Sadqay Humare.

six.

Aaina x Zaydaan 

Out of all the things that she had expected to happen in her life, in their life....this one was just not it.

Aaina was an optimistic person in general but lately, all she felt was worry and negativity. She felt like everything was slowly changing, their perfect world was slowly shattering away.

The moment she had seen the news, the news of Saaniya Chaudhry, another woman and not just some random woman but a powerful, clever one, accusing her husband of harassment, all she could feel was fear.

She understood that the Chaudhrys were after them, Awan was going to seek revenge from Zaydaan but she didn't know that he was going to stoop so low. But then, this person had sent people to kill Zaydaan..he had already crossed the line.

She had cancelled her meeting right there and then, panicking to no ends. Noora had tried to talk to her but she had just walked away, rushing out of the house like it was suffocating her.

She entered the Prime Minister's office, her eyes finding the Prime Minister's deputy secretary, standing outside the cabinet conference hall.

Aaina walked towards him, mumbling her greetings to the people who came towards her, saying her Salam and trying to be as polite as she could be in her panicked state.

She took a few more steps when she spotted Hamza coming towards her too, giving her his cordial signature smile.

"Salam. Where's the Prime Minister?" She questioned, coming straight to the point.

"Hello, ma'am. He's in a meeting right now with his cabinet." Hamza replied, pointing towards the conference room.

Right now, Aaina didn't care about his cabinet or his meetings. He was being accused of s****l harassment by a second woman, a woman who was his brother's ex girlfriend, a woman who had promised Aaina years ago that she would watch while her brother destroyed their world.

And now, Awan was free. He could plan and plot, do whatever he wanted to do.

It worried her.

"Tell him I'm here to talk to him." She stated, crossing her arms and waiting for Hamza to walk inside.

Aaina let out a sigh as the man stopped, shaking his head at her.

"I can't do that, ma'am. He gave strict orders."

She wanted to roll her eyes, but then she didn't want Hamza to get a perception that the first lady did not respect her own husband.

"Did he specifically talk about me?" She questioned instead, he nodded.

"Yes, ma'am. The Prime Minister said that if you arrive, you should calmly wait until the meeting ends and only then you should go and meet him."

He knows me too well but he doesn't understand my worry. He thinks I'm just over thinking when I'm not.

"Okay.." She agreed, Hamza started to walk by her side.

"Do you want to wait in his office?"

He asked, opening the door of Prime Minister's office as Aaina entered the humongous room, welcoming the coldness of the air conditioning as her body heated up with anger and worry.

"Yeah, I'll just wait here." She mumbled, sitting down on the sofa placed adjacent to the chairs and tables.

"Should I send in something for you?" It was not his job to ask that question but his politeness was something that Aaina liked so much.

Hamza was probably the most humane person in Zaydaan's team anyway, he was a kid in front of those experienced workers but he was creative and ready to work at anytime.

His passion and eagerness to work never got unobserved by the Prime Minister. His ethics, morals and warmth towards everyone was something that Aaina always appreciated.

She was not in the mood to eat or drink anything right now. She didn't want something, she wanted someone.

"Just his lawyer." She knew that his lawyer would probably give her more details than Zaydaan himself.

Hamza understood whose lawyer she meant. Unfortunately, Zaydaan was too smart and had already sent his lawyer away.

"Prime Minister Sahab sent him away for something important, when he comes back, I'll make sure to send him to you." He replied.

"His lawyer is his errand boy now?" She asked, exasperated.

"We're all errand boys for the Prime Minister." Hamza joked, pouring down a glass of water for Aaina anyway and putting it in front of her.

"Thank you, Hamza." She thanked him as he left the room.

And so, Aaina simply waited.

With the process of waiting, also came unwanted thoughts and worry. She understood that dirty politics was coming alive yet again but out of all the things they could have done, they chose to do this.

How could a woman just blatantly lie and accuse a man of something so horrible? Did some women not understand that a man had honor too? That a man had integrity as well? Did they not understand that several women were actually the victims of harassment, several women who would never get their justice because of these women.

It boiled her blood and thinking about Saaniya made her absolutely furious. That damned woman played with her best friend, she hurt Ahad to the core, to the point where it took him years to overcome such a betrayal and now, she was after her husband.

What worried Aaina was the fact that Saaniya was an influential woman, even in the absence of her brother, she had managed to hold their legacy and had not let the party die. And now, both the devils, the brother and sister were together again..conspiring against the government.

She thought about her husband, a man who absolutely loathed the men who looked at women the wrong way, the men who thought of women as meat and not human Beings, he was a man with honor and integrity. Zaydaan's respect in the world was something he cherished alot, and now..it was all at stake.

Wasn't it?

She let out a deep sigh, staring at the clock that had just struck three. It had been almost fifty five minutes since her arrival.

The door suddenly opened and the Prime Minister walked in, his right hand holding his suit jacket and his left hand holding a file.

She stood up from her seat.

"Finally, I've been waiting for an hour now." She mumbled, walking towards him.

"I had to cut it short because of you." He placed a kiss on the side of her cheek, greeting her as he leaned against the table and she stood near him.

"Why are you here?" He questioned, as if he didn't know the answer to that.

"It's lunch time." Her sarcastic tone didn't go unnoticed by Zaydaan. He still played along.

"Then where's Zayla?" He enquired casually, sensing her built up frustration.

She knew he would never bring the topic up himself, that he would rather pretend that this was not a big deal and he had better things to do.

But that was not her, she wanted answers and she wanted to know what the plan was, how they were going to defend whatever s**t got thrown their way.

She shook her head, a frown between her eyebrows.

"Zaydaan, Why is Saaniya doing this? I thought she had learned her lesson years ago." She started off, Zaydaan let out a dry chuckle.

In Politics, there was nothing bigger than the lust of power and no matter how much torture and punishment one got, they just couldn't stay away from that ability to control things.

"Clearly she hasn't. They haven't." He replied.

Aaina let out a sigh and leaned against him, her nose inhaling his familiar cologne as her forehead touched his neck.

"The last thing I ever thought I'd face with you was harassment charges." She whispered.

She felt her husband's quiet demeanor for a while, his hands slowly going around her waist and his posture relaxing with utter silence in the room.

After a while, she heard him speak.

"It sounds disgusting but plenty of females throw themselves at me all the time, whether it is high dignitaries or random women, they like that I'm powerful. You have seen how they flirt, how they bat their eye lashes and expect me to flirt back, as if I don't have a wife." His voice was only audible to her.

She smiled at the last words and pulled away, expecting him to be normal but all she saw was a scowl.

He was angry.

She gestured him to go on.

"it's common sense that I wouldn't just go and harass someone, I'm a f*****g Prime Minister for God's sake!" He exclaimed, hand pushing against the table.

"The people who know you will never believe their lies." She said to him.

"And the people who don't know you, they'll get to know that you are not what they claim you to be." She said confidently, even though she had no conviction in her heart at all.

People were so manipulative that sometimes, the truth was hard to be explained.

"They should be grateful that I'm not ruthless like Idrees Ziagil, my father would have torn their image to shreds and not cared about it. And here I am, thinking about morals and ethics while they call me names and accuse me of bullshit. I want to play fair and square but this is politics, maybe I should go back to my older ways."

Clearly, Zaydaan was frustrated. The Prime Minister was calm about the situation in the world's eyes, in the eyes of his cabinet, even in the eyes of his family. Yet, it was only Aaina that he could express himself in front of. He hardly did it, but when he did..it was in detail.

Today was just one of those days.

"You're better than your father and smarter than him. Being ruthless is nothing compared to being smart."

She told him. Zaydaan didn't respond to her but gestured her to sit on the sofa as he sat by her side.

"What happens next?" Aaina enquired, not really updated about the legal situation.

"My lawyers take complete control, give proofs and that's it."

"And Saaniya? Even if you didn't do what she says you did, we both did use her pictures to get her away from Ahad. We did threaten her."

How could she ever forget how Zaydaan and her own self had threatened her, just so she could leave Ahad and not betray him any longer.

Zaydaan merely shrugged.

"We tell it exactly like it is. I tell it exactly like it is. This isn't your battle."

He insisted. She clicked her tongue.

"Every battle of yours is a battle of mine. Besides, she did use my name in her so called plea for justice."

She added herself, frowning at the thought of not standing next to Zaydaan in such a difficult time.

He let out a sigh, drinking the glass of water that was placed at the side table.

Aaina didn't know how they were going to visit Saudi Arabia when they had so much going on in their lives.

"Are we still going tomorrow?" She asked, voice soft.

Zaydaan put the glass back on the table.

"Yes, we are. I'm not going to let some fake accusation get in the way of some thing that is way more important." He replied.

Aaina nodded. She didn't expect him to cancel anything, anyway.

"My mother says you've done it." She said with an ironic chuckle, remembering how her mother had stopped her on her way out of the house.

Aaina was in a rush, she told her mother that she would talk later but her mother just said what came into her mouth.

I told you he's a murderer.

He's not just a murderer, he's a harassed too.

How can you even live with such a man?

'The same way I've lived with him for the past ten years. Happily.'

Aaina had replied, getting inside her car and simply not giving her mother's words any other thought.

Her mother hated Zaydaan. It was a known fact. She didn't used to hate him, not initially but now she did.

"She hates my guts." Zaydaan said it like he was proud of it..

He probably was.

"She also says you've conspired to kill my father." She added next.

"Really? What else?" He responded, amused.

His wife clicked her tongue.

"Aren't those two enough? They are enough for me." Aaina mumbled.

He simply rolled his eyes. If he started to care about what people thought of him, life would be much more complex.

"Your mother doesn't know me and I don't care." He stated, knowing that the best thing to do was change the conversation.

Aaina wouldn't stop thinking about it otherwise.

"Have you packed yet?" He enquired.

She shook her head.

"No." The first lady mumbled.

"Eaten?" The Prime Minister asked.

"No." She replied.

"How's Zayla?"

At the mention of their daughter, Aaina looked at him with a slightly less worried expression on her face.

"Better now, she's with Noora. She was asleep so I took the chance and left." She explained.

"No foundation work today?" He faintly remembered his wife telling him that she had an important meeting today.

Clearly, she had cancelled it for his sake.

"I delayed it, had to come see you first." Aaina answered, her husband understood.

"Then have lunch with me, go pack your stuff and get ready to leave for tomorrow. No more worrying, yes?" Even though his words were spoken in a soft manner, they seemed like a firm order.

She cracked a smile, leaning towards him as she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Yes, Mr Prime Minister." She whispered, still smiling at the feeling of his beard grazing against her chin and lips, his lips against hers and his eyes looking at her and her only.

So the Prime Minister and the first lady put away all their worries, eating their lunch like a very ordinary couple, when they weren't ordinary at all.

---

When Aaina entered the house, her phone held near her ear as she talked to a journalist, hearing the latest gossip or whatever she liked to call it.

Apparently, minister of the Republic party had been spotted drunk in a night event in Peshawar. Not only that but the man had danced along with a few strippers, not even embarrassed at the way people madr videos of him.

The journalist, Ayesha Mortaza who had been Aaina's friend for a while now..usually told her such things and the first lady would return the favour if she ever got her hands on some interesting piece of news.

Zaydaan thought of it as a huge change. There was a time when his wife couldn't even tackle one question from a journalist without stuttering and looking at him for help. Now, here she was..sharing gossip with them.

She was still talking over the phone when she saw Noora, eyes slightly panicked and face held in a frown.

Upon seeing her worried face, Aaina realised that their mother in law must have said something yet again.

She ended the phone call, holding Noora's arm to stop her.

"What's going on?" She questioned, staring at her best friend's wife.

Noora let out a sigh of relief after seeing Aaina. She as just about to call her but thankfully, Aaina had arrived herself.

"Your mother." Noora let out, not really knowing how Aaina would take this news.

What if she got offended at the way Noora had behaved with Aaina's mother?

At the mention of her mother, the first lady seemed confused.

"What?"

Noora bit her lip. Ahad had told her to just call Aaina and tell her everything, that Aaina would easily understand the situation.

She took a deep breath before speaking up.

"She came to me and wanted Zayla for a while so I left Zayla in her room. Next thing I know, she's taking her somewhere." Aaina visibly gasped.

"I obviously stopped her, Zaydaan bhai has repeatedly told us all that Zayla shouldn't be taken outside without permission." Noora rambled out, quickly.

"She said that you had allowed her to do so. I knew that wasn't the case since Zayla had fever just in the morning." She added next, trying to justify herself.

"Now, she's sitting there and crying that I disrespected her." She said next.

Aaina didn't even know how to feel about the entire situation. If her mother wanted to spend time with Zayla, she could have done so in her own presence. But she hardly did it.

There was the usual, a kiss on the cheek and a small smile. But that was it.

Not even Ahad or Noora could just take Zayla out without telling anyone, let alone Aaina's mother.

She wanted to believe that her mother wanted to just spend some time with her grand daughter but her instincts were telling her something entirely different. Maybe, she was being a paranoid mother but Zayla was not just her daughter. She was Zaydaan's daughter too. Her mother hated her husband.

Besides, if her mother wanted to take Zayla out, she could have atleast called and asked for Aaina's permission. Even telling her would have been okay but just leaving without telling anyone, it screamed shady.

Sensing Aaina's silence, Noora held her arm.

"I'm sorry if I did that, Aaina. If I disrespected your mom. I didn't mean to but-" She tried to apologise but Aaina stopped her with a shake of her head.

"No. Are you mad? Thank you for not letting her take Zayla." She replied, faking a smile even though her heart felt absolutely heavy.

"She just lost father, she's not stable enough to be taking my daughter out anyway." She elaborated.

How do you tell people that you don't trust your own mother? The one person you are supposed to trust with everything you have got.

"Where's Zayla now?" Aaina questioned, her heart simply aching to see her daughter now.

"She's with her daadi. Upstairs."

"Okay. Thanks Noora."

"Anytime."

Aaina hurriedly went up the stairs, ready to meet her daughter.

If Zaydaan ever came to know about this, he wouldn't hesitate in throwing her mother out of the house.

--

After spending some quality time with Zayla, Aaina decided to go and meet her mother. She wanted to know the reason behind her mother's sudden interest in taking Zayla out of the house. She wanted a genuine answer.

As she went from one side of the house to another, she spotted her sister who was stood outside the bedroom that was assigned to their mother.

She was busy frowning at something on her phone when Aaina called out her name, snapping her attention.

"Saira..Where's mother?" Aaina questioned.

"She's inside her room." Saira replied in the same slightly worried, slightly monotone voice.

Aaina put her hand on the door knob but her sister stopped her.

"No, aapi. Don't. Mom is very upset with you."

Hearing that her mother was upset with her, when it should have been the complete opposite, Aaina frowned.

"With me? Why?" She replied, confused.

She heard Saira let out a dry chuckle, as if Aaina was being unbelievable.

"Do you not trust us enough to take care of Zayla?" She enquired, Aaina sighed upon hearing the hurt in her sister's voice.

She trusted Saira as much as she trusted Zaydaan. Her sister meant the world to her.

"I trust you. I do. But I'm not stupid, Saira. Mama hates Zaydaan and Zayla is as much mine as she is his. She's his weakness." She tried to explain it all to her sister in clear words.

Saira couldn't believe that her own sister held such sort of an opinion about their mother.

"Aapi, come on. How can you think so low of your own mother?" Had Zaydaan really manipulated her into believing that their mother could actually hurt an innocent child?

Yes, their mother was unreasonable and only loved her daughters in an unexplainable complex way. But she did love them. She wouldn't do anything to hurt them.

How could Aaina think like that?

"Why are you suddenly defending her? As if you don't know what she's done." Aaina tried to remind her.

Saira shrugged.

"She's my family."

"I'm your family too." Aaina insisted, hurt.

Saira nodded, holding her sister's hand. Even though Aaina was the closest to her, she had a husband, a daughter. She had her own family. So where did that leave Saira? Besides, her mother had been nothing but kind and loving towards her ever since their father's death. She didn't want Aaina to have a wrong perception of their own mother just because she made mistakes in the past.

"You are. But you have got a life of your own and I feel too far away from it. When can I go back?" She whined out.

Aaina rolled her eyes at her insistence of going back, ignoring her sister's comment of feeling far away from her life.

"When Zaydaan says so." She answered. It was her sister's turn to roll her eyes now.

"I'm tired already." She complained. Aaina smiled at her.

"I know but be patient. I'll visit mother later then."

She decided to go back to Zayla. There was no point in talking to Saira anyway, she was quite attached to their mother these days and would never understand Aaina's fears.

"Kuch chahiye to nahi?"

She mumbled, asking her sister if she needed anything. Saira shook her head.

"No, thank you."

Aaina left the hallway with another fear in her heart. The fear of losing her own sister.

---

Prime Minister Zaydaan Ziagil had alot on his plate, even though the country was doing well..the latest security threats had him worried. There were news about rebellions in the tribal areas yet again and the military had formed a plan but no matter how great the plan would be, it would still make news and make a bad impact around the world...

On the other hand, he had just received the news of corruption in the railway ministry, in Ahad's ministry.

Zaydaan had wanted to Promote Ahad a long time ago but his brother had fallen in love with the railway ministry and how it worked. He had turned the entire thing around.

The Prime Minister knew that his brother would want to handle this on his own, to find the culprit and give him his well deserved punishment.

"And you did not think of telling me before? Who do you think I am?" He still said to Hamza, questioning him why had purposely chose to delay the news.

"How much?" He asked him yet again, Hamza responded with not knowing the exact figures as the Prime Minister looked over the report before shaking his head with a sigh.

"Tell Ahad to deal with it, I don't want anyone else handling this matter. Send Fawad in and ask him to prepare a report on the other matter, send it to the media." He explained, looking back at another file and expecting Hamza to leave the room.

Hamza stayed, gulping as he looked at the Prime Minister.

"There's one more thing." He started off, feeling Zaydaan Ziagil's scowl as he glanced up.

This better be important.

His face expression said it all.

"Go on." The Prime Minister gestured him to speak up.

"Sir, your mother in law has met up with Awan Chaudhry, infact she met up with him twice after she came to Pakistan."

Now that certainly was a news. It didn't really bother Zaydaan because he knew his mother in law was the wife of Imran Sahab, the man who had committed too much s**t in his life. How could his wife ever stay behind?

"Are you certain?" He asked the man if he was sure.

Hamza nodded.

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, I'll deal with it. Anything else?" Hamza looked over at the small chit in his hand, looking at the last point.

"Saaniya chaudhry has filed the case in the morning." He informed the man, Zaydaan simply wanted to throw the things off the table upon hearing the woman's name.

That dammed woman and her false alligations were making news all over the f*****g world.

He feigned a blank face.

"Great. Tell the lawyers to prepare. I have a two day visit to Saudi Arabia tomorrow, I believe tonight will be the right time to air the news." He informed him next, standing up from his seat, all reach to go home.

Hamza nodded, dotting it down.

"Purpose?" He questioned.

"Personal umrah trip and then meeting with the royal family. No motive other than that."

The Prime Minister picked up his suit jacket as his men arrived inside the office, his secretary picking up his bags.

"Okay, is there anything else that needs to be done, Sir?" He just asked it out of his work ethic but the look that Zaydaan shot him was enough for him to gulp the bile down his throat.

"No. Is there?" He shot back, reminding Hamza that it was not his job to tell him every tiny detail. He had to figure things out on his own.

"Have a good day, Mr Prime Minister."

He stated instead, smiling and bidding the man off.

Zaydaan Ziagil didn't think his days were going to get any good anytime soon. 

--