Kayan couldn't believe his eyes. In disbelief, he closed his eyes and opened them again. When he closed them once more, Hooreen came in front of him, placed her lips on his cheek, and said:
"Happy birthday, my dear hubby."
Kayan snapped his eyes open. His gaze met Hooreen's, who was looking at him with a world of love in her eyes. The disbelief in Kayan's eyes was replaced first by wonder and then by joy. He thanked his Lord for accepting his prayer and granting him success.
Kayan's gaze swept over her captivating appearance, which looked lethal in the Indian saree. Kayan's restraint gave way. She was standing a short distance from him. Kayan grabbed her by the waist, imprisoning her in his embrace, and erased that distance.
Bringing his face close to her neck and inhaling her fragrance, Kayan asked:
"Did you look at yourself in the mirror before coming before me...?"
At his question, she instinctively nodded yes. Rubbing his nose against her neck again, he spoke:
"And even after that, you made the mistake of appearing before me?"
She was flustered by his question. On top of that, Kayan's hands were roaming over her waist.
"That... it was your birthday... so... that's why... and the surprise... had to be given too... so it was necessary to appear."
She spoke innocently at the end. Kayan, who was becoming intoxicated while rubbing his nose against her neck, began to smile. This was the scent of Kayan's favorite cologne. He already loved it, but today, sensing the same fragrance from Hooreen's being, he became completely lost. Kayan smiled and placed his lips on her neck. He was leaving his touch here and there on her neck and beauty bone. Kayan's proximity, the sound of the waves, and the light breeze were creating tremors in her heart. Kayan slid the pallu (end) of her saree off her shoulder. Her body began to tremble slightly. No matter how much she loved him, bearing the intensity of Kayan's unbridled emotions and his proximity was beyond her strength. Kayan's lips were leaving their mark on her mole, which was rarely visible. Kayan had no intention of sparing that mole today. Hooreen clenched Kayan's shirt tightly in her fist. Touching her earlobe, he spoke charmingly:
"I warned you that you'll regret it."
"I'm not regretting it. I just wanna tell you something."
At her words, Kayan controlled his emotions, straightened her pallu, and pulled back to look at her. Drenched in the colors of modesty, she looked stunning, and the shimmer of her lowered, long lashes was tugging at his heartstrings. Hooreen had decided that no matter what happened today, she would tell Kayan what was in her heart. Therefore, she spoke:
"I have forgiven you for every single thing. I can't stay away from you anymore, Kayan. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"I... lo... ve... I love you, Kayan...!"
She didn't even know how she gathered the courage to complete her sentence without stopping. After speaking, she hugged him. She was feeling shy herself. She was making a futile attempt to hide herself in Kayan's refuge. At Hooreen's clear confession, Kayan's joy knew no bounds. He lifted Hooreen in his arms and, spinning her around, spoke:
"I love you too, Hoor."
"Hoor, by saying all this today, you have returned my life to me."
"Thanks for giving me such an amazing gift."
Panicked by his spinning, she spoke:
"Don't do this, Kayan, I'm feeling dizzy. Put me down!"
Kayan immediately put her down. Making her sit on a chair, he knelt before her and, holding her hand with concern, asked:
"Are you okay, Hoor?"
At such concern, she spoke with a smile:
"Yes... I am fine."
She was in a state of hesitation whether to tell Kayan the news right now or not, and because of that, she began to bite her lip. That arrogant prince sat beside her, looking at her with love and concern, making her feel even more shy. Kayan focused on her lips, which she was ruthlessly biting. Before Kayan could act on his thoughts, his phone rang. He saw it was a call from Mr. Jilani. He received the call, and Mr. Jilani spoke:
"Where are you two? All the guests here are waiting for both of you! Come here quickly, wherever you are."
"Dad, why do you always act like the 'cruel society' and tear my romance to shreds?"
At his pouting remark, Hooreen bowed her head in shame while Mr. Jilani burst into a loud laugh and spoke:
"What can I do, son? Someone has to play this role, right? Have some shame and grace us with your presence here... otherwise, it won't take me long to truly become 'cruel society'."
"You never taught me how to have shame. Yes, I will definitely learn it from your daughter-in-law."
He spoke, keeping Hooreen in the gaze of his eyes, teasing her as he looked at her head bowed in modesty.
Hooreen's head bowed even further. Meanwhile, Mr. Jilani, suppressing his laughter, spoke with feigned anger:
"Kayan, are you coming, or should I come there myself to get you?"
He spoke in a sulking tone:
"I'm coming, Dad... you satisfy your desire by being the 'cruel society'."
Saying this, he hung up the phone and, looking at Hooreen, said:
"We will have our romance tonight. If we don't reach the party now, Dad will come with a stick."
At his boldness, Hooreen didn't dare to look at him. She spoke, pouting with annoyance:
"You are very shameless."
"How shameless I am, wifey—you will get a very good idea of that tonight."
At his words, she turned into a red pomegranate and fell silent, bowing her head even more. Meanwhile, he burst into a loud laugh.
As soon as the car pulled up in front of the hall, she rushed inside without waiting for Kayan. Seeing her speed, he burst into a loud laugh.
"Where will you run to, wifey? You eventually have to come back to me."
Hooreen heard Kayan's voice behind her, making her pick up her pace even more. Walking quickly while looking back, she accidentally slammed into someone's chest. The person who collided with her wrapped her in a protective and affectionate embrace. She recognized that touch instantly; leaning against his chest, she began to cry uncontrollably. She had been deprived of his loving shadow for so long just so her mother wouldn't suffer, but now, leaning against him, she forgot everything. All she remembered was her father.
"Papa... I... missed... you... so much...!"
"My life, how could your Papa survive without you? Only he knows how he lived without his Hooreen, who is dearer to him than his own life. I missed you very much too... Are you still angry with your Papa?"
At his inquiry, she pulled back to look at him and said with a pout:
"Why would I ever be angry with you, Papa? My very existence is because of you."
He pulled her nose playfully and said:
"So, was it because of your anger with your mother that you didn't even talk to your Papa?"
Hooreen looked at Haleema Begum standing nearby and said:
"No, Dad, it's not like that. I didn't want my mother's wounds to freshen upon seeing me. I didn't want her to suffer. I stayed away from you too just so no one else would be hurt because of me."
At her words, Haleema Begum desperately hugged her and said in a tearful voice:
"You were never the cause of my pain. I am ashamed of whatever I said; I regret my words. But if I hadn't pushed you away by saying all that, you might have stayed away from your own happiness, and I didn't want that. Forgive me, child."
Feeling the pain in her mother's voice, Hooreen cried bitterly too. She was her mother; no matter what she said, Hooreen couldn't stay angry with her for long.
"Mamma, please don't ask for my forgiveness. I can understand everything you must have felt at that time. Can't we just forget what happened and make a new beginning?"
Haleema Begum and Mr. Ilyas both shielded her under their shadow of love. She was still busy crying when she pulled away at the sound of Mr. Jilani's voice.
"The more I tell you not to, the more you cry. You take tension yourself and give it to everyone else too."
Then he addressed Mr. Ilyas:
"You explain something to her, maybe she'll listen to you because I am tired of trying to make her understand, but she won't listen to me."
At his remark, Hooreen looked at Mr. Jilani with mock annoyance.
"Dad, it's nothing like that... I am taking full care of myself. I listen to everything you say. Now, if you tell Papa such things, then later, even before him, Mamma will start taking my class, saying 'even in this condition you aren't taking care of yourself' and so on."
Her manner was such that all three of them started laughing. Haleema Begum, who was smiling, paused at her words and asked:
"What do you mean 'in this condition'?"
Hooreen didn't give an answer; she just bowed her head with a smile. Haleema Begum looked closely at her darling daughter; she was her mother, how could she not understand? She was overjoyed. On the other hand, Mr. Ilyas felt the same; he always understood her unspoken words. Tears of joy came to his eyes. He hugged her with love, instinctively thanking his Lord. Mr. Ilyas said:
"By giving us this joy, you have made us the richest people in the world. For this reason, I even forgive this 'khota' (donkey)."
"Papa, please don't call him a 'khota' now, he is so handsome that...!"
At Mr. Ilyas's remark, she spoke up immediately, making everyone burst into a spontaneous loud laugh. Kayan, who had just entered, heard Hooreen's words and came over to Mr. Ilyas:
"Papa, this 'handsome khota' is your daughter's husband."
The laughter echoed loudly again as Hooreen leaned against Mr. Ilyas. Hearing Kayan call Mr. Ilyas "Papa" made her extremely happy. Kayan embraced Mr. Ilyas and bowed to show affection to Haleema Begum. She lovingly kissed his forehead.
Seeing her mother and especially her father behaving so lovingly toward Kayan, she realized that Kayan must have had a hand in this too. Kayan took Mr. Jilani with him; he knew his wife was restless to know how everything became normal. And that's exactly what happened; as soon as they left, she started asking Mr. Ilyas. Before she could say anything, Mr. Ilyas started speaking himself, because he too knew his darling very well.
"You are wondering how everything is fine, right?"