Umeed

Chapter 28

Noor walked briskly to her room, her mind a storm of conflicting emotions. As she shut the door behind her, she let out a frustrated sigh. How could she let herself blush in front of Shahzain, even for a second? It wasn’t supposed to happen. She was angry, and she had every right to be. Shahzain had taken everything from her, forcing her into this marriage, and she wouldn’t allow herself to forget that.

She glanced at the mirror, catching sight of her flushed cheeks. Blushing? She clenched her fists. “Noor, you cannot let yourself soften,” she muttered under her breath. “You will not melt this time.”

With that, she quickly got ready for bed, brushing off the nagging thoughts that tugged at her heart. She had no reason to feel anything but anger toward Shahzain. She wouldn't let herself break again.

The days passed slowly, with each one becoming a routine of silence between them. Noor purposefully distanced herself more and more from Shahzain. They shared a home but barely spoke, and whenever they crossed paths, she kept her gaze firmly averted. Shahzain, on the other hand, wasn’t ready to give up. Despite the coldness Noor exuded, he persisted in his quiet apologies. Every morning, like clockwork, a tulip would be left at her door, accompanied by a handwritten note.

Noor would sit on her bed each morning, reading the same apologetic words over and over, her heart hardening against him, yet unable to ignore the sincerity in his messages.

One such day, she unfolded the note, her eyes scanning the familiar scrawl:

I know I’ve made mistakes—mistakes that shattered the trust between us. I no longer seek to defend what I did, nor can I take away the pain I caused you. All I ask is for a chance to make things right. I will keep asking for your forgiveness, every day, until the walls between us break. I’m not asking for you to forget, only to forgive, because I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I can be the man you deserve.

—Shahzain

She stared at the note for a long time. It wasn’t the first time she had received one like this, and it wouldn’t be the last. Shahzain had found a new way to express his regret, knowing that she wasn’t ready to talk to him yet. He left the notes, hoping they would speak what he couldn’t say aloud.

Noor’s fingers trembled as she set the note aside. The tulip lay on her bedside table, a quiet witness to the struggle within her. She had loved flowers once. Now, they felt like another reminder of the things she had lost.

That afternoon, Noor was searching for an old family album in the house. She wandered through the hallways until one of the maids informed her that some things were kept in the storeroom. Noor made her way there, her mind distracted by mundane thoughts, hoping to escape the tension that had engulfed her since the marriage.

As she sifted through boxes, her hand paused on something familiar—a thick, leather-bound album. Frowning, she pulled it out, not quite sure what it was at first. But when she opened it, her heart sank.

It was the wedding album of Shahzain and Rania.

Noor’s breath hitched as she stared at the first photo—Shahzain, smiling in a sherwani, standing beside a beautiful woman dressed in an elaborate bridal outfit. Rania. They looked happy, content, like they were supposed to be together. Each page she flipped through made her chest tighten, and a slow burn of jealousy crept into her heart. Shahzain had loved Rania. This wasn’t just a forced marriage for him. He had once loved another woman deeply, and yet here Noor was, trapped in a marriage born out of manipulation and control.

She slammed the album shut, her hands shaking, her mind racing. What am I even doing here? she thought, her chest heavy with emotion. I was never meant to be his wife. He doesn’t love me like he loved her. Noor's heart pounded in her ears as she struggled to hold back the tears, but they fell anyway, blurring her vision.