The scent of rose floated faintly in the air, guests seated on the chairs lined up. Kids playing around. The wedding hall, once filled with. Soft music and scattered laughter, now held. Hush. A  strange , aching silence.

Her groom who she was supposed to marry backed off at the moment. Silence spread across the room. Inaya  sat on the edge of the room, her gaze fixed to the floor. Her red bridal dupata draped low over face, veiling her face. She didn’t look up. She didn’t ask questions.her world had gone quite the moment her father whispered the words- he refused.

Her fingers were knotted tightly in her lap, and her breathing came shallow beneath the layers of her veil.

Omar idrees had come to attend the wedding, not to interfere.  He wasn’t even seated with the family  just another guest in a charcoal sherwani watching everything quietly. He was  Invited by Ali- inaya`s  father  Who happened to be business partner with a close friend of his. He had only met inaya once but that once had stayed with him.  

 Flashback, 

The first time inaya met him, the wind smelled like earth and hay, and her heart raced louder than the hooves pounding in the distance. She stood awkwardly near the fence, gripping the edge of her black abaya, her niqab pulled low over her face. Strands of hair had slipped loose beneath her scarf, but she didn’t dare fix them — not while he was near.

Omar Idrees rode with effortless grace. The  horse beneath him obeyed like a friend, not a beast, each movement guided more by trust than force. He wasn't flashy — his riding wasn't wild or dramatic. It was quiet. Controlled. He dismounted with a soft thud and handed the reins to a stable boy. As he turned, his eyes caught hers. Inaya quickly looked down She hadn’t meant to watch for so long. He understood she wanted to ride a horse , but she was all shy. So he decided to approach her.

“You like horses?” he asked, his tone casual but kind.

She nodded once, still not meeting his gaze.

“Do you ride?”

A slight shake of her head.

He didn’t push her. Just stepped a little closer, eyes thoughtful. “Would you like to?”

She hesitated. Words never came easily — especially not to strangers.

But her eyes lifted for a moment.

“We’ll go slow. ” 

“May i” be forwarded his hand.

She nodded.

He grabbed her arm, holding the ropes tight. She placed her left foot on the hook, he pushed her arm upwards when she sat properly adjusting her self.

That was the first time.

Omar never rushed her. He taught her how to sit, how to balance. He didn’t praise her out loud, but his nods and rare, subtle smiles were reward enough. Inaya, in turn, began to show up early. She watched. She listened. And slowly, she learned.

Weeks passed like that — lessons stitched together by quiet mornings and the soft rhythm of hooves.

What she didn’t know was that the man who guided her hands on the reins would one day hold her future in his — on a day neither of them saw coming.

Omar idrees stood in silence.watching her sit still in the middle of a failed wedding, something in Omer shifted. He couldn’t walk away. Without a word to anyone he approached ali. The old man looked tired, ashamed, lost.

Omar spoke low, careful. ”if she agrees….i`ll marry her.”

Are you sure? Her father asked him. 

He nodded ……..’but she has to say yes’.

Inaya didn’t lift  her head even when she heard footsteps approaching. She only flinched slightly when someone spoke gently above her.

Inaya

 She recognised the voice- warm, deep, familiar. Her heart started beating fast. She looked up slowly. Eyes wide. Confused. 

Omar stood a small distance away-tall, calm, composed. He  looked at her with kind eyes. 

He leaned a little closer and said,” inayaa… i want to stand by your side in every situation; will you give me the privilege to be your husband?

Inaya lifted her eyes; tears streaming down her face: she never expected this kind of proposal not even in her dreams.

“Yess” that was barely audible.

Minutes later witnesses gathered  again. The Qazi cleared his throat gently as the hall fell into reverent silence.

He turned to the young bride seated beside her father.

 “inaya Qureshi bint Ali,” he began, voice calm and steady, “do you, of your own free will and without any compulsion, accept the nikah of Omar Idrees, with the agreed-upon mahr?”

(Inaya Qureshi daughter of ali)

Inaya’s hands were cold in her lap, her head lowered beneath the veil. She took a breath — small, but firm — and whispered:

“Qubool hai.”

( i accept)

The Qazi repeated the question a second time.

She answered, voice no louder but more certain:

 “Qubool hai.”

And again, for the third time.

“Qubool hai.”

The Qazi then turned toward Omar, who sat calm and composed.

“Omar Idrees, do you, of your own free will and without any compulsion, accept the nikah of inaya Qureshi bint Ali, with the agreed-upon mahr?”

Omar’s voice was deep and clear, each word deliberate:

“Qubool hai.”

A second time.

“Qubool hai.”

And a third.

“Qubool hai.”

With the consent of both parties declared before the witnesses, the Qazi smiled softly and announced,

“The nikah is complete.”

The photographer interrupted in between - both of you look here 

They looked at camera.

‘ can you hold hands’

They both looked at each other. Omar was 

Unsure of what to do. When she wrapped her palm around his bicep firmly.

Omar felt butterflies in his stomach. He never thought she would she accept him this early.

Inaya’s pov.

When she sat beside him afterwards, her shoulders were stiff, fingers curled nervously in her lap.

Omar didn’t speak right away. He simply glanced at he, then looked ahead again.

”are you hungry?” he asked softly. 

She looked at him with innocent eyes , just blinking twice.

“ we will grab dinner on our way back” he assured her.

Her eyes welled up behind the veil, but she quickly blinked them away. It wasn’t how anyone imagined love would begin .

But maybe..it was how Allah had written it.