TWENTY TWO

❝Wanna go wild in the wild, babe?❞

Aayan ruffled his raven hair before scratching the stubble on his jaw in irritation as he walked under the shadows of the trees on a similar path. He stole a glance at his wife from the corner of his eyes who was walking beside him and slightly squeezed her right hand to get her attention.

Ifrah snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him with a questioning expression.

“A penny for your thoughts.” he said.

She pursed her lips before focusing her attention back on the front. “Nothing.”

He waited for some seconds to hear more but that was it. Ifrah didn't say anything else and he frowned without probing her anymore.

It's been three days since he fell sick and Ifrah had been lost in some depressive world all along. She took care of him for those three days; making sure that he kept himself hydrated and forcing him to eat whatever fruit they could find even if he said that he didn't want any. When Aayan had started feeling better, he decided that they'd not return to the hut again when they'll start to look for a way out once again.

Ifrah had not been okay with it but when he explained the reason, she agreed.

“I guess one of the reason we can't get out is that we know there's a safe place for us to stay if we're not successful.” he had said. “When our minds would get the idea that we don't have any place to spend the night, we would automatically try harder instead of just trecking along the same path like we're on some fücking picnic. So, we're gonna make ourselves feel desperate because desperation can make you do anything; even if it means finding an exit to a damn forest.”

They were nearing the lake now and a bulb flashed on the top of Aayan's head before he stopped in his tracks and Ifrah stared at him with furrowed brows.

“What happened?” she asked. Her eyes widened when Aayan pulled her flush against him and tucked her hair behind her ear which had escaped from her ponytail.

“It's nothing... ” he murmured while resting his forehead against hers. “I just felt like admiring my wife.”

Ifrah was caught off by his sudden change in demeanor but his words brought a blush on her cheeks none the less.

“Okay.” she whispered before clearing her throat when she found him staring intensely at her lips. “So, you done?”

Aayan blinked and looked in her light hazel eyes. “What?”

“Are you done admiring?”

Is she for real?!

His eyebrow creased together in an adorable way before he shook his head.

“Nope. It will take some time, I'd advise you to be patient 'till I'm finished.” he said with a poker face.

Ifrah bit the inside of her cheek and focused her gaze on his jaw, because she couldn't look him in the eyes.

They made butterflies to appear in her stomach and due to some very absurd reason, she felt like she could tell exactly what was going in that head of his through those caramel orbs.

And it was not mentionable at all.

Aayan watched as she stood there completely quiet, seemingly lost in her thoughts. But when the blush on her cheeks intensified, he knew that she was thinking about him.

“What are you thinking, hmm?” he said with a light tease in his voice while skimming his lips along her left cheek. His heart did a huge flip when he felt her hands bunch his vest at the front and he snapped his eyes shut.

She's driving me crazy merely by her presence!

“Aayan,” she mumbled and her left shoulder raised slightly when he pressed a kiss right under her ear. “We should... uh... ”

He chuckled at her lost state but didn't move back.

“I'm listening, babe.”

Ifrah gulped when she felt his fingers dance across her waist like feathers and her grip on his vest tightened. Her brain was fogging up but she didn't give in and said;

“We should not waste any more time.”

Tingles shot up her spine when she felt his hot breath near her ear due to his sigh before he leaned back.

“Acha bhala mahol ban raha tha.” he complained, making her smile and his expression turned serious.

“I missed your smile.” he said.

Ifrah looked at him in surprise. “What— why?”

“You haven't smiled for three days.” he replied softly before his right hand went up to cup her cheek and he rubbed slow circles with his thumb on her skin. “Zalim ho tum bohat. Don't you know that I live for your smiles?” (You're very cruel.)

His tone was lighthearted but Ifrah still caught the thickness in his voice. She dared to glance in his eyes and her breath hitched.

He was actually sad.

She bit her bottom lip as her tear ducts started tingling again at the realization. She was so lost in her misery that she didn't notice she was worrying Aayan too.

“Don't, for the love of Allah, start crying. Please. It makes me feel helpless, Ifrah. I'm not even kidding.” he told her with frustration lacing his words and be stepped back from her while running an anxious hand through his hair.

Ifrah sucked in a staggered breath and quickly bobbed her head. “I-I'm not crying. There was just something in my eyes.” she tried to ease his mind.

A breathy chuckle escaped his full lips at her innocent try and he threw his head back to gaze at the sky. He looked back down when he felt her presence near him and found her tugging at his hand.

“Let's go.” she said, making him exhale slowly and he nodded his head.

Right when they were in front of the spot where the lake was present, he stopped and Ifrah stared at him in question for pausing once again.

Aayan's eyes were twinkling with mischief when he glanced at her and alarms went off inside Ifrah's brain.

“Wanna go wild in the wild, babe?” he asked while letting go of her hand and shrugging off his backpack. Ifrah's mouth dropped open.

“You can't be serious!” she exclaimed and watched with a shocked expression as her husband started removing his boots. “Aayan! You just recovered from a fever!”

The raven haired guy ignored her scolding tone before straightening up and moving closer to her figure. He grabbed her hand when she tried to step away and said with a wide smile;

“That's why we're gonna jump together. So that you can make sure my fever doesn't return.”

Ifrah was completely stunned at his words and Aayan took this opportunity to remove her bag from her shoulders in the blink of an eye. The chestnut haired girl was snapped out of her muddled mind when he crouched down and started removing her shoes and she jumped back with a screech.

“No!” she screamed. “I'll bang your head with a branch if you come near me, gadhay!”

Ah, she was back.

Aayan didn't let any emotion appear on his face as he lunged at his wife who let out a protesting shrill and threw her on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Ifrah felt the world spin as she landed upside down on his shoulder before punching his back.

“Help me!” she yelled in a mixed state of fear and aggravation while Aayan removed her shoes with a flick of his wrist.

“Oh I'll help you, alright. But only when it's something serious. Abhi tou tum meray sath he ho.” she could literally hear the smirk in his voice and her heart leapt to her throat when he started moving in the direction of the cliff.

“Tumhari laash niklay gi paani se agar tum ne koi harkat ki!” (Your dead body will emerge from the water if you try anything!)

“Noted.” he answered before setting her down on her feet and her arms immediately went to latch on his neck when she realized that she was standing at the very end of the edge.

Ifrah threw him a murderous glare. “Don't.” she warned. Her eyes seemed to focus in that moment and the poor girl found that he was not wearing his vest now.

Her mouth went dry.

Aayan barely kept his laugh concealed when he watched her wife's face changing colour and said;

“Don't what? We're just gonna have some fun, babe.” he said while wrapping his hands around her waist.

Panic settled in Ifrah's whole body and she practically glued herself to him while burying her face in the crook of his neck.

“I'll let you kiss me as many times as you want, Aayan. But please don't do this.”

She was smart.

His heart stuttered and he really changed his mind for a second but quickly shook his head.

“The offer is tempting but I know I'm gonna get them anyway. Meanwhile this? It's my only chance.”

He was really a broken tooth!

Aayan pressed a loud kiss at the side of her head before unwrapping her hands from around his neck and spinning her around so that she faced the cliff. Ifrah was holding his hands in a death grip and it made him give out a loud laugh.

“I'm right behind you, love. No need to be scared.”

Love. He called her love. Out of all the moments he could find in life, he chose this stupid moment to use that endearment and the worst part was that her heart fluttered because of it!

“Why are you doing this to me?” she finally whispered in a broken voice. “You know I'm scared of heights... ”

Aayan moved his head to her right ear from behind and mumbled; “That's the reason. I don't want you to be scared of this stuff, Ifrah. Because I'm planning on taking you to a world tour after we get out of here and we're gonna do a lot of stuff which is the same as this. Would you like it if I go bungee jumping with a woman from another country only because my own wife can't enjoy it with me?”

He knew his trick worked because Ifrah snapped her head to the right to give him a glare. “What did you just say?”

He just shrugged.

Ifrah let go of his hands in fury before swiping the hair out of her eyes. Aayan bit his bottom lip to stop laughing at her new-found courage and waited for her to take a leap. When he realized that her fear was coming back by the way she was leaning over slightly to gaze down at the lake, he rolled his eyes before giving her back a light push.

A blood curdling scream left Ifrah's mouth as the ground beneath her feet disappeared and she found herself falling down the cliff. It was a luck that she held her breath right before she hit the water or else her lungs would've been filled like water balloons. She emerged out of the water, gasping for air before looking up at the top where her husband was dying of laughter.

“Ullu ke pathay!” she screamed before falling into a coughing fit. Aayan wiped his eyes after sobering up and rubbed his hands while grinning devilishly.

“HERE I COME, BABY!”

Ifrah's eyes widened when he dived like an expert and a wave engulfed her when he landed with a loud splash.

She was rubbing the water out of her eyes when he came up in front of her and shook his head to swat the hair from his eyes. Ifrah's heart was beating dangerously fast when she caught sight of him and he threw her a wolfish grin.

“How was it then?” he asked while swimming closer. His wife gave him a look which said 'you're-gonna-get-murdered-today' and he chuckled.

“Your screams of fear were adorable, not gonna lie.” he said when she didn't reply.

Ifrah narrowed her eyes without answering. But blushed a deep shade of red when she felt his arms snake around her waist under the water and he moved his face close to hers with a smirk.

“Are you mad?” he asked with a small pout, making her lips twitch but she maintained her resolve.

“I'm going out.” she stated before wiggling out of his hold but he only pulled her closer.

“Are you feeling better now?”

His question left her surprised and then the whole thing made sense all of a sudden. He had actually done this to take her mind off of the depressing things she'd been thinking and her chest tightened.

Aayan Abdullah was a gem. More importantly, he was her gem, and she felt bad for insulting him now. He was only trying to lighten her mood as always.

The caramel eyed man cursed when tears started rolling down her cheeks and she quickly ducked her head to hide them.

“I'm not crying!” she exclaimed. “I think this lake water has done something to my eyes.”

His expression softened and he grabbed her face to make her look at him.

“Acha? Let me see what's wrong.” he played along and wiped her face while staring intensely like he was actually looking for something. He smiled after some moments and said;

“Nothing serious.”

“Oh.” was all that she managed to let out.

Her breathing stopped when he leaned forward to press his lips on her forehead before moving back. Ifrah was in a daze and she didn't see the mischievous smile he threw at her before a sudden splash of water hit her in the face.

Her jaw went slack and she blinked rapidly while his husband's annoying voice reached her ears.

“Water fight!”

Ifrah ducked in time to save herself before returning the favor and laughed out loud when Aayan spluttered some water out of his mouth. He narrowed his eyes afterwards and her own widened when she realized that she'd declared war. Well, what a surprise! She was ready for it.

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N O T E

Maza aya phir?

Kal wala chapter zra dark ho gya tha so here's a lighthearted one ;)

P.s I'm adding this to my fave list 😌

You guys are precious ✨

Have a blessed day ❤