CHAPTER 09

After dinner, Neha and Azfar came back home after midnight. Fatima and Raheem were already in bed, sleeping peacefully. They quietly stepped into the house and went straight to their bedroom. Azfar put all the shopping bags on their bed and went to the closet. He emptied the biggest compartment of his wardrobe for Neha and then brought all the bags into the closet. One by one, he emptied all the bags and set her things into her wardrobe. Once done he brought Neha into the closet. "Now that your wardrobe is set, I want all my clothes back." He said in a friendly tone.

"Okay." She replied softly with a smile. He exited the closet and sat at the edge of the bed. 

"Can't you sleep on the couch?" She asked and he turned to look at her with a raised brow.

"If I sleep on the couch, Amma will catch us and we don't want that, do we?" He asked.

"No!" She replied and shook her head.

"But we can do something that can make you sleep comfortably in this bed." He replied and stood up. She looked at him with confusion visible on her face. He went to the couches and grabbed all the cushions from the couches and brought it to their bed. With the help of the cushions, he built a wall in the middle of the bed that separated both of their sides of the bed. 

"Now tell me, will you be comfortable to sleep on the same bed with me? This wall will keep me away from you. Happy?" He asked her.

"Yes, I'll be fine." She replied and giggled. He smiled hearing her. He pinched her cheek lightly and went to the bathroom. She went to the closet to pick herself PJs for bedtime. He stepped out of the bathroom, freshly showered. And this time he avoided wrapping a towel around his waist. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable around him. He wore his PJs instead and stepped out of the bathroom. She smiled seeing his efforts to make her feel comfortable. She went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. She changed into her comfy PJs and stepped out of the bathroom. The lights were dim in the room and he was sitting on the study table with his laptop in front of him and some papers as well. She went to him and stood beside the study table.

"What are you doing?" She asked him.

"I have some work to finish, only then I can sleep. You go and sleep, you have classes tomorrow and I don't want you to miss any. Go." He told her and she nodded her head. She felt bad for him that she would sleep peacefully and he had work to finish. But she didn't want to anger him, so she did as he told her to do. She crawled into bed and turned off the lamp on the bed side table.

"Good night Neha." He said.

"Good night." She replied with a smile. She then closed her eyes and in a few minutes she was in her dream land. He chuckled when he heard her snoring. 

After an hour, he was done with his work. He shut the laptop and went to his side of the bed. She moaned softly and he turned to look at her. She had a frown on her forehead. He went to her side and sat beside her. A moan escaped her lips and he understood. He moved the comforter off of her feet and started massaging her feet softly. He kept massaging her feet until the frown on her forehead was gone. He adjusted the comforter over her body, then went to his side and laid down. He looked at her one last time and closed his eyes and drifted off.

He hit the snooze on his mobile and got up. Neha was still sleeping peacefully like a baby. He chuckled and made his way to the closet. He picked his clothes for the day. "Finally, it's Friday." He thought to himself and stepped out of the closet. He stepped into the bathroom, peeled off his clothes and hopped into the hot shower. Once done, he wore his clothes and exited the bathroom. He dried his hair with a towel. He went to the bed and gently stroked her hair. She slowly opened her eyes and found him sitting beside her with a smile on his handsome face. She felt something funny in the pit of her stomach. 

"Good morning." He said.

"Good morning." She replied and stretched her arms above her head. A yawn escaped her lips and she sat up on the bed.

"When did you sleep last night?" She asked.

"When I was done with my work. Now, no more questions. Get up and get ready. I am waiting for you in the kitchen." He informed her and exited the room. She stood up and went to the closet. She picked a long shirt and paired it with skinny jeans and went to the bathroom. She took a quick shower, wore her clothes and stepped out of the bathroom. She untangled her hair and applied some eyeliner and lipgloss. After her Salah she picked her bag and went downstairs. Her breakfast was already on the table. Fatima and Raheem were seated on the dining table, enjoying their breakfast. She sat on the seat beside Azfar's seat and started digging in. Once done, they both bid their goodbyes and went to the car. He started the engine and drove off.

He parked the car in front of University gate and turned to her again. "Now what?" She asked with a cute pout on her face. He picked up the gift bag from the back seat and handed it to her.

"What is it?" She asked.

"See for yourself. Open it." He replied with a small smile. She looked into the bag and found a box wrapped in pink shimary paper. She fished it out of the bag and unwrapped it. She gasped when she realized that he had gifted her a new mobile phone. 

"A new phone!" She squealed in excitement.

"Yes, do you like it?" He asked.

"Yes! Thank you. When did you buy it?" She asked him.

"When you were busy looking for your book, I went to the mobile shop and bought it for you. I'm glad you like it because I know nothing about your favorite color and model." He replied.

"It's perfect, thank you." She replied.

"Okay, my number, along with Amma and Baba's numbers are already saved in the mobile. You can save your friend's numbers as well but I want you to wait a bit longer till I talk to your family. Okay?" He asked her and she nodded her head. She bid him goodbye and hopped out of the car. She was walking towards her campus when someone grabbed her elbow and pulled her into a dark corner. She tried to scream but they covered her mouth with their hand. They slammed her against the wall and grabbed her neck. She opened her eyes and found Arman in front of her. 

"You think I let you live if you married another man. I don't think so." He roared at her loudly and she got scared. He raised his hand to slap her and she closed her eyes, as tightly as she could.