TWENTY FIVE

❝Listen here, you basket case❞

Both of them were running like crazy along the thick trees. Well, more like Aayan was running while dragging a huffing and puffing Ifrah behind him. She hadn't heard the sound and it made her think that maybe her husband was blessed with heightened senses. Because he smelled those bananas that day from so far and now he heard the sound of ocean waves.

That, or Ifrah was just deaf.

“Are you sure,” she took in a deep breath while trying to keep up with his run. “That you heard right?”

“Of course!” he shot back, not really caring that he was extra loud.

His eyes widened when he saw the trees ending at the end of the path they were running on and he let out an excited hoot. Ifrah wanted to show her own happiness too, but she was already occupied with swallowing as much air as she could to not faint right then and there due to the pounding of her feet against the dirt.

I will start exercising the moment I'm off this island.

Motivation ki had tkk kafi hai ye khyal.

(The thought is nice for motivation only.)

Her inner voice said in a mean tone and she scowled. Ifrah was brought out of her thoughts when Aayan abruptly let go of her hand and ran out on the sand with his arms spread wide.

“Azaadi!” he yelled out to the sky before breaking into a laugh. Ifrah was panting like she'd just experienced an asthma attack while hunching down to put her hands on her knees. A gasp left her when she was suddenly pulled into her husband's arms and he started twirling her around.

“We made it out, babe!” his happiness had no bounds at the moment.

Unfortunately his wife couldn't share it with him.

Ifrah's head spun as her breath got knocked out of her and she jammed her fists on Aayan's shoulders.

“Let me go! Or— ” she covered her mouth as a wave of nausea hit her and Aayan dropped her like he was electrocuted. She landed on her behind with an 'oof' and he immediately went to her side.

“Shït. You okay?” he asked frantically.

Ifrah wanted to smack his head with a rock for asking such a stupid question and dropping her like that but she focused on her breathing first. After some moments, she was feeling better, and the first thing she did was smacking Aayan on his shoulder with a glare.

“Ow!” he exclaimed while rubbing the sore spot. He didn't have to frown for long because the very next second she threw her arms around his neck with a squeal and he lost his balance, making both of them land on the ground with Ifrah on top of him.

“We're out of that stupid forest!” she said before letting out another squeal in the crook of his neck and he chuckled while wrapping an arm around her waist.

She was so random but adorable.

“Yep.” he replied as he kissed the top of her head and heard her sigh in return.

“My eyes are burning with stupid tears of happiness.” she told him with a sniffle and his heart soared.

“Let them out, then. I only have problem with tears of sadness.”

Ifrah let out a breathy chuckle at his statement and he hugged her close with an exhale and shut his eyes.

For the first time in his life, Aayan knew what true contentment meant.

They both kept lying there on the sand with the sound of waves as background music calming their nerves. Now the only worry was they have to wait for someone to arrive.

Ifrah pulled out of his arms after some minutes before standing up straight and looked down at her husband who was still sprawled on the ground with his eyes closed.

“Aayan?” she called.

“Mhm?”

“What... ”

Her voice trailed off when something at the distance caught her eyes and her breath hitched. Ifrah's eyes widened all of a sudden before she crouched down to shake her husband like a mad woman.

“Aayan! There's a boat!”

He immediately jumped up on his feet while staring at her. “You kidding?” he asked in disbelief.

Ifrah clenched her jaw and grabbed his to turn it in the other direction. Aayan couldn't believe it, there was actually a boat on the same shore but it was so far that it looked like a button from where they were standing.

“What the fück are we waiting for?” he grabbed Ifrah's hand before breaking into a sprint. “Run.”

Oh God, not again!

It was the last thought which appeared in the chestnut haired girl's mind before her focus went to keeping her breath in check.

“Can't believe that the day we got out is the same day when we found a boat!” he shook his head with a smile while skipping over the rocks present in the way.

Poor Ifrah was barely dodging the stupid stones while running as fast as she could. When they were a little closer, Aayan realized that there were some people on the shore too.

But the thing which made him curse was that they were moving back to the boat as if they were returning after searching the area.

“Fück. Ifrah,” he called. “We have to run faster.”

“As if we aren't already!” she snapped.

Aayan paused all of a sudden before looking at her. She hated how he was not even feeling breathless.

“Are you alright?” he asked her. She took in some deep breaths before answering.

“Yeah,” she gulped. “You run over. I'm following.”

“But— ”

“For heaven's sake, run Aayan! Or we'd be stuck here forever!”

He passed her one last worried glance before complying and dashed in the direction of the boat. Ifrah collected her breath for some seconds before following after him in her own pace. She was soon right behind him, with just a difference five or six steps.

“They're leaving!” Aayan's voice held panic. “We have to grab their attention.”

Ifrah could hear her heart pounding in her ears as the horrible thoughts of the boat leaving without them once again emerged in her mind and she hastily tried to fill it with positive images.

“I have an idea,” his voice came after he had rummaged his brain. “We have to pull off our shirts.”

“WHAT?!” she screamed, horrified.

“Not you! Just me!” he practically growled. “Don't you dare pull off yours!”

“Tumhara dimag thikanay hai?! Why would I?!” (Is your brain in the right place?!) she asked in utter disbelief. All this running was messing with his head, she thought.

“Stop talking, babe!” he shot at her before expertly pulling off his vest, still running, and his wife's eyes widened like saucers. But an uncontrollable laughter escaped her lips the very next moment when she saw him waving it at the top of his head like a helicopter's wings.

“Oh my God!” she was laughing like a maniac by now but Aayan's only worry was to stop the boat. She knew she shouldn't be cackling in the current situation but the sight was beyond hilarious.

“I can't— ” her stomach started hurting and she stopped mid run, clutching it tightly. She was wheezing now.

To Aayan's immense luck, one of the men noticed the half naked male running along the shore while waving his vest like a lunatic and his eyes widened. He immediately told his fellows to stop boarding the liveaboard and go to him.

The raven haired guy came to a halt when he saw that the people have noticed them and he settled on the sand knee-first while gathering his breath. His head whipped around to look for Ifrah and panic rose in his chest when he didn't find her behind him. He shot up to his feet.

“Ifrah?!” he yelled out her name and was going to run back when the men caught up to him.

“Sir, are you alright?” one of them asked as he tried to grab his shoulder but Aayan shrugged it off.

“My wife— ” his words died in his throat when Ifrah appeared out from behind the large stone and he quickly went to gather her in his arms.

“You scared the shït out of me!” he breathed while crushing her to himself and she giggled, making him pull back to frown at her.

“What the fück are you laughing for?”

She didn't reply. Just pressed a kiss on his jaw like the night before; completely catching him off guard.

“Ahem.”

Someone cleared their throat and she sprung out of his arms with wide eyes before staring at the group of men standing some feet away from them. They were a total of five, and colour rose to her cheeks when she realized that they had watched her kiss Aayan.

Can a shark please come and swallow me alive?

Her husband saved her from further embarrassment when he turned around to face the guys.

“We were stranded here.” he told them and they passed each other knowing looks. It was the moment when Aayan noticed that they were wearing black uniforms and his eyebrows creased together in question.

“Sir,” one of them stepped forward and started in a polite tone. “Let's go to the boat and then we'll discuss everything.”

Aayan nodded his head before grabbing Ifrah's hand and they both followed them to the boat.

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Once they reached there, some more men came out from the boat with water bottles and two foldable chairs. Aayan gave the man a thankul nod and was going to take a seat but a familiar face caught his eye and he froze.

Anger pulsed through his veins as he let go of the chair and lunged at the unsuspecting guy to land a firm blow straight at his nose. A cracking sound came afterwards, along with Ifrah's scream as she hurried over to him.

“Aayan!” she yelled but he was only seeing red.

“You worthless piece of shït!” he growled while pulling the man from his collar. “What kind of guide you are who left his tourists to rot on an island for two weeks?!”

The men in uniform were trying to pry his hands away from the guide and they were successful but Aayan's glare was still focused on him.

“You were the irresponsible one who went wandering into the forest!” the guy shot back while clutching his bleeding nose.

“And I'm not gonna deny my mistake, you idiot! The point here is that you didn't even count the passengers before running off like a scared dog! If you had, you would've at least stopped for a while! We watched when the boat left the shore just as the storm appeared. We could've given you a sign if you'd stopped.”

The tour guide snapped his mouth shut. Aayan let out a scoff before shrugging his arms out from the men's hold. He turned around to go to Ifrah who was watching him with wide eyes but a sudden thought stopped him and he whipped back to say;

“And don't you ever dare to look at my wife again, even if it's a short glance by mistake, you hear me? I'm gonna kill you if you do.” he threatened him with a murderous tone and went back to Ifrah.

“Why did you do that?” she asked him in an accusing tone when he neared her and Aayan narrowed his eyes.

“Abhi tou kuch kia he nahi mein ne, banday thy bohat roknay walay. Sirf naak torri hai.” he replied without any hint of shame, making her jaw go slack.

“He could've hit you back.”

Aayan grinned at that. “Aw, your husband is a lot stronger than that piece of dirt, babe.”

“Shut up.”

He was going to say something when one of the men came to them and said;

“My name is Dylan, I'm the head of this group. And I'd like to have a word with the lady.”

Ifrah froze as a confused expression dawned on her face and she exchanged a glance with Aayan who looked uncomfortable with the guy's wish. Dylan smiled kindly at them before saying; “There's a call for you, ma'am.”

Her eyebrows shot up this time and she wordlessly stepped forward to grab the satellite phone he was holding out to her. She pressed it against her ear.

“Um, hello?” she asked.

“Chuchu, is that you?”

Ifrah's eyes rounded and she gripped the phone tighter.

“Shazain?”

“Oh thank God!” her cousin's relieved voice came from the other side and she smiled. It felt like so long since they last talked.

“What the bloody hell is going on?!” he burst out all of a sudden. “I'm currently in Pakistan and last week your mom called me to tell that you guys were not answering their calls or emails. I called the hotel staff and got to know that you went on some tour and didn't return. Do you know how close I was to losing my shite?”

Ifrah wanted to laugh and sigh at the same time at his familiar British accent but her mom's worried face appeared before her eyes and she closed them to stop the tears.

“Yeah... We were stranded on an island all this time.”

“Bloody hell! Are you okay? Any injury? You starved? How did you survive? Did you have to eat insects? Was there any water there? Are you even alive?!”

Ifrah knew he was joking when she heard the last question and broke into a fit of giggles. “Stop it, idiot. I'm alive and breathing.”

Shazain 'tsked' on the other end and she scowled.

“Okay, jokes aside. I'm really thankful to Allah that you're good. Is that duffer with you?” he asked about Aayan in the end. She told him that he was before giving the phone to her husband.

Aayan took it reluctantly. He wasn't in the mood to talk with that stupid man.

“Bolo.” (Speak.) he said without any pleasenteries and ignored his wife's dissapointed shake of head.

“Wow, hostile much?” Shazain was also shaking his head on the other side.

“If you don't have anything important to say, then stop wasting my time and hang up.” Aayan said, irritated.

“Tameez tou shuru se he nahi thi tum mein, jungle ne aur kam khrab kar dia hai.” (You didn't have any manners from the start, but the forest has made the matter worse.)

The raven haired guy glared at the air in front of him. “Shut the fück up.”

Shazain's eyebrows shot up in amusement and he replied in a cool tone. “Listen here, you basket case. I just wanted to ask if you were alright. You don't have to act like I'm asking to apply mehandi on your hands.”

This is the reason why Aayan hated this man. He was always so cool and collected with that stupid habit of adding humor in everything.

“I'm good.” he replied through clenched teeth.

“You didn't try anything with my cousin, right?” Shazain asked.

“None of your business. She's my wife.” he shot back.

The older guy clicked his tongue. “You should act nice, Aayan. Because the men in those uniforms are from my security company. It would take only one order from me to leave you there and bring Ifrah back home.”

Aayan's blood boiled. He wanted to break his nose like he did with that guide. When he didn't say anything, Shazain's laugh sounded from the line before he said;

“Just kidding. Glad you're doing okay, khotay. Take care of her.”

He was going to end the call but said one last sentence to ruffle Aayan's feathers.

“By the way, I will always be her favourite human being.”

With that, he hung up, leaving the caramel eyed man seething as he shoot daggers at the satellite phone. He let out a scoff before tossing it to Dylan and marched his way into the boat where Ifrah had already went.

He hated Shazain Sikandar with all his heart.

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Ifrah sighed contently as she made her way out of the small bathroom in the boat after taking a shower. She wasn't going to lie, she had shed a tear or two when she looked at the shower head and all the toiletries and had felt like she was in heaven or something.

Okay, that's a bit exaggerating but you get the point.

She'd stayed there for almost an hour and Aayan was forced to use the bathroom in another compartment. The lucky part was that it was Shazain's liveaboard and so there were no rules this time. They could stay awake and wander around anytime they want.

Another thing which made the raven haired guy annoyed beyond words.

Ifrah rubbed the towel in her hair as she made her way to the bed. A scream escaped her lips when her husband got out from under it and it startled him, resulting him to bang his head on the edge.

“Shït.” he hissed while clutching the spot and Ifrah immediately went to his side.

“You okay?” she asked, inspecting the sore spot and missed the mischievous glint in Aayan's eyes.

He caught hold of her wrist and she was confused for a second before her eyes widened when he pulled her towards himself and stood up. He didn't give her any time to process before pushing both of themselves on the bed and Ifrah's face went on fire.

“What the eff are you doing?” she tried to get out of his hold but he was securely pinning her down. Aayan raised up to pass her a wolfish grin.

“I'm showing some love to my love.” he said innocently, his wet strands falling on his eyes. Ifrah noticed that he hadn't shaved yet.

“I don't need it.” she replied with narrowed eyes but her heart was beating fast. Aayan's face fell.

“But I do.”

Her face reddened more and he leaned down to press his lips on the apple of her cheek, making her clench her eyes.

“Have I ever told you that I love it when you blush?” he whispered, his lips still lingering on her skin. She didn't say anything. Because even if she tried, it would come out as gibberish.

“I want to... ” he trailed off before swallowing thickly. Ifrah knew what he was trying to say and tingles shot up her whole body. She was going to say something but he spoke up again.

“I really want to— God!” he buried his face in her neck. “But I won't. Let's get back home first. I'm not gonna ruin it for the both of us by losing my cool here, in a stupid boat.”

Especially when it was his greatest enemy's.

Ifrah gave him a meek nod after the haze had cleared. She wasn't ready at the moment anyways.

“You should really tone down your boldness.” she said in a soft voice after a while and received a chuckle from him. He had not pulled away his head from her shoulder.

“Why? Do you feel uncomfortable?”

“Yes.” she accepted embarrassingly.

“Good. All the more reason to tone it up. I love seeing you shy.”

“Jahil insaan!” she smacked him on the back with a fist. Aayan just kissed her neck in response, making her shudder.

“Stop it!”

“I'm not even doing anything.” was his innocent reply.

“You're insufferable.” she grumbled.

Aayan leaned back to stare at her face this time and narrowed his eyes. Ifrah caught the weariness in them and she suddenly felt like sleeping too.

“Zaalim kahin ki, banda ab zra sa romantic bhi nahi ho skta?” he asked in an accused tone and Ifrah couldn't help the smile from adorning her lips. His heart flipped as always at the sight.

“I love you.” he confessed in his usual abrupt manner, catching her off guard before she blinked as he pressed a quick kiss on her nose.

“Say it back.” he demanded in a teasing tone and she rolled her eyes before complying.

“I love you, too.”

He gave her a boyish smile before nuzzling her neck once again.

“Mine.” he whispered while closing his eyes in peace.

Ifrah moved her hand to run it softly in his hair and whispered back in his ear. “Only yours. Always.”

And an always was what they got after they reached back home safe and sound.

The End.

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N O T E

I always wanted to use this in one of my books! 🤧

I'M CRYING PEOPLE

IT'S OFFICIALLY ENDED

But I was laughing too when I wrote that running scene LMAO 😭

I had to take a break to stop the shaking of my hands while I wrote 😂

I love love love all the people who supported this book and enjoyed it with me ❤❤❤❤

Scroll down for some fun facts :)