LIFE IS NEVER EASY Zara knew that one thing for sure. Being a princess is never easy she knew that but not everyone did. Being judged and matching expectations of everyone at every step of her life was never easy for her and she will never get used to it. She walked through the entrance of the royal palace of Lucknow where the royals resided. Walking a few steps she saw her mamu ( Mother's brother) and mumani( Mother's brother's wife).
She walked over there and greeted both
"Assalamwalekum"
"Walekum Assalam"
Both of them replied to her salam looking at her while her mumani, Aiza Rafiq Mehmood looked at her taunted
"Toh aa gayi shehzadi? Kaha thi Inaya tum? Kab se tumhara intezaar kar rahe hai tumhare mamu. Jara sa khayal nahi hai tumhe unka. Tumhe pal pos ke bada kiya par kya bole ehsaan faramosh nikli tum."
[So you came? Where were you Inaya? Your Uncle is waiting for you since so long. You are not even bothered. We have taken care of you since you were child. Such unfortunate child you are]
Zara didn't replied back to her for a while, she can if she wanted but she can't. They gave her shelter when her own father turned his back on her she can't be a ungrateful brat can she?
"Maafi chahti hu mumani pata nahi tha mamu intezaar kar rahe the office main kuch kaam tha isliye late ho gaya aane main."
Zara responded in a cold tone leaving no trace of guilt in her voice. Making her mumani more angry, maybe they needed to understand that's how they made her, cold and uncaring. She has no one who will worry about her nor no one who is really hers. Except one.
[I am sorry Aunty but I didn't knew that Uncle was waiting for me. There was some work in office that's the reason I am late]
Her mamu, Rafiq Nazim Mehmood watched back and forth between her and her mumani and showed his hand as a sign to be silent while the protest for her mumani died down. He looked at her and commanded
"Aaj ke din ke liye maaf kar raha hu agli baar se waqt ka khayal rakho. Yaha ki shehzadi bana ke rakha hai toh aapne izzat aur rutbe dono ka khayal karo."
[I am sparing you for today but take care next time. We have made you princess of this estate. So take care of your respect and pride]
"Jii mamu"
[Yes uncle]
Zara responded affrimatively and asked the permission to leave but her mamu stopped her and informed
"Rishta dhoondh rahe hai aapke liye. Tayar rahe. Aapne kamre main jaa sakti haii aap aab"
[We are finding a match for you. Be ready. You can go in your room now]
Zara froze after hearing what her mamu said and tried to voice out her opinion but her mamu showed his hand and spoke
"Mujhe koi aitraaz nahi sunna. Tayar ho aur aapne kamre mein chali jao"
[I don't want to hear any disapproval
Be ready and go in your room]
Nonetheless Zara quietly left for her room while her mamu and mumani also left after she walked past the stairs.
Zara quietly entered her room and locked her door, unpinned her hijab and let her hair loose. She let out a sigh after feeling a deep contentment of her loose hairs. She walked inside the bathroom and freshned up and offered her Isha salah and sat peacefully on her prayer mat. Pondered upon what her mamu said to her. Now the question was how the heck was she going to tell him that she is already married? To be more precise to an Arab prince or to be king. He will skin her alive if she tells him about all the fiasco happened five years ago. Her mamu and mumani were always against the idea of her opening her own business but that thing was that she does wanted to be dependent on them again.
She has went through a tough time just due to being dependent on them she can't let herself go through that hell again. Never.
She got up from her prayer mat and laid on her bed and tried to get some sleep. Tomorrow was a day filled with chaos. She needed to confront her mamu and get some time from him and do the most important thing. Go to Dubai and settle her business over there.
It's been five years since they got married just to fulfil their own conveniences but nevertheless he is her husband. She won't run away from their relationship further. They have been running away from each other since five years. Even though they have occasional talks about their business but the formal talk between them didn't erased a bit. They didn't saw each other even once in these years but still he became hers the moment he signed the nikahnama.
Miraculously she doesn't hate him like she did but still the dislike is still present, the hate is still present.
Nikkah main badi takat hoti hai
There is a lot of power in wedding.
No matter how rude and arrogant he is, he is hers. Her husband.
Tiredness of the day slowly started of creep through her as she slowly welcomed the sleep which tried to overcome her but she was brutally woken up by her a message on her phone by 'Prince' or Arsalan
"تصبحي على خير يا زوجتي"
[Good night my wife]
Too tired to respond to his text she left him on seen and drifted into a deep slumber. Unknown to the upcoming chaos waiting for her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ARSALAN ASAD ABADI an Arab prince, a person feared by many. Many people respected him for his morals and work but didn't appreciate his arrogant and rude nature, but it was not something he can help with. He was like this since his mother died when he was eight when his mother left him. His father Asad Ahmed Abadi was deeply affected by his beloved wife's death but gathered himself together just because of his childrens. The love his father had for his mother never changed but day by day he could see the sadness lingering into his father's eyes. He missed her, even more than he could ever.
Arsalan walked inside his room and threw his coat on his bed. Unlocking his phone he sat on the couch present in his room. Opening a image of his wife, his zawja(wife), his Zara, he admired her beautiful face. She was beautiful no doubt but her ferociou nature made her more appealing.He glanced at his watch it was 10:30 p.m. which means it will be around past midnight in India. He opened his wife's number to call but refrained himself from doing so and texted her
"تصبحي على خير يا زوجتي"
[Good night my wife]
She didn't knew Arabic that's what he knows so she won't understand a thing he says to her in Arabic. She can use Google translation but he doesn't think she will take those efforts to search it up. That's how she is like a cold yet warm person. Though the warm personality is still hidden Arsalan would uncover it eventually.
After a while the message indicated that it was seen by her but she still did not reply.
Two can play that game Zawjah.
He leaned on a couch in his room and called Arif his secretary and ordered
"Prepare my jet tomorrow we will leave for Lucknow."
Atif agreed and made the necessary calls for the same while Arsalan freshned up and got ready for the bed. Laying on his bed he inhaled deeply remembering the first time he met his wife. What a fortunate day it was!
FLASHBACK
Arsalan was invited to the royal palace of Lucknow. He was eighteen when he visited India to see the country where his mother was brought up. He was invited to the royal palace of Lucknow where the Mehmood's lived. At first he didn't wanted to accept the invitation but nonetheless agreed as his father suggested that he should go and strengthen the relationship between the two clans. He was entering the royal palace of Lucknow. The palace was traditional and eternal; he was mesmerised by the beauty.
He entered the main hall and saw Rafiq Nazim Mehmood, the current king of Lucknow. He greeted him
"Assalamwalekum"
The king sensed his presence and replied to his salam
"Walekum Assalam"
The king smiled at him and spoke
"Come on Arsalan beta(son). Make yourself feel at home."
Arsalan nodded nonetheless and thanked him
"Thank you Mr.Mehmood"
Rafiq Mehmood looked at him, his smile not even wavering a bit and spoke
"Don't speak to me so formally beta. You can call me Uncle."
Arsalan nodded and they headed towards the dining room. He sat on one of the chairs as it was dinner time. He sat over there comfortably while a lady who seemed to be Rafiq Mehmood's wife appeared and observed him. While he just sat over there not caring a bit she just smiled at him while he just nodded at her smile.
Suddenly he saw her body go taunt realising a figure appearing in the dining room. It was a girl. The girl carried an air of legacy and elegance around her. A black hijab was wrapped around her head while she was wearing a blue abaya. Suddenly the girl glanced at him for once and lowered her gazes and turned towards Mrs.Mehmood who looked at her and questioned
"Inaya beta yaha kaise aana hua tumhara?"
[Inaya child how did you came over here?]
The girl or Inaya glanced at the arrangement made and looked at the Mrs.Mehmood again and spoke
"Main khana aapne room main kha lungi. Mera Khana waha bhijwa dena."
[ I will eat my food in the room. Send my food over there]
For a second her grey eyes clashed with his green ones but soon she glanced away and turned to leave but was interrupted by Rafiq Mehmood
"Inaya khana kha ke jao. Mujhe aapke aur nakhre nahi sehne."
[Inaya sat for the dinner. I don't want to handle more of your tantrums]
The girl looked uninterested but nonetheless still sat on the seat while the other family gathered and sat on the respective seat and started eating. Rafiq Mehmood suddenly spoke looking at the young man a few years older than him and a boy same age as him
"Arsalan, this is my eldest son Amir Mehmood."
"And this is my second eldest son Zaid Mehmood"
Arsalan nodded his head as a form of recognition while both of them nodded back as an acknowledgment. Atlast Rafiq spoke again
"Atlast the girl over there is Inaya Zara Khan Princess of Lucknow."
"Khan?"
Arsalan questioned, curiosity sparkling in his eyes
"Oh the girl over here is rebellious. She does not want to take Mehmood as her surname."
Rafiq answered
"Beta, don't mind her. She has been spoiled since birth thus she is like this."
Mrs.Mehmood spoke up.
What kind of rebellion would make a person change her last name? On the cherry in the top when the last name makes you a royal.
He just nodded his head as the response while the girl sat emotionlessly not caring about the discussion over the dining table. The girl over there got up and announced
"Mera ho gaya hai. Khane ke liye shukriya."
[ I am done. Thank you for food]
"Inaya yeh kya harkat hai mehmaan aane ke par aise pesh aate hai."
[Inaya what kind of behaviour is this? Is this the way you behave in the presence of guests]
Mrs.Mehmood spoke
"Maaf karega."
[ I am sorry]
She spoke and exited. Stunned at the stunt she pulled Arsalan watched her leave with amusement sparkling in his eyes. She is so different yet so usual? How's that possible.
It is a good thing that he learned urdu or hindi just due to feel close to his mother. After the dinner Arsalan asked for permission to leave but Rafiq requested
"Beta stay over here for tonight. You can leave in the morning."
At first Arsalan declined the request politely but due to further insistence nonetheless he agreed to stay for the night. Amir showed him a room to rest for a night. He closed the door and freshned up and decided to sleep but he was not able to sleep. He was still lost thinking about those grey stormy eyes of her. So cold yet so enchanting.
Arsalan tried to close his eyes in attempt to sleep but sleep was far away. He can't help but think about those certain grey eyed person. What the heck has she done to him? Why is he behaving like this? Does she knows black magic? But considering the fact she is quite religious he doesn't think she was resort to such haram methods right?
Arsalan get a grip on your thoughts man. He was a man with great self control and confidence but today its just that he can't. Closing his eyes Arsalan groaned trying to calm himself.
Suddenly he got up from his bed and left the room to explore the palace in an attempt to distract his mind. He was quiet impressed by the interior, but suddenly he saw a garden. His feet took him over there subconsciously as he admired the garden. His mother loved flowers Over there he saw the one of the most beautiful in the whole garden and reached towards the flower to pluck it but he felt a sudden presence near himself.
Before he could do anything he felt a dagger placed at his neck. Arsalan became alert due to the sudden intrusion but then again he saw the most beautiful pair of grey eyes. Those darn pair of eyes which took away his sleep and peace in just matter of minutes.
"Mashallah."
Arsalan couldn't help but utter these words gazing into her grey eyes.
He felt that the time around them stopped but he was brought back to reality by her beautiful cold voice
"Don't you know a person should not pluck a flower at night that too such a beautiful one."
Her voice so cold yet so delicate. Is it possible to have such beautiful vocal cords? He can't help but look her her face, an ethereal beauty.
"I apologise for the sudden intrusion, Princess but I was stunned by it's beauty"
He replied looking at her beautiful face.
Inaya left him in the garden alone after giving him a last look while he replayed their meeting in his mind.
That day he promised himself to make Inaya Zara Khan his. His wife, his zawja,forever.
End of Flashback
Arsalan closed his eyes thinking about his zawjah. They have been running away from each other since last five years but now no more running. He gave Zara as much time he could and he gave himself more time than needed. So now he won't run away nor he would let her run away. She is his, his wife, his Zara.
Again surrendering into her thoughts he thought about her possible reaction he would see when she would see him. After whole five years.