It was destiny ✨

Chapter 12

Haya opened her groggy eyes because of the sound of the alarm she had put on before sleeping. With just a few hours of sleep, she was close to giving up, but the moment she turned to her side, seeing the sleeping figure up close, her sleep was long gone.

Even though the bed was huge, it felt small for Azlan's heavily built frame, and this was probably the closest she had ever been to Azlan. One look at Azlan's face and that was it. It was the limit for her aching heart. Watching your loved one sleep next to you, knowing that he is not yours, could be the breaking point for anyone.

She recalled the situation last night when she had been trying to keep her eyes open, just because of the one glimmer of hope in her heart that Azlan might come at any moment. But he did not, at least not until Haya's heart quit.

Haya couldn't get herself to see Azlan anymore because of the pang of hurt, and wasting no time, she got up to take a shower and pray the Fajar prayer she missed. She had thought the shower would soothe her nerves, but nothing was helping Haya.

She spent a good 15 minutes on her skincare to rejuvenate her skin, and when she came out, Azlan was awake and sitting on the edge of the bed, using his phone.

The crack in the door opening caught Azlan's attention, and he shot his head up from his phone. He gasped inwardly, barely audible. Haya, standing bare-faced with just a towel in her hair, left him speechless. With her damp collarbones prominent through the round neckline of her suit, unconcealed by a dupatta, this time, Azlan forgot the speech he had practiced minutes before; heck, he even forgot why he was sitting.

It was the first time he saw Haya without a dupatta, and he felt as if he had seen something he was not supposed to.

Haya was taken aback since she was not expecting Azlan to be awake. She calmly grabbed her chiffon dupatta from the dressing table, ignoring Azlan's stare. On appearance, she exuded tranquil vibes, but from inside, only she knew how loudly her heart was beating against her ribcage.

Haya was awaiting Azlan to say something, but he was quiet. She was getting annoyed by him now. His face looked like he had something to say, but he kept staring at her. She was tired of waiting for him all her life.

"Umm... Jayei Namaz kidhar pari hai?" She nonchalantly asked him about the prayer mat.

Azlan shot up the next second and took small strides to the cupboard. While he was on his way, he did not forget to curse himself mentally for making a fool out of himself in front of Haya. It was as if a cat had stolen his tongue.

"Relax Azlan! Relax. What the fuck is wrong with you?" He mumbled in a voice audible enough for him.

He handed over the prayer mat to Haya. Now that he was close to her, he realized his frame towered over Haya's petite one. That made him break out in a small smile, but before Haya could notice it, he straightened his face.

"Haya?" He called out her name in a deep hoarse voice that made Haya's heart do somersaults.

"Mama nei kaha tha yei ring tumhe muh dikhayi deini hai." He grabbed a black box out of his shorts' pocket and opened it. It was a cushion-cut diamond ring. He just handed the box to Haya, because he was not sure if Haya would like to be touched. He wanted to respect her boundaries and not make her uncomfortable by any means.

Haya, on the other hand, was silent the whole time. She did not know what to say, so she left the box on her side table, wrapped a dupatta around her head, and started offering her prayer.

Haya texted Erhan to inquire about the nashta larki walei are supposed to bring, so she could start getting ready. She quickly changed into a pistachio-green Anarkali with pastel pink embroidery. While Azlan was in the bathroom, Haya had already finished getting ready. She decided not to wait for Azlan since she was famished and her family was about to reach.

When Azlan came out, the room was empty and he could only smell the floral scent in the room. It was quite the opposite of the musk scent Azlan liked. The fact there was a floral scent in a dark room with a wooden interior was amusing for Azlan.

"Two contrasts we are." He mumbled to himself and shook his head.
He headed downstairs to get his body some caffeine, but on his way, he heard laughter coming from the backyard right in front of the kitchen. He was just supposed to get a cup of coffee from the kitchen, but his curiosity got to him, and he assumed everyone was there. Azlan made his way to the lawn.

He was rooted in his place because of what was happening on the lawn. Everyone from both families was there except Faris Khan. But what he saw made his doubt turn into a firm conviction - they forced Haya to marry him. Seeing her being so carefree, cheerful, and chatty with Erhan made it even worse for him.
'Maybe she wanted to be with Erhan, and you just got in the way,' Azlan thought to himself.

He made his way to where everyone was sitting to observe how Haya would react in his presence. Upon seeing him there, Haya's family got up to greet him. The moment Haya saw him, her smile vanished, and she went silent. Now, Azlan blamed himself for being the root cause of the silent Haya.


Tehmina made Sana get up from her chair so that Azlan could sit next to Haya. Everyone had gone back to chatting with each other, but Azlan and Haya sat there awkwardly listening to the conversation. Well, they were pretending to listen, but actually, both of them were lost in their reverie.

For Haya, it was difficult to ignore that light stubble of her husband in a black shalwar kameez with damp, messy hair. Her heart skipped several beats noticing how fresh he looked now. When he sat next to her, the deep musk scent just made her senses and nerves go haywire.

"Chai or coffee?" Haya asked Azlan a question to overcome the awkwardness.

"Ah, Coffee."

Haya grabbed a cup and poured coffee into it. However, Azlan kept gazing at Haya all this time, and it was making her so nervous that the cup barely missed slipping from her hand. She lifted her eyes, and they met Azlan's. This stare was too intense for Haya's heart; it held a lot of emotions.

Azlan wasn't able to tear away his gaze from Haya while she was pouring his coffee. There was one thing he could not ignore: Haya's hand looked perfect in that ring he had given her earlier.