Author's POV
The golden hues of the evening sun slipped through the tall windows of the Khan residence, settling softly across the room. The house was unusually lively for a weekday — his mother moving between the kitchen and the living room, Ikram scrolling through his phone on the sofa, and Adeel humming under his breath while pretending to help.
Azlaan adjusted the cuffs of his white kurta — freshly pressed, as his mother had insisted. She'd said he should look "simple but decent," which, in her words, was the perfect balance between too casual and too obvious.
He smiled faintly at the thought. He wasn't nervous — not really. If anything, he felt strangely calm, like someone watching the tide come in, knowing whatever happens will happen anyway. Still, there was a quiet awareness beneath that calm — the kind that lingers before something important.
"So, bhai," Adeel said from across the room, leaning lazily against the wall, "should I start calling you mr. groom now or wait until dessert?"
Azlaan glanced up, half amused. "It's just dinner, Adeel."
"Dinner with the girl whose name's been floating around this house all week," Adeel countered, grinning. "That's not just dinner."
Before Azlaan could reply, Ikram chimed in without looking up from his phone. "He's right. You've been way too calm for someone about to face an entire family's scrutiny."
Azlaan chuckled softly. "You both make it sound like an interview."
Adeel smirked. "It kind of is. One wrong answer and—"
"and you'll still eat all the dessert either way," Azlaan interrupted dryly.
Ikram looked up then, a teasing glint in his eyes. "So, what exactly are you expecting tonight? A decision? Or are you just going with the flow?"
Azlaan thought for a moment before replying. "I'm not expecting anything. Just curious how it'll go."
The truth was, he had seen Aleena before — not often, but enough to know . Always polite conversations, quick smiles, nothing more. But last month, when he saw her in the rain — something about her presence had caught him off guard. Not dramatically, but quietly, like a memory stepping out of the fog.
He hadn't said anything then. Just a passing glance, a polite nod. But he remembered how she'd looked — calm, composed, her eyes carrying the same thoughtfulness he remembered from when they were younger.
And now, here they were — on the edge of something that could either become a story or stay just another evening.
"Bhai," Adeel said suddenly, grinning, " are you smiling to yourself again. Should I take that as a good sign or a worrying one?"
Azlaan rolled his eyes. "Take it as a sign that you talk too much."
"Classic avoidance," Ikram muttered with a laugh. "He's nervous."
"I'm not," Azlaan said, though the slight tilt of his mouth gave him away.
Adeel tossed him the car keys. "Let's go before mom yells that we're late to our own future."
he just nodded .
As they stepped out, the evening sky was tinted with the last streaks of gold. The air was soft, carrying that faint, cool promise of night.
Inside the car, his dadu took the passenger seat while Adeel and ikram slid into the back, still humming. Azlaan started the engine, the quiet purr filling the silence.
He wasn't anxious. Just curious — about what the evening would bring, about how Aleena might see him now, not as a familiar face in a crowd, but as someone sitting across from her, sharing a moment that mattered.
As they turned onto the main road, Adeel's voice broke the stillness. "So, still calm?"
Azlaan smiled, eyes on the road ahead. "Always."
But even he knew — tonight, calm had a pulse.
The air inside the car was calm, almost too calm, until Dadu cleared his throat — that familiar signal that he was about to say something important.
"All right, boys," he began, his tone light but carrying that unmistakable authority that made even Adeel sit up straighter. "Now listen to me before we reach there."
Azlaan glanced briefly at the rearview mirror. Adeel and Ikram exchanged quick, guilty looks — the kind brothers share when they know a lecture is coming.
Dadu continued, "I know you two mean well, but remember, this is not an interrogation."
Adeel groaned quietly. "Dadu..."
"Don't interrupt," Dadu said, raising a finger. "I'm serious. You'll be meeting Aleena properly for the first time in this context. She might not show it, but she's sensitive. Don't overwhelm her with your silly questions or jokes."
Ikram leaned forward a little from the back seat. "Dadu, we're not that bad."
Dadu turned slightly in his seat, a knowing smile tugging at his lips. "You are worse ask your wives "
That made Adeel laugh under his breath, and even Azlaan couldn't help a small smile.
But Dadu wasn't finished. His tone softened now, calm but firm. "Azlaan beta, especially you. Don't worry about her answer. If it's a no, you accept it with grace. These things are never about winning or losing they're about understanding. Sometimes people just need time."
Azlaan nodded slowly, his hands steady on the steering wheel. "I understand, Dadu."
"I know you do," Dadu said, his voice warm now. "Just remember — be yourself. No forced smiles, no rehearsed lines. She'll see through that anyway."
That earned a chuckle from Ikram. "So basically, we all need to act normal."
Dadu shot him a sideways look. "That's exactly what worries me."
Laughter rippled through the car again, soft and genuine. The tension that had been floating around seemed to ease a little.
Outside, the sky had deepened into a dusky violet, the city lights blinking like stars below. The closer they got to Amin Dadu's house, the quieter everyone grew.
Adeel broke the silence after a while. "she liked us dadu she communicated with us when she came don't you think, Dadu?"
Dadu teased him. "she liked your daughter not you ."
Azlaan's lips curved faintly at that, his gaze fixed on the road ahead.
He didn't say it aloud, but the thought lingered — it wasn't about whether she liked them, or even him. It was about seeing her, truly seeing her, beyond the expectations and the teasing and the formality of the evening.
The car turned onto the familiar lane leading toward Amin Dadu's house. The neem trees swayed gently on either side, their leaves whispering against the night breeze.
As the headlights swept across the old gate, Dadu spoke again, softly this time.
"Remember, Azlaan — kindness first, always."
Azlaan exhaled, his calm settling back over him like a quiet tide.
"I will, Dadu," he said quietly.
And as the car rolled to a stop outside the house, Adeel muttered, "Operation behave — in progress."
Dadu chuckled. "Let's see how long that lasts."
Azlaan smiled, stepping out of the car, the evening air cool against his face. For the first time that night, he felt ready — not to impress, not to decide — just to meet.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Hope you enjoyed. Tell me how it was
Also follow me on Instagram for BTS
@authorlia._8
Write a comment ...