Book two of the Hussain-Zaidi Saga
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It is a tale of two people who are caught up in the cruel games that destiny had played with them.
Their life was supposed to be normal, but an unintentional mistake changes everything. As they n...
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Kaisi jannat hai, Jaan maangti hai!
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Mirhaan returned back to the haveli from the office only to find the Zaidi's sitting in the living room with the Hussains. His eyes darted towards Adab, clad in a lemon yellow suit. And as always, she looked absolutely breathtaking.
"Assalam Alaikum," He greeted Mehr and Arsalaan, to which they both replied back with a smile.
"They're here to fix the date of the nikah." Mahad informed Mirhaan, making his heart skip a beat in horror.
It was happening. His worst nightmare was coming true.
"Oh," He uttered and subconsciously looked at Adab. She was staring back at him with a strange expression. He cleared his throat and excused himself to get fresh, which was just an excuse to get away from everyone. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face while he was feeling an immense amount of internal pain.
He went to his room and slumped on the bed. The dilemma that he had been facing was intensifying with every moment. He just couldn't comprehend why he was feeling this way. Why was he jealous of his best friend for having a woman that he had not even had one decent conversation with? Why was Adab taking over his existence so powerfully?
He spent almost half an hour convincing himself that these feelings are just a stupid infatuation and it'll go away. Then he changed into a comfortable pair of trousers and plain tee and then padded downstairs.
"How about the 15th? It is Saturday?" Mirhaan could hear Zaroon's voice from the living room.
"Saturday works. People would be able to attend since it is the weekend." Mahad replied.
Mirhaan had not entered the living room, so no one could see him. He sighed in frustration and turned his heels to start walking in the direction of the kitchen. He couldn't sit there and listen to the wedding planning.
He walked inside the kitchen, but his steps halted when he found Adab leaning on the counter with a glass of water in her hand. Her eyes turned towards him as well. They stood frozen at their spots for a few seconds, just looking at each other, before Mirhaan tore his gaze away and looked down.
"Do you want something?" She asked him in her soothing voice, and he had this urge to listen to her speak all his life.
"Umm, water." He spoke.
She picked up a fresh glass from the cabinet and poured water from the jug. Then she walked closer to him and forwarded the glass. He took it from her, and while looking into her dreamy eyes, gulped down the liquid.
He kept the glass on the counter, before speaking, "Congratulations."
She raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"On the wedding. I heard it is on the 15th. That's like two weeks away." He said with a hint of sadness.
"Yeah," She slowly nodded and looked down.
"What happened?" He sensed sadness in her tone and couldn't help but ask. "Are you not happy with it?"
She looked up at him and questioned, "Are you happy?"
"What do you mean? How does it matter how I feel? It is your wedding." He was confused.
Their intense eye contact lasted for a while before she whispered, "My wedding doesn't affect you? You feel nothing?"
His eyes widened a little as he realised what she was trying to say. "I don't know what you're talking about." He averted his eyes.
She stepped forward. "Really? So you're trying to say that your eyes lie everytime you look at me, or when you see me with Zaroon."
"You are my future sister-in-law, my best friend's future wife." He said in a hard tone.
Her eyes were slightly moist. "Am I?"
The helplessness in her voice almost made him give in to his heart's desires and take her in his arms. But he couldn't do that. So he fisted his palm and looked dead in her eyes. "Yes, that's all I think of you."
She humorlessly chuckled as a tear slid down her left cheek. "Fine, if you are not ready to accept your feelings, I can't force you."
She wiped her tear, took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen.
He wanted to stop her, tell her that she was right. He did feel so much more for her, but he didn't. As much as it broke his heart, he would never do that to Zaroon. He would never cheat his best friend. Yes, it would hurt him to see Adab marry someone else, but he couldn't even imagine how much it would kill Zaroon if he found out that his fiance and best friend had cheated on him. Zaroon's happiness mattered more to Mirhaan, more than his own feelings.
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Adab took a seat on the couch. Everyone was busy discussing the wedding, so no one paid attention to her, except for Zaroon.
He leaned closer to her and whispered, "Where were you?"
"I had gone to get some water." She replied.
"You could've just asked me." He smiled lightly at her.
"I didn't want to trouble you for such a small thing." She spoke.
"You can never trouble me, Adab. Never." The sincerity in his voice made her wonder how bad of a person she was. Here was a man, who was helplessly in love with her, who showered her with so much affection and pampering, and she couldn't reciprocate his feelings. How could she be so selfish? What was wrong with her? Why did she not feel the same for Zaroon? Why was she having those feelings for Mirhaan, when she should be having them for Zaroon?
She curled her palm and let her nails dig into her skin. The pain that she felt because of that was making her press even harder. She wanted to punish herself, she needed to punish herself for being such a bad fiance to Zaroon.
That night, when she returned back to her home with her parents, she headed straight to her room, took out her prayer mat and cried in front of Allah and asked for His forgiveness over and over again. She begged Him to show her the correct path while crying her heart out.
Finally, after the prayer, she had come to a conclusion, but before taking any step, she needed to talk to someone. Someone she knew would never give her any wrong advice.
