Chapter 11

Hands and legs were shaking badly, it was getting hard for her to take breath, vision was turning blurry and the brain was numb. 

Snatching away the gold articles present on her neck and ears she threw them away abruptly, the dupatta which was present on her head till a few minutes ago was now laying on the floor. Picking up her mobile phone she tried to dial a number but her shivering hands didn't allow to touch the screen at the correct place. 

“Fayra.” Sara walked into her room and found her sitting up on the edge of the bed. Her condition was enough to horrify Sara. 

“Mummy ye sab kya ho gya?” Sara had no answer to this question besides an assurance that Danish was better than Arsh. Adnaan also arrived to see his princess and he adored her until her hiccups lightened.

(Mummy, how did all these things happen?)

“Now stop crying. Sometimes unexpected turns make our life beautiful.” Cupping Fayra's face, Adnaan smiled a little because his wish was fulfilled. Now his daughter won't go away from him. 

“But papa… Danish Bhai?” she was so confused and Sara sighed. 

“Only Danish… not Danish Bhai anymore.” she corrected 

“Whatever… he is… he will hate me now.” Fayra mumbled at the same time Danish walked in the room without bothering to knock on the already open door. It wasn't new for both of them to intrude into each other's room without any formality but tonight the situation was different. Now, they weren't only first person cousins and best friends but officially husband and wife too.

“Umm… I… I was wondering how Fayra is doing…” Danish muttered looking towards Adnaan and Sara. “But it's okay. You both are here with her… I'm going.” he turned to go but Adnaan shook his head. 

“No, we're going.” He stood up and gestured to Sara to follow his action. “Danish… just a minute.” It was Adnaan only and Danish followed him to the corner of the room. 

“I know, now you both are married but… give some time and space to Fayra. She isn't…” Adnaan requested Danish for the first time otherwise he was ordering him ever since. 

“Don't worry Chamu, I am here just to talk to her.” 

“Thank you, beta.” Sara smiled and they both vacated the room. 

Danish looked at the condition of the room. A few things were thrown on the floor, Fayra's jewellery and dupatta were also kissing the floor. He picked everything and placed them neatly at the correct places. 

Fayra was watching everything silently, at the end Danish picked her daughter from the floor, folded it and sat down beside his wife.

“I… I don't know what to say.” He said in a hushed tone without looking at her. His gaze was fixed on the wall present in the direction of his nose and Fayra was watching him only. “It wasn't expected but…” he muttered and looked at Fayra. It was the first time when he took a complete look at her as a bride. She was looking beautiful but now tear marks were visible on her face.

“Such a cry baby you are…” shifting towards Fayra he cleared her cheeks with his hand but grimaced and wiped them immediately with his shirt. 

“I'm sorry…” said Fayra with guilt and Danish shrugged. “For what?” 

“I was unable to understand anything… my brain was numb. I shouldn't accept what our elders demanded… but Danish Bhai… you could deny na… at least you were in your senses.” Fayra scolded Danish and he was puzzled. Should he correct her for calling him bhai or should he tell her that this sudden twist fulfilled this wish. 

He didn't know if he loved Fayra or not but he couldn't live without her. He was sure.

“You shouldn't accept this marriage proposal.” Fayra added and Danish looked at her with a questioning look in his eyes. “Maha will not be happy… my life is already ruined but I don't want to ruin your life, Danish Bhai.” an emotional Fayra was about to cry one more time but Danish shook her head. 

“Fayra, Maha is just a friend and client… nothing more. And” he took a tiny pause before continuing. “Neither yours nor mine lives are ruined.” Fayra kept watching his face for a few moments then smiled like a sarcasm and jerked her head.

“My groom called off the wedding, I became a spectacle in front of thousands of people, I got married to someone I never wanted to, people were talking about me and you're saying my life is not ruined. Really Danish Bhai?” for a moment or two Danish was confused, what should he do first, correcting Fayra for calling him Bhai or uplifting her mood, but he went with the second option. 

“Your groom called off the wedding, I know it must be painful for you, but you don't deserve an alcoholic man who treats you like a secondary thing in his life. You haven't become a spectacle in front of the guests, most of them didn't even know what happened behind the closed doors of the room, no one bothered to notice who the groom was, they just noticed that the nikkah was too late due to which they waited for dinner for so long… no one is interested in you or me. And if it comes to marrying a person you never wanted...” Danish took a pause he wanted to hold Fayra's hand and assure her that he will never give her any problem in her life but somehow he controlled his feelings and wiped off her fresh tears with his first finger, and continued, “Your parents and my parents never wanted to get married to one another but they ended up together, and we all know how happy they're.”

“But Danish bh…” 

“Stop it. I mean…” he took a break. “I mean… you must be tired na…” he asked and Fayra nodded

“Take a rest. And, No more crying. Okay?” she again nodded and Danish stood up from his place.

“I'm going to my room,” she again nodded. There was nothing to say. She kept watching Danish until he left the room and her hand grabbed her mobile phone. Without wasting time she called Arsh, there were many questions she wanted him to answer right now but he didn't receive the call. Repeating her action she called him some more time but he again didn't receive the call however someone, who just walked into her room, snatched the mobile away from her hand and glanced at the name present on the screen.

“Why are you calling him?” the question filled her eyes with water.

“Because I want to ask him why he does this to me?” she tried to control her tears and Danish sighed.

“But the fact is… he arrived at the last moment, he was ready to marry you, it was your father who called the wedding off, and why? Because this guy was drunk. Fayra, get a life girl. Think twice before doing anything stupid. Don't cry for a cheap guy like him. You should be thankful that you are safe.”

“Safe? At what cost? I'm forcefully Married to my cousin.” She yelled at him and he grabbed her hand. 

“Khana khao,” only then Fayra noticed the plate of food present in Danish's hand. She was already starving, no one remembered about her dinner but this guy didn't forget.

(Have dinner.)

“I…I'm not hungry.” She looked away. Danish rolled his eyes and broke a small piece of roti. Holding some curry in it he lifted the morsel to Fayra's mouth.

“Danish bh…” before she could complete the word Danish shoved the morsel in her mouth. 

“Baate baad mein, pehle khana. Main bhi to bhuka hu, mujhe to kisi ne puchha bhi nhi, main to tumhe apne hath se khila rha hu lekin tumhare nakhre hi khatam nhi hote.” At the end of the lecture he consumed a big portion of roti and curry then made another morsel for Fayra. The already starving girl couldn't refuse the delicious food anymore so had it silently.

(We will talk later, first focus on food. I am also hungry, no one has even asked me, here I am feeding you with my hands but your tantrums do not end.)

“Aapko pta hai aap bohot ziddi hain.” Fayra huffed before taking the next morsel and Danish nodded.

(You know you are way too stubborn.)

“Yes, but less than you… don't you think so?” Fayra glared at him but took the next morsel. Soon their dinner was over, Danish looked at Fayra for a long moment. Her swollen eyes didn't give peace. 

“Wait for me, I'm coming back in two minutes.” he held the empty plates and Fayra's breath was hitched. 

“But why…” before the sentence could be finished Danish walked out of the room giving another reason to Fayra to get worried. 

“Why is he coming now?” She bit her lip and gulped fearfully. The hands started feeling numb and cold. Somewhere she knew that now Danish wasn't only a cousin anymore, his returning to the room could be interpreted in some different way. And that thought was enough to make Fayra uncomfortable to another level. Before she could start crying one more time Danish entered the room and passed her a glass of water with a white pill that she didn't grab, her eyes were full of questions. 

“Painkiller. Headache. Right?” His voice was barely audible but Fayra nodded and gulped the pill down with half a glass of water without knowing the truth. It wasn't a painkiller but a sleeping pill so that this girl could sleep peacefully instead of crying for a man who once love-bombed her and then left suddenly in the middle of nowhere with the baggage of emotional trauma. 

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A lazy sun shot the very first and weak arrow of light that tore the canvas of darkness wrapped around the world for many hours. With each passing minute the arrows of light pierced the canvas of darkness, allowing the little birds and morning breeze to celebrate the triumphant rise of light over darkness, where every shadow surrenders to the brilliance of hope, illuminating the path to a new dawn. However the beautiful morning wasn't beautiful for everyone, the arrows of brightness intruded in a room through the glass window but they were unable to bring light of happiness in here, where someone was still sleeping with a heavy head. Soon, the loud footsteps indicated someone's walk towards the room and in no time the door was snapped open.   

The shirtless figure was sleeping on the bed, a pillow was present under his head and the duvet was half covering him half handling to the floor. A glass full of water was resting on the nightstand. 

“Hamari neende uda ke aur kitna soona hai?” the water present in the glass splashed on his face, dragging him out of slumber. 

(How much more will you sleep after taking away our peace?)

The intoxicated eyes met with the pair of eyes turning red with anger. The spinning head leaves the pillow after many hours. He looked everywhere. 

“Hamari izzat utaar ke ab tumhara nasha utar gya?” The man yelled and Arsh blinked his eyes blankly. His brain still needed to settle down in the environment. 

(Has the intoxication gone now after you insulted us?)

“Fayra?” After all, a beautiful crying face came to his senses, that did something to his heart. He loved only one girl in his whole life till now. 

The one with whom he got engaged. 

The one with whom he planned to get married. 

The one who hurt him numerous times by refusing his demands. 

“Fayra…” he looked everywhere to see if she was present in the room. He remembered seeing her as a bride yesterday but he didn't remember anything after that. Where was she now? 

“Nikah ho gya uska kisi aur ke sath…” and the bomb blasted on his head took away all the slumber and after effects of drugs he took yesterday. 

(She got married to someone else)

“What?” 

“Tumhari wajah se main kahi muh dikhane layaq nhi raha, nikal jao mere ghar se aur dobara apna chehra na dikhana.” Pulling out Arsh from the bed his father dragged him along, it was getting difficult to walk but the journey ended up in the lawn of the home. 

(Because of you I am not able to face anyone, get out of my house and never show your face again.)

“Dad, I… I.” Before Arsh's tongue could deliver the correct words the door slammed in his face. 

The headache suddenly turned into a heart ache. Till yesterday he was demonstrating his ego, he wanted Fayra to understand that she needed to fulfil his demands and obey his orders but now everything was changed. He and his own self was responsible for diverting their paths which could lead to a beautiful heaven, now he was too late to alter the ways as they were connected to some other destinations. 

A destination decided by fate. 

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