Chapter 48 #4
Safiya lowered her eyes. She hadn't expected him to notice her though. Adira suddenly appeared beside her, looping an arm around hers.
"If your husband won't dance," she teased, "I'll steal you.", Safiya laughed.
"Done."
The two women stepped onto the floor together just as a playful partner-switch dance began. Every few beats, the couples changed partners, filling the hall with laughter and teasing.
Adira looked around the crowded lawn, her eyes searching for one particular nuisance who had somehow disappeared the moment she wasn't looking.
"Ahaan kidhar hai?", Safiya skeed surprised that Ahaan wasn't glued to Adira..
(Where's Ahaan?)
"Bhaad mein jaaye woh... chutiya saala.", Safiya blinked in confusion before bursting into laughter.
(To hell with that idiot.)
"Arre... hua kya?", she asked between laughs.
(What happened?)
She twirled dramatically, still visibly offended.
"Ek ladki uske saath flirt kar rahi thi. Aur uss harami ne usse kya bola pata hai? 'Meri biwi mujhe zinda nahi chhodegi... isliye please mujhse baat mat kijiye.'"
(A girl was flirting with him. And do you know what that idiot told her? 'My wife won't spare me alive... so please don't talk to me.')
Safiya frowned, clearly failing to understand why this was supposed to be a problem.
"Toh... usmein rone wali kaunsi baat hai?", Adira covered her face with both hands in frustration.
(So... what's there to cry about?)
"Mere papa bilkul uske peeche khade the!",
(My dad was standing right behind him!)
"...Oh.", Safiya's lips slowly parted.
Adira nodded dramatically.
"Aur ab Papa ne usse keh diya hai ki jab tak shaadi ki baat officially nahi ho jaati... tab tak mujhse thoda door rahe.", Safiya winced in sympathy.
(And now Dad has told him to stay away from me until the marriage talks are made official.)
"...Phir?", she asked curious.
(...Then?)
"Phir uss harami ne seedha bol diya- 'Dulha ready hai. Abhi phere le lete hain. Saari tayyari bhi toh ho rakhi hai.' ", she huffed in anger.
(Then that idiot casually said, 'The groom is ready. Let's get married right now. Everything's already prepared anyway.')
There was a brief silence. Safiya couldn't hold it in anymore. She burst into uncontrollable laughter. Adira stared at her with the most betrayed expression imaginable.
"Hanso mat!"
(Don't laugh!)
Safiya only laughed harder.
"Woh dekho... bechara kone mein khada tumhari taraf dekh raha hai."
(Look over there... the poor guy is standing in the corner, staring at you.)
Sure enough, Ahaan stood several feet away, looking like a child who had accidentally broken the neighbour's window and was now awaiting punishment. Adira's father stood beside Ahaan, protecting his daughter from the boy.
Adira followed Safiya's gaze before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"Lagta hai... partner switch karna padega ab.", Safiya nodded, seeing the circle start moving.
(Looks like... I'll have to switch partners now.)
Safiya's lehenga floated gracefully with every turn, off white silk catching the warm lights overhead. Her bangles chimed delicately as she spun beneath raised hands, moving from one partner to another with effortless elegance.
Across the room, Adeel watched while he danced with Natasha in his arms. His jaw was clenched as he watched Safiya's eyes travel to Zaviyar every time. Every glance, every smile, none of it belonged to him anymore.
When the next partner switch came, fate handed him the opportunity he had been waiting for.
Safiya spun, Adira's hands holding hers slipped away. Adeel stepped forward, moving away from Natasha. Safiya turned, but dreaded when she saw the man she would have to spin around.
Their fingers almost touched.
Almost.
Before she could step back, another hand intercepted hers, large and warm. While Zaviyar pulled Safiya away. Adira seeing Natasha cringed, and herself stepped back only to be pulled away by Ahaan who couldn't control himself.
Safiya looked up, he hadn't said a word. He hadn't asked. He had simply taken his rightful place.
Adeel stopped where he was. His outstretched hand remained suspended in the air before slowly curling into a fist. The music changed, and Natasha scurried back to him.
The music bridge of the song floated gently through the hall. Even the partner-switch dance slowed into something quieter and intimate. Safiya blinked at Zaviyar.
"You...", she gasped, feeling him pull her closer. She was reminded of their dance in his farmhouse the day before she came home.
"I believe," he murmured, his voice calm enough that only she could hear, "this dance belongs to me."
For the first time that evening. She smiled only for him. The lyrics reached the bridge.
Instead of pulling her close immediately, Zaviyar loosened his hold. Safiya instinctively stepped away.
She circled him slowly, the embroidered hem of her lehenga sweeping across the marble-like emerald waves. Her eyes never left his. He simply watched, his palm sliding around her waist, as he spun her to face him, not with possession but with admiration.
As though he were seeing her exactly as she wished to be seen. She completed the circle and, for a fleeting moment, slipped just beyond his reach.
A soft smile touched Zaviyar's lips. He followed, matching her steps.. When she looked back over her shoulder, he was already there, offering his hand without a single word. She placed hers in it.
He guided her into a slow spin. The lights reflected in her eyes.The rose petals still scattered across the floor lifted gently beneath the movement of her lehenga.
Time seemed to lose its meaning. He slowly held her waist, before moving her with him. Only two people matching each other's rhythm.
Safiya had unconsciously stepped closer than ever before. Zaviyar's hand rested lightly against her waist, his head dropped against hers. Around them, conversations had completely stopped.
The same guests who had spent the evening questioning their marriage now watched with softened expressions. Rabiya smiled through misty eyes.
"I was wrong,", rabiya whispered. "I thought he was cold."
Wajahat nodded.
"A man who kneels to fix his wife's payal in front of everyone... and looks at her like that?", She smiled.
"Allah has blessed that girl.", Mrs tyagi added quietly.
"When a man gives that much attention to every detail..." She looked towards Safiya, "...imagine how carefully he must love."
Nearby, another woman sighed.
"We kept saying he never came for her."
"And now..." she smiled warmly, "...he arrived only to make sure no one else could ever stand beside his wife."
Across the hall, Adeel stood beside Natasha but his eyes never left Safiya. For the first time since losing Safiya, he truly understood what it meant.
She wasn't simply married. She had become someone's choice, someone's honour. And no matter how desperately he wished otherwise. There was no place left for him beside her.
His jaw tightened as he walked out of the hall, leaving Natasha standing there. He immediately dialled a number. Before glancing at the banquet hall one last time, " once all of this is over. You will be with me Safiya. ", he said before walking away.
The evening had melted away into a cozy dinner, as everyone was enjoying the food and having a great time. Safiya was swept away by some of her friends from the society who wanted to inquire about her husband..
Meanwhile Zaviyar got surrounded by a circle of business associates pitching ideas and collaborations to him. Whispers spread across the hall, along with the live bands soft and melodic tunes.
"Mr. khan.", a very old man shook hands with him.
"Assalamualaikum.", another greeted.
One after another, people stepped forward to greet him. An entrepreneur extended his hand. Zaviyar acknowledged him with a polite nod.
From the corner of his eyes, Zaviyar spotted Safiya walking towards the balcony. Before the man could continue, Zaviyar had already moved on.
Another guest stopped him.
"Congratulations. I heard about your recent deal.", he nodded with a polite smile, "Thank you."
An elderly uncle smiled warmly. "Come, beta. Sit with us for a while.",
" I'll join you later. Safiya... She needs something.. ", his tone remained respectful.
But his eyes were elsewhere. Every few steps, someone greeted him. Someone tried to start a conversation. Someone wanted his attention. He gave everyone the respect they deserved. His gaze kept drifting back to one person.
Safiya, who greeted everyone and drifted in the crowdm so close but out of reach. Suddenly, he was stopped by Wajahat and a few men who started talking to him
His eyes travelled to his wife who stood in front of an elderly couple. Just then a little girl tugged at the edge of her dupatta, making her laugh softly. Without realising it, Zaviyar found himself watching that smile.
One of his business associates noticed.
"You seem very disinterested, for some reason ?", Zaviyar didn't answer, simply looked past him, staring at Safiya.
As though the rest of the hall had blurred into nothing. As though every conversation around him had become meaningless noise. Someone else began discussing politics. Another brought up investments. A third wanted to introduce his son.
Zaviyar listened just enough to be courteous. Then excused himself with a quiet,
" I'd like to keep business in my office. Right now, i must go to my wife. Feel free to contact my secretary, if you will excuse me ", Zaviyar said pointing at Waqas at a corner who was immediately surrounded by men trying to book an appointment.
'served him right, slacking during work hours', Zaviyar thought.
He walked away before anyone could stop him. His steps carried him through the crowd towards his wife. Because after an entire hall had tried to claim his attention. There was only one conversation he actually wanted to have.