Chapter Five

Draping the white linen shawl around her head, Khushi spreads the prayer mat to offer her pending prayers of Maghrib and Isha.

They have been back twenty minutes ago. She changed, took a quick steamy shower and did ablution for Namaz. She could not sleep without Namaz when her heart is too heavy. Since childhood, it's her habit to elongate her prayers whenever she is laced with tension.

The first man of her life she felt attracted towards, is there at some club, enjoying girls.

Would he do Nikah with her only to legally bring her to his bed?

She would prefer death over this.

Shrugging her mind, she stands still and starts the Namaz. She needs the light to the right path.

While she is in Sajdah, she remembers a social post. "There is shame and fatigue in running behind the love of a Na-Mehram. Allah has put a restriction over it. If we flout his order, how can we cherish the heart tranquil."

How true is this!

She went against the order of Creator and so now she is restless.

But she has forgotten that The Creator she worships created this universe in the love of His Dear Prophet Muhammad (SAWW). Allah has given us the liberty to love but not commit sin; touching each other, talking dirty, sexting or sex.

The pure love is protected by Allah because he gets happy when His made pair loves each other with respect - keeping the aim to get tied into the divine relation of Nikah.

As she completes her Namaz in quarter to hour, she wails in her Dua. "I myself do not know my desire, Allah. But he... It tugs my heart when I think of marrying anyone than him. It is not possible, though. You know my family tradition, right? In past, many couples have gone through separation, to bear this tradition. Oh my Merciful, Beneficent, All-Knower and Wise Allah, remove his love from my heart or soften the family's heart if he asks for my hand."

The remembrance of his desperateness to go to club streams tears from her soul. She was sick. If he was serious with her, he could have stayed to be at least assured that she properly ate.

"His act states he does not care about me. He only wants my body." Her treasonous heart gets stabbed barbarously. "If he only wants my body, then no, my Creator, no. I don't to be his wife. Keep my family's heart of stone in this case."

She is herself confused upon what she wants; Him? His love? His attention? His name?

"You know heart matters, Allah. You know what we hide and what we show. I know loving him and wanting love from him is utter wrong. I know I am asking from you the love of a man who is not my husband. I beg your forgiveness for this but there is no other threshold for me to be." She wails her perplexities to the one who conceals the flaws and keeps secrets.

Shattered, she goes to bed, curling herself to sleep while trying to not wet the pillow.

***

Stripping off of his clothes, he hangers them, and moves to washroom in his boxer brief's only. The night was tiresome.

Staying at the party till quarter to four of morning, he leaves the place, alone with a bottle of white wine. He did not even want the company of his best friend. He wanted to drive alone with the Nusrat fateh Ali Khan's Qawalis. For a music lover, nothing can be as soothing as his voice, music and lyrics. They knock at heart and touch your soul.

Spending enough time with himself he returned home back, hoping to find her sleeping figure on his bed but she was gone.

The light rays entering from window panes make him realize that the day is here and he has wated so much of his time; After having a blast mehendi function, he went for a bachelor's party, roamed on streets and missed his night sleep.

Now, his head is banging with the need of sleep and his eyes pain to the point of getting close.

Looking around, he smiles feeling her odor here as well. His room is dripping in a woman's fragrance. He deeply studies his bathroom, idiotically smiling, picturing her moving in his bathroom.

"Our bet's result is dangling, darling." Happy with himself, he enters the shower cubicle.

As he picks his shampoo bottle, he feels it light. He goes aggressive knowing his cousins may have used his room but then he calms instantly theorizing that maybe Khushi used it.

Why would she use it?

He questions himself. Supposing she was not left with any other option than using his shampoo, he kissed the bottle.

He has lost his sane self - in her.

Feeling pleased with his existence, he softly shampoos his hair and then rubs woody fragrant body wash all over his toned body.

"The nights have gone teaser than before, Khushi. When will you come here, as my wife?"

Now, he thinks his whole room, its everything, mocks his loneliness. He is handsome, ridiculously rich, loves someone by soul and still alone. His nights are extremely loner.

He does not want to stay lonesome anymore. He wants her companionship, her laughter.

Pleased with the shower, he pads out, naked. He is like a child - enthusiastic in the hope of getting his desired candy in near future.

His plan is to ask out for her hand after the reception of his brother.

He dries his body with towel, wears the clothes and reaches dressing table to blow dry his hair. There he is greeted with her flower earrings. He picks them and runs fingers at the design. Why she left them here? Mistakenly or intentionally?

He questions from himself whilst he carefully places them in his studs' drawer. He has craze for studs. No one can beat his collection.

Going back, he quickly plugs in the dryer. He cannot sleep with cold head and wet hair at this time. His head would pain otherwise.

He keeps running fingers in his hair, aiding the blow dryer in its function.

"Let me do this for you." He looks at his left in mirror and finds her standing there; the divine glory covered in a red satin gown.

Where she could have been when I came?

She comes closer and hugs him from behind, pressing her healthy globes to his back. He groans in anticipation to give them a good treatment via his hungry mouth.

"Husband, would you keep the naughty thoughts to yourself?" She teases him more.

He opens his eyes and turns back, holding her tight in his arms. "You are really here?" He asks, rubbing thumb onto her lower lip.

"And why would I not be?" She circles arms around his neck and presses herself to his body. "A wife's palace is his husband's embrace."

"But Nikah... when did it happen?" He scratches his head.

"Give it to me." She asks him to hand her the dryer so that she assists him.

"Hmm." Still confused, he hands her the dryer and in the next instant, it is on floor with a bang.

"Oh damn." Arnav immediately sits down to hold it. Thankfully, it has not broken but surely, now it would not run for long.

He slaps his head for imaging Khushi. He is hallucinating her - like usual. He really needs to lie down - for sleep.

Getting done, he moves to the bed, the very bed he would make love to her, marking her his.

***

Her cell rings with call, again, and she ignores it.

She wants to sleep for some more time. Can't she get it?

Covering herself more with her duvet, not as warm as the velvety black. Oh no, do not go there. She does not want to think about him.

However, now her thoughts are disturbed by his. She cannot drift back to deep sleep.

She tosses her hair and holds her mobile. Her brother has been calling her, to wake her up but she was too lethargic to lull herself to leave the bed.

Bed...

His bed.

His room.

His Confession.

Ugh!

She pulls her hair, asking her consciousness to behave.

"Now, I won't think about him. He is no one to me. And I won't let this bastard to ruin my fun on my sister's wedding." Determined she leaves the bed and busies herself in arranging her last night dresses, stilettoes and accessories.

"Earring?" She had picked everything from his room at departure time. "Ugh! I must have lost them on the way." Humping she goes inside washroom to brush her teeth before the breakfast. The elephants party is on in her stomach.

She smirks evilly as her eyes land towards her shampoo bottle and her last night's act get refresh in her mind.

Everyone knows that how sophisticated Arnav stays and his toiletries are always branded and shipped. She was not a romantic fool to solace her torn pieces of heart by washing her hair with his shampoo. She wasted more than half bottle in sink, ruined his shaving foam, too. That's the least she could do to momentarily lull the rejection.

Going to kitchen, she eyes the meal with jolliness. Finally, after bidding bye to the thoughts of Arnav Raza Meer, she can eat how much it pleases her.

She is not in one-sided love. All she knows is she has to keep her love treasure safe for her husband. She cannot waste it on some random man like Arnav. He does not worth it, right?

***

I am so sick. Therefore, I could not update.

But now Here is the Update. The stream of Votes and Comments can generate another Dirty proposal. *WINKS*