FOUND YET FORBIDDEN

1• Proposal

Raza (The Male Lead) — POV

There are certain moments you encounter once in your life, where you can picture yourself telling your future kids,

“And this is how, dear kids, I met your mother.”

So when I met that woman in the middle of the road (because I hit her car with mine),

I was literally gone—the way she glared at me and asked me to pay for the car’s renovation — I swear it was so attractive.

And then, being an absolute gentleman,

I sent a proposal asking for her hand in marriage not just after that.. after a year, almost after confirming my feelings that I like her… Truly.

But..

If you are planning to propose to your teacher, I’ll recommend not.

On a scale from one to ten?

It’s a negative billion.

Worse than being in jail.

As I stood outside her office while she called for me, staring at the nameplate that read—

Dr. Shifa Saeed

M.Phil, PhD

Physics

—I was literally questioning my life choices.

Oh Raza… what have you done?

She cleared her throat from inside the office.

“You can come in, Raza.” She said with a sharp inhale.

Gulping the life that clogged in my throat and will come out at any moment, I entered inside her office. I have to witness a lot of things before I die. Sometimes I wonder if God has created me just for me to die out of embarrassment quite a lot of times in a single day.

She sat there, grading some papers and then settled her eyes on me like she was about to solve an equation and I was an unnecessary variable.

“Mr. Raza,” she said, looking straight into my eyes, “Do you know why you’re here?”

I did.

Unfortunately, I did.

“Yes, ma’am,” I replied, with the confidence of a man who had already accepted his fate.

Her gaze turned sharp. Ferocious. That same glare from the road.

“You thought,” she said slowly,

“that after crashing into my car, failing almost half of my tests, submitting every assignment late dancing on my nerves for almost the whole year, the appropriate response was a marriage proposal?”

In my defense, I did not dance on her nerves.. she just had them in every place I stepped into. In short, we are totally opposite.

“I am talking to you, Mr Raza.” she repeated.

Silence felt safer honestly that's why I was quiet. And to be very, very honest.. I can't trust my tongue won't spill any bullshit if I open my mouth.

“I panicked, I'm sorry” I said.. There's the bullshit I was talking about. I was everything but definitely not sorry for sending the proposal.. but there's this shitty disorder I have — whenever I'm confused or nervous the connection between my tongue and brain fail faster than I fail tests.

She sighed.. Then turned to glare at me again. “You know I hate sorries, Mr Raza.. Why do you have to do things in the first place you'd be sorry about in future.”

“Some people apologize. I… overcommit.” Shut up Raza for the love of God — but it was too late as my tongue was already running a marathon spilling words like bullets. “That's why I sent the proposal.. I genuinely wanted to undo all those worries I caused.”

Does that make any sense?

Looking at the expressions she had on her face.. It's a No I guess.

Her eyebrow twitched. Physics was clearly easier than me.

“Get out,” she said.

Then paused.

“And next time, Mr. Raza..try brakes before proposals.”

As I walked out, dignity in pieces, I realized something important.

Some stories begin with love at first sight.

Mine began with an accident, a PhD,

and the worst decision of my natural life..

But the embarrassment was too heavy to carry.

I should have left the world after that.

Any sane man would have.

But sanity has never been my strongest suit, and neither is walking away from something that feels unfinished.

My hand hovered over the door handle of the faculty corridor, this was the last and first chance I had. If I created image in her mind that I'm just messing around.. (which I'm obviously not) she's not going to take my proposal seriously.

I mean I know she just rejected me but because she thought of it as a prank.

Every step away from her office felt wrong, like I was abandoning my soul. So I turned back. Not impulsively this time. Intentionally.

With a new determination, I knocked on her door again.

“Come in,” her voice was calm and composed, untouched by the chaos that happened just a few moments ago. The way my breath caught up to my throat while entering her cabin.. It almost felt like I just stepped into a coffin.

She looked up again when I entered, surprise flickering across her face, quickly masked by professionalism. I closed the door behind me. The room felt quieter.

“I’m not here to joke,” I said before she could speak. “And I’m not here because I panicked.”

She studied me carefully, as if weighing every word I had already said against the ones she was about to hear.

“Then why are you here, Mr. Raza?” she asked.

I took a breath. A real one. The kind you take before stepping off a ledge. Ya Allah which I've gotten myself into.. I swear to God my soul and brain were literally disappointed in me.

I can feel her gaze burning through me. Inhalimg a sharp breath, “Because I like you,” I said.. then forced a little “Genuinely!” for extra effect.

Her expression didn’t change, but her attention sharpened. She was listening now.. really listening.

I scanned the whole room to see if there's something that could be fatal to a human being when thrown at him.. Thankfully there isn't.. So I forced the rest of the words out. Trust me it's so f*****g hard for me to confess when a woman 6 years older then me is glaring directly into my soul.

She might be literally having thoughts on scratching my eyes out and play balls with it.. I can bet my life on it.

“I don’t believe in dramatic love stories,” I continued. “I believe in choices. And I’m choosing to be honest with you. I’m serious. I want to marry you.”

The words settled between us, heavy and unadorned. No humor. No charm. Just the truth. And without seeing the expressions on her face you can tell that she doesn't like that even a tid bit.

“You don’t know me,” she said quietly.

“I know,” I replied. “And I’m not pretending otherwise. But I know enough to want to know more with respect, with patience, and without expectations from you today.”

She stood up then, slowly, placing her hands on the desk. Not defensive. Not angry. Thoughtful.

“You’re my student,” she said. “And this is inappropriate.” she gritted her teeth so hard as if imagining my head in between them.

“I just want a chance to prove myself.. Is that too much to ask?” I said.. “I mean I .. I am not asking you to marry me now.. After I graduate we can marry then..” I suggested it casually.

“It is unethical, Raza.” God she's literally burning in rage.

“I won’t cross any boundaries, I just want to prove myself.. If you are seeing me from the spectacle of society, that would be wrong.. ” I said immediately. “If you say no, I’ll leave. If you ask me to wait, I will. If you ask me never to return, I’ll respect that too. I just couldn’t walk away without saying this properly.”

For a long moment, neither of us spoke. The clock on her wall ticked loudly, marking seconds I would remember long after I forgot equations and lectures.

“Leave now,” she said. “And don’t come back for this reason again.”

“But I–”

“For now, get out of here, Raza.” She almost screamed..

I nodded. That was fair. More than fair.

As I stepped out, I didn’t feel rejected.

I felt… grounded.

Because for the first time, I hadn’t hidden behind humor or impulse. I stood still and spoke with intention.

And whatever came next.. whether she ever thought of me again or not

I knew one thing for certain. This was not a mistake. This was the beginning of something that would either break me

or make me worthy of the man I wanted to become..