Shahveer saw her flittering behind his Mama and Qiraat Bhabhi, helping them set the plates and fill up the glasses. There was an awkwardness at the dining table and the reason was Ibtihaaj- his second wife.

He felt like a bastard remembering what happened last night. He was not in his senses and that lead him to take advantage of his innocent wife.

After his blunder of calling her by his Dia's name he had abruptly disentangled his body from hers, as if her touch burned him.

Never had he ever thought that he would lay with another.

Shahveer always felt that he had cheated upon his wife just by being in the same room as Ibtihaaj and here he was putting their marital bed to good use.

He then had remembered that it would have been her first time. Did she feel as good as he did? Was she comfortable? Had he hurt her?

Well he may not have hurt her physically but his abrupt emotional disconnected and his withdrawal from her self had left her cold.

The kind of cold that chilled your soul and no amount of heat would ever be enough to soothe it.

They had not exchanged a single word after that. Shahveer had left her bed and their room abruptly and hadn't returned. The entire night.

Ibtihaaj felt extremely unloved, lonely but most importantly she felt used.

Did he just come to her because he thought she was his first wife? His Dia?

Sleep eluded her almost all of last night and she woke up with a firm diligence. She would try to be a good daughter in law, even if her husband wasn't ready for her to be his wife.

Shahveer looked at her dupatta covered head. His wife was extremely beautiful. The kind that had heads turning. The kind that lulls your heart into a security just for a simple fact that she belongs to you.

But alas, his heart beats for another. Another much fiercer and bolder beauty. The contrast between the two girls was like day and night.

Sadia was a daring seductress and Ibtihaaj is a mousy temptress.

Sadia knew what she wanted from the world and Ibtihaaj had always been taken for granted by the world.

Sadia took life's opportunities by their throats and Ibtihaaj had always been handed the shorter end of the rope.

Sadia was a dark angel and Ibtihaaj is a hoor from Jannah.

Shahveer sighed looking at her departing figure. It was clear as day that she still hadn't made a place in their hearts. They weren't particularly hostile but she wasn't welcomed with open arms either.

Shahveer still remembers how Sadia had gelled with each member of his family on the first day itself. She had even managed to impress his Rayyan Abbu who was a tough nut to crack with her opinions on the current World Trade scenario.

Her unique take on how Social Infrastructure will promote Entrepreneurial Activity floored his Baba and Qaan chachu.

Ibtihaaj on the other hand was a substitute art teacher who teaches the kindergarten class at Usaamah's school. It was there that his Qiraat Bhabhi had seen her for the first time and her interaction with the kids only increased his Bhabhi's interest in the timid girl.

Sadia was a tall girl with model like features. Her black shoulder length hair and matching onyx eyes only added to the fierceness of her self-assured personality. Each step she took was well thought and oozed with confidence.

Shahveer had immediately felt attracted to her the minute she took his hand in a firm handshake. His father always says that a good handshake is the sign of a sound business character. It was true.

But, there was more to her than being an Executive. She was a warm and kind hearted person who respected her values and culture despite living overseas most of her life. She got along well with rich and poor alike. Age was also never a barrier for her to initiate a conversation with anyone.

Shahveer missed having her in his home, in his family, in his arms and in his bed. But most importantly he missed having her in this world. She left him all alone to face this neverending barren stretch of life that is bereft of her soothing presence.

Three months after their wedding, Sadia started to feel unwell. It was the usual throwing up all the time, dizziness and nausea. There was only one possible conclusion to it all. Pregnancy!

The tests however said otherwise. She was suffering from hemangioblastoma.

The tumor itself was a benign neoplasm but it had grown enough to impinge on her hypothalamus. It had starting affecting the functionality of the autonomic nervous system leading to the various symptoms.

The doctors removed the tumor surgically and all was well for a month. Then her symptoms returned and this time around they were extremely severe.

The doctors diagnosed her with grade two Glioblastoma Multiforme an aggressively malignant neoplasm.

The chances of her survival even after surgery, chemotherapy and radiation were slim to none.

Sadia opted for none of the treatment options. She wanted to spend her last days with her husband and family.

There wasn't a single person who was unaffected with the news. Hania was the worst hit because this was a girl whom she has known for more than two decades. She also was the girl who was a part of her family. But most importantly she was the girl her brother loved with all his heart.

Shahveer was devastated but he kept a strong front for his wife and family. He tried to get her to undergo treatment. He wanted her to live just one day more than she is allowed.

When all else failed, Shahveer took help from his Allah The Al Kareem the Al Wali.

He would cry all night in front of his Lord to have mercy on them. They were but a newly wed young couple. But Allah knows better.

We plan but HE is the best planner.

We know but HE knows the most.

It was a balmy winter morning when Sadia Shahveer Hamdaani breathed her last in the arms of her husband. She only wished for one thing then.

She wanted Shahveer to marry again.

Her husband was too young and too lively to lead a melancholic lonely life.

His heart was too magnificent and yet too tender to not be loved by another. He needed a woman to nurse his broken soul and she knew he would be too loyal to her. Even in death.

Reason why she extracted a promise from him in the throes of passion, when she had asked him to love her one last time.

Shahveer couldn't ever deny his Dia a thing and he wasn't going to start by doing that now. He relented and maybe since all her worries were eased, she passed away peacefully in his arms, looking happy and sated. Just as he always wants to remember her.

They hadn't even celebrated their first wedding anniversary and here he was, a widower on his way to marry another.

He married Ibtihaaj three months after her death.

Ibtihaaj Siddiqui had a tough childhood. Her parents had left her alone in this world, without a family and without a penny.

She was raised by her Phupho who had vowed never to marry lest her husband or his family never accept her Chanda. Ibtihaaj was the apple of her Phupho's eyes.

Faryal Siddiqui is a good woman. A beautiful woman who had suitors vying for her attention. But alas, they were all scroundels in disguise.

Some wanted a wife without the added burden of anothers child. Some wanted to leave the little girl in an orphanage post their marriage. Faryal had enough of the lecherous men when one of them tried to touch the little girl when she had gone to bring him a glass of water. The man was accompanied by his mother for Allah's sake and yet that did not discourage him from doing what he did.

That was it for her and Faryal Siddiqui never let another man or their mothers set foot past their threshold. She raised her darling neice singlehandedly and tried to give her the best of both worlds.

Her beautiful neice had taken after her mother. She was exactly like a porcelain doll.

Ibtihaaj had a slim build with waist length light brown hair that hung in ringlets just below her butt and a clear glass complexion. Her most striking feature were her baby blue eyes which resemble the sky on a sunny day when she was deliriously happy and the stormy sea when angry.

She has always been a grateful child, happy with whatever little her Phupho provides her with. The tailoring job doesn't pay much but it was enough to sustain them and run their small household.

Ibtihaaj studied a course that could get her the fastest job. She became an art teacher. Her salary was meagre as was the case with most associate art teachers but it helped her Phupho in managing their increasing expenses owing to her ailments that came along with old age.

She had just begun her job at the school when she was approached by a student's mother.

Usaamah Bakhtiyaar Hamdaani was the eldest grandson of the Hamdaani Haweli and Qiraat wanted Ibtihaaj to consider marrying her brother-in-law Shahveer.

Ibtihaaj was only twenty years old but she has seen more of the world in her little time here than most people do in a lifetime.

She knew this rishta was way out of her league. They would be mismatched like a square in a circular hole but her woes were bigger than any social dilemma that festered in her mind.

After careful deliberation, the pros that perpetually outweighed the cons of this marriage lead her to a decision.

She said yes two days later.

They were married last week.

She knew her husband is a workaholic who spends most of his time at the office. Her days were spent with her mother in law and her Qiraat Bhabhi.

Everyone else weren't so welcoming of her seeing as she had replaced their beloved Sadia Bhabhi.

Yes, Ibtihaaj knew her husband was a widower and irrevocably in love with his first, albeit dead wife but she cannot do anything about it now. They were bond for life and she had already started liking her absentee husband.

Duaa and Aamaal had started warming up to her and even the boys were making an effort to include her in their lives. Hania was proving to be the most difficult of them all.

She couldn't see her friend being so easily replaced as if she was dispensable!

No. This girl will never have Sadia's place not in her family and not in their lives.

Ibtihaaj had made peace unto that simple fact that she was Shahveer Azaan Hamdaani's second wife. She knew she was unaccepted by his family but she knew no hurt.

Her Phupho was at ease seeing her so well settled and now that Ibtihaaj didn't have to worry about feeding her own stomach, all her salary from the school went to her Phupho. That along with the tailoring job sustained her Phupho enough every month.

Ibtihaaj had not resigned from her job. She had married Shahveer but this marriage wasn't her ticket to riches. She went to school with Usaamah and came back with him.

The boy was a sweetheart. All the kids were. Their innocent minds knew no discrimination and just loved her unconditionally.

They didn't see her as their Sadia Chachi's replacement, but just as one more person to love. Oh what it is to be children again!

Ibtihaaj did not expect anything from her husband. She was okay with his ignorance but when he took her in his arms last night, something snapped in her and she felt herself wanting more.

She wanted more of the affection he showered on her. More of the sweet nothings he whispered in her ears. More of his tender care that he bestowed upon her. More of the gentleness with which he handled her last night.

More of the love that he showed himself capable of.

But all her hopes came crashing down the minute he called her with his first wife's name.

Dia.

She knew then that maybe she would always be unlucky in life. Maybe she would always be a glass doll- admired by all but appreciated by none.

Maybe she would always be unloved.