INAYAT SIDDIQUI……
“Has Aadil lost his mind in the shock? How can he agree to marry me?” I was talking to my cousin sister Sameera who was doing something with my hair. “I don't know what happened to him suddenly. When till tomorrow he was dying to marry Kainaat then how can he agree to marry you.” She replied in disbelief. “In your case you were pressured to agree to this marriage. But he could have said no to this marriage. Then your life would have been saved.” Ayesha Aapi said while putting bangles in my hands. “Maybe, he was also helpless. Maybe, his parents also pressured him to agree to do this marriage.” Rumaisa said thinking very like a matured woman. “Woah! He didn't even become your brother-in-law and you have started to take his side? I think you are already on his team.” Nazneen Appi scolded her while twisting her ear. “Aapi, why are you scolding her? Maybe she is right.” I was really very worried because of my dream job. Now what will happen to that. I don't know. I don't want to think about that. It will end with increasing my headache more. “I have heard that this marriage decision has been taken by Aadil Bhai's grandfather. So now it is clear that he has agreed to this Nikaah under pressure.” Rumaisa blasted the bomb in my head. This Dada Abbu is something. He always remained in a strict mood. Why did this man take this decision and destroy my whole life by throwing me into a hell hole? “What is happening to me is all your fault, Kikki. It was supposed to be your wedding. You would be getting ready by wearing this dress and jewellery that I'm being made to wear. It would be you who would get married to Aadil today, not me. You put me into a hellhole. Because of you my whole life my dreams shattered. I will never forgive you.” I thought in my mind. My cousins made me ready for the nikah. I didn't change my dress. Just set up my hair and put on the jewellery which was for her. "Inayat, are you ready?" I heard Mom’s voice. As She just entered the room. She came closer to me. "You are looking very beautiful." Mom said, caressing my cheek. “Mom, just a while ago didn't you want to see me as a bride? Now see, God granted your wish. Your daughter is standing before you as a bride now.” I said with a sarcastic chuckle and I witnessed how Mom’s face became gloomy. And her eyes were twinkling with unshed tears. I didn't want to make her feel guilty. I just wanted to feel how I was feeling now. I stood up from the chair and hugged her. “Please, Mom. Don't feel guilty now. You have no power to stop this. It was written in my fate. The sooner I realize it the better.” I was crying and screaming from inside but I hid it from everyone. “I feel so helpless now that I can't do anything to save my daughter’s life from ruin. If you can then, Please forgive your Mom for not being able to save you.” Mom was crying badly. But I controlled myself very hard. “Mom, stop crying like this.” I pulled away from her and wiped her tears with my hand. “If you keep crying like this then I won't be able to control myself and cry then my makeup will get ruined. And I will look like a witch in my own marriage. If the Priest ran away then don't blame me that I didn't warn you.” I said in a jolly mood. And everyone laughed at my joke. I wanted this happiness in their face, not that sad one. “Great, then you don't have to marry Aadil.” Rumaisa said and laughed but stopped when she sensed seriousness in the atmosphere. “You all escort her to the stage. Everyone is waiting for her.” Saying that Mom said and left the room. “Let's go." Ayesha Appi and Nazneen Appi hold me. And we all made our way downstairs. ••••♤♤♤••••♤♤♤••••♤♤♤••••♤♤♤•••• AADIL WAZIRI…. “Have you lost your mind, Aadil? How can you agree to marry Inayat?” Aahil shouted at me in rage. “I think he's not in his right mind. Aayaz, he's your patient now. Treat his brain. He badly needs a psychiatrist. Otherwise, he will ruin his life as well as her.” Aayan handed my hand to Aayaz. “Yeah, I also think he has lost some nuts and he badly needs treatment.” Aayaz told me, examining my face, holding it with his hand. "You daffars." I smacked his head and Then Aayan's and also Aahil's. “You all think I have gone crazy right? No, I haven't gone crazy. I'm doing this just to ruin that daffer girl's life.” “Huh! Are you all even best friends? I doubt it. Don't you know me?” They stared at me confusedly. “It was her who agreed to this marriage first. Not me.” I said loudly. “She is hell bent on ruining her own life then how is it my fault. I'm doing this marriage for Grandpa, otherwise, I don't have any interest in marrying her.” Saying that I turned to leave the room. But they stopped me and hugged me tightly and made me suffocate to take a breath. “Whoa! Leave me. Do you all want to kill me?” I said to them and they pulled away from me. “We know what you are going through now, but it's not the right decision.” Aahil said, placing his hand on my shoulder. “We are your best friends. We know you well. That's why we know what's going on in your mind. Don't ruin Inayat's life in the pursuit of taking revenge from Kainaat. Otherwise, you will regret it later.” Aayan said and Aayaz nodded. “We don't want you to do anything wrong in your life and regret all your life. We want the best for you.” They were making me more frustrated with their lecture. "Oh! Hello! What? I don't need your lectures. Why don't you two give up your profession as Doctor and engineer and become a teacher. Your future will be successful.” I knew I babbled too much on my besties. But they should also understand my situation. "Okay! Leave this topic here. And let's go. They are asking for you. Bride is changed but the groom is still you. So let's go." Aahil said and we made our way out of the room. We reached on the stage and they made me sit on the sofa. "Here. Your bride is here." Aayaz told me, looking ahead. I looked at her. She was wearing a vail to hide her face. I knew why she did this. “I don't care what they say. I will do what I have decided to do. I will make your life hell and it's final.” I smirked evilly looking at her appearance. Her sisters made her sit in front of me on the other sofa. Which was across from mine. There was a cloth tie between us so that we couldn't see each other's faces before the marriage. “Who wants to see her face?” I rolled my eyes. "Qazi sahab, Bride is here then shall we start?” Uncle Asif asked the Qazi sahab. "Sure," He responded. Qazi sahab started. What he was saying I didn't pay any attention towards them. I was thinking of something else. How my life changed. I have never imagined it. Suddenly I felt a shake and I looked at the person who was shaking me. It was my father. "Where are you lost?" He asked me but I didn't say anything so he told me to say, “I do.” Qazi Sahab again repeated and I said, “I do.” three times. “Inayat, your bad time has started. You don't know what is waiting for you. I will make your life so hard that you will ask for divorce, yourself. I will make you regret your decision.” I thought in my mind while the hatred in my heart intensified ten times.When Inayat finished dressing, she stepped out of the room to find Aadil waiting. His eyes lingered on her longer than usual. For the first time, he saw her in an anarkali paired with a hijab and for a moment, words deserted him.“You’re ready?” he asked finally, his voice softer than she expected.“Yes,” she replied, though confusion laced her tone. “Now will you tell me where we’re going?”“You’ll know when we get there.”He led her outside where a sleek black car was parked. The journey was silent, only the sound of the engine filling the air. Inayat’s heart beat faster with every passing mile, curiosity gnawing at her. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the car came to a stop.Inayat’s eyes widened when she stepped out. Before her stretched the vast expanse of the sea, silver waves crashing gently under the moonlight. Lanterns lined the sand in a delicate trail leading toward a small canopy draped with fairy lights. A low table with two chairs stood beneath it, surrounded
After changing into her night suit, Inayat stepped out of the washroom. The faint buzzing of her phone caught her attention. She hurried toward the bedside table, picked it up, and swiped to answer.“Where are you, Innu?” A familiar voice instantly filled her ear, Aazu’s whining tone.Inayat’s lips curved into a wide smile, though she tried to sound stern. “No hello, no hi… just straight to ‘where are you, Innu?’” she scolded lightly, feigning annoyance. But deep inside, her heart danced. It had been months since she heard her darling’s voice.“Innu, I’m serious,” Aazu continued. “It’s been almost five months since I last saw you. I’m offended. Please come back. I’m missing you so badly.”Inayat softened, her smile stretching wider. “I’ll be there in the morning itself. Just a few more hours of patience.”Aazu gasped. “Say you’re not kidding!”“No, darling. I’m not kidding. I’m dead serious. Tomorrow morning, I’ll be there.”“I love you, babygirl.” Aazu exclaimed with sheer joy. “I’
“I feel so awkward here, Aadil,” Inayat whispered, her voice low enough that only he could hear.“That’s why I didn’t want to come in the first place,” Aadil replied dryly, his lips curving into a faint smirk. “But you were the one who insisted. Now bear it, you don’t have any other choice.” Inayat glared at him, her lips twitching in irritation.Uncle Iqbal’s voice cut across the dining table. “So, dear boy, how is everything going?”“Alhamdulillah, everything is going well,” Aadil answered with calm respect.But Iqbal was not satisfied. He leaned back in his chair, clicking his tongue. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Tell me, what was the need for all that drama? What did you gain? The family’s reputation was dragged through the mud.”His wife Reema added bitterly, “If you had agreed to marry Shaziya back then, none of this would have happened. But no, you were blind, weren’t you? You only wanted Kainaat. And what happened? She left you. Now look, you married to her sister. What’s the use of your
Inayat sat cross-legged on the bed, fiddling with the edge of the blanket while Aadil scrolled through his emails. Her voice broke the silence.“Aadil, can I ask something?”Without looking up, he smirked faintly. “Even if I said no, you’d still ask. So just ask.”She laughed softly. “Why is this family so weird? We came here all the way from Mumbai and no one cared at all. No one came out to meet us except Fazr.” Her lips pressed into a pout.“There’s no one at home at this time,” Aadil explained patiently. “Iqbal Uncle and Kamal Uncle are at the office. Fazr should be in school but maybe she took leave because of us. Zarif’s probably in college. And Imran…” He shrugged. “I don’t know about his whereabouts.”Inayat tilted her head. “Where’s Shaziya?” she asked suddenly.He only shrugged again, uninterested in the subject.But Inayat’s restlessness didn’t end there. “What are we doing cooped up in this room? Get up and give me a tour of the house. I want to see how it looks.”“No, I
“Aadil, can I ask you something? It’s been troubling my mind for a long time.”Inayat’s voice was soft but hesitant.They had just finished dinner and went to bed. Both were lying on their respective sides, with enough space in between that a whole person could easily fit there. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the faint ticking of the clock on the wall.Aadil turned his head toward her, his brows drawn slightly together. “Is that the reason behind your bad mood today?”“Umm… no, that was for something else. Leave it. But this question has been bothering me for a long time.” She shifted her head on the pillow, eyes meeting his, steady and determined.“And what if I say no?” His brow arched with quiet challenge, lips quivering.She narrowed her eyes at him, stubbornness flashing across her face. “I will still ask.”That made him laugh, a short, genuine sound that warmed the space between them.“I knew it. Go on then, ask.”Inayat inhaled deeply, trying to calm her ner
After dinner, Aadil and Inayat retired to their room. The lights were dim, the quietness of the night wrapping around them like a soft veil. But Inayat’s mind refused to rest. A question kept circling inside her until finally, she broke the silence.“Why were you so reluctant to go to your grandparents’ house? Are you not on good terms with them?”Aadil, who had just stretched himself out on the bed, turned his head toward her. His expression was unreadable for a moment.“No… it’s not that. I’m not on bad terms with them. But there is a reason I didn’t want to go. Do you really want to know?”Inayat narrowed her eyes on him. “If I wasn’t curious, why would I even ask?”Aadil chuckled softly. “Hmm, fair point.”He propped himself up slightly, his tone turning more serious.“Okay then, listen carefully. You already know I loved Kainaat… I wanted to marry her.”The moment the words left his mouth, Inayat’s expression shifted. A strange discomfort rose inside her chest. Her jaw tightened,