I reached the address Meera aunty had texted me earlier, thinking I would end this marriage arrangement today. I checked my wristwatch—4:30 PM, right on time. He must be here by now. I looked around, hoping to find him sitting at one of the tables waiting for me, but my eyes came to a halt when I saw two figures. What I saw made my eyes widen.

Not publicly... ughh, these two are shameless.

For a second, I thought of leaving, but then again, it's their personal life—which, by the way, is not at all personal—but who am I to dictate it? I gulped and walked toward them. They were still leaning close, too close considering they were in a public place. Clearing my throat, I knocked on the table they were sitting at with my fist.

“Excuse me.”

That made them jerk away from each other. They both straightened up and stood. The guy, who had green eyes and was wearing a black jacket that looked like something a biker would wear, offered me his hand for a handshake. I shook it as he said, “Heyy, myself Zayn… Zayn Ryder. Nice to meet you.” He gave me a nervous smile, his face red with embarrassment.

“Isha Sharma,” I replied, introducing myself.

“I’ll leave you guys alone now,” he said, and I saw Neil’s grip tightening on his wrist, but Zayn pulled his hand out of Neil’s grip and left without looking back. I turned to Neil.

“Hii, Isha Sharma,” I said, offering him my hand for a handshake, but he didn’t move—didn’t even look at me. His beautiful oceanic eyes stayed downcast, like he was some kind of slave or something.

He definitely doesn't want this marriage, just like me.

I pulled my hand back, smiling so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed. “Let’s order something,” I said, changing the topic as we sat in front of each other.

“What would you like to have?” I asked, flipping through the menu.

“Same as yours,” he replied, his voice so low I almost missed it. He was still not looking at me, just typing something on his phone. I shrugged it off and ordered us both a cold coffee and some brownies.

“Well… do you want to marry me?” I asked.

He nodded.

I was shocked. What? Is he also being forced into this marriage like me? But his family doesn't look like the type who'd force their child into anything.

“Look, if you don't want this marriage, just tell me. I’ll take the blame for the cancellation. I also don’t want to marry you,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee. But his blue eyes snapped to mine faster than light—wide and raw. For a second, I saw something flicker in his eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly.

“N-No, I want this marriage. Please don’t cancel it,” he said quickly, leaning a bit toward me. His voice was soft and pitiful. So, he was being forced into this marriage like me.

“Drink your coffee, or the ice will melt,” I said, instantly changing the topic so I could get some more time to think of other ways to make him break off this marriage arrangement.

As I was about to say something to convince him, my phone started ringing. It was face down on the table. I picked it up—the caller ID read Yushiii.

“Umm, excuse me. Please don’t mind. I have to take this call,” I said, getting up from my chair. He nodded, and I walked to a quiet corner and picked up the call.

“Hello, Yushra?”

“H-Hello, Isha. Please c-can you come meet me now? Please don’t say no.” Her shaky, breathless voice came from the other end. She sounded like she’d been crying.

“Where? Tell me the address. I’ll be there,” I replied without wasting a single second.

“T-The old café near the university where we used to go a lot,” she said, trying to maintain her composure but failing miserably.

“I’ll be there in five,” I said before hanging up. I walked over to the table Neil was still sitting at.

“Neil, I’m sorry. I have to leave. Something came up,” I said, quickly putting my phone in my purse.

Before I could leave, he asked, “If you don’t mind… I can drop you.”

“Thanks for asking, but don’t worry. I have my car parked outside,” I said, picking up my purse and literally bolting out of there.

I quickly got into my car and drove off. As I parked outside the old café and stepped out, I didn’t have to search for her for too long. She was sitting in the far corner. I went inside and sat in front of her. She looked up upon seeing me and quickly wiped her tears with the back of her hand. I handed her a glass of water and waited for her to finish it.

Then I asked in the gentlest voice I could, “What’s wrong, Yushii? Tell me.”

“Z-Zheeshan…” Taking his name, she started crying badly, choking on her own tears. I looked around. The café was less crowded than usual, but there were still people, so I took my hat and made Yushra wear it so no one could see she was crying. Then I held both her hands in mine.

“Did Zheeshan do something? Hmm? Tell me,” I asked.

“Hmm.” She nodded before continuing.

“His family’s been forcing us to have a child for over a year now. We tried multiple times, but it didn’t work out. And his mother’s been blaming me for it. But I swear, Isha, it isn’t my fault. I’ve gotten all my tests done at the hospital I work at. My reports are normal. I told Zheeshan yesterday that maybe the problem is in him, and I asked him to come to the hospital for a checkup. B-But…” Saying this, she burst into tears again. I poured her another glass of water.

When she calmed down, she continued.

“But instead of considering my opinion, he slapped me. A-And today, he brought a girl into the house. She has a son.”

My heart sank. No. What I was thinking shouldn’t be true. It can’t be.

“Zheeshan’s son?” I asked. She nodded, confirming my worst fear.

“And I got to know from the hospital that Zheeshan got a vasectomy done one year ago—before we started trying for a child. And that woman’s child is one year old. Me and Zheeshan… we got married t-two years ago.” Her voice broke at the end.

“It means…” I started, my voice barely above a whisper.

She cut me off, finishing my sentence. “It means he was cheating on me all along.”

I stood up. The chair scraped loudly across the tiled floor as anger surged through me.

“Yushra, stand up. Today I’ll beat the shit out of your dear mother-in-law, dearest husband, and also that bitch who dared ruin your marriage.” Before she could protest, I gently but firmly grabbed her hand and led her straight to my car. I opened the passenger seat for her, and once she was settled, I got into the driver’s seat, my grip on the steering wheel tightening every passing second.

I slammed the brakes as we reached outside Yushra’s in-laws’ house.

She gripped my wrist. “P-Please, Isha… don’t do anything reckless. Please,” she whispered.

I placed my other hand on hers, reassuring her, “Don’t worry. I won’t let it spiral. And I will never let them oppress you. I just want you to trust me. Hmm?”

We got out of the car. She was behind me as I marched in. The first thing I saw was Yushra’s mother-in-law sitting on the couch, sipping tea like she didn’t just ruin someone’s life for her own pride. I gritted my teeth, my eyes scanning the room. That jerk Zheeshan and that bitch—though I still didn’t know her name, nor did I care—were nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Zheeshan?” I asked, my voice ice cold as it echoed through the living room.

Nazia stopped mid-sip and looked up, probably to see who dared interrupt her quality tea time. Her eyes met mine and she froze.

“Why are you here?” she asked, looking everywhere but at me.

“I asked, where’s Zheeshan?” I repeated, my voice even colder.

“He went shopping with Zainab—for their wedding.” She said it, and then she had the audacity to smirk. Or at least she tried to. But I caught the slight tremor in her voice.

“You know what you and your son are doing is wrong, right?” I asked, sitting on the couch opposite hers, one leg crossed over the other as I leaned back like I had all the time in the world.

“No. We’re doing what religion tells us to.”

“Ohh. You know what, Nazia? Weak people like you hide behind religion to justify their sins,” I said, uncrossing my legs as I leaned forward, elbows resting on my knees, my eyes never leaving hers.

“Who do you think you are, scaring my mother in my house?” came a voice from behind me.

Without turning, I knew it was that jerk. But before I could say anything, he turned to Yushra and raised his hand—but I was quick to grab it.

“LEAVE ME!” he shouted. He was stronger, of course, but there was no way I was letting him hurt my friend while I was still breathing.

And just when I thought he might break free, a kick landed on his stomach. He stumbled back, crashing into the nearest pillar. I was shocked. I looked to the side—Zayn was standing there, breathing heavily, his eyes full of rage.

Zayn looked ready to land merciless punches on Zheeshan, but I grabbed his wrist and stopped him. He looked at me, and I shook my head silently, telling him it was enough.

“Bhaabhi, leave my hand! I swear I’ll kill him! How dare he raise a hand on you!”

I don’t know why, but when he called me bhaabhi, I felt something strange in my stomach—something ticklish.

“Zayn, you just called me bhaabhi. Won’t you listen to me?”

That managed to calm him down.

“Fine, let’s go. I’ll drop you,” he said, but I denied.

“No thanks. I have my car. And Yushra will be coming with me. She’ll stay at my house for a few days,” I said as we waited for Yushra to grab her belongings from her room.

And the entire time, I could feel Zheeshan and Zayn glaring at each other like they wanted to kill one another. I really needed to tell Neil about this—but I didn’t even have his number.

I leaned toward Zayn, who was sitting beside me, and said, “Brother-in-law, can you give me Neil’s number?”

I handed him my phone. He typed in Neil’s number, and I saved it under the contact name: Annoying Human Being.

I don’t usually save people’s numbers under weird names, but I don’t know…

I just wanted to.