Mashal, half-asleep, reached out for her phone and answered without looking.
"Who's disturbing me this late at night?"
A soft chuckle came from the other side.
"The one disturbing your sleep is your soon-to-be husband."
Mashal opened her eyes and sat up in surprise.
"Zaryab, do you know it's 2 AM?"
"Yes! That's exactly why I called—to remind you that now I can't sleep without talking to you."
Zaryab teased.
"You're already trying to make me addicted before marriage?"
Mashal taunted.
"Not addiction—it's my right."
Zaryab replied in the same tone.
"If you don't let me sleep now, I'll complain about you before we even get married!"
Mashal said, resting her head back on the pillow and closing her eyes.
"Complain? To whom? My mom? She likes you more than she likes me!"
Zaryab laughed.
"Yeah, I feel like after marriage I'll be the outsider."
Mashal rolled her eyes.
"I'm only yours, and you're only mine. How can you be an outsider?"
Zaryab said softly.
"Your words are dangerous."
A smile crept onto Mashal's lips as she tried to hide it.
"And you won't be able to live without them."
Zaryab said in a playful tone.
"You're too much, Zaryab."
Mashal pulled the curtain aside and looked at the moon.
"And you're too cute, Mrs. Mashal Zaryab."
Zaryab teased.
"Excuse me, there's still time for me to become Mrs. Mashal Zaryab."
Mashal replied.
"For me, you've been mine from day one."
Zaryab said calmly.
Mashal's heart skipped a beat. To cover it up, she changed the topic,
"So, you woke me up just for this?"
"No, I was just checking if you miss me or not."
Zaryab smiled.
"I was sleeping, didn't even get time to miss you."
Mashal narrowed her eyes.
"Just wait till after marriage, you won't be able to sleep without talking to me."
Mashal quickly turned off the speaker and placed her hands on her blushing cheeks.
"Go to sleep now, or you'll have dark circles tomorrow."
She turned the speaker back on and said in a normal tone.
"You'll still find me handsome, even with dark circles."
Zaryab flirted.
"You've got a lot of overconfidence, don't you?"
Mashal rolled her eyes.
"Okay, fine. Actually, I called to congratulate you on our engagement."
Zaryab chuckled.
"Congratulations? You remembered now?"
Mashal said in surprise.
"Yeah, I thought I should do it in a special way. I couldn't say it in front of everyone in the morning, could I?"
Zaryab said calmly.
"So, your special way was to wake me up?"
Mashal said with a soft smile.
"Of course! Because I wanted my future wife to remember me first."
Zaryab joked.
"You're strange, Zaryab."
Mashal said shyly.
"And you're about to become my strange wife."
Zaryab said in a low, warm voice.
Mashal laughed and ended the call, but her heart was still tangled in his words.
On the other side, Zaryab closed his eyes with a smile, enjoying the moment.
And right at that moment, Atish was sitting in his room. His face was full of grief and worry. He closed his eyes and held his head in both hands.
"What have I done? I shouldn't have agreed to this marriage so quickly."
His mind was racing.
"What if Meher herself refuses the wedding? That could work."
"If I had talked to Meher before saying yes to Mom, things wouldn't have come to this. I'm sure she must be worried too. I mean, why would she want to ruin her youth by marrying me?"
A sarcastic smile appeared on his face.
"Foolish girl," he muttered in his head.
"I need to talk to Meher as soon as possible. Even if not for me, people might listen to her."
"Maybe she's waiting for me to do something."
He thought.
"She has no idea that it's not just girls, even boys' consent is being ignored here."
He walked to the window with a peaceful smile on his face, as if half the burden was already gone.
Humming softly, he took off his shirt and hung it on the stand near the wardrobe, then lay down on the bed, covering his eyes with his arm and slowly closed them — unaware that fate was already laughing at his plans.
And at that very moment, Meher sat up in her bed, sleepless. She walked to the window, her mind replaying the morning's events. She looked down at the ring on her finger, then walked to the dressing table. There was a beautiful, unknowing smile on her face.
One sentence kept echoing in her head:
"You love bhai too."
"Does he love me too?"
She thought.
"When did this happen?"
She kept staring at herself, trying to make sense of it.
"Of course he does, Meher. That's why he said yes. Otherwise why would aunty bring the proposal?"
She placed the brush down and lifted her hand in front of her eyes — the diamond ring sparkled. She looked away from the ring and into the mirror — and froze. Her cheeks were turning red.
"Oh God, Meher, what's happening to you? You've never reacted like this before. Why now?"
She covered her face, tried to compose herself, then quickly jumped back into bed.
Because this time... it wasn't just her cheeks — she was blushing all over.
☆☆☆
The cafeteria inside the shopping mall was buzzing with life.
The three of them were seated at a table. The waiter placed coffee mugs in front of them and walked away.
Atish picked up his mug carelessly.
Amaan glanced at him, then at Zaryab, who was staring out the window with a faint smile on his lips—lost in a world of his own.
"Hey, Romeo! Come back to reality!"
Amaan waved a hand in front of his face.
"What now? What's your problem with me?"
Zaryab said calmly, lifting his mug.
"Problem? Oh, nothing at all. I was just thinking about your soon-to-be brother-in-law… poor guy's doomed!"
Amaan said with a straight face, suppressing a laugh.
Atish shot him a deadly glare while Zaryab looked at him curiously.
"What do you mean? What are you trying to say?"
"Nothing really... Oh look, your lovely sister-in-law is here."
He quickly changed the subject, not wanting to get punched for mocking Meher.
Zaryab turned his head to see that very "danger" approaching.
"Brother, I need your credit card,"
Mashal addressed Atish directly.
"What happened to the one you brought from home?"
Atish raised a brow, surprised.
"It's maxed out,"
Mashal replied nonchalantly.
Atish shook his head, pulled out his card, and handed it over.
"So much shopping?"
Amaan couldn't help but comment.
"Here, go buy something for yourself too,"
Zaryab offered his card to Amaan with a grin,
"Consider it a gift from me."
Amaan reached out to take it, but Zaryab quickly pulled his hand back.
"No way, man. I'm not that dumb to hand over my card to you!"
He glanced at Atish, who didn't even seem to be listening.
"I still have some wedding shopping to do."
Emphasizing his last words, Zaryab stood up and motioned for Amaan to join him.
"Alright, I'll help you out,"
Amaan got up too.
"Let's go, Hitler! Let's shop till we drop."
Atish didn't even look their way, just raised a hand as if saying, "You two get lost, I'm not coming."
With a shrug, they both left quickly.
Once they were gone, Atish sat upright and glanced around. The crowd had grown thicker.
He stood up and walked out of the café.
Reaching the mall's main area, he scanned around.
Thankfully, none of his relatives were there.
Except her.
His face tightened as he made his way towards her.
Meher was looking at nail polishes on a rack, comparing shades.
"Anni, which one do you—"
She turned to ask her cousin but paused in confusion. Anni was nowhere in sight.
"Where did she go?"
Just as she looked to her right, her breath caught.
Atish was standing right there, his expression blank but eyes intense.
"Meher, listen to me,"
He said in a low, sharp tone.
She blinked at him, surprised.
"Yes? What is it?"
He took a deep breath, then leaned slightly closer, voice low, almost a whisper.
"Go home and tell everyone you don't want this marriage. Understand?"
He looked straight into her widened eyes.
"What do you mean by that? What are you saying?"
Her voice trembled with confusion.
Atish rubbed his forehead in frustration, then raised his finger like a warning.
"There is nothing in my heart for you—not even a speck."
He made a tiny gap with his fingers.
"And I don't want to marry you. I'm honestly shocked you even agreed to this match, knowing how much I hate you."
"I want to know... why?"
Meher crossed her arms, her voice stronger now.
"You say you hate me, you don't want to marry me, and you're not interested—"
She mimicked his finger gap mockingly.
"Then why didn't you say no?"
Atish glared at her.
"You think I didn't? I said no the moment I was told. But my mother said if I didn't marry you, she wouldn't let Mashal marry Zaryab."
"I tried convincing her, again and again. She didn't budge. That's why now you will say no. And you'll do it today."
Meher inhaled deeply, gathering herself.
"I'm not going to say anything. You're the one with the problem, so you handle it. Why should I be the villain?"
Atish's grip tightened on her arm, startling her.
"You'll regret it, Meher. You'll regret marrying me."
He shoved her arm away and looked her dead in the eyes.
"I'll make your life a living hell. There's still time. Change your decision. Otherwise... every day with me will be a punishment."
His voice dripped with venom before he stormed off.
Meher wiped her tears quickly.
Memories from that night flashed before her—when her parents had called her after the engagement.
Their faces had been lit with joy and pride.
"I know my daughter won't let me and my sister down,"
Tayyaba had said as she hugged Meher tightly.
Her father had placed a loving hand on her head.
And Meher had smiled... genuinely.
How could she say no when everyone was so happy?
Even if she knew Atish didn't like her.
But she did love him.
Was it love... or just stubborn hope? She didn't even know anymore.
All she knew was that now, that same hope was spilling from her eyes in the form of tears.
And now?
Now he had clearly said he hated her.
But why?
She still wanted to know.
She had asked.
But maybe... he never truly heard her.
As she watched his retreating figure disappear into the crowd, her vision blurred again.