Found home in you

15: MY HOME

Mehnaz pov:

It feel as if some essential piece of my heart was missing.

It is as if we were two instruments, attempting to play a beautiful melody together,

only I am playing with all my heart and passion and he is merely going through the motions, the sound of his heart not quite in tune with mine.

This disparity in love made me feel alone,
yearning for a deeper connection.

"The nikkah ends in the evening.
my job is done here, so is our relationship."

I tell zahil, and before he could respond, I dash out,his presence becoming unbearable for me.

I thought he loved me.

Tears flood my eyes, blurring my vision as I descend downstairs, the flashes of the moments we spend together replaying in my mind.

Dizziness cloaks my brain and I put my hand on my chest to calm my racing heart,Taking a deep
breath I ground myself. I cannot have a breakdown right now.

Wiping my tears, I come face to face with both our families.
"I am not okay with this marriage I say, looking at my parents, making everyone's eyes go wide at my bold choice of words ,
"I don't wish to marry in a family who just disrespects me!"

"Beta, what are you saying?"
My mother speaks up, coming near me.

"I don't want to marry Amir, I am in love with someone else."
I declare, my voice a faint whisper
because of my trembling lips.

I look in my mothers eyes, before the weight of my mother's hand lands on my cheek, delivering
a sharp stinging slap, making the noise of the impact echo across the room.

My dad instantly comes by my side, wrapping his arms around my shoulder and hiding me in his chest.

"What are you doing?"
He questioned my mom,

"Where did we go wrong Omar,we have always been with her in whatever she wanted, now she has brought us shame."

My mother snarls, her words sharp like a dagger, piercing my soul.

"This is what happens Omar,when you give freedom to your daughter."

I hear Zahil's dadi speak, her finger now like an accusing arrow, pointed directly at me.

"Everyone should learn from this that daughters are meant to be caged in their house with no freedom, they shouldn't roam around for studies and job, they should study their religion,get married quickly and serve their husband,If not they will be like her."

"Mehnaz,your actions and choices have brought shame to us. Your behaviour has smeared the name and honour of our family."

My mother's spoke,her words like a dagger to my soul.

I stand there as tears drop down my eyes, for a moment I feel everything going blank.

My dad holds my hand and drags me out of their house,my mom following us behind.

I hope I never see any of these people ever again, I hope I never come back to this place.

The drive to home was eerily quiet as I sat in the backseat of the car consumed by my thoughts, feeling the weight of the day's events settle upon me like a suffocating blanket.

No one said a word,the air thick with an oppressive stillness.

As we reach home, my mother pulls me, her hands digging onto my skin.