Once In A Blue Moon

03 Honor

The maid tips her head and leaves, taking the children with her.

Banafsha returns to leaning against the window frame and staring outside, absent-mindedly tracing the clouds with her gaze, watching them move.

"You're upset," Nufail simply states, coming to stand beside her, locking his hands behind his back.

"Apparently," she replies without tearing away her eyes from the sky.

"You want to talk about it?"

"No, I don't think there's anything to talk about."

"Ain't there?"

"There ain't. Or at least there ain't anyone I wanna talk it out with."

"Not even me? I thought you saw me as your brother."

She finally looks at him and smirks mockingly. "Aren't you Pari's husband before anyone else? Just like Ferozeh is lala's wife before anyone else."

Nufail smiles in amusement. "Just like Mughis and Pari are your blood before anyone else."

She scoffs and turns away. "I don't want to get lectured, lala."

"I'm not here for that, Afsha. I'm here for you."

"You're here to tell me what everyone else has been telling me. But I don't have it in me to hear it anymore."

"I'm here to listen to what you've to say, so just say it."

She crooks her neck to look at him again. He's wrapping an off-white shawl over his black clothes, standing tall and handsome. Nufail has everything a woman can desire, from looks to status to a good heart. She knows he's different, his lack of association with politics unlike her family letting him preserve his humanity. Parisha is lucky to have wedded a man like him, she wonders.

But what does she have? What can Aurang give her? She doesn't even know how he looks, or how his voice sounds like. His conflict with his father has him hiding in shadows and away from cameras, so much so as not to provide her with photographs of himself even, insisting on meeting her in person instead, the chance of seeing him which she had ruined, neither hiring photographers at the event. But since she isn't interested in him anyways, she doesn't bother protesting.

Their encounter on their nikah night remains a secret only between Aurang and herself which she's guarding with her life, more importantly after how he left without uttering a word to her. Her family might not forgive her for spoiling their reputation in front of her husband and putting in open their objectives, especially after all her insanity over her marriage. Her father can only consider her wishes for so long.

"I didn't want to get married, lala," she complains weakly. "Does everyone think I don't know what's going on?"

Nufail raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Baba and Mughis lala," she explains, "they care more for their elections than my happiness. Their party, their position, their votes-- those are all that matter. They've nothing to do with Aurang Idris; they want Idris Khalil, his father. Because Mr. Khalil is more powerful than them-- because getting me married to his son will pave a way to a bright future for them. I feel used," she rambles in annoyance. "Do they think I don't know why they put up this condition of getting me married before sending me to Dublin? Why didn't they ask Zoraiz to marry before sending him there?"

"Because Zoraiz is younger than you," Nufail interjects with ease and she throws up her hands in exasperation.

"It wouldn't have mattered if there was a girl they could get him married to for political gains too. Besides, didn't Pari and Mughis lala married at the same time even though lala is older? No one pressurized him until he was ready."