✿ Bond ✿

Some people just voted dil pe pathar rakh ke lol😂

The world of little Nataliya Haider revolved around her doting mother, Shabnam and her much older friend, Kaif.

"See, it's twinkling" Nataliya clapped excitedly as Kaif opened his palms. There was a firefly on his hands.

Kaif chuckled at her eagerness to get hold of the little firefly. It was past 9 pm. Kaif just sneaked in the lawn to smoke a cigarette when Nataliya ruined his plan. He just started smoking cigarettes occasionally with his friends recently in the university. Now, suddenly he had the urge to smoke and no one in the house knew this new habit of him. His father would have been enraged to know it anyway.

"What's that?" Nataliya stood behind him and tried to see the thing in his hands. It was a fancy lighter gifted by one of his new friend.

"Fuck" Kaif muttered under his breath and hid the cigarette in his palm. She thankfully didn't see it.

"What's this?" She asked once again.

"It's nothing and what are you doing here?" He said strictly to her, that was the only way to distract her otherwise Kaif would have been in danger.

"It's boring inside" She pouted at the end.

"Go play watch cartoons" He pointed to the TV lounge.

"Uncle is watching news" She told him.

"You play with me" She hold his hand and requested innocently.

"Kahan phass gaya hoon" He muttered, putting the lighter in his pocket.

(Where I am stuck)

He was now sitting on the stairs in the lawn and she was standing in front of him. She was telling him a story from her school when he got distracted.

"No, listen to me" She held his face in her little hands and pointed it at her direction.

"I am listening" He smiled.

"No, you aren't liar pants!" She shook her head.

"Who told you this word?" He asked about the new word in her vocabulary.

"Asad's elder brother told him and he told us" She explained the whole chain.

"It's disrespectful to say that to an elder person and my Tali is a good girl. She doesn't disrespect her elders. Right!" He said to her.

She nodded her head.

"Don't this word again bache" He always tried his best to take care of her in every way.

The time was passing. Nataliya and Kaif was very close to each other. Life was good these days when suddenly after a year Kaif lost his parents in a car accident. His heart shattered into million pieces when he came to know about his parents passing.

When he had reached the hospital they had already been pronounced dead. After that day, Kaif had become silent and lonely. Shabnam ignored her own loss and tried to take care of him as best as she could but she couldn't replace his parents after all.

"Mama told me your parents went to the same place where my father is" Nataliya stood next to her who was sitting on the grass.

He nodded sadly, a tear rolled down on his cheeks.

"Aww don't cry. See I don't cry either!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and tried to provide him comfort.

He patted her arms and pressed his lips together harder to not cry in front of the kid. He removed her arms gently and stood up. His cheeks were covered in tears as he rushed to his room.

"Kaifi is crying" She rushed to Shabnam and told her restlessly.

"He is grieving his loss. Don't disturb him" Shabnam asked her softly.

"I won't" She shook her head but she couldn't stopped herself and peeked into his room holding a glass of water.

He was lying at his bed with closed eyes when sensed her presence. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Water" She passed him the glass.

He silently held the glass and gulped it in one go. She took the glass from his hand and rushed to the door.

"You can cry. I won't disturb you" She said to him and closed the door gently.

Kaif was in 6th semester of bs economics when his parents died. Now, he was the only bread earner of the house. His father was a teacher in a government school. They were getting his pension and Kaif had started doing a part time job at a call center in the evening.

His most of the time spent outside the house in studying and earning.

"We don't want to be a burden on you Kaif!" Shabnam wanted to do a job but he wasn't agreeing.

"Ani I can understand from you are coming but you need to understand you aren't alone. You have a kid to look after. Where would Nataliya go if you started doing a 9 to 5 job. She is in her tender age. She needs you the most. You both are my family. It's my responsibility to provide you. You don't need to be worried!" He explained his point of view.

"We aren't your responsibility especially Nataliya" Shabnam told him sadly.

"Yes you are Ani! and don't say like that. Not every relationship is about blood. You both are my only family. Don't say it ever again" He hugged her lovingly.

He kept on doing struggles.

After his graduation he started doing a full time job and started attending masters classes in the evening. He was living a robotic life away from home and his people.

Shabnam asked him to get married.

"It would better to have a new family member. We need a change Kaif and more than anyone you need a positive change in your life"

"I can't Ani! Not at this stage. I need some time" He refused to get married.

"Why? This is the right time Kaif!" She insisted.

"No, it's not Ani! Try to understand I am not mentally prepared for this" He explained.

Later he applied for phd. He was at the end his doctorate last year when Shabnam fell ill.

"Haider never wanted Nataliya to be with her mother. She has always been a careless woman. He didn't trust her. She would take her back!" Shabnam said worriedly to him at the hospital bed.

"You will be alright Ani! Don't stress yourself!" He tried to calm her.

"I am not feeling well Kaif! You need to understand what I am saying. Nataliya won't be happy with her" Shabnam started crying.

"Ani you are going to be fine" He said more like told himself that she would be fine.

"After me Nataliya can't live without you. Her mother would get her and morally you couldn't stop her. Kaif would you marry her?" She asked.

Kaif's eyes widened in shock. He wasn't expecting her to say that. How could he marry Nataliya. She wasn't even eighteen yet.

"She is a minor Ani! Are you mad!!" He said loudly.

"And she is going to lose her guardian. Life isn't a bed of roses Kaif, you know it better. You have gone through it!" She closed her eyes sadly.

"I can't force you but my soul won't be happy if Nataliya got hurt anyway and in her mother's house she could never be happy" She mumbled with tears rolling down her cheeks.

Kaif was shocked at the events of life when he buried Shabnam in the soil. He was hopeful that she would recover soon and come back home but she was no more and he had lost his only blood relationship.

At home another issue was awaiting for him.

"You are a mature man Kaif. You should understand this issue. Nataliya isn't your mehram. She can't live here alone with you. There was no problem when her mother was alive but now it's different. You have a few options, either get married to her or to anyone else and bring your wife home or send her back to her mother" His father's cousin tried to explain him the matter gently.

Kaif remained silent for a few minutes. He understood each and every word and he couldn't even disagree.

"Ask her will. If she is ready I will marry her!" He said with heavy heart.

And Nataliya couldn't say no to anyone from this house. She wanted to live here in the same home she always lived. She never wanted to go back to her mother's house, never.

One day after Shabnam died, Kaif and Nataliya were tied in the sacred bond.

That is the backstory guys!

No cousins. No drama.

Btw she was seventeen when they got married. The story does not in any way is glorifying child marriage as it's not the case here.

She fully agreed to get married and It was the hour of need. Nothing else!

The next chapter will be in the present.

Don't forget to vote and comment💗