Chapter Ten

Aeleya woke up and looked around for a bit. It was still bright outside, so she knew she didn't sleep all day. Getting up, she pulled out her phone and saw that there were no missed calls. "Maybe he's busy, I'll call him later tonight." She got up and went to wash her face and get ready. She didn't really have any plans since Aarush wasn't here. There wasn't much she could do without him.

After quickly getting ready, she walked out of her room door. Heading down the stairs, she saw that most of the cousins were gone, leaving only Hazim, chacha, and a few others.

"Aeleya, you're awake? Do you want something to eat?" Chacha was sitting on a stool, looking through a newspaper. His smile was bright when he saw Aeleya.

"I can go and make something. Do you want some chai? I'm making some." She asked while walking towards the kitchen, which attached to the courtyard.

"Sure, let me taste your chai." He smiled and nodded his head. "Also, my brother and bhabi will be here in a few hours. They're running a little late, but they should be here soon." He informed her.

Aeleya nodded her head. She felt more excited, because she loved her mother in law, who she bonded with when Aarush was in the hospital for a week.

She began to prepare the chai, and after about fifteen minutes it was ready. She brought out two cups and poured some in. "How much sugar would you like?"

"Give me three spoons." He smiled. "I like lots of sugar in my tea, or it just tastes bitter."

She was a little surprised by the amount, but did as he said. Putting in three spoons of sugar, she mixed it and gave it to him. Chacha took a sip and he smiled brightly. "How is it?" Seeing his reaction, she was hoping he liked it.

"It's wonderful. Really well made." He smiled and took another small sip, before putting it to the side and continuing with his newspaper.

Smiling, she also began to take a sip of her own chai. She got a few biscuits to dip them inside, and slowly ate as well. A few minutes passed and she finally completed her small breakfast. "Is Hazim out?" She asked. The only person that she could hang out with was Hazim, as Aarush said that he trusted the young man enough.

"He should be back by now. He went out to do some tasks. If you, you can go and check out the various plots that Aarush bough.t. You can also go and look at the area for the house." He said, and Aeleya replied with a nod. She walked back into the house, out of the courtyard. Finding her way to the main room, she saw Hazim sitting down while holding a few files.

"Hazim?" She walked over with a smile. "What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"These are the earning's that the commercial plots make. I'm just calculating the distribution right now." He smiled and explained. Aeleya looked at the amount and couldn't help but become shocked.

"So much?" This was a lot more then what Aarush earned in a year.

"This is a combination of the various plots, so of course there is a lot. The taxes and all other fees are cut from it too, now all that is left is to give it to my uncles and aunts evenly." He sighed. "Although this job is easy, it's also quite annoying. People will think that I'm cheating them if the amount is lower then usual. After all, we don't have a set amount being made all the time. It all depends on how many people enter these plot and so on." He began to do a few calculations, while Aeleya watched with more curiosity.

"Wait, you said that its even, right? Then why does everyone get a different amount, plus what's all of this on the side that you aren't including?" She was good at math since she was an engineer. She could tell that there was a large portion not being used.

"By even, we mean per head. So, this family has four people in total, while this one has six, so the one with six will get a higher amount, since there are more people to feed. That's what I mean by even. Everyone single person gets the same amount, but each family getas a different." He explained patiently. "As for this money put aside, this is for all of my cousins' education. Aarush says to keep a large amount on the side to pay for education and alike, because if I gave this amount out, my aunts and uncles might use them for their own families needs. To prevent this, I usually go and pay the amount myself." He didn't mind Aeleya's questions, after all she had rights over everything he spoke about. She was the wife of the man who was earning all of this.

"Makes sense, but what about all their other wants? Like sure their food and main needs are paid for, but say they want to buy toys or games, or other things which aren't a necessity?" She asked questionably.

"Aarush gives each of them enough to survive plus a bit more, however he doesn't have infinite money. He can't raise so many families himself. So if they want more than what they get, then they just have to work for it." He smiled. "Your husband, my cousin, is already extremely generous by doing this much. If he wanted, he could have just kept the money while not working himself. It would be a carefree life for him, but he works hard enough so that none of us can never say we have no money for food." He smiled sweetly. To him, Aarush was really who deserved respect. Since Aeleya was his wife, he gave her no less respect.

Understanding the situation, she smiled too. 'Aarush is really such a good person to his family.' She felt a little prideful. This person was her husband, and this husband was basically obsessed with her. Her heart couldn't help but feel great. "Anyways, after you're done, can you take me around the place? Aarush isn't here and he was going to take me to the market to buy some dresses, can you take me instead? Wait actually, I'll go with aunty when she comes." She decided this would be the best option. Aarush was supposed to take her, but he had to leave. "Instead, can you show me the different plots Aarush has? I'm very curious about them." She truly felt curious. What did these plots have to make so much money?

"Sure. Let me just get these done, then I can take you around. I also need to drop off money to my aunt and uncle, so I'll show you where they live as well." She nodded her head, not minding such a task.

"Hazim, I actually have a question for you." She looked at him curiously.

"Yes?" He asked, putting his pen down.

"Well, from what I know, Aarush seems to be very peculiar about education and alike. Normally, for a task as large as this, he wouldn't give it to someone just because of their trust, so I'm assuming Aarush saw something or knows something that makes you perfect for the job?" She was curious about this. Aarush didn't say he hated Hazim, but his like towards him seemed low when he spoke about him, yet he gave Hazim such a large task? There must be a good reason behind this.

"You're right, this task is big, and I wouldn't receive it just because we're family." He smiled. "Well, when Aarush was doing med school, Ayun uncle saved money and helped me go to London for university. He didn't want me, my dad's only family, to be weak in any way, or less than others. So, after paying for my ticket and everything, I was able to go to University outside of Pakistan. I pursued accounting and finance over there. Everyone here thinks that I only have a bachelors in both, but the truth is, I have a masters in Accounting and Finance." He smiled with pride. "Of course, I was only able to get this because Ayun uncles care for me, and because Aarush forced me to get atleast a masters. He believed that sure a bachelors could get me a good job, but having a masters was just another guarantee for a better future. So, he also saved up a little more and told me to get a masters." Hazim sighed but felt warm in his heart. "The amount of care that Aarush and Ayun uncle showed me and my dad is not something we can ever payback. Truly, Ayun uncle and Aarush lived up to the expectations of being the family past and present head."

"Family head?" She asked curiously. She was shocked to know that Hazim was no simple character. In America, he could get high paying jobs back to back. His degree was amazingly useful for various large companies. She felt even more embarrassed about her own degree. Sure, she had a degree in engineering, or atleast almost did, but it was only a bachelors. Everyone around Aarush seemed to be such a genius'.

Hazim nodded his head. "In Pakistan, or atleast Karachi, our family is not unknown. The Yunus family has lots of land and influence in certain regions. Aarush was even given some rights over soldiers by the government here. My dada was the old head of the family, then Ayun uncle, who was his oldest son. Right now, Aarush is considered the head of our family. He controls everything and could technically do as he pleases. Although this whole head of the family is really old and stuff, my dada always said that this was important to follow. Only by having a leader in a sense would things be more efficient." Aeleya nodded her head, understanding this reasoning. She had her own thoughts about this, but there was no reason in putting them out. "Anyways, I'm almost done with this, so we can leave after this."

She nodded her head and decided to stroll the house. The only one living here aside from her and the son-father duo, was one Ayun uncles younger cousins, who kind of kept to himself. He was much younger than Ayun uncle and chacha, maybe only a few years older than Aarush. He just stayed in his own room and kind of just ignored everyone. 'Aarush told me that this uncle of his was the only son of his dada's younger sister. He was born late, and his mother died right after, so dada took care of him and so did Ayun uncle.' She thought about how close everyone was, yet also knew that this was only because there weren't many issues anymore. From what she knew, in the past things were not so peaceful. Aunts and uncles fought over little things, bickering for even a few years sometimes.

After strolling around and just learning more about the house for fifteen minutes, Hazim was finally done with his work. "Aeleya bhabi, let's go now. I'll show you the plots and then we'll go to the bank. After that, we will quickly drop the money off. Give or take, we should be done just before it turns night." She nodded her head and walked towards the exit, but Hazim stopped her. "I don't want to sound dramatic, but Aeleya bhabi, I think it would be safer if you wore a dupatta or something to cover your head a little."

Feeling a little offended by him, she asked with a bit of irritation. "Why? Do you think it's inappropriate for me to walk around without one?" She never wore one back in America, and the last time she came to Pakistan was when she was younger, so she didn't completely understand some of the more sensitive issues.

"I'm not bothered by it, but there will be people who will think some other things. Just trust me, it would be a lot safer this way. If Aarush bhai was here then maybe it would be alright, since he could defend you better, but I'm not him. You don't have to fully cover up, just a slight cover would be alright. The males here are not always the best people, the soldiers included." He felt a little ashamed by this. He knew that Aeleya wasn't used to something like this, after all he lived in London for a few years, so he understood the difference in culture. Issue was Pakistan was still not a safe place for women. Atleast, some people broke the law like it was nothing.

Thinking for a bit, she finally understood the situation. She heard that Aliya went through a traumatic incident in Pakistan before as well. It wasn't to the point where Aliya lost something, but she did feel more unsafe being alone.

"Alright, I understand." She nodded her head. Using her blue dupatta, she covered more than half of her hair. "Shall we go?" Hazim nodded his head and led her to the motorcycle. Although they had a car, using it was a dumb idea. Motorcycles were a lot more convenient, plus Aeleya knew how to sit on one.

They both sat down and went off. Hazim was very familiar with the area so he was able to find the safest routes to the commercial plots.

"Aeleya bhabi, this is one of the larger ones. We have a clinic here, as well as a pharmacy. We don't own these shops, but the fees they pay us to keep running here are a lot." He moved forward and went to various plots. He described the different shops and also spoke about who controlled what. "This is one of the more private plots, something Aarush bhai owns everything in. Notice that unlike the other ones, this one is a lot more secure. Well, that's because this is the one in the Defence area. It's small because other than him, many others have their own plots. This one also has a clinic, but Aarush bhai opened this clinic. He hired a doctor to watch the shop and make sure everything is going well. Dara would sometimes come around to check on it, since Dara is also a doctor, like Aarush bhai." He continued explaining. They had been roaming for more then two hours. She had seen many of the plots already. There were a few more, but there was no reason to see them. They were similar to the rest, plus they were in more unsafe areas.

"I get why Aarush would have some banks renting the area and even small candy stores and so on, but why does he have a clinic in almost all of his plots? Sure, he's a doctor, but that shouldn't be the main reason." She was curious. The trend she noticed that almost every single pot had a clinic of sorts. There were small clinics in some, and some rare larger ones. Plus, the clinics came in a package with pharmacies.

"From what I know, Aarush is trying to help develop the country's medical field, and so he makes lots of clinics or rents out clinics so that more people can work here instead of going out of the country. This not only lets Pakistan have lots of doctors, but the people also get more help." he explained with a smile. "Dara does something similar and so does Haris. From what I know, Haris actually owns a few companies here which give engineers and alike opportunities."

"What about Adi? I heard he does the most, what's his focus?" She was curious about this friend.

"Adi is actually somewhat crazy. He actually owns a large share in a major hospital. Not only that, but he started many companies and even started schools with the government. He is doing things that we can only dream of." He shook his head while Aeleya felt shocked by this. "Anyways, the main bank we use is actually this one." Driving to a bank in the plot, he parked the bike and entered it. Aeleya followed behind him.

He quickly got a small room and met with the owner of the bank. "Hazim, are you here to pick up the monthly?"

"Of course." He smiled.

"This is?" The man asked with curiosity. He had a small beard and also wore a pair of large glasses. There was a mole on his nose, yet on closer look, it was easy to tell that the man was good looking.

"Let me introduce her. She is Aarush bhai's wife. Aeleya bhabhi, this is Ali, the manager of this bank." Hazim introduced calmly.

"Hello, Aeleya bhabi. Who knew that Aarush bhai would get married to such a beautiful woman? That's wonderful." He had met Aarush once when he was visiting America for some business. He couldn't be considered a great friend, but he was a friend, nonetheless.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled as well, however she felt uncomfortable from the way he looked at her. His words also didn't sound great to her. Although it sounded like only a compliment, she felt uncomfortable hearing it. Hazim noticed this and frowned.

"Ali, let's get to business. My account should have gotten this amount, I want the normal cut in cash." He decided to speed up the meeting. He also didn't like the way Ali was looking at his bhabi.

"Of course, why the rush? Why don't I get you some chai and biscuits? Aeleya bhabi, would you like something as well?" He looked at Aeleya and smiled, yet she turned her head a little, looking at Hazim instead.

"Ali!" Hazim lost his cool. He could see the disgusting look he was giving off, plus he was leaning forward towards her which made him furious. "Watch the way you act, this is Aaru bhai's wife, my bhabi. Do you wish for me to get you fired? Once Aarush bhai finds out about the way you're acting, he might even have the soldiers do something about it…" He stopped there, glaring at the man.

She didn't answer, because she didn't know what to say. The way he was staring made her uncomfortable, yet he was technically not doing anything wrong either.

"Go and get the cut, right now Ali. Aaru bhai will personally come and 'talk' to you about this." Hazim felt furious so he got up, glaring at Ali from above. The latter also got up, but he didn't do anything more. He just walked out of the room. He couldn't do much since behind Aarush was the government, plus Aarush himself was no simple person. Seeing him finally leave, Hazim sat down and sighed. "Sorry Aeleya bhabi, I didn't know Ali would be such a person. I will tell Aarush bhai, he will take care of it."

"What will Aarush do?" She wondered.

"I don't know. Probably nothing pleasant. He was looking at you with such indecent eyes, so Aaru bhai will be pissed. Ali is done." Hazim pulled out his phone and dialled a number. "Zaid bhai, it's Hazim. Can you and the others come over to the main bank? No, it's not because of me, but Aeleya bhabi is with me and Ali was being a little weird. Just come over, it concerns Aeleya bhabi." Aeleya raised an eyebrow.

"What was that? Why are you calling Zaid and the rest?" She felt a little worried, as if something may be going on.

"Well, it's just a precaution, but if Ali tries something, it's better to have more people here. Everyone is scared once Aarush bhai is here, but he isn't so we need to take a little more steps to make sure you're fine." He smiled. "Don't worry though, probably nothing will happen." Although he said this, he felt worried. Hazim knew that if Ali tried something, he might involve more people. It was just how some people did things.

Aeleya wasn't dumb, she knew that there may be a small issue. She felt worried and started to feel slightly sick to the stomach. 'Aarush, why aren't you here?' For some reason, people were always worried about the presence of Aarush, which made her want him by her side more and more. "Alright then."

"After I grab the money, we'll go to Aarush's clinic. The doctor there is a friend of Aarush's. Also, I should call out Haris. He may not have the same fear factor that Aarush bhai has, but Haris is very influential too." He picked up his phone and dialled a number. "Hey Haris, this is Hazim. Can you meet me at Aarush's clinic in plot three? This is related to Aeleya bhabi, so coming is important." After the phone call he sighed with relief. "He's on his way as well. Things should be better with him around."

They waited in the room and Ali finally came back with a large bag. He placed it on the table and Hazim opened it up. The latter quickly counted and nodded his head. "Is the money fine?"

Hazim nodded his head. "It's all here. Anyways, I'm off now to do other things. I'll see you next month. Also, Ali, since you and I have known each other for a while, don't do anything dumb that I wouldn't do. You know Aaru bhai and his influence, plus Aaru bhai himself is a very aggressive person. I'm warning you." He then pulled Aeleya out of the room, making sure to stand behind her. Ali watched them leave with a slight smile on his face, a bit of lust appearing in his eyes.

'Aarush isn't here, leaving such a hot girl behind. Hazim, you may think I'm scared, but you don't know that I can leave this place as easily as Aarush. Once I leave, then what can Aarush do? Nothing!' His thoughts were filled with strange things, but one thing was certain, his eyes were on Aeleya.

The two got on the bike and Haim drove to the clinic. He waited half an hour, and everyone slowly gathered. Zaid brought a few cousins and friends, while Haris came over with his older brother.

"Hazim, what's going on?" Haris walked over and asked. "What happened with Aeleya?" He looked at Aeleya who stood in the corner and smiled. The last time he saw her was during the wedding. To him, Aarush finally getting married was great. Aarush was his brother more than friend. He knew that Aarush was obsessed with Aeleya and that Aarush was very psychotic as well. He would do anything.

Hazim looked at Aeleya before sighing. He spoke in a voice that only Haris and aid could hear him with. "I think that Ali, the bank guy, has taken an interest in Aeleya bhabi. I don't know, but I think he might try to do something. I would rather not call the soldiers since they don't listen to me, only Aarush bhai."

"What?!" Both of them showed shock. "Ali? Is he retarded? Aarush would kill him, like literally kill him!" Haris spoke with unbelief. He knew his friend; he knew that Aarush would do just about anything if anyone dared to touch his wife.

"I don't understand either. Normally, he wouldn't act so boldly, but I think that he has some sort of backup plan if he does do something. His fear for Aarush bhai seems to be limited." Hazim spoke in a whisper, yet the two men understood the situation.

Haris nodded his head. "Alright, I get it. Let's just get Aeleya home for now. Zaid, you and a few others should stay at Aarush's house just until Aarush comes back. He called me a while ago, and said that he has to stay in America for a week atleast." Haris sighed. "The situation is somewhat sensitive over there so he can't leave."

"A week? Aarush bhai is there for a week?" Hazim couldn't help but scream out. He suddenly felt someone pinch his arm. "Ouch!" He looked over and saw Haris glaring at him.

"Hazim, what did you say?" Aeleya rushed over and asked in a deep tone.

"He didn't say anything. Aeleya, we were talking about how Zaid and a few others will be staying at your house for now..." Aeleya however ignored him and glared at Hazim.

"Hey, answer my question. What did you say about Aarush? He's staying in America for a week? I thought he said only a few days." She asked with anger.

Looking at Haris with a bit of panic, all he got was a glare back.

"Look Aeleya." This time, Haris spoke after sighing. "Aarush called me a while ago, saying that the patient he is looking after is in a coma like state and would wake up in a few days, but he isn't allowed to leave atleast until the kid is able to walk. Aarush said that this may take atleast a week if things go well. At most, this would take a month or so."

"What?!" She said in shock. "Then why am I here? Just send me back to America then, if he's going to be gone for a week to maybe even a month, there isn't a reason for me to stay here." She said impatiently.

"Aeleya, relax. He said that everything should be settled in a week. He will come here right after. If you go back, it would just be a waste of time." Haris spoke calmly.

Aeleya looked at Hazim. "Take me home for now. I want to call Aarush." Hazim sighed and nodded his head.

"Alright. Zaid bhai, make sure to stay close." Zaid nodded his head. He looked at a few other cousins and spoke seriously.

"Let go, we're going to Hazim's." The rest nodded and all of them stepped outside. Everyone got on the bikes, but when Zaid saw Aeleya sitting with Hazim he walked over. "Aeleya, come and sit in the car. Sitting with Hazim like this is not good."

"I'm fine. Hazim is my brother, so there is nothing wrong, plus Aarush says it's alright. Right, Haris?" She looked at Haris, a person she knew who knew everything.

"Zaid, it's alright. Aarush says that there is no problem, plus he actually left Aeleya in Hazim's care." Haris explained. Zaid looked at Hazim with a lifted eyebrow, but didn't say anything more.

Hazim smiled bitterly, but started the bike and went off. The rest followed behind. Haris stayed in his spot. He pulled out his phone and dialled a number. "Adi, it's me, Haris. Do me a favor and have someone keep an eye on Ali, the banker that Aarush hired in plot three. He seems to be interested in Aeleya, which is no good." Hearing a reply from Adi, Haris smiled. "Alright, thanks. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid; you know how Aarush is. He'll throw a major tantrum and might even beat the two of us up if something happens." He laughed a little. "Anyways, call up Dara and the both of you should come to Karachi for a few days when Aarush is back."

He spoke a bit more and then shut the phone. He turned his head and looked in the direction of the bank and glared. "Ali, if you do anything stupid, forget Aarush, but we three will not let you off easy." After that he looked at his brother and smiled. "Let's go, everything should be in order. Also, can you use a bit of your connections to get someone to secretly watch the house Aeleya at? Just keep her safe at home?" His brother nodded his head with a smile. "Thanks."

The two got into their car and drove off as well.