Khawabeeda

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"Come in."

He couldn't stop smiling after he came back to his room and sat on the couch waiting for her eagerly. The door knocked after ten-minutes of waiting and he hurriedly opened his laptop trying to appear busy and told her to come inside.

He was trying to keep on a serious face but he was all giddy inside. She came in and put the coffee mug on the table infront of him. He looked up and was about to tell her to sit with him but stopped midway.

"Yahan aa kr- Affi?! What are you doing here?" He questioned her with furrowed eyebrows, shocked and disappointed to see his sister instead of his wife.

"I came here to give you coffee, Bhai." She said with an overly sweet smile.

Fariah had gone to her room and literally begged her to take the coffee to her brother's room. Afeefah told her to take it herself to her husband with a teasing smile but agreed in the end after sensing her disomfort. She told Fariah that Haider must have wanted to talk to her that's why he asked her to come to his room but Fariah told her that she is not ready yet. Afeefah wanted her Bhai and Bhabhi to get close and sort out their differences but she also understood Fariah's reluctance.

"Were you expecting someone else?" She teased her brother with wiggling eyebrows.

"Uh-Wo...no I wasn't. Thanks for the coffee." He said turning back to his laptop with a scowl.

"Well, you should thank your wife for it." She noticed the pink hue rising from his neck to his ears as she prolonged the 'your wife' and laughed loudly.

"But no problem. I'll tell Farri Bhabhi you were saying thankyou." She said winking at him and left the room. He didn't know why but hearing someone refer to Fariah by his accordance made him happy. Really happy.

He smiled at his own thoughts and decided to leave his timid wife alone for now. He had intimidated her enough for today, he thought with a smirk. An idea clicked in his mind and he took out his phone to make a few calls.

~

Everyone was having breakfast on the dining table. Surprisingly Haider , who usually has gone to his office by now, was also present at the table when the door bell rang. Fariah got up to see who came so early in the morning when Haider asked her to complete her breakfast and went to take the door.

Fariah was going to escape him as soon as she had set the breakfast table but Haider asked her where she was going and then told her to sit down and have breakfast when she didn't answer him.

Haider came back to the dining hall with a woman behind him. The woman was dressed in plain maroon shalwar kameez with a black dupatta wrapped around her. Haider came towards the table and picked up his keys and phone then turned to his mother.

"Ammi, this is Maina. She's our new house help. Please show her around how the things work and all." His mother looked at him with wide-eyes and said in a low voice so the woman standing at the door wouldn't hear them.

"Haider, you already know that I don't like the work maids do. They don't do it with safayi."

"If you don't like her work then I'll ask the agecency to send a replacement but we need house help, Ammi. I don't want my women working all day when I can provide them comfort." Rahima and Afeefah elbowed Fariah lightly and she blushed because everyone knew whom he was referring to. His mother didn't say anything else due to his stern expressions and he left for office after bidding them 'Khuda Hafiz'.

"Farri, please show her all the work. I am going to Sidra Apa's house, she wasn't feeling well." Salma asked Fariah who was collecting the dishes from the table.