Saad's pov: 

"Where are you going now?!" Running a hand through my hair, I asked her. 

"I- I don't know!" Sitting on the bed while clutching the sides of it, she exclaimed in a broken voice. Noticing Alayna and Amira in the room, I tried to think of an excuse to cover this mess. 

"Alayna, Amira, can you please come with me? Maaz bhai aaye hue hai." But before I could tell them anything, we heard bhabi's voice from outside the room. 

(Maaz is here.) 

"Jee bhabi!" 

(Okay.) 

"Api, aap theek hai? Bhaijaan, api ko kya hua?" Scrambling towards us and keeping her hand on Atifa's lap, Amira questioned while looking at us worriedly. 

(Are you alright? What happened to her, Saad?) 

"Bhabi, aap kyu ro rahi hai? Kisi ne aapko hurt kia? Should I ask bhai to teach that person a lesson?" Concerned, Alayna followed quickly and inquired while touching Atifa's cheeks. 

(Why are you crying? Did someone hurt you?) 

"Nahi princesses. I'm alright. I will be fine..." Wiping her tears hastily, she replied, trying to appear composed. 

(No princesses.) 

"Your api is okay. I'm here with her na. Aaplog jao, bhabi bula rahi haina." Intervening, I tried to give them a small smile, worried that they might question her more. 

(You guys should go, Zara is calling you, right.) 

"Jee bhai." Reluctantly moving away, they walked out while stealing glances at her. Closing the door, I sat down beside her, unsure of what to say or ask her. 

(Yeah.) 

"Are you okay?" Deciding to go with the obvious question, I asked her softly. 

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know anything!" She exclaimed while throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. Covering her face, she tried to cover her sobs. 

"Hey hey, please don't cry. Look, I'm here, with you, see." Not knowing what to do, especially when someone, more specifically a girl was crying, panicked, I tried to pacify her while keeping my hand on her shoulder. 

"But for how long? You- I can't- I won't be here with you anymore. Didn't you hear what ammi said outside?" Wiping her tears hastily once again, which didn't seem to cease at all, she removed my hand from her shoulder and hiccuped. 

"I will always be there with you Atifa. Just tell me, do you have any idea why she might be behaving this way?" Holding her hands this time, I murmured softly, scared of her answer or just hurting her, my mind was too jumbled to actually specify the reason. 

"N- no. Act- actually, ye- yes, maybe. Yes- yesterday when we arrived here, she was already here, waiting for us. A- and she even asked me where we were. A- and maybe she even saw your pictures in my mobile..." She mumbled while squeezing my hand, sniffing in between as she continued to wipe her tears with her other hand. 

"Which picture?" Getting perplexed, I asked her. And I- I didn't know what to say or how to react about whatever she told me. It was jumbling my already jumbled mind, overwhelming me in a way. 

"T- the one which I clicked when you came to meet us and some of the resort pictures..." She took my pictures? MY pictures? Why? I mean, like, uhh… 

'Okay whatever. This isn't the time to think about all these things,' I reminded myself. 

"But why would that be a problem?! And even then, why would she do this just because of me? I mean just because she found out about us living here, why would she want to leave this place then?" 

"I- I don't know..." She mumbled, looking away, before looking back at me with wide eyes, as if just realising something. "Ya Allah! Y- your family! Ammi messed everything up again, right? What are we going to do now? No actually, they will question you more than me, what will you do? What will you tell them?" 

"Calm down! Everything will be alright In Sha Allah. And they would've gotten to know everything one day anyway. Don't worry about them. We will handle it, I will handle it, okay?" I replied gently, squeezing her hand lightly. It touched me that even when she was facing a turmoil herself, she was still thinking about me and my family. About how I would be facing them and how I might have to answer them. 

"Bu- but..." 

"No but's. Don't stress about anything right now. Just calm down, okay? You aren't going anywhere. No one is going anywhere. I'm not going to let anyone go anywhere." I murmured, tightening my hold on her hand. I- I couldn't just let her go anywhere. I couldn't even imagine it right now, let alone having to actually live without her. It was… Just too much. Just the thought of it was too much to digest. 

"Th- that can't happen... Y- You can't stop her from doing what she wants to do. An- and she wants us to move, so we will move once again. And you know what's the worst thing? I don't even know what's going on in her mind! I don't know what she is planning!" Shaking her head, she muttered frantically while pulling her hand away from my grasp. The tears which were starting to cease a while back came forth with full force once again as she tried to stop them. 

It pained me. It pained my heart to watch her helplessly while not being able to do anything about it. Why was a mother doing this? That too with her own child? Could she not see her tears? Could she not see how much her daughter was in pain just because of these actions of her's? Could she not see how her mere actions were affecting her children? How? How could she even do this? Was she too indulged in her own world to notice her children and their happiness? If there was a reason, why couldn't she just tell them, tell us what the matter was? Did she not trust us? Or was there no matter or reason and she was just doing this for her own fun? 

The questions were too many but the answers; none. My mind was too turbulent to notice what was happening beside me now. But as soon as I caught a glimpse of Atifa moving from beside me, I came out of my revival. Taking out a bag from under the bed, she started stuffing her clothes in it. 

"What are you doing?" Quickly standing up from my place, I ask her, scared. 

"Packing our stuff." She replied monotonously, not looking at me. 

"I told you, you aren't going anywhere!" I repeated, taking a step towards her. 

"I- I don't know." She mumbled, still focused on stuffing her bag. 

"What do you not know? I'm telling you!" Exclaiming, I held her arm, stopping her from doing anything further. 

"I don't know Saad. I don't know." Wrenching her arm out of my hold, she uttered, frustrated. 

"Stop saying that! And tell me, what happened to her suddenly? Why is she behaving like this?" Holding her arm once again, I turned her towards me. 

"She- she has been like this since she decided to bring us here..." She mumbled, not meeting my gaze as she played with her fingers. 

"Well you know, this time she can't leave without an explanation! I'm not going to let you guys leave. At least not without a valid explanation!" I growled angrily, letting go of her arm while turning around to go out. 

"Wh- What are you doing Saad? Where are you going?" I heard Atifa's frantic voice but the answers were obvious, weren't they? I couldn't just sit here and watch them leave, especially when this time I already knew that they were leaving and I had the chance to stop them. Holding my arm, she stopped me while coming in front of me, a frantic look on her face. "Suniye, listen to me please." 

(Listen,) 

"What is it now?" Gritting my teeth, I questioned, not really in the mood to listen to anyone. 

"Please don't do this... Please don't question her like this, in front of everyone and especially when you are angry." She begged, whispering in a pained voice. 

"So what do you want me to do? Wait for you guys to leave? When you guys will already be out of this town and maybe even out of this country?" I gave her an ironic smile. 

"No, I- I didn't mean that..." She stuttered, looking at me with her tearful gaze, making my resolution weak. 

"Then what do you mean, huh? Enlighten me. Let me know too." Shrugging her hand off my arm and running a hand through my hair while heaving a tired sigh, I asked her. 

"Saad…" 

"What Atifa, what? What do you want me to do now, huh? Watch you guys leave just like that? Or maybe you want me to actually get married to the girl of my mom's choice, that's why you are doing this, huh?" Finally losing my calm, I asked her, frustrated, exasperated. 

"Wha-? N- no. I- I…" Looking at me with wide eyes, she replied frantically while playing with her fingers, as if in anticipation. 

"What I? Tell me Atifa." 

"Believe me, I- I don't want that. I- I mean…" Stammering, she moved back towards where the bag was kept, behind me, making me turn to face her too. Tears started rolling down her face once again as she quickly tried to wipe them away before continuing. "I'm just so confused. I- I don't know what to tell you. It's just that… I want you to be happy and do whatever makes you happy. But- but I also can't let anyone get hurt because of me. And- And I know that us leaving is going to hurt you, and I don't want that." Sniffing and sitting back down on the bed, she added in a tired voice. "To be honest, I don't even know why ammi got us married when she just wanted to leave. This is all just so confusing and mind wrecking that I get mentally drained while trying to untangle this knot. At times I'm so scared. I'm so so scared that I might be pulling you deeper in this mess. That I might end up hurting you. And you don't deserve that. You- you don't deserve to be in this mess in the first place! You don't deserve to be stuck in this wreckage in the first place! But I'm doing just that; pulling you in this mess and hurting you!" 

"No. No, you are not doing that Atifa. Y- You aren't doing that. You are not hurting me nor do I think you are pulling me in any mess. I'm already in a mess and it's not because of you." Shaking my head with wide eyes, I sat down beside her before holding her chin and turning her face to look at me. I- I couldn't believe that she was blaming herself for this mess. I was kind of getting scared of what she might have to say or do. It felt like I wasn't ready for whatever was about to come next. 

"I'M! I'M HURTING YOU SAAD! I'M! Even if it's unintentional, even if it's involuntarily, and even if you don't want to believe it, I'M HURTING YOU. Tell me, will leaving once again not hurt you?" Getting angry, she snapped while pushing my hand away and narrowing her eyes at me, the blazing look back in her eyes. "And don't you even dare lie to me!" 

"Atifa-" 

"Don't. Don't even try to change the topic or anything. Okay, let me change the question slightly. If I leave, will it not hurt you?" She inquired, demanding for an answer and this time, her tears made no indication of stopping anytime soon as they mercilessly rolled down her face, making my heart clench. 

Was I the reason behind her tears again? This question nagged my mind as I gazed at her with a pained look, my heart breaking just at the thought of it. Maybe I didn't deserve her and her mom realised that, that's why she wanted to take her away? 

._._._. 

I leaned in closer to her face, our lips were just a breath away and my heartbeat felt so loud that it seemed like I just ran a marathon when we heard a faint frantic whisper. 

"Oh my God, we have to stop bhai! He is going to hurt bhabi and-" 

"Ya Allah, Shushhh! We don't have to stop bhaijaan, he isn't going to hurt api. We just have to cover our eyes and stay quiet!" Amira interrupted Alayna quickly in a hushed voice, trying to silence her. 

"Ya Allah, what are they doing here now!?"Groaning in frustration, I turned my face to hide it in her neck in desperation and embarrassment.

"But- but baba told me that kissing is haraam and- And it hurts... Our lips." Stammering, she whispered slowly, sounding perplexed. 

"Kissing is haraam for those who aren't married. Bhaijaan married api na, to they can kiss. Now don't make any noise and cover your eyes like me." Amira replied slowly, as if trying to make a kid understand something. 

"But- but…" 

"Allah Alayna, if you talk this much, they will get to know that we are here!" 

"O- okay. I will stay quiet now…" Alayna murmured quietly before we heard some faint shuffling. 

"Good." Amira muttered before it was all silent once again. 

"God! I have been wanting to do that for so long now!" I grumbled under my breath, silently wanting to kill them for interrupting our moment. No actually, silently wanting to kill bhai and bhabi for their carelessness. How could they even let them out just like that? And that too without supervision! And when it was almost time for Magrib?! 

"Le- Leave me." Laughing nervously, her hands already on my chest, she tried to push me away. 

"Don't push me away." Moving my hand away from her cheeks, I held her hands in their place, also stopping her from pushing me further. 

"The- They are watching us." 

"Didn't you hear her, they are covering their eyes." I murmured with a sigh, inhaling her scent. It was of faint citrus, calming me. "And this kiss of mine is an amanah with you now." I whispered in her ear while kissing her collarbone softly and nuzzling my face in her neck. Shuddering, she froze in her place and closed her eyes while fisting my shirt, making my lips tug up into a small smile. 

(Debt) 

"Should we open our eyes now?" A groan threatened to escape my lips once again when I heard Alayna's faint voice. 

"I don't know... What if they might still be… Uhh… Kissing?" Amira replied, sounding nervous. Sighing, I gave a light feathery kiss on her neck before rubbing my nose there. My stubble grazed her neck, making her shudder and giggle at the same time. 

"The one time when you were actually enjoying this, they had to interrupt us." Frowning, I grumbled in annoyance. 

"Wh- Who said that I was enjoying this?" She asked me nervously while trying to free her hands from my grasp. 

"Your giggle." I mumbled, loving the feel of her soft smooth skin coming in contact with my lips whenever I moved them. "And anyways, I don't feel like letting you go." I added with a pout. 

"Me neither." Murmuring quietly, she stopped struggling, letting me hold her. Sighing, she burrowed her face in my hair, which tickled me. Suppressing my groan of protest, I sighed. 

"Then let's just stay like this." 

"N- No Saad. The kids are waiting outside." Stilling at her place, most probably startled by my reply, she stuttered. 

"Thinking that we are kissing." I snickered at my reply before sighing and lifting my head from her neck, making her lift her head too. As soon as our gazes met, her cheeks flushed before she looked away. But before she could look away, I noticed her orbs mirroring my emotions. 

They were filled with Sadness. The emotion which was the most prominent one swirling in our orbs. Pain. The emotion to which we were getting used to. Or maybe, she was already used to it but I was still on my way? Hurt. The emotion which was there maybe not because of our own actions but because of the actions of those who were close to us? Regret. The emotion of pulling the other into this mess. Or maybe, of being one of the reasons for this mess? Maybe both? Helplessness. The emotion of not being able to do anything. Of not being able to help one another. Of not having any control over this situation. 

"Can we uncover our eyes now?" Hearing a quiet and desperate whisper, I let my hand drop by my side in dejection while she took a step away from me while adjusting her hair. 

"You both little devils can come in, you know." Sighing, I replied while running a hand through my hair and turning towards the window, where they were standing. 

"Who is he talking to?" Amira whispered incredulously while removing her hand from her eyes. 

"I don't know. My eyes are still covered." Alayna murmured in a hushed voice. And even though they were outside the window of this room, I could still hear them clearly. 

"Ya Allah girl! You can see now because we heard his voice. If they would still be kissing then he wouldn't have said anything." Amira slapped Alayna's arm lightly and shook her head before they shuffled closer to the window and tried to peek in. 

"I'm talking to the two little devils who are standing outside our window." I replied, getting annoyed. What. Were. They. Doing. Here?! 

"Oopsie! Bhaijaan caught us!" Amira smiled sheepishly when she noticed me already looking at them with a raised brow. 

"I told you that we should've stopped him before. See, bhabi isn't looking here. She is hiding her face because she is hurt now." Alayna slapped Amira's shoulder lightly as she tried to look at Atifa, totally ignoring the incredulous look on my face. Were they serious right now?! 

"Really? But- but I thought that kissing doesn't hurt anyone..." Ignoring me, they looked towards Atifa, who, unaware their conversation, was looking away, a hand kept on her heart as she continued to murmur something to herself. 

"It doesn't. But when they kiss on lips, it hurts because lips are soft and-" 

"I'm standing right in front of you both, you know." Alayna started explaining when I interrupted her, narrowing my eyes at them and feeling heat creep up my neck. What were they even talking about?! Where did she learn these things from? Who even told them these things?! 

"Uh oh. Now he is going to scold me because I know these things and he says that I'm too small to know these things." Looking at me nervously, she whispered to Amira slowly. 

"Are we really too small to know these things?" Amira questioned back incredulously, a curious look on her face. 

"Yes. Now come inside both of you. Don't keep standing there and talking about those stuff." I replied sternly while waving my hand and gesturing for them to come in. 

"But we are big girls who even keep secrets, right Alayna?" Ignoring me, Amira said, lost in her own world. 

"Now which secret are you talking about?" I inquired, perpetual. 

"Don't tell me bhai you forgot about it once again!" Looking at me incredulously, Alayna facepalmed. 

"What?" I was still confused. What were they talking about now? 

"The ring secret and keeping your nikkah a secret from mama and baba and-" 

"Okay okay, I get it. Now get inside." Sighing, I interrupted her sternly. 

"Then pick us up and pull us in." Smiling cheekily, Alayna replied. 

"Ya Allah, kya musibat hai!" Muttering under my breath, I walked to the window. As soon as I closed the window after pulling them in, they rushed towards Atifa. 

(Oh God, what a problem!) 

"Are you alright api?" 

"Did bhai hurt you?" Both of them questioned together, a worried expression taking over their features. 

"What?" She looked at them with a puzzled expression. 

"I didn't hurt her." Grumbling in annoyance, I tried to interject. But completely ignoring me, they continued to stare at Atifa, waiting for her reply. 

"Uh... Why- Why would your bhai hurt me?" She inquired inquisitively while crouching down to sit on her knees. 

"Now don't start once again." Mumbling quietly in embarrassment, I looked away, desperately hoping that Atifa wouldn't start questioning them now. 

._._._. 

▪ Ah, what are your thoughts guys? What could be ammi's reason for this sudden change of plan?

And yeah, I didn't write anything, it's all your imagination guys, it's all your imagination. And they are running wild.

And if you are confused about the scenes, then just wait for the next chapter. XD

._._._.