Atifa's pov:

"Ya Allah stop!" I shrieked while moving back, trying to keep my balance. We were knee deep in the water, and 'someone' couldn't stop splashing water around like a kid. Even the kids were behaving better than him! 

"What am I even doing?" Looking at me, he questioned innocently. His lower lip was pulled in between his teeth to suppress his smile while mirth was clearly visible in his hazel orbs as he turned to look at the kids before asking them. "Am I doing anything?" 

"Bhai..." 

"No…" 

Alayna and Amira giggled at the same time, making me narrow my eyes at them. These little devil's! Obviously they were going to take his side, after all he was their 'best bhai'. But it seemed like, even my glare wasn't working on them today. 

"Seriously? You all are crazy!" Shaking my head, I muttered incredulously. 

"But you love us anyway." Amira grinned while looking at me sheepishly. 

"Who told you that?" Raising a brow - which they obviously couldn't see - I asked her. 

"We just know." She sang while stretching w, giggles escaping her lips as she splashed the water at Alayna, following her 'bhaijaan's' footsteps. 

"And why do you think so?" I inquired further, highly aware of someone's gaze on me, noticing my every move. 

If I accepted her statement, then that would have meant that I indirectly confessed my love for… him… And I still wasn't sure about it. 

"Because…" 

"Because even when you are annoyed, you are still here with us in the water." He intervened, and I didn't dare look in his way. I knew he was waiting for me to turn to look at him or something, but I wasn't ready to do that. 

"That- It's not because of that!" I protested, unsure about the reason myself. I mean, I didn't know what reason to give him if he inquired me further. 

"Accha. Then what is it?" From the corner of my eye, I could see him taking a step ahead as he questioned. What was going on in his head? 

(I see.)

"That- It's- I-" Stammering, I tried to think of a valid reason to give. Coming to think about it, I didn't even know why I was still in the water when he was annoying me so much. "I'm here just because I don't want to upset Mira and Alayna. Nothing else." Looking up at him, I replied confidently, proud of myself for finding a valid reason. 

"Accha. Nothing else, right?" Not breaking our eye contact, he asked me. 

(I see.)

"Yeah!" 

"Then here you go!" And in a swift moment, water was once again splashed on me, making me cover my face with my arm as I squeezed my eyes shut. 

"Allah! Saad!" Exclaiming, I turned to the glare at him. He wouldn't stop, would he? "I hate you!" I muttered angrily through gritted teeth. 

"But you adore us, right?" Coming to stand beside me, Alayna tugged my abaya while asking me cheekily. 

"Yes, but only you and Mira. Not your khadoos bhai." Looking down at her, I acknowledged with a tight smile. 

(Rude brother.)

"But why not bhai?" She giggled, her gaze flickering between him and me. 

"Yes, please let me know too. Why not me?" Looking at me with wide eyes, trying to appear innocent, he piped in. 

"You don't know?" Looking at him incredulously, I asked sweetly. I couldn't believe that guy! 

"Nope." It seemed like he was enjoying this. So very much. 

"Because you are annoying!" Exhaling loudly, I started treading my way out of the water carefully. 

"But I don't think so." Splashing the water at me again, drenching my abaya from the back side, he replied. 

"Allah!" Gritting my teeth, I looked back to glare daggers at him in irritation. 

"Oops! Sorry. I didn't mean to." Grinning sheepishly, he apologised mischievously. 

"Yeah, right! Mira, Alayna, come with me." 

"Nahi api, abhi nahi!" Amira protested, pouting. 

(No, not now!)

"Thodi der aur khelne dijiye na please." Alayna followed, looking at me with wide puppy eyes. 

(Let us play for a while more please.)

"Nahi. Bohot paani me khel liya, ab aao mere saath tum dono. Mai to tumhare kapde bhi nahi leke aayi Mira, ab hum ghar kaise jainge?" Shaking my head, I replied firmly, suddenly remembering that I didn't even bring her clothes and she was already drenched in water. What was I going to do now? 

(No. You have played enough, now come with me both of you. I didn't even bring your clothes Mira, now how will we go back home?)

"Bhabi kept their clothes in your handbag." The devil interrupted, coming forward. 

"When? Why don't I know about it?" Flabbergasted, I touched my handbag, which was also slightly wet by now. 

"I don't know. But she told me." Shrugging, he replied. 

"And what about the fact that you drenched me?" Narrowing my eyes, I questioned furiously. 

"I didn't drench you!" Furrowing his brows, he defended quickly, making me roll my eyes at him internally. 

"But you made me wet. See." I pointed at my wet abaya while raising a brow and staring at him. 

"So are you indirectly asking me to buy you a new dress and abaya?" Looking at me incredulously, he asked me. Baffled, I looked at him with wide eyes. Where did this come from? I wondered.

"What?" 

"No I mean… Uh- Since you said that, what else could you mean?" Getting flustered, he stuttered while rubbing the back of his neck. 

"Allah, I mean stop splashing water on me!" I groaned, heaving a sigh. "And it doesn't matter if bhabi sent their clothes, where will they change? So come out kids. Bohot khel liya paani me." 

(You guys have played enough.)

"Bhai…" 

"Bhaijaan api ko boliye na." 

(Say something to her.)

They weren't late in whining to their brother about it.  

"What bhai? Agar tumhare bhai ne tumlogo ka saath diya to wohi tumlogo ko ghar leke jainge. Mai akele chali jaungi." Narrowing my eyes at them, I warned, already making my way out. 

(If your brother supports you then he will take you both home. I will head back alone.)

"Khelne do na thodi der aur bacchon ko. Abhi to umar hai unki enjoy karne ki, let them enjoy. And they can change at the washrooms or changing rooms here." Winking at them, he turned to me. 

(Let the kids play for a while more. It's their age to enjoy, so let them enjoy.)

"Accha. To aap leke aa jaiyega bacchon ko ghar, mai akele-" My abaya got stuck under my foot and I stumbled, a gasp escaped my lips as I was about to fall face first in the water. But thankfully, a hand pulled me back while wrapping around my stomach. He was standing right behind me, and once again, I managed to embarrass myself in front of him. 

(Okay. Then you can take them back home, I will-)

"Tum dekh ke nahi chal sakti kya?" He muttered in annoyance while steadying me. "Aur kya bol rahi thi aap begum sahiba?" 

(Can't you walk carefully?)
(And what were you saying wifey?)

"Uh…" I could feel tingles all over my body, and maybe due to my wet abaya, the feeling was intensifying. Noticing his hold on me, I kept my hand on his arm, planning to push it away as I mumbled quietly. "Ab aap mujhe chod sakte hai…" 

(You can leave me now...)

"Maine chodne ke liye thodi pakda hai." His reply made me tongue tied, and for a while, I just stood there, trying to process what he just said. I was also unable to decide if he was teasing me or… 

(I haven't held you to leave you.)

"Jee?" Coming out of my thoughts, I asked him, flustered. He started walking with me slowly, making me resist. What was he planning now? He wasn't planning on making us fall in the water together just to annoy me, was he? "Ye aap kya kar rahe hai?" 

(What?)
(What are you doing?)

"Kya kar raha hu? Kuch bhi to nahi." Continuing to take slow, deliberate steps, he leaned towards my ear before replying in a hushed, distant voice. What was he even doing? 

(What am I doing? Nothing.)

"Th- Then leave me." Halting at my place and turning around quickly, I replied, making my head collide with his nose in the process. 

"Kyu, ab tumhi paani se bahar nahi nikalna?" Looking up and rubbing his nose, he raised a brow, sounding confused. 

(Why, don't you want to head out of the water now?)

"Uh- Yeah." Realising his gaze was down because he was noticing our steps, I mumbled, flustered. "But I can walk out on my own." I added quickly while removing his arm from around me. 

"Accha theek hai." Leaving my hand, he replied before turning to look at the kids. "Only five more minutes kids!" He called out while running a hand through his hair, messing them up more. 

(Okay, fine.)

"Okay!" They chorused happily while continuing to splash water around. Shaking my head, I looked away before turning around and making my way out carefully. He followed me, his hands by his side. Once out of the water, we turned back around to watch the setting sun. 

The colours blended with each other while reflecting in the vast ocean, making the blue water appear in the hues of orange, pink and yellow as gentle waves crashed at the shore, bringing with it white foam and their soothing sound. It looked mesmerising. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" His soft voice broke the peaceful silence between us, also reminding me of his presence beside me. 

"It is the creation of Allah, how could it not be?" I replied while admiring the view in front of me. 

"Indeed. Subhan Allah." Once again, there was silence for a while, both of us lost in our own world. "So you think I'm beautiful too?" His question caught me off guard and, from the corner of my eyes, I glanced at him. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, but just a hint of it. And I couldn't understand if he actually wanted me to answer him or if he was just teasing me. 

"Honestly?" Still uncertain, I asked him. 

"Obviously." 

Contemplating for a while, I glanced at him again, this time, taking in his devilish appearance. His hair was messed up and there was a distant look in his eyes as they reflected off the sunset, also making the brown colour more prominent. Swiping his tongue across his lips, he exhaled a long sigh, snapping me out of my daze. Realising what I was doing, I quickly looked away before he could catch me and replied. "I think you are cute. But your heart is beautiful, no doubt about that." 

I- What did I just say? Oh my God! Ya Allah, why do I always do this? First confessing about liking him and now this? Ya Allah, why? What must he be thinking about me? I fretted. 

"Cute? And me? Really?" Amused, he turned to look at me. 

"Yeah. And it's a compliment by the way." Clearing my throat and my thoughts, I replied while turning to look at him, hoping to sound confident. 

Laughing, he nodded his head while pocketing his hands.  "I see. So I'm not hot?" Mirth could clearly be detected in his hazel orbs as he teased me, a small smirk already making its way on his face. 

"I- I don't know." Flustered, I looked down while fidgeting with my fingers. I knew what he was hinting at. But ya Allah, why did he have to bring that kitchen incident up now? And he should have forgotten about it, why did he still remember it? 

"So should I just go and ask Shanzay? Or wait, should I ask Emaan?" He questioned innocently while looking at me, waiting for my reply. 

"No need for that." Narrowing my eyes at him, I replied abruptly, earning a laugh from him. 

Turning away from him with a scowl on my face, I gazed at the kids, my scowl melting into a small smile. Sighing, I casted at quick glance at him before cautiously leaning my head on his shoulder, suddenly feeling tired. 

I could feel his muscles tense, and feeling awkward and internally scolding myself for doing such a thing, just as I was about to lift my head, his muscles relaxed as he slid an arm around my waist, holding me. 

What if all this was just my illusion which was soon going to end? Wasn't this too good to be true? Weren't things going way too smoothly for us? What if… What if this was just… 

"Tired?" His soft voice interrupted my thoughts, making me close my eyes. 

"Hmm." 

"Want to know what I think?" Keeping his head on my head gently, he asked me while bringing me closer to him, making me keep one of my hands on his chest. 

"Only if it's not something to annoy me." Thinking about his question, I mumbled. He chuckled, his chest rumbling under my hand. 

"Okay, then maybe I should just stay quiet because everything annoys you." 

"That's not true!" Opening my eyes slightly, I protested with a pout. 

"Accha." He laughed once again, not believing me. "I think that you are beautiful in and out, and nothing in this world could change that." There was genuineness in his voice as he told me, making my breath hitch. This… It couldn't happen. He shouldn't be so sure. And... I didn't even know if I believed him. 

(Okay.)

"Don't say that. We don't know what the future holds for us and anything can happen. So don't be so sure about something like this." Removing my hand from his chest, I replied quietly. 

"Yeah I know. Anything can happen but I don't think my opinion would change. Even if I don't know you that well, how much I have known and seen, already tells me what kind of a person you are and- and I think that is what matters the most. And anyways, as I said earlier, it is the inner beauty which matters the most. And I already know that you have a heart of gold. 

And honestly, I think that even if a person changes, no matter how much, their heart always remains the same. It's just that sometimes, the gold is surrounded by the darkness around it and we think that that person lost their old self or we lost that person, when that isn't really the case. It's just that sometimes, due to the darkness, that person loses their way back and loses their hope. And we, when we think that we lost that person, we don't even try to help them and eventually, sadly, that person remains lost…" He replied in a hushed voice, seeming lost in his world, and I wondered how could a person even think like that. He was indeed a pure soul. And I think I fell for him a little bit more. 

"You know you are a very deep thinker." Smiling slightly, I breathed out while playing with a ring on his finger, which I had noticed a while ago. 

"Was that a compliment?" He murmured, coming back from his deep thoughts. 

"In this case? Yes." 

"Jazak Allahu Khairan." He replied, stopping the movement of my fingers by holding them as he started rubbing them gently. "But you know, I think that because their heart's of gold, it still tries to reach out and hold on to hope." 

"And you are way too good." I mumbled, pouting. 

"Isn't that a good thing?" He questioned, sounding amused. 

"I don't know. But if you stay like this then girl's are going to fall in love with you and everyone is going to take advantage of you. And I don't want that." I muttered, squeezing his fingers in annoyance. 

"You think so?" He laughed, holding my fingers before they could move back.  

"Yeah." 

"Don't worry, I will still choose you over anyone." Leaving my fingers, he held my hand while replying in assurance. 

"You better do that." Intertwining our fingers, I murmured. 

"I will." He mumbled firmly. 

I could feel him shift a little before he pecked my forehead, making me surprised and flustered. Squeezing my eyes shut, I squeezed his fingers unintentionally, feeling tingles and heat rushing up my face. Was it not hot already that he had to do this? 

He kept his head back on my head and held me firmer as I leaned more into him, wanting to hide myself. I was so thankful that I was wearing my niqab. 

And just like that, another memorable day was added in the diary of my life as I smiled, thankful for yesterday. 

._._._. 

It was during breakfast the next day, when ammi was getting ready to head out to work, that I thought of speaking to her about what happened the day before yesterday. Even though I was anxious after yesterday's events, especially after knowing that she might have seen his pictures, I still couldn't ignore the fact that, that day, those women had the guts to talk about ammi like that and that too, in her own house. It made my blood boil. They had no right to talk about her like that. They didn't know her, for God's sake! Then how could they go on and talk about her behind her back?

And who even gave them the right to judge her? No one had any right to judge anyone. Or to assume stuff about anyone. There could be thousands of reasons for a person to be a certain way, but if people didn't know the reason then that doesn't mean that they could judge them.

Only Allah knows what is in our hearts, what were our reasons or what actually changed a person. Even if someone tells us their reasons themselves, we still have no right to judge them.

"Ammi..." I called out, shaking myself out of my thoughts and trying to gain her attention.

"Hmm..." She hummed, not looking up from her files.

"I- I don't think that you should bring people home just like that anymore..." I murmured hesitantly, scared of her reaction. What if she-

"Who?" She asked, confused.

"The aunties which came here the day before yesterday." I replied while biting my lower lip and looking down.

"Why?"

"Uh... Because they don't exactly always speak well?" I replied, which came out more like a question. And I wasn't sure if whatever I said even made any sense.

"I don't understand what you are trying to say Atifa. Just tell me clearly or leave it." She replied in annoyance while looking up from her file to cast an irritated glance at me.

"They were talking about you behind your back ammi." I said, not knowing how else to tell her without being rude. But I couldn't help the distaste leaking in my voice as I said that.

"Accha. Anything else?" Not giving any reaction to me, she asked nonchalantly. It seemed like she was unaffected by whatever I just said. And I wondered how could it even be possible for someone to be so calm about something like that, especially when they were the one involved in it.

(I see.)

"No?" I replied, still confused by her question. Was she not going to do anything about it?

"Okay." She replied, giving me hope that maybe, she would actually not bring them home again.

"You mean, you aren't going to ask them to come home anymore, right?" I asked her while looking up at her, hope shimmering in my eyes.

"When did I say that?" She questioned, perplexed.

"You just said okay..." I replied, uncertainly. Did she not agree when she said okay?

"I meant that I don't care about whatever they say." She replied, finally looking up from her file with an emotionless gaze.

"But- but ammi..." I stuttered, concerned and worried, not knowing how to convince her.

"That's enough Atifa. Now you are talking about them behind their backs." She replied sternly, giving me a sharp glare.

"But I'm not lying ammi! I didn't like it when they talked about you like that." I tried to pursue her, panicking at her nonchalance. How could she just ignore that? I- I mean... they were talking about her like that. Not someone else.

"Then get used to it because I don't care. They will come here if they want to. I'm not going to stop anyone." She replied, keeping her file in her bag. "Oh yes, which reminds me, I met them yesterday on the way back home and invited them over. So they will be coming home today. Prepare something sweet to serve." Her words seemed to have numbed my mind as tears blurred my vision. Why couldn't she understand how hurt I was when I heard them talking about her like that? And now they were going to come back again?

"Ammi..." I tried to say something when she interrupted me.

"They might visit earlier than I return back. If they do, then entertain them until I come back."

"Wha-"

"I'm getting late now. Allah hafiz." Glancing at me from her bag, she informed before heading out of the door, not even waiting for my reply. What just happened?

._._._.

"Ya Allah mujhe paper kyu nahi mil raha hai? Maine idhar hi to rakha tha!" Muttering under my breath, I continued to rummage through my bag.

(Oh God why can't I find that paper? I kept it here only!)

"Konsa paper api?" Peeking at my bag, Amira inquired curiously.

(Which paper?)

"Wo paper jis par tumhare bhaijaan ne kal apna number diya tha." I replied absent-mindedly, worried that I might have lost it somewhere.

(That paper on which your brother gave me his number yesterday.)

"Oh. Lekin wo aapne kal sukhne nahi rakha tha?" Amira's gaze flickered at me in confusion.

(Oh. But didn't you keep it to dry yesterday?)

"Oh haa, shayad maine kitchen me hi chod diya hoga..." Realisation dawned on me and I quickly stood up, keeping my bag aside.

(Oh yeah, maybe I left it in the kitchen.)

"Mai check karti hu." She quickly chimed, a grin covering her face as she hopped down from the bed.

(I will check.)

"Rehne do, mai dekh lungi. Tum change karo jaldi se." Shaking my head, I replied sternly.

(Leave it, I will see. Go and change quickly.)

"Mai aise hi theek nahi hu?" Whining with a pout, she folded her arms. Guests were coming over and she didn't want to change.

(Am I not fine like this?)

"Mira. Change karo. Ammi ne aise dekha to daatengi. Mehmaan aa rahe haina to accha nahi lagta."

(Mira. Go and change. If mom sees you like this then she will scold you. Guests are coming over so it doesn't look good.)

"Accha." She huffed with a pout, looking away.

(Okay.)

"Jaldi karo." Muttering, I quickly left the room to check the kitchen.

(Do it quickly.)

"Jee." I heard her faint reply as I checked near the stove. Not finding anything, I moved around the kitchen counter, trying to see if I misplaced it. Worry and anxiety settled in my stomach when I realised that I might have actually lost that paper. And if he got to know about it, then I would be dead. He wouldn't leave me.

(Okay.)

But where else could I have kept it? I remembered keeping it beside the stove yesterday to dry it. Then where could it get lost now? I just hoped that ammi hadn't noticed it somehow. Because if she was not sure about the pictures yesterday, then she would be sure about everything now.

"Allah, kaha rakh diya maine?!" Muttering, I continued to rummage through the kitchen, also checking the cabinets. But before I could check more, the doorbell rang, indicating the arrival of the guests.

(God, where did I keep it?!)

Sighing, I inhaled a deep breath before heading to open the door with a smile.

._._._.

▪ Did she actually lose his number? Or did ammi see that paper? Or what do you think could have happened?

._._._.