It had been a month since Ruman returned from America.

Since that day, he had apologized to his parents and Marziya Aapi—but not to Hana. He still believed she was the reason behind everything that had happened. He barely spoke to her and made every effort to avoid her presence.

Hana was hurt by his behavior, but she did her best to act normal in front of everyone. She didn’t want anyone to notice her pain.

But, of course, everyone in the house had noticed. No matter how hard Ruman tried to ignore Hana, it was obvious. He avoided rooms where she was and found excuses to leave whenever she entered. Still, like Hana, the rest of the family chose to pretend they didn’t see it.

After that day, no one brought up the topic again—at Hana’s request. She had asked them all to give Ruman some time. And they agreed.

Hana’s P.O.V

“I’m leaving, Aapi,” I said, stepping into Marziya Aapi’s room.

She came out of the washroom, drying her hands. “Where are you going?”

“I’m going to college to submit my admission form.”

“Oh, your college is reopening?” she asked.

“Yes,” I nodded.

“Okay, Aapi, I’m heading out now,” I said, hugging her quickly and rushing toward the door.

“Take care,” I heard her call behind me.

“Okay, Aapi…” I replied, picking up my pace. “Ya Allah, I’m so late… ouch.” I muttered to myself while checking my watch—and suddenly bumped into someone.

“Oh God!?” I heard his voice.

My heart skipped.

I looked up.

Maan.

He had that same annoyed look on his face, holding me by the waist while I clutched his shoulders for balance.

“Sorry,” I whispered, caught in his intense gaze. I quickly stepped back and dropped my hands.

“Where are you going at this hour?” he asked, eyes dropping to my handbag.

“College,” I mumbled.

“Okay,” he said, pulling his hands away and walking past me without another glance.

I exhaled and began walking toward the door. Outside, I spotted Mama and Riya Aapi sitting in the garden.

“Mama, I’m going!” I called.

“Did you eat your breakfast?” Mama asked, walking toward me.

“Mama, I’m getting late—I’ll eat something from the college canteen,” I said quickly. She shook her head and started to say something, but I ran toward the gate.

“Wait, Hana!” Riya Aapi shouted. I stopped and turned.

“What?” I asked.

“With whom are you going to college?” she questioned.

“Like always—with Kareem Chacha,” I replied and turned to leave.

“Hana, wait!” she called again. I turned around, confused. “Umm… actually, I’m going shopping with Kareem Chacha today.”

“Oh…” I blinked. “It’s okay, Aapi. I’ll take a cab,” I said with a smile.

“No, wait here,” she said and ran inside.

“Where is she going, Mama? I’m already late!” I complained, looking at my watch.

“I don’t know, beta,” Mama shrugged, equally confused.

A few minutes later, I saw Aapi coming back—dragging Maan with her.

“Aapi, please, I don’t want to—” he was protesting, but she didn’t stop until they reached us.

“Hana, Ruman will drop you to college,” Aapi declared. Maan’s face twisted with visible annoyance.

“No, Aapi, I can go by mysel—”

“No, Hana. You’ve never gone to college alone. Fatima Ahmed or Kareem Bhai always accompanies you,” Mama interrupted firmly.

I tried to protest again, but no one listened. And just like that, I was sitting awkwardly in Maan’s car, beside the one person who didn’t even want to look at me.

Author’s P.O.V

"Tumne mujhe bataya nahi?" (You didn’t tell me?) Shabana asked as she walked back into the house, with Riya following behind.

"Kya?" (What?) Riya blinked innocently.

“That you were going shopping.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Mama,” Riya replied, a small smirk on her lips.

Shabana paused and turned toward her, confused. “What do you mean? You just said you’re going shopping with Kareem Bhai.”

“Yes, I said that… but it was a lie, Mama.”

“What? But why would you lie?” Shabana’s brows furrowed deeper.

“Because I wanted Ruman to drop Hana,” Riya said, shrugging casually.

Shabana raised an eyebrow but said nothing, waiting for more.

“Mama, we all see how Ruman keeps avoiding Hana like the plague. So I thought… maybe, if they spend some time together, something might change.”

Understanding dawned on Shabana’s face.

“You’re right… we should try,” she said with a knowing smile.

Hana’s POV

We were sitting in his car. He was driving in silence. He didn’t say a word—neither did I. Ten minutes passed just like that. My college was 25 minutes from home. I wanted to talk to him, but I didn’t know how... or what to say. I started biting my lip nervously.

Hana, you should be the one to speak first—it was your fault that night. You ran out of his room without saying a word. He must be angry. You should apologize.

I told myself and turned to him.

“Are you angry?” I asked softly, looking at him. He glanced at me for a second, then looked back at the road.

“No, I’m not.”

“Then why won’t you talk to me?”

“Because I don’t want to,” he replied coldly.

My eyes began to sting with tears.

“Maan... we can still be friends,” I whispered.

“I have enough friends. I don’t need more,” he said sharply, breaking my heart into tiny pieces.

“But I’m your old friend,” I said, pouting, my tears threatening to fall.

“Well, I don’t consider you a friend anymore.”

“You’re so rude,” I mumbled, looking down as my tears fell.

“And you’re always a crybaby,” he said.

I looked at him, shocked. His eyes were still on the road.

“No! I’m not a crybaby,” I whined, quickly wiping my tears.

“Yeah, I can see that,” he said mockingly.

“I’m not crying... It’s just that my tears don’t like your words,” I mumbled with a little sob.

“That’s why I’m telling you—stay away from me. You can’t handle me.”

“I can, Maan... Just give me a chance,” I pleaded.

He suddenly stopped the car and turned to me. For a moment, he just looked at me. Then he leaned forward and gently wiped my tears. I smiled at him.

“You’re getting late, Hana... go,” he said while unbuckling my seatbelt. Then he moved back and stared straight ahead.

I wiped my tears, opened the door, and looked at him again—waiting for him to say something. He didn’t. With a sigh, I got out of the car.

I turned around for one last glance, but he drove away.

A tear escaped from my eye.

“Hana!” I heard my best friend Kulsum’s voice. Wiping my cheeks quickly, I walked into the college.

I came home after finishing all the college work. Kareem chacha had picked me up.

“Assalamualaikum!” I called out as I stepped into the house.

“Wa Alaikum Assalam, bacche!” Baba replied, coming toward me.

“So, your college admission is done?” Baba asked, placing his hand on my head.

“Yes,” I replied with a smile.

“That’s great... Now come, let’s have lunch. Your mama said you didn’t eat breakfast.” Baba gave me a fake glare.

“Ahh! Why does Mama always tell you?!” I asked in frustration.

“Because your Baba always asks me, Hana ne nashta kiya? Hana ne khana khaya? (Did Hana have breakfast? Did Hana eat her lunch?) And you know I can’t lie to him,” Mama said with a smile.

“Oh please, Mama! I know how much you love complaining about me to Baba,” I said, rolling my eyes.

“That’s why I always tell you—don’t give your mama reasons to—” Baba started, but Mama cut him off.

“Excuse me? What do you mean? Are you saying mai apni bacchi ki shikayat karti hoon aapse? (I complain about my daughter to you?)” she glared at him.

“Nahi meri Jaan, aise toh nahi kaha maine!” (No, my love, I didn’t say it like that!) And here goes Baba... whenever Mama gets angry, he turns all romantic.

“Don’t talk to me,” Mama huffed and tried to walk away, but Baba caught her wrist.

“Hey... don’t be mad. You know how much I love you, right?” Baba said, kissing her cheek, making Mama blush.

She gave him a look that said “What are you doing? Hana is right here!” But Baba just shrugged.

I laughed and began clapping, jumping, and shouting, “Woah woah! Mama is blushing! Mama is blushing! Where is everyone?!”

“Hana, stop it!” Mama glared at me, but I didn’t stop.

Soon enough, everyone came running toward us. Mama’s cheeks were now as red as tomatoes.

“Now... what did Baba do?” Fathima aapi asked, smiling knowingly. She already guessed Baba had done something romantic—that’s why I was yelling like this.

“He kissed her!” I exclaimed loudly.

“Hana! Aaj toh tum gayi!” (Hana, today you're finished!) Mama shouted and came charging toward me.

“Main nahi jaane wali kahin!” (I'm not going anywhere!) I yelled while laughing and running.

“Hana, wait right there!” Mama ordered.

Haaww! “You think I’ll stop just because you said so? I’m not that dumb, Mama!” I teased and ran behind Baba.

“Baba, please save me from your dangerous wife,” I said, pretending to cry.

“Dangerous?! Tumne mujhe dangerous kaha?!” (You called me dangerous?!) Mama said, marching toward me.

“Begum, chhod do bacchi hai.” (Wifey, let her go. She’s just a kid.) Baba said, trying to protect me.

“Bacchi? Ye bacchi kafi badi ho gayi hai! Aaj main ise nahi chhodungi!” (Kid? This kid is grown up now! Today, I won’t spare her!) Mama said.

“Pehle pakad kar toh dikhaiye!” (First catch me!) I challenged and ran toward the door...

...and bumped into someone.

“What the hell?” he snapped.

Oh no... it’s Maan.

I looked up and gasped.

His face was covered... in ice cream?!

Yes. He had two ice cream cones—well, now they were all over his face.

He glared at me furiously and stepped closer.

I looked back for help—but saw no one. I was alone.

Alone with this angry vampire.

Allah! Hashr ke din aap sab se poocha jaayega. Ek masoom bechari ladki ko tanha chhod diya... zalim insaan!

(My Lord will ask you all on Judgment Day. You left a poor innocent girl to die... cruel people!)

I pouted and looked at my vampire again with pleading eyes.

“Uhm... Ma... Maan... you brought... ice cream for me? Aww, how sweet of you!” I laughed nervously, trying to distract him. He was still advancing, and I was stepping back.

“But... um... I don’t want ice cream. You can have it. Oh wait—you already had it. That’s okay... I don’t mind,” I babbled nervously.

He looked like a vampire ready to drink my blood.

We continued this back-and-forth until I hit the sofa’s armrest and nearly fell. Maan grabbed my hand—but we both ended up falling onto the sofa.

I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched his collar.

After a few seconds, I opened one eye. He was looking at me—still angry.

“What’s your problem? Can’t you watch where you’re going? And look at this... eeww!” he groaned.

But I couldn’t help it. I smiled. He looked so cute, like a kid with ice cream all over his face.

“What is it, Hana?!” he snapped.

“It’s just... chocolate ice cream... It actually looks good on you. You look... more handsome like this. Cute too. You should try this more often. I love chocolate ice cream...” I blurted.

He stared at me, stunned.

He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again.

“What happened, Maan? Are you okay?” I asked, touching his cheek with concern.

He blinked and looked at me again—then shoved my hand away.

“You’re dumb. Idiot. Duffer. Stupid. Crazy girl!” he yelled.

I looked at him, wide-eyed.

“Huh! You love chocolate ice cream, don’t you?” he asked with a smirk.

I smiled and nodded.

“Okay.” With that, he came closer and began rubbing his face all over mine.

“Maan! What are you doing?!” I shouted, trying to push him away, but he pinned my hands above my head and smeared the ice cream all over my face.

“Maan, stop it!” I yelled.

But then... his lips brushed my jaw.

My breath hitched. A shiver ran down my spine.

And I think he noticed—because he stopped and looked at me.

Our eyes met. My breath was uneven. My heart thudded in my chest. He just stared at me, unreadable.

We were so lost in each other that we didn’t hear the footsteps.

“Ahem ahem.”

We snapped out of it. All the family members were standing there—smiling.

Maan immediately stood up and helped me too. Everyone stared at us like we were the most entertaining thing on Earth.

Or maybe... we were.

“She... this idiot girl... look, Mama, what she did... I was just—” Maan—sorry—Ruman tried to explain, but Mama interrupted.

“You don’t have to explain anything, Ruman. You did nothing wrong,” she said with a wide smile.

“Um... I need to clean this,” he muttered and rushed to his room, throwing me one last look.

Now all eyes were on me. I was sure my face was redder than a beetroot. Thankfully, the chocolate ice cream was covering most of it.

“Look! Hana is blushing! Hana is blushing!” Mama cheered, clapping her hands.

“Mama!” I cried, looking down. She was definitely taking her revenge.

“Shabana, don’t tease my daughter. Go tease your son,” Baba said, stepping in front of me protectively.

Thank you, Baba!

“Why are you stopping me? You never stop her from teasing me!”

“Because I always stand with you when she teases you. But your stupid son ran away today—leaving his poor wife alone like this,” Baba said with a teasing smile at me.

I couldn’t take it anymore. I ran to my room, hearing their laughter behind me.

…………..