Maaz entered his room. He placed his palm over his stomach and burped as he closed the door with his feet. He dragged his feet to the bed and sat down, burping again. Perhaps, he shouldn't have had too many Mooli ke Parathe for dinner.

Casually, he grabbed his phone and his eyes widened. He stood up staring at his phone. There were five miss-calls from Anaya and a text message. His heart raced as he clicked on the inbox.

Was Gabin a psychopath?

Please come to the gate. There is something I need to tell you!!!

Maaz panicked and hurried towards the balcony. He opened the full-length glass door and stepped out. A gush of cold wind and heavy water droplets welcomed him. He felt terrified that Anaya was out alone in this weather. Quickly, he grabbed his night-robe and ran out of the room while struggling to wear it.

He slipped the stairs as he hurried but he managed to steady himself by grabbing the railing.

His heart raced and his legs felt lighter as he glided across the living room and tumbled out of the main door. In his panic state, he forgot to grab an umbrella. He shivered in the cold rain as he scurried towards the main gate. The guards were alarmed and when they found it was Maaz they were confused. Maaz ordered them to open the gate. He paced outside glancing at the main road.

At first, he was very worried about his wife but as time passed, he started getting angry.

'How can she be so careless? What is taking her so long?' He muttered to himself.

He heard wheels of a car and when he ran out of the gate he was blinded by the headlights of the car. He squinted his eyes covering them with the back of his palm. Soon, the headlights dimmed and Maaz slowly lowered his hand. The door of the taxi opened, and Anaya stepped out. She closed the door with a thud and smiled at Maaz. He hurried towards her and she too dropped her umbrella, getting drenched in the rain, and held the sling of her clutch tightly as she speedily walked towards him.

Their pace increased as they came closer. Maaz observed Anaya to make sure she was alright. He opened his mouth to talk to her but before he could say anything, she leaped at him. Anaya threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. She closed her eyes tightly.

'What the—' Maaz's eyes widened as he lost his balance and fell with Anaya on the wet road. The guards hurried out of the gate. They looked at the couple, glanced at each other and passed a smile. One of the guards asked the other to let them be alone.

'****, Anaya. What is this?' He whined. Anaya giggled moving off Maaz. He sat up and looked at his muddy palms. He recoiled feeling mud and water sticking to his dress.

'You, foolish woman. Wasn't getting drenched enough than—' he stopped mid-sentence when Anaya hugged him again. This time Maaz realized that they were hugging. He froze mid-sentence with his arms in the air. His hands shivered as he slowly wrapped his arms around her petite figure. The coat had completely drenched and sticky to her.

Maaz smiled as he realized that this was their first hug. He hadn't imagined they will be sharing their first hug in the rain. And he had thought that hug or kiss under the rain would be romantic. Not sticky, mudding and smelly.

Anaya had imagined her romance in the rain would be dreamy, swoon-worthy like how they showed in rom-coms but she hadn't thought she would have scratched knees, mud, and clothes stuck to her body, rain blinding her, her hair spilling out of the pins and sticking to her face and back of her neck.

Nevertheless, these thoughts quickly flew out of the window as they held each other in a tight embrace. Maaz forgot to ask why they were hugging while Anaya could feel her heart thumping in her chest as she felt the warmth of his body. He pressed his chin against her shoulder, and she smiled to herself. Even though they shivered in the freezing cold rain, they could feel the warmth being in each other's arms.

▪⎯⎯⎯∞⎯⎯⎯▪

'Aaaachooooo!!!!' Maaz and Anaya sneezed in unison. He glared at her. She doesn't look at him as she was busy wiping her nose with a handkerchief.

'Are you happy?' He said. The two sat at the extreme ends of the bed. Anaya blew her nose into the handkerchief and he scrunched his nose.

'Wh—' she sniffed, - 'what?' she managed to say with a stuffy nose.

Maaz sniffed too, - 'What is this madness, Anaya? Why did you assault me in rain? Now, I am gonna get flu.' He whined. Anaya blinked at him and then looked away with a smile.

Maaz shifted uncomfortably, eyed Anaya from the corner of his eyes and then looked down at his clasped hands, - 'How—how was your da—te?' – he mustered the courage to look at her, - 'From your reaction, it looks like you had great fun and you—two—'

Anaya raised her eyebrow and a naughty smile played on her lips, - 'You two?' She teased him.

'Yeah,' – Maaz shifted, stiffed and avoided eye contact as he spoke, - 'you two, um, confessed? Are you guys—'

Anaya smiled looking away, - 'Obviously,' – she looked down at her fingers while keeping a smile on her face. Maaz looked sharply at her, his heart fell with a thud.

'Gabin was a sweetheart. He was so chivalrous, loving and I enjoyed his company.' -she blushed bringing her fingers to her lips, - 'I had such a wonderful time with him.' She looked at Maaz and he quickly fixed his expressions, - 'Thank you.' She extended her hand and placed her palm over his hand. She smiled at him and he faked a smile. He felt her touch lingering at the back of his palm even when she had moved it away long back. He lowered his gaze, looked at his hand and flexed his fingers.

Anaya laid on her side, a mischievous smile still on her face. As she pulled the duvet over her, she could feel him lay beside her. Maaz stared at her back wondering if by setting them up has he had axed his own legs? He frowned and angrily turned to the other side. Anaya bit her smile as she felt the bed violently move. Cautiously, she looked over her shoulder and looked at him. She smiled shaking her head and turned to her side.

In the middle of the night, Maaz turned to the other side and threw his arm. He quickly retracted his hand and muttered, - 'sorry.' in his sleep.

'It is okay.' Anaya's voice came from far and he frowned. Slowly, he flickered his eyes opened and sat up on the bed. He ruffled his hair and looked around for Anaya. She stood at the far end of the room and worked on a switch.

Maaz got up and shivered coming out of his cozy blanket. He pulled the duvet from the bed and wrapped it around himself.

'Hey! What are you doing?' He called her and struggled to walk towards her while dragging along a heavy duvet.

'I am fixing the heater. I am feeling cold.' She said with her eyes stuck to the heating switch. It was then Maaz noted she had changed into a baby pink furry hoodie pajama matched with fluffy slippers with a unicorn head. He frowned at the odd choice of slippers.

'I want the temperature higher and—' She moved the knob and clicked her tongue in irritation.

'Leave it. Are you planning to evaporate us?' He held her hand and she looked at him.

'Come, it can't get hotter than this.' He held her wrist tighter and took her to the bed. She doesn't protest but insisted she was feeling cold.

'Okay.' He stopped at the bedside, held her shoulders and made her sit on the bed. 'If you feel too cold then hug me again. I am hot.' He spoke irritably.

Anaya watched him with a smile as he walked around the bed, sat with a thud and pulled on the duvet. His gaze fell on her and he frowned, - 'why are you smiling so much?' He asked.

Anaya shrugged, - 'Just thinking about the date.' She lied and watched the color drain from his face. She mentally giggled but managed to press her lips to suppress her smile.

'Well don't think too much.' He fell on the bed and pulled the duvet till his face. Slowly, Anaya laid on her side, she tugged her arms under her head and looked at him. She wanted to confess to him what she feels for him but hesitated because she doesn't know what he feels for her. She didn't want to look silly.

She gulped and turned her head to look up. She stared at the white canopy for a while until she was distracted by his snore. The duvet had slipped from his face and rested on this chest. Cautiously, Anaya moved her hand and placed her palm over his. His hand twitched but he doesn't wake up. Then, she wrapped her fingers around his palm, clasping it gently. Her eyes on him. He snorted and then turned to face the other side. Anaya shifted and slowly moved her arm under his arm and wrapped her arm around his waist. He stiffened as she rested her head against his back.

'What are you doing?' He asked nervously.

She smiled, - 'you said if I feel cold then I should hug you.' She responded. Maaz gulped, he kept staring wide-eyed at the lamp post next to the bed.

'Your hug is doing funny things to me.' He confessed. Anaya bit her lips, her cheeks heated up.

'That is your problem.' She whispered. Maaz inhaled sharply and she could feel her heart skip a beat. Slowly, he moved his hand, placed his palm over hers and caressed the back of her palm. She found her breath getting hitched in her throat. He drew circles with his finger, and she could feel goosebumps. Anaya inhaled deeply and shifted closer. Maaz could feel his heart in his throat as he felt her soft body pressed against his. This was getting too heated up. Anaya slid her palm over his chest and held him tighter. Suddenly, she felt warm from inside. The heat level between them increased.

Maaz closed his eyes and held her hand. He placed a rock over his chest and moved her hand away. Anaya moved her arm to grab him again, but he abruptly stood up. Her eyes sprung open and she frowned. Hurriedly, she sat up.

'What happened, Maaz?' She asked in a soft tone. He stood with his back facing her. He placed one hand on his hip and ran his fingers through his hair.

'This isn't right, Anaya.'

'Why?' She asked innocently. Maaz looked at her with surprise.

'Seriously?' – he paused and then continued, - 'We are getting divorced, remember?'

With the sudden reminder, Anaya froze and looked at him without blinking. Maaz sighed and walked up to her and sat next to her on the bed.

'Sleep, Anaya. Tomorrow, we have to meet the Qazi. The first round of divorce will be heard. I hope you have signed the papers.'

Anaya was speechless. She could just stare at him. Maaz waited for a moment before standing up. He grabbed his pillow, - 'Good night.' He said and picked up his duvet. He knew she might be offended or feel bad because of his behavior. But only he knew how difficult it was for him to abandon her. She watched him, numb, as he lay on the sofa facing the other side.