After leading me towards my happily ever after, Iyaz had assured me that he had only left to take care of his mental mess and gear up to win me back. He was never going to stay away. We were back to being a sweet couple where he was the shield. Ever since realizing that he had been toxic, he had turned apologetic and strong-often crying while apologizing about how horrible he was. I had forgiven him.

Now putting a diamond stud earring on my left ear, I gasped upon having two tiny hands tug on my elbow and turned around. My two-year-old daughter 'Lulu', while rubbing her eyes, was sobbing cutely.

Immediately picking her up, I tilted her chin to peer into her eyes.

"What's wrong?" I cooed, causing her to simply sniff. Her actions making my heart sigh with awe. She was very friendly and soft-hearted. Iyaz couldn't help but pinch her cheeks whenever he held her; she was his little princess. Apparently, she had our entire household wrapped around her tiny fingers, and I didn't mind one bit. She was our little girl.

Soon, following after his little sister walked in'Shahmeer'. And just like Lulu, he grabbed my other arm.

"Mama Mahira, I broke Lulu's watch," he confessed. I loved it when he called me that. After his mother had abandoned him, I had insisted Iyaz to take him in. I knew how much Iyaz cared about Shahmeer, and that little boy was just as much a part of this family as Lulu.

"Aww, it's okay. I am pretty sure it was an accident," I softly consoled, sitting down on the floor to meet his height. I placed Lulu back on her feet and gently pushed her towards her brother.

"Just say sorry to your sister." I met Shahmeer's gaze with tenderness.

"I am sorry for breaking your toy," he spoke earnestly.

"It's okay," she replied, smiling widely.

Watching this cute exchange, I immediately got up and grabbed both of their hands. "Very good. Now let's have some chocolates."

"Mum," Lulu soon pulled away from me. "When is papa coming home?

"About any minute." However, before I could finish with my statement, we all heard the front door open and immediately Lulu and Shahmeer rushed towards it.

"Yay!!"

Chuckling at their antics, I slowly got up and followed after. By the time I reached the entrance, I saw Shahmeer and Lulu scooped up by Iyaz. He was carrying them towards our lounge.

He smiled widely at me.

"Want to head out for dinner?" He offered with enthusiasm.

"Sure." I agreed, watching with tenderness as Lulu happily clapped her hands.

"Papa," she spoke, as he placed both the kids down. "Did you know that I cried today?"

Immediately h eyes narrowed in ferocity as he heard that, and he bent down to match the level.

"What happened?" He sternly asked, making Lulu tell him the entire tale. Thankfully, after listening, his temper calmed down.

"Don't worry," he assured. "I will send Jehan to bring you both all that you want, okay?"

"Thank you!" Both Shahmeer and Lulu beamed with excitement and rushed towards the gaming room.

"Oh," Iyaz the looked up at me. "My doctor and his wife will be here at any minute. I will send the wives to the dining room, okay-"

"B-but, Iyaz," I began speaking, only to receive a firm, possessive glare from him.

"Understood?"He raised a stern eyebrow, making me sigh in defeat.

"Sure."

"Good." He smiled, again.

The thing was that I had no issues with Iyaz meeting his dear friends, but I was feeling a bit nervous by his wife showing up. His wife, for some reason, was extremely rude towards me. She would mock the fact that I was only fluent in one language-Urdu. I was proud of my heritage. Yet, I didn't want Iyaz to know about this because he was really grateful for how patiently this doctor had handled his case.

Sighing, I lowered my gaze. Watching my placid expression, Iyaz's stance immediately turned tender, gentle and concerned.

"What's with the sulking?" He spoke softly. "You know I am doing this because I want you to make friends. You need to smile...and I want you to experience the best in your life."

"I know," I duly nodded. "Iyaz-" However, at that moment, the doorbell rang. And soon, I was made to walk towards the playroom to gather my children and take them towards the dining room. No way was Iyaz allowing them to be left unsupervised for so long.

Now grabbing Lulu and Shahmeer by their hands, I allowed each to hold their toys with their other hand and walked towards the dining room. Upon entering it, I morphed my expressions into a fake smile at the sight of Mrs Tariq already settled on a long sofa, subtly frowning at me, and walked towards her.

****

"Mrs Tariq," I greeted, moving to sit on the sofa in front of her. My grip loosened on Lulu and Shahmeer's hands, making them settle down on the carpet and play with their toys.

"Cute children." The lady formally praised, making me nod.

"Thank you."

"Hmm....they are a bit loud?" She continued, making me feel so patronized and angry. No one gets away with mocking my children.

"They are fine the way they are. No advice needed. Thank you," I stressed, glaring a little.

"Of course, some mothers hate listening to good advice. They tend to spoil their children," Mrs Tariq replied with a snide remarking, making me clench my fists.

However, not wanting to create a scene, I tried changing the topic.

"Would you like some drinks and food?" I formally asked, folding my hands to calm myself.

"Yes-OUCH!" She suddenly shrieked. Turning her head towards my children, she then got up and began walking towards them with a nasty sneer on her face.

What on earth!

Immediately rushing to stand in front of Shahmeer and Lulu and meeting Mrs Tariq head to head, I scowled.

"What the heck!"

"That little brat threw his toy at me," she snapped, keeping her gaze pinned on Shahmeer. I hadn't caught him doing that because of the dining room table strategic placement.

"Shahmeer, did you throw your toy towards Mrs Tariq?" I turned toward him and softly asked.

"Yes, Mama Mahira." He nodded, looking a bit frightened. My heart ached at that.

"Why?" I gently asked.

"I don't like her," he confessed timidly, making me sigh. He surely had a good sense of judgement, but I just couldn't approve of this sort of behaviour.

"Well, we don't do or say such rude things," I gently corrected, sitting before him and patting his head. "Do apologize to Mrs Tariq. She has got hurt because of your actions."

"Okay-"

"I don't need his apology," Mrs Tariq immediately snapped from behind me, making me jump and turn my back Lulu and Shahmeer."You are spoiling your children. They have no manners. I will tell Tariq to inform Iyaz about how rude you have been to his guest. My husband will make sure Iyaz gets to know how illiterate his wife is."

"What is going on in here?!" Iyaz's thundering voice now boomed across the dining room, making us all shake.

Stepping into the dining room from the entrance behind Mrs Tariq, his gaze fell on me sitting pale, with Shahmeer and Lulu hiding behind me and Mrs Tariq hovering above us. Upon seeing the frightened look on my face, Iyaz immediately clenched his jaw, tightly folding his fists, and began thundering towards us.

"What is the meaning of this"? He tried to reign in his temper.

Mr Tariq suddenly turned so kind and polite. "Nothing-"

"Nothing?!" He barked. "You should have known better to mess with MY family. GET OUT!"

Nodding, she immediately rushed out of the dining room with huge sobs escaping along with string of complaints. Iyaz's temper could be terrifying. I could hear Lulu crying. I quickly pulled both Shahmeer and her into a side hug.

"What happened?" Iyaz rushed near, sounding concerned.

"First meeting? Why didn't you tell me about it?!" He reiterated, trying as hard to keep his anger at bay as he stared intensely into my eyes. He didn't want to petrify the kids.

"Because I didn't want to make things awkward with your doctor," I sighed, squeezing my children. "I don't want to make you feel any kind of burden."

"Nonsense." A small, understanding smile appeared on Iyaz's face. "You and our children are my responsibility. I will protect you, guys, always. So don't you ever hide such things from me, understood?" He sternly ordered, yet I knew that this scolding was in good nature.

"I think that would no longer be a problem." I beamed widely, referring to how scared Mrs Tariq had looked. He shook his head in amusement. Lulu and Shahmeer were eyeing their father with so much pride and happiness.

This was bliss.

This was a short and small story I wrote a few years ago. It has a lot of loopholes, its original version was a bit different. It is messy, weird and different...but I had to post it here.