4.

As I looked at the wedding procession passing by, I thought to myself,

Why don't I just go with them, Maybe I'll find a way out.

Otherwise... what will I even do alone on this silent, dark road?

What if those goons find me again?"

No... I can't let that happen.

So I quietly joined the barat.

The procession stopped at a wedding hall, and everyone went inside... including me.

I tried to blend in. No one seemed to notice me.

But then a girl probably the bride's sister spotted me.

"Hey! You're the dancer, right?" she said to me.

"Come quickly! Get ready, we need you for the dance!"

Wait... what?

Dancer??

I froze in shock. "I-I'm not a dancer," I said nervously.

She rolled her eyes.

"Stop acting! Come on now, everyone's waiting for you. Don't create drama and get ready quickly!" she insisted.

"I-I'm really not a dancer," I said again, trembling.

"What?!" she shouted. "You're not the dancer?!

"Oh no... we're doomed. The stupid dancer didn't show up, and we thought you were her!" She said

"What will we tell the groom's side now?

Mom's going to freak out again... and now I'll get blamed for everything!" The girl start crying

Then she look at me she grab my hands look at me with hope "your looking like kind person, will you help me please please?' she beg

"What help?" I asked, curious

"Please sing a song and dance. We'll dance behind you because we don't know how to dance well. Please help us, and then I'll pray for you... may all your prayers come true ," the girl begged, looking at me with hope.

"Okay, fine. I'll help," I said with a little sigh

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The girl hugged me tightly in happiness and said, "You're the best!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough," I said, trying not to smile.

"Now come quickly to the dressing room. Hurry up and change. I almost forgot to get you ready. I'm the bride's little sister, Namiya. And what's your name?" she asked.

"Namiya," she said with a soft smoked

"Muskan," I replied softly.

"Oh wow, such a beautiful name! Come now!" she said cheerfully and took me along.

She gave me a very beautiful red lehenga to wear. I went to change, and when I returned, I was completely ready

As soon as Namiya saw me, her mouth dropped open in shock.

"Wow! You look absolutely stunning! Mashallah, you look just like a princess!"

I nervously smile

She grab my hand and pull me in dance floor

I hestitete then I start singing and dancing

"Sajan Mera us paar hai"

"Milne ko Dil bekarar hai"

"Sajan Mera is paar hai"

"Milne ko Dil bekarar hai"

"Mausam bhi aa puhncha shenayi ka ab humko dar Kaisa"

After dance and singing everyone start clapping, wedding end

And I quietly walked away from there.

On the way... I saw Zmiya's goons.

My heart sank I was terrified

Without thinking, I just ran...

And right nearby, I saw a train station

I didn't stop. I ran straight there

And without knowing where it would take me I climbed into the train

The next day came...

The train arrived in Punjab

I got off, quietly...

With no destination in mind

I kept walking... just kept walking...

With no end in sight... with no place to go

I sat on the roadside, broken, lost. My tears wouldn't stop, and my heart felt like it would collapse from the weight of everything.

Suddenly, an aunty came to me.

"Beta who are you?" The aunt asked, she pat my shoulder

I quickly pulled away I hug my knees to my chest, scared

"Beta don't be scared" she kindly said

She looking like kind woman I am just misunderstanding her, stupid!

"Beta Why are you sitting here alone at night? it's unsafe for girls"

"W-who are you?" I asked, my voice shaking,

"I am just a unlucky mother who have no one in this world my daughter death 1 year ago in car accident, now I am alone" she said, she pat my shoulder,wipe her tears

"It's not safe for a young beautiful girl like you stay late night alone" she said, she hold my hand

"Beta who are you?" She asked genlty

"Uski deewani"

"i-i want to meet him I want to tell him how much I love him" I said ,my lip trembling tears streaming down my face

"I... I don't even know how I'll ever find him. Where do I even begin?

I don't know where he is... what he's like... how he even looks. I don't know anything!

But still... I just know I have to find him no matter what! No matter how!

"I need to meet him... I have to... even if it costs me everything"

Tears fall from my eyes as I cry my voice

"But I don't know how I'll ever find him... where would I even begin looking for him? I don't know where he is, what he's like, how he looks- I know nothing! I just know that I have to find him, no matter what."

Muskan says this while crying her heart out.

"You're in love with a boy you don't even know? You haven't seen him, you don't even know who he is... and yet, you left everything behind

your home, your life for him.

And you don't even know where he is, what kind of person he is, whether he even loves you back or not?

How could you be so foolish?"

Aunty said this to me.

"Maybe to you, this all seems foolish...

But to me, this is my madness... my obsession... my love."

"He is my love... my only love. I love him... and no matter what, I want to meet him"

"Tell me did he love you?did he know you love him?did he ever meet you?"

"I don't know..I don't know he love or not.. but my heart say he love me like I love him, w-we meet in childhood w-we study together b-but he leave because his father send him america for studies" I explain tears stream down my face my voice shaking

"He had promised me...

He said he'd come back after 10 years.

But I don't know why...

Why didn't he come back?

Why didn't he keep his promise?

That's why... now I want to go to him.

I want to find him.

I said this while crying, my heart breaking with every word

Aunty asked me gently,

'But what will you do now? Where will you go from here? How will you even find him?'

I looked down, helpless...

"I don't know..."

I don't know where I'll go... what I'll do... how I'll find him...

I just... don't know anything anymore."

"Siitting here like this on the street isn't safe. Come, we'll think later about how to find him."

But I shook my head. My voice trembled as I replied,

"No... I-I'm not going anywhere I'm fine here."

She looked at me with concern, gently touching my shoulder.

"DON'T be scared. You're like a daughter to me. Come with me, child. Please."

Maybe it was her words. Maybe it was my desperation. Maybe I just needed someone...

I don't know why, but... I said yes

I followed her.

I trusted her.

She led me down a narrow alley, the air thick with perfume and smoke. Faint music drifted from behind heavy velvet curtains, and dim red lights glowed above the door. Laughter,low, suggestive, spilled out as the door opened, revealing women dressed in bright, revealing clothes, their smiles too practiced to be real. My stomach tightened

But everything shattered the moment I entered that place.

It wasn't a home.

It was something else.

She took me to a brothel a place

I froze. My whole body went numb.

There were so many girls there, and they all looked lifeless, empty. I couldn't understand what was happening.

"Why did she bring me here?" I thought in panic.

I turned to her, my voice shaking.

But everything shattered the moment I entered that place.

It wasn't a home.

It was something else.

She took me to a a place it was weird

I froze. My whole body went numb.

There were so many girls there, and they all looked lifeless, empty. I couldn't understand what was happening.

"Why did she bring me here?" I thought in panic.

I turned to her, my voice shaking.

"Aunty... what is this? You said you live alone... you said you'd help me Then what is this? Why are all these girls here?"

She looked at me. Her face changed. Cold. Cruel.

"You poor stupid girl," she said.

"I lied to you. This is a brothel. We sell girls like you here. Beautiful girls. Rich men pay lakhs for you. I brought you here to sell you. Understand now?"

My breath stopped.

It felt like the ground disappeared beneath my feet.

"N-no... no... please no," I begged, falling to my knees.

"Please don't sell me. Please aunty. I trusted you. Please don't do this. Let me go. Please..."

She grab my arm hee grip is bruising it hurt

"P-please let me go" I beg try to push her

They pointed at me and said, "Take her! She's so beautiful, we'll easily get 10 to 15 lakhs for her. She's the most beautiful girl in this brothel. Take her!"

That aunty told the other girl to grab me.

The girl came toward me, held my hand tightly, and started dragging me away.

I screamed and cried at the top of my lungs,

"Please let me go! Please!"

I begged,

"please let me go! What did I ever do to you, aunty?! Please just let me go!"

But no one listened... I kept crying and begging.

And all the other women there... they just laughed at me.

That girl took me into a room and locked the door behind us.

I was still sobbing when I turned to her and begged again,

"Please... please let me go. What wrong have I done? Please just let me go. I just want to see Akaash... I just want to meet him once..."

But she stared at me, cold. Then she said,

"Stop crying. No one here cares about your tears. In fact, the more you cry, the more pain they'll enjoy giving you. So please stop crying."

She looked at me and said quietly,

"My name is Meera. Do you know? A year ago... that same aunty brought me here the exact same way - with a lie."

"I screamed... I shouted for help, but no one cared," Meera said, her voice trembling as if every word burned her throat. "They sold me they actually sold me. And for one whole year, I've been trapped in this hell. Every day feels like a slow death. Sometimes I just want it all to end. I want to die. But I don't have the courage. I know what you must be feeling right now I really do but nothing can be changed now."

My chest burned with rage and pain as I shouted, "How can I not scream? How can I not cry, Meera?"

My voice broke as I yelled, "You want me to stay silent after everything that happened? You want me to just stand there, watch everything fall apart, and not say a word? Never! I'll never let that happen!"

Tears flooded my eyes as I took a step forward, my voice shaking with emotion.

"I belong only to Akaash! My entire life... every breath I've taken, every part of My heart, my body, my soul, everything I've given to him. I don't even see myself as mine anymore. I am his, completely his. And no matter what happens, I'll never let that change. I swear on my life I might die, but I will never belong to anyone else."

Seeing me break down, Meera gently placed a hand on my arm, trying to calm me.

"Relax," she said softly. "When did I ever say you should sit quietly and let them sell you? No... even if my life is already des

troyed, that doesn't mean you should give up yours too."

"I..I help you to escape from this hell" she gently said, sat beside me

I look at her,my eyes fill with tears

To be continued°

Thank you for reading❤️☺️