1 CHAPTER 1: AGONY.

Third Person's POV.

Ayesha looked outside the plane as they approached the airstrip for the landing. The airport looked huge and the number of people walking and rushing about made her shiver unconsciously. She hated being in such crowds, with people brushing around one another. She gulped as she clutched her Khala's (Maternal aunt's) hand in hers.

"What's wrong dear? Are you okay?" Her maternal aunt asked as she watched Ayesha pale.

Ayesha turned to her and shook her head. All through the checking and collection of luggage, Ayesha kept to herself and stuck like glue to her aunt. Once they made it outside, Ayesha watched as her khala's husband approached them and greeted them. They both replied albeit Ayesha did so with a nod. Her maternal uncle, God bless his heart, just smiled and patted her head.

They loaded the bags into the trunk of the car and the next thing they knew they were right outside an intimidating mansion. The number of people outside the mansion made Ayesha even more nervous. They looked like a crowd, considering her aunt's husband lived with a large family. Once the vehicle stopped, Ayesha's aunt and her husband alighted from the car and made their way to a huge number of people of all ages.

Ayesha stayed in the car. She didn't want any attention diverted to her. She hated attention ever since her parents passed on. Some would look on and say "Poor girl" while others would provide fake sympathy by hugging her or kissing her cheeks. Everyone around her was busy giving her that pity attention that eventually, she locked herself up in her room for some personal space.

Mr. Ahmed stood and watched as the family members fussed over the Zaweri daughter-in-law. His wife's sudden trip to London had every one of them worried. Especially when she called, cried over the phone for a while before asking for permission to bring Ayesha along with her.

"You'd said over the phone that you were bringing an angel with you, where is she? Bring her in with you, will you? My old age is catching up already." The oldest Mrs. Zaweri ordered, her voice slightly cracking due to age.

Ayesha fidgeted as her khala turned towards her and began her walk forward. She wasn't ready. Her nails dug into her palms as her khala opened the door and helped her feeble body out. Ayesha contemplated making a fuss and putting all her weight in the seat, but she felt guilty having had all the attention from her aunt beforehand. They made their way into the large mansion and for some reason, Ayesha felt like she was home.

Khala introduced her to everyone. There was the eldest couple that her age-mates called Dado and Dadi (Paternal grandfather and grandmother). Then there was the eldest son and daughter-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Wali. Bade papa and badi Ammi (Elder paternal uncle and aunt) for the rest. Then there was her khalu and khala. Chacha and Chachi (Younger paternal uncle and aunt) to the rest of the family. After her khalu, there was another brother and then two sisters followed. Quite a huge family if Ayesha was to be asked. They had a total of about twelve offsprings of her age group, some married with children and others single, the offsprings of her uncle's sister not included.

Their bade papa had four kids, Zeeshan, Barkha, Abbas, and Farah. Her khala and khalu had three kids, Iqbal, Shahana and Hiyam. The other two younger sons had three and two kids respectively, Maysudh, Muadh, Lubna, Nabeeha, Rubab.

Ayesha stayed mum throughout the entire introduction. Even when Mrs. Ahmed introduced her to the rest of the family, all she did was nod like she had a spring attached to her neck. They sat down on an empty couch, Ayesha going back to sticking next to her khala, their hands joined once again.

Sometime later, dadi instructed the kids to help Ayesha settle in the guest room prepared for her. At first, Ayesha was reluctant having to live alone in a room but decided to act mature on her aunt's insistence.

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Ayesha's room was beautiful. Soft beige covered the walls with white on the ceiling, a plush blue love seat sat in one of the corners, a cushion adorning it. A soft grey throw blanket sat on the edge, neatly folded. The bed was a four-poster king-sized bed with cream bedsheets and a velvet headboard. The girls that had brought her to her room then left her to get some rest.

Twenty minutes later, Ayesha walked into the bathroom only to get even more shocked. There was a large shower head in the bathroom, and the faucets were so fancy, Ayesha didn't even want to wash her face.

She looked in the large mirror after taking a warm bath, facing her reflection was the worst part of her life. She looked through her features, tearing up at the fact that she was a complete replica of her mother, except for her dark brown hair and honey brown eyes. She angrily turned the faucet on, splashing water harshly over her face. She then picked the face towel that was placed on the sink and rubbed her face of any water.

"Ayesha, dear, where are you?" She heard her aunt calling for her.

Ayesha breathed in deeply before making her way out of the bathroom. Her khala smiled before handing her a dress stating it had been a while since she had bought it for her. For the first few seconds, Ayesha was overwhelmed. Then, she moved forward and surprised her khala into a warm hug. Her khala pulled off a moment later, holding her palm against Ayesha's cheek while smiling once again.

"Come down in a few, we're ready to begin dinner. You'll find someone or the other to show you to the dining room okay?"

Ayesha nodded her head before disappearing into the bathroom once again. Once she was done, she walked out, placed her dupatta correctly before making her way down the stairs. Once she reached the ground floor, she looked around mindlessly when someone spoke up next to her.

"There you are! We were waiting for you. Come on, everyone's probably seated already." It was Rubab, the youngest of the lot.

Ayesha followed her into the huge hall-like room. The amount of food and the number of people was outrageous. Ayesha felt herself sway at the thought of making so many dishes for such a large number of the family. The way the long hardwood table could seat a large number of people. Ayesha watched as everyone conversed with one another, they seemed to be in no hurry of starting dinner.

When she realized her khala was waving her over, she took her seat next to her. Ayesha's mouth watered as she stared at all the homemade delicacies in hunger. Even after everyone was settled, no one began with the dinner. She looked around confused, and just then a loud dominating voice boomed in the dining room.

"Assalamu-aleikum."

Ayesha looked up to see the owner of the voice. He was well over six feet, his broad shoulders were so stiff, they would break if any slight pressure was put on them. As everyone replied to his greeting, Ayesha took her time observing him. He had an emotionless face and Ayesha watched on as he sat right in front of her. His silky dark hair slightly bobbed due to the sudden movement.

She was so engrossed in staring at him, that she didn't notice the orbs staring right back at her. Ayesha gulped as their eyes made contact. Her soft honey-brown eyes clashed with intense black eyes as if it were a war between water and fire. She shifted her gaze to the floor as Mr. Intense Eyes sat back against the chair and scrutinized her.

Ayesha looked around and noticed how everyone had begun serving themselves. Her khala turned to her and motioned for her to help herself. Ayesha turned back to the table, wondering what to serve herself. She decided on a small serving of rice and mutton curry. Once she was done serving herself, she raised her eyes to find the guy staring at her with an unimpressed frown. He was staring at her plate. Why was he staring at her plate?

Ayesha ignored him and began eating. A few minutes later, she was done and so, she pushed her plate away waiting for the rest of the group at the table.

"Ayesha, darling, have something else will you?" Ayesha startled at the voice to find the youngest Chachi smiling at her.

Ayesha just shook her head and looked at her khala for assistance.

"She doesn't eat much. She has a small appetite." Her khala explained with a grimace.

Ayesha looked up again to find the same guy staring at her once again. This time, the frown on his face deepened further.

"Zeeshan, you need more?" She heard badi Ammi, his mother, ask.

Mr. Intense Eyes nodded his head, all the while his eyes were trained on her. He kept staring at her and it was really starting to annoy Ayesha. She frowned right back at him in utmost childishness and watched as a hint of a smile appeared for a second before the frown was back in place.

It was almost like he had realized what he almost did and then back to square one, frowning. Her frown deepened further before she came to and realized that she was being childish when she had more pressing matters to worry about.

Her gaze lowered back to her hands and she tensed as realization hit her. She'd almost forgotten all her worries. All her pain. She couldn't. She shouldn't. She won't.

Ayesha's khala kept her eyes on Ayesha. Throughout the dinner, she noticed Ayesha look around in either complete awe or complete sadness. Once they were done with dinner, they huddled around in the living room and dessert was passed around. Ayesha once again refused with a little shake of her head.

"You didn't eat much, at least try the sweet dish," Dadi suggested with a sweet smile.

Ayesha once again shook her head.

A while later, her khala turned towards her to check if she was fine when she saw Ayesha hurriedly hide her hands. Skeptical, she forced her hands out from hiding and turned them palm side down.

"Ya Allah! Ayesha!" The middle-aged woman exclaimed.

Startled, the family began turning towards the duo, some curious, some worried.

"What have you done!? I should have chopped those nails off the moment we got here. What the hell is this? How hard did you even scratch?"

Ayesha was so overwhelmed with all the attention, she began to fidget and try to pull her hands away. Mr. Intense Eyes was glaring at her. She just knew. She could feel his gaze bore into her from where he was seated. She had felt an itch on the back of her palm and as she rubbed the area, the soothing pain made her feel better. A while into it, she began itching harder, so she began scratching against the skin, and soon, she'd drawn blood.

"Shahana, get me the first aid kit." Mrs. Ahmed ordered her daughter, " I'm very disappointed in you Ayesha. You should've just talked to me."

Ayesha's eyes glazed over as she pondered over her aunt's words. Talking wasn't easy. The pain, the hurt, it wasn't easily expressible. People closest to you could use your own words and secrets against you. Ayesha had experienced that first hand.

Angered by memories, Ayesha snatched her hands away, stood up hurriedly, and rushed to the room assigned to her before someone came to from their shocked state.

Once in, she slammed the door shut and locked it. Sliding against the mahogany, she lifted her knees to the chin and set her cheeks against her knees. Staring into oblivion, she let the tears fall silently.