~ Last Chapter✨~

~Two months later~
•~Kumrat Valley,KPK~•

~Shahveer

"YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO STEP INSIDE THE KITCHEN Mr. HUNGRY, GREEDY AND PATHETICALLY ANNOYING YOUNG MAN !"

Alizeh shouted at me hilariously while trying to shoo me away from the kitchen with the help of a large dish spoon, as I tried my luck for the last time to steal the deliciously resting fried pakoras , samosas and other delicacies on the counter table.

"But why can't I have one?

I asked her while feigning innocence by making puppy eyes and pouting in order to express my sorrow.

"Because I made them for Mama, Baba, Hooriyah and the kids playing outside! Besides, you should stop eating oily foods or else you would look like a Godzilla on your wedding!"

Alizeh stuck her tongue out at me and teased me while leaving the kitchen with a tray full of delicious snacks ready for a rainy evening as I watched her with annoyance.

"THIS IS NOT FAIR!"

I grunted with anger and then innocently turned back to look at the love of my life who had been watching everything in the kitchen and giggling silently.

"Don't laugh at me!"

I complained.

"You look adorable when you make those puppy eyes!"

Hooriyah teased me as I rolled my eyes and turned to leave.

As I sat down on the bench outside with disappointment, in order to enjoy the pleasant weather all alone, someone tucked one of my sleeves thus trying to grab my attention.

It was Raniya.

Alizeh had invited the kids from Hooriyah's school, in order to enjoy a tea party with them, as she had grown fond of them over the span of these two months.

"Here you go...!"

Raniya forwarded a plate full of freshly fried pakoray to me as I watched her with amazement.

"Who sent these?"

I whispered and looked here and there to ensure that Alizeh was not watching.

"Teacher!"

She pointed towards Hooriyah who was smiling at me adorably from the kitchen's window, melting my heart away.

"Hmmm...Can you do me a favor little angel?"

I asked mischievously.

"Sure uncle!"

I came closer to her and whispered a mischievous task in her ears.

Raniya's mouth immediately widened with shock.

"Pretty please?"

I asked innocently.

"But___"

"Paleeezzzz Raniyaaaa!"

I begged again

"Fine!"

She giggled adorably and winked at me dramatically as she turned to leave in order to complete the assigned task.

Seconds later, she was clearly visible from the same window through which I had seen Hooriyah few minutes ago.

"Miss Hooriyah... Miss Hooriyah!"

She tucked her sleeves like she used to whenever she wanted to gain someone's attention.

"What happened princess?"

Asked Hooriyah.

Raniya asked her to come down to her level as she watched her with confusion.

As soon as she knelt down, without wasting any second, Raniya kissed both of her cheeks with immense affection while Hoor's large eyes popped out with amazement.

"With love, from your Shahveer..!"

She laughed sweetly as she whispered in her ears and immediately ran out of the kitchen, leaving her in a state of shock.

As soon as she turned to have a look at me, outside the window, I waved and winked at her mischievously while earning an anger filled glare from her.

She immediately took out a paper and pen and started writing something on it, crumbled it, and threw it towards me, with anger.

I knelt down to pick it up, only to burst into laughter, seconds later.

I smiled while reading the beautifully written note out loud,

"You have to pay for this...!"

I walked towards her while holding the note in one of my hands and the empty plate of pakoray in the other and silently placed it on the counter table.

"Anything for you, darling!"

She jerked hilariously as I whispered the answer of her note in her ears, scaring the hell out of her.

"You scared me again Shahveer!"

She glared at me.

"I'm sorry marshmallow, by the way everyone is waiting for you outside. Would you like to bless us with your presence please? Besides, the weather is beyond beautiful, and Mom and Dad wants to talk to you about something!"

I stated everything in a single breath as I dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Finally, my princess is here, what took you so long in the kitchen dear?"

Dad smiled with joy while dragging a chair out for her.

" Uh... I was just finalizing the Kashmiri tea for you all, but now it's ready!"

Hooriyah smiled innocently while placing the tray on the table, which was full of cups filled with pink colored kashmiri tea topped with finely chopped almonds and pistachios.

"Kashmiri tea? Never tried this before!"

Mom and Alizeh looked at the tea with amazement.

"Well, it's one of the most delicious beverages of Pakistan I'm telling you!"

I interfered.

"As far as I remember, you were always fond of Cafè Americano, one of your favourite essentials from Starbucks. Since when did you start adoring these traditional beverages of Pakistan dearest Bhayi ?"

Alizeh teased me while feigning innocence.

"Since the quest of the most important fragment of my soul began!"

I answered shamelessly while looking at my beloved, who was magically turning crimson just like she did when she used to blush beautifully.

"In fact, I started finding peace, enjoyment and delight in every single thing which led to simplicity instead of luxury !"

I could feel her meaningful gaze turn towards me as she loved hearing the last statement.

"And I totally adore this change, my son!"

Dad patted at my back while praising my totally transformed existence which was extremely opposite to that dark, lost and misguided one.

"This is amazing!"

Mom gave Hooriyah a thumbs up while praising the tea.

"It's finger-licking good!"

Added Alizeh.

"Told 'ya!" I winked at her.

"Daughter, we were planning to talk to you about your wedding as it has been so long now and we can't wait anymore!"

Dad finally started discussing the topic I had been waiting for since so long.

"It's getting impossible for us to wait further. It's just that, we wanted to ask you first that are you comfortable with the wedding being held next week?"

Hooriyah's eyes popped out with horror as I pursed my lips in order to control my laughter.

"Next week?"

She asked nervously.

"Kyun? Ap kahein toh kal he krwa dein ?"

Alizeh asked mischievously while all of us burst into laughter as we watched Hooriyah's nervous emotions.

"We are just joking dear. Of course it's not possible to arrange so many things in a matter of week! Besides, I haven't even bought my Sabyasachi's Saree yet!"

Mom styled her perfectly straightened short bob hair as all of us watched her level of confidence.

Mom, being Mom, as always!

"Jokes apart, we were actually planning to arrange your wedding by the end of this month as someone is getting extremely impatient these days!"

Dad winked at me while leaving me embarrassed.

"And we want to organize the event in Lahore as most of our relatives live there and the reception in Manchester, but certainly, we had to ask you first. Your opinion matters the most!"

Suddenly, the sparkle in Hooriyah's eyes began to fade as she averted her gaze towards her children from us. A clear emotion of sadness could be seen in those charming eyes as she watched them playing and running in the garden.

It was obvious that the idea of leaving her beloved students had already started to disturb her.

"And for your kind information, I have asked Ms. Nancy and Amir and they have already volunteered to look after your school because of which there is no need to worry about the children anymore!"

I immediately answered her unasked questions thus bringing a beautiful smile on her lips.

"Besides, you can visit them whenever you want to!"

I added.

"But ...."

She looked at Raniya innocently without speaking anything else, and that was enough for me to sense the real reason behind her discomfort.

"She's coming with us!"

Her eyes widened with shock upon hearing my statement.

"Raniya?"

She asked happily.

"I know how important and beloved she is to you, hence I took this decision very long ago."

I smiled affectionately.

"But I don't want to overburden ___"

Before she could complete her sentence, I interfered,

"She's not a burden Hooriyah. She's the youngest out of all and needs more care. Besides, she's extremely attached to you and I can't torture her by taking your shelter away from her existence."

I looked at her with my intense gaze while she chose to remain quiet.

"She's the same for me as she is for you!"

A million dollar sparkle started to appear in her charming eyes as I tried my best to erase her all sorts of fear. Then she silently looked at my parents for their approval to which they smiled unanimously.

"We would love to have her in our house. She is such a well-mannered, adorable and cutie patootie little girl. It requires a heart to be as hard as a rock to deny such a beautiful blessing."

Mom and Dad chirped happily.

"If you guys had not decided that before, I would have certainly adopted her as my daughter, but it's okay, at least I can visit this angel whenever I want to!"

Alizeh interrupted with excitement.

Hooriyah called Raniya who was busy playing football and asked her to sit on her lap.

"Raniya, would you like to go to Manchester with me?"

She asked innocently as all of us hoped for a positive answer from Raniya.

"Ummmmm.... Will there be biryani ?"

She asked adorably to which all of us burst into laughter.

"Of course princess!"

I replied happily.

"Andddd, ice cream?"

"Yes dearie!"

Replied Alizeh this time.

"And what about these samosay?"

She asked while pointing towards the tray full of snacks.

"Everything sweetie, you'll get everything in Manchester!"

Mom and Dad replied while laughing happily.

"I am coming then..!"

She chirped happily while showing her cute little teeth and kissed Hooriyah on her cheek before leaving to play.

"Ma' Sha' Allah "

Everyone murmured unanimously.

"Come on children, lets go inside, its Maghrib now !"

Hooriyah summoned the kids in order to lead them inside.

"So everything is finalized now I suppose, all we have to do is begin the wedding preparations as soon as possible!"

Dad rubbed his hands playfully and got up from his chair to go inside followed by Mom and Alizeh who were clearly not feeling comfortable with the continuous drop in temperature which was occurring after every passing second, thus leaving me and Hoor alone outside.

"I must also leave for my home now, or else I will miss my prayers!"

She smiled sweetly but before she could leave, I grabbed her arm gently.

"Hooriyah!"

She stopped and turned to have a confused look at me.

"Hmm?"

"Before we get married and leave for Manchester, there is a task which needs to be fulfilled!"

"What sort of task ?"

Her questioning gaze wavered from my face to her arm due to which I immediately released it.

"You will learn about it tomorrow. I just want to take you somewhere before we leave."

A hopeful smile danced across my lips.

"But where, Shahveer?'

I paused before mustering up some courage to speak.

"Come on, tell me, where are we going tomorrow?"

She asked with a serious tone.

"Mein paanch saal sey ksi k waadey mein bandha hua hoon, aur ab usy nibhany ka waqt agaya hai, Hooriyah! "

There was a strange type of seriousness and guilt in my tone which she failed to detect. I knew that she wanted to ask more, but instead, she chose to remain silent, trying to respect my silence and privacy.

Something which I loved about her the most.

She wasn't clingy at all. She never insisted or forced anyone to tell anything and always gave others space for privacy if they were not comfortable in telling anything.

"I'll go with you! Happy?"

"More than happy!"

I gave her a thumbs up to which she giggled.

As I watched her leave for her home, a feeling of happiness started to build inside my heart.

A five year old promise was going to be fulfilled tomorrow!

And little did she know, that perhaps, it was going to be one of the most beautiful days of her life!

x-x-x-x-x

~Third Perosn's POV

It was raining cats and dogs as he tried to drive carefully on the slippery wet roads of Khyber Pakhtun Khwa.

"If I had known that this journey is going to not end so soon, I would have never come with you!"

Hooriyah crossed her arms in anger as he pursed his lips in order to avoid laughing in front of her.

The way her nose turned red when she would get angry, used to fascinate him a lot.

After few minutes of anger, she stared at him with the corner of her eyes and then decided to ask the question she had been trying to avoid since yesterday.

"At least tell me where are we going Shahveer?"

"You will soon learn about it, exactly one hour from now, but you have to be patient!"

"At least you should have told me that we would be going out of the village!"

"So were you thinking that I was going to take you to the nearby market to buy you a set of red colored bangles Hooriyah? Come on you can't be that dumb!"

He laughed hysterically to which she crossed her arms again, this time looking even more adorable than before.

After a silence of about five minutes she finally opened her mouth to speak something, while still not looking at him,

"I don't like red bangles. I prefer orange ones!"

He burst into laughter once again while she chose to remain silent.

"You are unbelievable!"

He remarked.

"And tired too!"

She snapped back.

"All of your tiredness will fade away once we reach our destination!"

He assured while she continued to stare at the mountains which started getting smaller in size.

"Wait! Shahveer, are we going to Punjab?"

She started panicking but he remained silent and as soon as her gaze fell upon the billboard at her left, which said 'Murree 7 km away' , her body started to tremble with fear, anger and pain.

She started to feel betrayed all of a sudden.

"Stop the car right now!"

She instructed angrily.

"What?"

Shahveer looked at her with amazement.

"I said stop the car right now, Shahveer!"

Her anger was accelerating after every passing second which was enough to force him to stop the car near a hotel.

She angrily stepped out of the car and started walking towards the hotel as he followed her while trying to stop her.

"Hooriyah please let me explain first!"

"I don't want any of your explanations Shahveer! I thought you respected my opinion and feelings which I had for my family, but you betrayed me today!"

Tears started to trickle down her face as she trembled with anger.

"I never wanted to hurt you Hoor! But this was extremely important and have you ever thought that how much they will get hurt once they learn that you are married and haven't even invited them?"

She remained silent as he tried to calm her down.

"I am pretty sure that this is not what Jahangir Uncle would have ever wanted. He would have never wanted to see his daughters living separately after him and that too for five years just because of a fight which happened due to the fact that both of you were going through an emotional crisis !"

"She is not my sister!"

She gritted her teeth angrily.

"But you still care for her don't you?"

She remained silent while a storm of tears escaped her eyes.

"She's begging me since five years to bring you back! I promised her five years ago that I will re-unite you both and if I failed to fulfill this promise, she would never consider me as her brother again!"

He looked at her with his pleading eyes as she listened to him with patience.

"Iman loves you more than a biological sister would have loved you Hooriyah. Some relations don't need to be blood-related. I have seen her in the state of agony and I know how much she had cried and begged me to bring you back. She realized her mistake the very next day, only that you were a bit too quick to leave the town! Just imagine how much hurt your father's soul would have been by watching his daughters living miles apart since five years. She didn't deserve to be punished like this Hooriyah. You were the elder one, you should have forgiven her long ago being the elder one. How can you forget those moments in which she would celebrate your happiness and cry with you during your grief?"

She wept silently while listening to him.

"She had always supported you Hooriyah! Just because of one mistake, how can you forget the most beautiful memories of your life which you had shared with her?"

She remained silent as she stared at him with her watery eyes filled with guilt other than tears.

"I will just ask one last question after which you are free to chose between either going to Murree or going back to Kumrat!"

He came closer to her and wiped her tears.

"If you can forgive a person with an extremely dirty past and who had been so harsh on you five years ago, then why can't you forgive your own sister, Hooriyah?"

Her eyes widened with amazement as words seemed to cage up in her mouth.

"And even after listening to all of this, you think that we should go back, I am ready for it!"

He smiled while looking at her charming hazel brown eyes.

She finally turned and slowly walked back towards the car and sat inside without saying a word to which Shahveer followed her with disappointment and ignited the engine assuming her answer as a 'NO'.

As he drove the car with a broken heart, the silence between them started to grow intense until she finally decided to break it.

"The hot chocolate served at the Mall Road of Murree is considered to be the best in town!"

She murmured slowly and then pursed her lips to avoid giggling in front of him to which a huge grin immediately started to