Chapter 34

Atifa's pov:

I was brought out of my thoughts as someone stood in front of me and kept their hand on my head.

Abbu? Was it abbu? Was he here? Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked up. But to my disappointment, it was mamu. But it actually seemed for a moment that abbu was back. That he was here for my special day. But I was wrong. How could he even come here? How could he when he...

"Assalamualikum Atifa, how are you beta?" Mamu asked me gently as he passed me a warm smile, breaking me off from my thoughts.

"Walikumussalam mamu, I'm fine alhamdulillah. How are you? I missed you." I mumbled as I stood up to engulf him in a hug.

His arms came around me, wrapping me in his warm embrace. It felt like abbu was here and he was hugging me. Sniffing, I hugged him tighter. "Alhamdulillah, even I'm fine beta." He replied while patting my head lovingly.

Releasing him from my hug, I looked at him with tears in my eyes. "I really missed you all. Why didn't you guys come earlier to meet us?" I complained like a kid while sniffing and wiping my nose.

He smiled, patting my head. "We missed you too beta. But you know how work keeps us all busy. Although now I really wish that we should have met earlier too. I never thought that the next time we would meet would be like this. But tell me, are you happy with this? Or do I need to pull my sister's ears?" He teased, but there was seriousness in his gaze. Like he really wanted to know if I was happy and this was what I wanted.

I smiled through tears in my eyes and replied, "I don't know mamu. I really don't know. But if this is what Allah wants then this is what will happen and I don't mind. I have done istikhara and I think this is the right thing to do."

He nodded his head and smiled slightly. "You have grown up so soon. I never thought you will be getting married this early, or else I would have warned that boy about you. But it's too late now. Poor boy." He teased, keeping his hand on his heart and shaking his head dramatically.

"Mamu!" I whined quietly, realising that we weren't alone. My gaze roamed around, lingering behind mamu for a while longer than necessary as I made out the figure sitting in front of me, most probably the one who was my future husband.

Reciting astagfirullah and snapping myself out of my thoughts, I turned my attention back at mamu only to see him smirking at me. I raised my brow before realising he might have caught me looking around. Embarrassed, I looked away and my gaze landed on an unknown lady. Furrowing my brows, I turned to mamu again. "Who is she?" I asked him as my gaze travelled back to that beautiful lady who seemed to be busy talking to Emaan.

"She is your soon to be husband's bhabi. You will be able to meet her soon enough." He winked as a chuckle escaped his lips. "Now don't just keep staring at her or anywhere else and sit down like a shy bride. Which you aren't but try to act like it anyways." Mamu added and muttered the last sentence in an i-cant-do-anything-about-you way, making me glare at him.

"Did you just say that I'm not shy?" Muttering angrily, I glanced around to see if anyone was listening to our conversation. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice us much. I returned back to glaring at him.

"No no, when did I say that?" He questioned, innocence lacing his voice as he looked at me with wide eyes twinkling with amusement.

Annoyed, I huffed and sat down. "You said that and I'm shy." I muttered as I adjusted my dress, ignoring his amused gaze.

"Okay as you say Miss Sharmili Dhulhan." He chuckled and bent down to peck my forehead before sitting at the couch kept in the middle of both the sides. My cheeks heated up at the new name and I looked down to hide my burning cheeks.

(Miss Shy Bride)

Soon enough, Emaan joined me and started telling me about his bhabi. I could see Ammar, one of mamu's sons, coming forward to make our video from the corner of my eyes. He gestured for me to stand up as he came our way. I stood up with Emaan by my side as she adjusted my hijab and moved aside, letting him take in my attire. "Although he is my cousin, he is just like you." I murmured, smiling at the camera.

Emaan chuckled. "So he can't even make your nikkah video?"

I just gave her an annoyed look. Turning back to Ammar, I asked him sweetly. "Are you done yet?"

"No api, wait for a few minutes." Smiling sheepishly, he beckoned Amira and Alayna to join me. Grabbing this chance, Emaan took out her phone and started taking my pictures herself. Shaking my head, I noticed the kids running towards me. I smiled at them as they stood on either side.

When he was done, they ran back to the front of the room, sitting and enjoying a game they seemed to be playing. Ammi seemed to be talking with the remaining women and his bhabi joined us. "Assalamualikum, I'm Zara Ibrahim. Saad's bhabi." She introduced herself as she extended her hand towards me with a smile.

Smiling back, I shook her hand before replying. "Walikumussalam, Atifa Ahmed."

"You look stunning." She complimented me as she took in my attire.

"Jazak Allahu Khairan. You look gorgeous yourself." I replied as I took in her glowing face and twinkling eyes.

"Waiyyakum. And Jazak Allahu Khairan." She grinned as she sat down with me in the middle. "To be honest, I didn't expect us to meet like this. I mean meeting Saad's soon to be wife. This is really unexpected. But I guess it won't be too bad. At least I hope it won't be. And from how much I got to know about you, we will get along really well. And let me tell you, I ain't going to be that typical bhabi, in fact I'm going to help you on how to do what and how to keep that boy in check." She winked at me, making me laugh.

"Okay, I get you." I replied with a grin.

She grinned back, "I know I talk too much, but you will have to bear with me."

"I don't mind it at all. In fact, even I can be talkative at times. So even you will have to deal with it." I told her with a chuckle.

She laughed. "Okay, I see how it is."

._._._.

"Do you, Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, accept Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, as your lawfully wedded husband, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?" Qazi sahab questioned me. He was sitting in the middle couch with mamu and his brother on either side.

My already quickened heartbeat quickened even more, if that was even possible. My hands felt clammy and my throat felt dry. My mind went on a crazy drive as all the thoughts of why I shouldn't marry him engulfed me. I still had a chance to say no. And once I said yes, I couldn't back out. But what if I wanted to say yes. Because as much as I had seen him, he didn't seem too bad. I guess-

Someone kept their hand on my hand, bringing me out of my thoughts. Blinking, I looked up to see it was ammi. She had a gentle and soft look on her face as she beckoned me to answer the Qazi.

I realised everyone's gaze was on me and they were waiting for my answer. This realisation made me more nervous as I looked down and started playing with my fingers. Gulping, I finally uttered the words which were going to change my life for forever. "I accept." My words were a mere whisper, which seemed not to be heard by others except for the ones sitting close to me.

"Do you, Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, accept Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, as your lawfully wedded husband, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?" Once again, he questioned.

"I accept." I answered, this time, my voice a bit louder making me conscious of myself and my surroundings. I could see ammi's hand squeezing mine in a comforting manner, which calmed me a bit.

"Do you, Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, accept Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, as your lawfully wedded husband, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?" I released a breathy breath, when I was questioned for the last time.

"I accept." I replied for the last time as I saw my fate being sealed. Squeezing my eyes shut, I took a deep breath. This was it. Now it was his turn. I could feel ammi's arm draping around me as she gave me a side hug. I glanced at her to see her smiling with tears in her eyes. My gaze flickered to Emaan and to my shock, she was sniffing and wiping her tears with the tissue present in her hands. I kept my hand on hers and squeezed them, making her clung onto it like her life depended on it.

"Do you, Saad Ibrahim, son of Faisal Ibrahim, accept Atifa Ahmed, daughter of late Daniyal Ahmed, as your lawfully wedded wife, with the haq Mehr of Mehr-e-Fatimi?" The voice of Qazi sahab asking him snapped me out of our little emotional moment.

There was silence for a while, which seemed to stretch for me. I was anticipating his reply. Thousands of thoughts entered my mind. What if he denied? What if he found me ugly? What if he already liked someone else? Oh my-

._._._.