Sadqay Humare.

nineteen.

Aaina x Zaydaan 

The next morning, Aaina woke up with a smile on her face. Her daughter was snuggled up close to her, she could smell the faint smell of the baby shampoo that she always used on Zayla, her soft snores and the way her small arms were tightened around her mother's waist.

Aaina smiled. That was one hell of a way to wake up in the morning. She kissed the top of her daughter's head, taking out her phone from under the pillow to check the time.

9.45 am.

She let a yawn escape from her mouth as she untangled Zayla's arms from around her. She stood up from the bed, picking up her phone.

Her eyes fell on the lockscreen yet again and she smiled, this picture never failed to put a smile on her face. It was her and Zaydaan, holding Zayla in their arms as she gave a toothless smile. It was from her first birthday party, two years ago.

She typed a message, sending it to her husband.

Good morning ❤️ hope your day goes well. P.S don't just have chai for breakfast. Eat something.

The message got delivered instantly and he read it instantly. But as usual, she didn't see him type a reply.

Aaina let out a groan, typing another quick text.

And reply when you read my message for God's sake!

She texted yet again. Finally, she saw him type and the response came.

Zaydaan ❤️

I had toast and tea. Don't worry!

Aaina shook her head, not even thinking about it. Atleast, he had replied.

Okay. I'll see you at home tonight :)

She responded, putting her phone on charge after that, getting ready for breakfast herself. 

---

Aaina didn't have time to talk to Idrees Ziagil and take his opinion on her meeting Saaniya as she was already running late. She had asked Raima to inform Saaniya that she would meet her at the farmhouse during lunch time.

She had also talked to her mother in law about it, who had simply said that she was a mature adult who knew what to do and what decisions to make. She also warned her about Zaydaan's reaction but Aaina had assured her that she would talk to Zaydaan as soon as he arrived back home. She would be home by then anyway.

Zaydaan.

Thinking about him made her feel guilty. She wasn't lying to him, yes. But she hadn't told him either. It wasn't her fault that he was out of the city. She had to meet Saaniya but telling Zaydaan that over the phone, it screamed stupid. She already knew how that conversation would go.

No, Aaina. Have you lost your mind? You're not going there. No.

But if she told him the entire story, in person..there was a chance that he would actually understand.

On the other hand, Sami bhai and the others had taken extra security measures to prevent any mishap. No one trusted the Chaudhrys. That much was very clear to all of them.

Aaina sat in the car wearing a white and pink lawn suit. She had made sure to be at the farm house prior to Saaniya's arrival, just so she wouldn't pull anything on her.

She was sat in the living room when Saaniya arrived, followed by two of her bodyguards. She ushered both of them to stand outside, meanwhile Sami didn't hesitate at all as he sat on the other end of the living room, keeping an eye on Saaniya.

He didn't trust her one bit.

"Your farmhouse. So predictable." Saaniya muttered, looking around the area.

"Atleast it's not Ahad's farmhouse. We all remember what happened to me the last time you were there." Aaina reminded her. Awan had had got her attacked that night.

Aaina didn't regret that attack at all. It had only helped ignite the care that Zaydaan felt for her.

She let out a small laugh. The first lady just rolled her eyes, motioning her to sit down.

"Sit." Saaniya sat down.

"Told anyone you were meeting me or nah?" She asked Aaina.

"I'm not stupid," She replied, telling her that everyone knew about her whereabouts.

"You used to be." Saaniya mumbled.

Aaina let out a small chuckle at that. Maybe, I was. But you don't need to know that.

"That's what you think. I was smart enough to get rid of you even when I was 'stupid'." She shot back.

Saaniya narrowed her eyes at the first lady.

"Remember how I told you that I'll watch while your world goes up into flames. Maybe that time is here." She reminded her.

Aaina could not forget that threat. She just could not.

The first lady knew better to get to the point. She didn't want to waste any more time than what was necessary.

"I'm not here for stories. Awan hates us because Zaydaan took away his power, influence and all that he had, exposed his corruption and all the bad things he ever did. I get that." Saaniya hated this woman and her entire family.

They had ruined her brother's life. Aaina still continued.

"You hate us because we exposed you to Ahad and blackmailed you. I get that too." She talked.

"What I don't get is how you both think that we can't do the same again. You know Zaydaan, you know what he is capable of." She warned.

Saaniya Chaudhry had the same Chaudhry arrogance. She didn't know how to bow down. She only knew how to fight, her brother had always taught her that life was all about fighting for your family, for your sake, for what you wanted. Nothing matter more than winning.

"Actually, he used to be capable of doing terrible things. Now, he has changed." Saaniya stated.

Her brother had repeatedly told her that love made people weak. If a man like Zaydaan Ziagil could turn weak because of love, then everyone could.

"He's still the same." Aaina defended. She didn't want anyone to think that he was not the same man as before. He was even better.

"That's what you think. Your mother is there and she observes everything." Saaniya responded.

"Isn't it sad? Your own mother is against you, Aaina." She tried to press on her wound so Aaina gave her the reply that was just needed.

"My mother is a troubled woman. Agar meri maa meri nahi ho saki, toh tum logo ki kesi hogi?" 

(If she couldn't stand by her own daughter, she might not stand by any of you.)

She told Saaniya, switching the conversation towards something more important.

Suddenly, she had no interest in talking about her mother, her plans or anything else. She had decided. She would ask Zaydaan to send her far away from here, to Saira or to Affan or anywhere else. Just not here, where she could hurt them.

"You said you wanted to negotiate." Aaina stated.

Saaniya straight up denied that.

"I never said I wanted that. I just said that we can discuss the terms."

What else could Aaina expect from a liar? She was an actual liar. She had said the word negotiate and now she was changing it all.

"So discuss." Aaina mumbled.

Saaniya Chaudhry stood up.

"It's just simple. I take the cases back, Awan stops doing what he does. And you,"

She pointed at the photograph of Aaina and Zaydaan, it was hanging between the two fancy lamps, Aaina was in a beautiful white dress and Zaydaan wore a white kurta too. They looked breathtaking together.

"Zaydaan Ziagil resigns, quits politics and you all go far away from this country." She put out.

Aaina wanted to laugh. For real? Zaydaan Ziagil would die before giving up on this world. He thrived on power, he got off on control.

"Those are your terms?" She questioned her for confirmation.

"Uh yes."

Aaina leaned forward.

"I'll offer you a deal more suitable."

"I'm listening."

"How about we offer you some money, you take it and then leave us the hell alone? How does that sound?" Saaniya stood up, as if suddenly offended.

"You want me to drop the case for money? Can money buy my integrity, Aaina? What kind of a woman are you?"

"Saaniya, it's just money. Stop overacting." She replied, but the woman in front of her showed no signs of content.

"Money is not everything, Aaina. Money can not bring my honour back."

The first lady could not understand why the witch was suddenly talking about integrity. What bullshit.

"Excuse me?" Aaina asked, confused.

"What? Did I say something wrong? Aren't you offering me money in exchange for me to drop the case."

She smirked, seeing the alarmed expression on Aaina's face as she lifted her phone up, pressing stop.

Her eyes widened. Did she just?

"And cut." Saaniya murmured, chuckling.

Had she just deliberately recorded the part where Aaina was offering her money? Had she really managed to do that?

Aaina leaned forward, trying to snatch the phone away.

"Give me that phone!" Aaina exclaimed but Saaniya had already put it back in her bag.

"Or what? I told you that you're stupid." She accused.

Aaina looked at Sami bhai, pointing at him to take away the phone. Sami ullah came forward, ready to snatch her purse but Saaniya had already seen him.

"Touch me and my next case will be against you." Saaniya threatened. He still didn't hesitate as he leaned forward but Aaina gestured him not to.

She didn't want him to get into trouble.

---

Saaniya and Aaina were both looking at each other. Aaina, with deep rooted disgust and Saaniya, as if she had won already, as if victory was hers.

Aaina didn't know what to do. She actually panicked for a moment there, ofcourse, she knew that it would be solved, she had a way but at the same time..Saaniya had managed to catch her off guard.

She gulped, her eyes widening as she heard the sudden noise. The doors to the farm house's main entrance opened, several cars following and entering the large farmhouse.

She heard Saaniya's laugh, as she patted on Aaina's shoulder.

"I'll take my leave now. Looks like Mr Prime Minister is here."

She walked out of the living room, the same smirk on her face.

Aaina's heart rate fastened, sudden panic setting inside of her. She hadn't told him and now he was here.

Why was he even here? Was he not supposed to come back in the evening? Had someone deliberately called him back early?

She felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her throat drying out and heart heating fast and hard.

She looked at Sami bhai who had a stoic look on his face, she knew that he would tell him but she also believed that maybe he would give her the time to tell him herself instead of just informing him like that.

"You called him?" Aaina asked anyway. Sami bhai nodded, not denying it.

"I'll always tell him where you are."

She couldn't argue with him on that. She was so stupid, she should have told him first.

She took three deep breaths, seeing Zaydaan step out of his car. She saw his angry face, his dark eyes and the way he looked at Saaniya Chaudhry who was ready to leave.

Saaniya was about to sit in her car when she felt the Prime Minister come near her.

She stepped back, he took a step forward.

"Tell Awan I am coming for him. Tell him that the next time I see his sister meeting my wife, I will f**k him up."

He warned.

Saaniya Chaudhry looked at him with widened eyes, fear evident on her face. She tried to hide it, ofcourse. But Zaydaan could smell it all over her.

"And I will stand there watching as his world goes up in flames." He repeated the same words as her, only his words actually had far more impact that hers could ever.

Saaniya felt fear deep in her heart but she had learned from her brother that showing fear was a sign of weakness.

"My brother is not scared of you. Neither am I." She said, her voice shook but she still managed to say it out loud.

Zaydaan Ziagil smiled in a cruel way.

"You don't know me yet. If you really knew me, you would have ran in the opposite direction a long time ago."

In that moment, he looked like an actual beast. Not just to Saaniya, but also to Aaina who was staring at him from inside the living room.

She couldn't hear but she could see.

--

Prime Minister Zaydaan Ziagil walked inside the living room, spotting his wife in the middle of the room. The suit he wore was long gone, his body gracing a white dress shirt and a black tie.

He saw the fear evident in her eyes and the way she was trying to look at anywhere but him.

Aaina had no words to say, her mind felt blank.

It's fine, Aaina. He's Zaydaan. He loves you. He'll understand.

She tried to remind herself of the man that he was. Loving, caring, protective.

She took a deep breath, finally looking up at her husband but still not meeting his eyes.

He could not believe that she had the audacity to do that. Not only did she go behind his back and actually met up with the enemy, but she also put her own life at risk.

Was she crazy?

He was disappointed in her. Yes. But he was so f*****g angry.

He didn't know what to do with her. In all these years, she hadn't done anything of this sort. And now? At the worst possible time?

"Zaydaan," She managed to take his name, taking it in a placating tone, her voice shook at the way his eyes were looking at her.

"Go outside. Sit in the car and wait." He said without looking at her.

"Zaydaan," She tried again.

"Aaina." he said sharply, and the look he sent her made her shiver.

She felt scared of him. After such a long time, Aaina actually felt scared of him.

Aaina walked towards the car, not knowing what hell today would bring. 

----

She waited for a few minutes in the car, scared of what was about to happen next. She felt absolutely guilty and actually regretted even meeting Saaniya in the first place.

God, if only Sami bhai had waited. She would have told Zaydaan. He should have learnt this from her. Not the other way around.

She let out a deep sigh, trying to get herself to calm down. She wasn't scared of what be would do or say, she was scared of him not talking to her over this, she was scared that he would start being quiet with her, something that she just could not bear.

Finally, after another few minutes had passed...Prime Minister Zaydaan Ziagil slipped back in the car, slamming the door harder than usual.

She jumped up, eyes widening in panic as she looked at him. All those attempts of calming herself down were long gone and replaced with immediate panic.

She knew she had to say something, anything.

"Zaydaan, I know you're angry but I only wanted to meet her, I was going to tell you once you reached home, she told me that she was willing to negotiate and-" Before she could even complete her rambling sentence, Zaydaan had spoken up already.

"And you thought that it would be okay to meet my enemy behind my back." His cold voice scared her even more.

Aaina gulped.

"Look, I knew that you'd never agree to it and I thought maybe there was a chance. I talked about it with the family and they thought the same." She whispered, her voice was low.

She did not want the driver or Waseem to hear them. She didn't want him to shout at her. He wasn't. His voice was very low but that made her feel even more uncomfortable.

"I am your family, Aaina. But you did not even bother to tell me." There was so much disapproval and disappointment in his tone that the first lady lowered her head, disappointed.

"I'm sorry." She apologised with all of her heart.

"Save it." He snapped back at her, telling her to remain quiet right now.

The journey back home was greeted with utter silence after that. God, he didn't even know about the recording.

She had to tell him. She couldn't hide another thing from him. She had to tell him the entire story before some other thing happened.

"I am sorry, Zaydaan. I know I screwed up. She has a recording of me now but I -" The car stopped, indicating that they were home.

The Prime Minister's car door was opened but he turned to look at her, hearing her words and not believing that Aaina had actually got trapped like that.

"She has what?" He was losing it. She could see it.

"She recorded me offering her money and then acted out as a victim." Aaina replied. Zaydaan Ziagil slammed his hand on the opened door, getting out of the car.

"She f*****g trapped you! You're smarter than this, Aaina." He yelled, not even bothering to care about the people around.

"Zaydaan." She whispered, walking inside as the Prime Minister trailed behind her. Ready to actually tell her how stupid she had been.

Aaina was greeted by Ahad in the foyer.

"Aaina, you're back. What did Saaniya say? Was she-?" He saw her alarmed condition and frowned but Aaina managed to muster up the entire meet up in two sentences.

"Zaydaan showed up. Saaniya trapped me." She stated bitterly as Ahad's eyes fell on his brother who was right behind.

"Dammit." He mumbled, seeing how angry Zaydaan was.

"All I want is for you both to not do stupid things but here you are." The Prime Minister nodded, grabbing his wife's arm.

He was ready to take her upstairs and talk but the moment he entered the living room, his eyes fell on the entire family. His mother, Noora and his father. His father who expected him to play Awan Chaudhry. How could he play Awan when his own wife was right here f*****g things up on her own?

"Zaydaan, what is happening?" His father questioned, standing up from the sofa.

Zaydaan Ziagil let out a bitter laugh.

"Oh so you don't know baba? Guess you don't come under my wife's definition of family." He taunted, making Idrees Ziagil frown even further.

"Aaina went to meet Saaniya Chaudhry. She said she was willing to negotiate when in reality she just set a trap." Ahad summarised it for his father.

The frown on Idrees Ziagil's forehead was enough to show his disappointment.

"What is wrong with you, Aaina? Haven't you learned anything?!" In all these years, that man had never screamed at Aaina.

She closed her eyes, not even knowing how to respond. She looked at her husband.

Even when Zaydaan was angry, he didn't like that his father had screamed at his wife.

"Baba, stay out if it. I'll handle this." He said to his father, he was about to say something else but he heard his wife say something.

He looked at her.

"Maybe we can go upstairs and talk, Zaydaan." She suggested and by God, he lost all the patience he thought he had.

He was going to take her upstairs but her tone suggested that she hated the lack of privacy here, that she wanted to talk to him confined between four walls. Well, where did that thought go when she talked to the entire family about meeting Saaniya, just not with him?

So he glared at her and simply said what he wanted to.

"And maybe if you had a little bit of mind, you wouldn't have gone behind my back and talked to her." He replied.

"I did it for you. I know you're angry, Zaydaan but I just had to try." She gave the excuse that he hated the most.

I did it for you.

Did you ask my permission? Did I allow you to do it? Did you think about how it would make me feel?

You didn't.

"And what proof do you have that she won't tell it to the court? That recording changes everything. Do you want me to be proven guilty? Are you really that stupid, Aaina?" He yelled at her, he properly yelled at her.

She felt her eyes burn but she was not going to cry. Not in front of the entire family.

"Zaydaan, calm down. We can talk about it in private." She whispered to him, embarrassed.

But Zaydaan Ziagil was far too angry to listen to her.

"Why? Haan? Why should I talk about it in private when you chose to take all these people into confidence except your own husband! You went out to do what? To buy her with money?! You think the Chaudhrys don't have money?" He shouted at her.

She felt Noora get closer to Ahad, intimidated.

"Why are you yelling? I just wanted to know her terms of negotiation and I offered money to see her real intentions. She recorded it, yes but we can figure out a way and-" She tried to atleast explain her point of view even though the shouting and the yelling, it was hurting her self esteem so much.

Zaydaan narrowed his eyes at her.

"You still don't regret it. Do you? You have no shame over anything! That's pathetic from you, Aaina."

And she felt a tear slip down.

He hadn't done that in all these years. He had never insulted her in front of the entire family. He had respected her in front of them, even when he didn't love her.

Ahad stepped forward, knowing that this was getting too much.

"Bhai, I think that's enough." He said to his brother, knowing that silently their father was enjoying this display of Zaydaan's anger. He liked that his son knew how to control his wife. It was f****d up.

Zaydaan didn't care as he snapped at his own brother.

"Shut up. Am I talking to you?"

Ahad let out a sigh.

"You're creating a scene. Stop it." He said to his brother but it was of no use.

He had said enough.

"Ahad. Stay out of it."

Before he could yell at her any further, Aaina had decided it was enough. She couldn't hear him yell at her in front of the entire family any longer.

She let her arm out of his grip, snapping his attention back on her as she walked away.

"Where are you going?! Don't you have more women to visit?! Haan? Go to the ones who have accused me and talk to them. Talking would solve every f*****g thing." He yelled, rushing up the stairs as she walked up to her room.

She turned around, face wet with fresh tears, nose red and pain evident on her face.

"Stop it, Zaydaan. I got it, okay! Just stop already." She pleaded, her heart hadn't hurt because of him in a very long time.

He saw her tears, saw her face but he was so angry and his ego was too big right now to wipe away her tears.

He put his hand on the nape of her neck, just like he always did. It was gentle as he moved her face towards him, making her look at him entirely.

"You're not leaving the house until I allow you to do so." He said to her like an order, like she needed his permission.

He had promised her that she wouldn't need something of that sort, but today, he did not care. 

'I'm your husband. You don't need my permission to go anywhere. You can do what you want.'

He had told her softly, placing a kiss on top of her head.

'Whatever I want? Anything?'

She had teased him. He had just chuckled at that expression on her face.

'Well, anything that won't affect us in any way or put your safety as risk.'

Aaina had teased him more, telling him that it was practically impossible, him not knowing where she was or what she was doing.

'You're a control freak, Zaydaan. It would kill you, not knowing where I am.'

Her husband hadn't denied that, infact he had elaborated it.

'That's true. But you'll tell me, won't you? Because I'm your husband. You won't do it out of duty but out of love. Right?'

"You can't do that." She whispered, her eyes reminding her of the promise he made, even though her guilt told her that she broke a promise too.

Zaydaan Ziagil smirked.

"I can. I'm your Prime Minister."

He walked away from her and she was left there, standing all on her own. 

--