Contacts OF Hearts

Zain Teases Minkii

Anus loved Annie a lot. But he had never told her.

Still, he had made up his mind that he would marry Annie very soon.

But then the thought of Annie’s studies and her age would hold him back.

Annie was seven years younger than Anus. She was still studying. Her first semester at university was going on.

That’s why Anus always stayed quiet.

But he also thought, if he waited until Annie finished her studies and until he himself was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, then by that time he would get too old.

Today he had decided he needed to think this through.

He thought, “I’ll go home and definitely talk to my elders about getting me married to Annie.”

He got up from there and went to his room. He changed and thought that now he should head home.

He called out to the servant.

"Yes sir, did you call me?"

"Yes, I’m going home. Take care of everything here behind me, okay?"

"Okay sir."

"And yes, water the plants on time. Look at the condition they’re in with this heat. See what’s happened to those four of them."

"Yes, yes sir. I’ll water them on time."

"Do you even water them on time? If you did, would they be in this state? Look after your responsibilities properly. If you can’t do the work, tell me. I’ll make other arrangements."

The servant stammered, "But sir, I do this work very well. Yes, yes sir, please don’t be angry. You won’t get a chance to complain again."

"Alright. Here, take the keys. Go open the gate. I’ll be right there."

After handing over the keys, he picked up his mobile and stepped out of the room. He locked his room and left from there.

He was very possessive about his things, and he didn’t trust anyone that easily. That’s why he gave the house keys to the servant, but kept the key to his own room with him.

He had built a room in his farmhouse, and it had everything he needed.

.......

Ali and Anus both worked in the office with Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Ajmal.

Since they were the elder sons in the family, they would go to the office with their fathers and help them out.

Their business was running really well. Seven to eight hundred employees worked under them.

Anus would usually stay in the office from 8 in the morning till 12 or 1, and then come back home.

And if there was any important mail or a deal with a client, he would handle it from home on his laptop.

Ali did the same.

Because they also had to look after things at home.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Ajmal would only return from the office around 5 or 6 in the evening.

They had hired two or three managers who handled all the work perfectly.

They didn’t want to put too much responsibility on Ali and Anus just yet, so they were still managing everything themselves.

They didn’t even want to sit idle.

As for Zain, he had just graduated.

He didn’t go to the office, nor did he intend to.

He just wanted to live his life the way he wanted to.

It was evening, and Dua was sitting and studying. She wanted to write with a pen, but she just couldn’t.

Again and again, Annie’s brother kept coming to her mind.

After all, he was a rich guy, just like the other boys.

Dua said to herself, “Dua, what are we, and what are they?”

“But then why was he staring at me like that? I didn’t like his staring at all.”

She was complaining to herself, as if it were all her fault.

“I’ll tell Annie about this... No, no, why would I tell Annie? What if she feels bad?

It’s not like Annie asked her brother to do it.

But Annie _was_ singing his praises too, wasn’t she?”

“Dua, Dua, Dua... Get everything else out of your head and focus on your studies.”

She tried to convince herself and forced herself to focus on studying.

She had really liked Ali’s looks, his complexion, his personality had impressed her a lot.

But she didn’t think highly of rich people or of boys in general.

That’s why she didn’t want to think about him too much.

Reena was very interested in Ali.

But Ali only saw her as a cousin, like a sister. He had never looked at her the wrong way, and he had no interest in her at all.

Yet Reena kept coming closer to him again and again. She would pull herself toward him, trying to get him to notice her too.

Ali hated that. Her behavior made him really uncomfortable.

..........

Annie was sitting on the bed, studying. All her books were spread out around her. Maybe just a small corner of the bed was even visible. Books, pens, and notes were scattered everywhere. Her phone was on one side, laptop on the other. She was sitting there trying to study, but in the past one hour she hadn’t read a single thing.

She didn’t understand what to study. Whatever she tried to read just didn’t make sense, so she’d switch to another subject. The same thing kept happening.

Finally, talking to herself, she said, “What is this? Why am I not getting it? I work so hard, and still I understand nothing.” She was speaking to herself in a voice that sounded like she was about to cry.

Just then Minkii walked past and heard her. She peeked in.

“What happened?” Minkii asked.

“Look, I don’t get this. In fact, I don’t get anything,” Annie replied.

“Oh ho ho, Annie! What have you done to this room? You’ve spread all your books everywhere. Who studies like this?”

“I do. Like this.”

“Hmm. No wonder nothing makes sense to you. Come here, show me. What don’t you understand?”

Minkii explained the topic to her. Minkii had graduated from university too. She and Zain had studied together and finished graduation at the same time. Minkii loved Annie a lot. She always treated her like a younger sister. It wasn’t because of Zain. She loved her from her own heart, even before Zain came into the picture.

Reena and Minkii were brothers’ wives. Completely opposite.

Reena was cunning and clever. She acted like she was very innocent in front of people, but she wasn’t.

Minkii, on the other hand, was genuinely innocent, but in front of people she came across as clever. Their personalities were the exact opposite of who they really were.

While Minkii sat there explaining to Annie, Zain happened to walk past to his room. He saw the two of them, stopped, and leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. He looked extremely handsome at that moment. He was wearing black trousers and a black t-shirt, and it made his broad shoulders stand out even more.

He cleared his throat to get their attention. Both Minkii and Annie looked up.

“Hmm. So what lesson are you teaching our sister?” he asked.

“The same topic she has,” Minkii answered back.

“Oh really? If you’re going to teach her, then what’s the point of her going to university?”

“Oh come on, bhai! You’re always picking on poor Minkii. I just wasn’t getting the topic, so she’s explaining it to me. See how well she’s explaining it to me? Come, you see too,” Annie called him over.

By then Minkii had realized Zain had arrived. And she knew he wouldn’t stay without teasing her.

“Annie, focus on your studies. Tell him to go to his room,” Minkii said.

“What’s the matter, Minkii? He can watch too, right? How well you’re teaching me,” Annie said.

“Okay fine,” Minkii sighed and went back to teaching. Zain came and sat on the corner of the bed near both of them.

Minkii was teaching. Annie was studying. And Zain… Zain was busy teasing Minkii.

Soon Minkii noticed Zain’s eyes were on her. Her heartbeat started going all out of rhythm. Sneakily, she poked his leg with the tip of her pen and gave him a look that said, What are you doing? Annie is sitting right here.

He just smiled.

And just like that, while studying and teasing, a lot of time passed. Finally, Annie understood the topic.

All that time, Zain had teased Minkii so much. She was just waiting for this to end so she could escape. She couldn’t say anything to him in front of Annie, and Zain took full advantage of that.