Haris's POV -
Sunlight slipped through the curtains and spilled across our bed.
She was still in my arms.
Warm. Peaceful. Mine - but not in ownership... in belonging.
We were still wearing the matching clothes we bought for each other. Something so simple. Yet it felt like a promise stitched into fabric.
I never thought I would find someone who could calm me like this.
Heal me like this.
My Hazel.
My qalb-e-jaan.
I tightened my arm around her waist instinctively.
She stirred... but didn't wake. Just curled closer, trusting.
Safe.
My phone buzzed somewhere on the side table.
Office.
Probably Dad.
I didn't move.
For once in my life - control could wait.
My jaan couldn't.
The phone kept vibrating.
She shifted slightly, her fingers curling into my shirt. Then softly - almost shyly - she pressed a kiss against my neck.
My breath stilled.
"Hazel..." I murmured, voice heavy with sleep.
She didn't answer. Just inhaled slowly, her lavender scent wrapping around me like something I never knew I needed.
I brushed a lazy kiss against her cheek.
"Office?" she whispered.
"Not more important than you."
And I meant it.
We stayed like that for a few more
minutes - tangled in sheets and silence.
The kind of silence that says everything.
Breakfast -
She stood by the stove, sunlight caught in her hair.
Domestic peace.
My greatest weakness.
I walked up behind her and rested my chin lightly on her shoulder.
"You smell like lavender... and trouble."
She laughed softly. "You ignored your calls. "
"I chose better."
She turned slightly. "And what's that?"
"You. Every morning. For the rest of my life."
Her gaze dropped instantly. A small smile tugged at her lips.
My phone rang again.
This time, I answered.
"Finally," Dad said. "Office still exists, Mr. Architect."
I smirked. "Good morning to you too."
"You sound softer these days," he chuckled. "Marriage suits you.
I glanced at Hazel feeding me a small piece of toast because apparently I "burn everything."
Maybe he was right.
"I'll be there soon," I said.
"Don't rush. Just remember you own a company - not only your wife."
I ended the call.
She looked worried. "Is he upset?"
"He's jealous," I replied calmly.
"He didn't have this kind of love."
Her cheeks turned pink.
We sat at the table.
After a moment, she spoke quietly.
"Haris... my college starts again tomorrow."
"I'll arrange your schedule. And the driver."
She hesitated.
"Ammi wants me to visit Lucknow for a few days too... for my health check."
The word Lucknow did something unpleasant to my chest.
"You want to go?" I asked.
She nodded slowly.
Love isn't possession.
It's permission.
"If you go," I said gently, "I'll drop you myself."
Her eyes softened.
"And Hari....
"Yes?"
"You'll miss me?"
I leaned back, studying her.
"Hazel... I start missing you when you leave the room."
Her breath caught.
"You're someone's daughter before you're my wife," I continued softly. "I respect that. I won't stop you."
Her eyes filled slightly.
"It's been nine months," I murmured. "And I still look at you like it's day one."
She leaned forward and hugged me tightly.
Maybe a little longer than usual.
And suddenly-
Office didn't matter again.
Getting Ready
We chose each other's outfits.
She wore an off-cream shirt with loose dark brown trousers and a matching hijab.
I stood behind her, gently combing her wavy hair before she adjusted the fabric.
She applied her soft lavender scent.
Diamond pendant.
The bangle-watch I gifted her on 24th birthday.
She looked unreal.
"You're staring," she said quietly.
"I'm admiring."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't hide her smile.
She helped me apply my oud.
"You're blushing, Haris."
"Your fault."
I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
Then her nose.
Then her eyelids.
She froze.
"Let's go somewhere, jaani," she whispered.
I grabbed the keys.
"come".
Miniso
Her eyes lit up the moment we entered.
She compared calligraphy pens carefully, running her fingers over different paper textures.
Then she stopped at a pink tumbler.
Then Barbie AirPods.
She checked the price.
Paused.
"I already have one," she murmured to herself and placed it back.
I noticed.
I always notice.
At billing, while she stepped aside to call her Ammi-
I added both items quietly.
She'll pretend to scold me later.
And then hug me.
Rain...
When we stepped outside, it started pouring.
She lifted her face toward the sky, smiling like a child.
I watched her.
Like always.
"Why do you look at me like that?" she asked.
"Because you exist."
She laughed and intertwined her fingers with mine.
"Your hands are bigger," she observed.
"Made to protect."
While driving, she kept staring at me.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing... just you."
Then she whispered softly,
"Your eyes hold storms... but your hands hold peace."
Something inside me shifted.
I pulled the car over.
Rain tapping against the windshield.
Silence heavy between us.
"You don't realise what you do to me,"
I said quietly.
She blinked.
"When you walked toward me on our wedding day... in that red sharara..."
Her breathing slowed.
"I didn't fall in love because you looked beautiful."
I exhaled.
"I fell in love because you felt like home."
Her eyes filled.
"You healed parts of me I never spoke about."
Rain grew louder.
"I don't say it enough... but you make me softer. And that scares me sometimes."
"Why?" she whispered.
"Because if I ever lose you..."
My voice lowered.
"I wouldn't survive it the same."
She leaned forward and held my face firmly.
"You won't lose me."
Simple.
Certain.
And in that small car, with rain wrapping around us-
The world felt small enough to fit inside her hands.
Inside the Car - After the Confession
The rain hadn't slowed.
But neither had the way she was looking at me.
Soft.
Certain.
Like she already knew every version of me.
She suddenly held out her hand.
"Give me your phone."
I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Why?"
"Just give."
"You're suspicious."
She tilted her head. "Password?"
I smirked faintly.
"You don't know it?"
She shook her head.
I leaned closer and whispered, "HarZal."
She blinked.
"Har... Zal?"
"Haris and Hazel."
Her lips parted slightly.
"You made that your password?"
"Since the day you complained that my old one was boring."
Her cheeks warmed.
She unlocked it slowly.
Then froze.
Her eyes moved across the screen.
My wallpaper.
Her.
Laughing in the kitchen.
Her hand mid-air, flour on her cheek.
"You changed it."
"I don't want to unlock my phone without seeing what protects my peace."
She looked at me.
Really looked.
Then she opened my gallery.
Folder after folder.
Her.
Hazel smiling.
Hazel reading.
Hazel adjusting her hijab.
Hazel feeding me cake.
Hazel unaware she was being photographed.
"You have so many..." she whispered.
"I take them when you're not looking."
"Creepy."
"Devoted."
She tried not to smile.
But she was failing.
Hazel's Poetry
She opened my Notes app.
Scrolled.
Then turned the phone toward herself.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Quiet."
Her fingers moved slowly.
She was thinking.
And when Hazel thinks - she writes.
After a minute, she handed the phone back.
"Read."
I looked down.
Since your dark gaze met my brown,
I felt safe in a way I never knew existed.
Your eyes don't just look at me -
They hold me.
In your silence, I find shelter.
In your anger, I find protection.
In your tears, I find proof
That love lives inside you.
When your eyes meet mine,
I don't feel small.
I feel chosen.
- Hazel
I didn't speak immediately.
Because I couldn't.
She watched my face carefully.
"Too much?" she asked softly.
I shook my head.
"No."
My voice came out lower than usual.
"It's not enough."
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"You see me," I said quietly.
"In ways I don't even show."
She smiled faintly.
"You're not as unreadable as you think."
I saved it.
Then I changed something.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
I locked the phone.
Turned it toward her.
New wallpaper.
Her poem.
She inhaled softly.
"You're dramatic."
"I'm certain."
She laughed under her breath.
Then leaned closer.
"Show me your gallery again," she whispered playfully.
I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"I want to see which picture you love most."
I unlocked it again.
Scrolled.
Stopped at one photo.
Her looking out the balcony.
Not posed.
Not aware.
Just existing.
"This one," I said.
"Why?"
"Because you don't know I'm watching you in it."
She looked down.
And that shy smile appeared again.
The one that ruins my control every time.
Rain still falling outside.
But inside the car -
Everything felt steady.
Everything felt chosen.
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