●3●

"Come in."

He couldn't stop smiling after he came back to his room and sat on the couch waiting for her eagerly. The door knocked after ten-minutes of waiting and he hurriedly opened his laptop trying to appear busy and told her to come inside.

He was trying to keep on a serious face but he was all giddy inside. She came in and put the coffee mug on the table infront of him. He looked up and was about to tell her to sit with him but stopped midway.

"Yahan aa kr- Affi?! What are you doing here?" He questioned her with furrowed eyebrows, shocked and disappointed to see his sister instead of his wife.

"I came here to give you coffee, Bhai." She said with an overly sweet smile.

Fariah had gone to her room and literally begged her to take the coffee to her brother's room. Afeefah told her to take it herself to her husband with a teasing smile but agreed in the end after sensing her disomfort. She told Fariah that Haider must have wanted to talk to her that's why he asked her to come to his room but Fariah told her that she is not ready yet. Afeefah wanted her Bhai and Bhabhi to get close and sort out their differences but she also understood Fariah's reluctance.

"Were you expecting someone else?" She teased her brother with wiggling eyebrows.

"Uh-Wo...no I wasn't. Thanks for the coffee." He said turning back to his laptop with a scowl.

"Well, you should thank your wife for it." She noticed the pink hue rising from his neck to his ears as she prolonged the 'your wife' and laughed loudly.

"But no problem. I'll tell Farri Bhabhi you were saying thankyou." She said winking at him and left the room. He didn't know why but hearing someone refer to Fariah by his accordance made him happy. Really happy.

He smiled at his own thoughts and decided to leave his timid wife alone for now. He had intimidated her enough for today, he thought with a smirk. An idea clicked in his mind and he took out his phone to make a few calls.

~

Everyone was having breakfast on the dining table. Surprisingly Haider , who usually has gone to his office by now, was also present at the table when the door bell rang. Fariah got up to see who came so early in the morning when Haider asked her to complete her breakfast and went to take the door.

Fariah was going to escape him as soon as she had set the breakfast table but Haider asked her where she was going and then told her to sit down and have breakfast when she didn't answer him.

Haider came back to the dining hall with a woman behind him. The woman was dressed in plain maroon shalwar kameez with a black dupatta wrapped around her. Haider came towards the table and picked up his keys and phone then turned to his mother.

"Ammi, this is Maina. She's our new house help. Please show her around how the things work and all." His mother looked at him with wide-eyes and said in a low voice so the woman standing at the door wouldn't hear them.

"Haider, you already know that I don't like the work maids do. They don't do it with safayi."

"If you don't like her work then I'll ask the agecency to send a replacement but we need house help, Ammi. I don't want my women working all day when I can provide them comfort." Rahima and Afeefah elbowed Fariah lightly and she blushed because everyone knew whom he was referring to. His mother didn't say anything else due to his stern expressions and he left for office after bidding them 'Khuda Hafiz'.

"Farri, please show her all the work. I am going to Sidra Apa's house, she wasn't feeling well." Salma asked Fariah who was collecting the dishes from the table.

"Ammi, I'll tell her all the work. Maina Baji, please take these plates to the kitchen and start washing them. I'll bring the rest." Rahima took the plates Fariah was carrying and handed them to Maina who nodded and left with Afeefah to the kitchen. Rahima knew Fariah wouldn't ask Maina to do much work and still do everything on her own so she took it upon herself to show her the work.

"Rahima, I'll do the dishes and show her the work. Don't you have classes today?" She said trying to stop Rahima who was clearing the table.

"Nope. I don't have any classes today." She took the rest of the plates and went to the kitchen with Fariah following her.

"Yeh mai kr deti hun." (Let me do this.) Fariah went towards the sink where Maina was washing the dishes.

"No, no, no." Rahima pulled her back and turned Fariah to face her. "You missy are not touching any work today. Look how rough your hands have become. And sorry but your eyebrows need to plucked." She grimraced at Fariah's unkept form. "I've called the salon. The beauticians will be arriving in an hour or two. I would have taken you to the salon but I know you don't like crowds and all so I called them here. Go take a long shower and change into something comfortable." She instructed in a no non-sense tone and Fariah could see the resemblance between her and her brother.

"Yayy! I officially announce a girly spa day!" Afeefah squealed loudly making the others chuckle.

"I don't think it's necessary...-" Fariah was still trying to protest but Rahima cut her off.

"Good thing I didn't ask for your opinion then. Now, start moving your butt or I'll have to drag you." She said with saccharine smile and squinted eyes and Fariah accepted her defeat.

~

It was hell. No, it was worse than hell. They made her do painful threading and waxing-even the places she didn't know were supposed to waxed- and she couldn't stop her screams.

The beautician commented, "First times always hurt." and the ladies obnoxiously laughed at that. Fariah couldn't stop the embarrassed blush that creeped up her cheeks when she understood the double-meaning. The torture was finally over and she had relaxing facials, manicure and pedicure. The beautician commented that how well-kept her long nails were and Fariah happily told them all the totkays she did as she loved long nails and wanted to have them. She also threw a fit when Afeefah asked her to have a haircut because she didn't want to shorten her hair. At the end she agreed to trim her hair and have side bangs. The beauticians washed her hair with their products and blow dried them.

She was shocked when she looked at herself in the mirror. She was actually looking pretty. The bangs framed her face very nicely and her skin was glowing. She felt as good as new with all the relaxing treatments and profusely thanked the ladies.

Rahima payed the beauticians a hefty amount and they left. Fariah felt very guilty that Rahima had to pay such a large amount for her. Well, Afeefah and Rahima also had a few things done but the majority of it was for Fariah. She didn't want to take favours like that.

"Rahima...You shouldn't have done all this. It costed you so much. I don't know how to thank you." Fariah said looking at Rahima's hands. They were all sitting in her room as Maina had left for the room assigned to her to rest as all the work was done.

"Oye, don't give me that look. I did you no favour. Sisters don't do each other favours. And about the money, I took it from Bhai so you can thank him. I can even suggest a few ways." She suggestively winked at her and Fariah threw a potato chip on her which Rahima caught and simply put it in her mouth making them both laugh.

~

It was quite late now. The elders had gone to sleep and Maina went back to her home in the evening. The younger ones were watching a movie in the lounge when Haider came back. His work load had been increasing ever since he was promoted to the Managing Head in the company. He had to stay back late today as he was working on an assignment with his team.

He was surprised to see Fariah sitting on the floor with his siblings giggling at Ayyan's mimicry of the male lead of the movie. He didn't want to admit but he was getting jealous of his own siblings. His wife seemed to be so comfortable and all smiles around them whereas she didn't even bother to have a conversation with him. He tiredly sat on the couch, throwing his suit jacket beside him.

"Bhai, did you have dinner?" Rahima asked him after giving him a glass of water.

"No, I am very hungry." He said putting a hand over his flat stomach. He could feel the zoo having a dance party inside his stomach. It surely sounded like that with all the grumbling it was doing.

"You go and get fresh. We'll set out the table."

"You guys haven't eaten yet?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Oh, we have but...-" Rahima replied and then slightly turned to look at Fariah. "-someone didn't want to have dinner as they weren't much hungry." Before Haider could respond, Fariah escaped to the kitchen.

He just shook his head at her antics and went to his room. He came back to the living room after taking a quick shower and changing into some track pants and a t-shirt and found his siblings bickering about something.

"Bhai! Ap aa bhi gaye. Farri Api is setting your food in the kitchen." Afeefah said when he noticed his brother's presence and pinched the other two to shut up.

"The movie ended?" He asked them looking at the blank T.V screen.

"No, we were actually going to bed." Rahima replied him.

"Oh God, I'm so sleepy. 'Night peeps!" Afeefah said with-quite an obvious fake- yawn and left to her room.

"Yeah, I'm sleepy too." Rahima followed her lead and was about to leave rubbing her eyes, pretending to be sleepy, when she noticed Ayyan was still standing there with a stupid grin on his face.

"Ayyan, you were going to bed na." When he still didn't come out of his phase, she pinched her side and he understood her meaning.

"Ouch! Yes, yes. Good night." They both left towards their respective rooms and Haider just stood their dumb-founded. What the hell was that? His grumbling stomach reminded him that his dinner is waiting.

He went there and his wife was filling a glass of water. He sat down and she put the glass beside his plate and was about to leave when he stoped her by grabbing her hand.

"Sit with me." She wanted to deny him but his ashy gaze held her captive. She quitely sat down on the chair beside him and kept her gaze fixed on her hands. She got startled and held his arm when he pulled her chair towards him so she was sitting closer to him. He put a morsel near her mouth and she looked at it with wide eyes like it was an alien.

"You didn't have dinner. Eat." He said as if him feeding her like this was the most obvious thing in the world.

She tried to take the morsel from his hand but he grabbed her wrist with his other hand.

"Open your mouth, Fariah." He comanded. She blushed deeply and opened her mouth. He fed her the morsel and then took one for himself. After that they both ate dinner from the same plate, her wrist still in his hold but he let her eat with her own hand as he didn't want to scare her. She was looking different today, more radiant. She seemed to be glowing. She was even wearing a light lipstick.

After they both finished, she took the plates to the sink and started washing them. He stood beside her and kept the plates in the cabinets after drying them with a kitchen towel. He wanted to talk to her, but more than that, he wanted her to talk to him. He turned around to go back to his room but a soft meek voice made him halt in his steps.

"Sunain." (Listen.)

"Han?" (Yes?) He turned to her and said with raised eyebrows trying his best to stop the giddy smile.

"You shouldn't have hired a maid." She said something she wanted to tell him all day.

"And why is that?" He said taking a step forward.

"I-uh- I could easily do the work on my own and...and...." She was losing the confidence she had mustered up. It was not easy to stand his burning gaze.

"Fariah, you're not a slave. You are not supposed to do all the work that too alone." He said tugging her towards him by her arms as he leaned on the table.

"I am fine with doing the work. That is the least I could for all the favours your family is doing me." She said, her eyes set on the shirt streched over his chest.

"But I am not fine with my wife tiring herself like that. Or rahi baat favours ki. None of us has done you any favour. Tum is ghar ki bahu ho. Meri biwi ho. Tumhara khayal rakhna meri or meri family ku zimedari hai." (...And what you said about favours...You are their daughter-in-law. You are my wife. It is my as well as their responsibility to take care of you.)

"And Fariah," he took a pause,"next time when I ask you to come to my room, you come to my room. Understood?"

Oh shit, he remembers! She thought with a grimrace.

"Jee."(Yes.) She nodded her head still looking down with burning cheeks.

He lifted her chin upwards and gazed in her eyes. "Now go before I bite your yummy-looking cheeks." He said with a playful smirk and she ran to her room, her dupatta flowing behind her.

Author's Note

Hello lovelies!

I am so glad I got such a huge response from you guys. I am lovin' it.😂😉

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~Author. ❤