A Delightful Tragedy

22. Smitten?

S H A R I Q' S P O V

[A/N: Finally his POV; are we excited????]

Beautiful and bewitching.

Uméma embodied every word I'd just said, no matter how much I hated to admit it.

Sure, I can acknowledge when someone looks good—that's fine. But her looking like that and sitting next to Zain? Absolutely not. Yes, he helped her earlier, but that didn't earn him the right to sit beside her.

I hate sitting in the middle, but I couldn't ignore the flicker of discontent on her face when she realized she'd have to sit next to him. So, I stepped in—reluctantly but without hesitation.

A few hours later, it was finally time for the Nikah.

Everyone had gathered, the air buzzing with quiet anticipation. The men and women remained separated by a wooden room divider adorned with vibrant, cascading flowers. Yet, through the intricate gaps, my eyes found Uméma. She stood at the farthest corner, her presence both distant and magnetic, like a secret the room itself was trying to keep.

Unconsciously, my eyes were stuck on her who was moving her eyes around her and was amazed by the chaos around.

The Qazi started reciting the Qu'ran verses as everybody shushed themselves for the Nikah ceremony.

The consent was asked to Nabia Appi for three time.

"Qubool Hai."

Suddenly, I got flashbacks of my Nikah.

"Qubool Hai."

My eyes again got fixated at Uméma.

"Qubool Hai."

At that moment, Uméma lifted her eyes, catching mine as if she already knew I had been watching her.

The Nikah ceremony concluded, and for the next two minutes, everyone in attendance raised their hands in prayer, wishing happiness and blessings for the newlyweds.

The whole time, I couldn't get Uméma out of my mind. It was as if she had taken up permanent residence there, carving out a space and refusing to leave. UGH!

SHUT UP SHARIQ! YOU ARE THINKING NONSENSE!

"Yeh ishq nahin aasan, bas itna samajh lijiye, ki aag ka dariya hai, aur sabko doob ke jana hai." Ahad's dramatic tone snapped me out of my thoughts.

(The italics line above is a famous Urdu poetry which in English translates to- This love is not easy, just understand it as a river of fire, and everyone must drown in it.)

"What happened? Got your heart broken again?" I snapped my head toward him, taunting him.

"Uh-huh. Nobody breaks my heart. It's the other way around." He added smugly making me roll my eyes at him. "I was talking about you, you look miserable."

"Huh? I look miserable?" I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Yes! Cause you have to stay away from bhabhi." Shehroz accompanied by Sameer, stood in front of me.

"Guys, don't start now." I groaned. "It's nothing like that."

"Yes, don't, guys. He's already in a dejected mood. Stop bringing up bhabhi again and again," Ahad said, turning to them with a fake stern expression.