____Chapter 41____

"What are you saying? Salaar's wedding with someone else? What will Leena do now?" Mrs. Qureshi screamed in a whisper. She was now really concerned about her daughter. "What will her reaction be if she comes to know about this?"
"Nazli, I told you not to raise her hopes! I knew your wicked mother-in-law would never let Salaar marry Leena," Mrs. Qureshi said, putting all the blame on Leena.

"Mom, what could I possibly do? You know about Leena and her obsession with Salaar. I only promised her to pacify her so she wouldn't ruin my life," Nazli clarified, though she was also scared of Leena's reaction.

"Not only Warda Aunty, even Taimur was against this. He warned me to stay away from Salaar's life," Nazli added, still stunned by Taimur's stern behavior.

"What has happened can't be changed. The real issue is, how will we control Leena now?" Mrs. Qureshi exclaimed thoughtfully.

"Mom, please let this marriage pass. Take her anywhere so this news doesn't reach her, or else she will create problems for all of us," Nazli said pleadingly.

"Yes, you are right. This is the only solution we have now. But for how long can I keep her there and hide this news from her?" Mrs. Qureshi retorted.

Nazli and Mrs. Qureshi could sense the storm brewing near them, one that could have devastating effects on their lives.

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Zarmeena was sitting in the canteen, engrossed in her studies, preparing for the test scheduled for tomorrow. Yet, a nagging thought lingered in her mind, would she even be able to take the test?

The sudden screech of a chair being pulled disrupted her focus, and her gaze shifted to the front. Sajid had taken a seat across from her.

"Sajid, how can I surrender to this marriage, putting a full stop to my dreams?" Unable to restrain herself, Zarmeena voiced her thoughts aloud.
Sajid knew what his friend was going through. He took a deep breath and, after a brief pause, started speaking.

"Zaro, I don't know what the outcome of this marriage will be or how you'll handle this sudden change in your life," Sajid replied thoughtfully. "But one thing I'm sure of is that Salaar has genuine feelings for you. Only love has the immense power to overcome everything."

"Sajid, I don't love him and never will. You know I'm not that type of girl," Zarmeena retorted firmly.

"What type of girl, Zaro?" Sajid asked, his tone becoming serious. "Zaro, you are a woman. Please accept that. No matter how much you deny your femininity or curse this marriage, the fact remains that you agreed to become Salaar's wife. If you feel like you're being carried away by a whirlwind, don't fight it, you'll never win.

"Let yourself be free, Zaro. Don't make things more complicated. This man genuinely loves you, and he's terrible at hiding it," Sajid added, a grin spreading across his face as he recalled Salaar's shy expressions.

"Oh, Zaro, what am I going to do with you? Look at yourself, on the day of your mehendi, you're still at the university! Even I took the day off," Sajida chimed in, joining their conversation with her hands on her hips.

"Zaro, Aunty Zareena sent me to bring you home, or else you'll be late for your own mehendi function," Sajida warned in an exasperated tone.

"Can I run and hide somewhere?" Zarmeena asked innocently, pouting.

"No!" Sajid and Sajida exclaimed in unison.
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MEHENDI FUNCTION

Malik Villas

"Hurry up, we are late!" Warda was urging everyone to get ready for the Mehendi function. She was also checking the essentials like the taal (a plate decorated with henna and candles), sweets, bangles, a beautiful gota-embroidered yellow dress for Zarmeena, and a stunning gold jewelry set.

"Taimur, is the venue mentioned on the cards?" This was the third time Warda had asked the same question. Since the Nikkah, Warda had not allowed anyone to rest, nor had she herself taken a moment to relax.

"Mom, relax, everything is perfect. If you stress yourself any further, your blood pressure will reach the sky." Taimur tried to reassure his mother. He looked dashing in a brown sherwani paired with off-white pajamas.

"Where is my pajama? Jawad must have stolen it! I swear, he's pushing me to my limits. I'll kill him!" Fahad shouted anxiously, clenching his fists, ready for an attack.

"Sir Fahad, I took it. Zubair asked me to iron it; it had creases," Aslam clarified.

"Before jumping to conclusions, save some energy and ask the people around. In the army, the enemy won't wait for your conclusions they'll shoot you directly, jerk," Jawad taunted, leaving no chance to tease him.

"You two, stop fighting and tell me, did you check the venue? Is everything arranged over there?" Warda asked in haste.

"Don't worry, aunty. Fahad checked it," Jawad replied in a relaxed tone.

"What? I thought you checked it!" Fahad shouted back.

"I will kill both of you if anything is out of order. Go and check it right now!" Warda regretted entrusting such an important task to these two buffoons.

"Don't worry, Madam. I just came from there. Everything is splendid. They did a fabulous job," Zubair reassured, clearing Warda's doubts.

"Wow, Zubair, you look just out of this world!" Fahad said, stunned. Zubair had donned a traditional shalwar kameez with a waistcoat and a pakool (tribal hat) on his head.

"Amazing, Zubair! This attire looks so good on you," Warda complimented him as well.

"Warda Aunty, come with me. I've arranged a makeup artist for you, and your dress is ready too," Nazli said, her voice laced with concern. She wore a beautiful maroon Rajasthani sari with heavy zircon and gold jewelry. Her hair was styled elegantly, and she looked stunning. To win back Taimur's trust, she had softened her demeanor considerably.

"Yes, Warda, don't worry. I'm here to handle everything. You go and get ready," Samina, her sister-in-law and best friend, tried to pacify her restlessness.

Warda was about to leave, but her gaze shifted to the stairs. Salaar was descending them, dressed in a black sherwani with white pajamas, looking like a heavenly being.

"Oh my God, Salaar, you look like an angel!" Warda exclaimed, covering her face with her hands, her mouth agape.

At her words, everyone's gaze shifted toward Salaar, making him blush.

"For God's sake, Mom, don't look at me like this! You're making me nervous," Salaar muttered, embarrassed by the many admiring eyes on him.

"And by the way, the word 'angel' is feminine, so it can't be used for me," Salaar added, questioning her choice of words.

"You're wrong. Angels don't have a gender. And what do you think about the word 'blushing'?" Warda teased, playfully slapping his handsome face with affection.

"Enough of this display of affection! Leave him to me," Samina intervened, stepping between the mother and son's banter.
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Venue Of Mehendi Function.

Faizan, Musa, and Mrs. Shameem were the first to reach the venue. A well-suited, uniformed driver opened the doors for them. The father, sons, and grandson wore sherwani pajamas in different colors. Warda and Samina arrived shortly after, holding taals in their hands.

Zareena, Sajida, Ahmed, and Sajid were already at the gate to welcome them. The venue was decorated with colorful, decorative neon lights. After a while, Nazli and Taimur arrived, followed by many cars. One of the cars had Salaar, Fahad, Jawad, and Zubair.

All the guests were welcomed with flower garlands placed around their necks. Warda and Samina wore matching outfits with slightly different colors. Everyone enjoyed dancing to DJ songs. Fahad and Jawad also joined in, enthusiastically dancing to their favorite Punjabi songs. Zubair expressed his happiness through the Attan dance, the traditional dance of his tribe, performed along with his team.

Despite having no dancing skills, Samina and Warda joined Musa on the dance floor. Eventually, Musa dragged his parents to the stage. Nazli, momentarily putting aside her worries about Leena, danced with her husband and son. Everyone enjoyed the Mehendi function, except for one person.

Yasmeen sat alone, her wrinkled face displaying an expression of dismay. She had lost her daughter for the sake of a promise she had once made to her friend. Since her argument with Majida, she had been constantly trying to call Fareed, but she couldn't reach him. Ahmed reassured her that Fareed must be busy since he was on a mission, but her restless heart found no peace.

Zareena was aware of Yasmeen's agony, but with so much to do, she didn't get a chance to talk to her. Amidst her lingering thoughts, Yasmeen felt a hand press her palm. She looked up to find Shameem gazing at her with a soft smile.

"Everything will be alright. Haven't you heard that blood is thicker than water? Don't worry; everything will be fine," Shameem said, sensing her friend's anxiety. Yasmeen forced a smile to reassure her friend, though deep down, she was still troubled.

Amidst the laughter and hooting, Sajid and Ahmed escorted Zarmeena to the stage. She wore the suit Warda had brought for her, her face hidden beneath a green net veil.

Salaar tensed up as he noticed her standing close to him. One by one, Warda and the other women applied henna to Zarmeena's hands. After her turn, it was Salaar's. All the ladies of the Khan family approached. Zareena placed thousand-rupee notes on both of Salaar's hands before applying henna over the notes.

"Aunty, I know Salaar is your son-in-law, but please don't use up all the henna on his hands. Leave some for us too!" Jawad joked with an innocent expression.

"Don't worry. You won't be left behind after all your efforts in arranging everything," Warda replied. At her invitation, both Jawad and Fahad quickly secured seats near Salaar.

"But on one condition: we'll apply it directly to your hands without notes," Warda added mischievously.

"Oh, okay, Aunty. We're not like Salaar, objecting to everything," Jawad retorted casually.

"Don't worry, you can even apply it to Jawad's face!" Fahad teased, targeting Jawad again.

"Dadi, I also want henna on my hands!"

"Oye, you're too young for this. Let us get married first," Jawad replied in haste.

"Alright, alright. Samina, start applying henna to each of them so their mothers can witness their marriages soon," someone joked.

"Sister Zareena, let us take Zarmeena back so we can fulfill their heartfelt wish," Warda told Zareena, hoping to save Zarmeena from their wild antics. Though Salaar still wanted her close to him.

Zareena nodded and led Zarmeena to an attached room near the hall. With Zarmeena's seat vacant, everyone tried to occupy it amidst a storm of hooting and laughter. Henna was even applied to Faizan, Taimur, and Zubair's hands.

Fahad, Jawad, and Taimur dragged Salaar to the dance floor, but he refused to dance. Sajida also joined the dancing, hilariously entertaining everyone.

Finally, the function ended, leaving everyone amused and exhausted.

Yet Yasmeen remained distant from the enjoyment, burdened by the guilt of disappointing Fareed.