Believe! [Completed]

Chapter 8

One week later

The sun rising in the horizon was bringing its own kind of warmth and light to the day. The warm sun rays had come through the window curtains of her room making her tight close her eyes but to no gain. With a set frown on her face, she had got out of bed. on her fingertips, she counted days to Friday so she could look forward to a weekend that would involve no work but just her and her sleep.

After freshening up, she picked up her phone from the table and saw numerous missed calls from William and Aariz. She called William first because he had also left a text message saying it was urgent for work. She dialled his number and waiting for him to take the call.

"Is everything alright, William?"

"We have got an urgent case from the British council. There was a family taking their child to Pakistan for a forced marriage."

"Oh my God! So, what now?"

"She is a fourteen-year-old girl. She's moved to the care home and her parents are in custody. I got a call from the British council today. It is for a different firm though and they referred me your name, will you be able to take this up?"

Hearing about such a horrible situation, she had forgotten long that she was planning on working with the British council anyway but with Aariz's firm. In all this, she also forgot that William also told her about it not being with their firm but with someone else's and they urgently needed a solicitor. She was silent for a few moments but then getting her bearings back she told William her decision.

"Yes of course, I will take it."

"Brilliant, thanks Minaal. I will let them know and will ask them to contact you."

"Sure."

She hung up and ran a hand through her messy hair. Forced marriage can be such a painful and difficult situation for anyone to be in, let alone a young teenager. It had reminded her of her days when her father was forcing her to marry Usman. She was not a child but was a grown-up adult, but it was still difficult on forcing oneself to do something that she didn't want to. What could that young girl be going through? A shiver ran through her body imagining even the slightest of hell that girl would have to experience if she had ended up leaving Pakistan with her family. But she hadn't. Now it was her job to win that fourteen-year-old justice. Her job demanded duty and she would firmly fulfil it.

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Minaal reached the British council and was escorted to the meeting room where everyone was meeting for this. She walked in and saw a lot people who had already taken their chairs and were setting up for the meeting. Her eyes met with a familiar pair of brown pools which were looking directly in her eyes without a blink or move. She was the first one to smile, he had reciprocated. But maybe the matters they were here for were more important and serious and this was not the time for checking up on each other. She came by his side and took a seat next to him.

"I am sorry I couldn't call you back. I spoke to William and rushed here for this."

She had whispered. Aariz had shook his head.

"I know, I was calling you for the same. It's fine, don't be sorry. This sudden situation had us all shook."

She had nodded. She was grateful for his understanding approach. For some reason she was dreading an upset Aariz because she didn't take his calls and that didn't happen making her relieved. The meeting began and Sarah, the police officer who got to know of this case first thing in the morning had come to British Council to update. She started narrating everything that they learnt from the girl and her in-custody parents.