Anwar was already moving toward her. "Anwar... don't," she whispered. His hand reached for her veil. She screamed, the sound tearing from her throat as panic took over. "Keep quiet!" he shouted, his voice thunderous, shaking the room. She fought back, pushing at his chest, struggling with everything she had. Fear made her hands shake, but she didn't stop resisting. Her breaths came fast and broken as she tried to escape his grip. his father's call came through and puts it on speaker. "What is happening there?" his father demanded. "Who is screaming like that?" Anwar didn't hesitate. "It's my wife-to-be." Nayara opened her mouth to speak, to scream for help-but Anwar's voice cut her off. "Stay quiet," he warned sharply. On the line, his father's voice exploded, ordering him to stop whatever he was doing. Anwar ignored him. Instead, he picked up his phone again and dialed another number. It rang twice. "Nayara?" her father's tense voice came through. "Where are you? Why aren't you home?" She tried to answer. "She's with me," Anwar said instead. There was a pause. "Who are you?" her father asked. "Her husband-to-be." "What nonsense is this?" her father snapped. Anwar's voice turned cold. "I don't have time. My father is on the line. I want to marry Nayara immediately." Both men started shouting at once through the speaker. Anwar leaned closer to Nayara, lowering his voice so only she could hear. "Tell him." She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. He raised his voice again. "I want her as my wife. Decide now." His father roared through the phone, furious, ordering him to step back. Anwar didn't move. "I'd rather touch her as my wife," he said calmly into the phone, "than do something I won't take responsibility for. If you refuse this marriage, don't expect me to change my mind." Nayara let out a broken scream. Her father's voice cracked as he demanded, "What do you want?" Anwar answered without hesitation. "Marry her to me. Now."

Ameera Manga would rather analyze emotions than fall helplessly into them. Warm, magnetic, and effortlessly adored, she lights up every room she enters. Her future is neatly planned, until her final year throws her into chaos with someone she never expected. Zayyan Dikko is her opposite: controlled, precise, and private. Life to him is strategy. His career is on track, his reputation flawless, and his American girlfriend is expecting a proposal. But their parents have a different vision. They insist Ameera and Zayyan get to know each other. Neither wants the arrangement. Both love someone else. So they make a deal: Pretend to fall. Convince everyone. Then walk away beautifully. Simple. Logical. Risk-free. Until the lines blur. Until emotions shift. Until the act stops feeling like an act. Now the question is: What happens when pretending becomes the truth... and walking away becomes the hardest part?