Damsel In Distress (A Wattpad Featured Book✓)

CHAPTER: 44 | CHANGE OF HEARTS (PART-8)

ASSALAMUALYKM!!!!

*Unedited chapter*

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Laiba was in her wedding gown(The one Aariz had gifted her), running down the corridors of the Haveli, clutching the brand new iPhone to her chest for dear life while Zeeshan, Shebaz and Heesham Qadar chased after her.  She did not know what they were after and she did not know what she was trying to protect but she was running and panting, looking behind her every now and then. And just when she took a turn, she collided with someone, her phone slipping out of her hold and falling on the floor with a loud thud, the sound of which reverberating through the walls. A shrilling 'No' escaped from her lips and tears welled up in her eyes. She fell down on her knees in front of the phone, both of her hands on her agape-mouth. The person whom she had bumped into turned out to be her biological father. Behind him, her step mother and stepsister were standing with cunning smiles on their faces. Her father was chiding her, telling her how bad of a daughter she was and that she needed to be punished and she would go to jahanum for it but at that moment, Laiba doesn't seemed care about anything but the phone which she had dropped on the ground. And as her father continued to throw hurtful words at her and while Zeeshan, Shebaz and Heesham Qadar laughed at her, she took the phone in her hand with tearful eyes and turned it around to find a crack similar to the one she got on her old phone. Even in her dreams, she could feel something heavy drop on her stomach, a deep sense of loss. With more tears escaping her eyes, she looked up to find her father and his family, gone. Instead, Veronica and Aariz are standing in front of her. Hugging each other. Veronica looked down at her, wearing the same confident smile on her face and just when their eyes met, she kissed Aariz's cheek.

Right in front for her.

Laiba woke up from the dream, fluttering her eyes open. She breathed in and out, her chest heaving as she blinked against the darkness in the room, the call of fajr blaring from somewhere at a distance. Gulping, she flicked her eyes to the bed side table, extending her hand until her fingers were able to touch the cold metal of the cellphone. She sighed in relief, grabbing the device and sitting upright on the mattress. She moved the strands of her hair and tugged them behind her ears, unlocking the device and grazing a thumb over the screen as she recalled the dream. It was funny and horrifying at the same time. She opened the message he had send her for the nth time and re-read it, chewing her lower lip. She had read it so many times, yet, she couldn't seem get enough of it. It felt like the first time, every time she read it.

After staring at the text for a while, she closed it and placed the cellphone back on the bed side table. She moved the quilt and rolled out of the bed, making her way to the washroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and her hands with soap before doing wudhu. Coming back to the room, she offered fajr and spoke to Allah and told Him everything about her life which He already knew. She then spent her time sitting on the musallah, engaging herself in the remembrance of Allah by doing morning dhikrs and reading Surehs. And when the sun rose from the horizon and the restricted minutes passed, she stood up and offered two rakats of Ishraq(morning voluntary prayer)and made dua to Allah, asking Him his help and guidance and repenting to Him until she was satisfied she had convinced Him.

Laiba then took her Qur'an which Sarah had gifted her on her birthday and went out to sit in the balcony.

Pressing the Qur'an against her chest, she stepped out and closed her eyes as the morning breeze grazed her face, soothing her soul. She opened her eyes to the breath-taking view of the morning sky and for a second, she felt like she was the happiest person on Earth. Wearing a small smile on her face, Laiba sauntered around and stood by the railing, admiring the view. Feeling refreshed and relaxed by the nature, she lowered herself on one of the chairs, opened the Qur'an and began reading from where she had left, previously.