Hana’s POV

I was at Marzi Aapi’s house since last week. I really missed my home, my family, and of course, my naughty husband.

A smile touched my lips as I thought about him. Maan and I talked every night for hours and Allah Taubah! (Oh God, forbid!) it was really hard for me to handle his talks. He had become so naughty these days that my heartbeat went wild whenever he spoke.

Every time he tried to convince me to come back, I explained to him that I had to stay here for a few more days. In the end, he would sigh in defeat.

I wanted him to confess that he couldn’t stay away from me, or that he loved me, but maybe he still needed time to understand what he truly felt. Still, I knew I had become the one he always wanted by his side. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t express his feelings. Sometimes it irritated me, but then his actions and the unguarded words he sometimes blurted out warmed my heart and gave me peace. They assured me that I was more important to him than anything else — that he was mine and always would be.

"Hey ladies," I came out of my thoughts when I heard Muneeb’s voice.

I was seated with Ruban Arif Khala (Aunt) and Marzi Aapi in the lounge. Muneeb wasn’t there earlier; he had gone somewhere with Khalu (Uncle). Now, he had returned.

"Hey," I greeted him. He smiled at me and then sat beside me.

"Look, princess, what I brought for you," he said, grinning as he handed me a plastic bag. I opened it and found a box of chocolate ice cream.

"Woah! Muneeb, thank you so much for this. You know, I was craving ice cream. I was just about to call you and ask you to bring some for me," I said happily.

"Khala, we want ice cream too!" my two nephews yelled.

"No! It’s mine," I said, glaring at them and hiding my ice cream behind me.

"Do you love ice cream more than us?" they both asked, pouting. I nodded.

"Kids, don’t worry. Your chachu (uncle) is the best. I brought ice cream for both of you as well," Muneeb said, handing them small boxes of ice cream. They immediately started jumping with joy.

"First tell me... Khala is best or Chachu is best?" he asked, smirking at me while I glared.

"Chachu is best!" they both shouted, and I glared at everyone.

"Accha! (Fine!) Then go to your chachu at night for bedtime stories," I said, smirking. I knew they would run back to me, declaring that Khala was the best.

"Okay," they both said in unison, making my mouth fall open.

"You traitors!" I yelled, throwing a cushion at them.

"Can’t you accept that I’m the best? Right boys?" Muneeb said, smirking.

"Chachu is best!" they both chanted again, while I rolled my eyes.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. I looked at the screen, and a smile instantly spread across my face.

Maan.

"Assalamualaikum," I greeted him as soon as I answered. (Peace be upon you)

"Walaikum Assalam," he replied. (Peace be upon you too)

"Come on kids, say Chachu is best!" Muneeb yelled, and my nephews chanted with him.

"What are those voices?" Maan asked. I excused myself, grabbed my ice cream, and went to my room.

"Oh, that was Muneeb. He brought ice cream for us and is forcing my nephews to call him the best chachu. He’s only doing it to annoy me. Last night I did the same to him, telling the kids to call me the best Khala. So that’s why—"

"Hana, will you just cut this Muneeb talk?" Maan interrupted me, sounding annoyed.

"Okay... sorry," I said, opening my ice cream box and eating with the plastic spoon inside.

"Hmm," he hummed.

"So, Alex and Jake left, right? Did you tell them that I said bye?" I asked.

"Yes, they both left. I told them goodbye on your behalf. They also sent their goodbyes to you," he said, and I hummed in response.

"So, what are you doing?" I asked after a few seconds.

"Missing you," he replied, and I couldn’t help but smile at his voice.

"Missing me or...?" I trailed off, smirking. I knew he understood what I meant.

"Umm... both," he said, and I could almost feel his naughty smirk.

"You know I can’t sleep... I really need you. Please come soon," he requested, and I smiled shyly but said nothing.

"I want to hold you in my arms... I want to kiss you... I want to make love to—"

"Maan, stop!" I cut him off abruptly, feeling my cheeks burn as my heart raced wildly. He chuckled on the other side.

"Why are you talking to me like this?" I asked.

"Because I want my wife to lose control and come back to me," he said, and I blushed, smiling.

"After a few days, I’m coming, na," I said, and heard him sigh.

"Hmm."

"Did you have your dinner?" I asked.

"No, not yet," he replied.

"Then go have something. I’ll talk to you after you’re done," I said.

"Okay... but first give me a kiss," he demanded. I shook my head, though my smile wouldn’t leave my lips.

"What do you get from this?" I asked.

"At least I can relax with these kisses until you come back. Haven’t you heard? Something is better than nothing," he said. I knew he wouldn’t hang up until I gave in.

"Maan..."

"Jaan-e-maan..." (Beloved of my soul...) he pleaded. I sighed, smiling.

"Ummuah!" I kissed over the phone, and heard him sigh deeply.

"Haaye! (Oh!) Jaan, please come soon," he whispered, making my heart skip a beat.

"Bye," I said shyly and hung up after hearing his goodbye.

---

I sat on my bed after changing into my night suit and called Maan. The phone kept ringing, but he didn’t answer. I tried four or five times, but still nothing.

Maybe he was busy... it was only 9:30 pm, and I knew he didn’t sleep this early. I’d try again later, I told myself, and went to Ruban and Arif’s room to check on them.

---

I came back to my room at 12:30 because I had fallen asleep in my nephews’ room while telling them bedtime stories.

I sat on my bed and grabbed my phone because I wanted to talk to Maan. I was sure he must have called, and since I’d left my phone in the room, I expected missed calls. He had already warned me not to ignore his calls.

I sighed, ready to be scolded, but to my surprise, there were no calls.

Disappointed, I shrugged and dialed his number. The phone rang, but again, he didn’t pick up. I called again, and again, he didn’t answer.

Why isn’t he picking up? My heart started beating faster. I was about to hang up and try the landline when suddenly the call was answered.

I sighed in relief, ready to scold him, but my voice stuck in my throat when I heard something I least expected.

"Hello," came a girl’s voice.

I froze. I looked at the clock. It was 12:45.

How could a girl answer Maan’s phone at this hour? He was supposed to be at home, right? Maybe he was outside or had left his phone somewhere.

I tried convincing myself with these thoughts before asking calmly, "Hello... who are you?"

"Uh... I’m a friend of the person you called. I’m Rumaan’s friend," she replied smoothly.

My heart dropped. She knew his name. That meant his phone wasn’t lost. His phone was with her. But what was his phone doing with her this late at night? He couldn’t be with her... could he?

The thought killed me. My eyes filled with tears. He can’t, my heart insisted. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

"An... and whe... where is h-he?" I stuttered, hoping she would say something to ease my heart.

"He’s in the bathroom," she replied. My stomach churned, and my breath hitched in my throat.

No! He couldn’t be with another girl at this hour. This girl was lying... she had to be lying. My Maan couldn’t cheat on me. He—

"What are you doing with my phone?" Suddenly, I heard Maan’s voice.

My hope shattered. My eyes burned as tears rolled down my cheeks. My hands shook, and my heart broke into pieces. My eyes flickered to the clock again and again.

"Your phone was ringing continuously, so I answered," the girl said.

Before I could hear Maan’s voice again, I hurled my phone at the wall with full force, anger consuming me. I didn’t even know where this rage came from, but at that moment, I wanted to kill the girl who was with my Maan.

I collapsed onto my bed, burying my face in the pillow as tears streamed endlessly. I cried the whole night until sleep finally claimed me.

---

Rumaan’s POV

Ariba came running toward me and hugged me.

"Oh! Rahem… how much I missed you!" she exclaimed. I didn’t hug her back.

"Ariba, behave. This is not America," Nawaz bhai scolded, and Ariba quickly pulled away from me, making me sigh in relief.

"Assalamualaikum bhai," I greeted, ignoring her.

"Walaikum assalam, Rumaan… how are you?" Nawaz bhai asked.

"I am good… how about you?" I replied, and then asked.

"I am good as well," bhai said, smiling.

"But bhai, what are you doing here? I mean, you didn’t inform us that you’re coming today?" I asked in confusion and gestured for them to sit in the car. They settled after placing their luggage.

"Yeah… I was supposed to come next week, but your sister is angry with me. So, I thought to surprise her," Nawaz bhai said as he sat next to me, while Ariba took the back seat.

"Why is aapi angry?" I asked while starting the engine.

"She thinks that I don’t have time for her and her family function… and I know she is missing me, but she won’t tell me directly. She just tried to convince me to come here as soon as possible. And after all, I’m the most important person in Fathima’s wedding," Nawaz bhai said, and we all laughed.

"So… I thought to surprise her and came here without telling her. I hope it makes her happy, otherwise only my God will help me," Nawaz bhai said dramatically, and I laughed.

"Bro, don’t pretend like you didn’t miss bhabhi," Ariba said.

"Arre… when did I tell you that I didn’t miss her? Of course I missed her. After all, she’s my wife. And every husband misses his wife when she is far from him and only then realizes her value," Nawaz bhai said.

"I agree with you," the words slipped from my mouth as I thought about how much I had missed my Hana in those few days. A smile unknowingly crept onto my lips.

"Accha? (Really?)… you’re saying it like you have experience," Nawaz bhai teased.

I quickly came out of my thoughts and looked at him for a second before turning my eyes back to the road.

"Uh… no… erm… I mean… you said na, aapi misses you, so… I agree with you on that," I said hurriedly, and he just nodded.

We reached home and Nawaz bhai met with everyone. Riya aapi was completely surprised seeing him. Hamdan and Seema were really happy to see their father.

Later, Ariba came to me and said she knew about my marriage. I was shocked to hear this and asked how she found out. She told me that Jake had spilled it to her. Jake and Ariba had always been close friends. He didn’t break his friendship with her even after my breakup, but Alex had made his distance because he never liked her much.

Ariba said she didn’t want to interfere in my life again because I was married. I took a breath of relief when I heard that, because I wasn’t the least bit interested in her. But then she asked me to give her back the friendship we shared before our relationship. And I agreed. After all, she had been my friend since I first moved to America. For eight years she had been there. So I couldn’t just reject her friendship—it would have been rude.

After spending the whole day with family, I came to my room at 8 o’clock and immediately called Hana. I teased her a little, because I really missed her in my arms. I even asked her to give me a kiss on the phone—and she did. God, that gave my heart a little peace. I spoke some sweet and romantic words, not even realizing how they slipped out of my mouth. She then told me to go for dinner, so I went.

After dinner, I was about to call her again when Fathima and Ariba suddenly burst into my room.

They complained that they were bored and wanted to watch a horror movie. I told them to go watch it in their room, but they both said they were scared to watch alone. I reminded them that they had each other, but they still didn’t listen. Fathu started the movie on my room’s TV without giving me a choice.

I sat with them defeatedly and began watching the movie. My phone rang—it was Hana. But both of them glared at me, so I silenced my phone.

The movie ended at 12:30, and finally they decided to go to their rooms. I went to the washroom to change into my night suit.

When I came out, I saw Ariba holding my phone to her ear as if she were talking to someone.

"What are you doing with my phone?" I asked her.

"Your phone was ringing continuously, so I received the call," she said casually, then handed me my phone and left the room.

I looked at the screen—it was Hana. Before I could say anything, the call got disconnected. I immediately called her back, but now her phone was switched off. I tried many times, but no use.

Why did she switch off her mobile?

She definitely misunderstood after hearing Ariba’s voice at this time. She must have switched off her phone in anger.

I thought while rubbing my forehead, then placed my phone on the side table, deciding that tomorrow… I would explain everything to her.

......