Hana’s POV

As I woke up in the morning, I directly went to Muneeb and told him to drop me at my home.

"But why, Hana? You were supposed to stay here for a few more weeks. What happened now?" he asked, with emotions I couldn’t understand — and honestly, I wasn’t interested in knowing.

"Muneeb! Will you drop me or not?" I asked rudely.

"I will… but at least tell me, what happened? Did I do something? Or did anyone say something that made you angry? Hana, listen, I’m sorry if my family—" Muneeb was saying, but I cut him off furiously.

"Damn it, Muneeb! Stop these questions, will you?!" I almost screamed. He was taken aback by my behavior, staring at me wide-eyed. But I didn’t know what was happening to me — I couldn’t care less about his feelings or anyone else’s. I just wanted to go home, to know the truth about last night. My heart knew that Maan was the only one who could erase my restlessness, my anxiety… so I just wanted to go to him.

"Okay, okay fine… why are you screaming? Are you okay?" he asked in concern. I glared at him.

"You again started?" I asked, giving him a deadly glare. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay fine… I won’t ask you anything," he said, and I just huffed, looking away from him.

"Before going, I have to inform aapi," I said and walked toward aapi’s room.

---

After informing aapi and convincing her about my decision, almost an hour later Muneeb and I left for my house.

All the way home, Muneeb tried to talk to me, but I remained silent because my mind kept replaying that voice I had heard from Maan’s phone at midnight.

Tears kept falling as I thought about him being with someone else, but I tried to control myself from sobbing aloud.

As we reached my home, Muneeb stopped the car and turned toward me, holding my hand.

"Please, princess, tell me what happened? You don’t look well," he asked with concern. I pulled my hand away, a tear escaping my eye.

"Hana… I’m always with you, you know that, right? If you have any problems, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I can’t see you in pain… please tell me what happened? Why are you crying?" Muneeb pleaded with so much concern that I gave him a small smile.

"Nothing! I’m fine, Muneeb… and even if I wasn’t, I am now… because I came back to my home, to my husband," I said with a smile.

Muneeb gave me a strange kind of smile, one I didn’t understand. I shrugged it off and stepped out of the car.

I directly went to Maan’s room. Thanks to Allah, no one was there to stop me.

As I opened the door, I saw Maan sitting on the bed with a girl.

Her back was facing me, so I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell she wasn’t Riya aapi or Fathima aapi. I saw Maan smiling at something, and my blood boiled seeing them together. Last night’s voice echoed in my mind.

"Maan!" I almost screamed to get his attention. His head snapped toward me. He looked shocked and surprised — but then his eyes lit up, and a smile curved on his lips.

"Hana!" he said and ran toward me.

"Oh God, Hanu! I’ve missed you so much," he said, hugging me tightly. But my eyes were fixed on that girl, who now turned toward us. She was a beautiful, young girl. She looked familiar, but I shrugged the thought and glared at her with anger and jealousy.

"Since morning I’ve been calling you, but your phone was switched off. Why? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming?" he asked as he pulled back. But my eyes were still glaring at that girl, who was standing there blankly.

"Hey," Maan cupped my face, making me look at him.

"Aren’t you happy that I came?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"Of course I’m happy! You don’t know how I spent this whole week… I missed you so much," he said, kissing my nose.

"I don’t think you missed me. You’ve had good company after all," I said through gritted teeth, glaring again at that girl.

Maan looked at me, then followed my gaze toward her.

"Oh… she’s—" Before he could finish, I cut him off.

"Your new girlfriend?" I asked, glaring at him.

"What? Are you crazy?" he asked, confused and shocked.

"You think I’m crazy? You were with her last night, and you’re saying I’m crazy?" I shouted in rage.

"Hana… it’s not like tha—" he tried to explain, but I didn’t let him complete.

"I know! She’s the one who picked up your phone last night at 12:45!" I suddenly yelled. He froze, looking at me in shock.

"Hana—"

I cut him off again.

"What were you doing with her at that time, Maan?! She’s here… it means she was at my home last night! How could you bring her here?!" I shouted, grabbing his collar. He stood still, his eyes wide.

"Hana, relax! Why are you shouting?!" he asked through gritted teeth, glaring at me as he freed his collar.

"Why am I shouting?" I asked in a low voice, tears streaming down my cheeks.

"My husband was with another woman last night — and you’re asking me why I’m shouting?!" I yelled in his face.

"Stop it, Hana!" he warned, but I couldn’t control my aggression.

"No, I won’t! And YOU!" I pointed a finger at that girl. "Get the hell out of my house! Right NOW!"

"Listen, Hana… you’re getting this all wrong. Last night we were just watching a movie, and I—" the girl tried to explain, but I cut her off.

"Movie? At midnight you were watching a movie with my husband? Don’t you have any shame—" I was saying when Maan suddenly grabbed my arms and forced me to look at him.

"Stop it! Stop it! I said stop it!" he yelled, making me flinch.

"She’s my friend. And last night, we were not alone! Fathima was with us! And she’s Nawaz bhai’s sister — ARIBA!" he said in one breath, staring into my eyes. Hearing that Fathima aapi was with them immediately calmed me inwardly.

"Fathima aapi was with both of you?" I asked to confirm. He nodded.

"Yes! And if you don’t believe me, then go and ask Fathu," he said, slightly pushing me away and storming out of the room.

"Maan!" I called after him, but he was already gone.

I looked at Ariba and saw her smirking. But as soon as she noticed me, she covered it with a pity look.

"You knew about my and Maan’s relationship?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Then why didn’t you tell me last night that you’re Ariba? I asked who you were, and you said you’re Maan’s friend. You could have told me you’re Nawaz bhai’s sister," I said, narrowing my eyes.

"But I wanted to introduce myself as his friend. Not only a friend — but a special friend," she said with a smirk, winking at me before walking out.

"It means she wanted to create misunderstanding between me and Maan," I mumbled, realizing she had succeeded. Maan was angry now.

I stood there crying, recalling Maan’s face when he first saw me — how happy he had been. But I hurt him. I shouted at him.

Guilt and regret consumed me. I sat on his bed, crying over my foolishness.

I should have talked to him first. But no — I just accused him.

Tears poured endlessly as the weight of my mistake crushed me.

---

Rumaan’s POV

I was shocked at her behavior. How could she act with me like that? She shouted at me! I had never seen that side of her. I always knew Hana was the jealous type who couldn’t bear me with any other woman, but she had never behaved that way before. So why now?

Because you give her too much importance, and now she thinks she has the right to shout at you.

My mind said, and I nodded.

“I’m not going to forgive you, Hana,” I mumbled in determination and pulled out my phone. I was sitting in the living room after walking out of my room.

Almost an hour later, someone sat beside me. I didn’t even need to look at the person to know who it was. Her fragrance was enough—my Hana.

But I wasn’t going to talk to her. I wasn’t even going to look at her. After all, I was angry. I shifted a little away on the couch, and she did the same.

“Maan,” she called softly, but I pretended I didn’t hear and focused on my mobile.

“Jaan-e-Hana,” she tried again with love this time, but still, I didn’t respond.

“Listen, I…” Before she could finish, Fathu came running in, yelling.

“Hana! Ya Allah, when did you come!?” she screamed and ran toward Hana. Hana stood up, and Fathu hugged her tightly.

“You know how much I needed you here… My wedding is in 15 days, and you weren’t with me!” Fathu pouted after pulling her back.

“But I am here now,” Hana said with a smile.

“I know! You came for me, for my wedding, right?” Fathu asked.

“Only for you,” Hana said, looking at me with a small smile.

My heart did a little flip, and a smile almost formed on my lips, but I quickly hid it.

Don’t forget, Rumaan, you’re angry. You’re not going to talk to her.

I reminded myself and stood up to leave. That girl was dangerous—only her smile was enough to make all my anger vanish.

---

At dinner, everyone sat at the dining table. Hana sat next to me, and every now and then she tried to hold my hand, but I didn’t let her.

After dinner, I went to the garden and sat on the swing, staring at the sky.

What did you do to me, Hana? Why did I miss you so much this past week? Why did I become the happiest man on earth when I saw you again? Why can’t I stay angry at you? Your smile, your pleading eyes—they make me forget everything and just want to hold you.

I was lost in thoughts of Hana when someone sat beside me. This time, I knew it wasn’t her. I turned my head and saw Ariba.

“What happened? You look disturbed,” she asked.

I shook my head.

“Rahem… you’re my friend. You know you can share anything with me,” she said, holding my hand.

“Nothing like that, Arib,” I replied.

“I know Hana shouldn’t have behaved with you like that…” she continued, but I cut her off.

“Ariba! This is between me and Hana. Stay out of it.” I pulled my hand away and walked inside.

I didn’t know why, but I had no interest in talking to her. My heart and mind wanted only one person.

Hana! Hana! Hana!

I sighed, stepped into my room, and closed the door behind me. I had barely taken two or three steps when I froze. Hana was sitting on my bed.

And just like that, all my anger vanished, replaced with the desperate desire to take her into my arms.

No! You’re angry, Rumaan. Don’t forget. Don’t let her affect you.

I steeled myself, walked toward her confidently, and asked with a straight face, “What are you doing here?”

“All day I tried to talk to you, but you, stubborn man, didn’t give me a chance… so I came here,” she said softly, walking toward me. My heart pounded faster as she stood in front of me and reached for my hand, but I immediately walked over to the sofa and sat there—ignoring her.

“I’m not interested in talking to you,” I said, pulling out my mobile.

“Maan, I know I shouldn’t have shouted at you. But tell me—after knowing that some strange girl picked up my husband’s call at 12:45 in the night, what else could I do? And it wasn’t just my fault, but yours too. You didn’t even tell me that Ariba and Nawaz bhai came here, even though we talked twice yesterday on the phone,” she said, ending with blame on me.

Wow. What else could I expect from a woman? And she wasn’t just any woman—she was my wife. Huh.

I didn’t reply. I just showed her I wasn’t listening, pretending to stay busy on my phone.

“I know you’re listening. Don’t act like you didn’t hear me,” she huffed.

“Yes, I heard. But I’m still not interested in talking to you,” I said, catching her movements from the corner of my eyes. She came closer and then sat on the floor in front of me.

“Sorry, Jaan-e-Hana… please forgive your Jaan-e-Maan,” she pleaded, holding her ears. Now I looked at her.

A minute ago, she made it seem like it was all my fault, and now she was begging for forgiveness. How quickly she changed her moods.

“No, I’m not going to forgive you,” I said and stubbornly focused back on my mobile. But I could see her smiling beneath my eyelashes.

She stood up, snatched my phone, and placed it on the side table. I looked up—she was smiling down at me.

No, Rumaan. Don’t look at her! It’s dangerous.

I turned my head away, but she placed her hands on my shoulders, gently pushed me back onto the couch, and straddled me. My heart skipped a beat at her bold move. My head snapped toward her.

“What are you doing?” I asked, staring at her wide-eyed.

“Showing my husband how sorry I am… asking for forgiveness,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me closer.

“I’m not going to forgive you, Hana. You—” My words froze when her eyes dropped to my lips and she leaned closer. I quickly turned my head to the side.

Please, let me stay angry at you for some time! I begged silently.

She kissed my cheek and asked, “Still angry?”

I didn’t trust my words, so I just nodded.

She kissed the other cheek, moved to my jaw, and whispered, “Abhi bhi angry? (Still angry?)”

“Haan, abhi bhi. (Yes, still),” I managed.

But this girl wasn’t going to let me stay angry even for a few more minutes. She moved to my neck, kissing me there, making my desires fight with my anger. I shut my eyes tightly, trying to control myself, but Hana didn’t stop. She kissed deeper, making my head fall back.

God, Hana! Stop it!

I screamed in my head. How much longer could I control myself?

“Ab bhi? (Still?)” she whispered in my ear, nibbling softly.

I stayed silent—until she began unbuttoning my shirt. My eyes shot open.

“Jaan, sorry,” she murmured against my skin, kissing my throat and collarbone, running her fingers over my bare chest.

That was it. I lost it.

“That’s it,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her closer.

“I’m not going to forgive you that easily. Now I’m going to punish you, Hana.”

And with that, I crushed my lips onto hers—angry at first, but within seconds it melted into a passionate kiss.

*********