Sadqay Humare.

Fifteen

Aaina x Zaydaan

It was never something normal when it came to Zaydaan Ziagil. It was never something ordinary or funny or just a phase, it was always the most mysterious, political, terrifying and to top it all up, unpredictable. His life was unpredictable as f**k.

The Prime Minister had enemies within the state, enemies that had always tried to sabotage each and every single one of his efforts, enemies that didn't care about crossing the limits.

Out of all those enemies, the worst one definitely was Awan Chaudhry. He was also the one who knew Zaydaan Ziagil the best. He knew how his enemy's mind worked, he knew how to get him riled up and he also knew what would impact him the most. He knew of his weakness and his strength.

Awan also knew that Zaydaan Ziagil hated false accusations and the bigger the accusation, the more he might lose himself.

On the other hand, Zaydaan Ziagil definitely knew that Awan wanted him to get riled up and do something, get himself into trouble on his own. He was way too smart to get trapped into Awan's mind games.

So even upon hearing about the murder of Maria bibi, his former work colleague, his former friend and the woman who had accused him of s****l harassment, he didn't do anything.

He made a call to his team and that was pretty much it.

So, he sat on the floor, his daughter showing him the tiny tea cups made of a bright pink and blue color.

Aaina sat by his side, smiling at their daughter. She didn't understand why Zaydaan wasn't going to his office, why he wasn't reacting and why he didn't seem the slightest bit upset.

"Aren't you supposed to go and handle it all?" She whispered into his ear, seeing Zayla arrange the tea cups into a small plate as she pretended to pour tea into them.

They were having a tea party, well..their daughter was having a tea party and they were the special guests.

"Handle what?" Zaydaan asked, eyes focused on his little girl.

"Maria bibi's alleged death." Aaina stated, voice extremely low.

Zaydaan shrugged, as if he just didn't care right now. It confused Aaina.

"No, I'm gonna stay here with my daughter." He announced, calling for his daughter.

"Okay, Zayla. I'm ready for the tea party." His daughter walked towards him, taking small steps as she had a cup of tea in her hands.

She put it in front of Zaydaan, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Aaina smiled at her, even in such a state of worry, she couldn't help but see how the entire room lit up because of Zayla's precious smile. She was the light even in such hard times.

"Is that tea for me?" Zaydaan fake sipped the cup, acting like it was the best tea that he had ever had.

"You like, baba?" She asked him, sitting in front of him.

The Prime Minister just nodded, smiling.

"Oh yes, I love it. It's better than the tea your mama makes for me." He teased, sensing his wife's glumness.

Aaina let out a small chuckle.

"Mama hardly makes tea for you though." She replied, seeing her daughter now offering her tea.

"Mama, tea?"

"Ofcourse, baby. I'd like it very much."

Aaina replied, leaning close to Zaydaan yet again.

"So you're not gonna do anything?" She asked him. His calm attitude was bothering her for the very first time. She wanted to know how his mind was working. It wasn't like him to not be on top of things.

"No." He denied.

"Sure?"

"Yes."

Upon seeing his wife's dilemma, he let out a small sigh.

"They're gonna accuse me of doing it anyway. Why should I do any damage control? My people are finding out who did it and that should be enough." He explained, putting her at ease.

But she wasn't at ease. Not at all. After s****l harassment, he was going to be accused of murder? Why was this not a freak out moment?

Sensing his confidence, she just decided to go with it.

"Okay."

She sipped her fake tea, focusing on the tea party instead.

She observed the interaction between the father and daughter duo, how she was crashed in between his arms, putting a plate in his hand that had some plastic like substance on top.

"Now what's that?" Her husband asked, Zayla laughed.

"A cake, baba." Even with her half understandable pronunciation of words, she managed to look absolutely sophisticated. Like this was the perfect tea party and she was the perfect host.

She was basically mimicking her mother, she was an observant child. She had seen how Aaina used to pour tea into two cups every day at tea time, with a piece of cake or some biscuits in the tray.

Zaydaan took the plastic plate from his daughter's hand, it looked so small in his large hand that he almost felt awkward but kept holding onto it for the sake of his daughter.

"A cake. You know how to bake too? My talented darling." He mumbled into her hair, feeling Aaina stand up from her seat.

She picked up a hair band from the dresser, putting it on her daughter's head and pushing away the hair that kept falling onto her face.

She picked up her daughter, brushing away her hair and fixing her wrinkled shirt.

Aaina looked at Zaydaan, who had also stood up, he stared at the time.

"Saaniya's hearing is in two days." Aaina mumbled, as if he didn't know that already.

The Prime Minister, once again..only shrugged.

"The lawyer will come by tomorrow." He announced, then picked up his daughter in his arms.

"Is the party over?" He asked her, she nodded.

"Yes."

"Very good. You want to eat some more?"

As they felt her agree to it, the Prime Minister and his first lady walked outside their bedroom, entering the living room.

It was time for some real tea.

---

Aaina put a glass of milk in front of her daughter, with a cookie on the plate. The little girl picked up the cookie first, munching on the sweet biscuit as she leaned closer to her father.

The first lady poured tea next, placing it in front of Zaydaan and her own self. She put the plate of biscuits on the table as well, sitting back down.

It felt nice. The three of them, sitting together, not talking about anything political or crazy.

Zaydaan drank his tea in silence, hearing his daughter's rambles about the most casual things, about random things that did not even make sense.

Aaina hadn't seen the Prime Minister listen to anything more attentively than Zayla's rambles.

--

As Ahad Ziagil walked out of his bedroom along with his wife, he spotted his brother's family in the living room.

He smiled upon the sight of them. Both Zaydaan and Aaina were laughing at something with their daughter, no inch of worry or frown visible on their faces.

It was time just before maghrib, around six thirty. The perfect time for a cup of tea and some casual conversation.

The sun was ready to set in the hills of Islamabad, the day's light coming to an end. The Prime Minister House was lit up with it's extravagant white and yellow lights.

Ahad walked towards the living room, Noora alongside him.

He greeted his brother first.

"Salam. I thought you'd be back at the office." Ahad greeted, picking up a biscuit from the table and putting it in his mouth.

Zaydaan nodded.

"I didn't want to go. You got the notification? You have to visit bahawalpur tomorrow." Zaydaan reminded him, Ahad already knew.

"Yes, I know."

He replied as his wife finally entered the living room as well.

"Salam bhai,." She greeted the both of them, air kissing Aaina's cheek.

"Hello Noora." Zaydaan greeted her back, as the both of them sat down.

Noora sat by Aaina's side while Ahad was on the adjacent sofa, he poured some tea for himself and leaned back.

They hardly ever got time to sit together like that, they were always so busy with their lives that family time wasn't on their to do list. But these unmade, unpredictable days where they would sit together for lunch or tea, those days were extremely pleasant.

No matter how political the outside world truly was, there was no politics in between the house. Not at all.

"Hey, did my mother come by or?" Aaina whispered to Noora who shook her head.

"No. She was mostly in her room." She replied in the same low tone, then sipped on her tea.

Aaina was wondering about her sister as well. Saira hadn't been around ever since she came back from bahawalpur. Maybe, she wanted to give her some time to rest or maybe her sister was still gloating about staying here.

Aaina was literally just thinking about her sister when Saira walked by the living room, spotting all four of them.

"Oh hey! You guys are all here." Saira exclaimed entering the living room, she gulped as the chatting suddenly stopped and all four of them, including her own sister stared at her.

Aaina stood up from her seat, walking towards her sister.

"It's like a family reunion going on. I mean, I never see you all together." Saira elaborated in the meantime, hugging her sister back who had engulfed her the moment she had reached her.

"Join us." Aaina mumbled, pulling at her hand.

Saira shook her head.

"No, I'd rather not intrude." She responded, making the first lady click her tongue in disbelief.

"What are you talking about? Come on, sit." She insisted, making her sit on the sofa as she went back to sitting with Zaydaan.

The Prime Minister out his cup of tea back on the table, looking at his sister in law.

"How are you, Saira?" He asked, greeting her in a way that he knew would make Aaina happy.

She had always wanted a friendly relationship between the two but all he could manage was a cordial one.

"I'm good, bhai. Thanks." Saira replied in the same friendly tone.

"Do you need anything?" He asked yet again, questioning whether or not she was comfortable here.

He wanted Aaina's sister to feel at home and her mother to feel in hell.

"No. It's fine. Thank you," She mumbled, looking down.

Zaydaan remembered Saira as the crazy blunt girl but she had changed into a patient and timid person, she was confident but careful at the same time. He liked that in her, it reminded him of her sister.

He took a sip of his tea, frowning at the way Ahad was wiggling his brows at Aaina and she was repeating the action. They had such a playful friendly relationship that he feared alot of people would believe the fake ass rumours that Awan was thinking of spreading.

He looked back at Saira, then at his phone as he spoke up.

"You can go back to your university. But you'll have security watching over you for a while. Don't feel scared, it's for your own safety." He elaborated.

He felt the girl jump up from the sofa, her face showing signs of happiness. She looked so damn excited to hear the news that Zaydaan had to look at his wife.

Aaina's eyes gleamed with happiness, she looked so relieved seeing her sister's happiness that it almost brought a smile on Zaydaan Ziagil's face.

"Really? Oh, thank you!" Saira exclaimed, standing up as she thanked Zaydaan and then went on to hug Aaina in excitement.

"Mama will go with me right? Right aapi?" She looked at Aaina for further confirmation, Saira didn't know about her mother's meetsups, about her plans or whatever it was that she was doing these days.

Aaina stared at Zaydaan for an answer too. He hadn't really told her about anything of this sort.

"Zaydaan.." She trailed off, waiting for her husband to answer.

"Unfortunately not. Your mother will stay here." He answered both the sisters.

Saira's happiness washed away and her face turned into a frown.

"But why?" She asked. The Prime Minister looked at her with a blank expression.

"Security reasons." He lied. He wanted her to stay here so he could make her suffer if she wronged him in anyway.

"I can't just leave her alone here." Saira mumbled.

She was not pleased at all. She knew her mother and Aaina didn't get along, even Saira didn't get along with her mother until recently. She cared about her mother more now, since her mother cared alot too.

Aaina put her hand on Saira's shoulder, seeing the awkward tension around the living room. Both Ahad and Noora were quiet and Zaydaan didn't even look up as he drank his second cup of tea.

"I'm here, she's not alone." Aaina consoled her sister who got up in sudden anger.

"Yeah and I've seen how much you care about her, aapi. You hate her and she hates you so what's the point of keeping her here?" She snapped at her elder sister.

Aaina gulped, looking at Zaydaan.

Zaydaan Ziagil could never tolerate someone snapping at his wife, right in front of him. He wanted his wife to stand up and shut her up but instead Aaina just remained quiet.

"Enough." Zaydaan stated, glaring at Saira.

Her sister clearly was not afraid.

"Aapi, I want to take mama with me. That's final." She said to Aaina, telling her the final decision as if she was the Prime Minister.

"She doesn't take orders from you." Ahad Ziagil stood up as he interrupted. He couldn't help but interfere between the conversation. Saira was being disrespectful to his best friend right now and he just did not like it.

"I don't care. I'm taking my mother with me." Aaina squeezed her sister's hand.

"Saira, stop." She whispered, telling her to stop embarrassing her.

"Why? Haan? Why does she need to stay here?" She still continued, Aaina groaned out loud as Saira directed her questions at Zaydaan.

No one in this house had the audacity to ask Zaydaan Ziagil questions in this manner.

Aaina swallowed the bile down her throat, worrying about Zaydaan's reaction. She didn't want any argument.

Her husband understood that by the look on her face. He stood up from his seat, ready to end this home family time.

"In this house, I don't answer the questions." He stated, his cold eyes sending a shudder down Saira's spine.

"In this country actually." Ahad mumbled, his former boyish arrogance showing.

Saira just rolled her eyes at him as he continued. She didn't understand why this man was talking to her when all she wanted was the Prime Minister to say yes.

"Saira, do you want to go back or not? Your mother will stay here because she's planning alot of things and frankly, we don't trust her." Ahad questioned, he knew all the stories about Aaina's mother and each one had made him more suspicious than before.

Saira shot him an exasperated look, making Aaina sigh.

"Who even are you?!" Her tone didn't go unnoticed by Aaina as her grip on her sister's arm tightened.

"Mind your tone." Ahad said back, his own anger showing.

Zaydaan however simply stated at his wife, seeing her conflict.

"Aaina, take her away." He simply said, voice firm and confirming the fact that she was actually angry.

"Come on," Aaina whispered to her sister, dragging her towards her room.

"So much for f*****g family time." Aaina said out loud, knowing that she had to convince her sister to just think about her own self right now.

Their mother was hell bent on revenge and there was no way in hell that Zaydaan Ziagil would let her go.

--

Ahad Ziagil was hardly ever angry. Yes, he could get moody at times, arrogant too. That probably ran in the Ziagil family blood.

But when it came to getting angry, it didn't come to him too easy.

But today? He wanted to lash out at Aaina's sister. How dare she come and talk this way? He still remembered the first time they had all met and the way she had disrespected Zaydaan and him.

She was always the loud mouth, the brat. Honestly, when it came to the Imran family, only Aaina was the sane one. The one with perfect manners and kind heart, the one with no attitude, no bluntness and no ego.

Anyway, she was still just a girl studying in university and thinking that the world would bow down to her every wish.

He spotted his brother standing near the balcony, looking outside. Since the sun had already set, the sky was almost dark and all they could see was the several guards around the Prime Minister House and the utter silence all around.

Ahad walked to his brother.

"Bhai, can I talk to your for a moment?" He asked, nearing him.

Zaydaan nodded, turning his attention back to his brother.

"Yes?"

"I expected you in the office today. I wanted to know if you were alright." He said to his older brother, knowing that he wasn't the one to share his feelings.

Zaydaan shrugged in a nonchalant way.

"I'm fine, Ahad." He insisted.

Ahad out his hands on the railing of the balcony, looking down at the several people surrounding the PM House.

"I meant that the woman who accused you of s****l harassment got murdered. You know there are going to be fingers pointed at you." He said, looking straight ahead.

Zaydaan didn't look at him either but he knew his brother meant well, he knew that his brother was just as worried as Aaina.

"I know what's going on, Ahad. Awan is creating a master plan here, trying to make the dots connect so somehow, I lose all the power." He knew what Awan had in mind, he just didn't know what exactly was his plan..

What did the man truly planned on doing to him? To his family? To his politics?

"And what are we going to do about it?"

Ahad didn't ask him what he was going to do, he asked him what they were going to do.

He was not going to sit around and wait for his brother to fight his battles alone, he wanted to stand by his side and fight back.

"First, I need to know what exactly happened to Maria, who did it. Then..my lawyers will need to see what Saaniya brings to court. I'll think of something after that." He decided. Right now, there was not much he could do. He had to know what the enemy was planning before he could react to it.

"He's vengeful, he might do something to hurt you where it hits the most."

The way Ahad said those words, Zaydaan understood what he meant.

He meant that Awan Chaudhry knew about his weakness now, even though his wife had insisted that she wasn't his weakness but his strength, it didn't change the reality.

"Aaina and Zayla." Zaydaan mumbled bitterly.

He let out a small sigh, looking at Ahad.

"Aaina should have a bodyguard other than our usual team. Money can buy alot of things, even loyalty." He said to him, knowing that the last time Awan had used his own people to get them attacked. He could do it again.

"I'll make some calls, get a trusted man from outside." Ahad confirmed.

Zaydaan couldn't help but nod.

"Get someone for you and your wife as well. I don't want you getting hurt."

It didn't look like his brother was saying those words but it sounded like the Prime Minister was ordering him.

Ahad smirked and nodded.

You're my weakness too. I need you safe. His brother had meant.

--

The smell of strong tea and old files greeted Prime Minister Zaydaan Ziagil as he entered his office.

His freshly shaved beard and the scent of his familiar cologne made everyone stare at him as he walked from the foyer to his office, nodding at everyone's greetings.

With each morning, came a new ambition. Zaydaan wasn't the mind of man who had a certain goal in his head for every day, he was the kind of man who had his priorities straight. He knew when and where he had to do things, how he had to get them right and what was more important.

Between managing the entire country and his personal life crisis, Zaydaan had actually been prioritising his actual job, to serve his country.

He was not an i***t either, whatever free time he actually got, he spent all that studying for his cases, meeting up with his lawyers and finding out what his enemies were upto.

So far, the information had not been satisfying.

"Good morning, Mr Prime Minister." Hamza entered with a knock on the door, greeting his boss with a warm smile and a laptop in his hand.

Zaydaan gestured him to come forward.

"Morning. Any updates?"

He came straight to the point. Hamza put the laptop on the table and started to brief him.

"Yes. Maria bibi was in her house all day, at five PM, she left her house and came bag with tons of groceries. The security footage showed that an hour after that, she opened the door for a woman."

Zaydaan heard him attentively.

"Half an hour later, the woman left in a hurry. She looked very panicked and police arrived after that, finding Maria bibi dead." He completed, then turned the laptop towards the Prime Minister.

"Here's the security footage." He added, clicking on it.

Zaydaan shrugged. He had been briefed already, he didn't care enough to see the video. His team would find out who the woman was.

"It's fine." He dismissed.

Hamza gulped.

"Sir, I think you would want to see this one." He insisted.

Zaydaan frowned. Hamza wasn't the one to insist on anything, he just listened and acted.

"You think I know the woman who did this?" Zaydaan asked with interest.

Hamza didn't really know how to say it. He hated that the team had put it all on him.

How do you tell a Prime Minister that his own family member was involved in a murder?

He took three deep breaths and then rambled out the truth.

"It's Noora Ziagil."

Noora, who was the wife of his brother. Noora, who was the best friend of his own wife. Noora, who always took care of their daughter like her own. Noora, who respected him like he was her own brother. Noora, who had given him no reason to dislike her at all. Noora, who had nothing but honesty in her eyes. Noora, who had nothing but kind words to say.

Had Noora really done it?

Zaydaan was the kind of man who liked to believe what his eyes showed him. And right now, his eyes were stuck on Noora Ziagil coming out of Maria's house, looking as panicked as ever.

"She's the woman who killed Maria bibi."

Out of all the things he had expected, he had just not expected this.

In that moment, Zaydaan didn't care about anything else, he simply felt bad for his brother.

Another woman had betrayed him and his trust. Nothing could be worse than that.