Zeeshan's POV

It had been two days since he arrived in India when Sunu bhabhi filed the petition with the district magistrate. I am pretty sure he will receive his notice soon.

Currently, we were in a meeting discussing the same thing. Ayesha sat next to me, and her sole focus remained on the presentation.

I was focused on the presentation as well. I mean, come on.

My chain of thoughts was interrupted when, “So what is our next target after this?” Ritika asked. She was finally doing well, and the doctor had given her a clean chit to start work from today.

“Destroying his last warehouse, which is in Sri Lanka,” Dev replied.

“That warehouse is probably the most important one for him, even more than the Indian warehouse, and also the most secured one. Destroying it would be a tough task,” Ayesha added, making others nod in agreement.

“Ten tankers of oil are reaching that warehouse in probably five days. We can make use of those tankers. But we must distract him and his men from that,” I said firmly.

“I think I know what to do,” Ayesha said, mischief lacing her voice.

“What?” Vidit asked.

“My brother is hosting an opening ceremony for his project. What if we make him believe that the ceremony will be held a day before the actual date and that all of us are attending, including Zeeshan Kapoor, and somehow get him to attend the ceremony?” she added, looking around for disapproval.

My full name had never sounded that good before.

Ahem.

Focus.

“I’m pretty sure he is going to go there in disguise, so we can also get proof of his presence in India with the look he is using to hide. This is perfect,” Niharika, a private investigator in Ayesha's team, exclaimed happily.

“Great. I’ll book the venue in advance and make sure to plant our men as waiters there too,” Dev said. Everyone nodded in response.

“And I’ll get those tankers under our control,” I said. It was finally time to put our CBI IDs to use.

“I’ll help you,” Vidit said. I nodded.

Of course, how can he not? These mischiefs become ten times more interesting with him. But he is not going to know that. Not now, not ever.

My eyes went to Ayesha again. This time, I didn’t look away. I tapped her hand.

Once. She didn’t react.

Twice. She glanced at me, just for a second.

Thrice. And bingo. I won.

She finally sighed before asking, “Zeeshan, kya chahte ho aap?”
(Zeeshan, what do you want?)

“Aapka haath mere haath mei,” I said, making sure I was loud enough for her to hear.
(Your hand in mine.)

She looked at me as if I had said something utterly unbelievable.

Which was false. She had been sitting in front of me for more than an hour, and how was I supposed to not hold her hand when this was the only time I could stay close to her for now?

“What?” I asked, lacing my fingers with hers nonetheless, ignoring her expression that turned into disbelief as I smiled victoriously at her.

Later, for the next two hours, we focused on the meeting, after which we drove to the CBI office along with Vidit and Ritika directly from the farmhouse because we had an early morning meeting.

The whole half day went into solving a theft case. It was so hectic that none of us could even drink a sip of water at the site.

Ayesha, for a change, was assigned to another case along with a few junior officers, so I didn’t get a chance to see her the entire time I was at the site for the investigation.

Thankfully, we were heading back to the CBI office now, and hopefully, I would get to see her right before our lunch break.

“Let’s go and have lunch at the canteen,” Vidit said, parking his car in the lot. We took his car to the site this time. Don’t ask me how.

I hummed, following him, and together we walked towards the canteen.

As we walked, my eyes searched every direction, looking for her, only to find her sitting with her friends.

My feet paused automatically as I looked at her laughing at something Naksh had said, looking absolutely ethereal.

The way she was laughing made me feel my lips curve into a smile on their own.

Just like my heart, my smile had also stopped working according to me, all thanks to Ayesha Mehra, the sole reason behind their malfunction.

“Zeeshan,” Vidit said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“What?” I asked as realization dawned upon me.

I was standing in the middle of the canteen, looking at her like a creep.

Fuck my life.

“You look weird, bro,” Vidit said, side-eyeing me.

I sighed before walking towards the counter to grab some food. He followed behind, laughing at my expense.

And guess what? No one is aware of our relationship here, so I cannot even eat with her. Thankfully, the seat in front of her was empty, so I could easily admire her from my place.

“Let’s sit here,” I said, taking the seat.

“Haan saale, terse yehi umeed thi,” Vidit muttered, but nonetheless sat next to me.
(Of course, you'd want to sit here.)

My eyes went to her again. She had not seen me yet, which was a good thing if you ask me.

Why?

1)Because I could admire her easily.
2)Her little secret would be safe.

Speaking of secrets, I think it was time to talk to my stepmother, but then again, that was the least of my concerns right now. The only thing I should be focusing on was my love.

But let’s be honest, my sole focus had been on her since the day I met her, and I wouldn’t complain about it. Not one bit.

I... my thoughts stilled.

I stilled because our eyes met. Her cheeks visibly turned a beautiful shade of red, and I felt my heart skip multiple beats.

She hid her face behind her hands, as if trying to hide from me. It was cute, and I found myself smiling again.

Ritika said something to her which caused her eyes to widen and her head to shake rapidly. I was silently observing her every move.

And much to her despair, all of them walked towards us, including her. I leaned back in my seat, patiently waiting.

“Hi sir, we thought maybe we could join you guys, if you don’t mind,” Isha said, smiling nervously, mirroring everyone’s expression except hers and Ritika’s.

I raised my eyebrows, glancing at her. She discreetly shook her head, enough for me to notice but not for others.

“Sure, please make yourselves comfortable,” I teased, looking at her. In response, she glared at me.

I deliberately gestured at Ritika to sit next to me, and somehow, like the excellent observer she is, she immediately understood and squeezed herself into the seat Ayesha was about to take, leaving her with no choice but to sit next to me.

Sighing, Ayesha sat beside me, leaving a respectable distance between us. Sadly, I couldn’t do anything about that.

“Bohot besharam ho aap, Zeeshan,” she muttered discreetly, but I heard it.
(You're completely shameless, Zeeshan.)

Chuckling internally, I leaned towards her under the pretense of fixing my creased pants and whispered, “Aapke saath besharami kare bina raha nahi jaata, bigaad dia hai aapne.”
(I can't stop myself from acting shameless in front of you, you've spoilt me.)

She glared at me before turning back to her plate, though her cheeks revealed what her heart felt.

And then I didn’t tease her further because it was quite clear that if she could, she would have snapped at me right then and there to shut me up.

And the funny thing? I would have quietly complied and listened to the same girl who was glaring at my biceps because that was all she could reach.

Later that day, after work, I drove to my father’s house to settle some scores. I hadn’t told Ayesha or anyone else about it.

As I rang the bell, I came face to face with my stepmother, who looked utterly surprised to see me.

“Your father is out of town,” she said immediately.

“That’s why I am here… Mrs. Reddy, or should I say ex Mrs. Reddy,” I said. Her face visibly changed color, and her eyes widened.

“Come in,” she said, stepping aside and walking towards the backyard.

Sitting down, she gestured for me to sit across from her. I did and waited for her to speak.

“Are you going to talk, or do you want me to help?” I asked, keeping my tone stern.

She looked up, visibly nervous. “I have nothing to say.”

“Okay, let me do the honours then.” I said, leaning against my seat before continuing, “ On October 20th 1999, 18 year old Sreedha Rai got married to Karan Reddy, a guy she was betrothed to since the day she was born by her grandparents and then four years after her marriage she was finally sent off to Mumbai with her husband who was working as an employee in a small company."

"Two more years pass and what happens then? Sreedha Reddy gives birth to a boy who one day disappears randomly. No one knows what happened to him or who kidnapped him. Sadly, a few years later she is divorced with Karan Reddy and immediately married to Karan Reddy’s best friend. Ready for the main twist?”

She shook her head as tears streamed down her face, but I continued nonetheless, “24 years later, she gets in touch with a guy, not just a random guy but Karan Reddy’s second hand and ....her son, Abhir Ahmed, a secret well kept from the entire world.”

“S-stop it..please” she sobbed, I knew this was the string that needed to be pulled, and I had already done it. There was nothing else left for me to do.

“Your secret is safe as long as you are not helping Karan Reddy. And yes, whenever you are ready to talk, give me a call. I expect you to choose the right side this time,” I said, before leaving without looking back.

Ayesha’s POV

“It’s been weeks since we last talked, Jivu,” I said, narrowing my eyes at my best friend, who is in London for her further studies. Ritika nodded along.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry. Forget about it. Ritika told me you got yourself a boyfriend,” Jivu replied, changing the topic, her teasing smile mirroring Ritika’s.

“I did. And guess who?” I replied, rolling my eyes.

“Who?”

“My husband,” I said.

Ritika hooted from the other side, and Jeevika, well, she was surprised.

“You mean-”I nodded, cutting her off.

“Zeeshan bhai is going to die of shyness after hearing you call him your husband,” Ritika said, chuckling. We joined in.

She was right. I’ve got myself a cute boyfriend.

“He’s not going to know, so we’re good,” I said, shaking my head with a smile as we continued catching up on our lives and everything that had happened over the past few months.

Zeeshan’s POV

“Hello,” I said, picking up the call as my phone flashed Ritika’s name.

She didn’t reply. Instead, I heard an unfamiliar voice, and then… her voice.

“I did. And guess who?” she said.

I muted myself as I drove, but my ears were solely focused on her voice.

“Who?” the unfamiliar voice, who I assumed was Jeevika, her best friend, replied.

“My husband.” And when I say I stopped my car in the middle of nowhere, I wouldn’t be lying.

My heart raced uncontrollably, and I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself.

I couldn’t focus on anything else. The only thing echoing in my ears were those two words.

Her husband.

And then Ritika ended the call, but I couldn’t keep calm because she had just unknowingly said something I had been longing to hear from her.

And now that she has said it herself, I’ll make sure to wear this designation proudly in front of the whole world.

Just one month, and I will be telling the whole world that yes, I am her husband.

Just. One. Month. Aayat.

Okay before you guys kill me and if you haven't been following me on instagram -

I've started my training as a Company Secretary Trainee, which is usually from 9 am to 6 pm so I was having a hard time managing my passion and career side by side but now that I've got a hang of it, after two weeks of constant struggle, I'll be uploading both of my ongoing books regularly.
Thank you for being patient with me and I am genuinely sorry for making you guys wait!🫶