Madiha Shah, a young woman from a middle-class family, finds her life unexpectedly entangled with the illustrious Zafar Shah Abraar, a prominent business magnate in India and the elder brother of her betrothed, Zahid.
As fate would have it, unforese...
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Madiha Shah was sitting in one of the rooms of the massive farmhouse of the Abraar family. She, along with her family and relatives, had arrived in the morning and was welcomed grandly by the wedding planning team. She was escorted to her room by one of the maids, and inside, she had found her outfits for every function, matching jewelry, makeup, perfumes, and several other gifts sitting on the bed.
She had picked up one jewelry box and realized it was a set of natural diamonds. She immediately kept it back, afraid of dropping it and breaking it.
A rush of nervous anticipation gripped her heart. She suddenly realized that she would become a part of one of the country's most influential families. As the daughter-in-law, she would be expected to behave a certain way, take up responsibilities, and fulfill them. Would she be able to do it? What if she made mistakes? Would Almaas realize she wasn't worthy enough to carry the Abraar name and kick her out?
She chucked the last thought out of her brain immediately. No, Almaas would never do that. In the past months, Almaas consistently showed her love and kindness, building a solid bond between them.
She was lost in all these thoughts when one of her cousins informed her that the groom's family had arrived.
Madiha settled her rust-colored organza dupatta on both shoulders before walking down to meet her future family.
"Assalam alaikum," She meekly said when she found the Abraar family talking to her parents in the living room.
"Walaikum assalam," Almaas stood up to hug Madiha. "Meri chanda."
Ziya embraced her next. "Bhabhi.." The twenty-year-old was a chirpy soul, and Madiha loved her.
Madiha's eyes clashed with Zahid's. She shyly looked away, only for her eyes to fall on Zafar. He was sitting on a single couch, with one leg on the other, talking to her father. Madiha had met him only once before when the Abraar family had come to her home to finalize the wedding date. Even then, she and Zafar had not spoken to each other.
To be honest, she found him a little scary. His tall and muscular figure, his calculative eyes, and dangerous aura intimidated her.
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At night, Zafar was in his room working when the bedroom door flung open and stomped inside a very angry Ziya.
"Zafar bhai.." She started whining but Zahid walked in after her chuckling.
She glared at Zahid before turning back towards Zafar. "Bhai, isn't it a ritual that after the wedding, the groom has to give something to his sister?"
Zafar shut his laptop and nodded. "Yeah, I guess."
"Yes, but Zahid bhai is saying he won't give me anything." She complained.
Zafar looked at Zahid for an explanation.
"I didn't say that," Zahid argued, "I said that I won't buy you a new phone."
Ziya pouted. "But I need a new phone. This one is three years old." She raised her iPhone 12 and waved it in front of Zahid.
"No." Zahid denied.
"You bought yourself an iPhone 15 pro max, but you can't give your little sister the same?" She made a heart-broken expression.
"Hello," Zahid brought out his phone from his jeans pocket, "I bought this with my hard-earned money. You also work hard, earn and buy one."
She stepped forward in a challenging way. "But you have to fulfill the ritual of giving your sister something."
Zahid casually fell on the bed, dropping his phone beside him. "Yes, surely. I will buy you your favorite orange popsicle."
She fake gasped and punched him in the stomach. "You're so mean." Then she looked at Zafar. "Bhai, scold him."
Zafar, who was staring at them amusingly with one hand on the armrest of the couch, the other resting on his chin in a sexy manner, shook his head.
"This fight is too stupid for me to get involved in." He said and stood up. "Now leave, I need to sleep."
Ziya and Zahid started walking out of the room, still bickering.
Zafar shook his head at their immaturity while he took off his watch and started getting inside the bed. But his eyes fell on Zahid's phone that he had forgotten on the bed.
Zafar picked it to go and return it to him, but some incoming messages caught his eye. The phone was locked, but the name of the sender and the first few words of the text was on display on the lock screen.
The text was from a girl named Alice. And the text said, 'I think I still love you..'
Zafar couldn't read the rest of the message so he didn't want to jump into conclusions right away. His thoughts were broken when Zahid came back to the room.
"I think I forgot my phone.." He said.
Zafar forwarded it to him. Zahid smiled and took it, but the expression on Zafar's face confused him.
"What?" Zahid asked.
"Who is Alice?" Zafar went straight to the point.
Zahid took a few seconds to display shock on his face, like a deer caught in headlights. "How do you.." He checked his phone and saw her text.
"Tell me it isn't what I am thinking it is." Zafar roared.
Zahid wasn't able to meet the eyes of his brother, so he looked down.
That was all the proof Zafar needed to know what he was thinking was actually true.
"Zahid," For the first time in life, Zafar felt defeated. "I didn't raise you to be a cheater. How can you do this to Madiha?"
"I am not cheating on her." Zahid spoke.
"Then what is with this text?"
"Alice..is an ex. We dated while I was in London for my MBA. We broke up because I was coming back to India after the degree. But she texted me three days ago saying that she still loves me."
"Did you tell her you're getting married?" Zafar asked.
Zahid waited a couple of seconds before shaking his head in a no.
"Why?"
"I don't know. I just couldn't. Talking to her after so long made me realize that maybe I haven't gotten over her as well." Zahid accepted.
That made Zafar scoff. "And you say you're not cheating on Madiha."
Silence followed after this for a few minutes before Zafar sighed. "This can't go on like this. You've to choose one. If you choose Alice, then this wedding stops right here. And if you choose Madiha, then you have to go and tell her everything about Alice and if even then she agrees to marry you, then we'll move forward with the ceremony."
"But bhai.."
"Either you tell Madiha, or I will. Because I won't let you destroy a girl's life." Zafar's voice was firm and dominant, leaving no room for negotiation.
Zahid understood the weight of his brother's words, knowing that he had no option but to heed his advice.
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I forgot to wish Happy New Year yesterday!
So HAPPY NEW YEAR, GUYS! ♥️
I need your thoughts about the chapter. Do let me know.
