Ayesha's POV

"Go freshen up." Aunty said, softly patting Zeeshan's face. He nodded as his feet moved towards the stairs.

"Kaise ho aap?" I asked, completely ignoring a pair of eyes I could feel staring into my soul as his footsteps faded.
(How are you?)

"Bilkul achi nahi hu." Aunty said, looking away with a childlike pout on her face.
(Not good.)

"Why?" I asked, amused.

"Milne hi nahi aai na tu mummy se isliye." Di said, walking towards us with Raya in a very deep sleep in her arms.
(You didn't visit mummy, that's why.)

"Sorry." I replied, mirroring aunty's pout. She side eyed me dramatically but nonetheless smiled.

"Chalo tum dono baat karo, mai zara kuch khane ka dekhti hu." Aunty said, standing up from her place.
(okay you two talk, I'll go and get something for you to eat.)

"I'll help you aunty, di can rest with Raya." I said. Di nodded with a smile.

As I stood up, my phone buzzed with a notification indicating that my phone's charging was at 5 percent.

"I'll just put my phone on charge." I muttered, looking for my charger in my bag, but somehow it got stuck with something else, and I had to take everything out of my bag just to get that damn charger untangled.

"Zeeshan's phone and wallet, hmm?" Di said, mischievously raising her eyebrows.

"Oh that..." I muttered, keeping my other stuff in my bag.

"Arre beta iske paas nahi hoga toh kiske paas hoga." Aunty said, joining in. My cheeks heated up due to their teasing.
(Who else would have it, if not her?)

"I... I'll go and give it to him." I muttered, putting my phone on charge.

"Haan haan jao, woh bhi wait kar raha hoga tumhara." Di said, forwarding his phone and wallet.
(Yes yes go, he must be waiting for you too.)

"No... I mean, I'll go. You give it to him." I said, my cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"No no. You go and give it to him. Bichde hue aashiqo ko aur nahi bichadne dena." She replied, smiling cheekily. Aunty laughed, nodding.

I sighed, quickly took his phone and wallet from Di, and then ran towards his room till their laughter faded away.

Knocking softly, I waited for his response, taking a few deep breaths because for some reason my heart raced uncontrollably.

"Come in." His voice echoed from inside. Taking a deep breath, I opened the door softly.

"Took you fifteen minutes," he said, as he walked past me to lock the door.

"I'll go. You should rest, you must be tired." I muttered and then turned to leave, only for him to grab my hand and jerk me close to him.

"What...?" I muttered, my heart skipping multiple beats. He didn't reply, he just looked at me. I couldn't look at him.

Then, as if he sensed my nervousness, he softly whispered, "Ek baar gale se bhi nahi lagaoge aap?" tucking my hair behind my ear.
(You wouldn't even hug me?)

"It's... I... no..." I stuttered. I could feel my cheeks heating up for the second time.

"I felt like I couldn't breathe there without you," he said softly, resting his forehead against mine.

"Why?" I asked, my eyes closing on their own.

"Mere saans lene ki wajah merse hazaaron kilometres dur thi," came his reply as his hand gently caressed my cheek. "Aur ab itna paas hai lekin fir bhi door hai."
(The reason behind my breathing was thousands of kilometres away from me.) (Even now she's close but not close enough for me to calm down.)

"You need rest," I muttered because for the love of God, I felt like I was feeling something even I couldn't figure out.

My heart felt at peace after seeing him in front of me, but it also felt like it might explode because of his constant gaze on me.

"I just need your embrace." He pleaded, and this was it. I couldn't stop myself. I took a few steps further, wrapping my hands around his neck softly at first, but then my grip tightened on its own as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

I missed this feeling of being in his embrace.

"Now I am home." he muttered, letting himself melt in my arms freely while I held him tightly, giving him all the comfort I could.

My hands softly caressed his hair as he hid his face in the crook of my neck.

"I missed you so much." Before I could stop myself, these words fell from my mouth.

"Agli baar aapke bina nahi jaunga." He muttered, sulking evidently.
( I won't go with you the next time.)

Pulling away, I hand combed his hair, softly making him close his eyes.

After taking a few steps away, I asked, "go on a date with me?"

Taking my hands in his warm ones, he gently led me to his bed, urging me to sit there. He kneeled in front of me.

"What...?"

"You don't have to ask, I was dying to be with you in these past ten days." Cutting me off, he muttered, as his hands worked on my shoelaces that I hadn't realised were untied.

"But I don't want to go anywhere outside. I want to talk to you, listen to you, and just look at you for as long as I can." he added, softly pecking my hand that was resting on my lap.

"Our place?" I asked, my lips curving into a genuine smile.

"Our place." He affirmed after getting up and forwarding his hand, waiting for me patiently.

I looked around, acting oblivious to his outstretched hand, making him sigh evidently and say, "jis din meri baari aayegi fir mai btaunga aapko tadpana kitni buri cheez hai."
(Just wait for my turn, I'll see then.)

"Acha?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.(Oh?)

"Dedo na." He whined, forwarding his hand once again. I raised my eyebrows but nonetheless placed my hand in his after looking at his visible pout.
(Give it to me.)

Suddenly, he pulled me closer to him, making me yelp and hold onto his shirt for dear life. "Stop pulling me like a sack, you idiot."

"Aww." He cooed, pulling my cheeks.

My eyes widened in disbelief, but before I could say something, he pulled me along with him out of his room after grabbing his phone and wallet.

"Mumma, I'm kidnapping your daughter-in-law." He shouted and after grabbing my phone and my bag, he was out of the door, all while dragging me along with him.

"You..." he again cut me off.

"Shhhh." This time he shushed me too, opening the passenger seat's door.

Giving him a side eye, I sat inside. Putting all the stuff in my lap, he settled in the driver's seat and drove off to our place.

"So what are we doing there?" I asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"Pyaar." He replied, glancing at me.
(Love.)

"Shut up." I muttered, smacking his hand, making him laugh. I too joined in, and just like that we bickered about random things as he drove to our home.

"Let's go." He said, unbuckling his seatbelt. I nodded, mirroring his action, and together we got out of the car from our respective sides obviously.

After unlocking the door, he let me walk in first.

"I'll go and get some water for us." I said and without waiting for his response, I fetched some water for us.

Sitting next to him, I handed a glass to him and drank from one myself.

"Now what?" I asked, having zero clue about what we were going to do next even though I was the one who suggested going on a date.

"Nothing." He replied, shrugging.

"Nothing?" I asked, confused.

"Sometimes it's okay even if there's no planning or plotting. Even your presence is enough for me to make our time special." He said softly, intertwining his fingers with mine.

How... did he?

"I..." I was speechless.

"Dance with me?" He said, forwarding his hand.

Without any hesitation, I placed my cold hand in his warm one. Gently pulling me closer, he played a random romantic song.

Pulling me closer to him, he softly whispered, "I like it like this. Just you and me."

"Me too." I muttered, as we slowly danced to the song.

And then, neither of us talked. We just swayed to the song, enjoying each other's company. His eyes never left mine and I too didn't look away.

Neither of us realised when we got so close to each other, close enough for our faces to be inches apart.

"There's something that was left incomplete, Aayat." He whispered.

"What?" I asked, acting oblivious, even though I was aware of what he was talking about.

"Show me." I added, softly whispering.

"I might cross the line, Aayat." He replied, taking a deep breath as if he was desperately trying to control himself.

For the first time in my life, I wanted him to, so I just said, "do it."

His face moved closer to mine as he took a step forward, closing the remaining distance between our bodies.

I could feel his face very close to mine, but then he touched his forehead against mine, softly whispering, "I can't do this, Aayat. I'm afraid I might hurt you." His hands caressed my face gently.

"You would never hurt me, Zeeshan. You know it too." I replied, my lips curving into a genuine smile at his words.

"I..." he hesitated. I could feel his hands shaking badly against my skin.

The man who had confidently lived his whole life stood in front of me completely restless.

It hurt to see him doubting himself like this and for some reason I wanted him to claim this with confidence.

Holding his face gently with my hands, I looked into his eyes and then gave him the only kind of assurance I could provide, which was, "I love you."

His eyes widened. "Did you just...?"

"I love you." I repeated, and perhaps this was the only assurance his heart searched for because the next thing I knew, his lips were claiming mine in the softest way possible.

The song playing in the background faded completely. Both of us were lost in each other. His lips moulded perfectly against mine, as if we were meant to be.

After a few seconds, he pulled away as we both were out of breath.

Leaning his forehead against mine, he breathlessly whispered, "I love you the most."

In response, I hid myself in his embrace, draping my hands around his neck.

Chuckling softly, he wrapped his arms around my waist, reciprocating my hug, keeping his face in the crook of my neck.

"Aap toh sachhi mei sharma rahe ho." He whispered softly.
(You are shying away for real, aren't you?)

"Shut up." I said, smacking his back, making him laugh wholeheartedly. His contagious laugh made me smile too.

"Let's watch a movie." I asked, pulling away from the hug.

"Alright, let me set up the mattress. You just sit here and order us dinner. Your choice of food." He said, picking me up all of a sudden and gently dropping me on the couch.

This man needs to stop picking me up like a sack.

Sighing, I did what he asked me to do, ordered us dinner while he set up the mattresses on the floor from the room, just like our date on his birthday.

"Let me..."

"No. Sit there looking absolutely ethereal. I'll do the rest." He said, cutting me off as his hands worked on the bedsheet.

"Now you can sit here." He said, picking me up and making me sit on the mattress.

"Oh God, I can walk and you are tired." I exclaimed, holding onto his shirt for dear life.

"I know and I know but..." the ringing of the bell made him pause, "the food is here." He said, running off to the door and coming back with our food, plates, and cutlery.

I served us food till the time he turned on our projector. And just like that, we finished our dinner while watching the most cliché Bollywood movie, Mohabbatein.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, we didn't realise when we made ourselves comfortable by half lying on the mattress with his head resting on my tummy.

"I think we should go back home, Zeeshan, you need rest." I muttered, pausing the movie.

No response came from his side, making me confused. I tapped his shoulder only for him to half lie comfortably on me, deep in his sleep.

"Oh my baby." I muttered, caressing his hair gently. Cautiously grabbing the blanket he got, I placed it over him and tucked another pillow behind my back. I turned off the projector so that we could have a much needed sleep, but not before dropping a text to bhabhi and aunty about our whereabouts.

Zeeshan's POV

"I love you," she said softly, and that's when our lips met.

They did? Wait... what? Immediately my eyes flew open and the first thing I saw was... her. Am I still dreaming?

Confused, I looked around. That's when the realisation dawned upon me. I slept.

I'm such a douche. Oh God. Her legs must be sore.

My eyes widened. Gently pulling away, I got up, made her lie down properly, and covered her with the blanket.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered, softly kissing her forehead and running towards the washroom to freshen up.

But we kissed last night. I thought, leaning against the sink.

My hands went to my neck, which was visibly heating up, and the reflection in the mirror wasn't who I am, tough and depressed. Instead, it was smiling and happy.

Oh God, I have lost it. I thought and pulled myself out of my thoughts. I quickly brushed my teeth and whipped up some breakfast for us, nothing fancy, just some toast and a cup of coffee for her and tea for me.

Just as I was setting up the table, she woke up, looking absolutely adorable and clueless.

"Good morning, beautiful." I said, my lips curving into a smile on their own. She nodded with a smile.

Not much of a talker, I see.

"Go freshen up, your coffee is getting cold. The bathroom is stocked with everything." I said. She nodded, running off to the washroom.

In the meantime, I cleaned up the mattresses and placed the table back, not forgetting to put our phones on charge with the backup power banks I had kept here.

"Hi," she mumbled, sitting in her place, looking absolutely adorable.

"Hi love," I replied, sitting in front of her, sliding the plate of toast in her direction and, of course, her cup of coffee.

"Slept well?" she asked, taking a sip of the coffee.

"So well that I could get used to it." I replied, looking straight into her eyes.

"Too bad I wouldn't let you." She teased, shrugging.

"Definitely, you shouldn't." I mumbled, my eyes dropping onto her lips.

Shaking my head, I looked away and focused on our breakfast.

"Let's go back, we have work." She said, taking a bite of her toast.

And for the love of God, unwantedly, my eyes went to her lips again.

Okay. I need to stop.

"Alright, I'll do the dishes. And you will shut up." She said, grabbing the dishes. I didn't let her grab mine.

I mean come on, why in the world would I let her hold my dirty dishes when I am completely capable of putting them in the sink myself?

So, I did exactly that. Kept my dishes in the sink and backed away because the eyes she was giving me probably meant, 'Touch them and I'm going to kill you.'

After that, we went back to the office where a shit ton of work waited for me. The cons of being away from work for ten days.

Sighing, I just went through that torture because there wasn't really anything I could do about it.

Taking just a small lunch break in the middle, I focused on work up until midnight, when a call from her made me shut my work and get back home.

Author's POV

"Chale?" Zeeshan asked from the driver's seat. Next to him sat Vidit whereas on the backseat sat Ayesha and Ritika.
(Shall we go?)

They were on the way to meet Karan Reddy after their work at the CBI office. The others were going to join them directly at the farmhouse.

"Chal na, ab kya muhurat nikalwau?" Vidit exclaimed, side eyeing Zeeshan who sighed but nonetheless nodded and started driving.
(Drive or do you want me to find an auspicious occasion?)

"What about them?" Ayesha asked, looking around for answers.

"They've reached." Zeeshan replied, immediately making Ritika chuckle softly.

"Alright." Ayesha replied, confusedly looking at Ritika who shook her head in response.

In about an hour or so, they arrived at their heavily guarded farmhouse, which was heavily crowded.

"Let's do this." Ayesha muttered as they walked ahead in front of the crowd of women that surrounded a person behind their miseries, the person who had killed either their families or their souls, Karan Reddy, the same man who had collided with Ayesha.

"So what did you think? We wouldn't recognise you?" Ayesha asked, her voice lethally cold.

"Or did you think if you put a chicken shit of yours, we wouldn't know?" Ritika continued, standing beside Viraya, who was visibly trying to control her rage.

"I mean come on, we are not dumb like you, mother fucker." Ishani said, spitting on his face.

The women surrounding them laughed heartily. The same women who once shed tears of helplessness, those fearful eyes that once begged him, now stood fearlessly with unwavering rage, ready to bring him down.

And the men? They stood tall behind them, ready to witness the hidden Maa Kaali within every woman, not wanting to step into the fire that was about to unfold.

"Oh this is about to get interesting." Abhir said, standing next to Zeeshan. He'd flown back to India just to witness his father's much needed treatment.

"Trust me, just watch." Zeeshan replied, chuckling.

"So, butterfly huh?" Viraya asked, leaning towards Karan who visibly moved back.

"DO. NOT. MOVE." she screamed, pulling his hair so loudly that every person around her felt goosebumps rise on their skin.

Karan whimpered at the harsh pull of his hair, but she couldn't care less because her face had morphed into a satisfactory smile and she continued, "What? Where were your whimpers when you were raping a fucking teenager under her own father's roof?"

All the men present could feel anger bubbling in their veins but they knew better than to interfere, not until the girls wanted them to. They knew that for the girls to live freely, they had to fight their nightmares on their own.

"A lovely day isn't it?" Ayesha asked, her voice anything but humorous. "Let's make this quick, I am sure you have lots of answering to do."

"Let me go." Karan cried, not actually crying but I am sure you get it, don't you? He moved desperately, trying to free himself from the metal chains his hands and legs were tied with.

"Don't be ridiculous, we've just started. We can't just let you go without giving you a taste of our hospitality which, in fact, would be unforgettable for you." Ritika joked, making everyone laugh, well except Karan.

"Oh and by the way, if you do want us to be generous with you, just go with the flow." she added, taking a step back.

"Alright, I am not in the mood for violence, let's keep this quick. Give me answers and that would save you from the tiny bit of torture you would be getting tonight." Ayesha said, taking a seat leisurely in front of him.

"Why did you kill my parents?" she asked. Her face had no emotion on it but inside she burned with rage.

Karan stayed quiet, causing her anger to flare enough for her to get up from her seat and dig her infamous metal rod into the most intimate part of a masculine body, making him scream in pain. The other men present winced internally looking at Karan, not because of what he was going through, he deserved it, but because they had that in their bodies too.

"Are you going to use your tongue?" Ayesha asked, pressing her rod further, causing Karan to scream louder.

"Ye-YES." he shouted breathlessly.

"Good, now let me ask you again, why did you kill my parents?" Ayesha asked as she walked back to her seat with her rod screeching against the floor. She looked murderous to say the least.

"They were being a hindrance. Your father was a good friend until he started questioning my business motives. I had to get them out of my way." He replied, catching his breath as his voice shook due to the pain he was feeling.

"My mother?" Ayesha asked, her grip on the rod tightening.

"She was a hot b..." he couldn't complete the sentence when Ayesha's hand came in contact with his face. She had slapped him, the kind that made his ear ring. "I dare you to utter a single disrespectful word about my mother in my presence."

Karan shook his head to stop the ringing sound in his ear before he turned and continued, "She was beautiful, too beautiful to not get a taste of her. But she was too loyal to your father. So, of course, the lovers had to go down together. If I couldn't get a taste of her, it was useless for her to live anyways."

Ayesha couldn't control her anger anymore, not after hearing these words from his mouth, but she didn't rush. Leisurely, she got up from her seat, dragging her rod towards the burning fire pit.

The fire crackled as she heated the rod in the blazing flames. Once she was satisfied, she walked back to a very scared Karan.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, in fact none of us will. We will just give you a taste of your actions, then patch you up and hand you over to the judiciary." she said with a smile that was anything but comforting.

"Move your legs up and keep them on the chair." she said calmly, pushing the chair forward. Karan didn't comply.

"Either it's your legs or your penis, choose." she said, patiently waiting and since Karan knew he couldn't get away with it, he moved his leg up, only for Ayesha to smack that almost burning hot rod against his leg with so much force that every damn person felt his bones crack, followed by Karan's agonising scream echoing in that pin drop silent room.

Two powerful hits that were enough to make Karan limp for the rest of his remaining years.

"Now ladies, he is all yours for the week. Show some love to him and just make sure not to touch his face. Patching it up would be difficult for the doctors." Ayesha said and walked away immediately after. No one followed her except Zeeshan because they knew the person she needed the most was Zeeshan, who was already behind her.

"I..." she choked, leaning against her car's door when Zeeshan reached her immediately after.

"Come here." he whispered, taking a step closer towards her. She accepted his invitation, letting herself seek the much needed comfort in his embrace.

"You did well, my jaan. I'm proud of you for standing up for your parents." he cooed as Ayesha sobbed in his embrace.

Zeeshan let her cry for as long as she wanted. He knew it was important for her to get rid of all that pain and suffering she had been hiding behind that facade of being fine.

"They didn't deserve it." She whispered. She was glad her brother and sister-in-law weren't here to witness this broken side of her.

Adhvait and Sunaina knew they couldn't face what was happening inside so they stayed behind and worked for the revenge they would get in their own ways.

Adhvait was going to make sure that every person connected to Karan and his illegal dealings was broke enough to beg on the streets and Sunaina was going to make sure that every single one of them ended up in jail for the rest of their lives, including Karan Reddy who was going to jail too after his time here.

Well, after he's patched up enough to make his body look like he got those bruises from an accident.

Because let's be honest, you and I both know they were not going to kill him and get his dirty blood on their hands when they could easily lawfully get him hanged to death with all the proof they had.

"I can't do this anymore." Ayesha whispered, her voice had turned hoarse due to crying.

"Let's get you back home." Zeeshan replied, swiftly picking Ayesha up in his arms after unlocking his car.

At that exact moment, nothing mattered to him. All he wanted was to whisk Ayesha away from that place and he did exactly that.

Securing her in the passenger seat, he drove off to her home and after he was sure that she was tucked into bed, he made himself comfortable on the couch in Ayesha's room that was comfortable and big enough to be called her second bed. Even if it wasn't, he still wasn't going to leave her alone, not until he was sure she was okay.

Though he should have been going back to the farmhouse, he knew his sister needed her husband's comfort more than his.

No matter what, he was still her younger brother and being vulnerable in front of him was the last thing she would want to do. It was the mere reason she had run away from her home.

He wasn't going to take that chance so he entrusted his brother-in-law to gather his crumbling sister until she was ready to show her vulnerability to him, this time willingly.

And that's why it was best for him to give his sister some much needed space with her husband and the love of her life, the much needed comfort.

"Good night Aayat." He whispered, closing his eyes with a smile while looking at his Aayat who was far too fast asleep to even think of replying as exhaustion from the day took over them.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Ayesha, who had her nightmare once again after years, woke up with a jolt, her whole face drenched in sweat.

Looking around, her eyes fell on Zeeshan who slept soundly on the couch.

Without any delay, she washed her face and carefully opened Zeeshan's arms, making herself comfortable in them.

He woke up confused, looking at Ayesha who had snuggled up in his arms like a ball. "Hey." he whispered, pulling her closer to him if possible.

"I am sorry for waking you up." Ayesha muttered, covering both of them with the quilt.

"I'm glad you woke me up. I would have hated it if I'd missed you snuggling up in my arms." he whispered softly and after dropping a tender kiss on her forehead, they went back to sleep again, this time in the comfort of each other's arms.