An extra long chapter for you all!

Enjoy!

Maya was standing in front of the closet as she rummaged between the clothes.

She had so many fancy clothes that she couldn't choose a single one from them. Finally, she picked out a red frock. It had flower embellishments on the front and a dupatta with rhinestone balls on the rim. She put it against herself and her lips curled into a small smile. She remembered how her brother used to tell her that she looked the best in red. Her eyes filled up when she thought about him.

She was not ready to forgive him. If it had not been for him, she would not have been in this situation. He had forced her. She had no choice but to get married in the situation he had created. 

How could she have told her parents that what happened to their daughter. Her father was already a heart patient and she could never give him such a big shock that could be life threatening to him. Her parents had did so much for her so she could do this much for them. But she still wished that her brother forced her into this. Her parents would never have found out anyway but she didn't need to get married either.

Her emotions were masking her rational thinking. Whenever she thought about it her heart broke all over again. She just wished that what had happened that day had never happened. She wished he hadn't touched her. The more she thought about it she started blaming herself as well. She told her mother that she wanted to get married and that was the reason her mother didn't reject later on and thought that she was just nervous.

She wiped the tears with the back of her hand and sniffed. She was such a mess. And she had created this mess around herself. She hated herself so much. Had it not been for her wild tongue, that guy wouldn't have ever come after her.

She didn't notice that she was clenching her fists until she felt pain on her palm when her nails dug into it. 

She stared at her open hands. Was this her destiny? Was this going to be her life from now on? Wallowing in self pity and depression. She used to be a cheerful person who had a optimistic and positive outlook on life no matter what. 

She sat on the bed and rested her head into her hands and stared at the floor through tears in her eyes. If she continued like this she would go mad. Her thoughts were killing her. She had no one to talk to, no outlet for her emotions. She just suppressed it all inside and she just couldn't take it anymore.

She didn't want to get ready now. She didn't want to go to her parents house, her house. They were going to have dinner at her parent's house as was the tradition. She didn't want to face her brother but she did miss her parents so much. She hadn't been away from them even for this long. 

She glanced at the clock on the wall. The ticking sound of the clock filled the silent room and she realized that they would get late if she didn't start getting ready now.

After taking a shower, she quickly donned her dress. It flowed smoothly in the front and she ran her hand over it to straighten it.

She was taking out her makeup when the door opened to reveal Zayan. She quickly took the discarded dupatta and placed it on her shoulders as her clothes tightly fitted her bodice.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yeah almost."

"We'll leave in 15 minutes then. I'll just quickly take a shower." Zayan said quickly and headed to the washroom after taking out his clothes.

She rubbed some concealer over her dark circles hoping she didn't look depressed. She adorned her lids with a coat of eye liner and winged it to the side. She applied some lip gloss on her lips and smacked them together.

She brushed out her hair and contemplated what to do with them. It was just going to be family so she had let go of her hijab.

She was brushing her hair when she heard Zayan calling her from the washroom.

"Yes?" She asked and went towards the washroom.

"Can you give me my other white shirt from the closet?" He asked her.

She went to the closet to look for his white shirt. When she finally found it, it wasn't ironed.

"Its not ironed. What happened to the other one?" She asked.

"A button came off." He said through the gap between the door.

"Come out. I'll iron the other shirt." She said and went to iron the shirt.

Zayan walked put of the washroom drying his hair. He discarded the shirt on the bed.

A small smile played on his lips as a memory from the past invaded his mind.

"Leya, the button came off my shirt. Its a sign from Allah that we shouldn't go." He said. She had insisted that he accompany her to a distant friend's wedding and he was not in the mood at all.

"That's no excuse." She scoffed. "I'll sew it back for you." 

"Do you even know how to sew a button?" He raised an eyebrow.

"There's always a first time." She grinned.

"Are you sure?"

"Yup!"

She came forward with a needle and after spending a whole minute putting the thread inside, she got to work. 

She pushed the needle inside the hole, but while she was taking it out, it pricked his skin.

"Ouch!" 

"Oh Zayan I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have offered." She said quickly and kissed the place on his chest. His eyes danced in amusement. It hadn't hurt that much.

"Does it hurt?" She asked with worry.

He twisted his face into a pained expression and nodded. She pressed her lips to his warm chest and showered the area with soft kisses.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he stared at her worried face. Leya glanced up at him in surprise.

He smirked at her, and her eyes widened. He was pretending all along!

"I'm sure it will hurt this time though." She said and pointed the needle towards him.

"No way!" He said as his eyes widened and she grinned at him.

"Yes way." She said bringing the needle close to his chest making him step back. She took another step towards him till his back hit the wall.

"You know I love you, right?"

"Do you now?" She said with a smirk playing on her lips.

"Hmm." He hummed, glaring at the needle in her hand with apprehension.

She pressed her legs against his, plastering him against the wall. She was igniting sparks in him where ever their skin touched. His eyes dipped to her lips and she smirked at him knowingly. 

He leaned in and pecked her lips softly.

"Looks like we won't be going to the wedding tonight." He murmured against her lips.

She nodded as her emotions clouded her mind. "The wedding can happen without us." She said circling her arms around his neck. 

He smirked at her as she molded their lips together. Needless, to say that the needle and wedding was forgotten.

"Zayan?" Maya waved at him.

"Huh? What?" He said getting out of his train of thought.

"Your shirt." She said and handed it to him trying to ignore the fact that he wasn't wearing one. He had a little hair on his firm chest. She blushed slightly as his muscles flexed when he got up but quickly looked away. 

"Thanks." He mumbled. He sighed heavily. He was lost in the past again. It wasn't fair to Maya. She didn't deserve that at all. He needed to move on. Why was it so hard?

He quickly shrugged the shirt on and tucked it inside his pants.

Maya sighed and went back to her hair. She piled them up high in a pony tail and secured them with a band. She fixed her bangs that framed her face and plucked her earrings in her ears.

Zayan stood behind her as he brushed his hair and styled them.

He glanced at Maya from the corner of his eyes as he wore his shoes.

She was a beautiful girl and anyone could fall in love with her. She was very different from Leya but that didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate her looks. She was pretty too. Her dainty nose complemented her high cheek bones and a small nose pin glittered on it. Her almond shaped chocolate brown eyes were outlined with think eyelashes. She had a nice slender figure too. She wasn't skinny but she wasn't fat either. She was a perfect mixture of the two. 

It wasn't fair for her to live with someone like him. Someone who couldn't give her anything at all. A girl wanted love in her life but he couldn't give that to her. Everything reminded him of Leya, of their beautiful memories.

"I'm ready." Maya said awkwardly snapping him out of his thoughts.

Exhaling deeply, he tried to let go of the nostalgic thoughts that had invaded his mind.

"Let's go. Mama must be waiting too." He said standing up.

She nodded and took her purse from the bed and followed him out.

***

They were having dinner at her parents house. The atmosphere was cheerful as everyone conversed animatedly. They had outdone themselves with the multitude dishes placed on the table as everyone enjoyed the delectable and scrumptious food. They was nihari, achar chicken and biryani.

Uzair was in Maya's lap as she fed him small morsels from her plate.

"Maya you should eat first. I'll feed him." Areesha said to her but she shook her head.

"No. I'm fine." She smiled at her. "He is so cute, Mashallah."

She caressed his chubby cheeks as he gazed at her with his big eyes. She pressed a small kiss to his cheek as he babled in his baby language. She quickly rubbed off the mark her lip gloss had left on his cheek.

"May Allah bless you with children too." Her mother said from beside her as she eyed her a small smile. Allah knew how much she wanted to play with Maya's children before she departed from this world.

Her eyes widened slightly and she fumbled with her dupatta in embarrassment. Must her mother say things like this in front of everyone? She glanced at her mother from the corner of her eyes. Her eyes were twinkling as she smiled at her softly. Sadly, her wish wasn't going to come true. She and Zayan were far from a couple.

Everyone murmured Ameen while Areesha smirked at her. Maya averted her gaze. If only her family knew that she had no such plans. She and Zayan only shared the same room and nothing else. He was just like a stranger to her. A stranger who knew her darkest secret. But somehow she trusted him with it. Maybe it was because of how he had offered to help her instead of judging her back when she had gone to his office. Now it seemed so futile that she had gone to his office to convince him to reject her. Maybe it really was part of Allah's plan that she got married to him.

She glanced at Zayan from the corner of her eyes. She couldn't gauge his expression. She was glad that he never touched her and now she felt at ease a little sleeping next to him on the bed.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when suddenly, Zayan shifted his body towards her and her breath hitched as he leaned in. What was he doing? 

He slowly kissed Uzair and leaned back with a small smirk playing on his lips.

Maya straightened and focused on her food. She had turned red in embarrassment. She tried to make her erratic heart beat normal and spooned some rice in her mouth slowly.

"Maya, a friend of mine offered a job for you at his hospital. Do you want to join?" Her father asked her casually, oblivious to the havoc inside her.

"Uh...No. Not anytime soon." She said swallowing deeply.

"What happened? You loved your job didn't you?" Her father asked in concern.

"Yeah, but--" She started before she was cut off by Areesha.

"Baba she wants to spend time with her husband." Areesha cut her off with a twinkle in her eyes. While she was relieved that she didn't have to say anything, she felt annoyed too. That wasn't the reason. She didn't want to spend time with him.

"Of course." Her mother said teasingly and elbowed her ribs with a small smile on her face.

She averted her gaze from her and caught her brother's eye. He stared at her hopefully but she dropped his gaze not being able to look at him. 

"Zayan, beta you are not eating properly. This is your own home." Her mother said as she spooned some rice in his plate.

"No auntie I'm fine. Everything is very good."

"Yeah Areesha made most of it." The older lady said and Zayan looked at Areesha in surprise.

"Really? You must have ordered it from outside." He said teasingly.

"Nope. Ammi helped a little though." Areesha told him proudly.

"I'm surprised you can even cook let alone all this." He teased her.

"Fine don't believe me." She shrugged.

"You can come home and stock the fridge with my favorite things and then I'll believe you."

"And here I was thinking you missed me." She exclaimed with mock hurt. "It's all about the food, isn't it?"

"Definitely." He said and everyone chuckled slightly. 

Fawad stared between Maya and Zayan. They didn't talk to each other at all. He really hoped she was happy with him.

Suddenly, Maya's phone started blaring in her bag.

She fished out the phone from her bag and received the call cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder as she chewed the food.

"Hello?" She said still smiling slightly at Zayan and Areesha's banter.

"Hey princess." A cheerful voice said from the other side and her eyes widened in shock and all traces of the smile vanished to be replaced by a panicked look.

She glanced at the number but it was unknown. Why was he calling her?

She quickly tapped the end call button and placed the phone on the table. She stared at her plate not being able to meet anyone's eyes.

"Maya?" Her mother called her.

"Y-yes?" She asked as she hesitantly met her mother's eyes. Her heart slammed inside her chest.

"Who was it? Why didn't you take the call?" She frowned.

"Nothing important." She said attempting a small smile. She could feel Zayan's eyes on herself but she didn't have the courage to look at him.

Hardly a minute had passed when her phone rang again. She stared at it. It was the same number.

"Maya go take the call. It's okay." Her mother told her with a smile. 

She nodded and pushed back her chair and stood up with the phone blaring in her hands.

She hurried out of the room and went to her bedroom and locked the door with her shaking hands.

She swiped the screen to answer the call and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"What do you want from me?" She hissed into the phone.

"What would anyone want from a beauty like yourself?" He chuckled and Maya cringed at his voice.

"Shut up and don't you dare call me again." She warned.

"Baby if you spend one night with me, I promise to get out of your way." Daniyal slurred and Maya cringed.

Her grip on her phone tightened and her eyes teared up.

"Come on, you owe me that much." He said when she didn't say anything. "I don't take anyone insult lightly."

"You are an egoistic bastard." She snapped at him in anger.

"Yeah you do bruise my ego very much but hey, don't worry. I like feisty." He said in a husky voice. "I wonder how you'll do in bed."

Her face went red with anger and her blood boiled. She could feel the heat emanating from her face as she gritted her teeth.

"Shut up! And don't ever call me again." She bit out in anger and hung up.

She leaned against the door breathing heavily. Too much for having a good time with her family. Would he never let her be happy? Would he get what he wanted at the end?

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door and her heart leapt in its cage.

She tried to catch her breath and wiped her eyes hoping that her makeup was still intact. Slowly, she turned the lock and opened the door.

"Maya?" Zayan said.

She looked up at him questioningly. What was he doing here?

"What happened? Who was it?" He asked in concern. She seemed so panicked when she had left the table.

"No one important." She shrugged it off casual hoping that her voice sounded smooth.

"Who was it then?" He pressed. He looked at her red eyes and tell tale signs of tears. Anyone could see that she had been crying.

"I-it was just a friend." She said and cringed at her lie.

"It was that guy wasn't it? Tell me the truth." He demanded feeling a little suspicious.

Maya glanced at him and nodded slowly and averted her gaze to the ground, unsure how he would react now that she was his wife. 

"What did he say?" He pressed.

Her eyes filled up again and she shook her head repeatedly.

"I-I can't tell you that." She said not daring to look at his face.

"Maya, please tell me. I won't hold it against you." He said as he shut the door close. Her heart beat increased when he closed the door and came closer to her.

"Its none of your business." She said angrily still avoiding his intense gaze.

"Why the hell is it not my business?" Zayan glared at her. A muscle in his jaw ticked. Here he was trying to help her but she was being too damn stubborn. "I'm your husband and I have the right to know."

"You don't tell your husband things like these." She said trying to keep her voice from shaking.

"Maya, please don't do this to yourself. Don't bottle up these feelings. It will only end up hurting you more." He said as he eyed her. Her eyes shone with tears.

Maya glanced at him through her teary eyes. His eyes reflected his sincerity and she swallowed deeply.

"H-He... he said that I-I s-sleep with him and then h-he'll leave me alone." She said as her face turned redder with embarrassment and anger. 

Zayan's eyes widened and he stared at her in shock.

Maya glanced at his face anticipating his reaction. Oh no! Would he blame her for it? 

"What? How dare he? That fucking bastard!" Zayan exclaimed fuming and Maya flinched at his tone. He absolutely abhorred men like that who blackmailed innocent girls. As a lawyer he had dealt with countless such cases and it angered him to no end that she was suffering too.

"Give me your phone." He said thrusting his hand out.

"Why?" She asked feeling scared.

Zayan snatched the phone from her grip.

He swiped the screen to unlock it. He quickly went into her contacts list and dialed the number she had last received the call from.

He put it to his ear as he waited for someone to pick up.

"What are you doing?" Maya asked, her eyes widening in horror but he didn't reply.

"That asshole! The number is turned off. I'll do something about this number." He said as he sent it to his own phone. He needed to file a complaint against him.

He wasn't mad at her? She thought feeling lighter than before.

Maya nodded. "Thanks."

"I'll get you a new sim tomorrow." He said as he opened the phone and took out the sim.

He broke it in half and threw it away.

"Don't worry. He won't be able to call you again and don't pick up unknown numbers."

 "Thank you." Maya said sincerely feeling a little glad that she had confided in him. "P-please don't tell bhai or anyone about this." 

"Why would I tell anyone?" He frowned at her. "This will stay between us."

"Thank you." She said lowering her gaze. Utter respect for him bubbled in her heart. He had a heart of gold. If she didn't feel so scared every time he was within and inch of her radius she would have liked him very much.

"No need to thank me." He said sincerely. He was glad that he had come and asked her this otherwise she would have never told him. He had told everyone else that he needed to use the washroom and ignoring Areesha's skeptical gaze he had hurried after her having a suspicion what it might be about.

"I-I'll just go back. Everyone must be waiting." He said awkwardly.

"I need to take a few things from here, so I'll pack them and then come." She said making him nod and he left the room.

***

"So tell me are you happy?" Areesha asked him in a low tone as everyone else conversed.

He glanced at her and sighed. Was he happy? He didn't know.

"It's too early to say that." He shrugged non-chalantly.

"What do you mean it's too early to say that?" She raised an eyebrow at him.  

"Exactly what it means."

"Zayan, please give yourself a chance. You deserve to be happy too." Areesha said to him, her heart breaking for him. Clearly, he still hadn't moved on and it was affecting his relationship with Maya.

"I'm happy. Don't worry yourself about me." He said taking her hands between his own and rubbed them reassuringly.

"You don't need to lie to me. Just promise to me that you will give this a chance and stop dwelling in the past."

"Areesha, Allah knows that I am trying but I loved her so much that I can't let go of her." He said with his voice breaking at the end.

"Zayan, Allah is giving you another chance to being happy. Happiness doesn't knock on your door everyday." She said. "Leya will always be in your heart. I am not saying that you should forget her but open your heart to Maya as well."

"Inshallah." He said, not knowing what else to say.

"She is a gem Zayan. Don't take her for granted." Areesha said, her voice contained a warning.

"Stop worrying so much about us." He said flicking her forehead.

"You are my brother. How can I not worry about you?" She said with a small smile as she exhaled deeply.

"Everything is good between you and Fawad, right?" He asked in concern.

"Yes alhumdulilah. Everything is fine." She said with a small smile and glanced at Fawad who was talking to her mother. 

"It's getting late." Zayan's mother said to him and he nodded.

"We should get going then." His mother said to Maya's mother getting up from the sofa.

"No please stay for some more time." The other lady replied courteously.

"No, its already getting very late." She said glancing at the clock. "Everything was very good, Mashallah. Areesha its good that you cook now."

Areesha smiled at her mother, feeling a little sad that they were already leaving.

"Maya why don't you stay over and I'll drop you in the morning?" Fawad suggested hoping she would not deny.

"No." She said rigidly without sparing a glance at him. She couldn't look into his eyes. It would break her resolve and she would start shouting at him and spill everything. 

"You can stay if you want." Zayan said softly, surprised at her curt answer. Didn't girls miss their family after they got married? Leya used to miss her mother a lot after she had accepted Islam and her mother refused to accept her.

"No, I'll come to stay some other time." She said avoiding her brother's gaze. She wasn't ready to talk to him.

Fawad glanced at his sister and his eyes hardened. Why was she doing this?

"Uh... Zayan, I need to take my car so I'll come on my own." She told him.

"You can't go alone at this time. I'll drop your car there." Fawad said before Zayan could say anything. He glanced at Maya hoping she wouldn't refuse his offer and when she nodded quietly he breathed in relief.

"Allah Hafiz." Zayan said as he hugged Areesha.

"Take care of yourself." Fawad said as he came forward and engulfed his sister in a hug.

She nodded slightly as she basked in the security and warmth of her brother still feeling a little surprised.

"The house is so barren without you." He said dropping a kiss on her forehead.

Maya's eyes teared up slightly hearing that. She glanced in her brother's eyes before stepping out of his embrace. 

How could he say that when he was the one who had insisted she got married if not emotionally blackmailed her?

"Allah Hafiz." She said curtly as she got in the car.

She stared at her family getting smaller and smaller before their car turned a corner and they disappeared from sight.

***

Salam! 

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