Love Means Sacrifice

Ch. 65: Broken Promises

"Mere ishq ke safar ko jaise lag gayi nazar, zuban khamosh thi magar ye dil roya."

("It was as if my journey of love had gotten the evil eye, the tongue was quiet but this heart cried.")

– Barsaat | Rashmi Virag | Darshan Raval

Zahid's P.O.V.

Today's Wednesday. The nikkah is on Saturday. We were going to have a small haldi at Abba's house and a small mehendi ceremony at Mehwish's house, each a day before the nikkah. Mehwish and I were going to spend the day together because the functions were going to start tomorrow and our parents didn't want us meeting outside of them until after our nikkah. We also hadn't seen each other since the last two days, the last time being when I had shown her our home. We had only been apart for two days, yet my heart missed her so much.

The doorbell rang.

I opened the door and smiled at Mehwish before waving goodbye to her mother who had dropped her off.

Mehwish turned around to watch her leave. Her eyes were still on the end of the driveway when Aunty was gone.

I slid my hand into hers as she turned to face me. She studied my face.

"Jaan?"

A small smile appeared on her lips when she met eyes with me, "Hm?"

"Is everything alright?"

"Mhm," she nodded before wrapping her arms around me tightly.

"Did you miss me, my love?" I chuckled, surprised at the strength of her embrace.

She nodded again.

I kissed her head and pulled her inside.

No one was home. I ordered delivery from the Persian restaurant we like and it had just arrived moments before Mehwish. We ate from the to-go boxes in the living room while watching a movie and discussing the haldi and mehendi.

There was something off about Mehwish. There was something bothering her. Her eyes were on the screen and she would add to the conversation alright, but she was aloof. She wasn't taking any of it in. Her mind was elsewhere.

"Baby?"

"Yes, jaana?"

"Is something wrong?"

She perked up and placed her almost empty box on the side before wrapping her arms around my left arm, snuggling closer to me, "No."

I moved my arm out of her grasp so we could both hold each other. Her face rested in the crook of my neck, eyes closed.

"Are you worried about the nikkah or any of the functions?"

She shook her head softly.

I remembered the way she was looking at Noureen Aunty, "Are you worried about leaving Aunty and that you'll miss her?"

She took a few seconds before nodding.

I rubbed her back soothingly as I cooed, "I can understand, jaanam. It must be difficult. You've lived with her all your life. She's a best friend to you. But our condo isn't far, my love. I'll drop you to visit her any time. She's also always welcome. We have so many rooms. She can stay with us when either of you want."

I could feel my shirt becoming damp.

I pulled her back softly to wipe her tears before placing a kiss on each of her eyes. I peppered the rest of her face with light kisses until placing a meaningful one on her lips.

"Seeing you sad breaks my heart," I whispered to her, the subtle look of distress on her face making my heart ache.

She wiped her face and mustered a smile, looking up at me.