Aamna was planning the menu for dinner and even after all the efforts she could only decide on something as simple as Mix veg pulao, a simple chicken curry and roti. She knew that only all those things were more than enough to drain all her energy, moreover, it was hidden from Madiha so there would be no assistance but how could Mohsin let his wife work alone especially when she was making all these efforts for his sister?

Taking a day off he was at home, doing all the chopping work along with arranging tableware as well as collecting the required ingredients. Glancing at the wall clock he looked at his wife who was changing Zayan's clothes. Going towards her he kissed her head from behind and pulled her in a hug.

"Romance karne ka aur koi waqt nhi mila tujhe? Kitna kaam baqi hai abhi." she elbowed him and gave all her attention to her son and Mohsin rolled his eyes.

(Don't you get any other time for romance? There is a lot of work to be done.)

"I have chopped and washed all the vegetables, already made a salad as well as raita (curd dip), arranged cutlery, washed and soaked the rice. Marinated the washed chicken and no need to make roties, I will bring it from the market." Aamna looked at her husband for a very long moment and gave him a loving look. Many of her cousins considered her a fool to reject a great businessman and chose to marry a man with no wealth, However, she wasn't a fool. Instead of a rich man she chose a loving man.

"Tu pehli baar mein jitna bura laga tha ab utna hi achha lagne laga hai." she again looked at Zayan without buying much time for this emotional exchange. 

(The worse you seem at first, the better you feel now.)

"Khair, tu to na pehle achhi lagi thi na ab lagti hai, bas kaam chala rha hu." as usual, Mohsin loved to tease his wife and Aamna threw a glare at him but before she could say something in reply doorbell rang. Both of them looked at each other with wide eyes, the clock was reading a quarter past three.

(well, I neither liked you before nor do I like you now. Just spending my life.)

"Don't tell me Aamna you invited Aamir bhai and his mother for lunch instead of dinner." throwing the pillow on the correct place Mohsin asked and walked towards the door leaving Aamna in confusion. Could she make such a big blunder?

"This woman is..." Mohsin muttered while gritting his teeth, however maintained a smile on his face just before opening the door, but found someone unexpected. "Assalamualaikum," the man standing in the doorway passed a smile and Mohsin tried to remember if he knew this man.

"Walaikum as salam. Ji?" Mohsin muttered and looked at the man from head to toe but didn't remember where he saw him. "It's Madiha's home and you are Mohsin, right?"

"Umm... Yeah, but..." Mohsin nodded with confusion.

"I'm Athar... Can we talk if you're free? I won't take more than fifteen minutes." Mohsin did not say anything in reply. He wasn't feeling comfortable to let an unknown man enter his home but he seemed a little know... Somehow. "I'm Madiha's colleague." it was an addition to the introduction and Mohsin remembered the day when He took Madiha for the interview and she bumped into a man. Athar was the same man.

"Come in." Giving space to Athar Mohsin walked towards the living area, meanwhile, carrying Zayan in her arms Aamna also came to join her husband in hosting the guests but she was surprised to see this new face. 

"He's Aapi's colleague." Said Mohsin to Aamna who nodded but then looked at Athar's decent personality."

"Aapi to abhi ghar me nhi hain." Said Mohsin while placing a glass of water in front of Athar and sat down opposite him. 

(Aapi is not at home right now.)

"Hmm... Jaanta hu wo abhi office me hi hai, main wahi se aa rha hu abhi." Said Arhar and Mohsin looked at Aamna, they both were unable to understand anything. "Mohsin, main tumse hi milne aaya hu, Madiha se nhi," Athar answered an unasked question. 

(Hmm... I know. She is in the office, I'm coming from there only.)

(Mohsin, I have come to meet you only, not Madiha.)

"Mujhse? Aap mujhe jaante hain?" Mohsin asked and Athar nodded. "Main tumhe jaanta hu, lekin tum mujhe nhi jaante."

(To meet me? But how do you know me?)

(I know you but you don't know me.)

Mohsin was waiting for Athar to say something and finally, he let out a breath. "Ghuma phira ke baat nhi karunga... Main Madiha ko pasand karta hu, Aaj se nhi 8 saal pehle se. Hum pehli baar college me mile the, aur hamari dusri mulaqaat office me hui lekin in do mulaqato ke beech me hum dono ki zindagi me maano tufaan aa gye." Athar represented his side of the story in front of Mohsin and Aamna who were beyond shook.

(I will not beat around the bush... I like Madiha, not from today but from 8 years ago. We met for the first time in college, and our second meeting took place in the office, but in between these two meetings, it was like... as if storms passed in both of our lives.)

Athar took only the said fifteen minutes to tell everything but the next ten minutes were remarkably uncommunicative, only he decided to break this silence. "Maine tumhe sab kuch bta diya, past bhi present bhi... Tumhe assure karne ke liye mere paas kuch nhi hai, lekin sach keh rha hu, tumhari behen ko apni jaan se zyada azeez rakhunga, use mna lo mujhse shadi karne ke liye." Athar concluded his part and Mohsin looked at his wife who was as shocked as him.

(I have told you everything, past as well as present... I don't have anything sufficient to assure you but trust me, I will love your sister more than my life. Please convince her to marry me.)

Mohsin had nothing to say but Aamna wasn't satisfied yet. "Aapki family is rishte se khush nhi hai... Aapko nhi lagta hamari Aapi ke liye ye situation bohot complicated ho jayegi... Wo already apni life me bohot struggle kar chuki hain aapse shadi karna ek aur struggle sabit hua to? Hum kese yaqeen kar lein aapki baato ka?" Aamna put her doubt without any delay or hesitation and Athar let out a cold sigh.

(Your family is not happy with the idea of this marriage... Don't you think this situation will be very complicated for Aapi? She has already struggled a lot in her life, what if marrying you turned out to be another struggle? Why do we believe in your words?)

"Main Shadi ke baad Madiha ko apni family ke sath nhi rakhna chahta, main nhi chahta har rooz use past ke taane diye jayein aur hamare present ko mushkil banaya jaye, shadi ke baad hum alag rental apartment mein rahenge." It seemed Athar had planned everything. Aamna gave a look to Mohsin who was quiet for a long period. Untangling the fingers of one hand from the other he sat down with a straight back and directly looked in Athar's eyes.

(I don't want to keep Madiha with my family after marriage, I don't want to use every day to taunt the past and make our present difficult, after marriage we will live in separate rental houses.)

"Aapne apni jitni salary batayi hai usme aap rental apartment aur family ke expenses kese afford kar sakte hain?" This was a straight question from a brother who wanted his sister to be happy and in his life he had understood that money can buy happiness. For the first time, Athar did not know how to answer this question.

(How can you afford a rental apartment and family expenses with your stated salary?)

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Madiha walked into the home with a big smile, She was holding a few shopping bags in her hands which she passed towards Aamna. "For Zayan." surprisingly she silently held the bags without saying her usual dialogue with a fake disappointment "Aapi aapko Zayan se kuch zyada hi pyaar hai, kabhi mere liye to kuch nhi laati aap." for a few moments Madiha felt something odd but then ignored and looked at Mohsin who was sitting on the sofa of the living room.

(Aapi, you love Zayan too much, you never bring anything for me.)

"I have a good news, guess what?" Madiha announced while sitting on the sofa just beside her brother. Mohsin and Aamna looked at each other without leaving the serious expression on their faces.

"kya hua tum dono itne chup chup kyu ho?" Madiha's big grin shrunk after that silence and Aamna decided to behave normally. "What's the news, aapi?" she asked. Mohsin and Aamna both thought for a moment that the news was related to Athar... Maybe Madiha agreed and was now going to announce the decision but there was something else.

(What happened, why are you both so quiet?)

"At least try to guess." Madiha insisted.

"You agreed to get married... Umm maybe. Not sure." Mohsin spoke his mind in a hushed tone only to disappoint his sister. She took Zayan in her lap and kissed his cheeks before glaring at his father, however, today she was so happy that nothing could spoil her mood.

"Please, don't bring this matter up again and again, I got my job permanent," Madiha muttered the first part in a dull voice but she was buoyant while announcing the last part. 

"What? Really?" For the next few minutes, Mohsin and Aamna forget about Athar and Aamir, they all were so happy to see this progress. A woman like Madiha who never stepped out of the house was turning into an independent person... That's what Aamna and Mohsin wanted.

"I wish, all the happiness come to the goblet of your life." Mohsin hugged his sister from left and Aamna did the same from the other side but the most loved person was already in her lap. Her Zayan. The moment was so cheerful but unfortunately short-lived. Madiha's big grin died as soon as a burning smell hit her nostrils.

"Aamna... Tum Chicken paka rhi thi?"

(Were you cooking chicken?)

"How do you know Aapi?"

"Because the Chicken is no more." Madiha stood up with an unmatched urgency, handed Zayan to his father and ran towards the kitchen followed by both the clumsy cooks who were doing every possible struggle since morning to cook only two dishes and now, one of them wasn't worthy to be consumed.

Aamna smacked her forehead when she realised that she forgot to turn the flame off after cooking.

"why always with me?"

Madiha choked while running her gaze on the kitchen platform. Seemed like a storm passed from the kitchen. The sink was piled up with dishes, and uncountable pieces of kitchen towels were lying everywhere. A corner of the kitchen platform was occupied with chopped vegetables, soaked rice and vegetable waste that Mohsin didn't bother to throw in the dustbin.

"Ye kya haal kar diya hai kitchen ka? Main aa ke khana bana leti, tunhe kya zarurat thi khana pakane ki?" Asked Madiha louder than usual. She was angry because she knew that all that eventually led to an extra amount of work.

(What you have done to the kitchen? I would have cooked after coming back, why did you need to cook?)

"Do you mean... Tumhe kya zarurat thi Khana Jalane ki." suppressing his voice Mohsin muttered to a sharp stare from his lovely wife.

(Do you mean... Why did you need to burn the food? )

"Chal, chup reh," Aamna jerked him and he glared at her in reply "Puri duniya chu rahe bas teri ye zuban kenchi ki tarha chalti rahe." but Madiha huffed.

(oh, Shut up.)

(Yeah, everybody should be silent other than you.)

"Why were you cooking in this amount?" Madiha asked with anger and the lovely couple forgot to express their love publicly. "Oh no." Aamna smacked her forehead one more time and fake cried.

"Aamir bhai and his mother are coming for dinner in only half an hour," Aamna muttered and felt

scared of Madiha for the first time.

"Main tum dono ke ek ek thappad na maru?" Madiha shouted while glaring at both of them, "rishte ki baat ke liye bulaya hai na tumne unhe?" Madiha gritted her teeth. 

(Should I slap both of you?)

(You've called them for discussing about marriage... Right?)

Aamna shook her head in response but Mohsin nodded, seeing the contrasting reactions they quickly stared at each other as if scolding for not tuning with one another and to alter their fault, this time Aamna nodded however Mohsin shook his head.

"Aapi main is rishte ke liye mana kar dungi, lekin abhi ke liye to kuch karein... Wo log aane wale honge." Aamna bit her nail while glancing at the chicken curry which was left with no curry just half burn chicken.

(Aapi, I will reject this proposal myself, but for now, do something... those people will be arriving soon.)

Madiha, first of all removed her abaya, took a simple dupatta to cover her head then looked at the things present in front of her. "do we have some more Chicken at home?" asked Madiha and Aamna nodded. "Great."

"Mohsin, do the dishes. Aamna, you clean this mess. And... I'm cooking Chicken pulao, mixed veg and..." she stopped for a moment. "Do we have something else to cook?" getting no idea Madiha asked and Aamna thought about it then shook her head.

"Other than Potatoes and eggs we don't have anything for now."

"That's great. I know what I have to do." Madiha smiled and started preparing the said dishes mean while Mohsin and Aamna were doing their said works. "Aamna, after completing this work you have to do one more thing, peel two potatoes, and dice them, okay? And Mohsin, immediately put 4 eggs for boiling, use the electric kettle." Madiha ordered in a hurry while adding many things in a pressure cooker and at the same time adding the same spices to the wok present on the other burner.

After only ten minutes Mohsin and Aamna both were done with their works and then they were standing on Madiha's head.

"Do we have curd at home?" asked madiha and Aamna shook her head.

"Mohsin–" Madiha just opened her mouth but her brother saluted and nodded. "Aye aye captain. Mission curd is on..." both the ladies laughed and Madiha asked Aamna to chop a tomato and a few garlic cloves in a handy chopper which took only 5 minutes. After that Aamna prepared the potatoes and took a breath of relief like she had already done all the work.

"Aapi, what are you going to do with potatoes and eggs?" Aamna was curious about everything and Madiha looked at her while putting the lid of the pressure cooker. She picked a hand blender to blend the spice mix in wok only to save some time, put all the chopped veggies and covered it with a lid.

"Wese Aamna, tumhe cooking aaye na aaye, kitchen me har appliance available hai." Madiha compliment her sister-in-law to save time due to uncountable appliances and Aamna smiled. Madiha felt like half of the work was done. She quickly kneaded a soft dough in a hurry and put in aside before washing hands.

(By the way Amna, whether you know cooking or not, every appliance is available in your kitchen.)

"After getting married this is the only thing on which I spend almost half of my salary. Aapi I want to make this home as comfortable as possible." Madiha smiled. She knew how women try hard to convert a house into a home, for almost four years she had been trying to do the same work but got pains in return, however after a long period of time, now, she was coming back to little happier phase.

"Hmm... What were you asking about potatoes?" Madiha asked but then decided to answer the question without any waste of time. I'm making Ande Aloo (potato and boiled egg curry), and this recipe is my own invention. Mohsin came back with curd and Madiha opened the lid of the pressure cooker. The chicken was 75% done, perfect time to add rice. She added rice along with salt and let it cook. Mix veg was almost done, adding some malai as a substitute to fresh cream she put the lid on for a few more minutes then looked at Aamna who peeled the not completely cooked potatoes.

"Aapi, share the recipe with me too." coming closer to Madiha Aamna demanded.

"It's very simple, you just need to fry the thinly sliced onions till they turn golden brown, don't let them turn dark brown and after that it's so simple." saying that Madiha drew out the golden brown onion out from the hot oil, "Now add finely chopped garlic or garlic paste, saute it until turn aromatic, add 2 cardamom, 1 clove, some basic powdered spices like salt, chilli power, turmeric, coriander powder, little bit garam masala, 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds with a dash water and let it saute well." Aamna learn many tips 'n' tricks within these five minutes, she did not took her eyes away from the pot when Madiha blended the curd and caramelised onions together. 

"Now add the tomatoes and this mixture in the spices to prepare a gravy." Madiha told Aamna while stirring everything on high flame. Just a quick stir in the pot and it was time to add potatoes. Madiha covered the pot with the life but Aamna furrowed.

"Aapi, shouldn't we cook the gravy till oil separates? But you already put the potatoes."

"Gravy has a little water so the potatoes and gravy will be cooked together, if it had more water then we should cook it little for some more time. Moreover we don't have much time."

"Oh got you!" Aamna nodded.

"My dear ladies, the said half an hour has already passed." Mohsin, who was rocking his son peeped inside the kitchen to have a look at both the ladies working hard in the kitchen, but Aamna shoo that idea away without any kind of hurry.

"Have you heard about, 'If you're 5 minutes early then you're ten minutes late'?" Asked Aamna and Mohsin nodded.

"Of course."

"There is a change in Aamir bhai's case... If he's half an hour late then he's one hour early, so don't worry. Khana thanda hone tak wo aa hi jayenge."

(He will come by the time food gets cold.)

"To mujhe robot banane ki kya zarurat thi? Mene ghar wapas aa ke pani tak nhi piya." stopping her hand to stir the spatula in mix veg Madiha asked and Aamna bit her lip while mumbling Sorry. 

(So why did you make me a Robo-cook? I didn't even drink water after coming home.

"Sorry ki Bachhi, dil chah rha hai ek thappad maru tumhare muh par." Madiha huffed but focused on the food one more time. 

(Hell with your sorry, right now I wanna slap you.)

"Offo Aapi, aaj to aap khatarnaak wali nand ban ke dikha rhi hain..." Aamna being Aamna did not take anything seriously eventually Madiha smiled but fake glared at her sister-in-law.

(Oh, Aapi, today you are showing yourself as a dangerous Sister-in-law.)

"Dua karo ban hi na jaun main ek khatarnaak nand." three of them just laughed. Mohsin felt happy to see his sister smiling.

(Pray that I don't become one.)

Madiha started making dough balls to make roti, Aamna was helping her when suddenly Madiha looked at her brother. "Mohsin, Aamna, keep your words, I'm not going to get married... That's my final decision."

"Don't worry aapi. I myself am rejecting Aamir bhai on your behalf." Aamna's voice was holding another level of enthusiasm which was something fishy for Madiha. 

How could this stubborn girl could be so good to listen to Madiha without any argument however Mohsin wasn't satisfied with this decision of his sister, for him Aamir was the best match for Madiha.

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