The Addiction of Love

IV

Seher came out of the shower wearing a bathrobe and hurried towards the dresser. Picking up the hair dryer, she started blow drying her hair while throwing a glance towards the wall clock. It read 9:52. She was running late because she kept on snoozing her alarm till 9:15am. And now she was regretting it.

After her hair was done, she applied moisturizer and sunscreen. Patting some lip balm on her lips, she checked if her door was locked. Once satisfied, she peeled off the robe from her body and wore her white lingerie. Then she slipped into her cotton, nude-colored jumpsuit that had sea green and peach colored strips over it. She didn't have time to do her hair, so she left them open in their natural waves. Wearing her block heels and grabbing her purse, she ran down the stairs.

Ahad had finished his breakfast and was waiting for Seher in the living room.

"Sorry, Ahad bhai." Seher said as she entered the room.

He passed her a glare. "It is 10:25. Can you ever be ready on time?"

"I actually woke up late.." She tried to defend herself in a low voice, but his expressions made her shut up.

"Go, have your breakfast." He said.

"No, it's okay. We should leave." She didn't want any more delay.

"Seher, breakfast. Fast." He ordered her. Even though he hated being late, he would never want her to be hungry.

She hurried to the dining room. It was Saturday, and the youngsters had woken up late. So the elders had had their breakfast, while the twins, Zafar, Mahnoor and Aaliya were eating.

"Why are you dressed?" Mahnoor asked when she saw Seher.

"Ahad bhai is taking me somewhere." Seher replied while taking a paratha from Sahil's plate and rolling it.

"Where?" Zafar asked.

"I don't have time for this. I'll tell you guys everything when I come back." And then she left.

She came back to the living room. "Bhai, let's go." She said while taking a bite of her paratha.

He sighed at her idea of eating food, but nonetheless stood up. He was wearing black pants, a dark violet shirt and black coat. Like everyday, he was dressed in formals, just his tie was missing.

He came out of the villa, with her trailing behind. His black Mercedes was waiting for him. He went and opened the passenger door for her. She stepped forward and took a seat inside. No matter how scary or khadoos Ahad Khan was, there were quite a few things about him that Seher liked. And one of them was his chivalry.

Then he came and sat in the driver's seat. Wearing his sunglasses, he adjusted the rear view mirror. Then he brought the engine to live. Stepping on the clutch, he moved his hand to change the gear handle from neutral to first and slowly left the clutch. The car moved forward, and then he changed the gear again before accelerating.

"Ahad bhai?" Seher called out after finishing her food.

"Hmm."

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"You'll know."

The rest of the ride they spent in silence. Seher kept her mind busy with random thoughts because that was better than playing the radio and getting glared at by Ahad.

When the car stopped, she let out a sigh of relief and looked out of the window. In front of her was a really modern looking glass building. She got out of the car and he came to her side as well.

"What is this place?" She muttered under her breath. Ahad heard it but ignored her again.

He gave the keys to the valet and walked inside with long strides, leaving her to follow behind. They took the escalator to the second floor. Her eyes widened in surprise when she took in what was on the second floor. A freaking art exhibition.

"Allah!" She exclaimed as she twirled on her feet to see all the paintings around. "This is so beautiful."

Ahad felt warm in his heart seeing her this happy, but he didn't let that show on his face.

"Anita," Seher's attention snapped back towards Ahad when she heard him call someone.

A mid-aged, beautiful lady was walking towards them. She was dressed in a saree with an off-shoulder blouse, her hair pinned up in a bun.

"Ahad, it is so nice to see you." They shook hands. "And who is this beauty?" Anita asked while looking at Seher.

Seher couldn't help but blush.

"This is Seher, my cousin." Ahad introduced her. "I've brought her here because she is a brilliant sketch artist, and wants to pursue her career in that field. I was hoping she could get some exposure from you."

"Oh, young talent. I love that." Anita commented. "Seher, my love, how long have you been sketching?"

"Umm, a couple of years now." Seher fumbled in nervousness.

"Come and meet me next week in my studio, and we'll see what we can do, okay?" Anita said.

Seher nodded hurriedly, before Anita smiled at her. "For now, enjoy my work." She gestured around the room, making Seher know that the exhibition was Anita's.

Anita excused herself, leaving Seher and Ahad alone.

"Anita Dongra, one of the finest talents of our country." Ahad said while picking up a glass of coke from the waiter and sipping on it.

"Ahad bhai, I don't even know how to thank you." Seher spoke after a few seconds.

"You don't have to thank me. Go, enjoy the exhibition." Ahad nudged her to.

She grinned in excitement and took off to look around. Every painting was no less than a masterpiece. As Ahad watched her stauter around while standing in one corner, he noticed how beautiful she looked. In the room full of classy and expensive looking people, there she was in her little jumpsuit. So innocent, so naive. He had always been protective of his family, but the intensity with which he wanted to protect Seher from all the cruelties and bad-doings of the world was unmatched.

He wouldn't lie, he might have thought about her in a not-so-decent way on more than one occasion. Like when she had worn that red outfit on her 18th birthday that accentuated all her female curves. It had Ahad's eyes popping out in shock and he had to force himself to not look at her all night. And then, during her school farewell, she had worn her peach saree, showing off her slim waist. Ahad had gone to drop her off to the school, and the rage that came rushing over to him when he saw her classmates staring at her was unexplainable. But all those times, he had scolded himself for feeling that way and reminded himself that she was his cousin. A cousin who was nine years younger to him.

_______________

"Here," Shaheen entered the room and gave Jalal his mid-day tea.

"Do you know where Ahad has taken Seher?" Shaheen curiously asked while putting away washed clothes in the closet.

Jalal put down the book he was reading. "Yes, to some art exhibition. He took permission from me last night."

Shaheen was pleasantly surprised. "Really? Seher must be ecstatic."

Jalal nodded.

"Ahad may never show his feelings, but his actions tell how much he cares for everyone." Shaheen commented. It was not hidden from anyone that Shaheen loved Ahad the most among all the children.

"He does care for everyone, especially Seher." The way Jalal said the last part made Shaheen turn towards her husband. His expression was enough to tell her that he was thinking something else.

"What is going on in your mind?" She asked while raising an eyebrow.

Jalal subtly smiled and sipped his hot tea.

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Today's question:

Harry Potter or Avengers?

Harry Potter all the way for me.