Author's POV:

"Why are you calling of the wedding? What happened?" Adil asked in a shaky voice.

Adil, who just came to his cabin after a tiring court session, was blown away seeing the text message of Summaiyya, stating, 'We are cancelling the wedding with Neha.'

He quickly called Sumaiyya and asked about the reason for the cancellation.

"Let's discuss that when we come home this weekend. Just letting you know that we are going to their home on Friday and officially calling off," Sumaiyya casually answered and hung up the call, making Adil more shackled.

He slumped into the couch as a wave of unease swept over him. "No, this cannot be happening; this must be a dream," he chanted continuously, but neverthless nothing happened.

"Hey, Bro. What happened? " When Sameer went into Adil's cabin to enquire about the court session, he became concerned upon noticing Adil's pale face.

"Ammi is going to cancel the wedding with Neha," Adil answered unwillingly.

" What! The wedding is called off. Why? " Sameer was now equally shocked hearing it.

"First of all, the wedding has not been cancelled yet; they are going to announce it on Friday, and I am not sure why either," Adil said bluntly.

"Did you check with Sumaiyya Aunty?" Sameer asked who was now sitting beside Adil on the couch.

"I just called her."

"What did she say?"

"She said we will talk about it when they get back.I can not just sit here and wait for them," Adil screamed, getting up from the couch.

"Relax; do not make rash decisions; there might be some miscommunication. Have you asked Arshiya aunty? " Sameer attempted to soothe Adil, which in some way made him relax.

"No, I totally forgot about it. I will go ask Aru Mamma; I am sure she will tell me why," Adil said, hurriedly getting up and grabbing his coat that was dangling over his chair before leaving.

"Wait, let me drive you. You do not look normal." Sameer also followed; due to a lack of energy, Adil simply agreed and sat in Sameer's car.

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"Aru Mamma, Aru Mamma, Aru Mamma." As soon as the car pulled up to the house's gate, Adil hurried to Khalid's mansion, ignoring Sameer. The two-hour drive from the office to the house was extremely exhausting and stressful to Adil, as he tried to figure out why and what he could do to make the wedding happen.

'No, I will try my best to make this marriage happen. After four long years, destiny has brought Neha back into my life. I won't let this chance go to waste.'  Adil thought with determination in his heart. 

"What happened? Why are you shouting?" Arshiya came out of the kitchen hearing Adil.

"Aru Mamma, Did Mamma call you?" Adil asked in one go

"Huh! Oh, yes, she called me this morning. It looks like they are going to call off the wedding," she said nonchalantly, making Adil's mind bothered with the casualness.

"Yeah... but do you know why it is being cancelled?" Adil asked her, determined to know the reason.

"She simply stated that they are cancelling and will talk about it when they get home. 

By the way, do you think this laddu is sweet?" Arshiya merely responded and shoved the laddu in Adil's direction, which she had been preparing a while ago, ignoring the flicker in Adil's eyes.

Keeping the laddu aside, Adil snapped, "Aru Mamma. I am not in a mood of tasting; here my marriage is being called off, and you're here making me eat these laddus."

"Hey Adil, don't worry. It's just one proposal.I'll find you a bride even more beautiful than Neha. Now, stop stressing and tell me—how's the sweetness of laddus? "I am preparing this for Afsha," she said while cupping his face and again forcing him to eat the laddus.

"No, I don't want to marry anyone.I want to marry Neha itself," gulping the laddu, which was forced fed, Adil quickly interrupted Arshiya.

Sometimes we will not get what we want, so we should let it go and move on. As I promised, we will search for a more attractive and compatible bride for you." Arshiya tried to comfort Adil, but he didn't budge at all.

"No. I don't want anyone else. I want Neha. Please, do not allow the wedding to be called off." Adil pleaded, desperateness in his eyes and an urge to make everything correct.

Seeing the distess in Adil's eyes, Arshiya sighed and said, "All right, let me give her a call." Arshiya video called Sumaiyya.

Meanwhile, Sameer, who observed Adil's outburst, was surprised by his tenacity and affection for Neha—it was obvious that this wasn't something recent; rather, it appeared that he had loved her for a long time.

Determined to check with Adil about it, Sameer too joined the call to help his friend fight back his love.

"Mamma, please tell me clearly—what is the issue? Why do you want to call off the wedding?" As Arshiya called Sumaiyya, Adil grabbed the phone from Arshiya and asked about the reason for the sudden call-off.

Adil's heart was racing, and his voice was shaking as he considered all the possible outcomes of the incident. 

Did any Neha or Saniya members freak out? Did her parents not like the fact of Saniya being a model? Or anything else happened?

"I already told you that we will talk about it when we get there, so why bring up this subject again?" Sumaiyya responded sharply.

"Please tell me the reason, Mamma. Maybe we can sit down and have a conversation instead of calling off the marriage." Adil begged; the man who used to never question his family today was resolved to find a solution and do everything in his power to make this wedding happen.

"I understand that you might be upset that it was called off and not discussed with you, but rest assured that we will find you a better girl." Sumaiyya attempted to comfort him.

"Mamma, I don't want anyone else. I want Neha. Can't you all understand that?" Adil retaliated, holding back his unshed tears, causing everyone to gasp at his unexpected behaviour—aside from Saniya, who expected this outburst; why would not she? It was her idea, after all.

"Hahahaha!" Afsha, who had been sitting beside Sumaiyya, finally let out a stifled laugh that she had been holding in for so long. 

This unexpected laughter break rippled to others—Arshiya, Sumaiyya, and Saniya, and they too started to laugh, confusing Adil and Sameer.

In between her giggles, Arshiya, who was sitting next to Adil, said, "I guess we can stop our prank now." In the meantime, Saniya, who was the mastermind behind this prank, flashed her face in front of the camera with a sly smile.

"Aww, look at you, Bhai; you look so pale and red with anger," Saniya teased, her smile wide and mischevious.

Upon realising that it was all a prank, "So it was you, Huh? Just wait until you come here; I won't leave you." Adil glanced in Saniya's direction and threatened, but his tone was more of exasperation.

"Bhai, it was just a prank. "Please forgive your sweet sister," Saniya said in a fake pout, which did not affect Adil in any way. However, Sameer, who was watching, lit up when he saw how happy Saniya was.

The way Saniya was smiling—genuinely, from the heart—left a warmth in his chest. 

It's been days I've seen her laugh wholeheartedly; if only I could capture this smile, Sameer observed Saniya's glowing face and thought.

"Well, can I know why I was not included in the plan?" Unable to resist himself, Sameer joined the conversation and asked, his tone playfully.

The smile on Saniya's lips faltered, her laughter quickly fading. "It was all of a sudden, and we did not get time to include you," she said, avoiding his eyes, before quietly giving the phone to Sumaiyya and stepping aside from the view.

Since their last encounter, Saniya has deliberately kept a safe distance from Sameer. She believed it would help lessen the hold he had on her heart, making it easier to cope with the anticipated heartbreak in the future. However, she secretly understood that her heart had already made a special place for him, regardless of how much distance she built. Little did she know, Sameer felt the same thing for her.

"You just stated that it was a prank, so why are you visiting their home on Friday?" Before Saniya could totally dwell on her thoughts, Adil's complaining voice made her come back from her agony

"To officially make Neha your fiancee, you idiot! We are going for your baat pakki (engagement)," Afsha chimed in grinning.

"Oh!" Adil's ears turned pink in surprise when he heard the word baat pakki.

"Look at Bhai blushing just hearing about his engagement!" Saniya teased, rejoining the conversation with newfound energy. Her cheerful laughter had returned, and this time it was for her brother and her best friend. She couldn't help but feel genuinely happy for Adil's love.

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Neha's POV:

"Ma'am, The Inaugaral has been talk of the town all over the internet; the high point was the appearance of Saniya ma'am in ARAYNA's attire." In the meeting, the social media team was talking about engagement rates, media coverage, and other topics, but my thoughts were elsewhere, about the new found information—Saniya.

Why didn't I know before? Was I not valuable enough to tell Adil and Sana as cousins, in their opinion? I had lived with them for two years and spent countless moments with them, but no one had ever revealed that they knew one another beforehand. A lot of thoughts have been racing through my mind since I found out that Saniya and Sana were the same person. 

I even attempted to speak with Sana at the event in the hopes of getting clarification, but the conversation was always cut off for some reason. With Adil? Even though I wrote a whole text demanding this revealing information but never found the courage to send it.

"Excuse me guys," overwhelmed by my own thoughts, I walked out of the meeting room.

As I entered my cabin, the serenity around me offered no distractions as many intrusive thoughts swirled relentlessly.

"Ya Allah." With a sigh, I exited the cabin and made my way downstairs to the boutique area, which was crowded with eager customers who had come to see the newest styles and ensembles available. The boutique's vibrant displays and excited chatter offered a makeshift escape from my whirlwind thoughts.

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After a long, tiring day at the boutique, I just wanted to relax to unwind the tiredness, but as I came home, there was an unusual buzz going on. Ayesha was taking notes on everything that Dadi, Ammi, and Anjum Aunty said, while Pappa and Asif Uncle were sitting in a different corner, doing the accounting and financial calculations.

"Oh, you came. Come sit here. We need to talk about something." Ammi called out her tone with a mixture of excitement and urgency. Curiosity pulled at me, so I just set the bag on the nearby table and sat down next to Ammi, wondering what the discussion was about.

"Sumaiyya called me this morning to let me know that they would be visiting on Friday for the Baat pakki."

"Huh?" I was confused and could not understand Ammi's words.

"Actually, in their family, they don't have a ritual for formal engagements. Instead, the groom's family visits the bride's home to hand over gifts and a ring to her, making it official. They call it baat pakki—a way to formally announce the girl as their daughter-in-law." As Anjum Aunty described the ceremony, my eyes widened in shock.

Engagement!!!!

My Engagement!!!!

As the phrase lingered in my mind, something about it felt so surreal—like everything was moving faster than I could process.

My mind again lingered with the previous thoughts—overflowing emotions of the two years—and the recent revelation of the information, making it too much to handle.

When I made the decision to move to New York and start over, I believed I could move out of this tangled web. But here I am, stuck again in the same web, and this time it has become more complex.

A thought gnawed at me, thinking to get free from this web—calling off the wedding.

"As it is just an intimate function, there will only be family members, but we still need to shop for a few things for Friday, and you are coming with us tomorrow." Ammi's reached over, patting my hand gently which made me snap out of my reverie.

I nodded absentmindedly while trying to control the range of emotions churning inside of me. I then excused myself from the conversation, mumbling something about being exhausted, and went to my room.

Leaning over the shut door of my room and closing my eyes, I tried to comprehend the situation of what was happening currently.

On one side, there were the memories of the trio—the secrecy, the betrayedness hung over me like a shadow, overflowing with many more webs of emotions. On the other side, there were the happy faces of the families, all of them so anticipatory and hopeful for the happy union of the two families.

What should I do?

I can not decide which action should be taken or which action will result in what outcome.

I got up and went to the window, leaning against the railing to gaze at the sky. The sun fadded and the sky was painting in a variety of hues every minute, much like my mind, which was lingering with numerous thoughts and conclusions to proceed.

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How was the prank guys 😉😉 - Do let me know truthfully how many of thought it is real?

Saniya is trying to distant herself from Sameer - Do you think she will proceed in it?

Coming back to Adil - he totally laid out his feelings to everyone, how was it?

And now Neha - she is in her tangled web of emotions, trying to figure out the next step. What do you think the next step would be?

Don't forget to vote and comment about your opinions.