Taniya's POV

I was completely numb when I signed the nikah nama; my mind stopped working. The only thing I knew was that I couldn't lose my brother. I love him beyond anything; he is my everything.

With pain in my heart and an uncountable dua for my brother's safety, I don't even know when we reached Istanbul.

But instead of taking me to my brother, he took me to a hotel again.

It was dawn when we reached the hotel room.

But I think he read my mind because he spoke.

"Let's rest for a while. I will call Sunidhi to know the environment at her home, then we will leave to meet your brother," he said, putting my bag on the floor.

I removed my chadar and went to the washroom to make wudu.

Shoaib was lying on the bed when I came out.

I cover myself with a chaddar and search for something I can use as a janamaz, but find none. I don't want to use this dirty floor mat for namaz.

So I remove my chaddar, spread it on the floor mat, and take a cotton dupatta from my bag to start my namaz with "Allahu Akbar."

Automatically, my eyes start crying.

With each sajdah, ruku, sujud, and salam, my tears fall like a never-ending waterfall.

I make lots of dua for my brother:

"Allah Ta'ala, please don't test me with my brother's pain," I cry my heart out, pouring all my pain into these four rakah of Fajr.

Sleep is nowhere in my eyes, so after folding my chaddar, I sit on a two-seater sofa and start reciting.

Being a Hafiz-e-Quran, only I know how helpful each and every word of the Quran is for me.

Reciting Surah Yaseen, the heart of the Quran, I pray with a bleeding heart for the safety of  my heart , my  brother.

---

Shoaib's POV

I was shocked to see her crying during namaz. Seriously, with this much fatigue and heartache, she chooses to pray instead of rest?

It would be a façade to look like a good religious wife.

But my mind is shocked hearing her recite Surah Yaseen in a lovely voice filled with pain.

The pain in her voice makes her recitation more heart-touching.

I listen to her recitation with closed eyes, wanting to feel the calmness,

but I open my eyes when I no longer hear her voice.

There she is, sleeping with wet cheeks, wet eyelashes, and her head resting on the back of the sofa.

Taking a deep breath, I walk to her and take her in my arms. Her head rests on my shoulder after a little swing.

I lay her on the bed, cover her with a duvet, and then lay beside her, caging her in my embrace.

What will I do when she demands to meet her brother?

Unwillingly, I kiss the back of her head and close my eyes,

preparing another web of deceit for her, I have to rest.

****