It has always been you!

Chapter 16

         

"Assalam o alaikum, mumani jan."

Walking towards her, I gave her a tight hug which she returned, squeezing me more tightly. Breaking the hug, she looked at me and caressed my hairs, "Walaikum Assalam, meri jaan. It's good that you are here. How are you?"

"Allah ka shukar, mumani jan. How are u? And how is your knee pain?" I asked, looking at her knee.

"Alhamdulillah, beta, I am fine and my knee pain is also better now. These are the signs that I am getting old."

"Oh, come on, mumani jan. Even now you look so fine and beautiful."

"That's your love, beta. But the thing is, I am really getting old now. I have a daughter who is Alhamdulillah married and a son who is an adult now and inshallah will soon be getting married." She looked at me teasingly and kissed my forehead. My face turned red, knowing very well what she meant.

"Where is Zoha?" I asked her, changing the topic. She smiled knowingly.

"Zoha...She is upstairs," She told me, looking behind me. Her eyes searching for someone. "Where is Saba? She didn't come?" her eyes settled back on me, looking at me questioningly.

"No, mumani jan. The driver dropped me off."

"Oh, I thought she would be here. She was so excited when I told her about this all." She murmured to herself, her face dulled.

"What?!" My eyes widened. "Mama know about this all? But—She..." I spluttered.

"Of course, meri jaan. She is your mother, she gets to know everything. And then, when Zoha told me about this, I couldn't contain my excitement, I wanted to share this news with her so I called her. We both have been waiting for this moment for so long and finally its here." She clapped her hands, her happiness was so effective it made me smile. "Just wait till Wali says yes, which I am sure he will, I will not wait for a second more in bringing you to this house, forever." Her eyes teared up as her lips stretched into a huge smile.

"Now go, maybe Zoha has some news for you." She kissed my forehead and shooed me away.

"Okay, then, I'll go to her." Kissing her cheek, I ran up the stairs and heard mumani jan's voice, asking me to be careful. Listening to her, I slowed down my pace and walked towards Zoha's room. I was so happy, I wanted to squeal loudly but I tried to control my happiness for now.

Reaching Zoha's room, I opened it but no one was there. Closing the door, I walked towards the other room but she was not there also. I sighed.

I was about to turn around and go back down that I heard some voices from Wali's room. I was about to step towards his room but I stopped. I didn't know what to do. I was so nervous to face Wali. I didn't know whether he was still angry with me or not. I hope after hearing about our marriage his mood would have been lifted up. Hoping on that, I advanced towards his room and heard Zoha's voice. I was about to open the door but hearing Wali's words my movements paused.

"Zoha, that's not something to joke about. You don't even know what you are talking about. Have you even asked her? What will she think after hearing about such an absurd thing?" Wali's voice filled my ears. I knew that tone very well, he was really angry at something. I will never go inside. He becomes so intimidating when he gets angry and I didn't want to be his target. He is already mad at me.

But what was he angry about? And what were they talking about?

I moved towards the window and peeked inside. Wali was sitting on his bed and looking at Zoha, more like glaring at her, who was standing right in front of him, her hands on her waist. His grip on the phone he was holding tightened and I prayed for that poor thing. Zoha too looked mad. They both were at a good angle, I could hear and see both of them but they couldn't and I fully took advantage of that.