"Mr. Sarim Ali, son of Ali Ahmad will you take Unaiza Farooq daughter of Farooq Gardezi as your wife with 5 lacs as Haq Mehr?"
"Wait a minute! What the hell is this?" Sarim's mother yelled.
"5 lacs as Haq Mehr? Isn't it too much?" She looked at Aqia and Tashfeen both who became alarmed at her sudden outburst. They thanked Allah that right now in the nikkah area, only the family was present.
"What do you mean? It's the security of our daughter. We are giving our precious daughter to you. And we aren't asking you to give us cash right now. It's a basic necessity of nikkah and it was decided between us," Aqia tried to reason.
Sarim's father reached near his wife and said something to her which she heard with a furious face. But soon it was decided that only one lac would be the haq mehr from both Sarim's and Unaiza's parents.
"What are you doing, Mom, Dad?" Huzaifa raised his hands in the air. "Is Unaiza's safety not important to you in front of this marriage? She is certainly not a burden on this. She can still get many nice proposals."
"Huzaifa, you can't understand the circumstances. It's not a big deal. Such kind of things are common in weddings. It's our mistake; we should have discussed this with Sarim's family before," Tashfeen told him.
"Dad is right, Huzaifa," Haider said. "Haq Mehr is something which should be decided as per what the groom can manage. Let's not make this a serious topic. The guests are already getting suspicious. Let's resume the nikkah."
Huzaifa wiggled his head in uncertainty. He still couldn't understand why this nikkah was more important than ensuring Unaiza's future.
However sitting behind the white curtains, Unaiza's hands and feet were turning cold. What was happening? And what was going to occur? As per what elders decide, now the nikkah again started.
"Unaiza Farooq, do you take Sarim Ali, son of Ali Ahmad as your husband with one lac as Haq Mehr?"
After Sarim was done with his side of the vows, the nikkahkhuwan turned towards her.
The silly girl who was crazily in love with Huzaifa was about to get shot in her heart and was going to die for forever. Her heart would also die with it. Only Sarim's wife would remain and nothing else.
"Yes, I do." She found her voice very distant when she said it three times.
At the time of her rukhsati, she met everyone emotionally. For a long time, she hugged Aqia. The woman because of who she was and what she became right now. The woman who loved her, gave her status and respect as if she were her real daughter. She would always remain gratified to him. And then her Tashfeen Papa. This man was affectionate, loving, and caring just like his wife. He never made any difference between his own children and Unaiza. He treated her on the same level as them. After meeting Tashfeen, she moved in front of Haider.
Her only one best friend. Her elder brother and her Superman. Her eyes filled with more tears looking at him. Haider smiled and patted his head.
"Always remain happy, Gurya. May you have a very blissful life ahead," he murmured as he found himself getting emotional.
When he first time saw her, she looked like a tiny, adorable, and cute doll to him. And now this doll of his was so grown up that she was a married girl now.
Ishmal hugged her tightly and gave her many prayers. But before leaving her, she took Jannat from her and cuddled her against her chest. And then her Nisha Api and Ruhaan Bhai with their three balls of fluff. When she closed her eyes by keeping her chin on Nisha's shoulder, she remembered many things from the past.
She would be remembering all of them so much.
And last but the most important person. Huzaifa. When her eyes locked on him, her heart skipped a beat once again. She was taking a very big secret of hers along with her and that was the love she had for him. Maybe it would always remain hidden like this. He was looking handsome as usual but his brown eyes never fascinated her more than today. She would be missing him perhaps.
"Bye Huzaifa," she mumbled.
He just smiled in response and after that, she was made to sit in the back sear Sarim's car. As everyone settled inside and Sarim fired the engine, her eager eyes glanced at her family. Many tears rolled over her cheeks as she waved at them. With each passing second, the car was leaving and she was going away from them.
(A/N: What is Haq Mehr👇
In the Islamic marriage contract, the Nikah Nama covers haq mehar in clauses 13 - 16. It is a mandatory gift or token of respect given by the husband to the wife.
It is often a monetary amount. But It can be in the form of cash or gold or even property or another financial obligation that solely belongs to the wife. The Mehar is in place on every nikah nama because it is something the wife is entitled to as a safety net for herself during the marriage or after if the marriage meets an end, either by circumstances outside of the spouse's control or termination.)
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After a tiring ride of one and a half hours, they reached Sarim's house. It was in a posh society, giving elite vibes. The bungalow was big and majestic from the outside. Having a white and light brown exterior, it was designed in an Italian style.
Sarim's mother made her come out of the car and led her inside. She didn't know where Sarim had gone but he really didn't follow them. Sarim's father too was walking behind them.
The interior was even more beautiful. There was a huge garden having nicely trimmed green grass made track with plants. A tiled hallway led to the inside from the garage. The lounge was big and had white paint all over with the same neat white sofas placed in its heart. Maybe Sarim's room was upstairs as his mother took her there. Finally, they managed inside his room. As soon as she pushed the knob, the fresh smell of roses hit her nostrils.
Unaiza held her heavy lehngha in her hands and entered inside. The room was dreamy. The high walls were painted white and the ceiling was grey. Furniture was a mixture of these two colors. Absolutely nice and sophisticated.
The corners of the bed were adorned with chains of red roses. And a heart was made by the petals on the floor. She was made to recline on the bed, with flowers welcoming her. Sarim's mother spread her lehngha more meticulously.
"Do you need anything, Unaiza?" She asked.
Unaiza smiled and shook her head. "No, I am fine. Thank you."
"You are so adorable, Masha Allah. My sister is also very nice. He will take care of you a lot," she asserted.
Unaiza didn't say anything in the reply but only nodded.
"Sarim will be here anytime soon. If you still need anything, just press this intercom. Some maid will come," she informed her and then left the room.
Unaiza took a deep breath to calm herself down. So much had happened and now her life was changed. She was married now. She became someone's wife and someone's daughter-in-law. She bit her lower lip as she aimlessly looked around. She wasn't feeling comfortable in a heavy bridal dress but she had to wait for Sarim.
Thinking about him made her remember about this particular night. She would give her most precious asset to him as well tonight. This thought made her feel weird and apprehensive. Things like this always made her worried and scared.
The door slightly knocked which brought her out of her thoughts. Sarim entered the room, so tall and dark. He moved closer to her and within seconds, he was sitting near her on the bed.
"AssalamoAlaikum," she mumbled.
"Walaikum Assalam. You are looking breathtaking, Unaiza," he grumbled sensually.
Unaiza's eyelids trembled. "Thank you."
"That's your wedding gift," he let out.
Unaiza lifted her head to look at him at this. Contrary to what she thought, he didn't have any box of jewelry in his hand. Instead, it was a thin and long gift wrapped in pink paper. She took it from him. What would he present in this?
"Don't open it right now." He stopped her before she could unwrap it. "Do that in the morning."
"Okay," she uttered quickly but she was confused as to why was he saying this.
"I am going to change. After me, you can follow and change as well. You must be tired," he instructed her.
Sarim left for the washroom after that. Exactly after twenty minutes, he came out in a comfortable black T-shirt and black trousers. Unaiza too quickly stood up and randomly grabbed out a white nightwear and headed towards the shower. When she came back after doing her thing, she found the room empty.
Where was Sarim?
She stepped near the bed and again laid down. Now she was feeling very tired and soon the sleep overpowered her senses. She was sleeping soundly in no time.
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The bright sunlight peeking through the crevices of the curtains made her wake up. Unaiza slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She sat back, rubbing her eyes with her fist. Her gaze turned around but she raised a brow after finding there was no Sarim. In fact, the straightened-out bed sheet on his side gave a feel that it was never used. Where did he spend the night?
After getting freshened up, she changed into an embroidered red dress. Leaving her hair open, she put lenses in her eyes. A lot of time passed but Sarim was still nowhere to be seen. It made Unaiza worried. She left the bedroom and reached downstairs but her heart almost stopped beating at finding no one here as well.
She checked the kitchen, every room, and every nook of the house but there was not any single person present. Where had everyone gone?
Coming back into the room, she dialed Sarim's number but it was not responding. Many fears were engraved in her heart. Suddenly her gaze found the wedding gift given to her by Sarim on the bed's side table. She rushed and got hold of it. Opening it quickly, she was met with a green paper.
Her eyes widened as they skimmed at what was written there.
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AssalamoAlaikum/ Hi guys!
How are you?
A new chapter with the twist.
I hope you like it.
What do you think happened?
Where is Sarim and his family?
Plz vote and comment. ❤