Saanwli Si Raat

21. Bardaasht (Control)

A/N: Heya people! I am soo glad that the last couple of chapters were well received. Really. This chapter takes you back to the Chapter 16. The events that occured in-between were actually a long flashback through the events that occured in the 5 years and now this is the present time. Cheer up, people. They are finally going to get married. :)

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Present

Zubiya stared at herself as she sat in front of the mirror. Donned up in an olive green-colored sharara with orange-red-pink border and a red dupatta lined with golden tassels over her head she looked like a perfect to-be bride. Well, she is a to-be bride.

Today is her haldi ceremony.

She is finally about to get married to Asfand.

With everyone's blessings.

Including her father's.

Her father who had finally realized his mistakes had been feeling guilt. It eventually made him turn to her mamu for help to find her.

Her mamu, who had been very angry hung up on him without replying. He had asked Zubiya if she wanted to even meet him.

What she had to answer was... nothing. Silence.

What could she say? She was confused.

Should she? Should she forgive him? So quickly? She knew one thing though - that the society will take pity on her father quickly. They will instead accuse her.. blame her for not granting him forgiveness. They will say that she should.. as it's the right thing to do.

But what was the right thing in her case? Shouldn't they have listened to what she had to say? Shouldn't they have had given her a chance then? Was it right when her brother kicked her out of her house while her father watched and did nothing? Was that right?

She had so many questions and yet no answers. Her whole body trembled with unknown suppressed feelings whenever she tried to remember that day.. when she sat alone, crying against the main gate of her house. She had no one beside her, both in reality and in physical presence. Because who could she look up to - everyone had turned their backs on her. Which was why she had eventually looked up above at the sky and asked Allah SWT for help. And she believed because of HIS mercifulness, she was here today. At a place where she was now surrounded by her real loved ones. Who really cared for her. So unlike her blood-related relatives.

She was happy here. Finally. And now they've decided to come back into her life again.

In Islam, it is advised against keeping long-distance between blood-relatives. She had lost count of how many times she had read through that hadees.

The real truth was that it was them who had decided to banish her from their house, their perfect lives. Not her.

But she had still felt guilty for not trying to contact them. But how could she? On what terms? They had pushed her away. It wasn't her that left the house.

She jumped when a knock sounded softly at the door.

"Zubiya, it's me. Open the door." Asfand said softly through the door.

"Come inside, please. I can't get up from my position here. The door is already open." She replied back.

Asfand quietly opened the door and tiptoed inside. He locked the door quickly before turning towards her.

His breath caught as he took Zubiya fully in.

He cleared his throat after a couple minutes and slowly started walking towards her.