Hana’s POV

I was standing in front of the mirror, staring at myself after finishing my makeup. I had finally decided on a black saree after rejecting so many other outfits. I chose this one because it's black—and today is Maan's birthday. I wanted to wear something that would keep his eyes glued to me the entire time.

I was truly disappointed when I heard that Maan made a sandwich for Ariba. I know Ariba. She's Nawaz bhai’s (Riya aapi’s husband) sister, and she also lives with them along with Maan. I never thought about her being close to Maan, but after hearing he made her a sandwich—a gesture he never did for anyone else—that thought made me restless.

It must mean they share a special bond.

No! They can’t! Stop overthinking, Hana. I scolded myself and walked out of the room.

I came downstairs. Since the guests hadn’t arrived yet, I headed toward the kitchen to check if everything was ready. But I stopped in my tracks when I heard Maan’s voice from his room.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

My heart dropped to my stomach hearing Maan scream.

•••••••••••

Rumaan’s POV

"How dare you do this to us?!" Jake shouted, throwing a pillow at me.

"I swear I'm going to kill him," Munaf said furiously.

"Guys, listen to me!" I pleaded, hiding behind the sofa.

"Listen?! To what?! I closed my club early for your damn birthday and you didn’t even show up!" Munaf bellowed, walking toward the front of the sofa trying to grab me, while I was darting around, trying to save myself.

Alex, Jake, and Munaf had come over for my birthday party. After hours of begging, they finally agreed to come. But the moment they entered my room, they started punching and slapping me like angry gangsters.

"Alex, help me!" I shouted, but he just rolled his eyes.

"Go ahead, Munaf. Kill that traitor!" Alex said, glaring at me. Jake grabbed the wooden vase from my bedside table and handed it to Munaf. All three of them looked at me like professional assassins, ready to execute.

"You guys can’t gang up on a poor soul like me!"

"We can! If you can ditch us, then we can team up against you!" Munaf growled, stepping forward with the vase.

"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!" I screamed when I saw Munaf ready to hurl the vase at me.

"MAAN!"

We all turned toward the door, which burst open as Hana came rushing in.

Without a second’s hesitation, she ran toward me the moment her eyes landed on me. She grabbed my face, checking me with deep concern.

"Maan, are you okay?" she asked as tears welled up in her eyes. She looked tense and frightened.

"Maan... Tell me you're okay," she asked again, but I couldn’t answer. I was lost in her. She looked so beautiful, so breathtaking in a saree. It was the first time I saw her in one—and that too, a black saree. My heart skipped several beats. She stole my breath away all over again.

God, this girl is so beautiful. I can't believe she's all mine.

A proud smile spread across my face.

"Maan… why were you screaming?" she asked again, cupping my face gently.

"Hana, he’s fine," I heard Alex’s voice and snapped out of my daze. That’s when I remembered my friends were still in the room.

Clearing my throat, I gently removed Hana’s hands from my face and held them in mine.

"I'm okay," I reassured her with a smile.

"Then why were you screaming?" she questioned, narrowing her eyes and turning to look behind her. Her eyes landed on Munaf holding the vase, and she frowned.

"Why are you holding that, Munaf bhai?" Hana asked. Munaf looked at me, clearly angry and confused.

"Because they all wanted to hit me with that, Hana," I said from behind her—and they all sent me death glares.

"And we still will!"

"We will beat you!"

"We will kill you!"

"STOP IT!" Hana yelled, cutting them all off mid-sentence.

"Don’t you dare touch him!" she warned, pointing her index finger at them. They stared at her with wide eyes. Jake and Alex already knew about me and Hana, so they weren’t too surprised. But Munaf looked completely shocked.

"Hana, you don’t know what he di—" Alex began, but she cut him off.

"Whatever he did, you're not allowed to hurt him. Samjhe aap?!" (Understood?!)

I smirked behind her, watching my so-called dangerous friends nod like obedient children.

Munaf was still staring at Hana in shock, while Alex and Jake threw me some not-so-subtle glares. I smiled and turned Hana to face me.

"Hana, it’s okay," I said with a gentle smile.

"No, it’s not okay! Did you see that vase? If they hit you with it—Ya Allah, please save my Maan from these evil people," she muttered, glaring over her shoulder at them. I couldn’t hide my grin.

"Jaan-e-maan (soul of my soul)... I’m okay. We were just having some fun. Don’t worry," I reassured her, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Okay..."

"You look beautiful," I complimented, gazing into her eyes. She blushed and looked down, muttering, "Thank you."

"You’re welcome," I said, and placed a soft kiss on her cheek. Her eyes widened, and her cheeks turned a deep shade of red.

She glanced at my friends, clearly embarrassed, while they immediately looked away. Then she looked at me with disbelief and muttered, “I should go,” before hurrying out of the room.

"What the hell was that?!" Munaf yelled the moment Hana stepped out.

"Dude! She’s your cousin! How could you kiss her like that?" he asked, bewildered. I crossed my arms and looked at him confidently.

"She’s my wife," I replied proudly. His eyes widened even more.

"And last night, I was with my wife," I added. I didn’t know why, but saying that out loud filled me with pride.

"Ohhh... You mean... you got what you wanted?" Jake asked, smirking. A sly smile appeared on my face.

"Yup," I said, and Jake’s smirk widened while Alex rolled his eyes.

"What are you guys talking about? I’m confused," Munaf asked, baffled.

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

Author's POV

Ruman told Munaf everything, and Munaf understood the entire situation — what had happened at the restaurant party and today in Ruman’s room. He told Ruman that he was lucky to have Hana as his wife, and Ruman nodded with a smile.

They all came out to join the party. Ruman asked about Ellen. Jake and Alex informed him that her flight to the USA was today. But Ellen had told them she would attend his birthday party before leaving.

"Happy Birthday, Ruman!" Ruman was chatting with his friends when he heard a loud voice from behind. He turned and smiled.

"Muneeb?" he asked, walking over to him with a grin.

"Ya Allah tera shukr hai... banday ne pehchana to sahi!" (Thank God... at least this man recognized me!) Muneeb said dramatically, placing his hand on his chest.

"Aray yaar... of course, I recognize you. Who can forget this weird creature?" Ruman said, trying to control his laughter.

"Not as weird as you," Muneeb shot back, chuckling. Ruman’s friends laughed along.

"Haha... very funny," Ruman rolled his eyes, and the two hugged.

"Anyway... finally you got time to meet me. Where have you been all this time?" Ruman asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Aray yaar... I work out of town. That’s why I didn’t get a chance to visit. But now I’ve taken a one-month leave," Muneeb replied, smiling. He wished Ruman again.

"Happy birthday," Muneeb said, handing him a gift.

"Thank you... but you didn’t have to bring me two gifts," Ruman said with a grin and reached for another box Muneeb was holding. But Muneeb pulled his hand back.

"Woah, man! This one’s not for you," Muneeb said, raising his brows.

"Today is my birthday," Ruman reminded him.

"I know... but this gift—"

Before Muneeb could finish, a voice interrupted.

"Muneeb?" They turned to see Hana approaching with a loud voice. Muneeb’s smile widened.

"Oh, Princess!" Muneeb yelled and ran toward her. Ruman narrowed his eyes at them.

"Finally you got time for us," Hana said, feigning anger.

"Yeah, finally," he said, smiling softly at her.

"You look beautiful," Muneeb complimented. Hana smiled.

"You don’t look bad yourself."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?" Muneeb asked, grinning.

"Umm... maybe an insult," she said and burst out laughing, Muneeb joining in.

"It’s my honor to be insulted by you," Muneeb said, bowing slightly with his hand on his heart.

"You’re such a drama queen," she said, hitting his arm playfully. All the while, Ruman glared at them from behind.

Why are they so happy to see each other? he wondered as he walked toward them, but Alex stopped him.

"What?" Ruman asked in a bored tone.

"Ellen is outside waiting for you," Alex informed him. Ruman nodded and headed toward the front door, but not before giving Hana and Muneeb an annoyed glance.

"This is for you," Muneeb said, holding out a small gift-wrapped box to Hana.

"What is this? Today is not my birthday, duffer," she said, confused.

"I know... I already gave the birthday boy his gift. This one’s for you," Muneeb replied. Hana grinned and took the box.

"Thank you," she said happily, starting to unwrap the gift.

She opened the box to find a beautiful watch. A wide smile spread across her face. She thanked Muneeb, and they began chatting. Soon Riya and Marziya approached.

Riya noticed Hana talking and smiling with a boy. She hadn’t seen the boy’s face but didn’t like how comfortable Hana seemed with him. She grabbed Marziya’s hand and walked over.

When she saw it was Muneeb, she greeted him warmly. Marziya was also happy to see him. Soon, Fathima, Ahmed, and Shabana joined them. They all started talking and laughing, while Hana’s eyes scanned the area, looking for Ruman.

Meanwhile, Ruman stepped out and searched for Ellen. After a few minutes, he found her sitting in the garden and walked toward her.

"Hey," he called when he saw her busy on her phone. She looked up.

"Hi," she greeted and stood up.

"Come inside... why are you sitting here?" he asked.

"No... I’m not coming inside," she politely refused.

"Why? Don’t be silly, come yaar," he said, taking her hand to guide her inside.

"You know I can’t. If your wife sees me, she’ll be hurt," Ellen said, and Ruman’s eyes widened.

"Um... wh-what...?"

"I know about you and Hana. No need to hide anything. I saw you both kissing at the restaurant party. I was angry and thought you were cheating on me. But then Alex and Jake told me everything about your marriage. And I saw it myself — how much that girl loves you. I saw the hurt in her eyes when she saw you with me. That damn song! Ugh. So it’s clear you weren’t cheating on me — but on her. And I don’t want to be part of this," she said with a sigh.

"Ellen, I..." Ruman trailed off, rubbing his forehead. He didn’t know what to say.

"It’s okay, Rumaan. I don’t need an explanation. I know you like that girl. I can see it," she said with a small smile.

"I’m sorry," he apologized. But Ellen shook her head.

"Anyway... you didn’t come last night. I wanted to give you your birthday gift," Ellen said cheerfully.

"Birthday gift? Where is it?" he asked, looking around but finding nothing.

"Here it is," Ellen said, pulling a small card from her jeans pocket and holding it out.

"One of our senior college groups is going on a world tour in three months. They came last month and wrote down names of those interested in joining. Aaand... I gave your name and took this pass for you," she said happily.

"What?! Are you serious?" he asked, shocked.

"Yes, I am. I know you were looking for this opportunity. So I thought to give you this as your birthday gift," Ellen said with a grin.

"Oh thank you so much! This is the best gift!" Ruman said, hugging her.

Meanwhile, Hana stood watching them, tears streaming down her cheeks as she heard him say, "this is the best gift." She felt hurt. She thought no one could replace her gift — but Ellen did.

"Happy birthday, handsome," Ellen said and kissed his cheek. Hana couldn’t bear to see the closeness and ran inside.

"Thank you for this," Ruman said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay... I should go now or I’ll miss my flight," Ellen said, checking her wristwatch.

"Okay, but please don’t tell anyone about my marriage," Ruman requested. Ellen nodded and turned to leave, but then turned back.

"She loves you very much... don’t hurt her. Cheating hurts, and that’s why I’m ending this... We can be friends," she said with a small, sad smile. Ruman knew everything about her. Her father had cheated on her mother — that’s why she hated cheaters.

"Hana is a good girl. Be with her," she said.

Ruman hugged her again. "I know... and her name is Hana, not Hena," he said, chuckling. Ellen smacked his chest lightly.

"Okay, bye," she said, walking toward the gate.

"Goodbye, Ellen!" Ruman called out, waving.

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