Chapter Four

Four people sat silently in a car. Driving the car was Aarush, while beside him was Aeleya. In the back, Noori was sitting in her personal seat, while Aliya sat on the one next to her. The drive was calm.

They approached a parking lot beside a semi large building. "Is this close enough?" Aarush looked at Aeleya who nodded her head. "Also, your mom told me to give you this. Aliya, give me her bag, it's in the back seat."

Aliya nodded her head and grabbed a black bag with three zipper sections. She passed it forward to Aarush, who gave it to Aeleya. The latter took and sighed in relief. "Thank you."

Smiling at her, he nodded his head. "I will see you in two hours then." He then watched her walk away.

"Aarush, how does it feel? You're finally married." As he drove off, Aliya climbed to the front seat and asked with a smirk.

"Honestly, it's great." His smile brightened as he spoke.

"Well, it was about time. You rejected so many girls, some of which were my friends, and there were even girls who you liked. All of it just because of mom and dad. Seriously, you're such a pansy." She teased him while also showing a bit of irritation.

"Hey, forget about those girls. They're nothing next to Aeleya. Plus, I didn't want to get married back then, you know that the circumstances would have been bad if I got married when mom wanted me to. We might not have had all of these things." He sighed a little.

"I know. Like I think Aeleya is great and all, but I still feel that you guys should have properly hung out before getting married. Like what if she turns out different from expected or she doesn't like how you are in the future? Mom and dad are really too much." She shook her head while continuing to stare at the road ahead.

"I don't think it would be a problem. Even if she becomes a bad person, who sits around all day doing nothing, someone who attacks me and so on, I won't mind. As long as she doesn't do anything to you guys, I will care for her the same way. You know my personality, I'm an extreme person. If I hate, I will hate forever, and if I like, then you know." His voice was serene as he spoke.

Aliya nodded her head. "Still, I feel that you're always getting the short end of the straw. Like, you had to work basically full time when you were Maaz's age in order to help with my wedding stuff and because dad was getting older. Even then, you were always being yelled at for working instead of focussing on school, even though you were a full time student. Honestly, mom and dad say they everyone a choice, but I don't think you got that. Maaz and Maya have it better, since you're completely set. I also had it better back then since I had him to talk to, plus I was able to get married quickly, so really I was fine after. Just you." She showed sorrow on her face.

"Relax, you know that I would have done it even if mom and dad didn't say to. I still think it was much better for me than it was for dad. You do know he was working two jobs at a time, right? Mom was also working super hard. If I didn't help, then I would have been a piece of shit." He explained with a slight smile. "Alright, let's ignore that. I would rather not bring up those days too much. We had too many problems back then, and right now, I don't want Maya and Maaz to go through the same situation. Although Noori will likely never go through that, considering Jeej's family, but still. I already started saving for her as well."

"Why are you saving for her? We already have an account under her name, so you don't need to do anything." A little irritation appeared on her face. "Right now, you need to only focus on Maya, Maaz, and Aeleya. Possibly your own kids, whenever that happens."

"You're stupid if you think I'm not going to save for my niece. Like you said, I didn't have much to help my mind stay at peace back then. My friends were around, but that didn't help me too much. When Noori was born, only then did I finally begin to get rid of my dumb thoughts. Noori is my life as well, so I will do whatever I want for her." He snapped at Aliya as he spoke. "You need to get that through your head. Now quit trying to stop me from caring for my niece."

The drive became silent after that. No one really spoke for ten or so minutes, until they finally reached a large house. "Alright, we're here." Aliya got out of the car, but before she left, she knocked on the window. Aarush pulled the window down and looked at her in confusion. "Aarush, listen. Right now, all me, mom, and dad want is for you to concentrate on your own life. We got you married hoping you could finally settle yourself down. We know you achieved what you did so far just so that I can make amends with my in-laws, make sure mom and dad are resting, and so Maya and Maaz don't have to go through the same problems as us, but you should now begin to focus on yourself and Aeleya." She said in a serious face, but then her eyes suddenly sharpened. "But know this, if Aeleya ever does anything to make your life more difficult, I will personally step in and handle the situation. And you know that I'm not any less aggressive than you."

"Hey, Aeleya isn't like that. Also, even if such a situation occurs, I will handle it, I don't need you or want you to interfere." He glared back. Sparks flew between them. "Alright, I'm going now." He drove off with Noori in the back seat.

Back at the university, Aeleya was walking towards one of her classes with a quick speed when suddenly a girl around her age ran beside her.

"Aeleya, I heard you got married." She looked at Aeleya with a questioning look.

"Yeah, I was married yesterday." Aeleya smiled at the girl.

"Wow, who is it? Is he from this university? Do I know him? Is he handsome? You need to tell me everything." She spoke quickly, with excitement covering her face.

"Umm." A little taken aback, Aeleya began to think. "I don't think you know him. He isn't a student here, maybe he was, but not anymore." She began to think more. "Handsome? Well, he is pretty good looking. Here, I have a picture of him, if you want to see?" She had a picture in her phone of both of them standing together during the nikkah.

"Really? Let me see, let me see." Aeleya pulled out her phone and found the best picture of both of them.

"This is him." She pointed at him standing tall, beside her. He was wearing lavish, cream colored traditional clothes. He had a head piece on and a flower neck piece of sorts.

"Doctor Yunus?! You married doctor Yunus?!" With shock covering the girls face, she grabbed Aeleya's shoulder.

Seeing her reaction, Aeleya couldn't help but be a little taken aback. Raising an eyebrow, she couldn't help but question. "Dr. Yunus? You know him?"

"Know him? He teaches my calculus class! He is the young, hot math professor in the math department. Everyone knows he's a doctor. Have you never had him before? You've taken calculus, right?" She was shocked as her face was sparkling. "Wow, you married Dr. Yunus, that's crazy. Did you know he rejected so many T.A's and students from various departments? He is very popular. Wait, does that mean you met his friends as well? One of them is an engineering teacher for mechanical engineering students. He is also very popular."

Aeleya was out in sorts. She didn't know what to say really, she never thought that Aarush was so popular. Plus, no one told her he was a professor as well.

"I've met them. Anyways, I have to get to class, I will talk to you later." Quickly walking away from the girl, Aeleya took a deep breath. 'Aliya never told me that he teaches at my university. Plus, isn't he super busy, how does he have the time? I'll ask him later.'

She entered her class and soon delved into the lecture.

An hour and a half passed quickly and she began to pack her stuff. Walking out of class, she saw a few girls approach her. She knew them, they were friends. "Hey Aeleya."

"Hey guys." All three began to walk together.

"Let's go eat, my prof is really killing me. He doesn't even stop to let me finish taking notes. Honestly, if he wasn't great at explaining concepts, I would switch to a different class by now." One of the girls, with short brown hair, spoke first while rubbing her head.

"Also, I heard you suddenly got married Aeleya, what's up with that? You didn't even invite us." The other girl, with blonde hair spoke with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry guys, I didn't know it would happen so fast either. It caught me off guard so I didn't have time to tell anyone. I swear, I will treat you guys today." These two were her closest friends, so she felt a little guilty, but she couldn't do anything about it. Even she didn't get the chance to prepare her mind, let alone invite friends.

"You said it, you can't take your word back. Anyways, tell us about him. We're curious too, who is this guy that you married in secret." The girl with the short hair smiled teasingly.

"Don't freak out or anything, but I married Dr. Yunus." During her lecture, she did look him up on her university's website. She found that he was teaching only a single class, but was working towards his Ph.D. She was shocked by the news. He had been a T.A previously and had been working at the university for a few years.

The two girls stopped walking and stared at her in shock. "Dr. Yunus?"

"Yeah." She replied with a bitter look.

"Girl, you really lucked out. Wow, you should totally introduce us. I actually took a class of his last year. He was pretty good, plus, his teaching style was very helpful." The girl with the short hair spoke out teasingly.

"I didn't have him, but I heard about him. How did you guys meet? Dating app? I didn't know you were into those things." The blonde haired girl questioned with a confused expression.

"Nothing like that. Anyways, let's ignore all of that. Do you guys want to hang out after we're done? He is going to pick me up, so you can meet him then." Although she didn't want to, Aeleya knew that Aarush said he needed her to go out with her friends. She felt that helping him a little wouldn't be a bad idea.

"This is exciting. Wow. The popular math professor and our very own quiet goddess. What a combination." Both the girls began to laugh and tease as they approached the food hall. They quickly bought some food and began to eat.

Ring Ring

Aeleya's phone began to buzz and when she picked it up, she saw that it was Aarush. "Hello?"

"Aeleya, I'm outside in the same place. Noori is with me, around what time are you gonna come out?" Aarush spoke from the other side with a joyous tone.

"Umm, I'm still eating, so it may take me a bit." she said after a bit of hesitation.

"That's alright, I'll just bring Noori to eat something as well. Don't worry, I won't bother you." Aarush spoke reasonably, as he knew that it wasn't the best to do what he wanted when she was with her friends.

"Doesn't matter, my friends already know. So just come with Noori" She sighed. Aeleya knew that Aarush wouldn't let Noori wait in the car, plus her friends knew, so it wasn't a big deal if he came and ate with them.

"You sure?" He was a little surprised, but the excitement couldn't be hidden from his tone.

"Yeah." She sighed, but strangely enough smiled when she heard his tone, albeit slightly.

"Was that him?" The two asked.

"Yup. He was waiting in the parking lot, but since we just started eating, he is coming in." Aeleya didn't hide it since there was no reason to. "Also, don't act weird. Just be casual, please."

"Sure sure." The blonde girl smiled and winked at the other friend.

Soon, the three saw Aarush walking towards them with Noori in his arms. She was holding onto another piece of candy, which made Aeleya laugh slightly. 'He really is spoiling her.'

"Aarush, over here." She called out to him when he was nearby. She didn't say it too loudly, just enough that he could hear her.

"Aarush?" The two girls looked at one another.

He sat down beside Aeleya. "Hi." he looked at the two girls and smiled at them. "I'm Aarush, Aeleya's husband."

"I'm Steph." The one who introduced herself first was the blonde girl. "This is Ishan." She pointed to the girl with short brown hair next.

Nodding his head with a smile, he got up once again and picked up Noori. "I will be right back. She has been wanting to go to the washroom for a while." He spoke to the group of three, but the two girls could see that he was mostly looking at Aeleya.

All of them nodded their heads and watched him head to the washrooms.

"Hey, who's that kid? I don't remember you being pregnant a few years ago." Steph was the first to ask the question which was on all of their minds.

Blushing very slightly, she rebuked in an angry manner. "That isn't my child, that's his niece."

"Ah, makes sense." Both of them nodded their heads. "But really, he seems very close to her. Like, my parents rarely take my cousins out like that, and even if they do, they usually never do it without us around."

"He really loves Noori. Kind of spoils her all day." Aeleya answered back.

"Then that means your kids would be very lucky as well. So tell me, have you and him… done it?" Steph leaned closer and asked with excitement.

Her face turning red, she shook her head. "That's not important right now. Anyways, you guys will be coming after this, right?"

"Yeah, but we won't be coming in the same car. Just tell us where, we will meet you there." Aeleya nodded her head.

"Let me ask him when he comes." They waited a few more minutes and saw Aarush coming out with Noori. They saw that he was talking to the little girl and laughing at her little jokes.

He sat down back in his seat and looked at the three. "So, what are you doing in university?"

"I'm studying finance." This time, Ishan spoke first, making sure that Steph didn't answer for her.

With an impressive look, he then turned his head towards Steph. "What about you?"

"I'm doing a masters in computer science." She spoke in a proud manner.

"Impressive." There was reason to be proud, doing a master was not an easy task. He then looked at Aeleya in an impressive manner. "You're friends are impressive. Finance and computer science, and then you doing chemical engineering. Wow."

"That's nothing compared to you and your friends." She spoke under her breath, but Aarush heard her words and couldn't help but laugh.

"Aaru uncle, I want some chips." Noori, who was sitting by the side, looked at Aarush and asked in a childish voice. After coming from the washroom, her hands and mouth were clean as well and her hair was tidier, so she looked extremely adorable. Aarush couldn't help but smile brightly at her.

"Which one?" He pinched her cheeks as he spoke, ignoring the girls looking at him.

"The big red one." She thought for a moment before speaking with her own cute smile.

"Alright, let's go buy some." He picked her up and smiled at Aeleya. "I'll be right back again. You guys finish eating. I'm going to see if she wants anything else. Should I grab you guys something as well? Don't hesitate to ask."

The three girls shook their heads. He nodded in reply and went off with Noori.

"Your husband is very handsome, like very. Aeleya, you really hit the jackpot." Steph showed an entranced expression, which pricked Aeleya's heart very slightly, but she didn't notice it.

"Sure." She didn't really comment on it. The three girls slowly ate their food, and soon they were done. A few more minutes passed and Aarush brought Noori, who was holding her big bag of chips, and a tray of food. Placing the tray on the table, he smiled at the three.

"Go ahead." There was a bunch of fries, a few burgers, and also an apple. "Aeleya, you should eat the apple. You know the saying, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'." He winked at her as if trying to tell her something. "You guys dig in as well, there is enough. Don't think just eat. I saw you guys weren't eating a large meal, but it's important to eat lots, especially during your guys' age."

It was ironic that as a doctor, he was telling them to eat such unhealthy things, aside from the apple. "If other people knew you were a doctor, then they would laugh Dr. Yunus." Ishan took the offer and dug in with a smile.

"Call me Aarush. If your my wife's friends, then your mine as well." He also grabbed a frie and began to eat, while also feeding Noori who had her mouth open. "Sure it's unhealthy, but a little bit doesn't hurt. Plus, one must enjoy life rather than be super cautious and live a long, boring one. Atleast that's what I believe. But don't tell others I said this. Haha." All of them, except for Aeleya laughed. She was more silent, just watching others eat. Her gaze was fixated on the apple and she kept repeating what Aarush said in her mind.

"Aeleya?" Aarush looked at her with a bit of concern. He saw that she wasn't eating. "You should eat, just a little. I know you didn't eat in the morning, and you only ate a little bit so far. If you want something else, should I get it for you?"

"N-no, I'm fine." She quickly grabbed for the apple and took a bite. Seeing her do so made Aarush sigh a little in his mind, but he still kept a smile on the surface.

"Noori, eat it slowly, alright? Don't drop it on your clothes." He picked up the smallest burger and tore it into two pieces. He passed a piece to Noori while wrapping the other one up for later. Noori nodded her head and took a small bite. Since she was always being spoiled by Aarush, her figure was a little chubby. But that only made her look cuter.

"Dr. Yunus!" Suddenly, a voice came from behind the group. All of them turned around and saw a girl walking over. She was young-looking, maybe around the early twenties at most.

Raising his eyebrows, Aarush got up to greet her. "Hey." He greeted back, but after taking a closer look, a smile beamed on his face. "Oh, it's you Mackenzie. How are you." He walked forward to shake her hand. "It's been a while, what have you been up to?"

"You know, the usual. Study this, study that. Super busy. What about you? Anything new?" She was a brunette, with long hair. Her eyes were the color of tree bark, and her skin pale. She was a beauty, to say the least.

"Well, you know, just the usual. I'm here during Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then back to the hospital." He then took a step back and smiled brightly. "Good news is that I got married."

When those words came out, the girl's face suddenly went very pale. She looked at the ring that was on Aarush's left ring finger.

"Really? When did that happen, congratulations." Her voice was a lot less cheery. Her eyes even went a little red. Aarush did notice this, but he didn't ask about it.

"It happened yesterday. This is my wife right here." He pointed towards Aeleya, who was calmly watching the scene with the apple approaching her mouth. "Aeleya, this is Mackenzie. She is one of my old students, much better than me at math, haha."

Mackenzie looked at Aeleya and smiled. "Hello." Shaking her hand, she walked looked at Aarush once more. "Anyways, I'm on my way somewhere and just wanted to say hello." She stepped forward to hug Aarush goodbye, but the latter instead took a step back and just extended his hand forward.

"See you later." Although a bit embarrassed, she still shook his hand, and then walked away. She didn't forget to look back and glare once at Aeleya in a way only the latter could see. Seeing her finally walk away, Aarush sat down and continued to concentrate on Noori. Steph and Ishan looked at Aeleya, who was staring at Aarush. They then looked at once another before nodding their heads.

"So Aarush, where should we meet Aeleya? I have my car here so I will just drive there. Ishan can come with me." Steph spoke up with a smile.

"Umm, that's fine." He then looked at Aeleya. "Where do you guys want to go? Remember, anywhere is fine. I'll book it for you."

"Just choose a place, it doesn't matter to me." Aeleya shook her head and rejected his proposal of her picking. She didn't even want to go so bad. It was Aarush who was pushing for it.

Seeing her like that, he nodded her head. "Here, do you guys like cheesecakes?" When these words came out, the girls, including Aeleya, looked on with bright eyes. Aarush was a little shocked by their reactions, but when he saw Aeleya showing bright eyes as well, he couldn't help but become entranced. He remained like that for a few seconds, causing Aeleya to blush ever so slightly. This caused him to become even more lost in her beauty.

Steph saw this and smirked. She didn't say anything and just let it happen. A few more seconds went by and Aarush finally escaped from the grasps of the beauties looks. "Do you like cheesecakes Aelyea?" He smiled brightly, the brightest Aeleya had ever seen.

"Yea, they're good." She spoke quietly. She felt embarrassed by the way he looked at her.

"Well, it's settled then. I'll take you guys to Juniors Restaurant. It's in Brooklyn, can the two of you get there?" He looked at the two and asked.

"Yeah, no problem." Steph spoke with confidence in her tone.

"Alright. I'll book a table for you three. Once you're there, order whatever you want. All on me. Take it as a small little treat from me." He smiled at the two who got up nodded their heads.

"We'll see you there then. I'm just going to go and get some stuff and then we'll head over. See you later Aarush, Aeleya." She walked over to Noori who was eating her burger. Squeezing her cheeks lightly and scrunching her nose, Steph smiled lightly. "Bye kiddo. I will see you later."

The two girls then left, leaving the three people alone. Noori was distracted by her food, while Aarush continued to look at Aeleya with a smile.

"You never told me you were a professor here." Breaking the silence, she raised her head and spoke.

"You never asked." He spoke as quickly as she asked, a smile still hanging on his face.

"I think this should have been something I would have needed to know. This is after all the university I study in." She spoke with confidence filling her up again.

He smiled at her and then opened his mouth. "Ask away. Ask anything and everything, I will answer it. Take it as me saying sorry for not telling you I work here. I didn't think it would be that important. Guess I was wrong."

"I don't need to know anything." She said with a bit of annoyance.

"Oh? Weren't you trying to learn something about me from Aliya? If you're so curious, just ask me. I don't hide anything." He then leaned forward. "For example, I really do find you extremely beautiful. If I could see you so happy again, I would probably go crazy." He then leaned even closer, almost touching her cheek with his lips. "Also, I'm a little hurt you ate that apple. It was my little test to see if you wanted the doctor away or not. Sadly, you want him gone." With that, he leaned back and carried a bitter look. "Well, since you want the doctor away, I have some good news for you. Starting tomorrow, just until the day of our flight, I've been told to come to the hospital to work twelve-hour shifts, while also being told to train some residents before my shift starts. Meaning, for more than half the day, and night, I won't be able to see your pretty face, nor my little Noori's. Since I'm probably just going to be spending the night at the hospital. Your driver, for now, will be Maazi." His face showed his sadness, but he couldn't do much. His mentor wanted to make him work as much as possible, and learn how to train residents as quickly as he could so that he could be ready to become the next chief of doctors.

"What? Isn't that illegal in ways?" She asked with a bit of a surprise.

"Technically, but I'm alright with it. Plus, it is better for you. You can relax at home a little more. Take your time to figure things out." He got up and picked up the tray. "Watch Noori for a second, will you?" He then walked away with the tray which contained their eaten food.

Aeleya watched Aarush's back. "So until the flight, I will likely not see him, or only see him sleeping."

"Leya Aunty." Noori got up from her seat and walked over with her bag of chips. "Can you open this?"

Smiling a little, she pinched her cheeks and nodded her head. "Of course, here." She grabbed the bag and opened it up. Taking a piece out, she fed it to Noori and smiled. "You know Noori, you're my favorite person. I like you more then Aaru uncle."

"What? But Aaru uncle is the best." Noori showed a look of shock. She then smiled even more brightly.

"He isn't the best, you are. You're so cute, so little. Does Aaru uncle ever get angry with you?" She looked at Noori and asked.

Thinking for a moment, Noori shook her head. "No, he treats me the best." Noori said with a simple, childish smile. "But, Aaru uncle is a crybaby. He sometimes hugs me and cries when we sleep." Noori shook her head like an adult. "He's a big baby."

"Aaru uncle cries?" She became a little taken aback. She knew that it was very difficult for guys to cry, atleast the ones she knew. Plus, she didn't see Aarush cry when she told him the bad news, so hearing that he cries at night at times came as a shock to her.

"Yeah, but only sometimes. He doesn't know I know though. He thinks I'm sleeping, but I'm awake. I could hear him." Noori's eyes became a little red. "I don't like it when he cries. Aaru uncle is so nice, he's my favorite. More than mom." She took a chip and put it into her mouth angrily. "I will hit anyone who makes Aaru uncle sad." She chomped the chips angrily, looking very cute.

Somewhat lost in her thoughts, Aeleya began to think. 'What could be the reason he would cry? And to do so secretly? Weird.'

"Alright, let's go then." He picked up Noori who was angrily eating her chips. "Noori, what happened? Why are you so angry?"

He looked at Noori and then at Aeleya. For an instant, a whiff of anger flashed past his eyes, an anger Aeleya had never seen before. She became a little scared when she saw it, but it was only an instant, so she didn't mention it. "Aeleya, what happened? Did you…"

"Aaru uncle, it wasn't leya aunty. I'm just getting mad at people who make you sad." She used her fingers, which were covered in chip residue, to touch his clean face. "If anyone makes you sad, you will tell me, right?"

"Of course. You can go and beat them up for me, alright?" He smiled and grabbed her little hands, kissing them gently. He then looked at Aeleya and smiled. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She was still a little bit distracted by what Noori said and the anger that Aarush had shown. So her reaction speed was a little slow. Aarush noticed this but didn't ask.

Both of them began to walk and headed back to the car. Noori was placed on her special seat, while Aeleya sat in the front. "Aeleya, I have to drop Noori home first." Aeleya nodded her head.

"I don't mind, do what you need." Aarush smiled when he heard this. He put the car in drive and took off.