Today, when Zavian opened his eyes, it was already 10am. The sun was gentle, the morning unusually quiet, the kind of peaceful that makes you want to stay in bed just a little longer.
He stretched lazily, still half asleep & his hand reached for his phone on the side table. What he wasn't expecting was the screen lighting up with a stream of unread messages.
12+ notifications.
From her.
His beautiful, dramatic wife Mahek.
His brows lifted as he unlocked the phone. Message after message, voice notes, a selfie with her chai, a blurry picture of the rain outside her window & of course, a long paragraph that started with,
"Tum uthty q nai ho Zaviiiiiaanš"
(Why don't you wake up, Zaviiiaan)
Zavian couldn't help but smile. He hadn't even said good morning yet & Mahek had already written him a mini novel.
He rubbed his eyes, sat up properly & finally texted back:
"Good morning, begum. What a beautiful way to start my day"
On the other side, Mahek was already typing her reply. Then came the rapid fire texts, each one more dramatic than the last,
"Zavian, where were you?"
"I will kill you"
"Zavian, you slept a lot"
"Itna kon sota hai???"
(Who sleeps this much?)
"Biwi ka koi khayal hai?"
(Do you even care about your wife?)
Zavian rubbed his eyes & chuckled as he typed back,
"Baby, I'm sorry"
Within seconds, her reply came dramatic & sarcastic as ever.
"No no, why are you sorry? Sleep again, sleep till 12"
"Why are you up so early the great Mr Husband??"
He laughed, he texted back softly,
"I was missing you"
There was a pause, & then:
"Shut up," she replied,
"You were sleeping like an idiot"
He smiled wider.
This... this silly sweet back & forth, they both lived for it.
Mahek's next message popped up almost immediately.
"Mai tumhare daant tor du gi, Zavian Ubaid. Hasna band kro"
(I'll break your teeth, Zavian Ubaid. Stop laughing)
Zavian burst into laughter even more, holding his stomach as he leaned back on the bed. He couldn't stop.
"Bs baby, maar hi do mujhy" he replied between laughs.
(Fine baby, just kill me)
Mahek, on the other side rolled her eyes while smiling to herself, trying her best to look angry & failing miserably.
Her next message came in quickly,
"Jao or nahao" (Go & shower)
Zavian smiled, shaking his head at her bossy tone.
"Yes mam" he replied.
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Zavian stepped out of the shower, fresh & calm. He wore a crisp black kurta shalwar. He made himself a cup of chai, with the cup in one hand, he sat on the edge of his bed & picked up his phone.
He typed,
"Begum mai agaya" (Wifey, I'm here)
And with that, he attached a picture, his fresh look in black.
On the other side, Mahek was going through her own quiet battle, the first day of her periods. She lay curled up in bed, her face pale, a hot water bag resting on her stomach. She was exhausted, in pain & irritated with just about everything.
Her phone buzzed. It was Zavian.
She opened the message, a picture of him in a black kurta. She narrowed her eyes at the screen & texted,
"Zavian, phr sy black??"
(Zavian, black again??)
He read her message & couldn't help but smile. Without skipping a beat, he texted back:
"Are you on your periods?"
On the other side, Mahek blinked, then smiled despite the cramps curling in her stomach.
"How do you know?" she replied, a little surprised.
Zavian's response came almost instantly,
"Because you always love me in black but when you're on your periods you get annoyed"
She smiled at his message & teasingly asked,
"What was the last date?"
Without even pausing, Zavian replied with the exact date of her previous cycle.
Her eyes widened.
"Wait what?" she mumbled to herself.
Before she could ask more, he continued, casually listing out every past time without a single pause.
She stared at her screen, stunned. He remembered every single one. Not just the recent one, all of them. A soft silence filled her room. She blinked away the tears that suddenly welled up in her eyes. He had paid attention. Even when she thought he didn't. Even when she didn't say anything.
She asked softly, almost in disbelief.
"How do you remember all this?"
He smiled gently & said,
"Mai nai yaad rkhun ga toh kon rkhy ga?"
(If I won't remember, then who will?)
And just like that, Mahek's heart melted all over again.
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After a few more playful texts, Mahek got caught up in her house chores folding laundry, wiping the shelves & cleaning up her room.
On the other side, Zavian placed his cup of chai on the table, opened his laptop & got into work mode. The screen lit up with spreadsheets & pending emails & within minutes, he was lost in the usual rhythm of his workday.
But every now & then, he'd glance at his phone just to check if his begum had texted back.
After a few hours buried in files & meetings, Zavian completely lost track of time. His focus was entirely on work. He hadn't even noticed how quickly the day was slipping by.
But then, with a blink, he glanced at the clock.
3 PM.
His heart skipped. The last time he had talked to Mahi was around 11 AM. He quickly unlocked his phone, opened WhatsApp & there it was.
Her texts.
"Khn ho Zavian?"
(Where are you, Zavian?)
"Tum WhatsApp py online q ho??"
(Why are you online on WhatsApp??)
"Kis churail sy baat kr rhy ho???"
(Which witch are you talking to??)
Zavian shut his eyes for a second, sighed he was in so much trouble.
Zavian quickly texted back,
"Baby I was working, I swear. Laptop khola hua tha phone side py tha"
(Baby I was working, I swear. Laptop was open, phone was on the side)
Mahek replied almost instantly with a done face,
"I hate your work. Jao ja k usi sy shaadi kr lo"
(I hate your work. Go marry your work)
Zavian smiled to himself, knowing she was upset but also secretly loving how possessive she got.
"Okay, nai krta ab kaam sorry"
(Okay, I wonāt work now sorry)
Mahek sighed dramatically & said,
"Nai nai apni dusri biwi k pas jao bulky nai, dusri toh mai hun pehli biwi toh tumhara kaam hai"
(No no, go to your second wife oh wait, Iām the second one, your first wife is your work)
Zavian chuckled, shaking his head with a soft smile.
He replied sweetly,
"My baby, youāre my one & only"
She pouted & said,
"Then stay with me"
He replied quickly,
"Iām here with you, baby"
She sighed & mumbled,
"Zavian tum Pakistan mei q paida hue?"
(Zavian why were you born in Pakistan?)
He said softly,
"Baby, qismat mei yhi tha na"
(Baby this is what was written in fate)
She pouted & replied,
"India mei q nai thi qismat?"
(Why wasnāt it written in fate that youād be in India?)
He smiled & asked,
"Call kru?"
(Should I call?)
She turned her face away & mumbled,
"Nai mujhy nai krni baat tum Pakistan mei hi raho"
(No I donāt want to talk. You just stay in Pakistan)
Even through her annoyance, he could hear the pain of separation in her voice.
He called her & as soon as she picked up, she said with fake irritation,
"Kya hai???"
(What is it???)
He smiled & said softly,
"I love you"
She smiled the moment she heard it but still tried to act angry,
"Melt mat kro Zavian Ubaid"
(Donāt try to melt me, Zavian Ubaid)
He chuckled,
"I love you, Mrs Zavian Ubaid"
Her heart skipped a beat but all she could say, blushing & flustered was,
"Bhaar mei jao"
(Go to hell)
But they both knew she meant I love you too.
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They talked on call for a while, laughing, teasing & stealing little moments like they always did. After the call, Zavian had to go outside for some work. The sky was already a little grey when he left & by the time he returned, it had started raining.
Coincidentally, it was raining on Mahekās side too. The same sky, the same rain, even miles apart it felt like the universe was syncing their moments through the clouds.
Zavian returned home late, around 11 at night. The moment he stepped inside, tired but still thinking of her, he pulled out his phone & texted:
āBaby, Iām homeā
Mahekās reply came almost instantly,
āWahin reh jatyā
(You shouldāve just stayed there)
He smiled to himself, already knowing she was still pretending to be mad.
āStill mad, baby?ā he typed.
She replied,
āI hate youā
He chuckled softly, laying back on his bed & said,
āI love you moreā
He asked softly,
"Did you eat something, Mahi?"
She replied quickly,
"Yesss"
He asked again,
"Doodh piya?" (Did you drink milk?)
Mahek rolled her eyes, completely done with this man. In her head, she was like
āThis man & his obsession with milk, unbelievableā
She said dramatically,
"Noi" (No)
He smiled & said,
"You promised me that youāll drink it on your every first day"
She pouted a little & said sweetly,
"Zavian, Iām a baby na?"
He nodded,
"Yes, you are but no drama. Drink it. Iām waiting & I wonāt reply to you until you send me your pic drinking milk"
She groaned playfully,
"Zavian yaarrr"
He replied firmly but with love,
"Am I clear?"
A few moments later, Mahi was sitting quietly in her room, holding the glass of milk, drinking it slowly while softly cursing her periods under her breath. Her face was slightly annoyed, brows furrowed but somewhere in her heart, she was smiling too because she knew Zavian cared.
She had already sent him the picture & after a few minutes, she came back. He smiled & said,
"My cute baby, Iāve cupped your face in my hands & kissed your forehead. Now sleep"
She replied softly,
"Okay baby, Iām sleepy"
They said together,
"Allah Hafiz"
Mahi went to sleep, the blanket pulled up to her head but sleep didnāt come easily. On the other side, Zavian opened his laptop & started working. After a few moments, he got a message notification.
"Zavi thunderstorm"
He quickly replied,
"Are you scared?"
She answered,
"Itās too much, Zavian"
He reassured her softly,
"Okay, Iām here with you baby relax"
Mahi suddenly asked,
āZavi, how much do you love me?ā
He smiled & replied,
āA lot, Mahiā
She said,
āZavian, if I wasnāt with you, wouldnāt your life be easier? Donāt you ever miss the life you had before me?ā
He sighed & said,
āMahi, I love you with every breath I takeā
He continued,
"Jo saansein ap k any sy pehly li hain, hamari mhbt ka sadqa samajh lo unhein or ab leny wali har sans ap k naam"
(The breaths I took before you, consider them a sacrifice to our love & every breath I take now is dedicated to you)
Mahi pouted & said,
āI love you, Zavianā
Zavian said,
"I love you more"
Then Mahi asked again,
"Zavian agr tumhari amma or behno ko mai psnd na ai toh? Mujhy kabi accept hi nai kiya toh?"
(Zavian, what if your mom & sisters donāt like me? What if they never accept me?)
He said,
"Meri psnd ho ap, jo apko psnd nai kry ga, mai usy napsnd kr dun ga"
(You're the one I love. Anyone who doesn't like you, I will stop liking them)
Then he added softly:
"Mahi you know that I don't use lines of novels but for the first time ever I want to ask you"
"Tumhein jannat k ilawa kahin or rkha ja skta hai kya?"
(Can someone like you be kept anywhere other than paradise?)
And with that, after a few more soft loving words Mahi finally fell asleep peacefully, the fear of thunder melting away like it never existed. She drifted into sleep feeling safe, loved & deeply cherished.
On the other side, Zavian closed his laptop, the screen dimming along with the weight of the day. He lay down, pulled the blanket over himself & finally let sleep take over, he was at peace knowing she was okay.
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On some readersā request, I added more chat-based moments in this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed. Stay tuned for the next part...š¤š
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