SHUMAYLL

The night ended quickly, and Iqra had to leave

unfortunately, even if she stayed, we could not talk

why?

because my mom knew-

and when a mother knows something, its best to not make it more obvious

anyways

that night, we did not talk either

I had talked to my mom about this whole thing and the one question that she and bhai had asked me was:

was i willing to marry Iqra?

the answer was: Hell yes

but will she agree to marry me, now?

because lets face it, even though Iqra and I have been talking, we are not that close yet, we have not yet established that connection between us and we are not yet in the mode where we know fully about each other

i, for one, know that i can live with her with or without any flaws or past or any bad thing, but it is she, who is my main concern

you see, my life has not been all rainbows and candies- I had my fair share of dark days and i am still living with it so yes, i don't expect any girl to just simply love me because i am not much of a good guy once you have a look in my past

And Iqra, well Iqra is Iqra, she neither sees the glass half full nor half empty, she'd rather have something else over it-

you get the point-

"Shumayll?" called bhabhi and i looked up from my phone

i did not know i was staring at it

"Yeah?" i asked her and she smiled at me

she took a seat beside me and inhaled a deep breath

"The night air is always special, do you know why?" she asked me softly

I shook my head no

"Its because night knows our deepest, darkest secrets, our dark days and bright past, it knows everything about us, hides it from the world and when we breathe in the night air, it's like breathing in a whole new life" she said poetically

i smiled and shrugged

some way, i knew she was right

i was a literature kinda guy- and i understood what she was clearly saying-

"Shumayll, I know you love her, but are you ready to take the next big step?" she asked me and i sighed, running my hand through my hair

"I- I don't know bhabhi" i replied

"Honey, just know, whatever you decide, let your heart participate in it, and not just your brain- your brain may be smart but when it comes to these things, the brain usually gives the most dumb ideas" she said and i chuckled

"Bhabhi-" i said, looking around for anyone who would seem suspicious of listening to our conversation

she replied with a 'hmmm?'

"What was it like when you fell for bhai?" i asked her

she smiled, a dreamy smile

"It was annoying at first, my feelings were all over the place, i was a emotional mess- but then he said he was also going through the same and that i was the first to ever make him feel that way- over all, it was and still is, a rocky ride for us both, even though we have a 2 year old son and 8 year old marriage" she said and i smiled

I remember each time that she defended me, each time that she cried coz of me, each time she was more of an older sister than a bhabhi to me and each time she saved me from daadi mah

i will never forget her

"Bhabhi, I know that i want Iqra for her, but will she want me for me?" i asked her, gazing out in the sky

She chuckled lightly

"Shumayll, I am surprised you even bought up that question!" she said and i shrugged

She put her hand on my shoulder

"Shumayll, that girl is not like every other girl, she does not watch romantic movies, nor does she like romance but she is capable of loving, the most important and best aspect about her is her views about people- Shumayll, she sees them for who they are, not their surname, nor their past nor their family- just the person matters- and always remember one thing, Honey, Love sees nothing, no money, no heir, no family, nothing- love sees the heart and she loves you, think about what i said" she completed and i stared at her

she was right

I chuckled finally

"So what's the next plan?" She asked

I chuckled

"I don't exactly know..." I replied

She laughed and patted my head

"You'll figure this out" she said and I nodded smiling at her

Maybe.....

🔆🔆🔅🔆🔅🔆🔅🔆🔆

When I woke up in the morning, I saw 12 missed calls from Iqraam

Immediately I called him back

"As salaam, sup?" I asked him

"You are picking me up today" he replied after greeting me back

"Alright- I will be there at 7-" I said and with final goodbyes, I headed for shower

After shower, I got dressed and walked out of my closet

The maid was setting up my room which seldom happens

"Uhh why are you cleaning my room?" I asked her, rubbing my neck

"Badi ma'am, asked me to" she said and I nodded

I took my laptop and phone before walking out of the room

I set at the table with my breakfast

"As salaam!!" Said Shaheer Bhai as he entered the dining

We replied and slowly everyone entered yelling their greetings

We began food and I avoided mom as much as I could

Unfortunately she caught my eye and smirked at me

My body heated up and I looked down at my food

I finished my food and got up

"I am leaving for work, Allah hafiz!" I said and after putting my dishes in the kitchen, I walked out of the house

My Mazda6 drove down he stretch until I reached the highway

There was traffic causing me to stop at one point for almost half an hour!

I messaged Iqra and she replied with a call

I hit answer with my Bluetooth

"Yo, salaam" I said

"Was salaam. What are you doing?" She asked me

I take it she heard the cars pass by

"Driving" I replied as the light turned green

"What? You know you will be fined for this!" She said and I chuckled

"Bluetooth fluffy, technology!" I remarked and she scoffed

"I can't believe you!" She muttered and I laughed

"What are you doing?" I questioned

"Nothing, I am up on the balcony, watering plants"

I smirked

I hit the accelerator and passed around like a pro, reaching the Ibrahim mansion in 10 minutes

I parked the car in front of the balcony and got off my car

Leaning against the car, I pulled on my shades and tilted my head up

She was too busy smiling at the flowers and watering them to notice me

a familiar feeling crept in my stomach, making knots and turning as i formed a goofish smile at her

she finally looked down at me and her eyes went wide

I smiled goofishly at her

she gave me a 'what-the-hell?' look

i stuck my tongue out at her and she began laughing

I smiled, staring at the beauty infront of me

"Ahem" that was not me

I turned to Iqraam and my smile fell

"You just had to come" i muttered and he smacked me on my shoulder

"hey!!" I winced and he shook his head

"Get in, i am late" he said and i sighed, turning back towards the balcony

Iqra was there, laughing at my misery

I waved at her and she waved back

I winked at her and she laughed back

i thought she would wink back but oh well

"Shumayll, my brother, can we leave now?" asked Iqraam and i sighed

"Alright" i said and got into my Mazda

Just then my phone beeped indicating a message

"Open it-" I ordered the phone and it did as i said

"important meeting at 9am with Mr. Juhu for the finalization of the raw materials" read out Iqraam and the car came to a halt

"What?!!" I literally screamed

I took the phone from him and rechecked the message

damn it

i called Tina and she confirmed it was true and the meeting had been scheduled a week ago by me!

Damn it how did i forget!?!

"Tina, get all the details of our raw materials ready, I want quotations for the other 3 industries we checked with and all the other necessary details about the materials- i want the best as we give our customers the best" I said and Tina agreed with it

"Well thats done" I muttered putting the phone away

"You were busy with her, weren't you? To even realize there was a meeting due?" asked Iqraam and i gave him a sheepish grin

"Oh Allah, Shumayll, Love is not suppose to interfere with your profession! it is suppose to boost it up!" he said and he sounded exactly like Iqra

"You sound like Iqra! she told me that" i replied and he chuckled

"same blood bro-" he said and i drove out of the gates

we reached work at 8:30 giving me half an hour to prepare for the meeting

soon the meeting was done and dusted and finally i was free

"Sir, your new lineup for the next three days" said Tina

or not

"Leave it here, i will see that it is fixed" i said and she nodded, leaving the IPad on my desk and walking away

I looked through my tight schedule

Meetings, upon meetings, Turkey visit, Dubai visit and Switzerland visit-

well there goes my three day plans with Iqra

"Damn" I muttered as i checked the timing for all, making sure they did not collide

I called Tina in

"Why the Switzerland and Turkey visit?" i asked her

I had branches all over the world but i also had capable CEO looking after them and i relied heavily on them for the betterment of my company

"The two branch managers seemed in distraught over the company finance, sir- they had requested an immediate meeting with you" said Tina and i nodded

"Dubai?" i asked her

"Your Dubai company is holding a charity event for the disabled kids around the world, the company owner should attend it" she said and i nodded again

"Alright- so thats it?" i asked and she smiled with a yes

"Alright- book my flight to Dubai- ask Evan (Switzerland manager) and Ruqait (Turkey manager) to meet me there- i will handle the three together" i said and she nodded before walking away

I sighed and switched on my phone

i hit call on moms name

It rang and she picked it up after several rings

typical mom

"as salaam honey" she said and i smiled at her reference

"Was salaam mama, can we have lunch together today?" i asked her hurriedly

"Yeah sure- where?" she asked me

"Anywhere you like, just message me the address and i will be there- and make sure you come with bodyguards" I said and she chuckled before hanging up

I got ready for another meeting with some shareholders

I inhaled a deep breath and hoped for the best atm