Between Blood and Desire

A Marriage He Did Not Choose

Chapter 2:

A Marriage He Did Not Choose

When a choice was made for Aziz Khan, he was nineteen years old and still seeking to know his own life. He was in university, concentrating on his studies, friends, and the quiet dream that one day he might be able to choose his own future.

That hope broke the day he learned his marriage was already planned. His mother had chosen a girl. The family had agreed upon something. Dates were debated, guests were named, and expectations were set. Aziz wasn't asked what he desired. He was given knowledge of what would transpire.

His words were disregarded as childish when he tried to speak. He was reminded that obedience was his job and silence was his safety. The pressure was merciless and quick. His mother cautioned him of disgrace, fractured family ties, and divine retribution. His brothers flanked her, emphasizing every warning. Knowing that resistance would cost Aziz his place in the family made him feel stuck.

He was too weak at nineteen to walk away. And thus, the wedding took place. Shelfa understood everything. Being his cousin, she knew every advancement, every whispered word, every preparation. Though the news broke her, she did not face Aziz.

She didn't shed a tear in front of anyone. She opted for dignity above desperation. Her heart, though, shattered silently within. Aziz refused to fight for himself.

He thought explanations were useless in a society that had already decided his guilt. He just said time would expose the truth. After the marriage, his mother's animosity did not go away. It got tougher. She constantly cautioned him that she would never forgive him if he picked Shelfa. She told him he was sinful and that in the afterlife, punishments awaited him. Aziz had faith and hung onto it.

He reasoned he hadn't committed anything bad. Being a Muslim, he understood that a second marriage was allowed as long as it was conducted with accountability and justice. He rejected viewing himself as guilty for loving one woman while being obliged to marry another.

Shelfa kept waiting. Years went by. Aziz became a father, then a father once more, until he had five kids. Shelfa was advised to accept reality, choose a different life, and move on. She said no to every idea. She only uttered one word. Her only desire in this world was Aziz Khan.

She would prefer to be by herself than to belong to someone else. Her waiting was not a fault. It was faithfulness, and it was steadfast. Those years turned her quiet into strength, his patience into will, and their love into something unmovable, tested daily by loss, anxiety, and constant faith, always together. Aziz began the wedding bearing a heavy guilt. Though his feelings remained connected to

Shelfa, he did his duty. Though the world urged him to wipe her out, he never refuted her position in his heart. People started to judge him critically. They challenged his integrity and charged him with playing on feelings.