⁂ 03 ⁂

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎

"Soha, kon hai?" Hamida questioned looking at a bewildered Soha.

"Pata nahi!" She shook her head, completely opening the door, while hiding behind it. She had squished herself between the wall and the door, as Salaar stood there completely baffled at her odd behaviour.

He was now in the view of all the ladies in the hall with the door wide open. Soha hiding from everyone's eyes behind it, with her flushed face in embarrassment.

Pata nahi! Seriously Soha!

She hit her head with the door twice, as the voice of chuckles made her further squirm inside the door, making sure nobody could see her.

But why was she even hiding? From who would not be a question to be questioned right now.

A hand brushed close to hers on the door as she quickly retrieved hers knowing who it was now.

He closed the door shut, bringing her in view for all. She was too embarrassed to even look at anyone, but she gave a nervous laugh to the rest sitting in the hall.

"Ammi. Iss larki ki yaad dasht tou nahi chali gai?" Salaar made his way towards the sofas, and placing his car keys and phone on the table, sat near his mother.

"I guess we should get her brain check-up from a good doctor."

He continued jokingly, now looking at Soha who was already giving him dirty looks.

"Mazaq kar rahi hogi tumhare sath. Ye bache bhi na!" Hamida shook her head, as they soon started chit chatting about other stuff as Soha sat there in complete silence, until Salaar came to sit on the same sofa as hers, at an appropriate distance.

"Are you in a sadma right now, by any chance?" He lowly asked.

"Huh?" She gave him a questioning gaze, stopping herself from fidgeting her fingers due to nervousness.

"Since you couldn't join the family trip. I mean, I know it's been one of your wishes to visit Dubai, so it's a given that you'd be sad." He placed his hand under his chin, slouching forward.

"Mere zakhmo pe namak chirakne aein hain?" She deadpanned.

"No, I don't like namkeen stuff, so not namak. I'm just here to tell you not to be sad about it, since going to Dubai once in your lifetime is a given too." He gave her a cheerful smile.

"How come?" She got seriously curious now. His phone ringing interrupted their conversation as he started getting up from his place.

"Mark my words." He winked at her, grabbing his phone and excusing himself from the rest he went out of the door, as Soha calmed her stupid beating heart down.

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

"What the frigging hell are we gonna do learning this theory!?" Soha exclaimed to herself throwing the book on the large coffee table in the middle of the hall. Her voice echoed throughout the place as she laid down on the sofa in her flexible Soha style.

No, she had not forgotten that she wasn't at her home in her room, but in the haveli's hall. But she could be herself right now, since no one was there. The aunties had left to attend a funeral of a nearby neighbour, Musa and his wife had gone outside as well. All she knew was, she was alone in the haveli as Kimla Baji, the maid there, had informed before leaving.

"Now I get why people go psycho studying this subject!" She continued throwing killer looks at the harmless book on the table. One of her leg was going straight all the way North from above the other one which was folded in the South's direction, as her back was representing an elephant's trunk, while her head was kept on the sofa's head. If it was a story book, nobody would've been more interested than her, but studies just made even the interesting stuff boring.

"God! You scared me." The voice made her jump off her flexibly comfortable position as she started choking profusely, falling off the sofa, hitting her chest.

"Woah, calm down." Salaar quickly rounded the sofa, towards the jug of water and glass kept on the table.

He must've scared her badly too.

"Water." He neared her almost dying self due to choking on air, crouching on his one leg.

She soon gained her composure as he hid his laugh by licking his lips and joining them together. He had been on the rooftop having an online meeting, as his phone's battery died down. So he was going towards his room to get the power bank, when he heard her cursing out her book.

Fascinated, he made his way down the stairs to find her sitting in a unique posture that he almost thought that she had died getting deranged. So he neared her when she let out another loud comment, scaring him.

"Y-you were home?" She let out in a hoarse voice due to the coughing.

Instead of answering, he forwarded his hand towards her, to help her up, since she was on the floor now.

Her hand took it's time to hold it, as her heart wasn't ready for tripping again.

"Let's pretend that never happened." He mused looking at her awkward expressions, as her face turned red, due to embarrassment, he thought.

He passed her his charming smile again, settling on the sofa infront of her, while placing his phone on the table with utter care, attached to the power bank.

"Good afternoon." He greeted out of nowhere.

So we're pretending?

"G-good afternoon." She glanced at her book, which was thrown on the table, with utter disrespect.

How opposite they were in this.

"I've been working on the rooftop since the morning. Didn't even realize the time." He rubbed the back of his neck, slouching back on the sofa.

"Uh, you must be hungry then. Should I get lunch for you?" She offered, ready to get up.

You don't even know how to cook anything except for noodles dumbass! Lunch kia khaak lao gi!

"No, it's fine. I don't usually eat lunch, since I'm always busy with the office work around this time. It's become a routine." He motioned her to stay seaten.

"Oh." She internally thanked him though.

"So, you're studying psychology?" He glanced at her book as she quickly grabbed it, straightening the tilted page gradually.

"Yeah."

"Interested in becoming a psychologist?"

"No."

"Really? I thought apna ilaaj phir khudi kar lo gi araam se. Now I'll have to arrange a doctor for you." He always had to bring up jokes to pick a fight with her.

But she couldn't do it like the old Soha with him, she couldn't let the feelings to keep growing because in the end, it'll not only hurt her but him as well.

"No thanks. Mera ilaaj koi doctor nahi kar sakta." She rolled her eyes, focusing on her uninteresting book page.

"Tou phir kon kare ga?"

Ap!

"Mai?" Her eyeballs almost popped out of her sockets as she stared at him, discomposed.

No, I did not say that out aloud. I'm sure of it.

"I'm just kidding." He laughed out loud. "I'd lose my brain but apka ilaaj tou bilkul na-mumkin hai, Soha Sahiba."

She bit the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from smiling looking at his grinning face, and clenched her book telling mantras to her brain to stop herself from losing it's wits completely.

Looking at her serious gaze on her book, he thought he was disturbing her amidst studying so he got up from the sofa. "I'll get going now, I've an important meeting soon."

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

Soha peered around her surroundings with half open lids as she realized she had dozed off on the sofa in the hall. Cleaning the drool from the corner of her lips, she stretched her arms out to relax her stiffened muscles, her hair were in a total mess, poking out of different places from the messy bun.

"Should I say good night now?"

The voice made her snap her neck back at the stairs, where Salaar was standing with a mug in his hand.

She quickly straightened up, fixing herself and her position, forgetting about the messed up hair.

He got himself busy on his phone, walking very slowly towards the hall.

"Dinner kar liya?" He walked towards the open kitchen, without glancing at her.

"Huh? Nahi." She looked at the time, as her eyes widened in another shock. It was 8.pm already?

Were the rest of the family members not back yet?

"Are you hungry?" He asked placing the mug on the shelf.

"Huh?"

"Can't you answer simply without giving that confused huh to me?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I- I just woke up so. I didn't even realize the time. I don't even know when I dozed off-"

"I do. You've been sleeping here like a sleeping beauty since we met each other in the afternoon." He walked towards the sofas taking a look at her shook expressions.

He had forgotten his phone when he left earlier, so he came to get it just after fifteen minutes of leaving and she had dozed off on the sofa ever so calmly.

Making sure not to disturb her nap, he got his phone, but stopped in his tracks looking at her uncovered form. Getting the pillows from the sofa, he placed them on her legs, as he tucked her shawl on top of her courteously. Her arm had fallen off the sofa, as he held the corner of her sleeve, slowly lifting it up and placing it on the sofa.

His bend form paused looking at her face, ever so peaceful and calm. "Is she even breathing?" His phone suddenly rang, as he sprinted away from her form, almost tripping over the sofa, silencing it. Gaping back at her still motionless form, he let out a sigh and ran towards the stairs to answer the call. "Hello, Freya."

"I thought you would've been awake in the middle. But hats off to your great dozing off skills miss." He fake bowed at her with his hand pretending to take off his imaginary hat. "You've the same skills as Saahil in this too I must say, he's been dead asleep in his room since the morning too."

She scratched her head, as her hand touched her hair, which was humping out of her bun like a bump.

Oh shoot!

She quickly undid her hair out of the bun, pausing midway with a tilted face.

Another shoot! He's still standing on my head!

"You're hungry or not?" He asked, standing behind the sofa with his arms crossed.

"You must be hungry too. Let me make some noodles for us." She got up on her feet, tying up her hair in a simple pony.

"At your service, my lady." His words almost had her stumbling, both inwardly and outwardly, in the heart and on the sofa.

He went towards the kitchen, opening the cabinets to look for the ingredients. Her heart was erratically beating again.

Why does he have to be so frigging charming?

"Chubs!" He suddenly called her out with the nickname, as she composed herself and gave him a simple stare.

"I forgot to ask, kitne bowls khao gi?"

Wait what? She knitted her brows together.

"Apko kia lagta hai, kitne kha sakti hun?"

"Das?" He playfully remarked.

"Astaghfirullah! Pait hai mera, kunwan nahi!"

"Bachpan mai you used to snatch mine and eat it too, remember. So I asked in case you still do that." He shrugged his shoulders, thinking about their childhood times with a smile plastered on his face.

This made her smile ear to ear too, remembering their sweet childhood. Wishing they could rewind time to relive those innocent moments again.

"Aren't the others back yet?" She asked looking around at the quiet place, coming close to the counter.

"No, Ammi called me saying they'll get late because they had to take someone from the deceased family to the hospital. Since they don't have any-"

The doorbell rang as he was busy with heating the water on the stove while talking to her.

"They must be back." She hopped away, towards the door opening it fully, to be revealed with an unexpected and unknown girl there.

"Sorry, who?" She questioned.

"Is Salaar Sohail home?" The girl raised her brows, running a hand through her silky golden locks smoothly.

She looks like a model.

"Freya?" Salaar's voice from behind, made her step aside as she gaped at them giving each other a welcoming smile. He knows her?

//♥︎ ♥︎ ♥︎//

/Author's Note/

The author loves leaving the readers on cliffhangers!😏

But yes, the drama has begun!

Let's see what happens and who iz this Freya?🧐

Do vote and comment to lemme know how was the chapter!✨

Until next update;

Take care🥀

___⁂___