His Temporary Wife

six

"Can you pass the salt?"

"I'm not your servant, Shamir." Sania Hussain replied through gritted teeth at her husband. He sighed annoyedly before taking the salt by himself.

Here we go again. Shahzaib thought with an eye roll.

"Shehzad, how is your new project work going on?" His father questioned his younger brother who looked uninterested in talking with any of them. Shahzaib was surprised that his father even remembered something about them.

"Shehzad! I asked you something?" Shamir's voice rose a little, which finally caught the younger Hussain's attention.

"It's going great, dad. If that's what you wanted to hear." Shehzad grimaced before going back to look at his phone as he ate simultaneously.

Shamir passed Sania a glare, "look at the way he is talking with me. Is this how you brought him up?"

"You're talking as if I only must teach him things. Where were you when I gave birth to them? Of course, you were always too busy for us." Sania remarked with a snide comment.

Anushey looked least bothered of all, as she was very much used to it these arguments but Shahzaib was fuming in frustration. Can't they get tired of fighting all the time?

This was the reason why he shifted to his cousin's place when he was just fifteen. Rayyan, his cousin and best friend was only too happy to have him live with them. Rayyan was his uncle's son. And they were kind enough to accept him into their home when he needed it the most. He couldn't stand his parents and their unreasonable fights at one point.

"You are a woman, of course, you were supposed to teach them good values. Look at these bunch of misfits you gave me in the name of kids." Shamir snapped as he eyed Shehzad with disgust.

"How dare you?" Sania rose from her chair, ready to pounce on Shamir. He too stood up. Facing her eye to eye.

"Will you both please shut up and eat in peace for once or is that too much to ask here?" Shahzaib couldn't stop himself from snapping as well. Everyone's eyes landed on him. His family were a tad bit intimidated by him and he had that scary aura around him as and when needed.

Sania huffed before walking away from the dining room. Shamir glared at him before walking in the other direction.

"How do you that, Bhai?" Shehzad asked him with an admiring smile as he kept his phone aside, "no one can stop our parents as you can do. They get so unbearable."

Shahzaib felt selfish for letting his siblings suffer from their parents as he left to live with his uncle's family peacefully. But it was the only sane thing he could do as fifteen years old from a dysfunctional family. He didn't think of anyone else besides his own sanity.

He was selfish. And he wasn't very proud of that.

"Just like that." He replied nonchalantly as Anushey stood up, "I'll be having a sleepover at Ifrah's place tonight. Inform mom and dad for me, will you, Bhai? Not that they care anyway."

Shahzaib could see the hidden pain behind her words, she tried to play it off cool but it did bother her. Their parents didn't care about them and it was hurting all three of them.

Smiling fakely at him, she left the dining room. Soon after, Shehzad too stood up to leave. It was just Shahzaib at the dining table now. He was left alone to think for a while.

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Wafa climbing downstairs and walking toward the kitchen directly. An unknown smile appeared on his face as he watched her.

He could say, things have gotten so much better ever since he proposed the idea of being friends with her.

It's been a week of no fights and arguments. His life was almost blissful now that they agreed on something.