The Forbidden Heart
Chapter One: A New Beginning
~Zoya's POV~
I stand in front of the mirror, in my bridal
lengha. Am I making the right choice? I chuckle a little at the irony; the girl who always tried to spread love all around was now getting married to a man that she has never met before. Zeenat
Aapi came behind me and put her hands on my shoulders.
"Zoya? What happened? Are you getting cold feet?"
I sit on the bed, and my sister sits next to me. I'm pulled into a hug as tears pour down my face.
"I don't know
Aapi. What if this is all a mistake? What if he isn't the right guy for me? We've only met and talked a few days ago! How do we know for sure that he would be a good husband? Or if he even is a good person? I've seen it happen many times
Aapi. That people date for many years, but once they get married, one of the partners turns controlling or abusive. They don't realize even after dating for so long, but what about me? I barely know the man!" I let out all of my concerns and worries while my sister tried to calm me down.
When
Aapi first came and told me that some family had sent a proposal for marriage, I didn't know what to think. I've never been in a relationship in my life because I always believed that the only man in my life would be my husband.
Nikah can only be done once, in my opinion, and I wanted to make sure it would be with the right person.
I know that all the responsibilities that were suppose to be my parents' are now on my older sister and that's why I agreed to this marriage. I trusted
Aapi's choice and didn't even bother to find out the details about the man I was to be married to, but my mind couldn't help but be restless.
"Shh Zoya." My sister's soothing voice broke me out of my thoughts. "I also had an arranged marriage and look how it turned out! Almost 7 years and we're still going on strong! Granted things might be a little awkward in the first few years, but when you discover the small things about each other, you'll slowly start to fall in love." She put her arm around my shoulder. "It'll be alright. And if it isn't, then you know that your sister will always be here for you. Now stop crying and ruining your makeup. Do you know how much time those poor girls spent with you and your tantrums?"
I smiled. I did trouble the makeup girls a lot.
This time, I leaned forward to hug the motherly figure next to me.
"Oh
Aapi! I'm going to miss you so much! I'm so glad to have you in my life and I don't know what I would have done without you. I'm sorry for all my dramatic antics and torturing you all these years. You're the best! I'm going to call you everyday and visit you once a week." My eyes began to tear up again.
I closed my eyes as my
Aapi kissed my forehead. "I thought I told you to stop crying, not to make me cry!" She brushed away her tears as she continued, "I'm going to miss you too. This house will be so empty without your nonstop chattering." We both giggled at the memories.
"Wow now I know which one of us you love more Zoya
Aapi" Humeira entered the room and faked annoyance. "Thanks for the invite to the hug." She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Aww Humeira I'm going to miss you the most!" Her face lit up as the words left my mouth, and I ended up being sandwiched between my sisters.
Zeenat
Aapi may have been like a mother to me, but Humeira and I were the closest. We were more like best friends than sisters. She was only two years younger than me, but sometimes she could act like a little kid. We shared everything together; if there was something that we couldn't tell Zeenat
Aapi, we'd tell each other for sure. Humeira already knew of my fears of getting married, and she tried her best to console me...but at the end, it was only
Aapi who could persuade me, as she was the only one with experience.
The love of these two never made me feel the absence of my parents. The pain of leaving them hits me all of a sudden. I'm really leaving. Starting a new life with practically a stranger, and without my sisters is going to be hard. But I know my older sister worked hard to find a guy for me. For her sake, I'll put in all my efforts to make this marriage successful. You can do this Zoya. You can do it.
"Zoya!"
"Aapi!"
My sisters pull me out of my thoughts once again.
"Oh my God you're literally squishing us!" Humeira exclaims.
"Sorry, I was just thinking...and I didn't realize." I said, while my thoughts kept creeping back into my mind. After our last few tearful good-byes, some of my friends came in to redo my makeup and to tell us that all the guests were waiting for me.
I climbed down the stairs, with Humeira on one side, and my friend on the other. As I sat down in front of my future husband, I looked around to find my sister. There was still some time for
Malvi Sahib to arrive so she went to go welcome some more guests.
One lady came in, with her daughter next to her. I feel like I've seen them before; usually I don't stay at home whenever
Aapi brings her friends home, but there was something about this lady that stuck out to me. Dilshaad Khan...I think her name was. She was a sweet lady who often came to our house. I haven't really had the chance to have a conversation with her. From what I remember,
Aapi had told me that she and her kids had suffered a lot when Mr. Khan, Dilshaad Bi's husband had walked out. But she managed to overcome all her problems and give her son and daughter a better future. I really want to get to know her and her family a little better, but I guess it's too late for that now.
My eyes met Dilshaad Bi's and as if she read my mind, she and her daughter sat next to me.
"Congratulations Zoya! You're the prettiest bride I've ever seen! Your husband-to-be is the luckiest man in the world!" She gushed. "My son, unfortunately, could not make it today. However, he has sent his best wishes for your future." Dilshaad Bi kissed my forehead and her daughter, Najma, leaned in to hug and wish me.
The next few moments of my life went by in a blur.
Malvi Sahib came in and my two sisters were by my side, each holding my hand.
Rehaan Raza Ibrahim. Kya aap ko yeh nikah qubool hai?There was a short silence in the air before Rehaan spoke up.
"Ji. Mujhe yeh nikah qubool hai."Malvi Sahib continued. This time he faced me while repeating what he had said to Rehaan.
Zoya Farooqui. Kya aap ko yeh nikah qubool hai?"This is it Zoya. This is where either one of the decisions will change your life forever.
I close my eyes and feel my
Aapi giving my hand a gentle squeeze, as a gesture to go ahead. I clear my thoughts and take a deep breath.
Ji. Mujhe yeh nikah qubool hai.A/N: Finally! I know it's the first chapter and kind of a filler, but its neccessary to form the foundation of the story.
I've made so many polls regarding this story, because this time I wanted to know what the majority of you guys would like to see. This is my 5th piece of writing on AsYa so I do believe an index of all my writing should be created soon. Anyone have any ideas for index names?
Anyways those last few lines are the only hindi words that are going to be in this story. I apologize if the nikah isn't done the way it is suppose to be done in real life. I'm not Muslim and everything I know about Islamic marriages has come from Qubool Hai.
I'm sorry for any other mistake(s) that there may be along the way. If you would like a PM for the next chapters, feel free to send me a buddy request. Also please help me improve by telling me which parts you liked or didn't like and why. PMs will be sent tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
Next Chapter:
Chapter Two: Meeting the FamilyEdited by HamariAduriKahn - 11 years ago
