grab my gun.

"You good, Tariq?" A policewoman asked me.

"It takes a hell of a lot more to bring me down." I grinned, even as my head was spinning.

F**king concussion, I think.

We heard a scream from the front of the building, and we raced towards it, even as I resisted the urge to throw up. 

There were a lot of innocents here, cowering on the ground, huddled together, while masked men paced the room. As the officers burst in, there was utter chaos. Screaming, shouting and a panicked uproar. 

But my gaze was on the girl who reminded me of Yamna- the same innocent look, the same round glasses. She was bleeding from the forehead now as the man yanked her by the hair.

And in my potentially concussed state, all I saw was Yamna. "GET YOUR F**KING PAWS OFF HER!" I rushed forward and lunged at the man, not trusting my mind to get the right shot. I didn't want to accidentally shoot Yamna. I mean, the girl who reminded me of her.

I managed to get a couple of punches in before I lost consciousness myself.

What the hell kind of a day was this?

*

I woke up in a bloody hospital.

"Ugh, who called my mother?" I groaned as I saw Mama sat beside me.

"Rohaan!" A tear was running down her cheek. "Are you okay?"

"How's Yamna?" I muttered through the fog in my confused mind.

Now she also looked puzzled. "Yamna? She should be at university." 

I opened my eyes as I started to make sense of everything. "Right, of course." 

But the f**king terror that I had felt when I had thought that Yamna was in danger was nothing that I'd ever felt before. The rage that I had felt when I'd thought that the b*****d was hurting her.

Mama shook her head. "I don't care about anything. You need to quit this job."

I gave her a small smile. "If everyone quits, who will protect innocents like you, Boss Woman?" I glanced around. "Why am I not getting a lecture from your husband?" 

"He's outside with Yasin and Saim. This was all over the news, and everyone has been contacting us to ask about you!" She leaned down to kiss my forehead. "I know my life dramatic, but you not only inherited it, but you took it to another level." 

I laughed then winced as pain shot through my head.

*

Yamna

I kept hearing about hostages at a bank, but I didn't pay it much attention. I was spending the day at the university library, preparing for a test .

My phone buzzed and I saw a message from Madiha.

<Madiha: Is Rohaan Bhai okay?! I heard he got hurt in that hostage situation!>

I froze. What? 

I immediately dialled Mama's number. "Assalam Alaikum, Mama. What happened? Did Rohaan get hurt?"

"Walaikum Assalam, Yamna. Don't worry. It was a concussion, but he's fine now." 

I felt nauseated. "A-Are you sure he's okay?"

"Yes, my love. He's fine. Alhumdulillah." She said. "Your Papa went to the hospital and said that there was nothing to worry about."

"He's not too badly hurt, right?" 

"No, chanda. Trust me, he's okay. Allah protected him. Alhumdulillah." 

After the call ended, I realised how much I was trembling. I dialled Rohaan's number, unable to stop myself.

"Hello?" Anabia Tayi answered.

"Assalam Alaikum, Anabia Tayi." My voice shook as much as my body was shaking. "Is Rohaan okay?"

"Walaikum Assalam, Yamna. He's okay, my love. Don't worry. Alhumdulillah." She spoke softly.

"May I speak to him?" I asked.

"Sure, honey. Here you go." 

After some muffled sounds, he came on the line. "Hey, hamster. You okay?" 

I bit my lower lip, feeling a weirdly huge sense of relief hearing his voice. "Assalam Alaikum. Are you okay?" 

"Walaikum Assalam. Just another day at work." 

I put my hand over my mouth, silently sobbing. I hadn't realised how terrified I'd been, thinking about how badly he was hurt. What is wrong with me?

"Hamster." His voice was soft and reassuring. "I'm okay. Trust me. Alhumdulillah, all well."

"I was so scared."

"There's no need to be scared. It's nothing that I can't handle." 

"You could have been shot! Anything could have happened!" 

"But it didn't. Relax, okay? You at uni?" 

"I am."

"Focus on your studies. I'm fine. Don't worry about me."

"I feel shaken." I confessed. I need to see you in person.

"Hamster, my mother sounded calm, didn't she? If she's calm, you need to believe that I'm okay."

"Okay. Allah Hafiz." I abruptly ended the call because I was feeling the strong urge to burst into tears...which I did.

*

Rohaan

When I got home, I had a nice long nap, after which I dragged my a** to go and take a shower.

When I came out, I raised both eyebrows when I saw something on my bed. I approached it and saw that it was a gift hamper with muffins and a small box of my favourite Lindt Lindor chocolates. On top of the hamper was a soft toy sun, with the words 'Get Well Sun!' written on it.

I chuckled and picked up the card beside the sun.

Get well soon, Meanie. 

-Hamster. 

My fingers traced over her handwriting, a smile remaining constantly on my face. Maybe I was still under a concussion, because I lifted the card up to my mouth and kissed it. 

What the f**k, Rohaan?

I stood up, knowing exactly what I had to do. I strode out of my bedroom and rushed towards the stairs...

...bumping straight into Yamna, who was bringing up a tray. The tray fell from her hands at our collision, sending the bowl of soup flying downstairs. She almost fell along with it, but I grabbed her arm to steady her.

"Rohaan, what the...?" She looked up at me, wide-eyed.

"Yamna, are you okay?!" Mama's voice came from downstairs.

But my gaze was only on Yamna. My hamster. Just the thought of anything happening to her today had made me face anger and fear on an epic level, even though she hadn't even been there! "I'm going to speak to my parents. What do you say?" 

I had no idea that my mother had come to the bottom of the steps...

...along with the rest of the parents. 

"Would you like to marry me, Yamna Yasin?" I asked, my gaze not moving away from her for even a second.

*

What an action packed chapter!

What will Yamna say?

Favourite part?

Thoughts and comments?

Thank you for reading and don't forget to vote!