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The night beautifully gleamed with the stars and the full moon smiling at the two people who were so engrossed in their talks.
"Ham aapse kuch puchh sakte hai?" Rameez raised his eyebrows at her words.
"Manaa karu tou kya nahi bologi? Tell me," He said looking at her with amused eyes.
"Aap ko bushra aapi kaisi lagti hai? I am serious. Like, do you romantically like her?" Amal asked in a curious tone as her fingers grazed the cup of hot chocolate.
Winters and hot chocolate is the best combination. Like you are enjoying the wintry weather with your loved ones sipping the hot chocolate. Cold winds kissed your face and you feel content inside. There is a certain type of peace in your heart knowing that everything is gonna be alright at the end of the day.
"I don't like her, Amal," Rameez said as he sucked in a sharp breath.
"Why? Wo itni acchi hai. Aap ke liye best hai wo. Aur aapko pata hai, wo aapko bohot pasand karti hai," she whined as her ship was drowning.
He let out a sigh as he took her hands in
his and give it a light squeeze.
"Pasand kar ne se kya hota hai. Thodi har cheez aasani se mil jaati hai. Agar aapki har pasand aapko mil jaaye tou chahat kis baat ki rah jaayegi. Chahat rahti hai tou dil mein kuch milne ka intezaar bhi rahta hai," He let out a dry chuckle and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Wait a minute- matlab aapki bhi koi chahat adhoori rah gayi. Mujhe bhi tou bataye. Agar aapke dil mein koi hai ya koi baat hai tou zaahir kare. Aise dil mein rakhenge tou kuch matlab nahi rah jaayega," Amal said in a mischievous tone as she wiggled her eyebrows.
"So should I express my feelings to her?" Rameez raised his eyebrows.
"Karde. Ladkiyo ko aise ladke pasand hai jou unke jazbaat ke saath na khele. Aap seedha unke ghar rishta bheje. Tou unko itminaan ho jaayega ke aap unse mohabbat karte hai," she smiled as her fingers glided down the hem of her dupatta.
Rameez passed her a genuine smile as he tucked her hair behind her ear.
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Rameez rubbed the side of his neck as he knocked on the door of his parents.
His eyes shifted to his mother who was watching something on her tablet while his father was reading a book sitting on his chair.
"Aap dono se kuch baat karni thi. Main kisi ko pasand karta hoon. Aur mai shaadi ke liye tayyar hoon," He cleared his throat and an unpleasant silence enveloped the room.
"Waqayi?" His mother asked in a low voice as she recovered from the shock.
It was a surprise for her. Rameez was never ready to get married because he thinks that it can affect his political life.
"Jee," He replied and his gaze fell on his father who had a calm look on his face.
He put the bookmark between the pages and put the book on the side table.
"It can affect your political life. I want you to win this year's election as well. Are you sure you are ready to get married?" His father asked with a certain aura that can make anyone sacred.
"You are manipulating him. For the very first time, he asks us to get him married. He is ready for the marriage. That's why he is confessing to us. We should support him," His mother interrupted as she don't want her son to change his mind.
"Leave it. Tell me who's she?" His mother asked in an excited tone.
"Amal. Pasand hai wo meri," Rameez said a genuine smile played on his lips.
"Khush rakhna usse," His father glared at him giving the indirect blessings to him.
Rameez nodded his head as his heart was bursting with happiness. Genuine happiness for spending his whole life with her.
"Mubarak hou. Bohot bohot Mubarak. Allah tum dono ko bohot khush rakhe," Her mother bubbled up with excitement and happiness.
"Pehle aap log uski tou ijazat le. Usse puchhe tou wo kya chahti hai. Usse koi pasand tou nahi? Uski khwaish ke begair nikah nahi hoga" Rameez raised his eyebrows as he was too bothered by the act of his parents.
Her opinions and wish did matter to him. He will bring down the whole world at her feet if she wants. How could Rameez get married to her when her consent is not even asked?
"Kya ijazat lena? Manaa thodi karegi wo. Zindagi bhar tou hamare ghar mein rahi hai. Baithe bithaaye itna accha ladka mil raha hai," His blood boiled at his mother's words.
"Tumne usse pucha nahi?" His father removed his glasses and asked him.
"Nahi," Rameez gritted his teeth.
"Usse jaa kar ijazat lo. Phir aage ka sochna. Uske saath zabardasti na karna.
Agar wo manaa karde tou uske faisle ki izzat karna. Agar tumne uske saath haan karwane ke liye zabardasti ki tou tum mein aur uske baap mein koi fark nahi rah jaayega," His father explained.
"Jee Abba," He nodded his head as he moved out of the room.
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A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she caressed the white furry rabbit in her lap. Amal was sitting in the lounge area with a rabbit in her lap. There was a basket beside her that was filled with flowers.
"Zoro, yaar tum kitne cute hai." Amal squealed as she caressed his back.
Rameez was speechless seeing her looking so adorable. She was in her white anarkali and her dupatta was loosely hanging on her neck. Her hair was tied in a loose braid and she was looking so amusing to him.
"Aap yaha?" Amal looked up at him as he sat on the grass beside her.
Rameez nodded his head as a genuine smile stretched on his lips. He put his hands just behind her back and take a deep breath as he was nervous as hell.
"Baat karni thi tumse," He looked up at her as his hands were caressing the soft and snuggly rabbit.
"Jee?" She looked up at him in confusion.
"Aap itne nervous kyu ho rahe hai? You can tell me anything without hesitation," Amal added as she noticed him all nervous.
"Kuch nahi," He rubbed the side of his neck and averted his gaze to the basket filled with jasmine flower and red roses.
A genuine smile flickered over her lips when he adjusted the rose on her loose braid.
"Iska ham gajra banayenge," Amal pointed to the jasmine flower and he nodded his head.
"Amal," Rameez uttered her name as he took a deep breath.
"Jee?" She turned towards him while fiddling with the white lace of her dupatta.
"It's not easy anymore for me to control my emotions. Dammit, I just can't spend another day without telling you what I feel about you. I love you, Amal Baig. I love you so fucking much. And I want you as my wife. But nothing will happen without your consent. You're consent matters. Your opinion matters. And you matter a lot to me. So tell me, Amal Baig, will you marry me? Give me a chance to spend a lifetime with you and make memories we will cherish forever?" Rameez looked up at her with hope in his eyes.
Amal was beyond stunned at his words.
He tried to hold her hand but she didn't let him. She was too clogged up with emotions as tears build inside her eyes.
She clutched her dupatta in the fist as her gaze was fixed on her lap.
"Don't say this," Amal hiccuped as tears spilled from her eyes.
"Amal," He held her chin making her look into his eyes.
"Don't say this. People will think that I lure you into the marriage. They will once again think I seduced you to be a part of your rich family. I don't want this, Rameez. I can't just humiliate myself again and again," Amal bought her knees as all the traumatic events from the past flooded in her mind.
"I am so sorry, meri jaan. It's not my intention. No one will dare to humiliate you or even speak anything against you. I won't let anyone speak ill about you," Rameez muttered as he caressed her hair.
"But my parents think so bad of me. They thought that I was having an affair with someone in my school. So they thought to marry me off to someone. If you didn't come on time that day, I would have been married to some old man," She burst into the tears while her body was shaking.
"Abbu ammi aise thodi hote hai. Waalidain tou apne baccho ka sochte haina par wo logo ko sirf apni izzat ka khayaal hai. Wo logon ko tumhari zara qadr nahi thi. But now you are with me, I wouldn't let anyone cause harm you," Rameez cupped her cheeks and she nodded her head slowly.
"If you don't want to get married to me, I would understand. It's your life and you have every right to make decisions for yourself," His throat bobbed and the sour taste spread across his mouth as he spoke those words.
"I don't want to," Amal averted her gaze away and he felt like a knife was stabbed in his heart.
And once again, love lost against compulsion. The laws of love are to suffer until your heart bleeds for that person. And your yearning amplified and the restlessness grew more than ever.
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"Ammi, aap mazak kar rahi haina? Rameez aisa kaise kar sakte hai?" Bushra looked up at her mother with a horrified expression.
"Main tou khud hairan hoon. Shaadi karni bhi hai tou aisi ladki se," Amal khala scoffed.
"Aapko kaise pata?" Bushra looked up at her mother.
"Unke ghar ki mulazima bataa rahi thi. Rameez ne bhai aur bhabhi se rishte ke silsile mein baat ki thi," she explained.
"Kya chal raha hai?" Ahmer looked up at his sister and mother who were tense.
"Shaadi hone wali hai rameez aur amal ki," His mother taunted.
"Kuch bhi," he scoffed not believing his mother. He doesn't want to believe that it will ever happen.
"Amal ne jawab tou nahi diya na abhi tak?" Bushra asked and her mother scoffed.
"Pagal hou. Wo ladki ko baithe bithaaye itna sab kuch mil jaayega. Aur tumhe lagta hai wo manaa kar degi shaadi ke liye. Tayyar raho shaadi ke liye," her mother gritted her teeth while massaging her forehead.
Ahmer was too stunned to speak. His body was frozen as he couldn't bring himself to believe his mother's words. He can't just believe that the only woman he loved is going to marry someone. His throat bobbed as he took his car keys.
"Kaha jaa rahe ho? Dinner tou karke jau," Bushra called him but he didn't utter a word. He shut the door with a loud thud as he moved inside his car.
And he drives himself to the destination that will lead him to hell.
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Assalamu alaikum,
Long time, no conversation.
How are you all?
I am so sorry for the late update. I was going through writer's block and many things are going on in my life rn. Anyways, how's the chapter?!
You all are like a family to me and I will be absolutely honest with you all. I don't have any motivation to continue this book. I don't have it in me to write more short stories. All I want to do is leave wattpad for good. I tried taking a break but it's not helping. I want to give you all more short stories, like Hamdard and Azeem, Minal stories. But I just don't have it in me to write. Please motivate me. I badly need motivation. And please do vote and comment. You all don't have any idea what's your comment can do.
-Faraal