I never thought about this situation anytime soon. Maybe I did think about it a few years back, but now the scenario is different.

What I used to think about my future was that when my hands would be covered in henna, I would be smiling and thinking about the one I'm about to get married to.

That he would love me with all of my scars, all of my faults and will never judge me.

But we don't get what we want in life, right? Right. Now being in dilemma won't help me out. Nobody knows about these horrifying marks on my body. Aziza might remember but she was too young to remember anything like this.

If she does not remember it, I can't instill those feelings back in her. No. I won't let that happen. She is still my baby sister. Whose help should I take?

I can't show these to any stranger and have things cooking up in their minds and gossiping. I have enough drama in my plate.

I've got only one person in my mind and that's Naushin. I saw her talking to the guests when I called her. She got this confused look on why the stranger stopped applying henna.

"Everything alright?" She asked with the same look.

I smiled a little. "Can you help me with the henna? If you don't mind." I was hoping she won't push the matter and to my relief she didn't. Infact her face held a proud look.

"I am honoured to do so. I mean, if you get the chance to apply henna to your best friend, why reject it? It's the best thing ever honestly."

That made me smile more. I can't believe that in such a short time we became so close. It doesn't matter for how long you know someone. If that person understands you well, it's enough. She literally filled the missing best friend peice in my heart.

"So, uh, can we go to my room and do it? I am not comfortable here." I said with somewhat hesitation because she is the first person to see these and I am so not ready. Naushin looked at my face and saw the discomfort and immediately took the cones. This girl. Shaking my head at her weird action, we made our way to my room.

All the way I was thinking maybe I can talk to Aadil and tell him. But then I remembered that no matter what, he won't listen to me. We entered the room and Naushin closed the door. She then proceeded to remove the overlap thingiee. I was shaking from the inside. What if she hates me after this? What she would think of me? Will she leave-

"Ya Allah! Nawal! What the hell is this? Those marks! They seem old. Who did this?What happened habibti?" She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

She surprised me by a hug. I never thought she would even ask about them. She then wiped my face and at that moment I realized tears were already rolling down my cheeks.

"Hey there. Now tell me, is it paining? Are you okay Nawal? Tell me everything damnitt! You are scaring me now." Her looks made me feel...like, I don't know what to say.

I shook my head. "No it's not paining. I am crying because it was heart touching to see someone care for you deeply. Anyway, it's a long story. Don't worry." I assured her with a smile even though I was about to breakdown again. She was dissapointed for a moment but changed her mood and started to work on her task.

▪•●▪•●▪•●▪•●▪•●▪•●•▪

The marks on my hands were pretty much covered with henna. You have to look closely to identify any. Thanks to Naushin for her amazing skill at hiding them. As I lay waiting for the henna to completely dry, I wonder how did this all began.

I was pretty much trying to live a 'normal' life. At some point I felt content with everything. And then life decided to take a 360 degree turn. Come to think of it, guess I'm still naive to even think Mr. Aadil Sheikh is a good person. Never felt that he would act such things. Or is it? God. This situation is the most confusing thing ever. I just pray that whatever happens, in the end, is all good and no bad.

What if I run away with Aziza and Naushin? I can leave everything. Then I won't be getting married forcefully without my liking. Suddenly this idea seemed too tempting.

But then I realized that he's not your next door neighbour. He is one of the most powerful men here. Sure he'll figure it out where I might be hiding and then there will be much more consequences. I let out a frustrated sigh and my mind kept making stupid plans.

Twenty minutes later and the henna colour looks damn dark. I don't know what that even means. Good product maybe?

"OH MY GOODNESS! Mashallah your hands look beautiful with the colour dear." Naushin barged in my room and startled me.

"Geez Naush. You trying to kill me? And yeah the colour looks great. Where is it from?"

Naushin looked at me as if I did the most haraam thing ever. "You are kidding me right? Haha. Ofcourse you are. You got me Naw."

I gave her my confused look. Am I even joking? Wow. Didn't even knew about it. Seeing that I won't be answering her question, she continued,

"Nawal, seriously you don't know what this means?" I shook my head. She sighed and continued, "When the colour of your henna is dark, it means your husband-to-be loves you and cares about you deeply."

What? How this is even true? She is just tired. So she is saying these things. And besides, there is no chance in hell that Aadil loves me, let alone like me. All I see in his eyes and his face is hatred and hatred. Nothing else. Gone are those happiness that shined brighter than stars in his eyes. Which looks hollow now.

"You should get some rest, Naush. Cause you are just blabbering something. Obviously you are tired, so shabba khair. I'll go to sleep now." She didn't said anything and left my room, leaving me with my thoughts.

💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫💫