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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Rahim and Sabina went to Madiha's room and informed her about the proposal of Almaas.
"Child, not even for a second think that you have to compromise because of us. I will take on all the insults and taunts that the society will throw at us if it means you're happy and protected." Rahim kept a hand on Madiha's head. "If you don't want to marry Zafar, no one will force you."
Madiha stayed silent, grasping everything that was happening since the morning.
Then, in a whisper, she said, "I would like to talk to him."
Rahim and Sabina nodded and went outside to inform Almaas about the same.
Ten minutes later, Madiha heard a knock on her door. She adjusted her dupatta and stood up straight before asking him to come in.
Zafar stepped inside, letting the door close behind him. With his hands folded on his back, he waited patiently for her to speak.
His piercing gaze made her more nervous than she already was. She couldn't make eye-contact with him. So while looking on the ground, she slowly asked, "Why are you agreeing to marry me?"
He was not expecting this question. Instead he was expecting her to tell him that she'd never marry him.
"I hope you're not doing this because you think of me as a charity case." She continued, fidgeting with her dupatta, "Or because Almaas aunty forced you."
"Maa sahib didn't force me." He calmly replied.
She managed to look up into his eyes for a couple of seconds before turning her head down. "Then why?"
He took a couple of steps towards her, and she subconsciously moved back.
"I agreed because I felt responsible for whatever Zahid did. I had found out about the other woman and I had forced him to confess the truth to you." He accepted. "Although I didn't expect him to run away. That was just a cowardly thing to do."
His revelation shocked her.
"Madiha," The way he took her name sent shivers down her spine, and she clutched her dupatta tighter. "I won't make any false promises to you saying that I love you. I don't, and I might never be able to. But I assure you that you'd get everything else from me. Respect, honor, and my loyalty. Maa sahib has faith in you that you can be a perfect daughter-in-law of our khandaan, and I have faith in her faith. And in every step, I would be there to help you."
"Now, if you don't have any other question..I would take my leave." He waited a couple of seconds for her to say something. But when she didn't, he turned his heels and walked out of the room.
After he came out, Sabina went inside her daughter's room. The rest of the people waited for Madiha's answer.
Within a couple of minutes Sabina came with a smile on her face. "She has started getting ready for the mehendi function."
