Love starts after Nikkah

Chapter 21-Personal Branding

"What has Sir Sahir done? He emailed us at 11 pm that there is a quiz in the
coming classes." Fiza was pouting while going toward the class.
"So, he doesn't want injustice among his students."
Saba thought while a smile etched on her face and her heart welled up
with his respect.
...................
Sahir was passing the hallway of the university. In the middle of that hallway,
a path led to the garden where the notorious bench of his life was present.
While passing that hallway, his eyes involuntarily went toward that bench,
and they stopped there while fear rippled in them.
On that bench, Saba was sitting while a boy was sitting in front of her on the
chair. Smiles were on their faces and they were alone.
His heart skipped a beat and his steps went toward that bench. He halted a
few steps away from that bench, concealing himself with a tree.
"So Junaid, you want to understand this topic." Saba was saying to that boy
while taking out her register.
At that moment, Iqra and Fiza also came near them with glasses of juice in their hands.
His shoulders relaxed and a sigh of relief came out of his lips. Tension released from his body and his mind calmed down.
"That person is Sir Sahir?"
Saba turned her face toward the tree when Fiza said in a quizzical
tone. Sahir was going toward the hallway of the university.
"Yes." She murmured while gazing at his back.
"Kindly start this topic." Junaid was desperate so she turned her gaze
toward the register and started explaining to him the topic.
……………..
While delivering a lecture, Sahir's mind remains preoccupied with different
thoughts. He was unable to handle the topic or understand the student's
queries.
After delivering an awful lecture, he went toward his office. Slumping on his seat, he rested his head against the headboard and closed his eyes.
Slowly, his mind started drifting toward a foggy evening in a
garden.
"Son, forget about Zahra. Move forward in your life."
Mr. Sikandar was walking with him on the track. Darkness had just started wrapping around the city.
"I am unable to understand why she does this with me." He whispered loudly while tears swam in his orbs.
"Sahir, listen" Mr. Sikandar halted his steps, causing him to stop his steps too.
"My son, you were doing certain things wrong. All the moments you spent with Zahra were haram. Allah loves you, that's why He hasn't given you a Haram relationship."
"How was it haram, Dad?" Anger rippled in his orbs at these
words. Mr. Sikandar took a deep sigh.
"My son, in Islam, when you love someone. You should go to him or her, and
confess your feelings. If he or she agrees with you, then you should send your
parents to the other person's house. That's it! This is a love marriage in Islam.
Allah wants you to enjoy married life that's why He has put some restrictions
before marriage. When you cross those limits, you have mixed Haram in your
relationship. Now, you can't enjoy the Halal relationship.
If you will see it in a general sense, forget about religious teachings for some moments, then when a boy and girl haven't met or had intimate conversations before marriage, they have a stronger bond after marriage. They love the change that marriage has brought in their life, and have a deep attraction toward their spouse.
But if they have already had a lot of intimate conversations, then marriage will not bring any change in their life. They will stop having attraction
toward their spouse, and get bored with this relationship."

Mr. Sikandar's words were booming in his ears when he was sitting in his
office. At that time, he didn't agree with those words, but with maturity and time, his heart agreed with every word said at that time.
And now, after marriage, there was not a grain of doubt left in his heart.
Attraction toward Saba was becoming unavoidable, but his fears were
restraining him to take any step forward.

……………….
Her finger clicked on the Fiverr app on her mobile.
No order.
Then, it went toward the Upwork app.
No interview call.
After that, it clicked the LinkedIn app.
No leads.
Frustration kicked her being, and helplessness seeped into her
nerves. "What do you think about it, Saba?"
Iqra shook her arm and said with a chuckle. Presumably, they were
discussing something funny.
"Don't disturb me." She snapped at which three of her friends stopped
laughing. "What happened?" Iqra asked with concern at which she shook her head. "I am going home. Will meet all of you tomorrow."
She said, took her bag, came out of the cafe, and went toward the University gate. Sitting near the gate, she started dialing the driver's number.
At that moment, she saw Sahir's car going out of the university gate. Her
eyes followed the car until it vanished.
Gloom was settling in her veins when her mobile rang.
"S Calling"
As soon as she attended the call, Sahir's voice resonated.
"I am outside Boy's college. Come here."
And with it, he cut the call.
The gloom subsided but the void remained in her being. She walked for five minutes and then sat in the car.
"How was university today?"
He asked while driving toward the house.
"It was good." She replied while gazing outside of the car.
"My social media manager is going on vacation for fifteen days. So, can you
handle my social media accounts in his place?"
The excitement pumped in her veins and she turned toward him with a smile.
"Yes, sure! I have learned social media management but haven't done it for
any client. So, no experience."
There was hope in her tone too.
"It's okay! Hisham has set everything perfectly. You just have to follow in his
footsteps. In this way, you will gain experience and confidence in this field
too." He said at which she nodded her head.
"That's great! Email me and I will start working on it today!"
"Yes, sure! I will email it to you as soon as I go to my office."
"Okay. Thank you."
A smile etched on Sahir's face at this.
………………
Night had enveloped Islamabad when Sahir's family sat in the lounge after
having their dinner.
Flopped down on the couch, he was discussing his freelance work with his parents.
"Sahir, you are working yourself up into a frenzy. Take a break, my son." Mrs. Amna said while worry flitting in her orbs.
"Your mother is right. Making money is appreciable work, but don't make it a purpose of your life. Human's purpose is much more than becoming a money-making machine."
Mr. Sikandar said. He was going to reply to them when his gaze fell upon Saba who was coming toward them with a tray laden with tea and an array of savory and sweet snacks.
"I am trying to keep a balance in my professional and family life."
Saba put the tray on the table and started pouring tea into the cups of
tea.
"How is your freelancing going on, Saba?" Mr. Sikandar asked at which she nodded her head with a small smile.
"Is your mother-in-law making freelancing difficult for you?"
Mr. Sikandar asked with an amusing tone at which Saba and Sahir chuckled, and Mrs. Amna rolled her eyes.
"No, uncle. That is not the case."
After serving everyone, and pouring tea for herself too, she went
toward the washroom.
Sahir took a sip of his tea when his mobile rang. Putting his cup back in the tray, he went outside to attend to his call.
Saba came back and took the teacup, Sahir's cup. She took a sip from that tea when Sahir entered the lounge.
"She has taken a sip from your cup. Now, you should take a sip from her cup."
Mrs. Amna said with a smile at which her eyes widened.
"I took the cup accidentally." She said while putting the cup back, heart
beating furiously.
Sahir was also gazing at her with wide eyes and then it traveled toward the
cup of tea.
"Take a sip from her cup, and things will even out." Mrs. Amna again said with a grin at which he took a deep sigh, and took her cup.
When he took a sip from her cup, they both gave each other their cups.
Blush was on their cheeks, they were avoiding each other's gaze while taking sips of tea.
…….......
When they came back into the room, Sahir went toward his home office while Saba sat on the bed with her laptop.
Scenes of tea were flashing in her inner eyes while a smile etched on her face. Involuntarily, her gaze went toward Sahir who was also gazing at her.
Their eyes clashed at which they swiftly tore eye contact. Saba opened her laptop while embarrassment hit her.
She opened Facebook Creator Studio of Sahir and scheduled three days of posts of his. After it, he opened her Twitter deck and scheduled Sahir's three days' tweets there.
After closing the Twitter deck, she took a deep sigh and opened her Upwork account.
Nothing!
While gazing at it, her mind went toward her rude attitude toward her friends in the
cafe.
Unrest concentrated in her soul and she opened her Whatsapp on her
mobile. No messages from friends!
Irrational fear seized her being and many what-ifs ran through her mind.
Fear of getting alone just like in school settled in her veins, and she
swiftly messaged Iqra.
A sigh of relief came out of her lips when she got a message from Iqra.
After chit-chatting with her for a while, she started scrolling LinkedIn.
Feed full of success stories! People earning millions and here she was, can't even
manage to earn some thousands.
A pall of gloom settled in her veins and tears still in her orbs. While scrolling, she
opened an agency page that was owned by a woman.
There was a picture of her in the DP where she was sitting on the power chair. And
in the feed, there were the client's testimonials and her agency's success stories.
It is the dream of Saba! Her destination in her career life!
She was gazing at the screen when a gentle hand took it from her hand. Her gaze
went toward Sahir who was sitting near her on the bed with her mobile in his hands.
"Stop consuming unhealthy material and stop thinking negatively." His gentle voice rippled in the room while Saba kept gazing at him with teary orbs. Sahir
gazed at those orbs and took a deep sigh.
"I started my freelance journey five years ago. I decided to become a successful
entrepreneur in a year as a dare (he gulped) was in my mind. I was dedicated and
kept hunting for clients for a month. But there was no result."
Bitterness was etched in his expressions while reminiscing those days. He was
not gazing at Saba, but her gaze was focused on him.
"After trying for one month, I finally got one client on Fiverr. He was paying me 5
dollars for one article. And, it was a great achievement for me. I was over the
moon."
A smile etched on her face at seeing his glinty orbs.
"After one project, there was again nothing. At that time, I also used to scroll LinkedIn and Instagram, watching the success stories of other people. On Instagram, I used to see the pictures of some of my classmates who degraded me in University, and were now having a happy life, unlike me."
Saba saw pain rippling in his orbs and her heart constricted.
"After a long struggle of one month, getting depressed now and then, I gained a long-term client who is still with me. He also started with low pay and over the years, he has become one of my high-paying clients. He referred me to other clients too and helped me in having a steady income. It took me two years to save enough money to publish my novel.
In those two years, I have remained awake for nights to complete the projects. I have taken on low-paying projects too as I wanted to start my business as soon as possible. Because a bitter past was haunting me."
It seemed that Sahir had gone into a trance. His voice was echoing in the room while Saba and the walls of the room were listening to him.
"I feel depressed reading other people's success stories. It seemed that fun and peace had flown away from my life. I went into an imposter syndrome phase whenever I read the work of other writers and freelancers.
Now, I realize that I have committed a lot of mistakes in those two years. There was no need for me to become impatient in those years. I have got what is in my fate. If I have enjoyed that journey, those years can become the best years of my career. I haven't enjoyed them, keep stressing and overworking myself, and in the end, I just lost the enjoyment of the learning journey."
He turned his gaze toward Saba who was gazing at him with wide eyes, while a tear was on her cheek.
"I don't want you to waste these years getting depressed and overworking yourself. I don't want you to consume negativity from the world. I want you to remain innocent and full of life, Saba."
They both were gazing into each other's orbs while the whole world was silently listening to Sahir.
"Don't compare your struggle with other people's. All have their share of struggles and pains. Keep the focus on your life's path."
He leaned forward and put his hand on her arm.
"I am proud of you that you are struggling to be an entrepreneur. I am proud that you are becoming an example of women empowerment."
A blush crept on her cheeks and a smile adored Sahir's face. Tingles covered her arm and her heart skipped a beat.
"A lot of girls waste their education and skills because of their procrastination and inability to face the world. I am proud that you have decided to come out of your comfort zone. And believe me, it is a huge step."
He lowered his hand from her arm and smiled at her.
They remained like that for a few minutes, gazing at each other while the silence of the world spoke to them.
Instantly, the message tone of the mobile rang and they both came out of their daze.
Saba swiftly tore eye contact and nodded her head. Sahir also leaned back, creating more space in between.
"Have you started my work?" He asked.
"Yes, I have scheduled your posts for three days."
"Okay. But, you should send them to me for approval before scheduling." Her eyes widened at this.
"Is it?"
"Yes. Kindly show them to me now."
At this, Saba opened her laptop and showed him the posts.
"Good. Next time, you should organize them in Google Sheets, and then show them to me."
She nodded her head while murmuring "okay".
"You can use my home office during the day to focus on YouTube videos or other stuff related to personal branding. It will help you to remain focused."
A glint came in Saba's orbs as she nodded her head. Multiple ideas started running
through her mind, and enthusiasm filled her veins, eager to expand her business.
And all of the above, his concern for her made her day special.
"Thank you so much!" She replied with a smile.
At that instant, the clock struck 12 am and its voice rang in the room, at which their eyes went toward the clock.
"Let's sleep now." He said while standing from the bed.
That's it! The magical moment ended, and the reality of the relationship hit her.
Standing from her place, and going toward the couch, her smile fell off. Remorse also hit Sahir's being, but he was unable to do anything.
Outside, the moon also gazed at them remorsefully.
…………………..
Hustle and bustle were in the shopping mall where Saba was trolling. Gazing at
different items, she was slowly moving in the hallway as if waiting for someone.
"Hello, Saba!" A female voice came from behind at which she turned around with quizzical orbs.
Seeing the female in front of her, her eyes widened, and unrest concentrated in her soul.
"Long time!" The girl again said while taking out her hand to shake.
"Long time, Zarina," Saba said with a forced smile while her anxious orbs
went toward the end of the hallway where washrooms were present.