Rumaan's POV

I was seated on the couch in the living room watching cartoons with my nephews, Ruban, Arif, and Hamdan (Riya’s son). After a while, I started getting bored, so I leaned back, closed my eyes, and let my mind wander—straight to what had happened two days ago in Hana’s room.

Her adorable flushed face appeared in front of my closed eyes. The way she panicked when she realized she was standing in front of me without her dupatta (scarf). And then, when I reminded her that I had rights over her—how easily she gave in. How she blushed, how she reacted to my touch, how she shivered when I kissed her neck… all of it pleased me.

I had to admit—I liked that moment I spent with her. She was different. And intriguing.

Now I was excited. This was going to be fun.

A small smirk appeared on my lips at the thought.

Beep

The notification sound from my phone brought me out of my thoughts. I pulled out my phone and saw Ellen’s message pop up on the screen.

Hey baby, where were you? Did you forget me ☹️

I smiled reading her message and shook my head. We had talked last night, and here she was acting like we hadn’t spoken in decades.

No babe. How can I forget my girl? I miss you baby 😚

I replied, smirking. I knew she’d be flying on cloud nine now.

Aww. I miss you too baby 😘

She replied immediately.

I was busy chatting with Ellen when I suddenly felt something on my lap. I looked down—and saw a lizard.

I jumped off the couch in horror.

“What the hell is this?!” I yelled, staring at the disgusting creature.

“Hahaha! We found out! We found out!” Ruban and Hamdan started jumping up and down, clapping their hands and laughing at me.

“What is this?!” I barked at them, but clearly, it didn’t matter. They continued jumping around excitedly, and now Fathima had joined them. She picked up the lizard with a laugh, holding it in her hand.

“Rumaan, don’t take it seriously, bro. We’re on a mission, so please cooperate with us,” Fathima said between laughs.

“What mission?” I asked, utterly confused.

“Mission... to find out who in the family is the most scared of lizards. We’ve already tested everyone. Only you and Hana were left. I mean, now only Hana is left. So our next target is her,” Fathima declared.

“But I think... we’ve already found that person,” she giggled, looking at me and high-fiving Ruban and Hamdan.

“Haha, very funny. I wasn’t scared, okay? I was just startled seeing that creepy creature,” I said, making a disgusted face.

“It’s the same thing, okay,” Fathima rolled her eyes.

“No, it’s not! Anyway... umm... can I join you?” I asked. I didn’t even know where that desire came from, but for some reason, I wanted to do this to Hana. I wanted to see if she was scared or not.

“No! Our team is a three-person squad. We don’t need any extra, useless people,” she said arrogantly and started walking away.

“Fine. Then I’m going to tell Baba that you went to meet Shazam yesterday without telling anyone,” I said casually. She immediately turned around, her eyes wide.

“Uh... wh-what are you tal-talking about?” she stammered, and I only smirked, folding my arms across my chest.

“You won’t,” she tried to threaten me, but my smirk only widened. She was clearly trying to act brave, but I could see the fear in her eyes.

“Try me,” I challenged.

She glared at me before sighing in defeat.

“Fine,” she said and handed me the lizard.

“That’s like my sister,” I said, pinching her cheeks. She slapped my hand away, and we all ran toward Hana, who was in the garden.

We found her sitting on the swing, reading a book. It was Sunday, so she was free.

After our romantic moment, Hana had started avoiding eye contact with me. Yesterday, she went to college with Kareem Chacha and had him pick her up too. I knew this was all new for her, and she needed time to adjust to this romantic stuff. So I gave her space. But now, I decided, that was enough.

“Ruban, go and throw this on Hana’s lap from behind the swing. And don’t make any noise, okay?” I instructed Ruban, who nodded and tiptoed behind the swing.

Hana was engrossed in her book, unaware of our presence. Ruban stood silently behind her and looked at me. I nodded, and he tossed the lizard onto her lap.

She looked down—and instantly started screaming.

“Aaaaaaaaa... Mamaaa... Babaaa... Aapiiiiii...”

She kept screaming, eyes shut tightly.

“That’s too much, Rumaan,” Fathima was about to go to her, but I stopped her.

“No, wait here. This is amazing,” I said between fits of laughter.

Soon Mama, Marzi Aapi, and Riya Aapi came out, staring at us.

“Why is she screaming? What’s going on?” Marzi Aapi asked, eyeing our laughing faces.

“Nothing Aapi. It’s just a prank,” I said, still laughing as I looked at Hana, who hadn’t moved from her spot. But then, I noticed tears slipping down her cheeks—and that was enough.

I walked towards her.

“Please help me... Someone help me... I don’t want to die... Help me,” she was crying loudly now.

“Hana,” I called, and she opened her eyes. The next moment, she was in my arms.

“Maan... Tha-that lizard... Maan,” she sobbed against my chest.

“Hana... it’s okay. I heard your screaming, so I came to help you,” I said, trying to hold in my laughter.

“Oh Maan, thank you so much,” she said, still crying into my chest. Then she cautiously looked back at the lizard—and quickly turned to bury her face in my chest again.

“Maan... please take it away from me,” she pleaded.

A chuckle escaped me. Hana looked up, and I immediately shut my mouth.

“He’s the one who brought this fake lizard to scare you,” Fathima said.

Hana quickly stepped away from me. First, she looked at everyone, then at me. I glared at Fathima, who smirked back smugly.

Hana walked to the lizard and looked at it carefully. Then her head snapped toward me, her eyes wide.

“Maan... this is fake??” she asked.

I nodded, struggling to contain my laughter.

“You did this?” she tilted her head slightly, eyes still glistening with tears and her nose red.

And I swear, she looked so cute and tempting, I wanted to kis—

What the hell, Rumaan!? Take baby steps.

I shook my head and looked at Hana again. She was now glaring at me while Fathima whispered something in her ear.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore—I burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Hana... look at your face, girl. You look lik—”

“Stop it, Rumaan,” Mama cut me off, scolding me.

“Look how badly she got scared of that fake lizard,” Mama walked to Hana and wiped her tears.

“She looks like she just saw a walking dead body. Hanu, that was a fake lizard, beta, not a ghost,” Mama chuckled, and we all started laughing again—even Marzi Aapi joined in.

Hana looked at us with a pout, tears still sliding down her cheeks.

“I don’t want to talk to any of you!” she said, pointing at each of us, and ran inside the house.

Everyone looked at me. I just shrugged.

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

Rumaan's POV

I knocked on her door.

"I don't want to see anyone... Just leave me alone," she said. I could hear her soft sobs.

This girl... such a crybaby. I sighed and opened the door, which was thankfully unlocked. I noticed Hana didn’t lock her door very often.

"Hana..." I called gently as I stood in front of her bed. She had buried her face in her pillow, but when she heard my voice, she quickly sat up and wiped her tears. She didn’t say anything and turned her head to the side.

"Hana... that was just a prank. And you know what? It wasn’t even my idea—it was Fathu’s. If you don’t believe me, ask Mama, Riya Aapi, or Marzi Aapi. She pulled the same prank on them. When she said she was going to do it to you, I just... included myself because... I... I wanted you to talk to me," I explained, lowering my voice at the end, eyes cast downward.

"Huh?" she looked at me, confused, a little frown appearing on her face.

"You’ve been ignoring me since that day... So..." I trailed off when I saw her cheeks turning red.

She looks so pretty when she blushes.

I smiled softly at the thought.

I sat beside her and slowly took her hand while she stared at me.

"Are you still angry with me?" I asked, making a puppy face. She smiled faintly and shook her head.

"No," she whispered and looked down.

I leaned in a little and gently caressed her cheek with my fingers. I moved closer, and she closed her eyes as I stopped near her ear.

"I really like... your red cheeks," I whispered and placed a light kiss on her cheek. I felt her shiver slightly—and for some reason, that made me happy.

I was about to kiss her other cheek when a knock interrupted us.

With a little groan, I moved back and looked at Hana. Her face was scarlet red. I smiled, pinched her cheek, and stood up to leave.

"And... if you dare ignore me again, then..." I let the sentence hang in the air as I saw her lift her head to look at me.

"You won’t," I warned.

"I won’t," she whispered with a soft smile. I smiled back and walked toward the door. As I opened it, I saw Marzi Aapi standing there, looking tense.

"Hey Aapi... are you okay?" I asked with concern. She nodded and gave me a small smile.

"Yes... I’m fine. Um... actually, Hana was upset so I—"

"She’s fine now," I cut in. "Perfectly fine," I assured her.

"Okay," she replied simply before entering Hana’s room. I just shrugged and walked away.

********

Author's POV

"Hana, are you okay?" Marziya asked as she entered the room. Hana looked up with a smile and nodded. Her blushing face didn’t go unnoticed by Marziya.

"Yes, Aapi," Hana replied.

"Uh... what was Rumaan doing here?" Marziya asked curiously. Hana looked down, recalling Rumaan, and a small smile tugged at her lips.

"Umm... he came to apologize," Hana answered. Marziya sat beside her and gently held her hand.

"Hanu... I know you both are in nikah (Islamic marriage), but beta... um... it’s not appropriate for you two to be... that close before ruksati (formal bridal send-off)," Marziya said hesitantly. Hana looked at her, confused for a second, but when she understood, she quickly stood up and turned away, flustered. Marziya also stood, walking over to her.

"Umm... Aapi, it’s not like that... we... we were just... I mean..." Hana fumbled nervously, clearly embarrassed. But Marziya gently held her arms.

"Don’t worry, Hana. I’m not asking for explanations. What you and Rumaan share is personal. I just want you to understand—it’s not appropriate to be so close before ruksati. I know you’re married, but until Rumaan accepts you openly in front of society, you should maintain some distance. Don’t be too easy on him, Hana. He’ll never truly cherish or respect you if he gets everything without effort. Hanu, if you keep a bit of distance, maybe... just maybe, it will lead him to agree for ruksati. Isn’t that what we all want?" Marziya explained gently, like a mother guiding her child between right and wrong. She made sure to speak softly, knowing Hana could be sensitive when it came to Rumaan.

"You want Rumaan to agree for ruksati, right?" Marziya repeated, trying a little emotional persuasion. Hana nodded with a soft smile.

"Yes, Aapi... you mean, if I keep some distance between us, then he’ll agree to ruksati?" Hana asked innocently, tilting her head slightly.

"Yes, he will. InshaAllah (God willing)," Marziya said with a hopeful smile.

"Okay... I’ll keep my distance," Hana finally agr

eed, looking at Marziya. The elder sister sighed in relief, glad Hana understood without being hurt.

★★★★★★