BONUS (part 1)

Reminder: Pray pray pray.

Ahan's PoV:

"What do you think?"

I hummed in response, completely clueless of the question that Ayan threw in my direction. Or maybe it was Arhaan. Damn, I was distracted.I took a glance at the source of the voice to confirm and saw Arhaan frowning at me.

"Why are you so distracted?" He questioned. Beside him, Ayan chuckled and received a glare from me. "What?" Arhaan's confusion grew deeper as he failed to understand what was happening.

"Leave it brother," Ayan patted Arhaan's back, "Ahan Bhai is a gone case now." This brat…

We were currently seated in the living room of our Mom's place. It was her birthday so we had decided to have a family dinner, for which Ashiya was baking in the kitchen.

I could see her, dressed in a simple lavender kurta with a purple hijab and white trousers. She looked engrossed, her eyebrows furrowed as she examined the thickness of the batter that was going to be used for the cake. Her lips were formed in a pout, looking as kissable as ever, making me curl and uncurl my fingers unknowingly.

I gave Ayan a tight lipped smile before getting up from the couch and walking up to him only to flick his forehead and make him wince in pain. "Ow!" He yelled dramatically even though the blow hadn't been that hard.

I returned to my seat and continued to torture myself by ogling my wife from afar. She was breathtaking. Everything about her was enticing. The way her long eyelashes hovered her cheeks as she kept her focus on her work, the way the colour of her dress complimented her skin, and how her hands moved elegantly everytime she grabbed a container or adjusted her hijab. And every other minute thing. Every freaking feature of hers was enough for my undoing.

Ashiya looked around the kitchen counter and reached out to get the jug of water. She realised that it was too far so she bent a little, her stomach going flat against the wood and making her derriere look more inviting than it already was. Ya Allah...

"You guys are so childish," Arhaan commented. I then felt him tapping my shoulder and as much as I didn't want to look away from my beautiful zawja, I did because I knew Arhaan wasn't the one to bother me for no reason. He must have had something serious or important to discuss.

"Hmm?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I'm sorry for the disturbance but I really need to discuss something with you," he smiled apologetically at me to which I nodded, signalling him to go on. "You see, our advertising team has become huge and they're really good so the idea of firing the extras doesn't count. Miss Tahira, the head of the team, says that it's becoming difficult for her to manage the entire team on her own."

I nodded again. "Then we divide them into two groups," I suggested.

"Yes, about that, I wanted to recommend Maya's name. Maya Varma, the one from Harvard, you remember? She has been with us for a couple of years and her career graph is impressive. If you permit me, then I'll–"

"Arhaan," I interrupted his speech, "If you think she's good, make her the leader. You're not a kid and I trust your judgement." Arhaan looked a bit taken aback. "And you don't need my permission for anything. You shouldn't. I'm not your employer. We're brothers and partners in business. So take whatever decision that seems correct to you and I'll have your back."

Arhaan was a smart guy. I had known that he'd be of great help if he joined me in business but that guy exceeded my expectations. Initially, he had just wanted to assist me in finance but gradually, with his level of intelligence and hardwork, he became my equal. At least that's what I considered. He, on the other hand, insisted on being called my right hand to which I simply refused.

"This girl, Maya," Ayan spoke curiously after hearing our conversation, "is she pretty?" I shot him an unimpressed glare to which he smiled sheepishly. "Chill," he raised his hands in defence when he sensed the sudden change in the air, "I'm just kidding."

"Padhayi dhyan de,"  Arhaan flicked his forehead just like I had, making him groan in irritation as we laughed. Teasing your baby sibling is always fun…

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"This cake is delicious," Mom praised Ashiya who smiled modestly in return. "You are truly multi-talented, Masha Allah."

"Jazak Allah, I'm glad it turned out be good, given that I am not really habituated to cook fancy stuff," Ashiya chuckled. The cake she baked was indeed tasty. And although I wasn't someone with a sweet tooth, I liked how the dessert wasn't too heavy for my taste buds.

"It's surprising to see Ahan eating something sweet," Mom teased me to which I remained silent. My brothers, however, found it funny and started giving me mischievous looks.

Ashiya nodded beside me, "I know right. I wonder how he manages to stay content with the kind of food he eats. I'm sure his taste buds have become useless by now." Her words caused everyone to erupt in laughter and me to narrow my eyes at her. "But it's a blessing in disguise, you know. I get to eat all the good food in the house while this guy suffices his stomach with veggies." The chortling continued and I decided that I had had enough. She needs to be taught a lesson.

Ashiya opened her mouth to let more savagery out but stopped immediately as I placed my hand on her thigh, extremely close to her core. There, now who's the boss?

She threw a cautious glance in my direction, probably to warn me but I ignored her. She tried to displace my hand but I didn't budge, making her restless.

In front of us, Ayan began to talk about his college and everyone got engaged in it, leaving us with our own little fight.

I started massaging her thigh, moving my hand sensually that made her clutch my wrist in order to halt my movement but I was in no mood to budge. I smirked at her and her scared eyes pleaded with me as she signalled towards our family. I, in turn, shrugged and ignored her.

I kept myself indulged in the conversation in front, not letting anybody know what was happening between me and my wife. The idea of doing something mischievous like this was so deliciously inviting that I dived right into it.

Suddenly, I felt something sharp on my thumb and realised that it was Ashiya digging her nails into my skin. The pain made me pull my hand back to my side and I clenched my jaw in annoyance. This minx…I turned my face in her direction and saw her smiling in triumph. I licked my lower lip and saw her gaze falling on it. The tension between us was growing thicker with each passing second.

Suddenly, an idea popped up in my mind and I smiled sweetly at her. It was time to show her who was the real boss in this game.

"I'm not feeling well," I turned to Mom in order to grab her attention.

"What happened?" She shot me worried look and stood up to touch my forehead with the back of her hand. "Your body temperature seems normal."

"It's my head, I'm getting a headache."

Mom nodded and advised me to go and take a rest in the bedroom. We were anyway going to stay the night there so it wasn't like we were in a hurry to leave. "There's a box of medicines in your room," she added.

"I don't know if I'd be able to find them," I lied and turned to my wife, "can you help me?" Now was the time to take advantage of my wife's profession.

Ashiya blinked at me before getting up. "Sure."

The conversation at the dining table resumed from where it left as Ashiya and I made our way to our bedroom. Once inside, I wasted no time in locking the door and pinning the little minx against it as I pressed my chest over hers.

"What are you…" her words died as my piercing eyes found her lips, and gave it a long and hard stare before meeting her startled gaze. "I thought you had a headache," her voice came out meek and low.

"You think you're the only one who knows how to play," I challenged her as my fingers quickly got rid of her hijab from her head, revealing her brown hair that was trapped in a loose bun. Dipping my head in the crook of her, I inhaled her fragrance that was a mixture of water lilies and vanilla.

Her fingers found my hair and she fisted them, making me bite the mole near her collarbone. She hissed in pain and I immediately licked the spot to ease her discomfort, causing her to let out a light moan.

"Not so fiesty now, are we?" I smirked against her ear and kissed it. "I don't remember you being so quiet when we were outside with our family."

She wriggled under my touch as my hand sneaked inside her kurta to pinch her waist. Her smooth skin felt warm and soft against my roughness.

"We can't," she tried to push me only to sigh in defeat as I continued to shower kisses from her neck to her chin. When my lips pecked hers, her eyes widened as she grabbed my face to make me hear her words. "We can't do it here, Ahan."

"Why not?" I leaned in but she put her index finger in between our lips.

"Because it's not right. There are some etiquettes that need to be followed," she whined like a cat. A sexy cat for sure…

"Screw the etiquettes, I'm taking you right here, right now."

My mouth found hers like a lion attacking its prey and soon she collapsed submissively in my hold, causing me to hum in appreciation. I bit her lip and explored her inside, dominating her the way we both liked as she clutched my shirt tightly. It felt like a declaration of power, of control in which I showed her that she belonged to me. All of hers to all of me. Completely and incandescently.

Everyday the passion in our marriage seemed to be only growing. Her cheerful persona served as the music for my quietude. Her never-ending tales about random stuff only added to the already adorable nature of hers and I never wished to silence her words. To silence her sweet chaos. Except...

“Slow dow- Oh!” She breathed heavily as I pinched her. This. This was the only time, the only moment that I loved to make her speechless. With my hands, my mouth, and my love.

I continued to devour her against the door and was about to lift her up when she suddenly bit my thumb that I had placed on her lips to caress them.

I pulled back a little and saw her panting hard. Her big eyes looked at mine with innocence as she uttered, “Can we stop for a minute? I need to catch my breath.”

“Of course,” I kissed her cheek and backed off. Turning around I walked to the table in the room to fetch a water bottle for her. As I looked back, my mouth dropped in shock when I saw her unlocking the door.

“Don't you dar-”

I jumped to stop her but she escaped. She freaking escaped, leaving me in desperation and high sexual frustration that only made me angry as I dropped myself on the bed and groaned.

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Ashiya’s PoV:

Ahan was being adamant. He refused to even look at me as I sat in front of him, explaining to him why I did what I did.

“At least spare a glance at me,” I tried again only to be met with silence.

We were presently in our bed. Ahan was half lying with his back against the headboard, using his phone and surfing through his social media as I sat beside him. I moved closer and placed my chin on his shoulder. He didn't react.

“Ahan,” I let out the sweetest tone that I could manage, “please don't be angry. I just didn't want our family to…you know…think that…”

“That what?” He locked his phone and put it down but still kept his focus ahead on the wall. “You didn't want them to know that you were being intimate with your own lawful husband? Why is that?”

This was the first time I was seeing this side of him. It was clear from his voice that he was mad but he still kept his tone in check. He sounded…disappointed.

“I was just…embarrassed.”

At that, he finally gazed at me and boy did it make every hair on my skin stand in anxiety. He gave me a long and hard stare, like he was studying me and judging me. Hard.

“So you're embarrassed of our intimacy?”

What?

Where did that come from?

“No,” I quickly responded as I sat up straight. “Why would you think like that?”

He tilted his head, “I don't know. Maybe it's because you ran away when we were just about to have sex.”

“No we weren't,” I argued.

“Are you trying to say that I was forcing you?”

“Don't put words in my mouth!” I exclaimed.

I was agitated and I'm sure I was now looking like a volcano. It was annoying already that the argument made me raise my voice but what added more fuel to the fire was the fact that Ahan remained absolutely calm.

At least his posture and vocals did because he was now eyeing me with an expressionless face and his tongue poked the inside of his cheek.

“You know what,” his jaw moved as he resembled a stone.

“What?” I barked. Okay, I needed to tame myself and not get disrespectful. But before I could do the damage control, Ahan decided to speak again.

“We're done with this conversation,” he declared and turned his back to me, going to sleep on his side, as I was left vexed.

I swallowed the bitter words that threatened to escape. Instead, I pressed my lips in a thin line. “Fine,” I shrugged even though I knew he couldn't see me.

That night, the bed felt like it was made of thorns. I could hear Ahan tossing and turning and at one point I even expected him to give up and approach me.

But he didn't.

And neither did I. I fell asleep only after Fajr as Ahan left with his brothers to go and pray in the mosque. Even in my slumber, I dreamt of kisses and hugs and sweet cuddles that I unknowingly craved. My subconscious shook her head at me, accusing me and making me realise one thing…

I shouldn't have run away.

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Zawja: wife

"Padhayi dhyan de" : Focus on your studies

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Helllooooo

This was a little surprise for my beautiful readers. The purpose of writing this bonus chapter is to shatter the notion of a "perfect hero" and a "perfect heroine" that Ahan and Ashiya are perceived to be.

Of course I want you guys to love them but it is also important to show them in a realistic way. None of the protagonists or the side characters in this story are perfect. They all have their flaws. Ahan and Ashiya's marriage, like every other marriage, isn't flawless too. It is their efforts and their willingness to stick with each other that makes them ideal.

Okay, enough of my gyaan. Don't take me too seriously because it's of no use. Haha.

The second part of the bonus chapter will be posted soon. Till then...bbbyeee.