Izzah stared at her reflection in the mirror with a bitter expression on her soft face. Her cheeks and nose were red as a result of continuous crying throughout the afternoon whilst the plain purana Eid ka joda still made her look enthralling.
She made sure to select the safed joda signifying her berang zindagi ahead.
Tears filled her eyes as her phone vibrated flashing 'Sahil'. Hastily wiping her tears to not look more miserable than she already looked, she threw her phone making it shatter.
Each breath she took felt constricted as she thought about the jahannam she was about to face after her nikaah.
The sudden thought of running away from all this mess crossed her mind but instantly her abbu's alfaaz flashed right through her mind making her slump down on the bed helplessly.
She couldn't ever in her life forget the look he gave her and his words,
"Izzah, is nikaah par humara rishta tika hua hai. Agar ye nikaah nahi hua toh bhul jana ki tumhara koi baap bhi tha."
Her father, her protector, the man who always took her side had uttered those words breaking her spirit to fight completely. And with a heavy heart she agreed for her janaaza as she knew Haidar would make sure that she regrets betraying him.
She heard light footsteps across her room and knew it was the time to move a step closer to her berang zindagi.
The door of her room opened as Hafsa stepped inside with a sad smile on her face. Izzah could feel herself stiffen in her tayi ammi's presence and she lowered her eyes to the ground not wanting to meet her honey wale shauhar's mother's questioning and scrutinizing gaze.
She was sure it was due to Haidar's zid her tayi ammi would have agreed for this nikaah otherwise who would want to marry her son off to a behaya ladki as her mother said.
She flinched at the soft motherly touch of Hafsa and instantly her eye lashes moistened as tears filled her eyes.
"Iza, bacche dekho jo gaya vo ho gaya. Kayi baar jaane-anjaane main humse bohot si galtiyan ho jati hain... Un galtiyan ko dil se lagakar nahi rakha jata magar unse seekha jaata hai aur dobara nahi dohraya jata. Aap samajh rahe ho hum kya kehna chah rahe hain?"
"...Jee tayi-ammi." Izzah's voice cracked as another tear rolled down her face.
She was feeling more ashamed due to this pyaara bartaav of her tayi ammi. Her guilt would've lessened if tayi ammi would've yelled at her like her ammi or more, gave her a thappad.
Hafsa sighed at her honey wali bahu. She knew that this guilt was what everyone wanted Izzah to drown in but kya ab jaan lenge bacchi ki? Afterall they were already forcing her in the marriage.
Hafsa knew Izzah went against the riwayat of the haweli, committed a gunaah but Izzah was still young and nasamajhawho was influenced by bad company in top of that so wasn't her son doing a gunaah by forcing Izzah to do marriage too?
She knew that it was wrong but she wished that it happened as she didn't want Izzah to go on a wronger path than she already was. Izzah was an adamant and stubborn child now who wouldn't listen to anyone and it was now important for someone to controlher in a good way and who would do it better than a shouhar?
Also, Hafsa had her faith in Haidar and her tarbiyat that Haidar wouldn't wrong her precious child in any way.
He would control Izzah the way she needed to be at the moment and let Izzah control the pace of his life.
He might be angry at the moment but he wouldn't do something worse right?
"Accha ab yeh sab bekar baaton main waqt na zaaya karo aur mujhey ye batao ki aise bhala koi apne nikaah ke liye taiyar hota hai?" Hafsa pointed out at the plain white suit, little mehendi which she sent a helper to apply and playfully glared at Izzah who released a deep breath mumbling,
"Rehne de na tayi ammi, please..."
Hafsa pressed her lips in thin line but didn't disagree and told, "Magar apni dadijaan ka haar toh pehen na hoga na?"
Izzah nodded her head remembering her dadijaanwho she was dearly missing at the moment.
Only if dadijaanwas alive, nothing like this would be happening with her.
Wiping Izzah's face for any trace of tears, Hafsa kissed the crown of Izzah's head as she made her wear a neckpiece, earrings and gajreyen.
Hafsa walked out of the room with a grim looking Izzah by her side who had her eyes casted down, not wanting to look at any body.
The Qazi Sahab was already present and waiting.
Before Izzah could grasp her surrounding, her head and face was covered with red dupatta by her tayi ammi and Izzah knew this belonged to dadijaan as well.
The laal rang filled rang in her berang outfit and zindagi...
Her breathing shallowed, heart raced as the world around her seemed to still when the Qazi Sahab asked the most important question in a girl's life.
Her abbu's words, ammi's face, tayi ammi's hopeful gaze and her dadijaan's last words rang in her mind as she murmured,
"Qubool hai.
..Qubool hai.
...Qubool hai."
A tear rolled down her eye as she signed the nikaahnama and sealed her name with his.
"Qubool hai, Qubool hai, Qubool hai." His steady voice made her eyes turned in his direction as she peeked at him who was sitting on the opposite sofa, through her eyelashes.
Her gaze locked with his, she shivered internally seeing the amount of passion in them and noticed that unintentionally they were matching their outfits.
He was wearing a plain white kurta shalwar too.
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Instantly she looked down unable to handle the intensity of his gaze as his face seemed stoic.
🥀
Izzah sat down in the middle of his bed with a blank expression on her face.
Unfortunately no one bothered to ask if she wanted to have the rukhsati today itself or not and decided it would be best to do the rukhsati today itself because her shouhardemanded so.
Her parents had no problem and nor did her brother afterall who would even like to keep a behaya ladki with them?
Her ammi-abbu made it more than clear that now she was under her shouhar'scontrol now and he was the one associated with all of her actions and it was now his problem to deal with her in his way.
And Izzah was expecting worse from her shauhar's way,
