Hazel's exams were jiggling between - emotionally draining, mentally exhausting, and physically tiring.
For days she had stayed buried in notes, highlighters, chai mugs, and soft prayers whispered after every salah. Haris had balanced his new project deadlines with checking on her every few hours:
"Pani piya?"
"Haan Haris..."
"Notes send karo, I'll help with the diagrams."
"Haris!! Architecture notes?!"
"Main hoon na."
She would blush...
and he would secretly feel ten feet taller.
Early Morning Exam Struggle
Most mornings, Hazel woke up with her glasses tilted, pen in her hand, and pages sticking to her cheek.
Saadiya shook her shoulder.
"Hazel... utho. Exam is at 9."
Hazel groaned,
"Five minutes..."
Saadiya smirked.
"Theek hai... Haris bhai ko bata deti hoon."
Hazel shot up.
"NO! I'm awake!"
That morning, Hassan also came to help revise.
Soft-spoken, intelligent, doing his PhD, he explained a diagram Hazel had struggled with all night.
"OHH! Now I get it!"
Right then... Haris walked in with her breakfast tray.
He stopped.
Eyes narrowed.
Hassan.
Hazel smiling.
Saadiya hiding a grin.
Haris:
"Wow. Hassan is here... this early?"
Hassan:
"Woh... Hazel ko topic samjha raha tha."
Haris:
"Haan, dekh raha hoon. Very... helpful."
He placed the tray a bit too loudly.
Hazel whispered,
"Haris, please..."
But Haris wasn't done.
"Hassan, tum PhD kar rahe ho na?"
"Yes."
"Great. Please focus on that. Hazel ko main padha loonga."
Hassan blinked.
Saadiya laughed silently.
Hazel stared in shock.
After he left:
Hazel:
"Haris! He was just helping!"
Haris:
"He's too eager. Too desperate."
Hazel rolled her eyes.
"He's not."
Haris stepped closer, voice low.
"Hazel... tum meri ho. And I don't like competition."
Her cheeks burned.
Exams End → Full Shaadi ModeActivated
Now that the pressure was over, the house shifted into full shaadi-mode.
Ejza and Zara's wedding preparations had taken over the entire Aziz Villa.
✨ The Sibling Chaos Begins
Humaira ordered fabrics.
Hilal Aziz Khan approved menus.
Ejza pretended he wasn't excited.
And Inaya...
Inaya ran around with Zara on video call every two minutes.
Kabir - her childhood crush - had flown in from Dubai, and she tried REALLY hard to act normal.
Hazel adored watching her baby romance bloom in silence.
Meanwhile, Haris was trying to keep his cool because-
Hazel
+
Shaadi preparations
+
Clumsiness
= guaranteed chaos
Hazel at the Office.
Since her exams were finally over, Hazel decided to surprise Haris at work.
She walked into his office wearing a soft peach abaya, braid loose, glasses slipping down her nose.
Haris had just finished a meeting with a new business partner-
a confident, stylish woman who was praising his design skills a little too much.
Hazel entered shyly.
The woman smiled at Hazel.
Hazel smiled back.
Haris... panicked.
He immediately walked to Hazel.
"Tum yahan? Bata deti, I would've picked you."
"I wanted to surprise you..." she whispered.
He guided her inside, hand protectively on her back.
But the woman didn't leave.
And Hazel noticed.
She noticed her loud laugh.
Her confident tone.
Her perfect posture.
And Haris avoiding eye contact with her now, clearly uncomfortable.
A tiny jealousy spark hit Hazel's heart.
Haris noticed.
He leaned close and whispered,
"Don't even think. You're the only one I see."
Hazel bit her lip, cheeks flaming.
Wedding Prep + Hazel's Clumsiness
In the next days, Hazel helped with:
• Inaya's mehndi platter
• Zara's gift hampers
• Ejza's sherwani
• Kabir teasing Inaya
• Inaya blushing and running away
Meanwhile Hazel tripped over:
• a gift box
• a dupatta
• a chair
• Ejza's shoes
• Zara's lehenga bag
And every single time...
Haris caught her.
"Hazel... please. Just... stand still."
"I'm trying!"
"No, you're trying to fly."
Late Night Romance Under Fairy Lights
After the house slept, Haris and Hazel sat on the terrace under warm fairy lights placed for wedding décor.
Hazel leaned against him, wrapped in his shawl.
"Haris... do you ever get tired? Of work... family... everything?"
He kissed her forehead
"I get tired of everything... except you."
Hazel melted like candle wax.
His voice.
His warmth.
His honesty.
Everything about him felt like home.
Write a comment ...