Zaydaan filled update. Vote. Comment and tell me what ya'll think.

I need lots of comments because it is a damn big chapter. Okay? Okay!!

,

__

Aaina x Zaydaan

The coldness of the weather didn't even make her flinch as she finally stepped out of the car with shaky legs and a wildly beating heart.

She didn't know how much time it took for her to be transferred into another car and then to the Prime Minister house, the safest place in the city.

She didn't understand how her legs carried her into the living room where there were several people around them, a woman telling her to drink water, a female doctor asking her if she felt alright, so many people, too many people.

How did she go from texting Zaydaan to bending down in the car while Sami pressed himself against her, shielding her from the bullet sounds.

Too many gunshots, broken glass, the car was bullet proof but the glass obviously wasn't.

Their driver was shot twice in the shoulder. Even Sami had a bullet wound on his leg but he had still insisted on not leaving the first lady.

There was heart ache, fear of her husband, stress about her family but nothing compared to this. This fear, this feeling, I literally could have died.

I actually could have died.

That was all she could think about.

There were so many people around them, so many men and women asking her if she was okay. But Aaina was completely quiet.

She couldn't speak, couldn't say a word.

And then, there was silence.

Zaydaan stood in the doorway, not walking ahead as he observed her from head to toe, his jaw clenched in anger and his eyes still staring at her.

He watched her like a hawk, he observed her slightly parted thighs, her lowered head and the way her legs would tremble once or twice.

Aaina shut her eyes tight, slight ringing in her ears reminding her of the gunshots that had gone off an hour ago.

She tried to not remember it, but how could she not remember it?

It was the scariest thing she had ever felt in her entire life.

"Give me this." Zaydaan muttered to a woman who was holding a glass of water as he sat by Aaina's side.

"Aaina," He whispered, not wanting to startle his already scared wife.

Her eyes met his, as she turned around at his concerned voice.

"Drink some water."

She frowned, not saying a word and drinking a sip or two from the glass before pushing it away.

Everyone in the living room stared at them, watching their interaction. The women admired the way the Prime Minister was taking care of his wife, the men who were part of his security team were still around, checking parts of the house to ensure their safety.

Someone knew the route she was taking and had attacked at the exact moment. It was an attack meant to take her life.

"Let's go upstairs." He didn't ask her if she wanted to, neither did he say anything else.

He simply held her hand and made her get up, walking a few steps towards the elevator this time.

They hardly used it, only when some special guests were arriving but this time, they needed it. He didn't think Aaina wanted to take the stairs anyway.

Zaydaan didn't know how all of a sudden things had taken a turn, one minute he was sitting in his cabinet and the other minute, he was being informed that his wife was attacked.

He didn't remember the last time he had panicked about something like he had tonight.

His security had asked him to stay, to let them carry out a few safety measure before but Zaydaan hadn't given a fuck.

He had tried to reach back home as soon as possible. And seeing Aaina like this, it had relieved him but alps worried him.

As they entered their bedroom, Aaina sat on the corner of their bed while Zaydaan stood at a safe distance, staring at her.

He didn't know what to say to make her feel better. He stayed there for a while, the only sound that could be heard in the entire room was the ticking of clock.

Finally, when he realised that she was not going to speak, Zaydaan walked ahead, and sat right by her side.

"Aaina.." He started off.

She didn't say anything, she stayed quiet. His hand pulled her by the waist softly, making her lean onto him.

He knew she liked his touch, she liked him holding her and he knew she needed that.

There was so much said between them, he had said so many horrible and cruel things to her and yet, the fact that he was the only one who could make her feel better was astounding.

"I've told Sami to double your security, your plans for the next week have been cancelled too. You can't go out, not untill we're sure that you're safe."

He said, his words weren't comforting, were they? But he truly wanted to make a conversation so she wouldn't be traumatised.

Usually, Zaydaan didn't listen to much that she had to say, but tonight, he felt like listening to her.

He sighed as he heard her not respond. His eyes peered down at her, Aaina had her head on his shoulder, her hand reaching out bear his stomach and her eyes closed.

"Aaina, you have to tell me what is going on inside your head. Don't bottle it up."

He said, tightening his grip on her waist and making her open her eyes.

"I'm-I just-" She stuttered, because there wasn't possibly anything that she could say to describe how she was feeling right now.

She was just sitting in the car, thinking about everything going on in her life and all of a sudden, gunshots.

How was that supposed to make one feel?

"Just tell me how you're feeling, are you okay?" He questioned, encouragingly.

She could not remember the last time he had talked to her in that soft tone.

"I'm scared." She admitted in a whisper, almost as if she was ashamed to admit that in front of him.

Zaydaan nodded, wiping a tear that had fell out of her eye.

"It's okay," He soothed. "Look at me."

He put a finger on her cheek, grazing it tenderly as she lifted her head to look at him.

"You're safe, now. You're okay." He mumbled.

"I'm not leaving you, tonight. I'll be right by your side. Okay?"

He breathed, for a second it felt like they were a very normal couple, a lovely one at that.

But it was far from the truth.

Aaina remained in that very position, almost clinging to Zaydaan while he kept stroking her hair, staying in that position as well.

His phone vibrated, the land line rang, but he didn't pick it up. Nothing was more important than his wife right now.

He had so many questions, where was she going and why? Why was she going to meet Ahad at the farm? Why didn't she tell him that she was going?

But nothing was important than making her feel safe right now.

It didn't take much for her to fall asleep in his arms, and the moment she did, he laid down beside her, not ready to leave her alone.

--

He turned to look at her one more time before opening up his cell phone and calling one of his men.

He had duties, he had to fulfill them.

"Hello? Yes, I know that someone leaked it. I don't care. Pass a statement that she's fine and that we'll soon be finding out who was behind the attack."

How could anything stay hidden in this country? No matter how hard anyone tried, it was possibly impossible to not see it all on social and electronic media.

From a small blurry picture on the Internet to breaking news on the television, Aaina's face was everywhere.

First lady attacked in the middle of the night.

He heard all the information that his advisor gave to him. Then spoke again.

"I want you to cancel the Lahore visit tomorrow, I'll stay in Islamabad for now."

The next call he picked up was from his father.

"She's fine, baba. She's okay. Yes, tell mama not to worry." He didn't hear what his father had to say next, he didn't feel like it, so he hung up the phone.

He knew his father didn't give a crap about Aaina, he was just doing all this for formality sake.

He opened up his message box, quickly sending his brother a text message.

"Ahad, meet me first thing in the morning."

He wrote, knowing that only Ahad could give him the answers he needed right now.

After making sure that he had done his job well, he was about to switch off his cell phone when suddenly he read Aaina's name on the screen and realised she had sent him a long text message.

Sent : 8:45 pm.

So she had texted me about half an hour before the attack

Curious to read what his wife had written, he opened up the chat box.

Zaydaan, okay, I can't say this to you on your face because you scare me. You hurt me. And maybe it makes you feel good that you scare me, but I don't like the feeling. I love you. I hope you're having a good day because my days are spent being hurt and thinking about how I didn't deserve anything.

He shook his head, understanding what Aaina had done. She had written her heart out in this text message because she knew he would never let her say all of this in real life.

With Aaina, came guilt and confusion. With Aaina, came the fact that he cared but he didn't want to care. With Aaina, came her tears and vulnerablility that he hated. With Aaina, came her father's betrayal and him forgiving the man anyway, because of her.

I didn't deserve being forced to get married, to give up my semester in Barcelona, to get hurt by my own father. I didn't.

He thought the same. He didn't deserve an unwanted marriage but it was a choice of his own. Was it not? He chose her because of his lust for power.

But it happened and I was okay because of you. You made me feel good. You say that you were pretending and I'm nothing, then why would you treat me like that?

He didn't understand that himself. He didn't understand why he had turned so soft towards her when he couldn't act like the husband that she wanted.

Why would you take me to your farm? Why would you insult the woman you claim to have loved for me? Why would you kiss me like you truly cared? Why would you say all that? Why would you tell me that I'm innocent and pure?

He did it because he wanted to. He didn't think of it much, it didn't mean much for him to be casual and carefree with her, maybe his attitude changed because he became the Prime Minister, because he felt like whatever he had with Aaina was over, or because he wanted to conceal what he felt for her after hugging her in front of the whole country.

Nothing makes sense, Zaydaan. Nothing makes sense anymore. I love you and you don't love me. What scares me is that one day you'll have no use for me and you'll just leave, I feel like one day I'm going to not be the pawn in your life anymore and I'll be broken.

He didn't think he could leave her, she was his first lady, she was his wife.

Zaydaan took a deep breath, reading the lines as he turned to look at his wife who was still asleep, peacefully.

I can't say all this to your face but I can write it. Minal is okay, she's good even, but you once told me that she's nothing. And then you told me that I'm nothing. So what really is the truth? Am I truly nothing to you?

Aaina wasn't nothing. She was his wife. But she had this habit of questioning him and his decisions, something that he loathed.

I know you don't express anything, that expressing hate and coldness for you is easy but I feel suffocated.

You said that one day the whole country will cherish me, and I said that I only want to be cherished by you. That is still true.

I'm not asking you to love me. I'm asking you to be the same Zaydaan who took me to that farm, who would come home every night and smile at me. I'm not asking you to care for me, I know you do, even when you say hurtful things I know you care for me.

Did he though? The thought of something happening to her was scary, the thought of losing her or her getting hurt was filled with anxiety.

So he cared. He understood that.

But telling her that he cared would make her crave for his love even more, and he didn't think he could give her that.

I just, I don't know why I'm writing all this but I just wanted to say this to you without any fear or without the fear of being hurt by your words. Words are just words. You told me once.

But words cut like knives, and yours, they pierce at my heart.

He closed his eyes for a few minutes, putting his phone away on the table.

He switched off the lights and turned to his wife, putting a hand on her waist and letting her know that he was there.

--

--

As the sun rose and the morning arrived, Aaina stretched herself around the bed, finding a hard body by her side.

She squinted her eyes, adjusting to the light in the room and looked by her side, only to find her husband sitting on the bedside.

She closed her eyes again, just to be sure that it was actually Zaydaan, she opened them up and saw the same view as before.

Her movement stirred him and he broke his concentration from his phone, only to look at her.

"Salam alaikum." He greeted, Aaina felt so confused by his behaviour.

He had been kind to her last night and he was being kind right now. He had been cruel two days ago, yet here he was, bring nice. She couldn't understand. Was it out of pity? She was attacked last night, maybe it was out of sympathy, since he had told her he didn't care.

Her heart always told her that he did care about her but Zaydaan's actions contradicted that at times.

"Feeling better?" He asked again. Aaina nodded, slowly getting up and sitting on the bed in the same way as him.

"Yeah, I'm okay," She whispered back.

Zaydaan put his phone away, his concentration only on her now.

"You're still in bed." She commented.

She looked at the clock, it was almost twelve in the morning and he wasn't at work. It surprised her.

What surprised her even more was the confession out of her husband's mouth.

"I didn't want to leave you."

He admitted. She looked at him with eyes widened and a heart that felt like beating fast.

"Why?" She questioned anyway.

Zaydaan had so much in his mind, so many things that he had to do and yet, he wanted to put her at ease, he wanted to some how reply to that long text message sent by her, he didn't want to hurt her, not today.

He let out a deep breath before taking her hand in his.

"Because you're not nothing and I care about you."

He said it so slowly and so softly that Aaina had to think twice to her own self.

Had she really heard him right? Did he really say that?

"What?" She mumbled. He shrugged, as if the words he had said weren't a big deal.

But to her, those words meant so much.

"You heard me." He responded.

Aaina realised that he had read the message and this was the only response that she could get from him.

But knowing that, him admitting that he cared, it was everything.

She knew he had lied to her before and she wasn't able to catch on it anyway, he was a shrewd politician, he lied well but somehow she felt like he was being honest with her right now.

"Okay," She winced upon the slight ache in her head, Zaydaan immediately noticed.

"Your tablets are on the table, they'll help with the headache." She glanced at the side table and there were indeed, a few tablets.

She looked back at her husband, who had his entire attention on her. There was no frustration or annoyance on his wife, just plain tenderness.

She felt like the previous Zaydaan, the one who took her to the farm was back. But she also knew that he was just doing this to make sure she was okay after last night.

"Thank you." She said to him as she watched him get out of the bed.

"For taking care of me." She added.

Zaydaan picked up a mug of tea in his hand, and stared at Aaina.

"You're my wife."

And she understood. She understood that he had answered her insecurity. She had asked him if he would just leave her, or break her. Or go to another woman.

He wouldn't.

She was his wife, his first lady. No one would take her place.

A knock on the door snapped them out of whatever trance they were in. Zaydaan walked a few steps, opening his bedroom door.

Ahad entered the room, his hands held a mug of tea and his eyes were filled with concern as he looked at his brother.

The moment he came to know about the attack, he had rushed back home from the farm house.

But it had been a little late since Aaina had already been asleep.

Ahad felt somewhat guilty, he had invited her and all this tragedy had happened. Thankfully, she was safe and unhurt.

That's what truly mattered to him.

"Good Morning. Is she awake?" He greeted his brother, entering the bedroom and looking at Aaina.

He didn't care that this felt informal or if his brother would mind, he just cared about his friend right now.

He walked towards Aaina, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"How are you feeling? You okay bhabhi?"

She cracked a smile upon hearing bhabhi.

"I'm fine, Ahad." She assured him. He sighed.

"When I reached home, you were already in the bedroom. You weren't hurt, right?"

"No, I'm okay." She said again, looking at Zaydaan who was watching their interaction.

"I feel so guilty, I'm sorry." He added, she clicked her tongue.

"It's not your fault." She said again, their motioned him to look at Zaydaan who was almost glaring at his brother.

Ahad stood up.

"You wanted to talk to me." Ahad stated, the older brother nodded.

"Who else knew about you both having dinner?" He asked bluntly, Zaydaan trusted their security teams more than anything.

They were the best of the best, they were loyal to the Ziagil family. It was definitely an outsider who knew what route Aaina would take to reach Ahad's farm house.

This wasn't something normal. It was serious. If someone could attack once, they could attack again.

"Uh, my security and her security." Ahad revealed.

The Prime Minister clenched his jaw.

"Did you ask for my permission to take my wife to the farm? Knowing that the last time you both were seen at the farm, what happened?" He questioned, an edge of anger in his voice.

He didn't want to yell at anyone, he didn't want to shout and scream but he was definitely angry.

"Bhai, I didn't think it was a big deal. You were fine with us being friends and you said-" Ahad tried to excuse himself, Zaydaan sighed.

"Ahad, who else knew about it?" He enquired again.

"Bhai, I told you-"

Zaydaan gave him his infamous look, the same one he had been giving him since childhood. Ahad was a damn good actor, he could fool anyone but not his brother.

"I can tell when you're lying, Ahad."

"A friend, she knew." He mumbled. Zaydaan nodded.

"Which friend?"

Aaina watched the brothers' exchange of words without saying anything.

"I can't tell you." Ahad denied.

"Why not?" Zaydaan shot back.

"Just, I can't. But I trust her and I know she'll never betray me by leaking any information."

Aaina didn't know much but she trusted Ahad's judgement and she knew that her husband would do anything to take the information from Ahad.

And the moment he got to know who the friend was, he would raise hell.

She picked up the glass of water as she saw her brother in law's panicked eyes. She drank a sip, taking the medicine.

After taking her tablet, she drank a sip again, then coughed hard.

"I'm giving you one more minute, tell me who it was." Zaydaan warned his brother.

"And I already told you that I can not tell-" Ahad was still arguing when both of them heard the coughing and gasping.

Zaydaan turned around, looking at Aaina with eyes widened.

"Hey, you okay?" He rushed towards her, rubbing her back as she coughed. In the meantime, she signalled Ahad to go.

He smirked upon realising that she herself had done a little drama.

Zaydaan rubbed her back once again and Aaina finally stopped coughing.

"Fine, just water," She said after a while.

Her husband looked around the room, only to see that Ahad had rushed out.

He groaned.

"Did you know who it was?" He questioned his wife, eyes looking straight into hers.

She couldn't lie to him, so she told him the truth.

"I don't know her." She replied honestly. She didn't know who the girl was, just who her family was.

She wasn't lying, was she?

"Okay," Zaydaan said, turning his head away.

"Don't be mad at me." She whispered to him.

He shook his head.

"I want to be angry at you but you're hurt already, I don't want to hurt you more."

She didn't know if he meant that he had hurt her or if she was hurt because of yesterday. But one thing that she knew for sure was the fact that yesterday had changed her husband just a little.

That care and that tenderness, she liked it.

She remained silent, not knowing what to say when her husband spoke yet again.

"Words cut like knives and yours pierce my heart."

He repeated the words that she had written. Zaydaan took out his cell phone, busying himself in doing something on it.

"I wrote that." Aaina murmured, more to him than to herself but her husband had already gotten up from the bed.

He stood up, handing his phone over to her.

"Here,"

"Who is it?"

She saw an unknown number getting dialled, Aaina frowned.

"Your sister, I know you miss her."

She gasped. Out of all the things that he could do for her, he had done this. She hadn't felt more grateful than she did in that exact moment.

"Zaydaan," She breathed out.

He shrugged yet again.

"I have to shower, talk to her." He added, she put the phone near her ear.

She didn't know how or why but one moment, he was telling her that he needed to shower and in the next moment, his lips were on her forehead.

She had read once that forehead kisses meant protection, they meant tenderness and care, they weren't lusty or needy, they were filled with warmth.

She didn't want to think much of it, didn't want to think much of last night or this morning but how could she not think when it came to Zaydaan Ziagil?

She couldn't get enough of him, couldn't breathe right without him, couldn't think. There was just him and only him, nothing more.

She felt as if she was lost in a world of him, as if she was surrounded by him, she was drowning in him, suffocating in him, and she didn't mind it one bit.

---

Right, here ya'll go.

Two updates in two days because hey? I love you.

Thanks for the support. Tell me what you think.