Chapter 43

Atifa's pov:

The brothers seemed to be conversing about something as Amira and Alayna played together. "The breakfast is ready." I announced, making them halt their conversation and game. The brothers nodded their head as they got up while the kids ran to me, hugging my waist.

"Assalamualikum princesses." I greeted them brightly with a grin on my face.

"Walikumussalam api." They both replied with silly and identical grins covering their faces.

"What happened? Aaj itna pyaar kyu aa rha hai?" I inquired while raising my brow.

(Why so much love today?)

"Kuch nhi." Alayna replied.

(Nothing.)

"Aise hi." While at the same time Amira said that, making me suspicious.

(Just like that.)

"Accha! Mujhe to yakeen nahi ho raha hai. Chalo come, let's have breakfast first phir ye sab baatein krenge." I replied while holding their hands and heading to the kitchen. The boys were following us. They washed their hands before running off, leaving me alone with the brothers.

(Oh yeah? I can't believe it. Okay come, let's have breakfast first and then we will talk about these things.)

Shaking my head, I washed my hands before making my way to the dining room. Before I could take a seat, ammi stopped me. "I forgot to bring the mugs. Can you go and grab them?"

"Jee ammi." I replied before making my way to the kitchen cabinets.

(Yes mom.)

When I returned back with the mugs, I realised only two seats were vacant. One was beside Maaz bhai while the other was beside him. Having left with no other choice, I sat beside him after keeping the mugs on the table.

"Okay so everyone, be ready in an hour, we will be going out for shopping." We were halfway through the breakfast - which was kheer and puri - when bhabi informed us about our plans for the day.

I looked up at her to reply, but before any of us could say anything he started coughing violently, earning our attention. "Beta pass him the water." Ammi instructed me, concerned.

(Dear)

Grabbing the glass nearest to me, I handed it to him before hesitantly, rubbing his back. Feeling him stiffen under my touch and feeling uncomfortable myself, I quickly removed my hand. "Aap theek hai?" Instead, I resorted to asking him, worried.

(Are you alright?)

Calming down a bit, he nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." His gaze flickered to me before turning to his brother, glaring at him. I followed his gaze to see his brother trying to suppress his laughter.

Confused, I watched them with amusement. What was the matter? Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to bhabi. "Okay, but where will we be going?" I asked her curiously.

"The mall. There might be one around here, right?" She asked, glancing at ammi.

"But why mall? We can go to a park or have a picnic or something, right?" He interrupted, looking away from his brother.

"Because I want to go there. Do you have any problem?" She retorted, looking at him dead in his eyes.

He gulped before replying, "No, I don't have any problem. I was just asking you." He seemed so scared that it made me want to chuckle. I suppressed my chuckle but couldn't help the grin on my face.

"Yeah there are. And we can go there. Atifa, you can ask Emaan too if she would like to join us. She helped us a lot yesterday but I couldn't even thank her properly or give her cookies." Ammi added, making my eyes go wide.

"But ammi, you didn't give me cookies yesterday. I want my share too." I reminded her.

"You will get your share but we aren't talking about you here. Ask her, alright?" Ammi replied without even looking up, making me pout.

"Okay." I replied while continuing to have my kheer. I would just have to steal my cookies if she didn't give them to me.

._._._.

"Where did it go? Maine to idhar hi rakha tha." I muttered as I continued to search my room for my precious cake, the one which mamu bought especially for me and I hid in my room. I couldn't find it anywhere. I kept it beside the table which was behind the couch so that no one would notice it but it wasn't there anymore.

(I kept it here only.)

Sighing, I ran a frustrated hand through my hair. I already showered, only braiding my hair remained, but since they were still a bit wet, I decided to do it after savouring my cake. But my luck! I couldn't find it anywhere. "Ya Allah! Is there a jinn in our home?" I continued to mutter under my breath as I looked under my bed.

"What happened? Are you looking for something?" Suddenly, a deep voice asked me from behind, making me jump in my place. Keeping a hand on my heart, I turned to look at him.

"Yeah, I'm trying to find something." I replied as my eyes wandered around, looking behind him.

He glanced back before looking at me, confused. "What is it? Maybe I can help you?"

"It's... Uh..." I contemplated whether to tell him or not. If I do tell him, I would have to share my cake with him. But I guess I didn't have any other option. And anyways, it was better to just share it with him rather than sharing it with everyone else. "My cake. I'm looking for my cake which mamu bought for me yesterday. I kept it here beside the table but I can't find it anywhere now." I replied, worried.

The colour of his face drained as he heard my reply. I looked at him, confused, as his expression continued to change from confusion to understanding to shock to nervous and scared? Okay, was there really a jinn in our home? And he saw that jinn taking my cake away? That could actually explain his change of emotions.

"Oh, mai to gaya ab." I heard him mutter before he gulped and gave me a nervous laugh. Confused by his behaviour, I shook my head and turned around to look back under the bed. "Wo... It was your cake?" He asked me hesitantly.

(I'm gone now.)

(That...)

"Jee. Have you seen it anywhere?" I looked at him hopefully.

(Yes.)

"Haa. Wo... Wo maine dekha tha." At his reply, my eyes lit up. And I noticed he was using urdu. It suited him much more and it sounded so... Wait what was I even thinking? No it didn't sound anything. I should be concentrating on my cake right now.

(Yes. That... I saw it.)

"Accha, kaha?" I inquired while turning back to face him.

(Okay, where?)

"Yahi par dekha tha, but I thought it didn't belong to anyone so I took it downstairs and shared it with everyone. Also, I was hungry so..." He replied so quickly that I almost didn't catch what he said. Almost. But I heard him. Clearly. And he wasn't wrong when he said that he was gone. He. Was. Gone.

(I saw it here only,)

Glaring at him, I clenched my fists. Was this guy for real? This wasn't actually happening right now! He didn't just eat MY cake without asking me. And he even shared it with everyone except me. I mean, he didn't even ask me if the cake in MY room belonged to me. Gritting my teeth, I asked him, "When did you have it?" I was actually controlling myself from blasting on him right now.

"Uhh... In the morning? When you were sleeping?" He answered, which came out more like a question. Chuckling nervously, he took a step back.

My blood boiled. "And you didn't even think about asking me? Even for once?" By now, I was glaring daggers at him. And he was my husband! Who did I even marry? This guy ate my cake without asking me! I would have complained to ammi. But I couldn't even do that because I was hiding that cake from her too.

"Sorry?" He said while scratching the back of his neck.

"Aapke sorry se mera cake wapas aa jaiyega?" I asked him furiously as I tried to calm myself down and put my hair in a messy bun. Walking towards the dressing table, I avoided looking at him.

(Will your sorry bring back my cake?)

"There is still one piece left for you in the fridge." He muttered hopefully, like a kid.

I raised my brow, "Okay. Thank you for being so considerate." I told him sweetly while applying moisturiser on my face.

He was about to reply when he got a call. Excusing himself, he left the room. It was a good thing he didn't stay here, or else he would have faced my sassy side.

I was not usually that moody or lost my temper that easily. I got my periods that day which explains my mood swings since the day before that. I guess, since I used to be alone before, with just Amira by my side, my mood swings didn't affect us that much. But now that he was here, an addition to our family, I would have to try to keep them in check. But no promises were made here as we all know how our moods could give us surprises.

Getting ready, I grabbed my niqab and handbag as I stood in front of the mirror to fix my hijab. My phone started ringing, reminding me I had to grab it too before leaving. Picking up the call, I heard Emaan's voice. "Assalamualikum girl! How are you doing? Oh my God! How was your first night? I mean, Ya Allah you don't have to tell me everything, just tell me what did you guys do? And gosh! I have so many questions-"

Before she could continue further, I interrupted her with a grin. "Walikumussalam. I didn't know we have to interrogate the girl once she gets married. I mean, thank you for letting me know. I will do the same for you."

"Oh, oops! Sorry, I will ask you once I reach there. And I'm reaching there within 10 minutes. Be ready! Byee." Without even waiting for my reply, she ended the call, making me shake my head. This girl wouldn't change!

Grabbing my handbag and closing the door of my room, I headed downstairs. I could hear the excited chatter of the kids as ammi did the last minute work, which was by the way, packing cookies for Emaan. Reaching them, I stole a cookie from the box, failing to remain unnoticed. Ammi shook her head at me in disapproval, making me grin at her sheepishly.

Savouring the cookie, I made my way to the fridge. Opening, I surveyed it to find my leftover piece of cake. Grabbing the plate, I pouted looking at the only piece left. This was supposed to be eaten by me alone. Sighing, I grabbed a spoon before sitting on the kitchen island.

Just as I was about to start eating, he came inside. Ignoring him, I took a bite of the cake. Grabbing a glass of water, he sat down in front of me. "Are you still angry at me?" He inquired hopefully.

Not getting any reply from me, he sighed, "I'm sorry okay? I didn't know it was yours." He apologised.

"But that still doesn't mean you can take it without asking me." I replied, frowning.

"Yeah, I know that. I'm sorry. Okay, how about this. I will buy you whatever you want today?" He asked expectantly, his eyes hopeful.

My eyes lit up as an idea crossed my mind. "Okay. But you can't back out later on." I replied mischievously.

He raised his eyebrows but nevertheless nodded his head. "Okay."

"You have to promise me." I added cheekily, extending my palm towards him. I could feel him getting suspicious so I whined. "Promise me."

"Okay, I promise." He shook his head before keeping his hand on mine.

A silly grin covered my face and I felt tingles all over my palm. Glancing at him from our hands, I saw a hint of a smile on his face, making my cheeks change their colour without any reason. Pulling my hand back, I rubbed it on my cheeks as I continued to devour my cake, avoiding his gaze. What was happening to me?

._._._.

GLOSSARY:

- Kheer - A sweet dish made of milk and rice.

- puri - something like fried tortillas.

._._._.