⁂ 02 ⁂

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

Soha almost drooled looking at all the choices of sweet dishes on the long table. How was she supposed to choose one out of them? Neither could she fit in all of them in the small sized plate in her hand!

"Aise dekh rahi ho abhi charh jao gi inpe." Shanzay pushed her aside, making her stumble two steps away on her heels. Soha glared at her sister, who was now serving herself some trifle.

(You're staring at them as if you're gonna climb on top of them any instant.)

"Charhi tou tum hui ho. I bet it's your tenth plate of trifle!" Soha placed her right hand on her waist, looking at the plate, her sister was filling up, the sweet almost dripping off the corners.

(You're the one who's already on top of them.)

"Tum mere khane pe kyun nazar rakh rahi ho! Chahe tenth ho ya eleventh, none of your concern!" Shanzay pulled out an ugly expression at her as Soha rolled her eyes, muttering "Bhens!"

(Why are you keeping an eye on how much I eat? Whether it's tenth or eleventh, it's none of your concern.

Buffalo!)

Shanzay suddenly moved closer to her, trying to hide behind her. "Oh my god! I think Salaar bhai saw me doing the ugly face at you right now!"

She said with a scared expression as Soha snorted at her stupid sister.

"Poor him." She bit her lip, trying not to look at the direction Shanzay was looking in, at him specifically.

"Shut up." Shanzay now stared at her sister, as a sudden idea hit her for revenge. She moved closer to her ear whispering, "By the way, Salaar bhai is looking so hot today i-"

Soha gasped, as she smacked her head away before she could finish. Shanzay quickly grabbed her plate, laughing at her sister's shocked expressions, as she ran away.

"Sharam naam ki cheez hi nahi hai iss larki mai." Soha shook her head, calming down.

(There's no shame in this girl!)

"I'd have to agree to that. Aadha trifle tou yahi khatam kar gai hai." Saahil came from behind commenting. He was the youngest brother of the groom, the same age as Shanzay. The number of cousins in her family were endless.

(She's eaten half of the trifle all alone.)

Soha chuckled, hoping he didn't hear her sister's bongi. He then looked at her, as if inspecting her face.

"How do you manage to look the prettiest among all these dolled up girls even without any makeup?" He questioned, crossing his arms.

"Natural beauty!" Soha playfully flipped her hair, tilting her head slightly, with a smug look on her face.

Soon she giggled as she heard his surprised laugh. "I take that back now! Didn't know also had a narcissist side to you like Salaar bhai."

The mention of his name made her pause for a split second, as she quickly covered it with a smile.

Without knowing there was a pair of wondering eyes observing her from afar.

Saahil excused himself after getting some pudding to eat. Soha decided to do innie meenie minnie mo, and see which dessert is in her luck.

A sudden clearance of throat made her attention divert to her right, where Salaar stood, his curled hand near his mouth.

"Oh, hi." She awkwardly smiled at him, shutting down the system of her brain and shushing her heart. Normal!

"Hi? So I finally get my greetings. Thank you." He smiled, but it was soon replaced with a slight pout.

"Why have you been avoiding me though?"

He seriously wanted to know. Since Soha was never the type to not greet nicely, or run away amidst conversation. She wasn't talking to him like before, and just ran away at their encounter before as well. Was she angry at something, or was it because of the long time span that affected their friendship.

"Huh? No, I'm not. There's nothing like that." She quickly tried shrugging it off, internally groaning for being so obvious in her act.

"Really? I thought it's because I don't look good enough anymore." He joked, since his looks were a famous topic among the rest.

"No, you're still as handsome as ever!"

Her words slipped out of her mouth so smoothly, as she snapped her head straight, almost breaking off her neck.

No, I did not just say that out aloud!

His ears blessing laugh soon filled up her ears, as she picked up her dropped sockets and took a glimpse of his face, which looked so bright as he put a hand over his nose to stop laughing.

"Thanks for stating the fact out loud. I'm still humbled." He couldn't help another soft laugh from escaping his mouth looking at her horrified expressions.

It was like her first time complimenting him on looks.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, as he took it out and pointing at it, excused himself. "Gotta take this."

"Yea..sure." She couldn't even hear her own voice, dead in embarrassment.

It's okay! It was just a compliment!

"Wait, I forgot to say this!" His voice from behind made her turn her head back, as he had a playful smirk on his face.

"Those earrings look beautiful on you." He winked at her, followed by a cheeky grin making it's way on his face as he quickly walked away, attending the call.

Soha had forgotten how to breathe, as she turned back around, slapping her hand on her mouth. Blinking multiple times, she made sure she heard it right, repeating his simple sentence in her brain.

Touching her earring with her fingers, her lips slowly broke into a smile, which soon shifted to small giggles.

She was going to cherish these earrings forever now! She had gotten many compliments today, but all were about her simple looks. But he had to attack her with a unique one!

She quickly gathered herself before anyone could see her acting like a crazy girl. Placing the empty plate back, she made her way towards the seats, as she had already gotten her share of sweetness filling her up.

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

«1 Year Later»

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

A sigh left her mouth, as she closed her book, looking outside the window near her study table.

The sun was setting, the sky was orange in colour, as she stared at the smoky dull view of the street. It represented her dull life perfectly.

"Soha." Her mother called out, entering the room. "Are you done with the packing my dear?"

"I'll do it till tonight." She groaned, feeling lazy as always.

"How many times have I told you to be prepared beforehand. Mujhe pata hai baad mei kuch bhool jao gi tum jaldi mei, aur rone beth jao gi phir."

Her mother went towards the cupboard taking out her bag from there.

(I know you'll forget something later in a hurry, and start crying over it.)

"Aap apni tayari karein na. Wese bhi mujhe chor ke jaa rahi hain." Soha scowled, laying her head on the table.

(You do your packing, you're leaving me behind anyways.)

"Pyaari, tumhare final year exams na hote tou tumhare beghair ja sakti thi mai?" Her mother walked near her figure placing the bag on the bed, as she brushed her baby hair back from her forehead lovingly.

(Pretty, if you didn't have your exams, would I have ever gone without you?)

Soha bit her lip to keep her emotions in check. Their family was going to Dubai, as her father had gotten an offer for a family business trip for five days from his workplace. He worked as a manager at a multi-national company.

Sadly, Soha couldn't be a part of it just because of the frigging exams. It was her last semester, and she was finally going to get her freedom from the university life after one month, as she was gonna graduate.

"Olala!" Shanzay hopped on the bed with the packet of chips in her hand, looking at her mother and sister.

"Beechari ro rahi hai?"

(Is the poor girl crying?)

Soha felt her irritation rise as she got up from the chair banging the table. Why did the freshman year had to get vacations before them? And now her bhens sister was going to make her jelly by showing off her trip's enjoyment.

"No worries yaar. I'll keep you updated by sending snaps of what I'm doing every hour. You'll feel like you're there with us too." She munched on chips, waving her hand at Soha.

"Shut up! And no thank you, I'm happy staying back. I'll have fun in the haveli with everyone."

"Soha, I've placed your ironed clothes here. Get all your necessary stuff and pack your bag quickly. You know we have to drop you off before noon tomorrow." Her mother folded her clothes neatly, placing them near the bag, as she then made her way outside, not before slightly shaking her head at Shanzay, to stop bothering Soha for not being able to join. She was already feeling bad about it.

"By the way, I have a breaking news for you, I hope it doesn't break your fun shell though." Shanzay kept a straight face as she licked her fingers, finishing off the packet.

"Kia hai?" Soha couldn't help but ask, furrowing her brows at her annoying sister.

(What is it?)

"I'll tell you if you get me my chocolate bar from the fridge." She comfortably laid on the bed with legs wide open, and hands behind her head.

"I don't wanna know!" Soha pulled a face at her and sat back on her chair. Her breaking news is never good anyways. It either gets your mood rotten like her, or creeps you out.

"Soch lo! It's for your own benefit, I mean I just wanted to share since I care for you sweetheart!" Shanzay crossed her legs, still in the laying position, smirking.

She knew her elder sister wouldn't resist for long and she was right as Soha got up from her chair, stomping out of the room.

She was back with the chocolate bar within a minute, as she crossed her arms over her torso, standing infront of the bed, giving her a sullen pout.

"Batao jaldi!"

"Chocolate!" Shanzay pointed her hand out.

"News first!" She gave her a death stare, growing impatient.

"Okay okay! So hold onto your lovesick heart before it drops out of it's cage!" Shanzay sat up straight, rubbing her hands together.

"So basically, I overheard mama talking to Sofiya Khala on phone and...." she paused to create suspense and look at her sister's now stern expression.

"And..." she again repeated, controlling her laugh looking her sister's face.

"Aage bolo!" Soha threw daggers at her, getting on the bed, on her knees.

"Salaar bhai is staying at the haveli for work related purposes since the last week." She said in one breath. "And he's gonna stay there for another week, just by the way. That's news for you, no?"

Soha took a moment to register her words as reality dawned upon her hitting her like an apple on the head.

"What!?"

"Yep! Happy 'having fun in the haveli with everyone', including Salaar bhai." She copied her tone from earlier, as snatching the chocolate bar from her hand, she got in her cozy position.

Shanzay was the only person who knew about Soha's crush on their cousin, since no matter how much they bickered, they were closest of sisters who shared every little thing with each other. Thier relation was the bestest any sisters could have.

"Ugh!" Soha caterwauled, falling on the bed, with her hands in her hair which were in a messy bun, further messing them up. She had just managed to get over their last encounter and now she'll have to face him again?

"Oops. What's the problem though?" Shanzay took a huge bite of the chocolate."I mean you just hit on a free lottery no? You don't get to meet The Salaar Sohail every other month now, do you? So have fu-"

"Chup ho jao! You rotten pumpkin!" Soha got up, flaming with irritation as she attacked Shanzay, snatching her chocolate and eating the rest of it in a bite. Shanzay was left there gasping with her whole mouth open. "Jungli!"

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

"Take care of yourself. And don't stay up till late. And make sure to have breakfast before going for the exam, acha?" Soha's mom continued to lecture her daughter as their car finally stopped infront of the haveli.

"Okay okay Mama. I'm not a bachi anymore. I can manage." Soha playfully shrugged her mom's shoulders.

"You're still my pyaari bachi for me." She kissed her forehead as they got off the car. Soha's dad carried her bag out of the car as he placed a hand over her head. "Take care, shasha." She placed a kiss on his cheek, and then her mother's cheek, pulling them in a hug together.

"You left me out!" Shanzay chimed, joining them by fixing herself in the middle. They laughed, as Soha felt a feeling of gush fall over her. This was what her world revolved around. Her family, parents were her world and she would never want to disappoint them in any way.

Soon, they were inside the haveli as they met everyone with quick greetings since their flight was in the early noon.

"You all, make sure to enjoy a lot! And fill in my space too with the enjoyment." She bid them a goodbye as they left her with a heavy heart.

Smiling at the retreating car disappearing in a distance, she let out a heave of relief, hoping they have a safe trip, not worrying about her.

Going back inside the haveli, she looked at the enormous hall, as her aunties and her sister-in-law, with whom she hadn't met yet after the wedding were sitting on the sofas.

"Soha. Come, join us." Hamida, called her distracted figure out, as she nodded, taking a step forward from the closed door.

The door bell rang behind her, as she flinched turning around.

"Who's here at this time?" Hamida looked at the clock as her daughter-in-law, Maria, started getting up from the sofa.

"I'll see, bhabhi." Soha passed her a smile before going back to the door, and opening it slightly.

Her eyes widened, as she closed it back.

Did I see right?

She again slightly opened it, peeking out at the figure from head to toe, and closed it again.

What is he doing here?

"Can I get in?" A light knock on the door with the thick voice made her jump away in surprise, as the door pushed open.

How could she forget? She had completely forgotten that he was going to be here in all the rush.

Stupid! Idiot! Cursed witch!

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

/Author's Note/

What is this behaviour, miss Soha?

Let my boy come in!

Anyways, let the drama begin now!

See y'all in the next update!

Until then,

Take care🥀

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