A Pride & Prejudice and Little Women retelling
Farrah Hussain spent a lifetime hating Salman Bashir. At least that's what she liked to believe. When one fateful summer Salman changes his bad boy ways and comes back a new man, Farrah can't stop the l...
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What followed in the Hussain household was nothing short of a nightmare.
Farrah sat down with her mother and had a long talk with her that afternoon. She spilled her heart about all the troubles she had been having with Salman.
Rani was devastated. She couldn't wrap her head around it. There were more questions and arguments raised. The prayer call for Maghrib was resonating by the time mother and daughter neared the end of their conversation.
Broken engagements were as bad as unwed daughters. How was Rani going to explain it to their relatives, her father? Farrah found her mother crying alongside her.
It was around midnight when she heard Rani talking over the phone with Neela. Anxiety and distress pooled in Farrah's stomach so much that she swore she could feel physical pain. A few minutes later, her mother was obviously bickering. Farrah knew this was going to get so much worse. In fact, the bad was only starting.
Rani was still on the phone with Neela. Farrah couldn't hear the words being exchanged, and she was glad she couldn't. She spent the night alone in her room, soaking her pillow with her anxiety and distress, with little to no sleep.
The next morning, Neela Bashir and one of her cousins strode into their house.
"What did you do?" she could hear Neela shout. "What did you say to her?"
"Neela, don't create a scene," her mother said stiffly.
There was a loud snort. "You really are enjoying in this, aren't you? Now step aside, I want to talk to her."
"I can't allow you to see Farrah before I know she's interested to meet you."
"You can't keep her away from me."
"Have some decency," Rani huffed. "You can't walk into my house and disrespect me like that."
"Oh, watch me," Neela sneered. "I know you did this," she hissed. "You've always hated my family and I know you've been polluting that poor girl's mind."
"Farrah's leaving him because your son failed to treat her right," her mother snorted. "Before pointing fingers at me, think about the upbringing you gave your children."
The voices were getting louder. Farrah couldn't stay in her room any longer. She found Neela fuming as she sprinted down the stairs. "Stop it, stop it you two," Farrah cried, eyes darting between the two women.
The fire of anger that was dancing in Neela's eyes, died down. She looked over at Farrah, a softer expression taking over. "Sweetie, what's going on?" she asked, perplexed. "Why did your mother tell me you want to cancel the wedding?"
