Chapter 1
So the next day, as soon as everyone arrived at the office, Mr. Ayaan, also known as Shadow, called Aayat into his office and said, “Aayat, please sit down. I need to talk to you.”
Aayat said, “Yes, sir, please speak. I have work to do, so please be quick; I might get a little late.”
“Aayat, please sit down. It’s okay if you get late; I won’t say anything. Today, I need to talk to you about something important... but I don’t even know how to say it.”
“Despite being the daughter of such a big Pakistani businessman, you come to the office so simply—no attitude, no show-off. And then there’s me... I come after your father, yet I have developed so much attitude and arrogance. I don’t understand how or when this happened.”
“Actually, our meeting got canceled yesterday. I had some really important work, but I skipped it because of the meeting. When it got canceled, I was frustrated, and unfortunately, I took out my anger on you by mistake. I am really sorry, Miss Aayat.”
Miss Aayat said, “Oh, sir, do you know if you break a glass and then try to put it back together, it won’t be the same? Why? Because it has already shattered from within. The same goes for a person’s heart. And if you take out your anger on an employee....
“And anyway, sir, you are such a big businessman. Why do you even need to apologize to a simple girl like me? Besides, I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I have office work to do, so I’ll take my leave, okay? And… I forgive you.”
“Oh, Miss Aayat, I am so sorry. I made a mistake. Would you go to dinner with me today? Because you are like a sister to me, and I don’t want to treat you unfairly. I’m really sorry.”
“You can continue your work, and in the evening, I can pick you up from your house so we can go to dinner. Talha, you, and I will go together. Is that okay?”
“I have already forgiven you. We will go to dinner in the evening at Café Happy Pie. Now, I have a lot of work to do, so I’ll get going. In the evening, we will all go together.”
“Oh, and make sure to bring your son along as well! I feel like I will really like him.”
“This is all fine, but when did you get so interested in my son? You’ve probably never even seen him, right?”
“Oh, sir, what are you saying? Don’t you remember that you dropped me off at my house that day when your son was with you? What’s his name? I can’t remember it right now.”
Shadow said, “Rayyan, right?”
“Yes, sir, yes sir, Rayyan, his name was Rayyan, right? So, make sure to bring him along too,” Miss Aayat said to Shadow.
Okay miss aayat no worries
And Miss Aayat left from there.
Oh, how sweet Miss Aayat is, Shadow said to himself.
Aur wo apna kaam karne lag gaya.
When Miss Aayat was about to leave for home in the evening, Shadow stopped her and said, “Oh, Miss Aayat, you forgot again that we were supposed to go to dinner today
“Oh, Mr. Ayaan, I forgot! I can wait right here. Can you pick up Rayyan and Talha from home? Can you go book the table also?
“If you call me Shadow from today, because from now on we are friends, and as for Talha and Rayyan, I have already called Talha. He has booked the table for us, and he said that he won’t come himself. He will send Rayyan instead. Meanwhile, we can sit in the office garden and talk about some office matters.”
“Oh, okay, oh, Shadow, let’s go sit in the office garden. First, I’ll order coffee for us, okay? And by then, Rayyan will arrive.”
Author’s pov:
As soon as they sat in the garden, Shadow and A-Y-U (Aayat), A-Y-U was Aayat’s nickname. They were having a conversation when suddenly, Aayat’s gaze met Talha’s, and she felt a strange sensation, like the one she had felt on her first day in the office. It was as if she had fallen in love with him, and she couldn’t help but wonder, “Has it happened? Have I fallen in love with him?”
On the other side, Ayaan was there, and his heart was racing rapidly. He felt the same way, as though he had fallen in love with her.
They couldn’t seem to look away from each other. Suddenly, Aayat spoke up, “What are you thinking?” Aayat had a lot of thoughts running through her mind, including a situation with some office colleagues, but the most important one was that she had fallen in love. She wondered if she should tell him. On the other side, Ayaan was thinking the same thing — maybe he should tell her that he was falling in love with her. “What am I thinking?” Ayaan said to himself. “It’s just an office colleague situation... but anyway, we need to go for dinner now.”
At that moment, Rayyan arrived.
“Dad, aren’t we going for dinner? Come on, you and I will go to dinner. And who is this girl you’re sitting with?”
Before Ayaan could say anything, Aayat stood up and said, “Hi, Rayyan! How are you? This is the second time I’m seeing you, and you’re so cute, Mashallah! You, your dad, and I should go for dinner together. Can I come with you guys?” Aayat asked him very politely.
Rayyan said, “No! No way! You’re not coming with us! Who are you to come with my dad and me? No one has ever gone with my dad, except for me and my uncle! How can you come? You don’t need to come, we need to go. Now go and do your office work,” Rayyan said angrily.
Aayat was about to say something, but then she said, “Oh, oh dear, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you wouldn’t like me coming. Mr. Shadow, you go ahead and enjoy dinner with your son. You can have coffee later, but go for dinner now. I’m fine. I just want to stay back.”
As Aayat spoke, tears filled her eyes.
As soon as Ayaan saw the tears in Aayat’s eyes, he said to Rayyan, “Shut up, Rayyan! What are you saying? You’ve left your manners at home! Don’t you feel embarrassed about how big of a mistake you’re making? Get out of my sight right now! And from now on, I will never take you anywhere. Driver! Driver!” he shouted. “Take Rayyan home. He has no place here with us. Get him out of my sight. And from now on, I won’t take you anywhere. Driver, take him quickly!”
Aayat, crying, said to Shadow, “Shadow, what are you doing? He’s your son! You shouldn’t treat him like that. And besides, my stomach is full. Rayyan, Rayyan, come back! Come back, son! Your papa was joking to you, Rayyan, come back!”
“Come back, dear. Come back. What are you doing over there, driver? Driver!” Aayat angrily said to the driver, “I said let go of his hand!” “Rayyan, come back, son. Come back, son. Come back, son. Come back!”
Rayyan came back from a distance and hugged Aayat tightly.
Rayyan said, “I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry!” He was crying and continued, “Didi, I am so sorry, I made a mistake.”
“Mistakes happen to everyone, it’s okay. And stop crying now, you’re so cute. And besides, dads sometimes scold their kids, right?”
Rayyan said to his dad, “Papa, I shouldn’t have done that,” and then he hugged him tightly, and both of them shared a warm embrace.
Aayat and Ayaan said together, “Oh dear, no worries. It’s getting late for dinner, let’s go!” And they all left from there.
Rayyan said to himself, “Aayat, is just like my mom, she love me so much.” Lost in thought, he accidentally called Aayat “Mama” and said, “Mama, this is so much fun!”
As soon as Aayat heard Rayyan call her “Mama,” she hugged him tightly, as if she wanted him to always call her that. On the other side, Ayaan was thinking, “Mama? He just called her Mama? What is happening? What am I thinking?” He yelled out loudly, “What?!”
Aayat said to Shadow, “Shadow, Shadow, what happened? What thoughts have you lost in?”
“You, you, didn’t you hear? He called you Mama, didn’t you hear?” Ayaan said to Aayat.
“So what’s the big deal? He’s just a child, and maybe he sees his mother in me. He must have accidentally called me Mama. It’s not a big deal. It happens, no worries. I also used to call people Mama by mistake when I was young. You must have done that too. Just relax.“”And nothing like that will ever happen, what you’re thinking.”
“Oh, okay, relax. But there’s one thing—why did Aayat say that Rayyan might see his mother in me? Is it true that Rayyan sees his mother in Aayat? What’s going on? I feel like Aayat has started to love me.”
While thinking about all this, they all reached their destination.
As soon as Rayyan got out of the car, he said to Aayat, “Didi, can I call you Mama?” Hearing this, both Aayat and Ayaan were left astonished.
Aayat replied, “Of course! Why not? I am just like your mother. And I love you so much, baby.”
Ayaan thought to himself, “When I go home today, I’ll definitely ask Rayyan if he likes Aayat. And if he says yes, then I’ll tell Aayat what’s in my heart.”
They started eating they are dinner
As soon as they were finishing dinner and were about to leave, Aayat suddenly felt dizzy and collapsed. Coincidentally, Ayaan caught her in his arms and said, “Aayat, Aayat, what happened to you?” Then he told Rayyan, “Go, bring some water quickly.” Rayyan rushed to bring the water, and as soon as he returned, Ayaan poured it into Aayat’s mouth. As soon as Aayat sipped the water, she said, “Yes, yes, I’m feeling dizzy. Please take me home, please take me home.”
So, Ayaan quickly helped her into the car and started thinking rapidly. He wondered, “Should I take her to my garage since her house is five kilometers away from here? No, I should take her to my house right now, because she isn’t feeling well.” He then decided and drove her to his house.
Before her condition could worsen, they reached Ayaan’s house, which wasn’t just a house—it was a mansion.
And Ayaan called out, “Aayat! Aayat! Miss Aayat! Please wake up! Miss Aayat! We’ve reached home!” When he saw that Aayat wasn’t waking up, he called again, “Ayu! Ayu! Please wake up for me!” As soon as Aayat heard “for me,” she mustered all her strength and got up. Ayaan and Rayyan held her hands and helped her to her bedroom. Ayaan said, “I’ll bring something for you to eat, water, and I’ll also get some pills for you. You rest, okay?”
Aayat said, “Oh! Oh, please just bring me water and some pills! I’m not feeling well at all!
Then Rayyan went to his father and said, “Papa, Mama has woken up. Please check if she is okay, I’m really worried about her. God forbid something happens to her.”
Rayyan’s father replied, “No, she will be fine. Let her rest. I’ll tell Ramu Kaka to go and ask the person I brought here yesterday what she would like to eat and make sure to bring something for her.”
Then he turned to Rayyan and asked, “By the way, Rayyan, do you like Mama?”
As soon as the morning came and Aayat opened her eyes, she saw Rayyan standing in front of her with water. He said, “Mama, please wake up. I’m really worried about you. Are you okay? You’re not going to get hurt, are you? God forbid.”
Ryan said........................
