Author's POV

She was waiting for her husband as it was past 11, and he was still not home.

It had been a month since their marriage, yet nothing had changed. He continued to ignore her. He came home late at night, and if she ever asked him something important, he responded with just one word-otherwise, a nod was more than enough for him.

Aina was patiently waiting for him to come around, but her family's behavior was stopping him from moving forward. He came home late at night after everyone had retired to their rooms and left early in the morning to avoid encountering them.

Aina had tried to convince everyone that she didn't consider Saim her culprit and that she genuinely wanted to move on, but her family remained stubborn and refused to accept that. Everyone in the house gave him disgusted glances before walking away. In the early days of their marriage, Saim had made efforts to connect with them-he joined them at the dining table for breakfast or dinner, hoping to engage in conversation, but they would leave one by one upon seeing him. Her brothers often mocked his character, throwing insults here and there. To avoid humiliation, Saim now avoided any interaction.

Aina's heart was far from at peace. She always ended up crying when she thought about everything. The man who once walked with pride now hid himself from everyone. Aina cursed herself for choosing this path. She deeply regretted not considering how extreme the consequences of her decision could be. All she had in mind was the desire to make Saim hers.

She heard the screeching sound of a car and ran to the door. Opening it, she saw Saim stepping onto the doorstep. He lifted his head and was surprised to see her.

"Aaj bahot late ho gayi?" she asked softly. (You're very late today.)

"Kaam bahot tha," he replied briefly, stepping inside. (There was a lot of work.)

Aina moved aside to give him space and closed the door behind him.

"I'll heat the food..." she offered.

"I had my dinner," he said, walking toward his room. Aina followed him.

He went straight to the washroom after grabbing his clothes. Aina sat on the sofa, waiting. She needed to talk to him-it was essential for their marriage. She had to make him speak. He needed to let everything out. If things continued like this, they would never be able to melt the ice between them.

"Go sleep, Aina. Why are you sitting there?" he asked when he came out and saw her lost in thought.

Aina looked up. He wasn't there to make conversation-he was there for the sofa. Yes, he had been sleeping on the sofa the entire month.

"How many more days are you going to sleep here?" she asked sadly, standing up. She barely reached his shoulder. Saim frowned. "All our life?" she added when he didn't respond, her voice laced with sorrow that didn't go unnoticed by Saim.

"I need... time... Ain," he stuttered. He understood what she was asking. He just didn't know how to answer her. He couldn't tell her that he still didn't see her as his wife. He had always seen her as his little baby sister, and it felt like a sin even to think of her otherwise.

In all these days, Saim had been in denial about marrying his cousin. He was still in shock and knew he had to come out of it. He couldn't keep ruining both their lives. Now they were bound in the sacred bond of nikah (marriage), and it was wrong of him to keep ignoring Aina-but he had not yet reached a point of acceptance.

"You can take as much time as you need. But don't ignore me. Don't run away from me. Can't we be friends?" she asked softly. He sat down on the sofa, dejected.

"I... I don't know what to do, Ain," Saim began honestly. "It's suffocating. They all hate me. This house hates me. You hate me. Even I hate myself. I feel like dying. I ruined your life. I tainted you..." His eyes, now red and watery, looked up at her. "...You were the most beautiful girl in our family. Everyone was proud of you. They all had such high hopes for you. They wanted you to marry the best man in the world-a handsome, charming prince who would love you, protect you, cherish you. They all wanted the best for their princess. Even I wanted the same. But what did you get? A man ten years older than you, who doesn't love you, who can't even protect you. Because of me, everyone's dreams were shattered. Your dreams were shattered. I am the reason for the destruction in your life." He buried his face in his hands as tears began to fall. Everything that had been tormenting Saim for the past month poured out.

"My dreams, my prince, my 'best man in the world'-that's you." Saim's head snapped up. Aina smiled gently and knelt before him. She knew she had to wipe away every one of his insecurities. "You said you ruined me, but I say you made me. You said you tainted me, but I say you became the cover for every taint I ever had. Yes, everyone wanted me to marry the best man-and I did."

She held both his hands. "Age is just a number. I respect you, and nothing can reduce that respect. You are the most handsome man in the world to me."

Saim was staring into her eyes, seeing the truth behind every word. He was shocked. He thought she hated him, that she would burst out with her bitterness any day-but this? This was the last thing he had expected.

"I don't hate you. I loved you..." Seeing his widened eyes, Aina quickly added, "I loved you as a cousin. And I know you loved me too. You protected me by marrying me. You left the girl you wanted to marry for me." Tears streamed continuously down Aina's cheeks. The realization was tearing her heart apart-Saim was the one who had lost everything in this game: his family, his respect, his self-worth, his pride. He had become insecure. And Aina would go through hell and back to return everything to him-and more.

"Only our relationship has changed, not our love. I know this relationship... requires a different kind of love..." Her cheeks flushed with shyness, and she let go of his hands, looking down. "And we both need time. But we can be friends. It will be easier for us to live under the same roof. Otherwise, it will suffocate both of us to death." With that, she stood up.

Suddenly, her heart began racing. She turned around and rushed into the washroom, slamming the door shut and leaning against it, placing a fist over her pounding heart.

Did he just smile?

And that smile-it wasn't for his cousin. It was for his new friend. Or maybe... for his wife. She didn't know. But something in his eyes and in that smile was different. Something powerful enough to bring Aina to her knees.

********

When Aina walked out of the washroom after half an hour, she found Saim sleeping on the sofa, wrapped in a blanket. But she didn't feel hurt-she knew he needed time to process the conversation they had.

Aina slowly went to her bed and lay there, her eyes filled with love as she gazed at him.

She didn't realize when sleep finally took her.

***********

"Chale?" Aina asked as she slid on her last couple of bangles.

He looked up from his laptop.

"Um... tum jao. I have some work," he replied, avoiding her eyes and diving back into his work. She shook her head and stood in front of him, shutting the laptop closed.

"The same work you were about to go to the office for on a Sunday?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. He raised his brows, surprised by her boldness. She was usually timid and soft-spoken. Though she could yell and argue, in front of Saim she was always shy and innocent.

Earlier that morning, he had planned to leave at 8 o'clock before anyone woke up, but Aina had already been awake and stopped him, reminding him that it was Sunday.

"I don't want to face them," he said, slumping his shoulders dejectedly. "I can't bear the disgust in their eyes."

"We talked yesterday, didn't we?" she asked calmly.

"I'm afraid..."

"Please believe me. I'll be with you," Aina assured her heartbroken husband. "Come." She stretched out her hand to him.

He was scared to face his family. It had been a month since he last saw them, and none of them had made any effort to meet him-not even his parents. It shattered his heart every single time.

Swallowing the lump of fear, he took her hand and stood up. Aina's soft smile instantly soothed Saim's racing heartbeat.

They walked out of their room. Aina led, and Saim followed behind, as if she were dragging him with her.

Everyone was at the dining table. It was 9:30 in the morning, and being a Sunday, it was a lazy morning for everyone.

They looked up to see Aina entering the dining room with Saim following her. It was the first time in a month that he was facing them.

"Good morning, Aina," everyone greeted. Aina simply nodded and pulled Saim towards their seats.

They sat down, and Aina began serving him. There was aloo paratha and gobi paratha. She reached for the gobi paratha-Saim's favorite-but noticed there was only one left. She frowned, but not wanting him to realize no one had saved it for him, she served it onto his plate and took aloo paratha for herself.

"Aina, we saved the gobi paratha for you," Zaid said, having noticed what she did. The others had seen it too, but chose to remain silent. Saim, however, was busy sipping his juice.

She shot Zaid a glare.

The women of the house hadn't expected Saim to show up, so they hadn't kept any for him.

"I want aloo paratha," she replied casually, and began eating.

Saim glanced at her and placed the gobi paratha back on her plate, taking the aloo one instead.

"Mujhe nahi chahiye," she said softly. He smiled gently to assure her.

Aina knew he wouldn't eat it, so she tore the paratha into two equal parts and placed one on his plate and kept the other on hers.

"Lein warna main bhi nahi khaungi," she said stubbornly when he tried to refuse. Saim shook his head at her.

"That's enough!" Affan stood up, slamming his hand on the table. He had been holding back his rage, but watching his little sister care for the man who had 'ruined' her life made his anger explode.

"Don't be nice to this bastard, Aina!" he shouted. Saim shut his eyes in pain, bowing his head. Aina stood up, shocked and stunned by her brother's outburst. She grabbed the glass of juice Saim had been drinking and hurled its contents at Affan. Everyone gasped. Affan stared at her in disbelief.

"Don't you dare curse him, Bhai!" Aina warned, glaring fiercely.

"Why? What did I say wrong? He ruined your life, Aina! He deserves every curse in the world!" Affan yelled. Aina marched toward him and shoved him with all her strength, her hands pressing against his chest.

"No! He doesn't deserve this!" Aina screamed.

"You're too innocent to understand what he did, Aina! He destroyed your life, meri jaan!" Affan shouted, though his voice cracked on the last words, grabbing her shoulders.

"No-" she tried to speak, but Zaid interrupted.

"He's right. Bhai ruined your life. Don't support him. He doesn't deserve your care, he deserves your hatred," Zaid stepped forward. "He stole our family's happiness. We saw him as our guardian, the pride of this family... but he turned out to be our disgrace-"

"Zaid Bhai..." Aina tried to stop him repeatedly, but he kept going

"...I was proud to call him my brother, but now I'm ashamed. He's a characterless man who ruins women's lives when drunk. Who knows how many women he's destroyed... how many rapes he's committed-"

Smack!

Zaid's face snapped to the side with the force of Aina's slap.

"Aina!!" Zubaida gasped as she saw her daughter slap Zaid. Saim stood up, stunned. Everyone surrounded Zaid and Aina.

"He is your elder brother! He is the eldest son of this family! He is my husband! HE DESERVES RESPECT!" she shouted, her eyes blazing. "And I dare anyone to say another word against him-I'll leave this house!"

Tears welled in her eyes.

"Aina, Saim wronged you, beta. Everyone's just angry..." Shamim tried to reason, but Aina cut her off.

"Anger isn't a reason to disrespect him. And this slap-this should've come from you, Tayi Maa!"

Saim stood there, still shocked, but watching Aina's fury, he realized things were escalating quickly. He moved toward her.

"Aina, enough," he said, holding her elbow, trying to pull her back. But she jerked her hand away and turned to her mother-in-law.

"You should have been the one to understand him. The one to stand by his side. You know he didn't do anything wrong. He was drunk-and there's a chance someone spiked his drink. He didn't know what he was doing. I was intoxicated too. We don't remember anything from that night. We don't even have proof that something wrong happened to me. So how can you all blame him?"

She turned to address everyone in the room.

"Tell me-what would you have done if he had refused to marry me? You couldn't have forced him. He could've left me and married the girl chosen for him. If he was truly a bad guy, he would have done just that. But no-he married me. He left his bride behind. He thought about me and this family. He didn't marry me to protect me from strangers. He married me to protect me from all of you!

She pointed around the room. "No one outside the family even knew-but still, he married me to make sure I kept the respect I had in this house. He wanted me to walk in this home with my head held high." She held Saim's hand. "My life isn't ruined. His is." A tear slipped down her cheek, the first one she had let fall. Saim stared at her, deeply moved.

"Why can't you see that? He respects me. He had the choice to run from everything-but he chose his family. And this... this is what his family is giving him in return. His parents should have stood by him the way mine stood by me. His brothers should have supported him the way mine supports me."

His mother sobbed, covering her mouth. His father and Zaid's eyes filled with guilt and tears.

Aina was right-if Saim were truly bad, he would have escaped. But instead, he stood firm and gave Aina her respect.

Wiping her tears, Aina declared loudly, "You all didn't stand with him-but his wife will. And I don't think I can live here any longer. I can't bear watching you insult my husband everyday. We're leaving."

Gripping his hand, she dragged him toward their room. Saim was too stunned to react. He just stared at her as she pulled him along.

They entered the room, and Aina banged the door shut. She was breathing heavily, panting in fury. She walked to the cupboard and began pulling out their clothes, throwing them onto the bed. Then she went to get the suitcase. Saim was still standing there, stunned.

She was dragging the suitcase when he slowly approached her and gently held her wrist.

Aina turned to him, but before she could say anything, he pulled her into his arms. He wrapped her tightly in a hug.

"Calm down, baby," Saim whispered. He always calmed Aina like this-but something had changed now. Aina wrapped her arms around him and broke into tears.

"You should've stood up for yourself," she sobbed. He rubbed her back gently.

Saim knew she was trying to be strong for him, but deep down, she was still that innocent little cousin who needed protection. Today, she stood against everyone for him.

Saim would never forget this.

Aina had just shattered the ice between them.

She had proven she wasn't just his cousin.

She was his better half.

His wife.

******************