Nervous,hestitant and being curious,I went inside the house.

I followed her into the living room and saw three woman sitting on a sofa and having a chitchat while enjoying their coffee or tea.

As far I could remember the introduction the old lady was Aabir's grandmother,the second one was his mother and the third woman was Saba bhabi's mother.

They seemed surprised for a second by my sudden appearance but soon they recovered from it and then expressed their happiness through warm hug and smiles.

"So how is everyone at your home?"The old woman ;I mean Aabir's grandmother asked.

"Alhamdulillah ,they all are fine."I replied.

"How is your study going?I've heard that you're a medical student.It must be so hard ."Aabir's mother said.

"Yeah, it's a little bit tough.But It will be rewarding at the end."I said .

They smiled ,seemed pleased by my answer.

"Continue to work hard and remain extremely committed like this .In-sha-Allah, You'll achieve great success some day."Aabir's grandmother said, smilingly.

Ya Allah ,May her words comes true!

"Your family lives in Bangladesh,right?Who is there in your family?"Aabir's mother asked.

"My family comprises of me,my younger sister,my father and mother."I replied.

"What does your parents do?"Aabir's grandmother asked.

"My father is a business.He runs a hotel . And my mother is a simple housewife."I answered.

Then they asked few more questions related to my family ,then my country and Misha's family .I answered all of them.

In between talks, I was gazing around the house, mostly on the second floor corridor,hoping to get a glimpse of Aabir.It has been half an hour since I came here but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Looking for Aabir?"Bhabi asked suddenly.

She really caught me off guarded.

I quickly looked at her and shook my head in denial.

"No,I w-was just...."I was embarrassed, didn't know what to say.

"He's at home.Go and meet him "His mother said to me.

"Come ,let me take you to him."Saba bhabi said as she rose from the sofa.

I wanted to tell her No.But I didn't as it would be sound weird if I told them that I wasn't wanting to meet my so called friend.

I just nodded , suppressing my hesitation behind a smile.

"He is still in the kitchen,right?"Bhabi asked them .It seemed she has an idea about where he could be at this time,just asked to reconfirm.

"Yes,he is there.So even others."Her mother said.

"Oh,okay."Bhabi mumbled,then looked at me.

"Let's go."She said and then headed towards the kitchen.

I sighed and followed her while wondering what he was doing in the kitchen.

When I walked into the kitchen with her,my mouth hang open seeing the inside scenario.

All the male members of this family was there. This was not the thing that shocked me.I got shocked because they were cooking.

Aabir was standing near the gas stove along with his father and uncle.He was saying something to them, looking at his mobile which was in his hand .When I focused on what he was saying,I realized that he was telling them cooking process of a dish.His father and uncle was following his instructions and cooking accordingly.

There was another guy whom I could recognize as Aabir's cousin brother aka Sister-in-law's brother.He was rinsing rice in a kitchen sink.

And to my surprise,Umang and Kabeer was also there.They were chopping onions ,chillies and vegetables ,sitting on a small table ,near the refrigerator.And guess what?They were doing this work , wearing sunglasses.As far I could guess, they might've wear it to prevent their eyes from getting burning sensation.They were looking quite funny, though.

I was quite astonished seeing all this.I wasn't really expecting to see it.

Anyway,It was Umang who noticed me first .

"Zara?You're here?"Umang looked surprised.

I saw an immediate awareness in others .They looked at my direction and got surprised just like Umang.Aabir looked the most surprised person among them.

I just passed a smile as a response to their questioning eyes.

"What a pleasant surprise!"Mr.Imtayaz;Aabir's father exclaimed.

"Assalamu Alaikum!"I greeted him and Saba bhabi's father .

"Walaikum Assalam,dear."they replied with a smile on their face.

"When did you come,dear?"Mr.Feroz;Saba bhabi's father asked.

"Just a while ago."I answered him.

"Is Misha also here?"Kabeer asked in between.

"No,I've come alone."I said where his face fell low.He might've hoping her to be here.

"You came alone?Didn't Mr.Bagheri,Farhan or anyone else come with you?"Feroz uncle asked.

"Actually they don't know that I'm here."I said where they all frowned.

Before I could say more ,Bhabi explained on my behalf.

"Actually we'd bumped into eachother in front of a shopping mall and from there,I brought her home with me."She said.

"Oh!You did good by bringing her home."Feroz uncle said to her.

"Dear,You've come here on a good day.Today's lunch is being prepared by world's best chefs.I bet you'll be fan of us once you taste our foods."Imtayaz uncle said to me then.It sounded like he was bragging about their cooking skill.

Anyway,I realized that they were expecting me to have a lunch with them as it was about to lunch time.

"Uncle,I am sorry but I don't think I will be able to join you in lunch.Actually, I'm in a hurry as I've some work at home .So,I 'll be leaving soon."I said .

I was planning to take my leave just after meeting them.

"It's almost lunch time,dear.How can we let you go at this hour?You're not going anywhere without having lunch with us ."Feroz uncle objected.

"B-But ... I..."I was cut off immediately.

"No ifs and buts.You're gonna join us in lunch.That's it."Imtayaz uncle said that sounded a command.

"Alright ." I agreed ,without arguing anymore.

Because I'd understood by then that they wouldn't let me go without having a lunch.So, there was no point wasting my energy.Beside I was somewhat excited to taste their food.

They smiled ,seemed happy when I agreed.I vaguely noticed that a hint of a smile pulled at Aabir's lips.

Did he smile because I agreed to stay ?Is he happy by it?

I couldn't be sure of it.Because he didn't try to convince me at once.Infact he didn't even say 'Hi' to me till then.

My thoughts got interrupted when a servant came to inform Imtayaz uncle about someone's arrival.

"Sir,Mr.Nitin has come."that servant said,walking into the kitchen.

"Go and tell him to wait in the study room for me.I'm coming."Imtayaz uncle told him.

The servant nodded his head and left .

"Why is he here today ?Did you tell him to come?"Feroz uncle asked .

"Yes,I'd asked him to bring the file of MK group & company."Imtayaz uncle answered .

"You also come with me.There's something to discuss with you about this project."he added as he moved to the sink and turned on the water.

"Alright."Feroz uncle nodded and moved to the sink.

They washed their hands off ,then took off their kitchen apron .

"Aabir,We're coming in a bit.Meanwhile you check on the prawn curry.Heat the mixture until thickened, stirring continuously and then add prawn in it."Imtayaz uncle told him before walking out of the kitchen.

"Okay,dad."Aabir nodded and then they left .

Aabir did as he was told.He stirred the curry continuously for around five minutes .And when the curry thickened ,he added prawn in it .Soon his prawn curry got ready and he moved to another item.

"Akash,You start the preparation of butter chicken"Aabir said to his cousin while pouring oil to a heated frying pan.

And at that time I got to know the name of his cousin brother .I wasn't aware of his name till then.

Akash put saucepan on stove over medium-high heat.When it heated,he added oil, butter, and onions and cooked until lightly golden.Meanwhile Aabir were stir frying mixed vegetables on pan.

I couldn't help but admire them as they were doing everything so well. I also couldn't help but admit that whoever gonna marry them in future would be lucky in this matter for sure.

Saba Bhabi went towards the kitchen counter and observed their work for a minute.

"How many dishes are left to cook?"She inquired .

"Two ."Aabir replied while adding some spices on the roasted vegetables.

"Need any help?"She offered.

"No, It's alright.We'll manage ."Aabir said.

"Sure?"She asked to reconfirm.

As an reply,Aabir gave her a firm nod with an assuring smile.She got convinced.

Aabir kept doing his cooking along with his brother and Bhabi kept observing them ,sometime giving them suggestions to do this and that .

I was just standing and observing everyone,main focus was on Aabir though.My heart was fluttering unreasonably while watching him cooking.

How could be it possible for someone to look hot and handsome in kitchen apron that too when he is covered in sweat?

All of a sudden Aabir looked at me that got me out of my lala land and I realised that I was ogling at him shamelessly.I quickly shifted my gaze from him to Umang and Kabeer .They had already done all the chopping and cutting,now just wrapping up .

"By the way,When did you two come?"I asked, throwing myself into a conversation with them.

"In the morning."Kabeer answered as he walked to the kitchen counter with a bowl of chopped onions and chillies and placed it on the countertop.

"Why don't you say her that he tricked us into bringing here?"Umang said ,placing the vegetable's bowl on countertop.

I frowned, couldn't understand what he said.

I didn't need to think much.He cleared his statement by himself.

He scowled at Aabir as he continued"Zara,You know what,In the morning he called and asked us to come saying that there is going to be a feast in his house.But.."

"I didn't tell lie,did I?There's really going to be a feast."Aabir said, interrupting in between.

"But you didn't said that we've to make that feast."Umang scowled more.

"There's no sweet without sweat."Aabir said with a wicked smirk on his face.

Umang made a face where Aabir's smirk widened.

I chuckled lowly.

"Well then,You guys carry on.See you on the lunch table."Bhabi said to them while walking back to me.

"Okay,dii. And don't you worry.We won't let you down in front of your in-law's family."Akash said confidently.

Bhabi chuckled"I know."

We left then .

"You must be wondering as to why they are cooking ,right?"She asked when we walked out of the kitchen.

She must have seen the curiosity burning in my eyes.

I nodded in yes.

"Actually all the male members of my family has a great interest in cooking.So whenever they get time they get into the kitchen and cook .

Infact when we all used to live in Mumbai...Bade Abbu and Dad used to cook at least once in every month.You can say,it has become a tradition.Aabir and Akash used to help them in cutting and chopping back then.They two have learned cooking recently and do really well ."She said .

"That's really commendable.It's really hard to find such a man who love to cook ."I said, impressed.

"Yeah, that's true.But Sadly , Now we don't get much opportunity to taste their food as Bade Abbu,Bade Ammi and Aabir has to live here.That's why whenever we get a chance to be together,they four get into the kitchen and make use of it.And this time, after 3 months we got this opportunity because of my wedding .They didn't want to miss this chance .So,thought of making use of it today."She smiled.

She didn't continue ,so we walked in silence for a while.I noticed that we were passing the hall room.I wasn't paying much attention to my surroundings before.

"Well..Would you like to see the rest of the house?"She asked, breaking her silence.

As she changed the topic I understood that she has nothing left to say about the previous topic.So,I also decided to go with the flow.

"Yes,why not?"I said where she took me on a stroll around the house.

***************

How was the chapter?Enjoy reading?

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I'll try to come back soon with the next chapter.Till then stay safe and happy❤️