میں ہوں من موجی پیا
کیسے کیا تیرا من مائل

Main hun man mauji piya
Kaise kiya tera mann mayal

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"Assalamualaikum papa!" Saman exclaimed loudly before dashing towards her father and almost throwing herself in his arms. Ihsan Shahid chuckled and pulled his daughter in his embrace. It finally felt like homecoming, for both of them.

"I missed you so much." Saman spoke, her voice came out muffled and heavy. And when she parted from her father, her eyes were filled with tears. Ihsan smiled lovingly at her and caressed her cheek.

"Mera bacha, I missed you too." He spoke softly making Saman sniff her tears back. She didn't want to cry like a child infront of everyone.

"Saman aapi!" Her brother exclaimed running towards her with his hands opened making her crouch down and take him in her arms. If it were in her hands she would have squished him tighter.

"How are you my little man?" She asked kissing him on his cheeks. He hated that and she loved teasing him.

"I am not little. You know mom said I am now seven years old." Junaid said proudly making her chuckle. All her sadness from before a while had faded away.

"Oh really!now you are a big man." She said pulling his cheeks to which Junaid smiled cheekily and ran away.

"Assalamualaikum Saman how are you?" Her stepmother approached her with a bright smile making her reciprocate the smile and then answer her.

"Walekumassalam aunty. I am fine." Her stepmother had a warm smile on her face hearing her answer. She patted her cheeks and walked away. The whole Haveli was lit up by the chaos. It was still early in the morning and they all had least expected her father's arrival this early. She was in middle of getting ready for her classes and as soon as she heard about his arrival she had ran downstairs like crazy.

"Saman don't you have classes?" It was badi ammi who reminded her because anyone could see Saman had completely forgotten about everything. Her face paled for a second and then morphed into a panicked one. She was so damn late.

"Oh my god I am late. Where is Ahad?" She asked . Munazza shook her head at her antics and pointed towards Ahad who was standing outside with his bike.

"Badi ammi can't I just bunk classes today. Please?" Saman joined her hands together dramatically. She batted her eyelashes innocently making Munazza hit her head lightly.

"Always doing drama. You better know the harm of bunking classes!"

"I know my pyari ammi. Ahad is there. He will help me." With that she ran out of the main door and told Ahad about her leaving the classes for today.

"What is this behavior Saman. Couldn't you tell me earlier...Wasted so much of my time." Shaking his head in annoyance Ahad spoke making her glare him for good few seconds.

"Go then why are you wasting more of your time?" She snapped and stormed inside. She had no time for his stupid bickering, and also she did not wish to ruin her mood. When she went back inside her father and stepmother had already went to get freshened up, and her dear brother was currently getting pampered by the elders.

"Saman... you didn't go to college?" Mahi asked genuinely confused making Saman sigh and nod.

"Anyways can you please help me with this!" And then like every other member Saman too got indulged into something that was going on for the grand welcome of the youngest son of the family.

Desi people and their ways of welcoming!

"Saman beta college nahi gayi?" Nausheen asked. Saman stopped cutting the onion and taking a deep breath looked at her aunt who was genuinely curious. She sighed and shook her head in no with a small polite smile.

"Papa's arrival called for a bunk. I can understand." Nausheen teased making her grin widely.

"Arey Saman...you are here? Didn't you-" before Mansha could complete her sentence Saman cut her in between.

"No I didn't go to college." She said gritting her words making Mansha stare at her with worried expression. Poor Mansha had no idea she was the third on the line to ask the same question.

"What's wrong?" Mansha asked.

"Nothing just you are the third one to remind Saman that she didn't go to college today." Mahi said giggling. Mansha looked at Saman and raised her eyebrows, still confused.

"I think bhabi I shouldn't have stayed home today. Three people have actually pointed out and my sixth sense is saying that I might miss something really important." Saman mused.

"Why don't you go now?" Mahi spoke making her sigh. She was surely sighing way too much today.

"I have missed the first class and by the way who will take me there?" She asked raising her eyebrows.

"Driver uncle's at home now or maybe you can go with Armaan bhai after breakfast. You can catch the second class. Better something than nothing." Mansha suggested.

"Take our suggestion Saman and go." Mahi said.

Saman did consider Mansha and Mahi's suggestion and so,now she was sitting next to a very silent Armaan as he drove towards the familiar building. Saman sighed, once again and peered at him from her periphery only to find him still staring at the road. Of course he had to drive but how could he stay silent for twenty minutes straight? Not even a single word came out of his mouth, and neither did any expression came on his stoic face.

He was boring!

Somehow the unusually long ride came to an end and she practically jumped out of the car, the moment it stopped infront of her college gate. Armaan watched her walk away after a quick 'Allah Hafiz' until she was inside the campus. Armaan heaved a sigh of relief.

Only he knew how nervous and anxious he was.

He had no idea why he always went mute when Saman was around knowing, how she, all of people preferred conversations. All the way he was trying to come up with something to start a talk with her but before that, the destination came. Saman Shah, a girl six years younger than him baffled him. Made him edgy and he could swear he had no idea how to deal with this problem.

Only if he had any clue how big the problem was going to become.

_________

Zeeshan had managed to ignore everyone for the last two days but he couldn't continue the same as when he entered the house he found an unexpected presence. The four Shah brothers were indulged in a hearty conversation. Their faces were shinning with adoration for each other while their smiles reached their eyes. Zeeshan had always admired how these brothers had been so understanding to each other, he had seen their fare share of differences yet how they handled those were commendable.

"Assalamualaikum." He greeted walking towards them with a polite smile. They all looked at him and instantly their eye lit up.

"Walekumassalam Zeeshan. Come sit." Anwar Shah, his Bade abbu called making him nod and sit on an one-seater.

"How are you beta?" Ihsan asked fondly.

"Allhamdulillah I am good chachu. You by the way look so young and fine." Ihsan laughed heartily at his remark.

"Of course I am but you look so worn-out! Young man you don't want to look older than me on your own wedding? Do you?" Ihsan commented making Zeeshan's eyes widen in shock. It felt like someone had poured iced water over him making hin freeze in his place. Baffled at his uncle's words, Zeeshan watched the elders sitting infront of him. It took him some seconds to comprehend what had been said, as if it were some foreign language. And when he finally registered the words,he felt the ground slipping beneath his legs.

Own wedding? Which wedding? What was he talking about?

What the hell was going on? He looked at his father who was laughing at something Taya abbu was saying and then he looked at his bade abbu who was smiling at him. He could feel his mind going numb and more than that he could feel his erratic heartbeat. He had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Not able to gather himself Zeeshan got up in a frenzy and passing a quick 'goodnight' to the elders stormed further inside the house. He was feeling dizzy, even the bright lights of the hallway was unable to clear the way he was walking on. He tripped on thin air as he was climbing up the stairs and he was sure he had bumped in few things here and there.

As far as he knew, it was Noor who was getting married. But what about him? Who fixed his wedding and with whom and heck why wasn't he informed!

His first reflex was to find Armaan.

Without thinking much about the late hours of the night Zeeshan banged on Armaan's door. His throat was getting parched. He again banged on the finely carved door with much more force, getting impatient with growing seconds. He heard the door unlocking and the very next moment found an angry and sleepy Armaan staring him with confusion.

"What the hell man? Have you gone crazy in your head?" Armaan asked or more yelled at him. Zeeshan couldn't decipher his words and pushing him aside rushed inside his room making Armaan frown. He closed the door and turned towards his almost crazy cousin who was now drinking water as if parched for years.

"Zeeshan will you care to explain what are you doing here and that too this late?" Armaan asked folding his hand over his chest. Zeeshan looked up vaguely.

Minutes passed as he stared at Armaan without blinking.

"Armaan." He whispered. Now Armaan was more worried than angry. He walked towards Zeeshan and placed his hand on his shoulder as if trying to break the ice around him.

"Do you know what is happening in the house?" Zeeshan asked in a low voice making Armaan look at him quizzically.

"What do you mean by that? And you came in middle of the night to ask me this?"

"Do you know about my wedding?" Zeeshan asked looking down

"Of course I know. But why are you asking such questions?" Armaan asked.

"Then why am I not aware about my own damn wedding?" Zeeshan bellowed. Armaan was taken aback by the sudden outburst. Zeeshan was looking at him with grave eyes.

"Yeh akhir ho kya raha hai Haveli mein Armaan?" [What the hell is happening in this Haveli?]

"Zee calm down." Armaan whispered holding his shoulder. Zeeshan took a deep breath and looked at him. And the way his puzzled eyes watched Armaan, he knew something was pretty much messed up.

"Now tell me everything calmly." Armaan sat beside Zeeshan and asked calmly. The guy sitting in front of Armaan looked exhausted and broken as if a storm had just wrecked the entire of his self. He didn't look like Zee he knew, he looked as if he was going to crumble but what exactly went wrong? And why he didn't know?

"Armaan I met Ihsan chachu downstairs. He said something...something about my marriage. Armaan I don't know what he was talking about. Armaan what actually is happening in this house?" Armaan was stunned hearing his words. It took him an entire minute to take in Zeeshan's words.

"Z...Zeeshan. Y..you don't know what's happening in the house from a few days?" Armaan asked making Zeeshan look at him blankly.

"I don't. As far as I know that,-" Zeeshan gulped the lump in his throat.

"That a proposal had come for Noor and...that...that she was getting married soon."

"Zee you gotta listen to me carefully." Armaan took a deep breath and spoke. Zeeshan looked at him and nodded.

"The proposal, the one that came for Noor. It was yours. Your parents had come forwards with this proposal infront of Dada jaan. And everyone knows about this. How come you don't?"

"What...what are you-" Zeeshan stopped and ran his hand in his unkempt hair.

"Believe me Armaan I didn't know. Neither ammi abbu nor anyone else told me anything. I have been avoiding everyone from the time Mahi bhabi told us about a certain proposal. I swear I didn't know." Zeeshan said in exasperation.

"Why are you such an ass Zeeshan?" Armaan was more helpless than he sounded.

"Armaan...I thought...I was going to lose her. I was so lost...you know everything Armaan. You know what I feel for her and knowing that I had possibility of losing her made me crazy."

"You are already crazy!" Armaan exclaimed loudly.

Ya Allah! What kind of mess this was?

"Zeeshan you could have atleast come to me."

"Armaan...why didn't my parents ask me before going forward with this proposal?" Zeeshan asked making Armaan's eyes widen.

"Zee...you didn't want this?" Armaan asked, fearing his cousin's answer.

"It's about my consent. My parents one day thought that it would be great to go and fix their son's marriage and that too without asking him first. Who the hell does that?" Zeeshan shouted.

"Zeeshan you're scaring me now."

"Armaan...I do not have any idea what I am going to do next. You out of people know what I feel for Noor. I had prayed for her to be mine but...what my parents had done. This is wrong." Zeeshan stated and held his head in between his palms. Armaan got up and hastily gulped down a glass of water yet he felt his throat clogging up.

Silence prevailed between them. A silence that was so scary and so deafening that it felt suffocating. And just like that seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. The two men were seated on the same places for the whole night. As if frozen into an ice of unsolvable problem.

Armaan feared what was coming next. He feared for his sister, he feared for his cousin. He feared the chaos that might follow this silent night. What happened with Zeeshan was unjust. His mother was a strict and controlling kind of parent but Armaan hadn't decipher that her controlling behavior would trap Zeeshan in such a mirage.

It was when the call for morning prayer echoed around, Zeeshan and Armaan snapped out of their reverie. The night seemed to pass in a whiff leaving them with no answer to their queries.

"What are you going to do now Zeeshan?" Armaan asked the question whose answer he feared the most.

"First I am going to confront my parents and then maybe Noor." Zeeshan spoke getting up.

"Will you...cancel this wedding?" Armaan asked not looking at him. Zeeshan inhaled sharply.

" I am a mess right now but, you know what kind of feelings I had for Noor. And even if all I want to do right now is to cancel out everything, I won't. For her sake and for my own sake I will think reasonably." Zeeshan said calmly.

"Zeeshan-" Armaan got up and taking a deep breath looked at his cousin.

"Noor is a part of my heart. I can't see her in pain...and same goes for you. I trust you mere bhai. Kuch aisa mat karna jisse tum dono ko takleef ho."[ don't do anything that will hurt you too.]

Zeeshan noded.

___________

The breakfast was an event of small talks and laughs courtesy of Ihsan's arrival, but Zeeshan wasn't a part of it. He was too numb and preoccupied with his thoughts to pay attention to what was said. Not even the teasing of his cousin and how Noor had blushed and how she had noticed his lack of intrest.

Completing his breakfast swiftly, Zeeshan left the dinning area and made his way towards his room. He was yet to confront his parents. Just thinking about the act they had done left a bitter taste in his mouth, even if he didn't want to harbour any harsh feeling towards them. Whatever they did was wrong in one place but over all they just wanted his well being. That's what Zeeshan was telling himself for so long.

Mazhar and Rameesha entered their room room and found Zeeshan waiting their with an intense look. He looked tensed and more than that disappointed. The couple exchanged looks and took a seat on the couch, juts opposite to the bed where he was seated.

"What's wrong Zeeshan?" Mazhar asked.

"Why did you went with my marriage proposal for Noor and that too without even telling me?" The room went into a thick silence for moments after Zeeshan spoke those words. Rameesha peered at her husband nervously making him look at her in confusion.

"What is he saying?" He asked.

"So you too don't know this baba? I guess it was ammi then. I respect you ammi, and I know you always wish for my well being but... but that doesn't mean you can just do anything without even consulting with me. Specifically on a matter as delicate as marriage." Rameesha looked away.

"What are you trying to say Zeeshan?" His father asked eyeing him anxiously.

"Ammi went with my marriage proposal without even asking." Zeeshan spoke curtly.

"Is he saying the truth Reem?" Mazhar asked in a grave voice. Rameesha didn't reply but the way she avoided meeting his gaze proved Zeeshan right.

"But you already like Noor. What's wrong in that...you should be happy." Rameesha reasoned. Zeeshan groaned, he was being really patient as she was his mother. It was not like any such thing had happened for the first time.

"Yes I like Noor but it's not about her or anyone else. It's about my consent. Ammi this is not the first time you had taken a decision for me, or more imposed your choice on me. Ammi I am a grown man, I deserve to make my decisions. I genuinely understand your concerns but you have to understand this that it was wrong. Tell me one thing, incase of Mansha, will you do the same? Fix her marriage with anyone you fins suitable?"

"If he will be suitable why won't I?" Rameesha countered back.

"Without even asking her if she wishes to marry or not?...like you did with me?" Zeeshan asked slowly but his mother didn't answer. She looked away.

"Zeeshan calm down first." Mazhar interrupted.

"Firstly Reem, Zeeshan is not wrong here. You can't just impose your decisions on your children. Reem we are educated people and we have been trying not to prove bad parents. All of us and if you will do something like this, it will be like going back to square one. Marriages aren't fixed like this, it's a life long thing...and our children have all the right to take decision on this matter-"

"But he already liked her and I didn't want to loose a gem of a person. And Zeeshan didn't anyone else tell you?" Rameesha asked.

"Here I am wrong Ammi, I was too engrossed in my own business to even ask someone ." Zeeshan accepted.

"Alright, this matter will not be discussed further. Reem you will not do any such thing again and you Zeeshan, open your mind and pay attention to whats going around you. I want your exact answer regarding this marriage proposal till tomorrow." Mazhar said firmly making both his wife and son nod in agreement.

"Make sure son, your decision is not impulsive and taken in rage. Noor shouldn't be at the receiving end of you mother and son's fued."

"Yes baba." Zeeshan replied. He didn't make any further effort to talk to his mother, he was still annoyed. Greeting them in a low voice he made his way out of their room. Closing the door Zeeshan turned around to move, only to stop dead in his track by an unexpected presence that was now staring him with stormy dark eyes.

Noor Shah stood at a distance from him, her brows furrowed in a frown. The two seemed to be frozen as they looked at each other with uncertainty and unsaid emotions.

Noor looked away making him do the same. And then without saying anything, just like many other times Noor walked past him.

_________

Assalamualaikum everyone.

I am sorry for the late update.

Do vote and comment and be prepared for more drama and more late updates.

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