“I will not marry you.”

Zayan’s voice thundered through the grand drawing room, sharp and final, as if he had already sealed his decision in stone.

The entire room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Even the ticking clock on the wall seemed to hesitate.

Areeba stood near the staircase, her fingers tightly gripping the fabric of her dupatta. She did not move. She did not speak. It felt as if even breathing had become difficult.

She had heard rejection before in her life.

But never like this.

Never in front of so many people.

Never with such cold hatred.

Her eyes slowly lifted toward him.

Zayan Khan.

Tall, composed, dangerously calm—but his eyes were anything but calm. They were burning with anger, resentment, and something deeper that she could not understand.

Her father, seated at the head of the room, slowly rose to his feet. His expression was firm, but his voice carried the weight of authority.

“This marriage has already been decided,” he said firmly.

Zayan let out a short, humorless laugh.

“Decided?” he repeated. “By whom? You?”

His father did not flinch.

“By promises made long before you were even born.”

Zayan’s jaw tightened.

“I don’t care about old promises.”

“You will care,” his father replied coldly. “Because this is not just about you.”

Areeba’s heart began to beat faster.

Something about the way he said it… felt wrong.

Zayan stepped forward, his gaze locked on his father.

“Then tell me the real reason,” he demanded. “Why her?”

A heavy silence followed.

Then his father spoke, slowly and deliberately.

“Because twenty years ago, your mother made a promise to Areeba’s mother.”

The words hit the room like a shockwave.

Areeba’s breath caught in her throat.

Her mother?

A promise?

She had never heard anything like this before. Not once in her entire life.

Her fingers trembled slightly.

This was not just a marriage anymore.

This was something buried in the past.

Something she had never been told.

Zayan turned his head slowly toward Areeba.

His eyes were colder now.

“You,” he said sharply.

Areeba flinched slightly but held her ground.

“Yes?” she asked quietly.

“Did you know about this?”

The accusation in his voice made her chest tighten.

“No,” she answered immediately. “I swear I didn’t.”

Zayan’s lips curled in disbelief.

“Liar.”

That single word pierced through her like glass.

Her eyes widened slightly.

“I am not lying,” she said, her voice shaking but firm. “I had no idea about any promise.”

Zayan took another step closer.

The distance between them disappeared.

Areeba instinctively stepped back, her back almost touching the wall behind her.

“Then explain this,” he said coldly. “Why are you here?”

Her throat tightened.

“My father told me to come,” she replied honestly. “He said it was important.”

Zayan studied her face for a long moment, as if trying to find even a trace of dishonesty.

But there was none.

Still, his expression did not soften.

Instead, it hardened further.

“You should understand something very clearly,” he said in a low, dangerous tone.

Areeba’s heart pounded.

“This marriage may happen,” he continued.

Her breath hitched.

“But you will never have my love.”

The words fell like a final verdict.

Areeba felt something inside her crack quietly.

Not because she expected his love…

But because of how easily he denied her even the possibility of it.

She swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay composed.

“I never asked for your love,” she said softly.

For the first time, something flickered in Zayan’s expression.

Surprise.

As if he had expected her to beg, to argue, to break.

But she didn’t.

She simply stood there, wounded but silent.

Areeba turned her face away, trying to steady her breathing.

But before she could take a step back, a deep voice interrupted the tension.

“There is one more condition.”

Everyone turned toward the source.

Zayan’s father.

He walked slowly toward the center table, his expression unreadable. From his coat pocket, he pulled out an old, slightly worn envelope and placed it carefully on the table.

The sound it made was soft.

But it felt heavy.

Like it carried years of buried truth.

“This marriage will only take place,” he said slowly, “if the truth inside this envelope remains hidden.”

Zayan’s eyes narrowed.

“What truth?” he asked sharply.

His father did not answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at Areeba.

And in that moment, Areeba felt something cold spread through her chest.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Then the old man spoke again, his voice quieter this time.

“The truth about why Areeba’s mother disappeared twenty years ago.”

The world seemed to stop.

Areeba’s body went completely still.

Her mother… disappeared?

No.

That was impossible.

Her father had always told her the same thing.

That her mother had passed away when she was too young to remember.

That there was nothing more to it.

No mystery.

No secrets.

Just loss.

But now…

Now this man was saying something else entirely.

Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.

Her mind refused to process it.

Zayan, however, did not look surprised.

That was what scared Areeba the most.

He looked… tense.

Like someone who already knew part of the truth.

Slowly, Zayan reached forward and picked up the envelope.

The paper looked old, fragile, as if it had been hidden away for years.

His fingers paused for a moment before he turned it over.

And then he saw the name written on it.

Areeba’s Mother.

For a brief second, something changed in his face.

The anger disappeared.

The arrogance faded.

And something else took its place.

Fear.

Real fear.

Areeba noticed it immediately.

Her heart began to race again.

“What is that?” she asked quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Zayan did not answer.

He could not take his eyes off the envelope.

As if it was not just paper…

But a door.

A door to something he had been trying to forget.

Finally, he looked up.

And his gaze met Areeba’s.

For the first time since she had entered this house…

Zayan Khan looked uncertain.

Because he knew something.

Something about her past.

Something she had never been told.

And whatever was inside that envelope…

Was about to destroy everything she believed about her life.