The Truth Unfolded ✔️

Hand In Marriage

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Word count : 1421

CHAPTER #21

I surely saw some guests sitting down but I couldn't see their faces.
I slowly kept walking till I faced an aged man, his wife and a familiar face.
I twitched my eyes and eyebrows trying to recognize him and then suddenly all the memories with him flashed in my mind.

Him forcing me in the kitchen and in the room!! IT WAS SADIQ!!!

Ammi was still looking at me with angry eyes. I slowly went to her and sat beside her.
"this is our daughter hafsa" abba said pointing his hand towards me

"assalamualaikum" I wished them but I could barely bring a smile on my face.

"walaikumassalam" his parents wished in turns while sadiq was grinning at me.
I strongly felt the urge to punch in his face but I held it in.

"why don't you bring tea for all of us hafsa, will you?"
I nodded and headed to the kitchen. That day, when he tried to force me was coming in my mind.
What if he does it again but wait! Why is HE EVEN HERE?

I made the tea for five people and arranged them on the tray and took it to the hall. I presented the tray to each one and everyone smiled at me and withdrew their cups of tea.

I kept the tray on the table and started going back to my room when ammi called me "hafsa where are you going?"

"to my room" I replied

"come and sit here" she said and I obeyed.

"so" that Sadiq's mother began "we are here for a very special reason. I appreciate that amna has told me everything and I can understand that because no one's life is perfect" I kept looking at her, talking "and now as amna wants her daughter to be happy, even we wish the same so we are here to ask your daughter's hand in marriage for my son, sadiq" she smiled goofly

I was shocked again, more shocked than before.

What are you doing amma and abba, you are playing both with my life and my feelings!!

This was beyond my tolerance! I got up and looked at them with partial confidence.
"let me give you my decision now and on this very moment, it's a NO from me because I am still in someone's nikah"

"hafsa shut up and go away" ammi was showing me eyes and saying between her teeth.

"why ammi? Doesn't the girl have the right to give her consent or to refuse when it comes about her marriage and how can you think I'll marry another person when I am still in nikah?" for the first time, I was feeling confident.

"what amna? Is she not divorced? You said she is" Sadiq's mother was asking with suspicion and doubt and that made me very very happy

"haha no" ammi was sweating "she is gonna get divorced today"

"who said that?" I interrupted

"hafsa get out" she was again showing me eyes

"wait let me speak" I began "auntie" I said now turning towards Sadiq's mother "I respect you even though your son did a lot of things to me that you might be not aware of.... But I can't accept whatever you want"

"I don't get you, what are those things that my son did to you and that I am not aware of?"

The men who were sitting till now, got up and the wrinkled forehead of Sadiq's father was very prominent
"what are you talking about, daughter?" his father finally asked me.

"your son first tried to harass me in this very house when you came here for the first time regarding some business things. Second is he" pointing towards sadiq I continued "locked himself and me in a room in a party where my husband and I went and tried to force himself on me" the old man's face suddenly changed into a realized look.

"are you....are you?" the old man was stammering while his wife was looking at me with agony

"hafsa shut up now and stop telling lies. Go to your room and don't come out till I tell you to"

I turned to look at ammi. She was bathed in sweat and she had also gone fully red.

"are you Zafar's wife?" the old man said and that made everyone to look at him while he, turned to look at his wife with aggression

I nodded at him with sharp and teary eyes

"you didn't say me saira? Did you know it all along?" he asked angrily to his wife but she didn't reply anything

"I am so sorry beta" the old man turned towards me now "I didn't know all of this. My son had taken some bad habits because of which I was in a haste to marry him to someone but I did not know it was you my dear, we don't ask you to marry sadiq and I know zafar, he is a great man and a great husband" he said smiling which had regret hidden behind "never leave him because he loves you very much" that brought a smile on my face

"thank you uncle" I said. He placed his hand on my head and said "do not say this to zafar or else I'll be ashamed of myself"

"no I won't say" I said smiling.

After that, he held his wife's hand tightly and took both her and her son out of the house, never to return for that illogical reason.
I looked at ammi who was breathing heavily with anger and went to my room.
I laid down and closed my eyes. The thought of zafar coming tonight brought a smile on my face and after a while, I dozed off to sleep.
_____________________________________
Zafar's POV

I was now sure that the cook had something to do with Hafsa's poisoning and he was the one who mixed it in roohafza.
That evening, I went to Sadiq's unit where all his men were there, staying locked up.
I had already told abrar to untie them and give them enough water and food but not to release them from their place.

I opened the steel door to see his two men playing cards in a jolly mood but as soon as they saw me, they all froze.
I thought to relax them a bit.
"what are you all doing?" I asked while walking towards the table. A smile grazed on my face when I saw that they were playing a simple game, not gambling.

"ah" I sighed "look at you" both the men were staring at me with a questioning look "I thought that both of you were gambling but see everyone has a good self in them but you just don't notice it"
I pulled the chair and sat on it, resting my elbows on the table.
"I know you both work for sadiq and help him do his dirty works and even you too do them and because of all that the world outside this room looks you with the eyes filled with hatred but do you think you really deserve it?" they both exchanged their gazes with each other and looked back at me. They were listening with their utmost concentration." no one is gonna come and look what you are doing inside these four walls but whatever you do out there is what the people see and gives them the chance to judge you. If you both were so bad, then you both would have been exchanging things on the basis of these cards"
They both looked down and it seemed as if they were ashamed

"we never meant to harm you or your wife zafar bhai" one of them told

"I know and that is why I didn't do anything to you both because you don't deserve it in fact, you deserve respect for still having that good self in you despite having a bad company"

"we're sorry zafar bhai, we won't work for him now"
"yeah we want to be your friends and work for YOU and support you whenever you need it..you really have enlightened our hearts" the other man said. They both were smiling which made me also smile.

"then we'll play one game together and leave alright?" I winked at them.

They both laughed and shuffled the cards to play another game with me.