I peek over Ziyan's shoulder with my eyes squinted in interest with my hand clutching my phone tightly as I take peeks over it too.
"Add one spoon of spices to the mixture" I read it out loud, so I can feel that I am also helping him. Ziyan gives me a glare which tells 'please shut that little mouth Ziah' because from the time we entered the kitchen room I am giving him instruction like a head chef to not feel left out, since I don't know to cook.
But I did wash the vegetables! And the chicken too!
And Ziyan was on the verge of throwing me out when I wasted good 10 minutes on finding the gloves and wearing it like a good girl and to keep this as a memory I asked Naim to take a picture of me washing the already washed chicken. Ziyan just asked me to rinse it down once since I was following him like a puppy but I felt so proud that I wanted to brag it to my mother and my brother, and for that evidence is a compulsory thing.
But that pissed Ziyan off for wasting his time, but me and Naim cared less of what he felt. And my good little brother in law showed his photography skills by clicking multiple photos in multiple poses until he was chased out by Ziyan. And because of his scolding Naim, like a good boy is writing his homework because he know when my brother comes he will forget that he goes to school.
And yeah, my whole family is going to surprise me today by showing up at lunch, mamma called me and ever so secretly questioned me if I am doing good, and if I am at home since it's Sunday and when I said yes we all are chilling she quickly ended the call not before yelling tp everyone that I am at home and they can go.
When I said Ziyan about my mamma who is going to surprise us he called Fuzail and asked them to come as well and they were more than happy to join us since it's been forever we had our little get together.
With my hands on my waist, while tiptoeing and ignoring the pain my neck and thighs are feeling I concentrate on what he is doing but flinching at time to time and quickly holding his shirt tightly when the oil starts dancing and screaming and jumpingâokay that's not the correct explanation because I am not able to find the right words but lets go on with it because you know how the hot oil gets worked up when we add anything to it right?
When he adds an extra spoon of spices I quickly stop him "Wait!! One spoon, this women is only adding one spoon" he clicks his tongue in irritation not liking my interruption but we planned on cooking together so he is cooking and I am instructing him even though he is not taking my instruction into consideration.
He ignores my order and adds spices to his fulfilment which angers me a little. I huff not liking his behaviour "how many people are going to eat what I am going to cook Ziah?" After a pause he questions me and I roll my eyes but reply "umm we 4 and then mamma Abbu grandma grandpa Saif hafsa Nismaâ" I start counting on my fingers but he interrupts me.
"More than 12?" He looks at me for a second while stirring whatever he is cooking "hmm yeah" I nod still counting in my mind, "and for how many is your chef in the video cooking for?" He does not let me count in silence but questions again.
"I don't know she said for 3 people" I remember the long introduction she gave which I skipped not bothering to listen to how she is expressing how good it will taste and how amazing it is and how her husband enjoys everytime she cooks it.
"So my little dumb women, if I add only one spoon which apparently she is adding only for 3 people and here I am cooking for 12 then, won't the taste die if I add only one spoon" he calmly explains but I can clearly hear the frustration in his voice that he literally needs to explain such small things.
"I-yeah I didn't think about that before" I nibble on my lower lip as I peek outside the kitchen where Aunty is sitting on the dinning table while smiling at us and Naim is sitting on top of the table doing his homework.
"Now quietly go to the dinning room and sit there with mom" he calmly insults me and I shake my head standing beside him, with a sigh he looks at me "I promise I won't interrupt again"
He gives me a glare before turning to do his work and I stick my tongue at him at how annoying he is.
I keep my phone on top of the fridge since it is not helping me today and is only insulting me.
"I'll do that please!" I yell on top of my lungs startling myself and Ziyan when I see him adding water.
"I'll do that!" I excitedly tell him and he nods and moves a little so I can stand infront of the dish which is on the stove.
"Should I add the whole glass?" I blink my big eyes at him, not believing when he nods because if I add a whole glass wont the gravy become very liquidy?
"Yes, your going to add two glass of water and after that we are going to keep it in low heat so it cooks for more than 30 minutes on its own" he explains in a quiet voice and I nod understanding what he is saying.
"I should wait for more than 30 minutes to taste this?" A pout automatically forms on my lips and I see Ziyan chuckling but he motions his chin towards the dish he is cooking, asking me to add the water.
I nod feeling a sense of happiness in just adding a glass of water into it "tell me when I should stop okay?" Ziyan nods but holds me by my waist when he sees me casually sticking towards the counter not even caring that the fire is right in front of me and I shouldn't just so casually standing closer to the stove which I know he is planning on changing into the one where we cannot se the fire but when we place the pan on the glass it starts heating up, I don't even know what it is called as but I have seen those in movies.
He pulls me a little back so I am pressed against his front and I concentrate on pouring the water I have "hmm okay enough" he holds my elbow gently asking me to stop but I add a little more water to feel as if I have stopped when I felt like and to feel like I can also cook, with a mischief giggle leaving my lips.
I look over my shoulder with a satisfactory smile and he gives me a playful glare as if he already knew I would do something like this.
"Is ammi looking at us?" He questions me in a whisper and I divert my eyeball towards mamma when he tilts his head a little so I can see what mamma is doing "Nope she is talking to Naim" Ziyan hums and leans closer taking me by shock when he casually presses his lips on my forehead before sliding it down towards my cheek, which has turned red due to our closeness. After kissing my beetroot cushions he gives a gentle caress to my cheek.
A playful smile playing on his lips as he stares into my shy orbs, goodness I hope nobody saw our little romance because if they start teasing me I am gonna run towards our room and hide under the blanket because of shyness.
"Hmm do you want to stir it or should I take it from here?" He questions me with his eyebrow raised looking cool and hot at a same time, why does he have to be do handsome!
"I'll do it!" I say a little louder than I should because of being nervous which this jerk made me feel, quickly turning my back to him I take the spatula with my trembling hands on process dropping it on the counter to which Ziyan chuckles clearly knowing the reason behind my trembling hands.
Why do I get so nervous so easily?! Argh! Act like a brave lady Ziah!
"Come on move now, I don't want you to drop the gravy just while looking at it, I know even your eyes are clumsy when you enter into the kitchen" he moves a little back and grabs my arm while smoothly insulting me and that's when I snap out of my shy self "what do you mean by my eyes are clumsy?!" I give a good glare which meant 'come on act like your scared' but he shrugs and takes a peek at the boiling gravy he just now cooked.
"Get lost, I will give them the final touches" I elbow his stomach and he lets out a chuckle but moves before muttering a quiet "be careful" humming in response I concentrate on what I am cooking while I feel like a chef just while stirring it.
"It smells so good!" Naim yells from the dining area and I nod excitedly because indeed the smell is just mouth watering, did he add something which can make a dish smell delicious?
I hear Ziyan chuckling while washing the dishes, "you can close the lid now Ziah" he reminds me to do the next step and I nod but before closing the lid I do the stupidest thing a human can ever do, in excitement of stirring I hold the pan to hold it steadily without using any cloth forgetting the fact that it is burning hot and on top of that it is a steel pan.
A loud scream leaves my lips and I jerk my hand back but because of dropping the spatula quickly, the hot liquid jumps and falls onto my already burning hand.
Even though Ziyan was by my side in a quick second but the pain and burning sensation does not die, "Ah its burning!!" I cry out loud while shaking my burning hand as if it will make the pain die.
I hear him cursing under his breathe as he pulls me towards the sink, "No!" I shake my head when he forces my hand under the water. I slap his arm asking him to not force me but he ignores my protest and holds my wrist tightly while shoving it under the tap.
A scream and loud gasp of pain leaves my lips when the cold water touches my injured hand. It only burns more and it is so painful that I cannot stop my tears.
"Ya Allah, is she okay?" I can hear auntie's soft gentle voice from afar but I see Naim standing beside us with worry written all over his face.
I feel the cold water helping the burning sensation I was feeling because I can feel it dying slowly and just like that my cries stop but my breathing is still heavy.
My eyes are still glistening with tears but I hold myself from dropping them down my cheek. "Naim can you go bring toothpaste from your room?"
Ziyan asks the little boy who look distressed, nodding his head he runs towards his room. Ziyan's eyes are still on my head, he does not even spare a glance at me which tells me that he is really upset by my stupidity, but I didn't do it on purpose.
"I am sorry" I sniff mumbling quietly as I look at him but he scoffs and moves towards the refrigerator leaving me alone and that makes me feel more guilty.
He grabs an ice pack and walks towards me, gently holding my wrist he removes my hand from the tub in which he shoved my hand without my consent.
A hiss leaves my lips when cool breeze hits my burning skin and the burning sensation returns back in no second.
I keep my lips pressed together to not sob like a kid "are you okay darling?" Aunty questions me when we reach the dinning area, I quickly give her a nod because I know if I open my mouth I will only cry.
Wiping my tears in my sleeve I take a seat on the chair Ziyan ever so lovingly pulled out for me.
"Here" Naim breathes out as he hands Ziyan toothpaste he asked for who mumbles out a thanks before taking my hand in his.
"Why are you applying that?!" I quickly pull my hand away from him, which pisses him off because I see him clicking his tongue in annoyance.
He pulls me closer by chair and grabs my hand, what is with him and manhandling me?! I am getting mad now!
"Don't you dare! You don't want me to get infected, do you?! Then why are applying something which we use to wash our mouth" I cringe at how dirty it.
"This is more effective than any ointment Ziah, now stay still" he gives me a glare asking me to not wiggle so much.
"It's okay I don't care if its more effective, you apply a decent ointment and not this stupid thing" I deadpan leaving no space for him to speak with my stern voice but he does not even take me a little bit serious and hurts me with his words.
"We normally don't burn our hands just while standing and doing nothing so for now I don't have an ointment to heal your burning skin and if you really want it to heal then shutup and take this" he rudely utters which makes me gasp at how rude he is, even aunty looks at him with wide eyes not expecting the calm Ziyan to snap at me like that.
Tears automatically fills my eyeballs at how he is rude and how my hand is burning.
I silently cry but do not protest anymore, I hate this rude rotten tomato! He is the most rudest ugly nugget! And he-he is a jerk!
I press my lips together while looking down at my lap, he gently applies the soap on my hand like an illiterate, because he does not have an ointment he is applying anything he gets?! You jerk go and buy! Pharmacy is not 5 miles away from our house! Your not living in a village!
He drops my hand and walks towards the kitchen to wash his hand, the room feels suffocating to me because of the complete silence that has taken upon us.
Before he comes and shows me his pity I stand up to run towards my room and hug my pillow.
Not glancing at anyone I leave towards my room but here Ziyan muttering something under his breathe whole sighing. Jerk! He is the king of all jerk!
"What was that Ziyan? You never get so upset" I hear aunty speaking with some disappointment in her voice so I slow down my step to hear what they are talking. I am curious.
"Even after saying her to be careful she is so careless, you should have seen her hand Mom, the skin has literally pealed off, she could have taken steps back quickly but after checking 'okay it is hot she movedâjust think if she jerked her hand with much more force the whole hot liquid would have dropped on her body and you expect me to stand their and smile at her and say it is okay baby?" Ziyan scoffs and even though all of his words are true I don't like the tone he is using, he is still a jerk! He is still the ugly smelly nugget and a rotten tomato!
"Yeah I understand but you didn't have to snap at her she was already in pain" thats right! Somebody is sensible in this house!
Even though I so want to know what his next words are, his voice fades away as I reach the room.
I open the door of my room, quickly shutting it behind I take a long jump towards the bed, dropping on my stomach a hiss leaves my lips when my fall back fires me and my toe hits the wooden end. Even the universe is against me today.
I do not move to rub my toe because I am feeling lazy so I stay on my stomach while keeping my left hand away like we do when heena is applied on our hand. Hugging my pillow I lay their quietly, waiting for a certain someone to come and pamper me. While laying on the bed I mentally prepare some strong lines to snap at him since he needs to get some tit for tat for scolding me in front of everyone.
A smile forms on my lips when I get an amazing sentence prepared in my mind but first I will ignore him and them with a glare I'll speak.
After what felt like forever which I am sure was more than 2 minutes, the door creaked open and my heart automatically jumps out of my chest when I hear footsteps coming closer.
Closing my eyes shut I act as if I am dancing in my dreamland but my teacher always used to say I am bad at acting and that's how I hear Ziyan whispering "you don't squeeze your eyes tightly while holding your pillow as if your life depends on it when your sleeping Ziah, unless your getting a nightmare which I know you don't get" he runs his finger throw my hair while chuckling and smoothly telling me that what my teacher said was true, I suck at acting.
Even though I know I got caught, I do not open my eyes after a minute I hear his quiet voice, he speaks quietly as if he does not want to wake me up "is she really asleep?" Well, who speaks to themselves loudly? Nobody can speak to themselves as much as I speak to myself but never once I started talking loudly to the air, it was always mental conversation.
"Hmm I think she is" maybe he is an exception, He does? But I am grateful that I can know what he thinks.
"I should leave now, I can come back and check on her later" I hear him say and I mentally groan in annoyance. Oh god No! My neck is already paining while laying in same position for quiet sometime.
When I feel him standing up I let out a sleepy groan and I quickly throw my hand over his lap so he does not leave. Jerk.
He gently removes my hand and drops it on the world, literally shattering my heart with his stupid action and stands up, I do not try to embarrass myself more, I am not gonna talk to him if he comes later! I thought my acting skills suck but I guess my teacher was wrong.
The foot steps pads away and I hear the door being opened and closed and this time I do not groan mentally but I whine loudly while throwing the pillow on the ground in irritation.
Sitting on the bed I crane my jammed neck "Jerk stupid jerk! Unromantic jerk!" I yell on top of my lungs in frustration.
I glare at the headboard of the bed which I am currently facing but a loud gasp and screech leaves my lips when to alien arms wraps around my waist.
I was about to show my self defence skills I learnt from YouTube but the soft voice of a person I know by heart reaches my ears and thats when I am calm down.
"I am sorry" Ziyan whispers as he back hugs me, his face hidden in the crook of my neck only to take my breathe away by planting gentle soft feathery kisses on my neck and my shoulder.
"Someone looks so upset, did I made my baby so upset?" I nod quickly at his words but feel too shy at the choices of his words, why does he have to use such words which can make me feel all giddy giddy, that was not necessary at all, as cringe as it sounds it fees amazing to my ears even though I am the first one who gag when I hear some couple calling each other baby shona mona.
I am such a hypocrite.
"Okay let's clear this upset mood of yours hmm?" I look over my shoulder to glare at him and that's when it hits me that my teacher was right I am very bad at acting, he was in the room while I was cursing him.
Astaghfirullah cursing husband is gunnah (sin) and I feel like it is less sin when they don't know that we are cursing on him which is okay at times but in my case my husband heard me cursing him.
Oh god I am breaking all the levels of embarrassment.
He scoots towards the headboard to sit like he always used to with his back resting on the headboard.
"Come here" he pats the bed asking me to join closer to him and I reluctantly obey since my stupid self want some pampering.
"I am sorry Ziah" he starts and I lay my head on his lap, I do not say anything which indicates that I am not accepting his apology, guiding his hand to my hair I silently ask him to play with my hair.
"I got angry Ziah, I was worried about you sweetheart and that's why I scolded you which I know I shouldn't have since you were in painâ" I nod sitting up "That's the point, I got burned, I was in pain, I was crying, I was scared and on top of that I get scolded! In front of everyone!" Finally I said the line which I was planning to say without mixing the first sentence second, I feel so proud in my heart for delivery the line just as I thought but I keep my happiness inside and I give him a stern glare.
Ziyan lets out a sigh but I feel like I saw him rolling his eyes with a hidden chuckle which he turns into a cough.
I squint my eyes suspiciously not knowing why he is smirking like that.
"Hmm I know, That's why I am apologising, now come give me a hug" he makes an innocent face which nobody can say no to.
But I am an exception.
I shake my head and when I see a sad pout forming on his lips which does not even look ugly on his handsome face but he looks so cute that I am not even exaggerating, my heart literally melts just like I thought my hand will because of that hot pan.
"Please" that quiet please breaks every ice I was trying so hard to build and I quickly scoot over his lap to hug him tightly, I guess I am not an exception.
He chuckles right near my ear and rubs my back up and down while pressing my body against his with his arm around my waist.
"It was burning so badly, I thought you will ask me if I was okay but you just snapped at me" I don't keep my heart break with me but tell him whatever I felt "I felt so hurt you, I don't like to cry infront of other but because of the pain and your scolding I was crying but you did not even wipe my tears away, you are very rude! You are a rude human" I do not curse him knowing that it is a sin to curse our husband but I say him everything I felt.
"I am sorry, I know I was being very rude but I was thinking of what would have happened if the whole pan flipped over your body because I am surprised the way you jerked it away on a little amount was dropped on your hand, but I am thankful that your fine, and I promise I won't scold you againâ" I pull away from his neck as I look at him wide eyes, he is not going to scold me again for the rest of his lifeâ "In front of other, let me complete baby" my smile automatically drops.
"I promise you that I won't scold you again infront of other's but If you do anything stupid I need to put some sense in your mind and that cannot happen while I am calling you baby right?" He raises his eyebrow and I shake my head "It can happen" even though I know it cannot I do not agree with him.
"Oh it cannot sweetheart" he chuckles but I giggle uncontrollably when he pinches my waist. "You are a brat" he whispers before pressing his lips against mine to take me into a blissful moment.
Tilting his head, he kisses me slowly yet passionately andI respond to his with same amount of love he is pouring or maybe more.
"Hmm" he hums parting away but he presses his forehead against mine. "I can hear the bell going mad, it probably our cousins let's go down shall we?" He teases me at the end with a mischief look when he sees me biting my lower lip, goodness he is gonna kill me one day!
A shy giggle leaves lips and I quickly I hide my face in the crook of his neck but I hear laughing quietly at my misery.
"Is it still burning?" He asks me while holding my wrist and I shake my head as a no, since it is not "well I guess the soap worked" he mocks in the most cutest manner and I groan feeling annoyed because of the way I am feeling shy and not because of the way Ziyan is teasing me.
"Let's clean this up and but a decent wrap around it" he mumbles as he pats my hip asking me to move so he can go take the first aid box.
Like a professional doctor Ziyan cleans my hand and after a applying something on my hand he wraps it with the white medical clothâwhatever it is called as and gently ties it at the end.
"God it looks bad, I am sure your mom is gonna think I am abusing her daughter" Ziyan jokes while shaking his head and I throw a punch at his stupid words.
Astaghfirullah why would anyone abuse such an innocent soul like me.
We then leave the room only to hear loud voices of my grandma and Fuzail's, I hid my hand behind my back to not get any dramatic welcome.
"Assalamu alaikum!" A grin forms on my lips when I see everyone in the room as they greet us loudly.
I give Aunty and Naim and assuring smile when I see them looking at me with worry.
"Walaikum asalam Walaikum asalam" Grandma replies looking at me even when I was not the one greeting.
"Come here darling it's been years I last saw you" she looks at me with that grandma look a smile and a pout.
"I have to say, you guys are breaking mines and Ziah's grandpa's record of staying in the room, when ever I come to meet you both are in the room I have never seen a day you were chilling with everyone well I know when husband and wife both our beautiful it is hard to stay out of the room because Ziah's grandpa was the same heâ"
"Grandma!!" For Godsake grandma!! "Stop that"I mutter feeing embarrassed "oh I forgot kids are in the room" she waves away after making the kids curious by saying that sentence.
She and her love story! Argh!
"Oh grandma we all were in the kitchen room they just now went to their room, Ziya burned her hand soâ" Naim flinches back and the little boy quickly holds Ziyan's leg out of fear who was near to him when his innocent sentence which was trying to clarify grandma's unholy thoughts were interrupted with loud yells and gasps.
******
A/n: Apologies! Apologies! Apologies! For making you all wait! I hope you enjoyed the chapter.