Things were okay now.
Mahek didn't ask much. Not about the calls, not about the arrangements, not even about Zavian going silent just before the nikkah, all she knew was he came back. He kept his promise & her heart was happy, satisfied.
She was sitting on her bed, in her maroon dress & a soft dupatta lazily covering her head. Her hands were folded in her lap, still unsure of what expression she should wear on her face.
There was a knock on the door.
"Zeba?" her father's voice, gentle & calm.
She stood up quickly & opened the door. Her mother & father entered quietly. Her mother looked at everything but her, her eyes touched the curtain, the dresser, the wall behind Mahek, but not Mahek herself.
Her father sat down on the edge of her bed & asked her to sit beside him.
Then softly her father said:
"Beta we've talked to Zavian's father"
Mahek looked at him quickly, surprised but she stayed quiet.
"We did your nikkah on one condition..." he paused & her mother looked away again.
"That Zavian will come here alone or with his family in the next two or three years to take you respectfully but without meeting his family, without knowing who they are, how can we just send our daughter away like this?"
It was the voice of a father who had protected his daughter all his life & was now trusting someone else to do the same.
Mahek nodded slowly. She didn't know what to say.
Her mother hadn't said a single word since entering the room & that silence it said everything.
She wasn't happy. She hadn't accepted it not from her heart.
Mahek could feel it in the way her mother avoided her gaze, how her fingers tugged at the end of her dupatta nervously.
That silence was louder than any scolding.
Mahek sat frozen her heart fighting between two worlds. The joy of being in Zavian's nikkah & the ache of knowing her mother wasn't standing with her in it, not yet.
Her father, sensing the weight in the air, stood up slowly. He gently placed his hand on Mahek's head, the way only a father can soft & warm.
"Zavian will be waiting," he said with a quiet smile, "talk to him, beta"
She nodded slightly, watching her father walk out. Her mother followed, still silent.
And the door closed behind them.
Mahek wiped her face softly, pulling her comfy dress over her as she came to her bed, her safe corner. The weight of the evening was still on her chest her mother's silence, the reality of her nikkah.
She reached for her phone from the bedside table.
The screen lit up immediately with a soft buzz.
1 new message from Zavian
She unlocked it & there it was.
"Assalamualaikum my beautiful wife 🤍"
Her lips curled into the faintest smile, She stared at the words for a second, as if reading them could slow down her thoughts "My beautiful wife"
Her fingers hovered for a second before she replied:
"Walaikum Assalam, your wife is exhausted, Mr. Ubaid"
Zavian rested his head back on the pillow, his phone glowing softly in the dim room.
"Then let me hug my wifey, can I?"
On the other side, Mahek stared at the screen. Her heart melted at the softness of his words but the ache of distance was still there.
"You are miles away, Zavian"
She sent, her fingers hesitating for a second before tapping send, a quiet truth wrapped on that message.
The reply came like a whisper into her soul,
"I'm here with you. We'll be together soon. We are in nikkah, Chanda is there any distance left, wifey?"
She stared at the message.
Something inside her melted, the way he called her "wifey" the way he reminded her with so much warmth, so much love that she was his now, by soul, by name, by dua.
Mahek stared at her phone, a thousand thoughts in her head, her fingers shaking just a little as she typed:
"Zavian how did all this happen? I'm still so confused"
Her heart was honest in that moment, a mix of joy, nervousness & disbelief. Just yesterday she was drowning in fear & now she was his.
Author's POV: (Mujhy likhty hue itni khushi q ho rhi hai bhaeeeeeee, acha lets continue it)
Zavian, lying on his bed with one arm under his head, smiled as he read her message. A soft chuckle escaped his lips & he quickly typed back:
"First night py esi baatein kon krta hai, begum?"
(Who talks like this on the first night, wifey?)
Her eyes widened & her lips parted in shock. A smile tried to hide behind her shy expression.
"Astaghfirullah, Zavian" she replied, cheeks already turning red.
He laughed, knowing exactly what he was doing, teasing at her shyness like he always did.
"What astaghfirullah now? Isn't it our first night?"
He added:
"Officially, Halal-ly"
Mahek buried her face in the pillow, blushing hard, trying not to laugh.
Mahek raised an eyebrow at her screen & typed, giggling softly,
"Halal-ly?"
Zavian laughed softly, already ready with his comeback.
"Han han, ban gai na biwi. Ab mere humor py hanso gi? Sai hai sai hai"
(Yeah yeah, you're my wife now. So now you'll laugh at my humor? Great, great)
Mahek laughed quietly, covering her mouth as if someone might hear her happiness. Her heart felt light, like someone had taken away the burden she was carrying for months. Zavian was always like this, making her feel like home, even from miles away.
She texted:
"You're a drama king"
Zavian replied instantly:
"But I'm yours"
That made her stop. Just pause & read it again But I'm yours.
And suddenly, the distance didn't matter. The questions didn't matter. The guilt, the fear, the months of silence, none of it mattered.
He was hers.
And she was his.
Forever.
Mahek typed softly, almost whispering her heart into text:
"Zavian... Pakistani girls are so pretty. I wish I was pretty like them"
Zavian stared at her message, then slowly blinked, his expression changed into that done face she knew so well. He sighed dramatically, then started typing, putting his heart into every word:
"Beshak, Allah ny sb ko khubsurat bnaya hai lekin tumhare sath ny meri existence ko khubsurat bana diya hai"
(Undoubtedly, Allah has made everyone beautiful but it's your presence that made my existence beautiful)
"Jo mera deen mukammal krny wali hai bhala us sy zyada khubsurat kon ho skta hai?"
(The one who completes my faith, who could be more beautiful than her?)
Then he paused & added, softly:
"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, Mahi"
Mahek felt something warm in her chest love, safety. Her eyes got teary, not with pain but with emotions, with love.
And for the first time that night, she believed him.
She believed she was beautiful.
Because Zavian saw her that way.
Mahek smiled in her blush & softly typed,
"Toh phir bolo dusri larkiyon ko dekhna b mere liye haram hai"
(Then say it looking at other girls should be haram for me)
Zavian read it with a smile on his lips but his heart softened too. He took a pause, then typed slowly,
"Ab mujh py sirf Mahek Sheikh halal hai"
(Now, only Mahek Sheikh is halal for me)
Mahek stared at the screen, her heart skipped a bead, a smile came up on her lips.
She whispered to herself, "Sirf mera Zavian..."
(Only mine, Zavian...)
He said,
"Can I see my beautiful wife?"
Mahek hesitated for a moment, her fingers paused above the keypad.
"I've changed my clothes," she typed, a little shy.
Zavian smiled that boyish, heart stealing smile & without saying anything else, he tapped the video call button.
The screen rang. Once, twice, thrice.
And then she picked up.
There she was, his Mahek. The screen lit up with her face, fresh & glowing, her hair loosely falling around her shoulders, her eyes avoiding the camera in pure shyness.
He whispered softly, hand over his heart.
"Allah Allah, begum," he whispered dramatically,
"Itna haseen lgna b gunah hai"
(My God, my wife, being this beautiful is a sin)
Mahek blushed even harder, hiding her face slightly from the camera.
"Begum, mujhy dekhein toh sai" , he requested gently
(Look at me, wifey, just once)
She lifted her eyes for a second & then quickly looked down again, red color spreading on her soft cheeks.
Zavian sighed, a soft urge in his voice.
"Wanna hold your chin & kiss it, kaash kaash begum"
(I wish I could hold your chin and kiss it, if only if only, my love)
As their laughter & soft whispers faded into the quiet night, the screen dimmed gently & those lovey dovey chats blurred into the calm darkness, like stars slowly twinkling , leaving behind a beautiful, peaceful night.
Two Months Ago
It was a quiet night, Zavian sat alone in his dimly lit room, the glow of his laptop faint in the corner. The coffee in his mug had gone cold, untouched for hours. His fingers shaked slightly as he held the phone to his ear. The line crackled for a moment before his father's voice came through.
"Zavian, it can't happen like that, beta..." his father said softly, concern in his tone.
Zavian's voice was low but desperate,
"Baba, I don't know just make it happen, please. It's my only happiness"
There was silence for a moment, the weight of Zavian's words hanging in the air. He wasn't asking for much only for the chance to hold onto the one person who made his world feel warm.
His voice cracked slightly,
"I can't lose her, Baba not like this"
His father exhaled on the other end, understanding the pain in his son's words.
"I'll try talking to her father but things like these, they take time beta. Families, distance, borders specially Pak & India"
Zavian cut in, not rudely but out of desperate emotion.
"Then break the distance, Baba. Please. Call him. I'll talk. You talk. Just... try. For me"
In those two long months, Zavian did everything he could to stay busy. On the surface, he was calm showing up to work on time, attending meetings, replying to emails, ticking off his to do lists but deep down, his mind was somewhere else entirely. Stuck. Lost in the eyes of a girl across a border. A girl he called his. A girl whose silence echoed in every corner of his day.
His father had kept his word.
He did reach out to Mahek's father. A respectful call, a humble tone, a heartfelt request but the response on the other side was cold. Her father wasn't angry, just closed off.
"I don't know your son. I don't know your family. How do I trust you with my daughter?"
he had said, straight but calmly.
Zavian's father didn't argue. He understood. A father's heart always speaks a different language when it comes to his daughter but he couldn't let his son's love die in silence.
So he tried again & again.
Zavian, too, joined in. With respect & sincerity, he reached out, messaged, calls requesting a chance,
At one point, Zavian's father requested more,
"Let her complete her education. I'll arrange her visa for foreign. We'll take care of her like our own daughter. Let them live together respectfully, after nikkah. Just don't shut the door on them"
But Mahek's father wasn't ready.
"You may be honest people but I need more than words. I can't risk my daughter's future on emotions"
And so, the waiting continued.
Zavian pretended to sleep peacefully at night. He pretended to focus during the day but his heart was upset, restless somewhere between prayers, hope & the sound of her laugh that lived in his memory.
After restless nights of unanswered prayers, unspoken fears & days filled with hope a breakthrough finally came.
Mahek's father, after deep request finally gave his answer.
Yes but with a condition.
He sat down with his wife one night, worry on his face & said,
"We'll allow the engagement but not without boundaries"
When Zavian's father called again, the tone was different this time.
"We will do the engagement, nothing more. If in two years, Zavian comes here either with you or even alone we'll sit, we'll meet him & only then will we decide to send Mahek. If he doesn't come or if we feel anything isn't right, the engagement ends"
But Zavian's father gently requested back.
"Let them be in nikkah let it be done with all respect & faith. Let them belong to each other now but on your condition in two or three years, we will come. Zavian will come. You'll meet us & only then will we take her with us with your blessing"
Mahek's father hesitated.
But then, maybe it was the way Zavian's father spoke with softness or maybe it was the thought of Mahek, his only daughter, whose eyes had dulled in the last few months.
So, he agreed.
"Fine," he said,
"There will be nikkah but we'll write it down. A contract. If you don't come if we don't meet you & your son in these two or three years that nikkah ends. I will not send my daughter to strangers. Not without knowing them"
And just like that, the wheels turned but for Zavian and Mahek even that was enough.
Because it wasn't just a contract.
It was hope.
It was respect.
And it was the beginning of forever.
That evening, the world outside was quiet.
Zavian was in his room, lights dim. The chaos of the last few weeks had drained him. The phone calls, the waiting, the silence from the other side it all had left him upset but more than anything, it was the not knowing.
Would Mahek still be his?
He sat on the floor, legs folded beneath him, head bent low on the prayer mat. His hands were open in dua, his heart speaking quietly to the One who listens to whispers & hearts.
He wasn't asking anymore he was simply crying in front of his Rabb. The only place where his desperation could be raw & his love, pure.
He whispered, his voice was cracked & low:
"Ya Rabb, tere ilawa koi kisi cheez ka qadir nai"
(O my Lord, no one but You has control over anything,)
"Tere hukm py na-mumkin b mumkin ho jata hai"
(Your command can turn impossibility into reality,)
"Tu mumkinat ka badshah hai, tu KUN ka badshah hai"
(You are the King of all possibilities, the King of Be &it is)
"Mere Rabb, meri mohabbat tere samny hai, apni raza sy isko halal bana dy"
(My Lord, I place my love in front of You make it lawful with Your will.)
"Woh behtar hai toh usy mujh pr halal kr"
(If she is better for me, bring her to me lawfully,)
"Or agr woh behtar nai, toh usy behtar bana kr mujh pr halal kar"
(And if she is not better, then make her better for me & bring her to me)
He paused, breath shaking. Then continued, softer, almost like a child asking for mercy,
"Mere Rabb, mai yay nai kahunga k agr woh behtar nai toh usy mere dil sy nikaal dy"
(My Lord, I won't say to remove her from my heart if she isn't better)
"Agr woh behtar nai toh usy behtar bana kr meri rooh ka hissa bana dy"
(If she is not better now, then make her better & a part of my soul)
"Tere ilawa na koi dar hai, na koi rasta"
(There is no door but Yours, no path but Yours)
And with those last whispered words, his forehead touched the prayer mat again.
He didn't know, not yet that miles away, a door was already opening.
Zavian folded the prayer mat with slow hands & placed it back in its place his heart still heavy with the weight of the dua he had just made. The room was quiet, dim & filled with the soft scent of rain from the slightly open window.
A knock came at the door.
He turned.
His father stood there with a wide, joyous smile on his face & a small box of sweets in his hand. The kind of smile that only came with answered prayers.
He stepped in & without a word, took a piece of the sweet & brought it to Zavian's lips.
"Chota jinn dulha bny ga, MaShaAllah," his father said with a quiet happiness.
(My little Jinn will be a groom? MaShaAllah)
Zavian froze.
His knees felt weak. His chest tightened, not with fear but with hope.
"Baba..." he said breathlessly, eyes wide
"Did they say yes??"
His father didn't speak just nodded gently.
And Zavian broke.
He wrapped his arms around his father, holding him tight. Tears fell without resistance, He cried not like a grown man but like a child who had found his way home. His heart was shaking with disbelief, with love, with the overwhelming grace of what had just been given to him.
"Baba..." he whispered again.
"They said yes"
His father held him tighter.
"They said yes, beta. Your nikkah will happen, She will be yours."
And in that moment, Zavian knew his Rabb had answered.
There stood his mother.
Her eyes had caught the sweets. Her ears had caught the words & her heart caught the fire.
"So this is what's happening behind my back? Decisions made without even asking me?"
Her voice rose, filled with anger. She stepped inside the room, her glare was sharp.
"If you go through with this nikkah, Zavian, you will have no place in this house & you" turning to her husband,
"Trying to turn your son into someone like you making shameful choices, disgracing your family?"
Zavian & his father stood there, silent for a moment.
But then, Zavian straightened. The tears were gone now. His face was calm, serious & mature.
He looked at his mother & said,
"Amma, I'm going to marry Mahi"
He had never spoken to her like this before.
"Even if you think Baba is a bad person," Zavian continued,
"Today, he's guiding me toward something halal. Not running from responsibility, not hiding he's standing beside me, as a father should"
His mother's expression changed.
"Amma, I want you to be there, I really do. I want your blessings but I also know," he paused,
"You've always prioritized bhai over me. Always made me feel like I'm a mistake. Maybe I am in your eyes but not today. Today, I'm just a man choosing the right path with the woman he loves"
His mother looked at him but said nothing more. She turned & walked out.
Zavian closed his eyes for a moment, the pain & guilt in his chest rising again but this time, he didn't let it break him.
His father put a hand on his shoulder.
"You did the right thing, beta"
And Zavian nodded he was finally walking the path he had prayed for, even if it came with pain.
That day, Zavian packed what little he needed some clothes, his laptop & other gadgets.
He didn't wait for one last argument, or apology.
He just left.
He drove alone, through the roads of the city, to the house that stood at the edge of a quiet street a house he had built, with his own hard work & dreams.
White walls. A wooden door with a small plant beside it, still young & fresh. The curtains inside were the ones he'd picked from market because they reminded him of her soft blue, like the calm in her eyes.
He opened the gate slowly, entered & the silence that met him was so pure, it echoed.
No mother's voice.
No brother's taunts.
Just him & his breath & the walls he had earned.
He set his bag down by the sofa, knelt down on the cold floor & offered two rakaat of shukrana, a prayer of gratitude.
When he stood again, there was no hesitation in his steps.
His father had already arranged the rest.
"Don't tell Mahek," he had said, placing a hand on Zavian's shoulder.
"Her father will handle it now. We only need a Qazi & two gawah. The rest is Allah's work"
Zavian had nodded silently.
He didn't tell her that his mother had disowned him that morning.
He didn't tell her he had left the house for good.
He didn't tell her he was now living alone.
Because love is not just words it is protecting peace.
He waited in the same house where, soon, his Mahi would step in not as a guest but as his wife.
It was the moment of nikkah. Zavian sat quietly, dressed in a simple white kurta. Beside him sat his father & the qazi.
He worried silently about Mahek's reaction, she didn't yet know it was him, her Zavian, sitting just there, waiting to become her husband but when their eyes met for the first time, looking at each other in that halal bond, everything shifted.
His heart filled up with emotions. Tears in his brown eyes to spill but they were tears of pure happiness & relief. He had finally found his mahi not just in dreams or messages but in reality, in a pure promise.
After the qazi spoke the final words & their hands were knotted in nikkah, Zavian raised his hands in prayer. His voice barely above a whisper,
"Alhamdulillah, Allah, I never knew You listened so closely. Please give me strength & courage to make my Mahi happy all my life. Make me a man who will let her walk on my hands, not on the floor, Ameen"
And with that prayer, two souls were forever united, knotted not just by words...
Let’s return to that cold February evening, the day their hearts were knotted in the pure bond of nikkah. The rain had stopped, the winds outside still carried the scent of wet soil & inside, everything felt warm & quiet, like the world had paused for just them.
Mahek sat by the window, cheeks pink not from shyness now but from peace. On the other side of the screen, Zavian sat cross legged in his dim lit room, still wearing his white kurta. His eyes hadn’t stopped smiling since he saw her.
They were finally talking no fear, no guilt, only halal words shared between two hearts now one in faith.
Mahek asked,
“Zavian are you happy?”
He looked at her, his wife now. The love in his eyes softened but there was something else there too something deeper. A gratefulness.
He leaned back slightly, looked at the screen with a growing smile & said,
“You know Mahi, I’ve been waiting for this moment, to say something”
She tilted her head, her smile was curious.
“Say what?”
He took a breath & with a voice heavy with happiness & gratefulness, he softly recited:
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
(So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?)
Mahek’s eyes got teary instantly. The verse didn’t need explanation. In that moment, it was the explanation. Their love, their wait, the hardships, the silent prayers, the long lonely nights & now, halal peace.
He added gently,
“How can I ever deny this favor, Mahi? You are the proof that my Rabb listens”
She wiped her tears but her voice still shivered as she said
"I love you, I really love you get this in your head"
Zavian smiled, He looked at her as if he was memorizing her face all over again.
"I love you more, my beautiful wife," he whispered, eyes shining.
"You know if it was in my hands, I'd gift you the moon & the stars but I’m just a normal man all I can do is put every single flower in the world at your feet"
Mahek laughed through her tears,, that soft laugh Zavian adored.
In that moment, it didn't matter where they were.
What mattered was they were together.
She sat silently, listening, each word wrapping around her heart like a soft hug.
Zavian's voice was lowered, gentle,
"Mahi if you hold my hand, I'll feel the whole world in my hand"
"If you look into my eyes, I'll pull you into my soul through eyes"
He paused for a second, just to breathe her in, even through a screen.
"There’s no beauty I can compare you to, no compliment that feels enough"
"If someone ever asked me to name the clouds, those ones colored with the softness of a sunset..."
He smiled.
"I’d name them Mahek Sheikh"
On the other side, Mahek’s heart quietly broke open not from pain but from the feeling of being loved the way every woman dreams of.
She didn’t speak for a moment. She didn’t need to.
Mahek was blushing her eyes lowered, her smile shy, glowing like the soft light after rain & Zavian he wasn’t just looking at a girl anymore.
He was looking at his home.
The duas he whispered into countless nights.
The sacrifice he made by leaving behind comfort.
The strength he found in his father’s support.
The ache he endured in silence.
And now, she was right there his wife, his halal mohabbat.
In that moment, with every heartbeat echoing like a rhythm in his chest, only one verse kept whispering inside him, over & over, louder than everything else,
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ
So which of the favors of your Lord will you deny?
Because this her, was the favor he could never deny.
Not in this world, not in the next...
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next part...🤍📚
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