The Addiction of Love

VIII

Seher was hanging out with her cousins in the evening when a househelp came to inform her that Benazir had called for her.

Seher immediately went to her dado's room. Benazir was reciting the Holy Quran, so Seher took a seat beside her on the bed and waited for her to finish. Ten minutes later, she was done. She placed the Quran aside while murmuring some dua before blowing it over her granddaughter.

Seher smiled gratefully and laid down on the bed with her head in her dado's lap.

"How is your sketching going?" Benazir asked, while softly caressing Seher's hair.

"It is going fine. I'm meeting Anita ma'am tomorrow." Seher said.

Benazir pulled out a coconut oil container from her bedside table and started massaging Seher's hair. Seher was not fond of putting oil in her hair, but she let her grandmother do it without any complaints.

"You know, Seher, I was only sixteen when I married your dadajaan. Just a naive, teenage girl who had no idea how the world functioned. Your dadajaan had also just started his business from a very small room." Benazir spoke with a faint smile on her face, remembering the good old days. "He was a man of few words, only spoke when required. Whoever used to meet him used to be either intimidated, or scared by him. Many women from our village also used to ask me how I handle such an uptight husband. And I always used to smile at them. Because my husband, my Mufti was completely different from the businessman Mufti Khan they knew. He might be strict with the world, but for me, he was the most romantic husband I could have ever asked for."

Seher's eyes were closed as she enjoyed the hair massage and story.

"In the early years of our marriage, we didn't have too much money. But still he used to buy many Hindi, English and Urdu books for me and every night, after dinner, he used to teach me how to read. My parents never sent me to school, every knowledge that I've gained is because of him. One time I asked him why he spent money on my books rather than saving that money or investing it. He had smiled subtly and said that educating me was the best investment he could ever make."

"That's so sweet." Seher commented.

Benazir put away the oil container and rubbed her hands together to let her skin soak up all the oil in her hands.

"Whenever I see Ahad, I am reminded of Mufti. He is an exact replica of him. And you remind me of myself. The same young, naive girl." Benazir said, making Seher jerk up from her lap.

"Dado?" Seher eyed her grandmother in confusion.

"Jalal had come to ask me for my permission before asking you and Ahad about marriage." Benazir said, "I know that you've said no to the proposal, and neither I nor anyone else is going to force you otherwise. But I still wanted to talk to you once and ask the reason for your rejection."

Seher stayed quiet while fidgeting with her fingers.

"If there is someone else you like, you can tell me." Benazir rested her hand on Seher's fingers to stop them.

"No, dado. It is not that." Seher voiced out, nervous of the situation. "I said no because I didn't think we'd be compatible with each other. There is so much difference between us. None of our habits match. And not to forget, he is so strict all the time that has me shivering in fear in front of him."

Benazir chuckled. "Sometimes being different is good. You will light up his dull life with your mischievousness, and he'll bring stability to yours with his sincerity."

______________

Seher thought about Benazir's words all day, and by the next morning, the thought of marrying Ahad didn't seem so bad to her.

She was supposed to meet Anita today. Slipping into a pair of olive colored pants, white t-shirt and white converse, she applied very light makeup and folded her hair into a messy bun. She was ready, and so nervous.

She double-checked to make sure her sketchbook, pencils and colors were in her bag before heading down. In the living room, Ahad was barking instructions about some business deal on his phone, and Seher understood he must be talking to his assistant. But as soon as his eyes fell on Seher, his facial expressions softened and he hung up the call.

"Ready?" He asked her in a husky voice, which sent shivers down her spine.

She nodded.

"I'll drop you." He told her.

She agreed instantly because something about him made her feel calm, and she badly needed it.

She started to walk out of the living room, when he stopped her by saying, "Breakfast."

She was in no condition to eat, but she also knew that he'd never let her leave without eating. So like always, she skipped towards the dining room. She wrapped one sandwich in a tissue paper, took blessings from the elders of the family and left with Ahad.

The drive was spent in silence. When he stopped the car outside Anita's office, he turned towards Seher and wished her luck.

"Thank you." She looked up, but one glance into his eyes had her lowering her head while her cheeks turned crimson. She was blushing like a freaking teenager whose crush talked to her for the first time.

Ahad noticed that and smiled amusingly. "Seher?" He called her but she refused to look up. He put his forefinger below her chin and forced her face up. Their eyes clashed. He scanned her face to look for any sort of uneasiness, but there was just shyness on her face.

"Should I ask chachi to start the wedding preparations, or would you like to tell her yourself?" He whispered while his thumb caressed her chin.

She bit her lips to stop the smile that threatened to break on her face.

"Stop it. They're mine to bite." He tugged on her lips.

About a million butterflies erupted inside her stomach. She pushed him and jumped out of the car as fast as possible. Ahad watched her run inside the building before driving off with a huge smile on his face.

That evening, Seher said yes to her mother.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Ahhhhhh, she said yes! Ready to attend a wedding or not?

On the wedding note, saare or lehenga?

Even though I love lehenga, nothing can match up to the grace that saare brings.