His Prisoner 21+

18

"Arey Fatima, hamein andar bhi bulaogi yan aise hi dekhti rahogi?" Firoza asked Fatima. (Fatima, will you invite us in or just keep staring like this?)

Oh-Ji..aiyee." Fatima still surprised, gestured for them to enter. (Oh, yes, please come in.)

"Aiyee bethiye." She politely motioned them to have a seat. (Please have a seat.)

"Emaan! Emaan!" She called out to Emaan.

"Ji Ami?" Emaan responded from the kitchen.

"Teen cup chai le ke ao." (Bring three cups of tea.)

"Okay."

His bodyguards stood on each side of the couch where he was sitting.
Seeing her neighbor as well as friend, bewildered and uncomfortable, Firoza pulled Fatima to a corner after smiling at the man, "Ham do minute mein aye. Make yourself at home." (We'll be back in two minutes.)

"Firoza! Yeh log kon hai? Yeh larka kon hai?" Fatima asked her in a hushed tone. (Firoza! Who are these people? Who is this guy?)

"Tumhari kismat ka chirag." (He is your lucky star.)

"Kya??" Fatima frowned at her. (What?)

"Emaan ke liye rishta." (A marriage proposal for Emaan.)

"Par tum toh usse agley mahine laney wali thi na? Jab Emaan athra ki hojaye. Abhi na koi taiyari hai aur na- (Bit weren't you planning to bring him next month when Emaan turns 18? There are no preparations right now, neither-

"Taiyari sab choro tum. Bhaisaab ko mene call kardiya huwa hai, wog raaste mein hain." (Forget about the preparations. I have called brother while I was on my way.) She said, referring to Hassan.

"Larka agley hafte out of country ja raha hai kaam se, jis me usko kam se kam 6 mahine lag jayenge. Icliye mene socha aj hi baat kar ke dekhlo." (The guy is going out of the country next week for work, which will take him at least six months. That's why I thought of discussing the proposal today itself.)

"Aur Haan Fatima, faisla soch samajh ke karna. Larka bohat ameer hai. Tumhe pehle bhi bataya hai, Uska croro ka business hai, bohat saari companies hai." (And yes, Fatima, make the decision after careful consideration. Look, this guy is very wealthy. I've already told you before, he has a multimillion-dollar business, numerous companies.)

"Aur us se bhi achi baat, iska koi gharwala hi nahi hai. Matlab na saas se jaghra hoga na nanad ki chik chik sun'ni paregi." She laughed, clapping her hands. (And on top of that, he has no family members to interfere. It means no mother-in-law conflicts or sister-in-law drama.)

Fatima glared at her, "Dheere bolo!" (Speak quietly.)

Firoza bit her tongue and mouthed a sorry.

The doorbell rang for the second time that evening.

"Lagta hai agaye hain woh." (It seems they've arrived.)

Fatima went and opened the door to find Hassan and Farhan.

"Agaye woh?" Hassan asked his wife quietly. (Are they here?)

"Ji..andar baithey hain." (Yes, they're inside.)

"Yeh lo." He handed her two bags of Samosas and Pakoras.

They entered the living room and the young man stood up from his seat to greet Hassan and shake hands with Farhan.

"Thank you for taking the time to come. And there was no need to bring all this stuff." Hassan said, referring to the stuff he has brought.

"It's nothing, uncle."