Rumaan’s POV

It had been three days, and everyone in the house was still upset. Mama and Baba hadn't spoken to me. Riya Aapi and Fathima were also angry. They didn’t want to talk to me either. Yesterday, I tried to talk to Fathima, but she refused, saying she didn’t have time to waste.

But for Hana, they all had time, love, and attention.

Yes, she hadn’t come out of her room since that day. Everyone went to her. They had time to waste on her, but not for me. I didn’t have a problem with that—at least that’s what I told myself—but the truth was, it hurt. No one tried to understand me. They only cared about Hana. No one cared about me.

I’m sorry, Hana... I have to do this. Because of you, my family is angry with me. So, you’ll have to be the scapegoat.

I don’t hate you. But I want my family back.

I smirked at the thought and walked toward Hana’s room.

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Author’s POV

Rumaan knocked on the door and waited. A moment later, Hana opened it and found him standing there. Her heart started pounding, and tears welled up in her eyes as she recalled his cruel words from that day.

Rumaan looked at her for a second, then cleared his throat before speaking.

“Can I come in?” he asked.

She nodded silently.

He walked into the room and stood in the center. Looking back, he saw Hana still standing at the door. He sighed, walked to her, took her hand gently, and led her to the bed, making her sit down while he sat beside her.

For a few minutes, neither of them said a word.

“Hana, I want to talk to you,” Rumaan finally broke the tense silence.

She looked at him with fearful eyes. She was terrified to hear what he wanted to say.

Is he going to talk about divo—No! No, Hana! Think positive, she reassured herself and nodded for him to continue.

“First, tell me—are you okay?” he asked gently.

She just nodded.

“Then why haven’t you come downstairs?” he asked, looking directly at her.

She lowered her gaze to her hands.

“Because... I don’t feel like it,” she whispered.

He sighed and held her hand.

“Hana, I know I hurt you... I hurt my parents, I hurt everyone. But trust me, I never wanted this to happen. I just wanted them to understand that I don’t want to marry. I’m not ready for this. And about the divorce... I thought it would be better for both of us…”

Hana began panicking. Her hands turned cold and sweaty. She didn’t want this conversation. Her heart felt like it would stop. She feared Rumaan had come to convince her to get a divorce. If she knew him better—

“And Hana, divor—”

“No!! No, Maan, please don’t say that word!” she cut him off, hugging him tightly. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she cried on his chest.

Rumaan was startled at first but then wrapped his arms around her gently.

“Hana…”

“No, Maan... Please don’t say it... Don’t tell me you want a divorce... I’ll die, Maan, if you do this to me. I can’t live without you... our nikah... you are everything to me. You are the reason I breathe, Maan. I waited for you all those years—not for a divorce, but for love. Your love. I’ve had only one dream, Maan—to be loved by you. Don’t take that away from me... please, Maan... I love you... I’ve loved you since I became aware of what love is... since the day we got married... I’ve loved you all my life... I love you so much, Maan... I love you. Please don’t do this to me.”

She cried uncontrollably on his chest, clinging to him tightly.

Rumaan’s eyes widened. He was stunned by her confession. He had no idea Hana loved him this deeply. And he could feel it—every word she said came from her heart. Her words were honest, raw, and real. But he didn’t want to feel it. So he shook his head and gently pulled away, removing her hands from around him.

She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her panic grew again as he moved back.

Rumaan looked away and sighed.

She tilted her head slightly and stared at him, her red, swollen eyes filled with tears that refused to stop.

“Hana, I... I don’t... I’m not ready for this. I’m—”

“I know,” she interrupted. “I know you’re not ready, and I’m not going to force myself on you. I’ll wait, Maan. I’ll wait until you’re ready...” she said in a cracked voice.

But he cut her off again.

“And what if I’m never ready to accept this nikah?”

“I can wait for you my whole life... until my last breath. I can live happily with just your name, Maan,” she said with a small, trembling smile.

He looked at her, stunned. If Hana loved him this much... then what he was about to do would break her even more.

But that’s not my problem, he thought. I don’t love her. I never asked her to love me this much. So I don’t have to feel guilty. She loves me—that’s her choice. She’ll have to deal with it.

He sighed and cupped her face, wiping her tears.

“Okay, fine. If you’re willing to wait, then I don’t have a problem staying in this nikah... as long as you respect my decisions. You’ll have to support me in everything I do. Will you?” he asked.

She smiled through her tears and nodded eagerly like a child. He smirked at her innocence and obsession.

“Promise me you’ll never think about divorce,” she said, extending her palm toward him.

He took her hand and nodded. “I promise you—I’ll never think about divorce.”

Because this time, you’re the one who will demand it, he thought and smirked to himself.

Meanwhile, Hana felt a wave of relief wash over her. Her smile widened.

“Okay, first of all... you have to convince my parents and sisters to forgive me. They don’t want to talk to me, Hana... and that really hurts,” he said, making a sad face and turning away.

His back faced her now, and she felt pain seeing her Maan like this.

“Maan, please don’t be sad. I’ll talk to them and convince them. They’ll forgive you—I promise,” she said gently, stepping in front of him.

“Really?” he asked, smiling.

She nodded with a smile.

“Thank you, Hana.”

“No need to. Okay, I should go and talk to them now,” she said and turned to leave, but Rumaan grabbed her wrist.

“Go and tell Mama and Baba that I’m ready to give this nikah a chance,” he said.

“You’re ready?” she asked, her eyes lighting up with joy.

“No, Hana. I said you should tell them that I’m ready. But I’m not. To be honest, Hana... I’m not even ready to give this nikah a chance. I’m only willing not to divorce you—for your sake. That’s it,” he said coldly.

But being the naive, hopeful girl she was, Hana simply nodded and walked out of the room.

Hana’s POV

Three days I spent in anxiety. I was too afraid to come out of my room because I feared Maan would again ask for a divorce.

But now I felt relaxed after talking to Maan. He promised me that he would never think about divorce again, and that’s enough for me. Now it's up to me to make Maan fall for me.

I will make him realize that he can spend his whole life with me happily. I’m ready to do everything for him. He will love me if I obey him, love him deeply, make him feel at ease around me, and help him feel how truly I love him.

So here I was, standing in front of Mama and Baba’s room. For his happiness, I had to convince them. I sighed and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Mama opened the door. She was surprised to see me at first but then smiled warmly.

“Hana... beta, do you need something?” she asked, her voice filled with concern.

“I want to talk to you and Baba,” I said, and Mama gently held my hand and brought me inside. Baba was sitting on the couch, working on his laptop, which was placed on the small table in front of him. He shut the laptop after noticing me and walked over. Placing his hand on my head, he asked softly,

“Hana... bacche, are you okay?”

I smiled at Mama and Baba’s concern. I silently thanked Allah for blessing me with them.

Allah took my parents from me, but in return, He gave me this family. Mama, Baba, Riya Aapi, Fathima Aapi—they all love me so much that they became angry with their own son/brother for me. Maan told me they hadn’t spoken to him for three days, and I felt bad. This isn’t what I wanted. I just wanted my family to be happy.

“I’m fine, Baba... I just came here to talk to both of you,” I said, and Mama made me sit on the bed while she sat beside me. Baba took the chair next to the bed.

“What is it, beta?” Baba asked gently.

“Baba, Mama... why have you both stopped talking to Maan?” I asked, looking at them.

“Because he needs to learn that he was wrong and that he hurt his whole family with his cruel words,” Baba replied sternly.

“But Baba…” I was cut off by Mama.

“No, Hana. Your Baba is right. He needs to understand this isn’t America where he can do whatever he wants. This is our home, where we live as a family, where relationships are not broken,” Mama said firmly.

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Author’s POV

Rumaan was standing outside his parents’ room, eavesdropping on their conversation.

He heard his parents’ stern voices and felt a sting in his chest.

“Mama, Baba, please give him some time. He will—”

“No, Hana. You're not going to support him. He did wrong. He really needs to learn from this. Otherwise, he will drift further away if we spare him now,” Ahmed said with conviction, and Rumaan knew his parents had no intention of changing their minds.

“No, Baba... he won’t do it again,” Hana said gently.

“How can you be so sure?” Ahmed asked, and Hana smiled softly.

“Because Maan promised me that he would never think about divorce,” Hana said with a hopeful smile. A frown appeared on both Ahmed and Shabana’s faces.

“He talked to you?” Shabana asked. Hana nodded, smiling brightly.

“Yes, Mama... he came to me, and he promised that he would never think about our divorce,” she said, her eyes brimming with happy tears.

“Really?” Shabana asked, visibly more at ease.

“Yes,” Hana nodded again as a tear escaped her eye.

“But still, Hana... that’s not enough,” Ahmed said, standing up from his chair. “He may have promised you, but I know him. He won't accept this marriage so easily,” he said and sat back on the couch.

Hana stood up and walked over to him. She sat on the ground in front of him.

“Baba... Maan told me that he’s ready to give us a chance,” she said.

She knew she was lying. Rumaan had clearly told her he wasn’t ready to even give their marriage a chance. But she had to do this—for her Maan.

“What?! He’s ready to give this marriage a chance?” Shabana asked, shocked but happy.

“Yes, he’s ready to give me—and this marriage—a chance. Baba, Mama... we should give him time. This is all new to him. He needs our support and love. Please talk to him and give him the love he needs,” Hana pleaded sincerely. Both parents looked at each other and then smiled at Hana.

“If you say so, then we’ll forgive him,” Ahmed said with a smile and made Hana sit beside him.

“Thank you, Baba,” Hana said, hugging him tightly.

Meanwhile, Rumaan heard everything standing behind the door and sighed in relief. Now it was crystal clear to him that Hana meant a lot to his parents, and he wouldn’t be able to get rid of her unless she wanted it.

I promise you, Hana... I will make sure you are the one who asks for a divorce, he thought and smirked before walking away.

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