~ Last Chapter✨~

~Two months later~
•~Kumrat Valley,KPK~•

~Shahveer

"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STEP INSIDE THE KITCHEN Mr. HUNGRY, GREEDY AND PATHETICALLY ANNOYING YOUNG MAN !"

Alizeh shouted at me hilariously while trying to shoo me away from the kitchen with the help of a large dish spoon, as I tried my luck for the last time to steal the deliciously resting fried pakoras , samosas and other delicacies on the counter table.

"But why can't I have one?

I asked her while feigning innocence by making puppy eyes and pouting in order to express my sorrow.

"Because I made them for Mama, Baba, Hooriyah and the kids playing outside! Besides, you should stop eating oily foods or else you would look like a Godzilla on your wedding!"

Alizeh stuck her tongue out at me and teased me while leaving the kitchen with a tray full of delicious snacks ready for a rainy evening as I watched her with annoyance.

"THIS IS NOT FAIR!"

I grunted with anger and then innocently turned back to look at the love of my life who had been watching everything in the kitchen and giggling silently.

"Don't laugh at me!"

I complained.

"You look adorable when you make those puppy eyes!"

Hooriyah teased me as I rolled my eyes and turned to leave.

As I sat down on the bench outside with disappointment, in order to enjoy the pleasant weather all alone, someone tucked one of my sleeves thus trying to grab my attention.

It was Raniya.

Alizeh had invited the kids from Hooriyah's school, in order to enjoy a tea party with them, as she had grown fond of them over the span of these two months.

"Here you go...!"

Raniya forwarded a plate full of freshly fried pakoray to me as I watched her with amazement.

"Who sent these?"

I whispered and looked here and there to ensure that Alizeh was not watching.

"Teacher!"

She pointed towards Hooriyah who was smiling at me adorably from the kitchen's window, melting my heart away.

"Hmmm...Can you do me a favor little angel?"

I asked mischievously.

"Sure uncle!"

I came closer to her and whispered a mischievous task in her ears.

Raniya's mouth immediately widened with shock.

"Pretty please?"

I asked innocently.

"But___"

"Paleeezzzz Raniyaaaa!"

I begged again

"Fine!"

She giggled adorably and winked at me dramatically as she turned to leave in order to complete the assigned task.

Seconds later, she was clearly visible from the same window through which I had seen Hooriyah few minutes ago.

"Miss Hooriyah... Miss Hooriyah!"

She tucked her sleeves like she used to whenever she wanted to gain someone's attention.

"What happened princess?"

Asked Hooriyah.

Raniya asked her to come down to her level as she watched her with confusion.

As soon as she knelt down, without wasting any second, Raniya kissed both of her cheeks with immense affection while Hoor's large eyes popped out with amazement.

"With love, from your Shahveer..!"

She laughed sweetly as she whispered in her ears and immediately ran out of the kitchen, leaving her in a state of shock.

As soon as she turned to have a look at me, outside the window, I waved and winked at her mischievously while earning an anger filled glare from her.

She immediately took out a paper and pen and started writing something on it, crumbled it, and threw it towards me, with anger.

I knelt down to pick it up, only to burst into laughter, seconds later.

I smiled while reading the beautifully written note out loud,

"You have to pay for this...!"

I walked towards her while holding the note in one of my hands and the empty plate of pakoray in the other and silently placed it on the counter table.

"Anything for you, darling!"

She jerked hilariously as I whispered the answer of her note in her ears, scaring the hell out of her.

"You scared me again Shahveer!"

She glared at me.

"I'm sorry marshmallow, by the way everyone is waiting for you outside. Would you like to bless us with your presence please? Besides, the weather is beyond beautiful, and Mom and Dad wants to talk to you about something!"

I stated everything in a single breath as I dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Finally, my princess is here, what took you so long in the kitchen dear?"

Dad smiled with joy while dragging a chair out for her.

" Uh... I was just finalizing the Kashmiri tea for you all, but now it's ready!"

Hooriyah smiled innocently while placing the tray on the table, which was full of cups filled with pink colored kashmiri tea topped with finely chopped almonds and pistachios.

"Kashmiri tea? Never tried this before!"

Mom and Alizeh looked at the tea with amazement.

"Well, it's one of the most delicious beverages of Pakistan I'm telling you!"

I interfered.

"As far as I remember, you were always fond of Cafè Americano, one of your favourite essentials from Starbucks. Since when did you start adoring these traditional beverages of Pakistan dearest Bhayi ?"

Alizeh teased me while feigning innocence.

"Since the quest of the most important fragment of my soul began!"

I answered shamelessly while looking at my beloved, who was magically turning crimson just like she did when she used to blush beautifully.

"In fact, I started finding peace, enjoyment and delight in every single thing which led to simplicity instead of luxury !"

I could feel her meaningful gaze turn towards me as she loved hearing the last statement.

"And I totally adore this change, my son!"

Dad patted at my back while praising my totally transformed existence which was extremely opposite to that dark, lost and misguided one.

"This is amazing!"

Mom gave Hooriyah a thumbs up while praising the tea.

"It's finger-licking good!"

Added Alizeh.

"Told 'ya!" I winked at her.

"Daughter, we were planning to talk to you about your wedding as it has been so long now and we can't wait anymore!"

Dad finally started discussing the topic I had been waiting for since so long.

"It's getting impossible for us to wait further. It's just that, we wanted to ask you first that are you comfortable with the wedding being held next week?"

Hooriyah's eyes popped out with horror as I pursed my lips in order to control my laughter.

"Next week?"

She asked nervously.

"Kyun? Ap kahein toh kal he krwa dein ?"

Alizeh asked mischievously while all of us burst into laughter as we watched Hooriyah's nervous emotions.

"We are just joking dear. Of course it's not possible to arrange so many things in a matter of week! Besides, I haven't even bought my Sabyasachi's Saree yet!"

Mom styled her perfectly straightened short bob hair as all of us watched her level of confidence.

Mom, being Mom, as always!

"Jokes apart, we were actually planning to arrange your wedding by the end of this month as someone is getting extremely impatient these days!"

Dad winked at me while leaving me embarrassed.

"And we want to organize the event in Lahore as most of our relatives live there and the reception in Manchester, but certainly, we had to ask you first. Your opinion matters the most!"

Suddenly, the sparkle in Hooriyah's eyes began to fade as she averted her gaze towards her children from us. A clear emotion of sadness could be seen in those charming eyes as she watched them playing and running in the garden.

It was obvious that the idea of leaving her beloved students had already started to disturb her.

"And for your kind information, I have asked Ms. Nancy and Amir and they have already volunteered to look after your school because of which there is no need to worry about the children anymore!"

I immediately answered her unasked questions thus bringing a beautiful smile on her lips.

"Besides, you can visit them whenever you want to!"

I added.

"But ...."

She looked at Raniya innocently without speaking anything else, and that was enough for me to sense the real reason behind her discomfort.

"She's coming with us!"

Her eyes widened with shock upon hearing my statement.

"Raniya?"

She asked happily.

"I know how important and beloved she is to you, hence I took this decision very long ago."

I smiled affectionately.

"But I don't want to overburden ___"

Before she could complete her sentence, I interfered,

"She's not a burden Hooriyah. She's the youngest out of all and needs more care. Besides, she's extremely attached to you and I can't torture her by taking your shelter away from her existence."

I looked at her with my intense gaze while she chose to remain quiet.

"She's the same for me as she is for you!"

A million dollar sparkle started to appear in her charming eyes as I tried my best to erase her all sorts of fear. Then she silently looked at my parents for their approval to which they smiled unanimously.

"We would love to have her in our house. She is such a well-mannered, adorable and cutie patootie little girl. It requires a heart to be as hard as a rock to deny such a beautiful blessing."

Mom and Dad chirped happily.

"If you guys had not decided that before, I would have certainly adopted her as my daughter, but it's okay, at least I can visit this angel whenever I want to!"

Alizeh interrupted with excitement.

Hooriyah called Raniya who was busy playing football and asked her to sit on her lap.

"Raniya, would you like to go to Manchester with me?"

She asked innocently as all of us hoped for a positive answer from Raniya.

"Ummmmm.... Will there be biryani ?"

She asked adorably to which all of us burst into laughter.

"Of course princess!"

I replied happily.

"Andddd, ice cream?"

"Yes dearie!"

Replied Alizeh this time.

"And what about these samosay?"

She asked while pointing towards the tray full of snacks.

"Everything sweetie, you'll get everything in Manchester!"

Mom and Dad replied while laughing happily.

"I am coming then..!"

She chirped happily while showing her cute little teeth and kissed Hooriyah on her cheek before leaving to play.

"Ma' Sha' Allah "

Everyone murmured unanimously.

"Come on children, lets go inside, its Maghrib now !"

Hooriyah summoned the kids in order to lead them inside.

"So everything is finalized now I suppose, all we have to do is begin the wedding preparations as soon as possible!"

Dad rubbed his hands playfully and got up from his chair to go inside followed by Mom and Alizeh who were clearly not feeling comfortable with the continuous drop in temperature which was occurring after every passing second, thus leaving me and Hoor alone outside.

"I must also leave for my home now, or else I will miss my prayers!"

She smiled sweetly but before she could leave, I grabbed her arm gently.

"Hooriyah!"

She stopped and turned to have a confused look at me.

"Hmm?"

"Before we get married and leave for Manchester, there is a task which needs to be fulfilled!"

"What sort of task ?"

Her questioning gaze wavered from my face to her arm due to which I immediately released it.

"You will learn about it tomorrow. I just want to take you somewhere before we leave."

A hopeful smile danced across my lips.

"But where, Shahveer?'

I paused before mustering up some courage to speak.

"Come on, tell me, where are we going tomorrow?"

She asked with a serious tone.

"Mein paanch saal sey ksi k waadey mein bandha hua hoon, aur ab usy nibhany ka waqt agaya hai, Hooriyah! "

There was a strange type of seriousness and guilt in my tone which she failed to detect. I knew that she wanted to ask more, but instead, she chose to remain silent, trying to respect my silence and privacy.

Something which I loved about her the most.

She wasn't clingy at all. She never insisted or forced anyone to tell anything and always gave others space for privacy if they were not comfortable in telling anything.

"I'll go with you! Happy?"

"More than happy!"

I gave her a thumbs up to which she giggled.

As I watched her leave for her home, a feeling of happiness started to build inside my heart.

A five year old promise was going to be fulfilled tomorrow!

And little did she know, that perhaps, it was going to be one of the most beautiful days of her life!

x-x-x-x-x

~Third Perosn's POV

It was raining cats and dogs as he tried to drive carefully on the slippery wet roads of Khyber Pakhtun Khwa.

"If I had known that this journey is going to not end so soon, I would have never come with you!"

Hooriyah crossed her arms in anger as he pursed his lips in order to avoid laughing in front of her.

The way her nose turned red when she would get angry, used to fascinate him a lot.

After few minutes of anger, she stared at him with the corner of her eyes and then decided to ask the question she had been trying to avoid since yesterday.

"At least tell me where are we going Shahveer?"

"You will soon learn about it, exactly one hour from now, but you have to be patient!"

"At least you should have told me that we would be going out of the village!"

"So were you thinking that I was going to take you to the nearby market to buy you a set of red colored bangles Hooriyah? Come on you can't be that dumb!"

He laughed hysterically to which she crossed her arms again, this time looking even more adorable than before.

After a silence of about five minutes she finally opened her mouth to speak something, while still not looking at him,

"I don't like red bangles. I prefer orange ones!"

He burst into laughter once again while she chose to remain silent.

"You are unbelievable!"

He remarked.

"And tired too!"

She snapped back.

"All of your tiredness will fade away once we reach our destination!"

He assured while she continued to stare at the mountains which started getting smaller in size.

"Wait! Shahveer, are we going to Punjab?"

She started panicking but he remained silent and as soon as her gaze fell upon the billboard at her left, which said 'Murree 7 km away' , her body started to tremble with fear, anger and pain.

She started to feel betrayed all of a sudden.

"Stop the car right now!"

She instructed angrily.

"What?"

Shahveer looked at her with amazement.

"I said stop the car right now, Shahveer!"

Her anger was accelerating after every passing second which was enough to force him to stop the car near a hotel.

She angrily stepped out of the car and started walking towards the hotel as he followed her while trying to stop her.

"Hooriyah please let me explain first!"

"I don't want any of your explanations Shahveer! I thought you respected my opinion and feelings which I had for my family, but you betrayed me today!"

Tears started to trickle down her face as she trembled with anger.

"I never wanted to hurt you Hoor! But this was extremely important and have you ever thought that how much they will get hurt once they learn that you are married and haven't even invited them?"

She remained silent as he tried to calm her down.

"I am pretty sure that this is not what Jahangir Uncle would have ever wanted. He would have never wanted to see his daughters living separately after him and that too for five years just because of a fight which happened due to the fact that both of you were going through an emotional crisis !"

"She is not my sister!"

She gritted her teeth angrily.

"But you still care for her don't you?"

She remained silent while a storm of tears escaped her eyes.

"She's begging me since five years to bring you back! I promised her five years ago that I will re-unite you both and if I failed to fulfill this promise, she would never consider me as her brother again!"

He looked at her with his pleading eyes as she listened to him with patience.

"Iman loves you more than a biological sister would have loved you Hooriyah. Some relations don't need to be blood-related. I have seen her in the state of agony and I know how much she had cried and begged me to bring you back. She realized her mistake the very next day, only that you were a bit too quick to leave the town! Just imagine how much hurt your father's soul would have been by watching his daughters living miles apart since five years. She didn't deserve to be punished like this Hooriyah. You were the elder one, you should have forgiven her long ago being the elder one. How can you forget those moments in which she would celebrate your happiness and cry with you during your grief?"

She wept silently while listening to him.

"She had always supported you Hooriyah! Just because of one mistake, how can you forget the most beautiful memories of your life which you had shared with her?"

She remained silent as she stared at him with her watery eyes filled with guilt other than tears.

"I will just ask one last question after which you are free to chose between either going to Murree or going back to Kumrat!"

He came closer to her and wiped her tears.

"If you can forgive a person with an extremely dirty past and who had been so harsh on you five years ago, then why can't you forgive your own sister, Hooriyah?"

Her eyes widened with amazement as words seemed to cage up in her mouth.

"And even after listening to all of this, you think that we should go back, I am ready for it!"

He smiled while looking at her charming hazel brown eyes.

She finally turned and slowly walked back towards the car and sat inside without saying a word to which Shahveer followed her with disappointment and ignited the engine assuming her answer as a 'NO'.

As he drove the car with a broken heart, the silence between them started to grow intense until she finally decided to break it.

"The hot chocolate served at the Mall Road of Murree is considered to be the best in town!"

She murmured slowly and then pursed her lips to avoid giggling in front of him to which a huge grin immediately started to dance on his face.

"Anything for you, marshmallow!"

He winked at her and finally sped off towards the Murree expressway.

The familiar mountains, valleys and roads started to appear before her eyes making her feel emotional all over again. The valley which had been calling her since five years was finally successful in getting its long lost jewel back.

She was going back to her home.

The home which she had pledged to never look back at, ever in her life.

The home where she had buried all of her memories five years ago and left.

The home where her father's grave was.

The home where little Hooriyah and Shahveer had met for the very first time twenty eight years ago.

The home where her soul was.

The home where her heart was.

The home which she thought would never be seen by her again, was finally coming in her view.

As soon as the lights of the valley, which had been adding an eternal sparkle to the darkness of this cold night, started to appear in front of her, her eyes started to twinkle with tears of happiness and joy.

Meanwhile on the other hand, Shahveer's heart started to beat even more faster as he recalled the day when he landed here in search of his beloved but had to leave empty handed, along with the burden of promise which was about to be fulfilled soon.

The streets where she had played in her childhood and the roads, on which she used to walk during heavy monsoon rain while holding an umbrella in one hand and a cup of hot chocolate topped with marshmallows and cocoa powder in the other, started appearing before her sight one by one.

And that million dollar lucent smile never left her lips when the car turned towards the street where her beautiful wooden cottage had been located.

And as soon as Shahveer stopped the car outside the cottage and unbuckled his seat belt, she immediately stopped him.

"Thank you Veer!"

"No, Thank You, for not letting me down in front of our little sister!"

He smiled and opened her door and finally led her towards the cottage to which she had bid a painful farewell five years ago.

The flowers which used to sparkle with ecstasy day and night were still the same as she left them which meant that they had been properly looked after even in her absence.

And this could be done none other than, Iman.

For she had always appreciated the love her elder sister had possessed for gardening and these beautiful flowers.

Few seconds later, the wooden door slowly opened with a shrieking sound and a young woman with the same hazel brown eyes as Hooriyah, appeared from behind the door.

"Shahveer Bhayi?"

She murmured slowly as her eyes glittered with tears of hope and happiness.

"It took you so long!"

She tilted her head a bit and looked at him with a tired expression which showed how much she had gone through without the presence of the shelter of her other half.

"Longer than our expectations, but still worth the wait!"

He winked at her to which her gloomy face lightened up as she looked here and there in search of the one whom she was dying to see since half a decade.

"Hooriyah!"

Shahveer mumbled under his breath, audible enough to be heard by her.

And few seconds later, she finally mustered up some courage to come out and reveal herself in front of her sister who went pale all of a sudden as soon as her eyes landed on her.

"Api !"

She cried with joy and immediately hugged her tightly and burst into a storm of tears.

"Mujhy maaf krdein api, mujhy maaf kr dein!"

She continued to repeat her words and cry mercilessly while not letting her go so soon.

"Shhh! No more tears now. Your Api is here now see? "

"Promise me you will never leave me again! Promise me!"

She cried innocently while Shahveer and Hooriyah watched her with sympathy.

"Never again!"

She came closer and kissed Iman's forehead and wiped her tears.

"Agar ye rona dhona khtm hogya ho to kya is ghar k honey waley damaad ko andar bulaya jayega ya yaheen sey Khuda Hafiz?"

Interrupted Shahveer, mischeviously.

"Really Api?"

Iman's eyes widened with ecstasy as soon as she learned about the good news to which Hoor nodded happily.

"Congratulations to both of you! I can't believe that both of your prayers have been finally answered today. I am extremely happy for you two! Come inside, I am going to bring Mama, she's going to be extremely happy once she meets you both!"

She chirped happily and went inside to call her mother.

What happened next was enough to shatter Hooriyah's soul into myriad of pieces.

Within few seconds, Iman appeared along with her mother who was sitting on the wheelchair and had grown extremely weak.

"Mama!"

Hooriyah's eyes twinkled with tears as she watched her step mother with pain.

"I'm so sorry for all of this!"

She wept while looking at her state sympathetically and knelt down and cupped her face between her hands.

"My daughter, don't ask for forgiveness. It was all my fault! I am responsible for all of this. I should have stopped you from leaving. Jahangir would have been extremely disappointed with me as I failed to do justice with you!"

Hooriyah's mother cried weakly as she watched her with guilt.

"I have done a mistake by leaving you in this condition all alone and it was extremely harsh. But now I have come back to rectify all of my mistakes and I promise you, that you both will never suffer because of me ever again!"

"You never left us alone my child. You still managed to send us money every month which was more than enough for us, but was also enough to break our hearts with guilt and embarrassment for what we did to you was also wrong!"

Hooriyah kissed her mother's hands and wiped her tears and kissed her forehead with affection.

"It's time to forget the past and move on now! I came here for your permission in order to marry your daughter. Would you bless us with your prayers, Aunty?"

Shahveer asked innocently as Hooriyah's mother caressed his hair with affection.

"May Allah bless your lives and relation with the jewels of prosperity and success in this world and in the Hereafter! Ameen!"

She kissed his forehead thus granting him the permission to marry her daughter.

"Excellent! Now Iman! Pack your bags and stuff, you both have to join us for the journey to Lahore!"

Announced Shahveer ,happily.

"Lahore?"

Asked Iman with curiosity.

"I'm sure you are going to be her bridesmaid, aren't you?"

He smiled to which she nodded happily.

"After all, you are the one who had always dreamt of walking me down the aisle, haven't you?"

Asked Hooriyah.

"Always!"

Replied Iman with excitement.

"So now is the time to fulfill all of your wishes dear sister!"

Shahveer gave her a hi-five.

"Really?"

Hooriyah and Shahveer nodded in unison as all of them burst into laughter which was full of happiness and excitement thus spreading a layer full of ecstasy all around the beautiful wooden cottage which hadn't seen any joy since five years.

x-x-x-x-x

~1 month later, Lahore, Pakistan~

White and purple colored roses blossomed across the hall while the sweet aroma of red rose petals mixed with heavenly fragrances of delicious delicacies scattered a layer of freshness and joy everywhere. Pink and purple lights sparkled along the floral decorations surrounding the beautifully and flawlessly adorned stair case. In the center of the hall danced a huge chandelier beautifully decorated with red and white roses while the beautiful white drapes dangled along the sweet breeze coming from outside

Children ran across the hall with excitement while the elderly ladies sang their favorite Bollywood wedding songs along with the beats of drum. The lights started to get dim one by one while everyone started whispering in each others' ears happily,

"The bride is coming...!"

Amidst the bunch of happy, excited and joyful guests, as he stood silently while drinking orange juice, waiting for the love of his life to appear impatiently, Amir squeezed his shoulder with joy and pointed towards the staircase in order to gain his attention.

"Here comes the answer of your prayers!"

He whispered in Shahveer's ears while teasing him as he turned to have a glance towards the stairs and the moment his eyes laid upon his beloved, his heart skipped a beat horrifically while his mind started to embrace numbness as the view in front of him was the most prepossessing one he had ever witnessed in his life.

"Ma'Sha' ALLAH !"

He whispered to himself as he watched her descend down the stairs while holding her off-white enchanting lehnga embellished with beautiful pearls and purple stone work which was adding perfection to the already flawlessly sparkling intricate designs of her wedding gown.

His tear-filled eyes were glued upon her sparkling face which was shimmering with happiness as she looked back at him with the same emotions.

"Finally, you are going to be mine now! All the prayers will be answered tonight!"

He whispered in her ears as he smiled ear to ear while a tiny tear trickled down his face with ecstasy.

"Alhumdulillah..!"

Hooriyah smiled painfully while looking at his tears which were enough to tear her flash apart.

Those tears held immense emotions which had been a result of tireless efforts, struggles, pain and sacrifices.

But now, there was no more pain, no more struggle and no more agony left to bear.

The prayers made from the depth of the hearts were going to he answered soon, very soon.

"The bride needs to come inside, for the Nikkah !"

Came Alizeh's and Iman's voice unanimously as they teased Shahveer.

"Sure, make sure that she says qubool hai three times!"

He ordered his sister strictly to which Hooriyah burst into laughter.

"Hooraaayy jaan, mein to kehti hun phir se soch lo ek baar, phir mat kehna kesy shakhs se paala parh gya!"

Alizeh continued to tease her brother once again, to which he abruptly replied,

"I guess five years, six months and twenty eight days were enough to think about this. Now you have no time to back off, Ms. About To Be Hooriyah Shahveer Khan!"

He warned her as she smiled at him sweetly.

"We will see!"

Chirped Iman, micheviously as both of them took her away from him and led her towards the room where the Nikah Khwan was waiting to begin the Nikah.

As the time flied like an eagle, the heartbeats on both the sides of the curtain began to get rapid as the most important question of their lives was about to be asked from them.

"Kya apko yeh Nikah qubool hai? "

Nights full of tears, pain and agony started to appear before their eyes as both of them looked at each other through the transparent curtain made up of net which was placed between them. Their eyes were full of tears and communicating their emotions to each other without saying a single word.

Soon, both of them were going to seal their destinies with the names and fragrance of each other and going to fill each others missing fragments of their souls which had been long lost and had always been destined to be completed with a piece from the other's soul.

Each soul required a missing fragment from the other one in order to completely understand the meaning of this life and tonight, by the Grace of Allah, something which seemed impossible had turned out to be possible.

"Qubool Hai..!"

Hooriyah repeated the most beautiful two words of her life thrice while her heart immediately began to flutter with happiness simultaneously.

On the other side, Shahveer repeated the same, thus sealing his destiny with the destiny of the one who had become the queen of the throne of his heart since five years.

And as soon as the Nikah concluded, everyone chirped with happiness and hugged each other while she sat there silently, still staring at the man who had been ruling her heart since more than two decades.

A stream of tears cascaded down her cheeks as she smiled beautifully while looking at Shahveer who was not in a state of controlling his emotions.

The intensity of their joy was something which they had never experienced before.

The level of happiness was beyond explainable while their hearts thanked Allah again and again.

"Mubarak ho Hooriyah!"

Alizeh wiped her tears happily and enveloped her best friend in a tight and warm embrace.

"Days of hardships have finally ended. Now no sorrow, no grief and no pain will ever waver across the path of your life! In sha Allah!"

Iman hugged her sister and blessed her with beautiful prayers.

"In Sha Allah!"

Hooriyah whispered to herself with a feeling which was still unknown to herself.

x-x-x-x-x

Tiny flames of candles flickered while spreading warmth across the chilled room decorated with her favourite white and red roses.

Dressed in the most beautiful wedding gown any eye had ever witnessed, she stood in the gallery of Shahveer's room and silently watched the crescent playing hide and seek behind the lavender colored fluffy adorable clouds.

Something she used to do whenever she missed Shahveer the most, for it was the same moon which had witnessed each and every single pain of her love story throughout these two decades.

And the thought that atleast they both were under the same sky watching the same crescent, always used to bring peace to her soul.

And now, when she had been blessed with the fulfillment of all of those prayers which she had been making since childhood, she was watching the same moon simply wondering that how easily Allah had removed all the obstacles from her path which she thought were going to be everlasting.

The stars twinkled flawlessly across the horizon as she continued to stare at them with amazement, until she heard the footsteps of Shahveer coming towards the gallery, who was astonished to see her standing outside and staring the starry sky and that too, in such a chilled weather.

"You might catch cold...!"

He tried to grab her attention but she continued to watch the moon with her tear filled eyes making him feel nervous.

"Hooriyah?"

He slowly took few steps closer to her leaving just an inch between them, while her back was still facing him

"Shahveer?"

Her voice quivered with pain.

"Hmmm?"

"Have you ever wondered that even though we were miles apart throughout these years, but still whenever we would have looked at this moon at the same time, while missing each other, it would have cried along with these stars while praising the pain we both were bearing silently!"

She smiled painfully while he remained silent.

"Allah has sealed our destiny tonight and now when you are standing so close to me, it's getting hard to believe that we are finally together!"

There was complete silence between them as they both stared at the stars together.

"A dream which always seemed to be impossible, has finally completed its journey and now, I can happily say that whatever used to look like a mirage or a terrible hallucination, has finally turned into nothing but a beautiful reality!"

She smiled adorably as the stars twinkled magically and added a glimmering shine to the starry night.

" I can't afford to lose you once again Shahveer!"

Her voice trembled with pain while his silence continued to cause her even more pain.

"Say something, Veer!"

And as soon as she turned to see why he was not responding , her eyes widened with amazement as they landed on his tear stained face and eyes which had gone completely red due to the pain which was pouring out of them mercilessly.

"Tonight, I am out of words Hooriyah. I don't have anything to say. It seems as if the words have been caged up inside my mouth while my heart is craving to thank Allah for His unlimited bounties, but I don't have enough words to express my gratitude to Him!"

He wept silently as she watched him innocently.

"Sometimes, the gratitude can be paid without even uttering a single word, Shahveer! He knows what's inside our hearts and He had always known that. He had always known our feelings since we were also unaware of them. He knows everything and despite of the sacrifices and struggles and hardships that we had to face, He never let our feelings die for eachother. He let us remain steadfast although there were few hindrances, but because of our patience and firm belief in Him, He never let us down!"

She smiled happily and wiped his tears with her trembling hands.

"You are the most beautiful reality which had ever happened to me, Hooriyah!"

She remained silent as she watched the emotions for her flow out through his large olive green eyes.

"Please forgive me for all of my wrongdoings, injustice and harsh behaviours! You were a gem and you always will be the most mesmerising jewel of my life!"

He came closer and kissed her forehead with affection and finally enveloped her in his warm embrace as she continued to weep innocently.

As soon as she felt his arms tightened around her, she started feeling protected , comfortable and blessed.

Something she had never felt after her father's death.

"I love you, Veer!"

She mumbled under her breath.

"I love you too, my marshmallow!"

She giggled sweetly as he kissed her cheeks and scooped her up in his arms in order to take her inside, as the chilled breeze was getting unbearable.

"Let's pray two nawafils to express our gratitude to the One because of Whom we have become one, tonight!"

Shahveer smiled happily to which she agreed too and then both of them spread their prayer mats on the floor in order to begin their prayers.

She stood behind him and both of them offered their gratitude before Allah in order to thank Him for a blessing which was the most beautiful blessing out of all.

After they had concluded their prayers and made a detailed Duaa for a blessed and successful married life ahead, Shahveer took out a beautiful box of necklace from his drawer and forwarded it to Hooriyah.

"Open it!"

He answered her unasked questions to which she slowly opened it, only to get amazed after having a glance of the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen in her life.

It was a delicate necklace made up of white gold, embedded with beautiful blue colored stones and pearls.

"Magnificent!"

She complimented it shyly.

"I bought it on your birthday, but failed to give it to you because....."

He paused as an embarrassed look gradually started to dance across his face as he recalled that dreadful night on which he was about to lose her for eternity.

"We don't live in the past anymore!"

She gently squeezed his hand, trying to console him to which he smiled innocently.

"May I?"

He asked while taking the necklace out of the box, to which she nodded shyly and turned in order to face her back towards him.

Her heart started beating faster as he came closer to her and gently tied the beautiful necklace around her neck and slowly opened her hair bun due to which her long dark brown hair bounced and cascaded down along her waist, leaving him engrossed to the full.

"You are beyond beautiful, Hooriyah!"

He whispered in her ears as she looked at their reflection in the mirror while her cheeks started turning crimson all of a sudden.

"The first time I saw you turning crimson due to blushing, was enough to drive me horribly insane!"

He smiled as he looked at her rosy cheeks while she tried to control her dangerously raising heartbeat when he moved an inch closer to kiss her already red cheeks which were burning with a feeling she had never witnessed before.

She lowered her gaze as watching her own reflection in the mirror getting so close to him was raising goosebumps all over her body.

He turned her towards himself so that she could face him, but her eyes were still lowered with nervousness.

"Look at me..!"

He whispered softly.

But she failed to obey to which he slowly lifted her chin up and removed the strand of hair from her already glowing face.

"I'm falling in love with you after every passing second my love. And if you don't look at me right now, I'm afraid I have to___"

And before he could complete his sentence, she immediately looked up to meet his intense and deadly gaze.

The gaze which always used to make her feel numb all of a sudden.

"From now onwards, you are the only queen of my life who is going to rule my heart as much as you want to..!"

After listening this, an adorable smile danced across her lips which was enough to drive anyone crazy.

"I had always known that you were always destined to be with me!"

She whispered softly.

"And I was always destined to be with you! ✨ "

His eyes twinkled with ecstasy and affection upon hearing her last sentence and with that, he decided to finally confess his feelings without any fear of further outcomes.

"I love you and always will, till my last breath!"

He came closer to her so much so that she could feel the warmth of his breath on her skin and kissed her neck softly and then her lips much passionately, thus adding the colours of romance in the already romantic night, which they secretly hoped to never end at all.....♥️

The night when they finally started living the meaning of the saying,

.

"When the soul lies down in that grass
The world is too full to talk about

Out beyond the ideas of wrongdoing
and right doing, there is a field.

I'll meet you there!"

-Maulana Rumi