The wedding was finally coming to an end. Zoya was glad that she hadn't missed the flight as she had hoped to, initially. She was glad she was here. It proved to function as a much needed get-away.

The time she had spent with Fazeela, Kainat and Azeem bhai and obviously Alizey were the best moments of her life. She had a new friend, Minaal. She was going to reminisce all of it when she got old. And as she would remember it, her lips would curl into an appealing smile.

Alizey had left after barat, and the farmhouse without Alizey felt gloomy even though it was still filled with loads of guests including Alizey's cousins and relatives and of course that creep Haris, who eyed her despite her not so subtle "NOT INTERESTED" hints.

Zoya was going to wear a sari today and so were Fazeela and Kainat. Last night, Zoya had cried in bed as she missed, her best friend. Zoya didn't know why she was so emotional, but she was.

" Zoye, I love your sari more now, can we switch again? " Fazeela said as she hungrily glanced at the laid-out saris which were laid out on the bed.

Kainat had ordered these saris from Amazon, and they were shipped from a boutique in Kochin, Kerala India. Kainat had found them as she was scrolling through her Instagram. And as soon as she saw the mustard sari, she fell in love with it. After checking out the collection Kainat had placed an order. She had selected pastel pink for Zoye, greyish blue for Fazeela and Mustard for herself. But when she had gifted them, Fazeela had switched and taken the pastel pink one. And now she was regretting that swap.

"Should have thought that before. A deal is a deal" Zoya told her as she gave Fazeela a sorry-not-sorry smile. Zoya had been secretly eyeing Fazeela's bluish grey sari and she had actually gotten it. Sometimes, Allah listens to your small not so significant prayers. And you find yourself thinking "kuch aur he maang letay."(should have asked for something else)

"Get ready, we are getting late for the valima. Kahin Aunty humaray bagir na chalain jaen.(Aunty might leave without us.)" Fazeela said as she grabbed her sari and went to change. Her makeup was already done, and she had curled her hair into beach waves.

Zoya was applying lip color, when the knock on the door interrupted her. "Zoya, yaar bus karo ho gaya. Bohat zyda best friend bana chahti hoo Alizey ki... Usi ghar main shadi ho k jana chahti hoo. Niceee(Zoya stop it. I see how you want to up your best friend games with Alizey. Planning to get married in the same household. Nice !!!))" Kainat said standing in the door.

She was looking pretty ravishing in the lime organza sari of her's. Her hair was secured in a bun and even had flowers in them. She was looking drop dead gorgeous. The DIVA!

Hearing her remark Zoya blushed the deepest darkest shade of red. Uff, she wasn't even trying to impress him. Usay kon karay ga impress! (Who wants to impress him!) She just wanted to look pretty and take tons of pictures. She was leaving tomorrow and going back her mundane life, so she wanted to make what was left of it, worth.

"Bakwass na karo!(Don't talk rubbish)

I can't stay in the same room as Irtaza. Shadi tu rehnay he does( Marriage is another thing)!!!

I just want to look good.

Aj ki pictures Instagram pay ja rahi hain.(Today's pictures are going to grace my insta)

Look at you though, Azeem bhai nay tumhain kamray say bahir kesay ana diya?(How Azeem bhai let you out of the room is beyond me.)" Zoya asked as she winked at Kainat who was now looking flustered.

Tit-for-Tat Kainat, Tit-for-Tat

"Wait a min, Irtaza? I was talking about Moiez. But Irtaza bhi thek thak hai (Irtaza is okay too)!"

"But nikkah pay tu Irtaza, is just my type bol rahi theen?( But at Nikkah you were saying Irtaza is my type.)"

"Maan gayen na(Now you admit) ... he is just your type...." Kainat replied raising her perfect brows.

"Bakwas nai karo Kainat main(Shop talking nonsense Kainat)..." Zoya wasn't able to complete the sentence. She was awestruck by how pretty Fazeela looked in her sari. The pastel pink sari was actually complimenting her. With the complexion as white as her's, Fazeela was blooming in that sari. Her beachy hair which she had parted in the middle were falling on the sides. She was looking like an angel. Hoor!!! And so Zoya began singing the 'hoor' song she remembered. She had this talent, of relating a song with the current situation.

"Koi hoor, jesayyyyy tuuuuuu" Zoya sang, and her melodious voice echoed through the room accompanied by Kainat's laughter and Fazeela's "Pagal jao sari pehno apni(stupid, go wear your sari)".

Zoya was happy. Maybe crying last night had given her some sort of emotional stability.

"Zoya, now go get dressed. We are getting late. Plus remember you have to give that mini speech for Alizey. You don't want to be late. Warna Alizey ka tu pata he hai(You know Alizay). I am leaving with Azeem. Tum Fazeela aur Jaffer bhai k sath ajana or zyda dair ho tu Ahmad. (You can come with Fazeela and Jaffer bhai, or Ahmad if you are late)" Kainat said as she left their room and Zoya busied herself with changing into her sari.

Irtaza scanned the receptionhall for the cute devil, but she was nowhere to be seen. And it vexed him. Notthat he wanted to see her, he just didn't want another drama. So, he waslooking out for everyone.

Liar!

No, no lies.

Bus, sakoon say Valima ho jae ga. Alizeyaur Hashim cake kat lain. Aur hum saray wapis Karachi chalay jaen, kheriyatsay. (Just hoping that Valima gets done inaccord and we all go back to Karachi.

Aur wahan say wapis london. Zindagi main sakoon. (And from there to London!Harmony in life, that's the goal)

Whatever!

Cake! His eyes came upon the 5 tier grand cake and then on the little girl whose eyes were welling with tears. She stared at the top of the flower studded tires and then back at the ground. It was Sarah. Alizey's niece. He didn't know why she was crying. But just seeing the little kid try so hard not to cry, made his heart clench and before he knew it, he was by her side.

"Hey, honey, what's wrong?" he asked, crouching down.

"I am sad." She replied.

Of course! He wanted to point out but refrained. She was nothing but a 5 year-old.

"You are?" He asked, faking his surprise.

"Ahan." She said nodding her head at him.

"But why are you sad?" He asked her.

She pointed towards the cake and then sobbed. "She's.... gone." Her breath hitched but she completed the sentence.

"No little bunny, see over there. Alizey is right over there." Little bunny! That's what Zoya calls her. Stop! He scolded his alter ego.

He pointed towards the stage where Alizey sat with Hashim smiling and posing for the pictures. Instead of easing her, his comment made her more miserable. Allah help him, to the people who were witnessing his chit chat with the child it would appear that he was bullying the little child.

"Shh, hey it's okay. She is right over there."

"Not lizay. Zoe! She is gone. They said that she was punished because she broke Mommy's vase last night. I haven't seen her since then. She's turned into a cake!" The girl cried in horror.

Ofcourse, Zoya broke the vase.

Again.

What was with her and the vases?

But turning into a cake!

This cake is a little too elegant to be her carnation.

Don't smile! He scolded himself again as his lips began curling.

"Everyone is going to....... eat Zoe." Her breath hitched again, and a tear spilled from her eye and trailed down her cheek.

"Shhh, little bunny. Zoya is not the cake. She is around here, somewhere. Don't cry we will find her."

"She is not cake? But I haven't seen her. Subha say. (since morning)" the girl whispered.

"No, she's not." Sarah frowned and then stared at her hands.

"Can you keep a secret, Mr. stunk up Suits.?" She asked and he stared at her astonished.

Secret! Of course, he could. He had been keeping Zoya's secrets. Her rhetorical question felt like a jib. Mainly because although, he had been keeping Zoya's secrets he also had been exposing them unintentionally. And the nickname! Stunk up Suits? Zoya!! I want to murder you ......

"Sure, little bunny." He replied holding his smile.

"It wasn't Zoe who broke the vase." She spoke hesitantly.

Irtaza brushed her tear away with his thumb. "It's okay, little bunny. Accidents happen. I'll not tell anyone." He swore as he held out his pinky finger.

"they said Zoe turned into cake because of me. That my friends turn into cake."

Ah. Hell! He hated how he didn't know how to make Sarah feel better. Another tear spilled from an eye, clinging to her dense black lashes before dropping onto his thumb.

The vise tightened around his heart even more. He looked away from her, turning his attention to the cake. The five-tiered cake—frosted white and adorned with golden with white sugar flowers—rose high above them.

"Little bunny, there's no way Zoya turned into a cake. It's way too tall." He hadn't meant to say the last part. She blinked those thick lashes, dispersing her tears as she smiled.

"Yes, she is a little short." She agreed.

He liked little Sarah. Smiling at her rueful smile, he swore "I won't tell her you called her short."

The girl smiled as she added, "She hates it."

"But if she is not cake then..." Sara nodded. Her curls bounced.

"They're just teasing you." He said, getting up from the ground.

Because boys tease girls they like. Was that why he'd been giving Zoya such a hard time. Why he'd always given her such a hard time since they meet?

What tough time? I have been on my best behavior except for the flight!

He'd like to think he was more mature than that. He'd like to think he was too smart to be attracted to her, too. But he couldn't keep lying to himself. Because, like Sara whenever he lifted his gaze his eyes started searching the crowd for Zoya.

"They were teasing me?" Her voice trembled, but with anger this time, making her sound much older than her tender years.

"Afraid so."

Sara tilted her chin and narrowed her eyes, anger stiffening her small, thin body. Irtaza felt bad for Musa.

"Why?" She asked.

"Maybe it was his idea of trying to be friends with you." He answered.

"But I don't want to be friends with him." The girl replied folding her hands in front of her.

"Poor, Musa. Now come on, let's find your Zoe." He said holding out his hand for her to take, which she did.

"Meenu!" He called his sister, who had lately become best friends with Zoya.

"Zoya kahan hai(Where is Zoya)?" He asked abruptly which caused Meena's eyebrows to hike upwards.

"I am helping Sara in finding her. She thinks, Zoya miraculously turned into a cake, because she...." He began but then saw Sara. She was looking at him as if he had betrayed her. And he realized he was about to reveal her secret.

".... is not here" he concluded his sentence which earned a small smile from Sara

" I see! She spilled juice on her sari, on her way to the hall. So, she is probably in the restroom getting it cleaned."

"Hey little bunny, why don't you stay with Meenu, and I'd go find your best friend!"

"Thankie you." The girl replied giving him the biggest smile with a broken front tooth. And damn it did feel great. It didn't cost him a dime and he was feeling great. The smile that Sarah passed him was worth the effort he was making. Maybe that euphoria, that feeling was something she was addicted too. Maybe that was why Zoya couldn't say 'no' to people. Her people.

"Thank you, Haris, but I don't need your help." He heard her say as she struggled to get away from Haris, Alizey's cousin in the alley.

Like a tape record he could hear Zoya's voice play in mind.

"...............Haris, Alizey's cousin makes my skin crawl. And I can't just politely avoid him because he is her family. So, one time while he was staring at me like I was his business, I ran a finger in my nose to gross him. God it was the most embarrassing stuff. But he still didn't get, you know grossed out. I washed my fingers hundred times after that. "

Every time he found her, she was in some sort of serious trouble. Coughing to get their attention, he marched towards Zoya and Haris who stood frozen in the corridor. Zoya was the first to recover.

"Yaar kidhar reh gae they? Itni dair say intezar kar rahi the. (Where were you? I have been waiting since forever) You said we'd ditch the Valima and go eat ice cream from Baskin Robbins?" She said and now it was his turn to get the shock of his life.

Yaar? Did she just call him yaar? She had never been this informal with him. And then implying that he and she were a thing. That she had plans with him? Okay, he really didn't see that coming.

Leaving Haris standing there gaping like a fish, Zoya looking a vision in her sari marched towards him. She tripled over the length of clothe but recovered. Smiling at him as he was answer to all her prayers, she walked towards him and stood beside him. He was enchanted, by the sight. She always had been a cute little thing but today, she looked beyond gorgeous. MashAllah!

"Irtaza, I thought you..." He began and then shook his head dismissing the idea of continuing the sentence and left them.

Good for him!

" No! How hard it is to say NO, HARIS!" He asked her irritated when they were finally left alone. The girl was legit going to end up in a mess bigtime. Actually, he wasn't sure how she had survived with this much naivety.

"I didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"I see. You have no problem hurting mine? Stunk up suit seriously? Stunk? Sarah called me that in front of everyone" He was exaggerating but she didn't need to know that.

" That is because I know the hurtful things as you call them, never get through your solid exterior. And I never say bad thing on your face. I mutter them, I didn't know you could hear them. I am sorry about Sara. Its "stuck up suits". I dont know why she said stunk. You never stunk. You...." She trailed realizing that she was about to embarrass herself again.

"I am really sorry. But you are right 'Agr no bola hota tu juice na girta sari pay'(I could have avoided the juice catastrophe , if I had said no.)" She muttered the last part to herself.

She wrinkled her nose when she realized what he had said. It was really odd. She didn't think she told him about her difficulty in saying 'no'. Was she really that transparent? How did he read her so well? Ugh!

" I can bet you allow everyone to walk over you because you can't say 'no'. Students ki late submission bhi accept kar leti ho haina(you do accept right)? Aur colleagues k liye proxy ban jati ho (And act as a substitute for colleagues)" He continued. "I get that helping people is great. But sometimes you have to say no. Come on practice with me. "No". It's easy."

"No. I do not place bets. Too much risk and uncertainty" She replied smirking at him, satisfied with her use of 'no'. She did do bets. A lot of them actually, with her brother growing up and with Alizey. But only the ones she knew she was going to win. Bets on the arguments like, "I am telling you Ryan Reynolds is Scarlet Johanson's ex. Wanna bet?" kind of bets she knew she was always going to win. But she wasn't going to confess that to him right now.

"Touché! You hate uncertainty when it comes to others, only" He countered.

She had a feeling that he'd meant it as a kamedy (Kamedy and not comedy. comedy with c is actual laughable content, with K it is not) but to her ears, it was patronizing. Everything that came from him was because, she knew he didn't like her or approve of her.

But he was nice to me. He said I am a good person.

Woh kaal ki baat the. (That was yesterday)

Aj(Today ) he definitely doesn't likes you!

"Iska kya matlab hai? (What do you mean)" She scowled. She was going to regret asking that. But she knew the curious cat inside her wouldn't be able to survive if she didn't get the context behind his comment.

He looked at her as if he was surprised by her question. Shrugged at her, which made her intensify her scowl. "You are the most uncertain, unpredictable person I know of. And you are saying you hate uncertainty. Feel the irony?"

She drew back her chin talking offense, "I am not."

"I have known you for almost what 8 days? In that period of time, you have spilled your secrets to me, climbed a wall and jumped from it. The list goes on..."

"I slipped."

He almost laughed. He actually had to bite the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from laughing at her. "Sure did. This counter my arguments. Great rationale."

" You did the same thing!" She countered.

"Oh really?"

"I climbed the wall to save a cat and you.....," she said giving him the Cheshire grin "...climbed the wall to save me."

"I didn't climb the wall. I climbed the ladder." He shot back. "And secondly, are you seriously comparing yourself to a cat?"

"Yes. No! Whatever!" For the first time she was grateful that she was wearing heels, otherwise she would have stamped them like an angry kid, whose mom refused to buy him a 'pet rock'.

"What would you have done if I hadn't rescued you?" he demanded. "Sach main! Batain zara kya kartin (Pray enlighten what would you have done)?"

"Intezar? (Wait)" She replied dumbly.

Owff Zoya

Intezar? Kya bewakofon wala jawab hai yeh (Wait! What kind of stupid reply is that)

It is true though. Intezar karnay k ilawa main kar bhi kya saki the.... (What could I have done except waiting... to be rescued....)

" Yeah, wait for the morning so everyone discovers that you have been missing since the night........quite the publicity everyone carves to have..........

or maybe for the police who would have been called by the people, frantic in search of you. Ya phir kisi .... (Or maybe)"