As soon as Mishal entered the house, her mother, Rubina, stopped her.
"Why are you so late?" she asked sternly.
Mishal, dropping onto the sofa with a sigh, replied, "I was with Anabiya. We went out to eat."
"Just with Anabiya?" Rubina's voice sharpened.
Mishal could feel something was off — the tension was unmistakable. Still, she held her mother's gaze and said calmly, "Yes, only with Anabiya."
In a flash, Rubina slapped her — hard. Mishal sat frozen in shock.
"How many times have I told you not to meet that boy again? And yet you're still running around with him!"
Mishal's voice trembled, but she held her ground. "Mama… you're talking about Zaki. He's my fiancé."
Rubina moved closer, her fingers curling into Mishal's hair, yanking hard.
"What did you say? Fiancé? Don't you dare use that word again!"
Tears spilled from Mishal's eyes, but she didn't look away. Releasing her hair, she said firmly, "Believe it or not, I belong to Zaki. I always have." Another slap.
"You're not even ashamed to talk back to your mother now?"
Mishal held a hand to her cheek, crying silently.
"If it weren't for society, I would've locked you in this house long ago. Just wait till you finish your studies. I'll send you so far away you'll never see him again," Rubina threatened.
Mishal walked to her room, crying quietly.
Scene: Later That Night – 11:00 PM
Her phone showed countless missed calls — all from "Future Hubby 💍". Just then, there was a knock on the window.
She rushed to open it — Zaki was outside.
"Are you crazy? What if you fell?" she whispered harshly.
But when he saw her face, his smile faded. "What happened to your face?"
Mishal turned away, trying to hide behind her hair. "It's nothing… I bumped into the door."
Zaki gently held her face in his hands.
"She hit you, didn't she?"
Tears fell again. "Zaki… I'm scared. They're going to separate us. Let's run away."
Zaki pulled her into his chest. "Don't be scared. No one will separate you from me. I promise. I'll take you with honour. With pride. In front of the whole world."
"But you don't know my mother. She'll never agree."
He sat her on the bed and tried to calm her. "Where would we even go, Mishal? We'd struggle and come running back after a few days. Is that what you want?"
"We're still young. Let's finish our studies. Then, we'll decide what's best — together."
Mishal was trembling. "But Zaki… what if they force me away from you?"
Zaki gave her a soft, sad smile. "Since when did my Mishal start talking like this? You've always been the wisest."
Mishal looked into his eyes. "Mishal is wise, yes. She thinks with her head… about everything. But when it comes to you, Zaki, she listens only to her heart — and her heart is terrified of losing you."
Zaki's eyes welled up. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and whispered, "No one can separate Mishal from Zaki."
Then, pulling a delicate, slightly wilted flower from his pocket, and a small chocolate, he smiled. "Here… for you."
Mishal looked at the flower and giggled softly through her tears.
Zaki's heart lit up at the sound of her laughter. He unwrapped the chocolate and fed her, then sat by her side until she finally fell asleep.
When Urhaan entered the house, it was really quiet. "Ishrat?" he called out to the maid. She rushed over. "Yes, sir?"
"Where's Mama?" "She's out at a friend's party."
He sighed. "Of course."
He retreated to his room. An hour later, Ishrat knocked again.
"Sir, Madam is home. Everyone's waiting at the dining table."
He joined the family at dinner. As everyone ate in silence, his father,Haroon, turned to his wife, Minhal.
"You should spend more time at home. You're always out somewhere."
Minhal didn't even look up from her phone. "For God's sake, Haroon. I'm not a housewife. I have my own life, my own circle."
Haroon frowned. "Because of that so-called circle, our kids are going astray. Urhaan got into a fight at school today.
Minhal finally looked at Urhaan and noticed the bruise on his face. "Oh God, what happened to you?"
Before anyone could say more, Urhaan slammed his plate on the table and stood up.
"Enough! When will you two stop fighting?"
He looked at his mother with bitter sarcasm. "Don't act like you care. And you too, Baba — you both are too busy in your own lives."
Turning to his younger brother, Aliyaar, he said, "Let's go eat pizza."
As they stormed off,Haroon sighed and stood too.
"See what you've done?"
In their room, Aliyaar sat beside Urhaan quietly, then asked in a small voice,
"Bhai… can't we get new parents? Ones who stay with us and don't fight all the time?"
Urhaan ran a hand through his little brother's hair.
"I wish we could, Aliyaar. I really wish…"