The rain had finally stopped.
No golden sun, just a soft blanket of clouds stretched across the sky & a breeze that carried the scent of wet soil & blooming flowers. It was one of those mornings that didn't ask for noise, just stillness. The kind of morning that gently touched the heart, asking it to feel deeply.
Zavian stood near his open window, the breeze brushing against his face as he closed his eyes for a second. The quiet hum of the city waking up below, the distant call of a morning bird & that fresh, post rain scent, it all somehow reminded him of her.
His fingers reached for his phone again, almost out of habit now. A part of him was always waiting for her, even if she was just a text away.
On the other side, Mahi stepped out on her balcony with her chai. She was wearing a simple white kurti, her damp hair tied loosely in a braid. The breeze made it sway softly. She took a sip & looked at the clouds soft, slow, peaceful like her heart this morning.
"Zavian" she whispered under her breath. She hadn't messaged him yet. How his presence even from miles away had become a part of her mornings.
Her phone buzzed, Zavian.
"Barish ruk gai hai or subah ap jesi lg rhi hai, thori si thandi, zyada si pyari"
(The rain has stopped & this morning feels like you slightly cool, alot lovely)
She smiled, her fingers softly curling around the mug.
Mahi replied,
"Bari filmy lines maar rhy ho aaj"
(You're being quite filmy today)
Zavian was lying on his bed, one arm resting behind his head, phone in the other. The morning had settled into a soft silence now. His thoughts drifted again towards her smile, her voice, the way she said "shut up zavian" every time she blushed.
He typed slowly, then paused. Rewrote. Then finally sent it.
"Mahi, I wanna see you if you're comfortable"
It wasn't rushed or forced.
On the other side, Mahi had just come back to her room after helping her mother in the kitchen. She wiped her hands with a soft cotton dupatta & picked up her phone. As she read his message, her heart skipped the way it always did when he asked something gently, not demanding just hoping.
Zavian had just placed his phone on the table when it buzzed.
"Photo received, View once"
He paused. That tiny moment of hesitation before opening something that could stop time.
He tapped.
And there she was.
His Mahi.
In black.
The screen glowed but not as much as her. Her eyes whiskey brown, deep enough to drown in, lined delicately with kajal. Her lashes curled like they were painted by the wind. A small black bindi sat quietly between her brows, commanding attention without even trying.
Her long straight hair fell softly over her shoulders & in her ears, delicate jhumky. A soft nose pin shining under the light, placed so gracefully that even the stars would jealous.
A faint smile rested on her lips the kind that reaches the soul but still hides a thousand shyness. And right at the tip of her chin, a tiny, soft dimple.
Zavian froze.
His heart didn't beat, it fluttered.
He blinked slowly, trying to hold the image in his mind even after the photo disappeared. View once but what he saw wasn't going away.
He placed a hand on his chest, a smile on his lips.
"This girl makes me fall in love again, every single day"
He sat back, closed his eyes for a second.
His voice escaped in a whisper, "You're unreal, Mahi"
And somewhere, just across the border, someone was smiling without knowing she'd just stolen his breath all over again.
Zavian stared at the blank screen long after the photo vanished. It was gone but stayed into his mind forever. His fingers moved slowly, typing but his heart was still not ready & then he hit send.
"اللهم زد فزد"
(O Allah, increase & then increase again)
Then he added softly,
"You're heavenly beautiful, Mahi"
"As if you held moonlight & meaning, as if you belonged in the sky"
Mahi's message blinked on Zavian's screen.
"Now show me my Zavian"
That one word my held something. It wasn't just a word. It was a belonging & it hit Zavian like the softest lightning.
His heartbeat shivered.
He smiled, nervous & excited at once & typed:
"I'm getting blocked after this"
Then he did it. He sent her his picture. No filters, just him. The Zavian who hadn't stopped loving her since the day he confessed.
Seconds passed like hours. Then the notification appeared:
"Opened"
She had seen him.
On the other side, Mahi stared at her screen at the boy who had become her world. Wavy long hair, soft eyes full of unspoken love, a tiny nervous smile like he was caught between fear & hope & in that moment, something settled in her heart.
After four months of confessions, calls, fights, silences & deep connection, They had finally seen each other.
Zavian's fingers hovering over keyboard. He texted:
"You there, Chanda? Or I'm in your blocklist now?"
A small laugh escaped Mahi as she stared at his message. Her cheeks were already warm.
She replied:
"Shut up, Zavian. You're so cute & handsome"
He read, he smirked & sent a message:
"Begum, I really doubted on the very first day that you're blind but now I'm sure"
Mahi rolled her eyes & bit her lip to hide her smile.
"Drama king"
He replied:
"Only for my queen"
She didn't type back for a moment,
"I can't believe it, we saw each other today"
He nodded, even though she couldn't see it. His fingers moved slowly over the screen.
"I'm still not over it. Your eyes, Mahi. They felt like home"
Her heart skipped. She stared at those words
They talked for a while soft teases, soft confessions, playful little moments that felt like warm sunlight in between clouds but somewhere in the middle of those smiles, something inside Mahi grew quiet.
Zavian was still talking, voice soft & full of warmth but Mahi's replies started coming slower, shorter. He noticed it immediately.
"Chanda? Kya hua?"
(What happened, Chanda?)
She stared at her screen for a long moment before she replied.
"Zavian do you ever feel like you're doing something wrong even when your heart says it's right?"
He paused. His fingers hovered over the keyboard.
"Mahi you're thinking about your parents again?"
She replied with just one word.
"Yes"
"I feel like I'm lying to them every day. They trust me, Zavian. Baba does Maa too. They've given me freedom & I'm using it to hide you. It eats me up sometimes"
Zavian read the words, his chest heavy.
He didn't reply instantly because he knew this guilt wasn't small. It wasn't about just hiding texts or calls it was about the love she was carrying in silence, against a wall built by tradition & society.
He finally typed:
"Mahi you're not lying. You're just scared & it's okay. I know this isn't easy for you. You're not doing anything wrong by loving me"
She replied quickly:
"But it feels wrong"
He closed his eyes for a moment & typed again.
"Then let me make it right. I'll face them. I'll come to your house, Mahi. With nothing but respect & your name in my heart"
There was silence on the other side.
And then came her message:
"Zavian"
"Hmm?"
"Promise me you'll wait"
Zavian replied softly,
"Till my last breath, Mahi. I'll wait"
They stopped talking after that.
Not because they gave up on each other,
But because they finally understood what it meant to want someone in the right way.
In the halal way.
Zavian didn't message her that night.
Mahi didn't either.
It was the hardest silence they had ever shared, a silence not born out of anger but out of deep, aching respect. Out of love.
Mahi lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling fan slowly circling above.
The same thoughts circled in her mind.
Her heart whispered his name again & again, but her head kept pulling her back into guilt.
Was I wrong for loving him like this?
Have I made my Baba's trust feel like a lie?
She turned to the wall, tears resting quietly on her lashes.
And then, another thought.
Aren't Pakistani girls so pretty? Maybe he'll see someone else. Maybe someone who doesn't hide him. Who doesn't love in secret.
A dull pain pressed at her chest.
She buried her face into the pillow & whispered into the fabric.
"Zavian don't stop loving me please"
On the other side, in another country, another city
Zavian sat by the window, his room dark, except for the outside street light that spilled in like soft gold.
He stared at his phone. No notifications.
But he didn't open the chat.
Didn't break the silence.
Because he knew, if he really wanted her, he have to earn her.
With dignity, patience & with permission.
Even if it meant hurting now for something sacred later.
He closed his eyes, whispered a prayer quietly to Allah:
"Keep her safe, keep her mine"
And then he slept, with her name beating softly in his heart.
Zavian opened his eyes slowly, the soft light of the early morning sneaking through his room's windows. The world was still quiet, the sky a soft grey, washed clean after the rain. His phone buzzed softly on the side table.
He grabbed it lazily, rubbing his eyes & tapped the screen.
One message.
Mahi.
"Zavian Pakistani girls are so pretty. What if you marry one? What if you fall for someone else?"
His heart softened immediately. He could feel her thoughts tangled in that message.
He stared at the screen for a moment. Not because he didn't know what to say but because he wanted to say it right.
Then he typed, slowly honestly.
"Mahi, you know what I saw when you sent that picture yesterday?"
"I saw the girl whose eyes I've memorized before I even saw her face"
"I saw the one who made me believe in love with just her existence"
"I don't care where you're from. You're not just my love you're my peace, my home"
Then he added:
"And as for falling for someone else Mahi, when someone already is your heart, where else is there to fall?"
He stared at his message for a second before hitting send.
Mahi held her phone close to her chest after reading his message. Her heart felt full, full of love, of relief, of warmth that only Zavian's words could bring but even beneath that, quietly, something else was growing.
Fear.
A soft fear.
She stood by her window, watching the trees sway in the breeze, clouds hanging low after the rain. It was such a beautiful day but her thoughts didn't match the weather.
She whispered to herself, "How did I get this lucky?"
Then, slowly, her fingers began to type.
"Zavian, I feel like I don't deserve this kind of love"
"You love me so purely & sometimes I feel scared"
She hesitated, then added:
"What if life gets in the way? What if my parents never say yes? What if you get tired of waiting?"
She sent it.
She stared at the screen, her eyes slowly filling up with tears.
Zavian's sighed & took a deep breathe then began:
"I love you, Mahek Sheikh & I mean it. I'll take you in my nikkah soon, just wait & pray"
Her breath stopped as the message appeared.
"You exist & that's enough for me to love you, Chanda"
Simple words overwhelming in the gentlest way. She held her phone close to her chest for a second, as if it could bring her closer to him, to the one who called her Chanda.
She replied softly:
"Zavian you're going to make me cry"
And he typed back almost instantly:
"Then let it be happy tears, my love because I'll spend my whole life making sure you never cry alone again"
Author's POV:
Two Months of Silence, The days turned into weeks & weeks quietly slipped into two long months.
No one knew how they survived it not even they themselves.
They weren't talking, not texting, not calling.
But love? Love doesn't pause when silence falls.
Zavian buried himself in work. From early morning meetings to late night files, he tried to keep his mind busy. His laptop stayed warm, coffee turned cold often & his room stayed dimly lit like his heart without her voice.
He didn't tell anyone but every time he sat at his desk, his eyes searched his screen for a notification that never came. He never changed her chat wallpaper. He didn't delete a single message & every night, just before sleeping, he'd whisper into the dark.
"I hope you're okay, Chanda"
Mahi on the other side was no different. She drowned herself in books & notes.
Exams were near but focus was a stranger. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him. His laugh. His silly lines. The way he said "Chanda"
She kept her phone close, even when she knew it wouldn't buzz.
Some nights, she cried quietly.
Some days, she smiled remembering him.
And though they weren't speaking, they were still loving.
Still waiting & hoping.
Just then, a gentle knock on her door broke the stillness.
She turned.
Her father entered, wearing his usual calm expression the one that always made her feel like everything would be okay, no matter what.
He sat beside her on the edge of the bed, placed his hand on her head, softly brushing her hair away.
"Kya kar rahi thi, beta?" (What were you doing, my child?) he asked, voice kind, careful.
Mahi smiled faintly,
"Bs likh rhi thi thora"
(Just writing a little.)
They spoke for a while. Small things. Her studies. The weather. Her health. It all felt normal, too normal & then...
He looked at her for a moment, with eyes that held decades of understanding.
And softly asked,
"Who's Zavian, Zeba? as her father lovingly called her.
Her world stopped
She blinked once. Twice. Her heart raced, her breath caught & the pen slipped from her hand. Her father was still smiling but waiting, not angry.
The name that had lived in her prayers, in her phone, in the silence of those two months was suddenly spoken aloud by the one man she respected the most.
Her lips shivered. She lowered her eyes, heart shivering in her chest.
Mahi's throat dried as she tried to speak.
"Baba..." her voice cracked.
But before she could go on, her father raised his hand gently, not to silence her but to speak with a softness only a father's heart could carry.
He looked at her not with anger, not with disappointment but with a depth that shook her soul.
"Zeba..." he said, his voice calm yet heavy with something she couldn't name,
"Nikkah hai tumhara aaj sham or mera nai khayal k tum apny baap ka sar jhukao gi"
(Your nikkah is this evening & I don't think you will ever bring shame to your father)
Her breath caught in her chest. Her eyes widened.
Everything inside her stilled the world, the wind, even the thoughts that screamed all night in her head.
This was real.
The guilt she carried for months, the hope she buried deep in her heart it all collided in that single moment.
And she whispered,
"Baba... Zavian..."
Tears came up in her eyes. She didn't know whether it was fear or relief but something inside her was breaking.
Her fingers shivered as she typed the first message.
Then another.
And another.
"Zavian, please reply"
"Zavian, I need to talk to you, it's urgent"
"They fixed my nikkah..."
"Zavian, please wake up"
"Where are you? Please, I need you"
"Zavian, say something"
Text after text.
Dozens turned to hundreds. Her breath was uneven, heart shaking in her chest as tears blurred her vision.
She watched the screen.
"Delivered" but not "Seen"
No typing, no voice notes, no call.
Just silence.
Her hands wrapped around her phone like it could bring him closer. She whispered, as if he could hear her through the screen,
"Please answer me... please..."
But still nothing.
No buzz, no blue ticks.
No Zavian.
For the first time, Mahi felt something crack deep inside her.
Not the kind of pain that shouts but the kind that settles, quiet & cold, like a storm right before it rains.
She stared at her phone...
Still no reply.
The same Zavian who once couldn't go an hour without checking on her was now gone.
No voice note.
No call.
No message.
Nothing.
Tears rolled down her cheeks silently as she sat on the edge of her bed, clutching the phone to her chest like it could protect her from this sudden ache.
She wasn't angry. She was shattered.
For the first time, it felt like he'd left her.
In the moment she needed him most.
When her world was falling apart.
When her voice was shaking.
When her hands were shivering.
She had begged.
Cried.
Waited.
And all she got in return was silence.
It wasn't just about the texts.
It was about trust.
The boy who promised to stay
Was no where.
And as the clock kept ticking, the betrayal settled into her bones like winter.
She whispered into the quiet room,
"You promised, Zavian you promised you'd never leave me alone"
But all she heard was her own voice echoing back.
She sat still for a moment, her fingers shivering over the phone screen that stayed cold & lifeless. The eyes that once sparkled in his presence now stared blankly at the floor & then, with her voice low & bitter, barely above a whisper she said,
"I won't let my parents down because of that betrayer"
Her voice didn't shake. She didn't cry. It was steady.
She wiped her tears not the gentle way she used to when she missed him but with the finality of someone choosing herself.
No more waiting.
No more believing in words that had no weight.
No more hoping that love alone would save her.
Zavian, who once felt like home now felt like a wound.
And Mahek Sheikh chose to close it.
It was evening.
A soft orange hue came in through the curtains, settling over the room.
Mahek Sheikh sat silently between her mother & father. Her hands rested in her lap, fingers nervously clutching the edges of her red dupatta, the only bridal sign she wore. No heavy lehenga, no bangles clinking. Just the weight of silence & the fabric over her head, heavy with everything unsaid.
The room was full, yet it felt hollow to her. Friends whispered, her mother gently rubbed her back but Mahek's eyes were lost in some far away place. Her heart felt like a tightly clenched fist, wrapped in red cloth.
Her younger brother stepped into the room, his voice was soft.
"Baba, they're calling"
A stillness spread across the room.
Her father nodded & stood, his hand reaching out to help her up.
Mahek rose, her knees slightly weak. She adjusted the dupatta, pulling it over her face just a little more, as if to hide not her features but her heart.
And Mahek, the girl who once whispered "I love you, Zavian" with shy smiles now walked into a new beginning, not with love in her heart but with quiet surrender in her soul.
She sat there, quiet almost emotionless, her hands resting on her thighs, shaking beneath the weight of everything she never imagined would happen like this.
The voices in the room blurred. Her mother sat beside her, whispering duas, her father seated near the screen where the Qazi Sahab was reciting the Nikkah kalmaat.
But Mahek...
Mahek didn't hear any of that.
Not the mehar, not the formalities, not the names of the witnesses.
Her heartbeat was too loud.
Her eyes stared blankly ahead but her mind wandered back to nights filled with
"I love you, Chanda" & "I want you in my nikkah"
Until suddenly, the voice cut through the fog like thunder.
"Kya apko Zavian Ubaid sy nikkah qubool hai?"
(Do you accept the marriage with Zavian Ubaid?)
Her breath caught.
The name echoed in the air the same name that once made her blush, made her smile in the middle of the night, made her feel safe.
She blinked. Her lips parted slightly. Her throat was dry & for a moment, she wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not.
Zavian Ubaid.
She looked at her father, whose hand gently rested on hers.
She looked at the glowing screen.
And she whispered not with joy, not with excitement but with teary eyes & heart
"Qubool hai" (I accept)
"Qubool hai" (I accept)
"Qubool hai" (I accept)
And just like that,
She was his.
And as the Qazi's voice echoed softly in the room, asking the same question,
the reply came clear & steady from Zavian's side,
"Qubool hai" (I accept)
"Qubool hai" (I accept)
"Qubool hai" (I accept)
Three times he said it, each word stronger than the last, a whisper across the distance, sealing their promise forever.
And just like that, a new chapter began, from Mahek Sheikh to Mahek Zavian.
She was his & he was hers.
Two hearts, once separated by distance & doubt,
now bound together by the unbreakable thread of love & promise.
And at that very moment, Mahek's eyes fixed on the laptop screen.
There was Zavian sitting beside his father & Qazi Sahab, wearing a simple white kurta shalwar.
A soft smile on his lips but tears in his eyes.
For the very first time, their eyes met through the screen & both smiled, a smile full of promises.
He had kept his word.
He had taken her in his nikkah.
And all along, she had doubted his love.
But now, there was no doubt left, only the beautiful journey of their forever.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next part...🤍📚
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