IQRA

I woke up the next morning for Fajr.

Taking a quick shower, i got dressed and stood up for Fajr

after Fajr, I got dressed for work

Today was Friday, Jumah and of course Shumayll will be at the masjid near my work-

"Iqra, breakfast is ready" said Stan and i nodded as i tied my hijab

"K" i replied

My phone rang and i picked it up

"As salaamu alaikum!" I said cheerfully

"Wa alaikum mus salaam, Kitkat! How are you?" asked my lovely brother

"Alhamdulillah, Hows you? and bhabhi? and kids?" I asked him all at once causing him to laugh

"Everyone is fine here, the kids are fine but Zahi wants to return home though" he said and i chuckled

"Why?" I asked him, hoping my babies were fine

"she misses everything, esp Sohayll and you- she says she would rather be there than here-" he said laughing slightly

"Aweeh- tell her we miss her too-" I said picking up my bag of folders and other things

"Hows your work going?" he asked me and i grinned

"Never been better- I can't wait for the fashion show!!" I squealed and he laughed

"Hows everyone treating you? And Shumayll?" he asked me and i halted on my tracks

Shumayll?

Should I tell him?

Or not?

"Uh- everyones fine- I love them, Riza aunt is great and guess what?" I asked him, trying to get him to forget the Shumayll topic

"What?" he asked me in a playful voice

"I am going to learn to cook!!!!" I said and he went quite for a moment before laughing like a hyena

"What? I really am! I am gonna ask Riza aunt to teach me!!!" I whined and he laughed harder

I stomped my feet and then stood straight

"Really? I can learn! I am a fast learner!" I said and he chuckled after sobering up

"Fine- but If I don't get to taste your cooking when i return, you are dead meat!" he said and I laughed

"Deal! Okay bhai, I gotta go- work calls- Allah Hafiz- oh and salaam to all!" i said and once he replied, I hung up

I walked out of the room wearing flip flops, knowing i would wear my converse outside-

"Morning!" said Huma didi, smiling at me from the kitchen counter

"As salaam! and morning to you too!" I said grinning

Daadi mah smiled and nodded in reply while Riza aunt replied with a 'was salaam'

"Riza aunt, I needed to ask you something-" I said and she nodded looking up from her pan of veggies

"I uh...... wanted to learn how to umm cook?" I made it sound like a question

The three women stared at me until Riza aunt broke the ice

"Are you sure?" she asked me and I nodded

"Alright- then tomorrow is Saturday- tomorrow and Sunday- for the rest of this month-" she said and i nodded grinning widely

"Yes! Thank you! Thank you! thank youuuu!!" I said hugging her and she laughed with me

"Alright- now first lesson, help us set up breakfast!" said Daadi mah from the dining hall, across the kitchen

I nodded and began taking food to the counter that separated them

I placed paratha's, pancakes and then waffles when i saw a hand, much like someone i know, with the latest watch and simple band, steal two waffles

I looked up to see Shumayll grinning

"Sup Fluffy?" he asked me, munching away to the waffles

"As salaam Chihuahua- quit eating breakfast that way, put them on the table first!" I told him and he fake saluted me

"Right, now whats the magic word?" he asked me smiling all too sweetly that i almost forgot how to breathe

"Pleassee?" i drawled and he chuckled

"Good Fluffy- " he said and leaned down to my level

"BTW- the code word was Shumayll is my one and only-" he winked before walking away with the dish of paratha's and Waffles

I shook my head before chuckling and turning to get more food.

Riza aunt did not throw me any looks, but Huma didi sure did

she knew i was hiding something and there was no way i was going to tell her

I took other things and placed them on the counter while Shumayll transferred them to the other table

Once everything was done, We walked to the dining hall and Uncle, Shaheer bhai, Shumar and Sohayll were there

I took a seat beside Huma didi who was beside Shaheer bhai who was beside Daadi, at the head table-

Riza aunt and Uncle set beside daadi and Shumayll was directly infront of me

Sohayll was beside him and Shumar was beside Sohayll

Breakfast went uneventful, because hardly anyone talked

I had a feeling that something was wrong with this family-

this is not the family i used to know

the more days i spend here, the more it seems different

One breakfast was done, we cleaned up and then headed to work

Riza aunt had an important hearing date today at the local court, Uncle and Shumayll had to leave for work, Huma didi and Shaheer bhai had to take Sohayll to the doctor today and finally daadi mah was suppose to be going to her daily woman's club-

so yeah

"I will drop you to work" Said Shumayll as I searched for my converses in the outside corridors

where did i leave them!?!

"Thanks! I am already late" I muttered still looking for my shoes

"Just grab one and come on!" he said, annoyed and i turned to him, hands on my hip

"You can leave if you want to!" i said and he chuckled

"There- take the black and white all star-" he said pointing to a very clean converse

"But its not-" i say and he cuts me off

"Yours- they are mine- just wear it and hurry up!" he said and i sighed

Lord knows where he wore them to!

"They are new- I wore it once- once only to the airport and thats it-" he said and i chuckled

"Not quit laughing and hurry up!" with that he began walking to the car

"5 seconds or I leave you" he said

pfft, as if i need his help

Okay maybe i do- i am running late and if I am late, I will face a very angry Mrs. Aleya- I did not she was married though-

"Fine fine!" i muttered as i tried to wear the converse

"3!" he yelled

what? he did not even say 4!

"2!" he yelled and this time he had started the ignition of the damned car

I took his converse and my ripcurl bag before running towards his car

the windows went down and he smirked at me

"Get in lazy butt!" he said and i growled

"You are one!" I muttered as i got into the Mercedes Benz

I took off my flip flops and wore my ankle socks and then his converse

the awkward thing was that his converse fit me perfectly-

"There is a number 4 before 5" I muttered as i pulled on my seat belt

He gave me a brief look before returning his eyes on the road

I settled into my seat and began playing with my phone

There was nothing i could do in here!

I hit the radio button and his USB began playing

the first song was something in spanish, i did not understand so i hit next

and just like that i skipped so many songs before coming to a stop at my favorite one, Sanam teri Kasam-

I set back in my seat and smiled as the song began playing

i smiled and looked outside the window

something happened to my senses and i turned to Shumayll

his eyes were on the road, a goofish smile on his face and he seemed carefree

"Take a picture, it lasts longer" he winked at me

I chuckled and looked away

the song dronned on and on and both of us did not speak

he did look over to me occasionally-

the song ended and then others blared until I reached work

Just on time-

I got off and turned to him as he put his windows down

"thanks!" I winked before walking away

i knew the gesture had given him a heart attack but it was worth a try

Once inside the safety of the office walls, i sighed before turning to see Mrs. Aleya smiling at me

okay......

"Good morning, Ma'am" I said and she nodded before handing me the latest files

"Check them, mail them to Mr. Edris-" she said and i nodded

"ma'am which of the Mr. Edris'?" i asked her and she chuckled

"Shumayll of course" she said and i nodded sighing

She walked away in her perfect heels and posture

I sighed and strode to my workplace

I needed to finish the designs ASAP

I opened the folder and saw a few new designs while the rest were mine

she said mine had flaws, didn't she?

then why is it not altered?

I shrugged and placed the folder on my desk

i powered my computer and then my printer for scanning the hard copies

My phone beeped and i checked for the message

of course Shumayll

"Coming to your work" he wrote

what?

"Iqraar!" called Mrs. Aleya and i hurried to her office

"Ma'am?" i asked her

i felt more of a PA than a designer at times!

"Bring the folder of designs here, Mr. Shumayll Edris is coming here-" she said and i nodded

ohh that explains the message

"Alright- no problem" I muttered and she nodded

"Oh and i need you to meet my fiance today- so be ready-" she said and i gave her a confused look

"Oh hes taking over with me so he will be around mostly as well- its best that all of your people know him-" she said and i nodded smiling at her

with that i walked outside to my office

the boutique bell rang and i knew he was here

i did not dare look up from the papers i was working with

I continued designing

when i did look up however, i saw his PA, Tara (I love her!) and him, all dressed up in his armani and his shades and phone in his hand, smirking gladly at me

Tara waved at me and i waved back

I shook my head before returning to work

the bell rang again and when i looked up, I saw a tall man, fair looking, lean but not built like Shumayll or bhai- he turned to me and looked at me with a weird expression

uhh hi?

"Hello pretty lady!" he said smiling at me, as he walked towards my desk

I stood up and nodded at him with a glare

"I am sorry sir, but the boutique is at the front, this is the meeting area" I told him and he smiled in a weird way again

This guy gives off a bad vibe

"Oh baby, I am here to see you!" He winked and I felt disgusted

"Please leave" I said glaring at him

He smirked and I growled

"Leave or I call the guards" I said and he chuckled lowly

"Iqraar!" Called ma'am Aleya as she walked out of her cabin

Her smile broadened and she strode gracefully to the perverted man

He opened his arms and she hugged him before giving him a kiss

I looked away and my anger grew

I kept reciting tau'dh to stop myself from fuming over him

"Oh right- Iqraar, this is my fiercely handsome fiance, Alex," said Aleya Ma'am and i smiled forcefully at him

"And this is one of my designers, Iqraar Ibrahim" said Aleya to her husband "- We will meet the rest later-"

with that she dragged her 'fiance' with her towards the cabin where Shumayll and Tara were

"Oh and Iqra, get the design folders!" she called over her shoulders and i sighed

here goes nothing

I took the folders and walked into the office after knocking

She was introducing Shumayll to Alex

"Ah the design files-" said Aleya Ma'am

"These are our designs, a few of them, for the fashion show-" said Mrs. Aleya, gesturing for me to give the designs to Shumayll

Shumayll turned to me and gave me a small smile, a smile that gave me reassurance that as long as hes here, nothing can go wrong-

I nodded and gave him the file, which he took painfully slowly because he enjoyed seeing me give him a glare

He browsed through it, occasionally smiling at them and then finally shut the book

"These are good-" he said to Aleya ma'am in a very professional voice "-I see that my money is in good hands?" he briefly glanced at me

"Of course darling! I personally took out my time to draw those!" said Aleya Ma'am and my head snapped to her

what?

those are my designs!

She gave me a 'Keep.Shut' look and i did so

i would rather not mess with her-

Shumayll walked towards me and i felt my body heat rise

oh hell no

"Thanks" he said handing me the folder and he took a stand beside me

please go

but him being him, he did not move

"may I see the designs?" asked Alex and I felt unsure of it

"Yeah sure-" said Aleya Ma'am as she turned to Shumayll

I hesitantly held out the designs and he took it alright, but-

his finger brushed over mine and i felt shivers

the heck is wrong with this guy?!

I tried to pull my hand back but he gripped my fingers

I glared at him and then i felt a presence beside me followed by a growl

not good

not good!