The moment Haris Hilal Aziz Khan stepped out of the aircraft and into Lucknow Airport, a strange heaviness settled in his chest.
He paused for a second, adjusting the strap of his laptop bag, inhaling the familiar scent of the city-mitti, rain, and old memories.
Memories that never left him.
His eyes moved across the arrival lounge until he spotted them-
His mother waving excitedly...
His father standing beside her, arms folded...
And a few relatives smiling as if welcoming a long-lost prince.
Haris straightened, his expression neutral, controlled.
But inside... a tiny ache bloomed.
Nostalgia.
And a wound he never allowed to heal.
As he walked toward his family, his mind travelled back-
back to his college days...
The laughter in the corridors, the smell of fresh architectural sheets, sleepless nights during juries-and her.
The girl he once trusted...
The girl he once thought worthy of his heart...
The girl who not only rejected his confession, but later cheated on him with someone he considered a friend.
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
Love was a weakness.
Attachment a mistake.
He never forgot that lesson.
"Haris beta!" his mother pulled him into a tight hug as he reached them.
He hugged back politely but distantly.
His father, Hilal Aziz Khan, patted his shoulder.
"Chalo... ghar pe baat karni hai. Important baat."
Haris felt his jaw clench.
Important in their language meant marriage.
And as expected, the moment they sat in the car, his father began:
"Haris, Faisal Ahmed Khan ki beti Hazel... achi ladki hai. Shareef, parhi-likhi. Tumhare liye perfect."
Haris closed his eyes briefly.
Perfect?
He didn't even know the girl.
"I'm not thinking about marriage, Abbu," he said calmly. "My focus is on my Dubai project."
His mother sighed dramatically.
"Beta, zindagi sirf kaam se nahi chalti."
His father's tone hardened-
"Haris, family ki izzat hoti hai. Faisal sahab humare purane dost hain. 'No' sun'na unhe achha nahi lagega."
There it was.
The pressure.
The emotional blackmail wrapped in respect and tradition.
Haris stared out of the window, watching the city blur past.
He didn't want this.
He didn't believe in this.
But he also didn't want to disappoint his parents-especially after everything they had done for him.
So he exhaled slowly... convincing himself with a lie he didn't believe:
"Theek hai. Main mil loonga."
A decision taken not from the heart...
but from the weight of family expectations.
He didn't know that the soft, clumsy, innocent Hazel Ahmed was about to turn his lifeless world upside down...
And not in the way he expected.
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