•| brusque |•

•••
itna zindagi ke baare me socho mat,
jisne tumhe zindagi di hai
usne bhi toh kuch socha hoga
•••

Stars marred the raven sky like diamonds scattered on black satin. The night was as beguiling as it had ever been. Yet, not a single soul in the under constructed hut casted their glance towards the sky.
Tension spewed thick in the midnight air, as Fidah and Zarrar saw a heavy-eyed Qazi being dragged towards them by Amir.

Zarrar wondered how a scaredy cat like Amir had so much force to push people twice his size around. But that was the least of his concerns. This entire group of deranged patients were going to marry Fidah and Him and as stupid as it sounded he didn't see any exit with his hand cuffed to the damn window.

"Shafakat Ali, tumhe aur koi kaam nahi hota kya? Hafte mein teen dafa har raat tum mujhe yahan par ghaseet laate ho." The Qazi, mumbled fixing his white topi as he shrugged Amir's hands off his body in disgust.
( Don't you have any other work? At least thrice a week you drag me here in the middle of the night.)

" Apna muh band hi rakhoge to meherbani hogi sab pe. You don't want to whole village knowing about your daughter now, do you?" Shafakat Ali, the slightly-more-evil pot bellied brother replied smirking, as he took a seat on one of the chairs that Amir had gotten out of nowhere.
( It would mean a lot if you kept your mouth shut.)

"Haan, Haan. Mera hi muh band karwao. My daughter didn't run away on her own. Tumhara chaalu beta bhi bhaga hai uske saath." The Qazi, yelled back right at him, his mouth stretching out wide in anger.
(Yeah, yeah. Tell me to shut my mouth) (Your cunning son has also run away with her )

"Don't Shout!" Shafakat Ali , muttered through gritted teeth, looking around to no one in general suspiciously.

Fidah sighed loudly before eyeing Nazakat Ali, who was grinning, enjoying the drama. She would've enjoyed it as well if they hadn't just threatened to forcefully marry her. Her happiness anyways never lasted long. She shouldn't have laughed, this was the nature's way of punishing her for sure.

"Chacha? Why are you planning to forcefully marry us?" Fidah questioned helplessly, her eyes starting to tear up again. Why was she being thrust from one man to another? First Laiq and now Zarrar Hamidi.

Nazakat Ali threw a lazy grin her way and shook his hand dismissivly in the air. Leaning a little down towards her so she could hear him.
"My nephew; Shafakat Ali's son ran away with that Qazi's daughter a few weeks back. Since, then Shafakat Ali has sent Amir on patrolling every night in hopes of finding them. Amir, hasn't found them, but he finds couples who wander in the middle of the night."
He stopped and plopped another piece of betal leave in his mouth before continuing.

"Now the couples he finds are brought here, just like the both of you. Shafakat Ali asks them if they are married, if it's a yes then they are free to leave, if it's a no then he gets them married. " He said shrugging like it was the most simple thing that could happen in this world.

Before Fidah could reply, Zarrar who had been meticulously eavesdropping roared from beside her, causing her to flinch in surprise.
"Are you guys nuts? Why would you do such a thing? Fucking deranged. "

"Well, firstly Shafakat Ali thinks he is repenting for his son's sins by marrying two aashiqs and secondly he doesn't want such awara aashiqs to spoil the village's youth."
(Lovers) ( rogue lovers)

Fidah wanted to question this pointless explanation, her eyes themselves helplessly searching for a way out, but just then Shafakat Ali announced loudly clapping his hands.
"Come on, let's get this finished. Mujhe macchar kaat rahe hai!"

Fidah looked over at Zarrar with a sense of urgency hoping he would find a way out of this, but she found him staring right back at her. His grey eyes thundering with an intensity she was yet to decipher.

"Aye Qazi! Start the nikkah! "

Zarrar launched forward, like a wounded animal grabbing onto the collar of the kameez Shafakat Ali was wearing as he shook him around, his one hand still stretching against the confines of the handcuff.

"You better fucking leave us alone or else I swear to god I will make you regret the day you were born."He growled out, his face turning red from anger, a vein appearing in the midst of his forehead.

Shafakat Ali seemed unfazed at best, as if he was used to be aggressive with, calmly pulling out a black revolver from the back of his salwar he pointed it right at Zarrar's head.
"Bus Nikkah karle, ladke . Uske baad tum apne raste aur mein apne."
(Just do the nikkah, boy. After that you will go your way and I will go mine.)

Fidah's eyes widened in fear as a gasp left her mouth, she immediately stood up, tugging at Zarrar's hand that was holding his collar.
"Let him go, it's okay, please."

She had only seen her father's gun a couple of times and it always reminded her of a toy, but right now a gun being pointed at Zarrar's head made her think if her Baba had also been in a similar situation before. It shook her entire existence as she looked at Shafakat Ali, pleading him.
"Don't hurt him. We will listen to you."

Zarrar's hands slightly loosened around his collar while he glared daggers at Shafakat Ali who only smirked in victory, lowering his gun as he slipped away from his hold. What a twisted man.

Just like that minutes later both of them were seated opposite to the Qazi as he recited arabic verses, starting the nikkah, Shafakat Ali , stood grinning in a corner, the gun still pointed at Zarrar's head. As if to threaten saying that one wrong move would cost him his life. His grin was as huge as Mount Everest, almost like he had won a Nobel Prize or Oscar.

Fidah sat almost paralysed in fear as her eyes kept drifting towards Zarrar and the gun that was pointed at his head, she feared for his life more than she feared getting into a nikkah with him. A lump forming in her throat, constricting her breathing.

The Qazi forwarded the nikkah-naama towards her, lowering her eyes, with trembling hands Fidah signed the piece of paper that was going to bind her to him. In all the ways that mattered, in all sense that she didn't think she would have the heart to refute. Zarrar followed soon after, a lot of hesitance on his part as well, she wondered what was going on in his brain because he refused to show it on the face. And just like that, within a blink of an eye,
they were married.

Her name was tied to his.

"Mubarak ho! Abhi chalte bano tum dono." Shafakat Ali exclaimed letting out a loud yawn. Like he hadn't just forced two people into a marriage. Who had given him the right to do this? He wasn't God. Fidah wanted to scream at him, slap him as hard as she could but her body fell limp. Exhausted from whatever was conspiring in her life. Exhausted from life itself.
( Congratulations! Now get going you two )

Nazakat Ali came towards Fidah with tears in his eyes. His face almost remorseful.
"Tumne meri bakwaas bardasht ki. You are a wonderful girl,  par afsos hai tumhe is admi say shaadi karni padi "
( You tolerated my nonsense) ( What a pity, you had to get married to this man )

Fidah felt emotionless. The only thing replaying in her mind was that she was married. Married to a man she didn't even know properly. It was no joke. She was afraid to find out what kind of a man Zarrar Hamidi was. The vulnerability of being a woman was eating her up from the inside.

The lanky guy; Amir suddenly entered the under-constructed hut, his voice booming loud as he navigated Shafakat Ali.
"Chachu! Meri khilone waali pistol nahi mil rahi, aapne kahi dekhi hai? Waise Chachi jharoo leke apko dhoodh rahi hai, aapko dhood leke aane ka kaha tha unhone."
( Uncle! My toy gun has gone missing, have you seen it somewhere? Anyways, Aunty is searching for you with a broom, she had asked you to bring milk)

Fidah and Zarrar snapped their heads towards Shafakat Ali, appalled. The god damned gun was fake. How dare he fool them like that?!

Shafakat Ali squirmed in nervousness as he dodged the glares and accusing looks like an expert, throwing the gun in Amir's face and ran out of the hut at lightning speed.
The Qazi smirked, dusting his kameez as he himself got up. He then proceeded to walk out shooting a glare at Amir and Nazakat Ali.
" Darpok! Like father like son. And he has the guts to blame my daughter. "
(Coward)

Amir glanced around confused clutching his toy gun, as he threw the keys to the handcuff near Zarrar's feet before rushing out as well.

•••
By the time Zarrar had finished uncuffing himself, Nazakat Ali also had bid his bye, running away to whereever he had come from. His eyes wandered towards Fidah who seemed lost in her own world. Her body trembled even with his blazer over her body.

Walking towards her, he gently grabbed the sleeve of his blazer, lifting her hand. She abruptly slipped her freezing cold palms in his, taking him by surprise as she stood up. Wordlessly dragging her through the woods, he navigated his car and finally reaching it he made her sit inside the car, turning on the heating system before getting in himself.

He was married. He was married to a girl he saw not even a few weeks back. And how? Forcefully. He swore to himself that he would catch those psychopaths and get them the torture they deserved.

He looked at her beside him, who was staring off into the distance before them. Her hazel eyes held a lifeless look to them, haunting him like they had done before.

"Fidah?" He called out her name for the first time, testing it at his lips, it felt surreal. She was right before him yet she wasn't even here. It seemed like a figment of his imagination.

There was however no reply from her side.

"Hey? Are you okay?"
His heart beat quickened as he bit his lower lip, sensing no response from her once again.

With hesitation, he slowly grabbed her hand that was lying on her lap leisurely. It was just as freezing as before. Rubbing it between his palms he tried warming it. As if she had finally caught onto her surroundings, she looked at him, her hazel eyes filling with tears that she was trying so hard to control. Clingy to her long lashes they finally flowed down her cheeks melting against her freckles like snow. Low sobs raked her body as she cried out loudly. Her hand trembling between his.

"Hey, hey! It's okay. I promise, I will make everything okay." Zarrar tried consoling her in frenzy but she only continued sobbing. It looked like she had been holding onto it for far too long.

With measured actions, Zarrar, gently pulled her to his chest. Her head resting against his heart as he put his chin on her head, running a comforting hand on her back. Her fists clutched onto his shirt tightly, as she cried out more.

"You hear my heartbeat? Just focus on that. Can you do that for me?" He questioned, softly. His skin tingling at having her in his arms. He was a sadistic bastard, she was crying and here he was enjoying the feeling of having her in his arms.

She nodded slowly, pressing her face against his chest, trying to listen to his heartbeat like he had instructed. Slowly but surely she was starting to calm down. His heartbeat was turning to a peaceful lullaby.

"Good girl. You are doing perfect."

Fidah had calmed down finally, his comforting warmth and encouraging words being the main reason for it. He didn't push her away and neither did she make any attempt to move away. They just stayed like that for how long either of them didn't know, but one was willing to hold everything he could and the other was willing to let go everything she had held onto.

Little did they know,

rooh se jud gaya tha naseeb unka, saanse bhi ab ek doosre ke naam ki hi le rahe the wo dono .

(Their destiny was joined by the soul,
they were even breathing with each other's name)

•••
a/n

Hi beautiful people!

How did you like the two chapters? It was almost 5000 words so i hope you enjoyed it!
These two chapters had garnered so much love and attention in the old version that I just knew I couldn't change them much!

I promise to update fast as long as you guys comment and vote so yk how to get me to update! Do leave your precious feedback! I always appreciate it!

Lots of Love!

~ flawfully