Shaiq's POV

"I am sorry, Shaiq."

Her voice is more like a whisper; a trembling one but in this lulled silence of the room, I am easily able to hear this. My hand which is lifted up towards her gets fixed as the only thing my mind is processing is her words and that tears falling from her eyes.

"I have ruined your life as well. They say right, I am useless. I can't do anything; not for myself and not for anyone either. I am sorry for being this burdened friend for whom you have to sacrifice your life, " she says as she sobs loudly.

A sigh leaves my mouth as I find my own eyes wet. She was never like this and now she is blaming herself for what bad happens to her. I have always seen her finding positivity, happiness, and laughter in everything but now she is so gloomy, so sad.

I put back the spoon in the tray and push it aside as I drag myself nearer to her. I take her hand in mine as I look into her eyes.

"You don't have to be sorry for anything. It's not at all your fault. What I did, I own it and will always continue to do so," I state in a low voice.

I wipe tears from her cheeks with my hand. 

"Because you pity me?" She lets out a weary laugh.

"Not at all. I have done this because I love my friend. I have done this to protect her. You are the most precious one in my life. You are like a beautiful flower of my garden and I can't let anyone pluck and destroy this flower," I say as I cup her face with my hand.

"So in order to protect this flower, you choose thorns for yourself?" She smirks and shoves my hand away from her face.

I stare at her in a haze. How can she even think like this?

"Zainab, I..."

"Why do you have to do this? I just have one pure and genuine relation and that was our friendship and it got destroyed now, that also because of me." She again starts crying.

"I know you more than yourself. How many lies and sacrifices you did for protecting a girl like me who has nothing to offer you. I won't be able to forgive myself, Shaiq that I have destroyed my best friend's life," she whimpers as her voice is almost muffled due to the intensity of crying. 

"That's not like what you are thinking. You haven't done anything. I have chosen to do this because I wanted to do this. You haven't destroyed or ruined anyone." I put my hands on both sides of her face.

Her eyes have got so red and swollen due to crying. I pull her into my chest when I can't see her crying anymore. Her sobs vibrated against my chest. I slowly run my hand on her back to soothe her.

She soon pulls away from me but I keep my one hand on her waist. I stare at her face for a moment; her red eyes are still blubbering with tears, her cheeks and nose have a hue of red while there are tears all over her face. I lift my other hand towards her face and gently rub her cheeks with the help of my fingers. I lift up her face to my level by putting my thumb and index finger under her chin.

"I have told you many times, I can't see you crying. You don't look pretty when you cry. Instead, whenever you smile, you look the most beautiful girl in this world, isn't it Zaini?" I deliberately chuckle in the end.

She hits my chest as her lips spread slightly to form a faint smile. I give her a smile before my eyes divert to the food tray laying on our left. I again take it in my hand.

"And in order to look prettiest, you have to eat this," I assert.

"I am not hungry," she pouts.

"But I am. Instead, I am so hungry that my stomach is growling. Are you able to hear these sounds?" I again chuckle to make her feel light.

She sniffles her nose as again a smile appears on her face and I am sure that is so oblivious.

"Why haven't you eaten anything?" She wipes her nose with her elbow.

"Eww...dirty girl. Use this." I take my handkerchief out of my pocket and forward it to her.

She stares at my face for a moment before taking it.

"I haven't eaten because you also didn't eat anything. Let's have dinner together. Shouldn't we?" I again place the tray in between us.

"Shaiq, I am really not hungry. You eat yourself," she rejects again.

"If you are not going to eat then I won't eat as well. Simple! Lets us both go on a hunger strike today. Isn't it?" I pinch her nose with my finger.

I again push the food aside as I cross both arms on my chest, peeking at Zainab with my side-eyes.

"But you said you are hungry," she mumbles.

I suppress a smile as I look at her directly. I shrug my shoulders with recklessness. Zainab sighs before grabbing the tray and bringing in front of her. She makes a spoonful of the rice and takes it in her mouth before looking at me with a scowl. I smile at this.

"I hate you, Shaiq," she blurts.

Instead of saying anything, my smile just gets deeper.

"Eat now. Will you?" She says in a loud voice.

I nod my head, the smile never leaving my lips, before taking a bite.

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With caution, I open the door of my room; afraid of not making Zainab awake. She has eaten something, although not more than a few bites, still it's better than nothing. And then how I make her take the medicines. In all of this, I just forget or force myself to forget that my relation to her has changed. I am and will never be considered as her best friend anymore. It still causes goosebumps to form on my body whenever I remember how a stranger she was feeling to me whenever I was talking to her.

She is my Zainab but at the same, she isn't.

There was a bit odd feeling in my heart that she isn't the same girl who used to be my friend. She isn't the one with whom I can share my everything. She is different.

I push the door slightly and it opens with a muffled sound. I close the door behind me as my eyes roam throughout the door and end up staying on her. Thank God, she is sleeping now. I walk towards the bed where she is laying, careful to not make any sound. Her eyes are closed but the heavy breathes she is taking time are making me think again if she is really sleeping.

I sit beside her on the small area on the corner of the bed as my eyes keep on lingering at her. I softly touch her cheek with my hand to get assured that she doesn't have a fever anymore.

She is my wife now!

How strange is it to just think of this.

But whatever I have done is to protect her from her cruel family and that drunkard. I have to make her feel that I am still her best friend; the same silly Shaiq of her, no matter how much embarrassment I am having now or else there is no use of me having Nikkah with her. I want her to have the same home feeling with me as she has before all of this.

I get up to pull the duvet on her when I stop hearing sobbing from her. I turn back to her and I panic seeing her eyelids trembling as tears are falling from her eyes. Her fingers curl up to form a tight fist as her whole body flinch like a dying fish without water.

"Don't do this. I don't want to do this..." She yells while sitting up with a jerk.

"Zainab, what's wrong?" I ask as I softly caress her arm.

She looks at me with fear apparent in her eyes. With a big sob, she starts crying and drags her body away from me.

"I don't want to...please," she again mumbles with stuttering words.

What is she talking about? About marrying me? But that's not what important right now. She has clearly had a nightmare or something like that. Seeing her condition, I pull her towards me and hug her trembling body. She tries so hard to come out of my embrace but this just makes me tighten my grip on her.

"Zainab, calm down," I whisper while caressing her hair.

"I am with you," I again whisper against her ear.

My eyes get wide in shock when she stops crying as well as the torture on my chest as soon as I say this. She snuggles her head in my neck as she wraps her arms around my waist.

"Shaiq..." She mumbles in a teary voice.

Has just my voice really makes her calm down? She definitely does not know what is happening or else she won't act this way. It's such a pity that because of whom she is crying is also the one because of whom she is getting a sense of relief. I softly rub my hand on her back. And now, there is not a single sob from her. Has she again went to sleep?

I pull her away from me when I find no movement from her. I softly make her again lay on the bed. I wipe her face with the help of the pulp of my fingers. With a sigh, I stare at her before taking her hand in my both hands.

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Salam guys!

So I am back with another chapter. How is it?

What do you think about this story development of Zainab and Shaiq?

I choose to make their track a little different from the normal arrange marriage tracks or how I did with Zara and Armaan so it's basically my first time trying something like this in the forced marriage trope. I don't know if it's good or not and do even things are making any sense or not. So please overlook any mistake.

🙌Again a reminder: Tomorrow's chapter will have Zara and Armaan scenes so don't forget to read it.

If you like this chapter, dont forget to vote and comment.