Anyway, he kept me hanging and finally divorced me after 12 long months. Even our closest friends and well-wishers were of the opinion that a girl’s life is finished once she gets divorced. They told me no matter what happens, you must remain married to him. They said I should beg him to take me back.

This happened only 10 months after my dad passed away. The pain of his passing was still fresh when I was suddenly left here with nothing. I had been robbed, used and abused. He didn’t even return all my personal belongings from my house in England. I had a million things in my home, my dads only handwritten letter to me, my work contracts, my career files, my ID cards, my fancy shoes etc. I missed my friends and colleagues. There was no way back.

My mom and younger sister lived alone in Islamabad and were facing property cases as my mom’s in-laws had claimed on all my dad’s property including our home papa made for us. Yet my mother gave me full support and said she will help me in whatever I decide. She did not enforce any decision on me and left the decision in my hands.  Yet she always had full faith in Allah and never worried about how she will accommodate me within all the constraints she had.

Even in the worst of times, our home has always been a source of happiness and fun. During this time, we had a dog named Tessa who loved biting people in our neighbourhood. Mama said she is putting a board outside our house that says ‘Beware of the dog, widow and divorcee’. We had a good laugh.

Around the time of divorce, my life was an utter mess, my health was deteriorating as I had constant palpitations, stomach issues, lost 7 kgs, sleep disorder and sleepwalking issues. I just couldn’t stop my brain from thinking. I travelled between denial, shock and hatred. So I applied for jobs and started working for the first job that I was offered only to keep my mind off all this. If you are going through a divorce, the most important thing is to keep yourself busy around this time. You have to stop your mind from overthinking. It took me a while to find my identity as I had become a different person altogether. That man had made me change everything about myself. He never accepted me for who I was.

After the divorce, I never ever wanted to get married. I imagined myself as a single career woman forever and I was happy to think that. Initially, after the move back, I suffered in my career as changing countries always takes you many steps backward. I was now being paid nothing compared to my job in England. Two days after I was finally sent the divorce paper, my mother received a phone call for my informal proposal from our family friends. We actually could not believe it for the longest time.

They knew I was a divorcee; they were even there on my first marriage 6 years ago. How could they actually propose to me? He was so well qualified and Mashallah such a handsome young man with good values, degrees and career. As soon as my Iddat was over, I said yes and we got married after our engagement period.

It was a very gruelling decision to marry again. Much more difficult than first time as I had so much more at stake and I just couldn’t get myself to trust someone all over again. But thank God, my family introduced me to other girls who had gone through similar circumstances, and I prayed to Allah to make it easy for me. Allah made me fall in love with my husband just like a fairy tale Mashallah.

I can never thank those girls enough who actually changed my life by sharing their story with me, giving me hope and strength to move on happily and give it my all to this relationship. Special thanks to Nabila Chaudhry and Ayesha who helped me at the time when I was the weakest I have ever been. They shared their stories of struggle and how their 2nd marriages are so blissful. Thanks to my family who were my biggest strength at the most challenging time of my life. I would never have been where I am today if it wasn’t for all the support around me.

My best friends Aiza and Danish who were with me through my hardest times and helped me out with the unlimited arbitration council trips. This is the only reason I agreed to share my story on the blog today. I want to be a source of happiness and strength for those who are suffering today.

We have been happily married for over a year now Mashallah. He is the love of my life, the apple of my eye and most importantly a real man. He has never questioned me about my past. We do talk about it lightly and jokingly but we never stay in the past. He knows about his responsibilities and mine. He is everything I could ever ask for. He is really my angel.

He says he is so happy he married me and that he wants to write an article on how divorced women make better wives. He thinks I am mature and manage our home and relationship better than an innocent young girl could ever do. He is also surprised by my multitasking: how I manage it all at once. He has taught me what love actually means. The selfless meaning of love.

By being good to me, he has removed my belief that all men are materialistic, selfish and mean. I never believed in soulmates but now I do. Of course, we have tiny arguments on why the hoodie was not in its proper place but since our beliefs are the same, we are on the same page on most important things in life that really matter. I love my in-laws like anything and I know they love me too. It shows. I pray to Allah to always keep us this way. Inshallah.

No one has the right to make our lives miserable. I found contentment and my life has changed drastically. I am Mashallah happier than I have ever been in my life. In my last few years here, I have been painting, blogging, stamp collecting, travelling, making journals, enjoying time with my family, grandparents and family friends while keeping my full-time job. I work as and when I like, I am still a career woman. I have a really good job now Mashallah. My husband does not make decisions on how I spend my income and savings. My husband encourages my hobbies. We both go out for sports together every night after office. He goes for running and I play Tennis in the same club.

We both respect each other, give each other space and love each other in the true sense of the word. He doesn’t have any complexes nor has any hangups. He is down to earth and understanding. He is not controlling at all and gives me the freedom to do whatever I like. I’m back in touch with my family and friends. Everything has Mashallah turned out so well. It really is magical.

If you have faith in Allah, don’t think that your life has ended at divorce. Your knight in shining armor may only be a step away. There are still good men in the world who do not worry about marrying a divorcee nor a mature girl. They don’t care about the baggage and without a question are willing to propose to women like me.

Even if you don’t find a good man, your life has definitely not ended. You can easily work and live as a single woman. In case society doesn’t accept, just rent an apartment and hell with all that others say. It’s your own life and you have every right to live it the way you want happily.