Meher •completed•

Arham Butt

lamhe lamhe kī nā-rasā.ī hai
zindagī hālat-e-judā.ī hai
               ~ Jaun Eliya

•••

Arham was among that 10% of the population of kids in Pakistan who never had to work hard to get anything in life.

He went to the best of school, best college, had the best cars, bikes, clothes, shoes, watches and everything money could buy, he had it at his disposal.

His luck wasn't just limited to money, Arham had inherited his mother's intelligence and father's looks and tact in business.

They say those who think they have it all have everything but love, but finding love wasn't difficult for him either, he never had to find love. He had always been in love with Hooriya Ajmal, his phupho's daughter and she in love with him.

Arham completed his MBA in business and marketing from London school of Economics and returned to Pakistan at the age of 24, to get engaged to his Hoor.

The day he turned 25 and a year after his engagement with Hoor, his abbu had announced Arham Sohail Butt as the CEO of the chain of hotels they owned and their printing press.

Shouldering the responsibility of running such a huge company wasn't an easy task, he barely took out time from work to eat, sleep, breath and for his Hoor.

The date of their nikkah too was set and on 14th April 2017, Hoor and Arham had become one.

It was only after their marriage that Arham accidentally figured out that his Ammi had always been against this union.

Six months after their wedding he had come early from work to surprise Hoor.

He quietly sneaked into the house and tip toed towards the kitchen where he knew she would be preparing an spread for dinner.

The loud voices from the kitchen at first confused him, for never had he once heard someone shout in this house in his 25 years of existence.

"..you don't deserve this Hooriya, you don't. You and your mother trapped my son, you posioned him, you have cast a spell on him." His ammi had corned Hooriya against the kitchen counter.

"I pray to Allah to take you away from him, for you to disappear from his life, I will never accept you as my daughter and I promise to you, one day I'll get home a girl I like, who will make my son happy."

Safa seethed in anger, she turned around to leave the kitchen, Arham ducked in the corner to avoid her eye, he didn't want to pick a fight with his mother because of his wife.
He loved these two women dearly.
When he had discussed the matter with Hooriya, she had brushed him off saying, "She's our Ammi, she can scold me whenever she wants she had that right."

A year into their marriage, everything was still a bed of roses for him and Hooriya, Hooriya had now learnt to ignore his ammi's snide remarks and continue on with life.

It was a winter evening, a knock on Arham's study door made me look up to see his beautiful wife standing on the door with a cup of coffee looking pretty as ever.

"What a beautiful surprise." He said smiling widely closing the file he was skimming through.

"Coffee ?" She said extending the hot steaming cup in front of him.