[ Night, 09 : 40 PM ]
The drawing room held its silence like an old wound.
Heavy curtains softened the moon light into muted silver and the air carried the faint scent of polished wood and something unspoken.
Mahim stood near the window, hands clasped behind his back.
Mahi sat on the edge of the sofa, fingers twisted together.
Fahad occupied an armchair near the fireplace, his expression thoughtful.
Fahim sat with a book in his lap, though he hadn't turned a page in several minutes.
Fahan sprawled across an entire sofa as though furniture had personally offended him.
Faha sat quietly beside Fahish.
Farhan remained in a nearby chair, calmer but unusually silent.
Ohi, Naya, and Nahi occupied the opposite side of the room.
The atmosphere felt heavy.
Eventually, Fahan groaned dramatically.
"No."
"No?"
Fahad raised an eyebrow.
"We are not spending another hour staring at walls."
That earned the faintest reaction from a few people.
Fahan immediately sat up.
"Seriously. This family has the emotional energy of a funeral procession."
"Thank you for your insight," Fahim replied dryly.
"You're welcome."
A small smile appeared on Ohi's face.
That was progress.
Fahan pointed triumphantly.
"See? I made someone smile."
"You surprised me," Ohi corrected.
"Same thing."
"It isn't."
"It absolutely is."
The argument continued for another minute.
Slowly.
The room's tension began to loosen.
Naya leaned back against the sofa,
"Speaking of embarrassing things..."
Everyone looked suspicious immediately.
"I heard Fahad once got lost inside his own office building."
Fahad looked offended,"I did not."
"You did."
"I was inspecting another floor."
"For forty minutes?"
"I was conducting a thorough inspection."
Mahim's shoulders relaxed slightly.
Naya smiled, "Sure."
Ohi seized the opportunity.
"Oh, if we're sharing stories—"
"No."
"Yes."
Ohi ignored Nahi completely.
"When we were children, Nahi got stuck in a tree."
The room immediately became interested.
Nahi sat upright.
"Don't."
"He refused to come down."
"Don't."
"He spent three hours claiming he was 'guarding the property.'"
Laughter erupted.
Even Farhan smiled.
A real smile.
The sight alone made Mahi visibly relax.
Nahi buried his face in his hands.
"I hate this family."
"That's a lie."
"It isn't."
"It definitely is."
The conversation gradually shifted.
Fahan eventually turned toward Farhan.
"So."
Farhan immediately looked suspicious.
"No."
"I haven't asked anything."
"You were about to."
"I was."
Farhan sighed.
That alone felt miraculous compared to a week ago.
Fahim finally closed his book.
"Since we're discussing disasters..."
Everyone groaned.
"That sentence is already dangerous."
Fahim ignored them.
"Fahan once connected an experimental battery directly into a power system."
Fahan sat upright.
"You promised never to tell that story."
"You almost destroyed an entire laboratory."
"It survived."
"Technically."
"It survived."
"The ceiling disagrees."
Even Mahi began participating.
Sharing stories about early court cases.
Ridiculous courtroom moments.
At one point she described a witness accidentally insulting the judge.
The room erupted into laughter.
Including Mahim.
A rare sight,Very rare.
The family immediately noticed.
Fahan pointed.
"Look."
"No."
"Father laughed."
"I did not."
"You did."
"I just smiled."
"That's basically the same thing."
"It isn't."
"It absolutely is."
The discussion wandered endlessly after that.
And slowly, almost without anyone realizing it, the mood changed completely.
The heaviness remained somewhere beneath the surface. Some wounds did not disappear overnight.
But for a little while, the drawing room no longer felt burdened by silence.
It felt like a family.
Imperfect.
Complicated.
Occasionally ridiculous.
The conversation drifted from one memory to another until, somehow, it settled on Maya.
It was Fahan who started it,
"What was she like as a baby?"
The room immediately grew interested.
Even Farhan looked up.
Mahim smiled faintly from his place near the window.
Mahi shook her head.
"Why you all ask that question now? "
"Because she acts like she arrived in the world at fifteen years old," Fahan replied.
A few people laughed.
"Honestly."
Ohi added, "it's hard to imagine her as a child."
Mahi smiled faintly as she looked around the drawing room.
"You all remember Maya as she is now, Quiet.
Reserved, impossible to read.
But none of you remember what it was like before she was born."
The room settled into attentive silence.
Even Mahim turned away from the window to listen.
"Those nine months were exhausting."
Mahi shook her head.
"Not because of Maya."
Her gaze slowly moved across the room.
"Because of all of you."
Immediate protests erupted.
"We were helpful."
"We absolutely were."
Mahi raised an eyebrow.
The room fell silent.
"Ohhh ... exactly.
When I first told the family I was pregnant, your father became impossible."
Mahim frowned , "I did not."
"You did."
"I was concerned."
"You followed me around the house.
You called doctors for every tiny thing."
"I was being responsible."
"You called three specialists because I sneezed."
Mahim looked deeply offended.
—
"The moment Fahad learned he was going to have a younger sister, he became protective."
Everyone turned toward him.
Fahad sighed.
"No."
"Yes."
Mahi pointed directly at him.
"You started checking every security report yourself."
"That's normal."
"It is not normal."
"It is for him," Fahan muttered.
"If someone walked too quickly near me,
If a staircase looked slippery,
If a chair looked unstable, he noticed."
Fahad crossed his arms,
"I was being careful."
"You were acting like a baby was already running a corporation."
The room erupted.
—
"Then there was Fahim."
Fahim immediately looked suspicious.
"What did I do?"
"You bought books."
The room nodded knowingly.
"Many books."
Fahim remained silent.
"Medical books."
Still silent.
"Parenting books."
Silence.
"Development books . You read everything."
"It was important."
"You highlighted sections."
"It was useful."
"You created notes."
Fahim looked away.
That was basically a confession.
Mahi smiled.
"I think you knew more about infant development than some pediatricians."
"HAHAHA. "
"HAHAHA. "
Farhan falls off the sofa, laughing.
—
"Fahan was curious."
"That sounds harmless."
"It wasn't."
"You asked questions every day."
"Questions are good."
"You asked whether babies could understand engineering."
"They should."
"Fahan."
"What?"
"You were five and you wanted to build Maya a mechanical cradle."
"It was a brilliant design."
"It caught fire. Once, twice."
"It was still brilliant."
The room fell silent.
Then—
Farhan slowly turned toward Fahan.
"...You tried to build a cradle?"
Fahan folded his arms proudly.
"It was an engineering prototype."
Fahim adjusted his glasses,
"It was a fire hazard."
"It had minor thermal issues."
"It ignited."
Faha covered his face, laughing,
"How does a cradle catch fire twice?"
Fahan looked genuinely offended,
"The first one was a design flaw."
"And the second?"
"I repeated the design flaw."
Farhan stared at him.
"...That is the least reassuring thing I've ever heard."
Even Naya blinked.
"You wanted to put her in it?"
Fahan nodded confidently, "Absolutely."
A long pause.
Naya looked at him.
"...I'm glad nobody let you."
Fahan sighed dramatically,
"No one appreciates visionary engineering."
—
Mahi's smile softened,"Faha worried quietly."
The reserved twin looked down.
"You rarely said anything."
Faha nodded.
"But every evening you asked if the baby was healthy. You never missed a day."
" That sounded exactly like him.
Silent concern, silent affection, silent loyalty."
"You've always been like that, bro."
Farhan grinned.
"You barely spoke... but you checked on her every single day?"
Faha rubbed the back of his neck, slightly embarrassed.
"...I just wanted to know she was alright."
"You never needed grand speeches."
Ohi nodded,"Your actions always spoke first."
—
"And Fahish..."
The artist looked up.
"You drew constantly . You drew baby clothes, drew toys , imaginary family portraits."
Fahish rubbed the back of his neck.
Embarrassed.
"You even drew what you thought Maya would look like."
Ohi raised an eyebrow,"Were you accurate?"
"Not even remotely."
The room burst into laughter.
—
Mahi's eyes softened most when they reached Farhan.
"And then there was Farhan."
The youngest son looked up,
"He was the happiest."
He immediately looked suspicious.
"No."
"Yes.You followed me everywhere.
You would place your ear against my stomach and talk to Maya."
Farhan covered his face.
"No."
"Oh, yes."
The room exploded.
"You told her stories.
You played little melodies on your toy keyboard, informed her about your favorite songs."
Farhan looked ready to disappear.
"I was a child."
"You were adorable."
"Please stop."
Mahi's expression grew distant.
"The day she was born was one of the longest days of my life."
The room quieted immediately.
The memory seemed almost alive.
"The entire family was waiting. Nobody could sit still."
Mahim looked away.
The reaction confirmed everything.
" Fahad spent hours pacing.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
The nurses eventually became nervous whenever they saw him approaching.
He looked like he was preparing for war."
"He was."
"Fahim kept asking medical questions.
The staff eventually began recognizing him on sight.
One nurse reportedly said:
'Not him again.' "
The room erupted.
"Fahan somehow managed to get lost inside the hospital.
Twice.
Nobody knew how.
Faha sat quietly in the waiting room.
He spent the entire drive insisting babies all looked the same.
Fahish filled half a sketchbook while waiting.
Drawing chairs.
Hallways.
People.
Anything to pass the time.
And Farhan..."
Mahi laughed softly.
"He fell asleep."
The room burst into laughter.
"On three chairs with a toy piano and when someone tried to wake him, he refused."
The living room dissolved into laughter.
Farhan threw both hands into the air,
"I was exhausted! Waiting is hard!"
Fahan pointed at him immediately,
"You slept through the most important day of life !"
"I was conserving energy."
"For what?"
"To celebrate afterward."
Fahad pinched the bridge of his nose,
"I cannot believe that's the part everyone remembers."
Mahi smiled, "Oh. "
Fahim adjusted his glasses,
"I'd like the record to show that my questions were medically relevant."
Fahan grinned,
"The record also shows the nurses hid when they saw you coming."
Several relatives nodded enthusiastically.
"True."
"Absolutely true."
Fahim sighed.
"I was simply ensuring proper standards of care."
Farhan smirked.
"They were ensuring proper distance from you."
Fahan folded his arms,"And I was not lost."
Mahi raised an eyebrow,
"You asked a janitor where the maternity ward was."
"There were too many corridors."
"You asked him twice."
"...It was a large hospital."
Faha quietly looked at the floor,
"I really did say babies all looked the same."
Fahish smiled at his twin,
"And then the nurse placed Maya in your arms."
Faha's ears reddened slightly,
"...She didn't look like everyone else."
"So she changed your mind?"
"Immediately."
Mahim looked around at his sons, his expression full of quiet affection.
"We were all frightened."
"When Maya was born the entire hospital seemed to stop."
A pause.
"She was very small."
the moment they placed her in my arms, she opened her eyes."
"Immediately?"
"Immediately."
"That's unusual."
Mahi smiled,
"She looked at everything. The doctors. The lights. The nurses."
Fahan smirked.
"And judged them all."
"That sounds exactly like Maya."
Fahim adjusted his glasses,
"Performing environmental observation immediately after birth...Oddly consistent."
Fahish chuckled.
"She probably decided who she liked and who she didn't before she was an hour old."
"She looked around the room with the expression of someone reviewing everyone's performance."
Even Mahim laughed.
"I remember thinking, 'She's unusually observant.'"
"And then she looked straight at your father."
"...She stopped moving for a moment."
Farhan grinned.
"So the first person she ever silently evaluated was Dad."
"Apparently."
"Your father looked more worried than everyone else."
"I was not."
"You were."
"I was composed."
Mahim let out a quiet laugh.
"You wore a path into the hospital floor."
"I was walking."
"You were marching."
"You checked the clock every thirty seconds."
"Time is important."
Farhan grinned.
"You asked the receptionist for updates so many times that she started giving them before you even reached the desk."
The room laughed.
Fahan smirked.
"I remember one doctor asking, 'Sir... are you the father?'"
Mahim nodded.
"I said yes."
"He replied, 'We know.'"
Laughter echoed through the room.
"You tried very hard to look calm."
Mahim sighed,
"I had six boys waiting to meet their baby sister and I was about to meet my daughter."
A gentle silence settled over the room.
Fahad smiled faintly.
"...He was definitely worried."
"I was terrified."
"The moment you saw her...
Fahad froze . The confident businessman.
The decisive leader simply froze.
The tiny baby in the cradle looked impossibly small. Impossibly fragile.
Then he gently touched one tiny hand.
And she immediately wrapped her fingers around one of his. "
Even now, years later, nobody teased him about that moment.
Because everyone remembered the look on his face.
Pure wonder.
"Fahim examined her carefully.
He asked the doctor twelve questions."
"Only twelve?"
"Fahis."
"Fine, maybe more than twelve."
Farhan nearly doubled over.
"You expected a newborn to solve calculus?"
Fahan shrugged with complete seriousness.
"I was keeping an open mind."
Fahad sighed.
"She had been alive for about ten minutes."
"Exactly."
"...Exactly what?"
"Ten minutes is enough to make an impression."
Fahish laughed,"She did."
Fahan folded his arms,"By yawning."
Mahi covered a smile,"It really happened."
Fahim cleared his throat, his ears faintly pink,
"I examined her carefully."
Farhan grinned.
"You mean you gave a newborn a medical assessment."
"It was a routine observation."
"You checked her fingers."
"I did."
"You checked her heartbeat."
"Then she yawned."
Everyone looked at Fahim.
"And somehow the famous scientist completely lost his train of thought."
Fahim adjusted his glasses.
"...It was unexpected."
He still looked disappointed.
"Why?"
"Because babies sleep. They cry. They stare."
He sighed dramatically.
"I expected more."
Even Naya couldn't hide a faint smile.
Farhan shook his head.
"You expected your newborn sister to stand up, introduce herself, and publish a research paper."
Fahan considered that for a moment.
"...That would have been impressive."
Mahi pointed toward Fahan.
"You were the worst."
"I object."
"I was 5 years old."
"Exactly."
"You brought a screwdriver."
Farhan laughed so hard he wiped tears from his eyes.
"I fail to see how that's relevant."
"It explains a great deal, actually."
Fahim adjusted his glasses.
"Your curiosity has always exceeded your judgment."
"I prefer the term 'experimental.'"
Fahish chuckled.
"The nurses preferred the term 'please keep that child away from the equipment.'"
Another wave of laughter swept through the room.
"I found him crouched beside the bed with the screwdriver in one hand and a look of absolute concentration."
Fahan nodded proudly.
"I was close to figuring it out."
"You were close to disassembling it."
"A minor distinction."
Naya looked at him,
"...You tried to take apart the hospital bed on the day she was born?"
Fahan answered without a hint of embarrassment.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"...I wanted to know how it was built."
A beat of silence.
"I don't think he's changed at all."
Fahim gave a small, resigned nod.
"Not even slightly."
"Faha stood quietly by the window."
The twins exchanged a glance.
"You looked terrified of holding her."
"I was."
"She looked fragile."
"You kept saying, 'What if I drop her?'"
Faha lowered his eyes with an embarrassed smile,"...I really thought I might."
Fahan grinned.
"Meanwhile, the rest of us were arguing over who got to hold her first."
"Faha wouldn't even take one step forward and i remember placing Maya in his arms anyway."
"...I thought she was so tiny."
"You held her as though she were made of glass."
"...Then she wrapped her little fingers around mine."
Fahish laughed softly,
"After that, he refused to give her back."
"...I don't remember that."
"You absolutely do," Farhan teased.
Everyone laughed, while Faha's faint blush only made the memory more endearing.
"Fahish sat beside the cradle and sketched."
"I remember."
"Hours later, the first drawing of her existed. A memory preserved forever."
"That sounds exactly like Fahish."
Fahish shrugged gently,
"I didn't want to forget that moment."
Faha looked at his twin with quiet admiration.
"You still have that sketch, don't you?"
"I kept all of them."
"He has drawn every member of this family."
And Farhan...
"He climbed onto a chair . You looked at Maya and then you said..."
Mahi's voice softened.
"She's my sister.
Nobody is allowed to make her cry."
Farhan looked away, embarrassed.
"...I really said that?"
Naya smiled through misty eyes,
"You were so serious."
Fahan chuckled.
"You couldn't even reach the cradle without standing on a chair."
Farhan groaned.
"Did you all have to remember that part?"
"You pointed at every adult in the room and repeated it twice, just to make sure everyone understood."
Fahish looked at his younger brother.
"You've always been like that."
Farhan's ears turned pink.
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"...Well...I like her hand. It was tiny, I held one finger."
He demonstrated with his own hand.
"She grabbed it."
"You refused to move after that."
"It was the smallest hand I'd ever seen."
The conversation drifted naturally from old memories to the people who had visited the hospital after Maya's birth.
Mahi smiled faintly.
"There was one visitor your father remembers very well."
"ASIF."
Several heads turned.
"Anik's father?" Fahad asked.
"Yes."
Mahim's expression softened with nostalgia.
"We were close friends long before any of you were born."
"He arrived the same day with enough gifts to fill half the room. He stood beside Maya's cradle for nearly ten minutes without saying anything."
Mahi shook her head.
"I still remember what he said."
The room became attentive.
"He looked at Maya, then at your father, and said, 'She's going to be trouble.'"
"That part was accurate," Fahan muttered.
Maya wasn't present to hear the comment.
Fortunately.
Mahim said,
"One day, long before Maya was born, we were sitting together after a business meeting.
Asif and I had talked about everything—
business, family, our children, our plans for the future.
At some point, I joked that if I ever had a daughter, I would marry her to his son one day."
Fahan groaned, "Oh no."
Nahi covered his face.
"Never make jokes with future consequences."
"Wise advice.""
"Exactly."
Then he shook his head.
"The problem was that I was joking."
A pause.
"Asif wasn't."
"He remembered that conversation for years."
"For decades," Mahim corrected.
"He brought it up every time we met."
Mahim leaned back,"Every single time."
"'Anik and your future daughter.'"
Fahan shook his head,"That's terrifying."
"You haven't heard the worst part."
The room immediately became interested.
"What worst part?"
Mahim sighed,
" He looked at her, and said...
'There she is my future daughter-in-law. ' "
Mahim looked completely resigned.
"I spent years explaining that I had been joking."
"And?"
"And he spent years ignoring me."
Fahad rubbed his temples,
"So a casual joke became family legend."
"Exactly."
"That's ridiculous."
"It was."
Fahim rubbed his forehead.
"Years later, Asif brought up the joke again."
"It stopped being a joke?"
"Not entirely."
Mahi leaned back,"It was decided long ago..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
" It was an understanding between families. A promise."
Fahad folded his arms,"And now?"
Mahim's answer came without hesitation.
"It wasn't meant to be questioned," Mahim replied, "It was an agreement."
Across the room, Anik's posture stiffened slightly, though his expression remained controlled.
"And now?" Fahan asked.
"Now she's here, and we just… expect her to accept it?"
"I believe she will accept it."
Fahan frowned, "You're that certain?"
Mahim met his gaze,"I know Maya."
"That doesn't mean she agrees with everything."
The lawyer in Mahi immediately noticed the wording and glanced toward him.
Fahad folded his arms,
"That's still not the same as knowing her answer."
A brief silence followed.
" Why sound so certain?" Ohi asked.
Mahim looked toward the staircase for a moment, as though expecting to see Maya appear there, "Because it is a decision. "
Anik remained thoughtful.
His eyes lingered briefly on the staircase before he looked away.
Before anyone could answer, a calm voice drifted down from the staircase.
"Who is getting married?"
Every head turned.
Maya was descending the stairs, one hand resting lightly on the railing.
A sketchbook was tucked beneath her arm, a pencil still held between her fingers.
The room fell silent.
"You..... you will Maya to Anik."
No one missed the way several family members immediately tensed.
She did not look up immediately.
She continued down the remaining steps at the same unhurried pace.
One step.
Then another.
As though the statement had been nothing more than a change in the weather.
Reaching the drawing room, she crossed to an empty sofa and sat down.
The sketchbook opened onto her lap.
Her gaze lingered on the half-finished drawing, as if completing the missing line in her mind before finally setting the pencil down.
Only then did she raise her eyes.
Fahad looked wary.
Fahim looked attentive.
Fahan looked far too interested.
Farhan looked concerned.
Anik remained outwardly composed, though the tension in his shoulders had not disappeared.
Maya's gaze moved across them briefly.
Then settled on Mahi, "Why?"
"Years ago, Asif and I spoke about it.
Our families have known each other for years."
She listened without interruption.
When Mahim finished speaking, silence settled over the room once more.
Fahan finally couldn't help himself.
"Well?"
Maya looked at him,"Well what?"
"Your reaction."
"My reaction to what?"
"To the fact that everyone just announced your future."
A pause.
She lowered her eyes to the sketchbook again. She traced the edge of the page with one finger.
Then she spoke.
"You all seem to be discussing it very seriously."
The statement was so neutral that nobody knew whether it was agreement or criticism.
Fahim hid a smile.
Fahad sighed.
Farhan looked down, already sensing where this was going.
Maya closed the sketchbook.
Even Anik seemed caught off guard.
Then—
"Sorry, But I don't want to marry."
Mahi's head snapped up.
Fahim's brows drew together immediately.
Even the servants at the far end of the room seemed to freeze where they stood.
Fahan stepped forward before anyone else could speak.
"Why not?"
Maya lowered her gaze to the sketchbook resting on her lap.
For a moment, it seemed as though she might remain silent.
Then she answered.
"Because... because I don't deserve love."
The words did not sound like doubt.
They sounded like fact.
That was what unsettled everyone.
Not the statement itself.
The certainty behind it.
The absolute conviction.
The room remained silent for a heartbeat.
Then another.
"MAYA..."
The lawyer who could dismantle arguments in court with ease suddenly found herself without words.
Across the room, Farhan stared.
His chest tightened painfully , Because he recognized that tone.
The tone of someone who had repeated the same thought so many times that it had begun to feel true.
Fahad's expression darkened.
A deep, uncomfortable concern.
"Who told you that?" he asked quietly.
Maya didn't answer.
Fahim leaned forward, his voice remained calm, "Maya."
"That isn't a fact."
"It is."
Fahan ran a hand through his hair.
For once, there was no joke,
"That doesn't even make sense."
Maya's fingers tightened around the edge of the sketchbook , "It makes sense to me."
"Wait what? "
Anik leaned forward slightly, his voice lower now," What are you saying?"
His eyes remained fixed on her.
"Why don't you want to marry?"
A pause.
Then, more directly—
"Why do you think you don't deserve love?"
For a moment—
something passed through her eyes.
A flicker of something old.
Then it settled again,
"I will not trap anyone In the shadow of what I carry."
"Shadow?"
Fahad shook his head, frustration creeping in,
"What do you even mean?"
The grandfather clock ticked softly in the corner.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Mahi's expression grew increasingly worried.
"Maya..."
"If someone stands too close to a fire, eventually they get burned."
Fahis frowned,
"You're comparing yourself to a fire?"
"No."
"I'm comparing myself to the smoke."
Anik's jaw tightened, something darker flickering beneath his calm,
"You're deciding for me now?"
Maya held his gaze, "Yes."
Fahad let out a dry, disbelieving laugh, "Unbelievable."
Maya rose from the sofa.
Her sketchbook remained tucked beneath one arm.
The pencil rested between her fingers.
She did not look at anyone.
The conversation lingered behind her like an unfinished sentence.
She turned and walked toward the doors leading outside.
No one stopped her.
Somehow, everyone sensed she needed space more than questions.
The doors opened.
A breath of cool air drifted into the room.
Then they closed softly behind her.
Click....
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then—
"What was that?"
Fahan muttered, running a hand through his hair.
Anik leaned back slightly, "She meant it."
Mahim finally spoke ,
"She doesn't speak without meaning."
"So, We just accept her rejection ?"
Mahim's gaze hardened slightly, " Yes. "
Fahan looked surprised.
"Just like that?"
Mahim turned toward him,
"If she says no, then the answer is no."
Fahim looked towards her departure,
"People don't say things like that without a reason."
"She believed it."Farhan lowered his eyes.
"As though she were stating the weather.
As though she had lived with that belief for a very long time. "
And for the first time , the conversation stopped being about marriage.
Stopped being about Anik.
Stopped being about promises.