Ishq-e-Mu'tabar Thehra

 "Listen, girl... Wake up." As soon as his commanding voice reached Zeesha's ears, she jolted awake in her sleep and sat up abruptly. With her pink eyes still heavy with slumber fully open, she lifted her bewildered face and stared at him wide-eyed. For a moment, the innocence in her demeanor made Meer Ghori's heartbeat skip.

"Why are you sleeping here?" He suddenly felt angry, and this time, Zeesha stood up out of fear. As she rose so quickly, her shawl got entangled in her own feet, causing her to fall backward. But he swiftly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him, making her collide directly into his body. This sudden clash silenced both of them for a moment. Zeesha regained her senses first; flustered, she moved away from him and began adjusting her shawl over herself. Her face, which was draining of color, had turned extremely red. Seeing her like a ripe red tomato, he shook his head. She seemed more panicked than afraid.

"Go and wash your face. The maid is bringing food." At his harsh tone, she quickly nodded in affirmation and hurried into the washroom. As soon as she was out of sight, he went toward the bed, picked up his laptop from the side table, and detached his mobile charger from the plug. In the meantime, the maid had also left the food tray. When Zeesha came out of the bathroom, he called her.

"Listen, girl... The food is placed on the table. Eat it and then sleep. Don't try to go anywhere else." Issuing the order seriously, he went into the attached study room. After he left, Zeesha looked toward the table, raised her head upward, and several grateful tears flowed from her eyes, wetting her cheeks. She ate the food, thanked Allah, left the tray there, and went to perform ablution. Due to sleeping at an odd time, she had missed her Maghrib prayer. Searching through the drawers in the dressing room, she found her prayer mat. After performing Maghrib and Isha, she raised her hands in supplication before her Lord. She made heaps of prayers for herself and her future life. Folding the prayer mat, she put it back in its place, loosened her shawl, and lay down again in the same spot where she had slept in913 the evening. But this time, she placed a cushion from the sofa under her head.

"Sardar Meer Ghori is not that cruel-hearted after all." Imagining his magnificent stature, her lips automatically curved into a charming smile. He had saved Zeesha from her aunt's beating and hadn't let her sleep on an empty stomach. He was truly a good person. No doubt his attitude was quite strict, but there was no harshness in his actions. If his actions had been harsh too, she might have considered him justified. As they say, the first impression is the last impression. So, Sardar Meer Ghori's first impression had been etched on the blank page of her heart.

The next day, when she opened her eyes, as per habit, she stretched her arms fully, but as soon as her gaze fell forward, her arms lifelessly dropped to her sides. Meer Ghori was standing in front of the dressing table, combing his hair, and had stopped to glare at her.

"I said something yesterday. But it seems your memory is weak." At his sour tone, she felt ashamed and quickly got up, but the same shawl got caught in her feet again, causing her to stumble badly. She managed to steady herself, and Meer Ghori, who had stepped forward to catch her, quickly straightened back up.

"If you can't carry such a big shawl, wear a dupatta. There's no need to wear this tent and stay in the room." This time, his tone carried the heat of anger. And with that, he harshly slammed the brush onto the dressing table, which made Zeesha's soul tremble.

"Forgive me for today. From tomorrow, I'll wake up on time." She pleaded due to shame and fear, so Meer Ghori shook his head, looked at her bowed neck, and began spraying perfume on himself.

"Why are you standing like a statue now? Wash your face and hands, go downstairs, and prepare breakfast for me. Ask the maid what I eat." Scolding her harshly, she disappeared from the scene like an arrow, and moments later, she came out of the washroom without looking at him and ran out of the room at the same speed. Seeing Zeesha's frantic haste, he gritted his teeth. As Zeesha was quickly descending the stairs and moving forward, she suddenly collided with a steel-like body, seeing stars in broad daylight.

"Uff, my head." Holding her head, she instinctively stepped back two paces, and Dilawar looked at this innocent beauty with interested eyes.

"Who are you?" Seeing this new face, he couldn't help but ask. He was Mubashira's elder brother, Meer Dilawar, whose weakness was nothing but beauty, and the girl standing in front was extraordinarily beautiful.

"I came as vani." His question filled Zeesha with bitterness, so she answered with the same bitterness and hurriedly moved forward. Right ahead, she met Kausar.

"Listen, please, can you tell me which way the kitchen is?" Hearing her soft, waterfall-like tone, Kausar looked at her from head to toe.

"You're the girl who came as vani, right?" At thirty-year-old Kausar's serious inquiry, she could only nod with moist eyes and a red face. This word felt like a curse. And this curse was introducing her to new humiliation.

"Sardar Meer Ghori said I should prepare breakfast for him." She was about to cry, so Kausar felt pity for this sweet girl. It was always the woman who was deemed deserving of punishment for a man's bad deeds.

"Come with me; I'll take you to the kitchen. I also have to prepare breakfast for the elder begum." She took her to the kitchen.

"Sardar Sahib eats jaggery tea, spicy omelette, paratha, and fruit salad for breakfast, but before that, he needs fresh apple juice. The apple juice is ready. You just prepare the breakfast." Gently informing her about everything, Kausar got busy with her work, and she nervously prepared the breakfast. She knew how to cook, but due to nervousness, the paratha's round shape turned out bad, and the egg got a bit burnt. Everyone drinks jaggery tea, so she didn't have to make it. Breakfast was set on the table, and all family members were present at the dining table.

"Ghori, child, why aren't you eating breakfast?" At Tai's soft inquiry, everyone's eyes focused on him. Before he could answer, a nervous Zeesha came with the breakfast tray and placed it in front of him with trembling hands. Contempt arose in the eyes of the three people present for Zeesha, while Meer Dilawar's eyes still held interest in her. Maan Jaan, however, was observing her carefully.

"What is this?" After glancing at the breakfast and seeing Zeesha's pale face, Meer Ghori's demeanor carried that specific intimidation.

"This is breakfast, but it got a little spoiled." With a face turning red from embarrassment, she spoke in a tearful manner, and he looked at her with stern eyes. However, Mubashira was eager to see her expected humiliation. Similarly, Arfa Begum could barely control herself from giving this insignificant girl a few slaps—she was not only the sister of their nephew's killer but had also snatched their daughter's right.

"I don't eat breakfast like this. You eat this breakfast yourself." At his harsh tone, she quickly nodded and started breaking off a bite, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"Sit and eat properly." When he got angry again, she quickly nodded, sat on the chair next to him, bowed her head, and started eating hurriedly. Meanwhile, Meer Hakim looked at his nephew angrily.

"She cannot sit here. She will have to eat and drink with the servants. She is vani, not a family member." He couldn't control his anger any longer and blurted out. Hearing his words, she quickly picked up the tray and disappeared from the scene.

"Uncle, no doubt she is the girl who came as vani, but she is in my nikah. I told Tai yesterday, and now I'm telling you too. The right to beat her, say anything, belongs only to Sardar Meer Ghori. So, in the future, if my order is disobeyed, the one who doesn't follow my order will not stay in this haveli." With extreme seriousness, he made everyone understand clearly, and Meer Dilawar looked at him with weighing eyes but felt disappointed. He simply didn't want anyone else to claim rights over something that had come under his control. And this was his habit since childhood, which had now certainly become firm.

"Son, I just couldn't bear to see her in front of me. Remembering how ruthlessly her brother killed my nephew, I feel like riddling that dishonorable person's body with bullets." Meer Hakim spoke, barely controlling his anger, and Meer Ghori clenched his jaws. Because hearing their words, Maan Jaan's condition worsened.

"This topic should not be mentioned again after today. My mother is dear to me. And I cannot tolerate anyone causing her pain." Regaining her consciousness, he picked up his mother in his lap, warned them in a cold tone, and quickly left from there.

"You go too far, Hakim. At least in front of a mother, you shouldn't have used those words." At his wife's anger, he started looking somewhat ashamed.

"We all need to think before speaking or doing anything. Because Meer Ghori's anger could only be calmed by one person: Meer Saim, but he is no longer in this world." At Meer Dilawar's serious explanation, they just looked at each other and stayed silent.

"The car Meer Saim was in fell into a deep ravine and exploded in a blast. Even his body wasn't found because there was a flowing river nearby. How could the elder begum find patience? If she could see his face, perhaps she would find some peace." Seeing Kausar running in panic, two maids started talking quietly among themselves.

"Shams Dad didn't do right. Meer Saim was such a splendid, God-fearing person. As temperamental as Sardar Meer Ghori is, he was that soft-natured. Truly, a great injustice was done to the Dad haveli people." They were whispering like this, but every word reached Zeesha, who was sitting at the table eating, inflicting her with new pain. A mother's lap had been emptied because of her brother. She was as if dying from inside. She was alive, but Meer Saim was not alive at all. Suddenly, food stuck in her throat, and she had a severe coughing fit. When the two maids came to their senses, they panicked badly. One signaled the other, who quickly filled a glass of water and placed it in front of Zeesha. Holding it, she took a few sips. When her senses somewhat returned, she quickly got up, left the kitchen, and now stood outside Maan Jaan's room. Her heart was melting like wax. Tears seemed unwilling to stop. She was intensely feeling Maan Jaan's pain within herself.

Who knows how much time passed. Her feet started going numb, but she remained standing lifelessly, back against the wall, head tilted back, hands clasped together. When Meer Ghori's eyes fell on her as he exited the room, he froze. Then, closing the two-step distance, he stood face-to-face with her, and she got a shock of surprise. Her sugar-sweet lips were moving, while tears continuously flowed from her eyes, passing her chin and absorbing into her collar.

Shadows of pain were on her face. Did she feel his mother's suffering?

"Listen, hey girl..." Meer Ghori couldn't remember her name. He had only heard her name during the nikah. But at his call, no movement occurred in Zeesha's body, so Meer Ghori extended his hand, grabbed her arm, and shook her. Due to this, she jolted and suddenly opened her eyes wide. Opening those eyes felt as if everything had paused. Sardar Meer Ghori felt as if her enchanting eyes had bound his eyes to them, but it was just a matter of moments.

"What are you doing outside Maan Jaan's room?" Asked harshly, she straightened up in panic and pulled her dupatta up to her forehead, which had slipped more than halfway off her head. At Zeesha's action, more displeasure appeared on his face. He was her husband, yet she hesitated to reveal herself in front of him.

"I asked something..." His anger increased at her silence.

"I came to see Maan Jaan." She explained flustered.

"By standing outside like this?" At his deep sarcasm, her eyes lowered in shame.

"I cannot face her. Perhaps seeing me would increase her pain. Because of my brother, Maan Jaan lost her child. Thinking about this, it feels like my veins are being cut. A mountain has fallen on me. I cannot breathe freely. My heart is bursting with intense grief. A mother gives her blood for nine months to give birth to a child. Then she dedicates day and night to it. And in such a case, if a heartless person takes the life of that mother's beloved over a trivial fight, then it's as if doomsday has broken on that mother's heart." In an emotional tone, as she spoke, tears kept falling from her eyes. Sardar Meer Ghori was just silent. He wanted to trouble Bukht Dad and his killer son. He had no feelings in his heart for Zeesha either. He was so angry that he could have treated Zeesha in the worst way, but he couldn't become a beast for the girl standing in front.

"Keep your sympathy to yourself. She is my Maan Jaan. By doing such drama, you cannot prove yourself good." He snapped badly and uttered harsh words for her.

"I don't even want to prove myself in front of you. Because I am not your chosen wife but a woman who came as vani. Whose status and position has been well made known to me. These were just my emotions. Which I revealed and perhaps made a mistake." Meer Ghori's words had hurt her. That's why she spoke in a flat tone and quickly left from there, and he looked at her back with furious eyes.

"Now, what did I even say that hurt these respected lady so much? On top of that, she didn't even tell her name." Unaware of his own state, he got badly irritated.

...

As for your question: "Who all have read this complete novel?"

"Ishq-e-Mu'tabar Thehra" is still an **ongoing** novel on the FM Urdu Novels Channel (as of January 2026, episodes are up to around 88 and continuing). So, technically, no one has read the "complete" novel yet because it hasn't ended! Many readers/listeners are eagerly following it, though—it's quite popular for its intense forced marriage and vani theme. If you're enjoying it,