Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Hi

I thought i would post this to get some feedback, advice, some ideas and tips/suggestions. I will now get down to my problem. I am deeply interested in this girl who is 9 years younger to me. She is my bhabi’s younger cousin. My elder brother and bhabi got married in 2011, i saw my bhabi’s cousin for the first time back then, she was 17 year’s old at the time while i was 25-26 years old at the time. I had noticed her back then as well but unfortunately at that stage in my life i was suffering from a heart break over a rejection which took place when i was in
college in 2010 and i was also not really looking to settle down at that stage as i had plans to study further and to move to Canada.

My immigration visa came through in April 2012 for Canada, before i flew out to Canada, my parents briefly talked to me and encouraged me to consider getting engaged to someone before leaving for Canada for good. I was generally against the idea but i did take my bhabi’s cousin’s name back then. However my parents were off the opinion that the girl was too young, i also agreed with them besides i wasn’t seriously thinking about her that romantically at that stage.

So anyways i moved to Canada in April 2012 and embarked on a new life and journey. All my previous Academic degrees, qualification’s from my home country had no real standing and therefore i had no choice but to Academically start all over again in Canada. So i was busy studying and looking to establish a new career in Canada since then and time flew by.

By 2015, i had finished my studies at university, i managed to get into the economic system and started my career in Canada. It was during this stage that all the elders in my family i.e. Aunts, Uncles, Grand parents and my parents started to pressurize me that it was time that i needed to settle down. Unfortunately to my horror, i found out that all these Aunts, extended relatives of mine had strong vested interests and were mostly recommending girls in their families who were around 28-32 years old in Canada, US and had been struggling really badly for Rishta’s themselves for a while. To make things worse, they started to taunt and humiliate me as i rejected those options that i had aged out myself for an arranged marriage and that no parent would even bother to consider their beautiful 23-24 year old daughters for me and they kept feeding the crap message i.e. the best ones get taken early. To my horror i also saw that my parent’s weren’t being ambitious and aggressive and were only looking at girls in the family for me.

It was during this time period by the end of 2015 where i started to think about my Bhabi’s younger cousin again. I managed to find her online and i saw that she was now studying in University approaching her final year, she had grown up and looked even better than before and was 22-23 years old now. My feelings for her grew and i proceeded to add her online and she accepted my invitation.

Because she was my bhabi’s cousin, i strongly felt that going through the arranged marriage route i.e. my parents approaching her parents, elders would be the best approach. Unfortunately my parent’s did not like her parents and the family she generally came from because her father apparently drinks and has a history of womanizing, the mother likes to socialize a lot and there is apparently a history of Marital discord in her mother’s side of the family.

When i told my parents forcefully that i am really interested in this girl, they expressed their opposition but i still maintained my stance aggressively because only I knew how i felt about her. So anyways after i kept on insisting, my younger sister and parents told me that the girl was officially engaged, baat pakkied to someone.

I found that a little suspicious and too good to be true. So in order to get to the bottom of the matter and i didn’t find any evidence of any engagement.

She had 1500 plus friends. I finally took the inititiative and tried to chat with her online. It wasn’t easy, there were times she wouldn’t respond to me at all, other times she would respond to me slowly, but on one occassion when i did chat with her we chatted for half an hour but i ended up making the mistake of writing 8-10 messages in comparison to her 1-2 messages. I tried not to bombard her with tons of messages, i tried to send her a message after every 7-10 days and i would only send her one message. But my last three one line messages to her delivered on 3 different days with a gap of 3 weeks each went unanswered and that’s when i decided perhaps messaging her online will be a long shot and that

i am better off trying to pursue this officially through the arranged marriage route.

So i haven’t contacted her or sent her any message online for the last 7-8 months. I was also hearing that her parents were receiving rishta proposals for her at the same time from various different corners.

After a lot of hard work, effort and endeavour i finally managed to convince my parents to take my interest in her seriously and to pursue her for my sake.

Recently i managed to discover the following facts.

She has been in a steady relationship with a class fellow of hers for the last few years but she is facing sternest opposition from her father who does not like the boy and his family one bit. The last i heard was that her father was not willing to budge inspite of her best efforts to fight for the boy and to get him approved in her family.

I have 5 options in front of me

  1. To forget her and move on. This is not easy at all, i really genuinely like this girl and have liked her for the last 6-7 years. I do not fall for girls every day and therefore i realize the importance of what it means to me when i get that special feeling. Plus i don’t want to go into another relationship, arrangement with another girl while still thinking about this girl, as that would be extremely unfair to the other person. I feel it is still to early at this stage for me to give up just like that and i know i will not be able to forget about her that easily.

  2. To try and befriend her better online and to attract her, win her confidence and penetrate her shield. This is going to be very challenging, especially if she is in a steady relationship with somebody and trying very hard to fight for him in her family. Besides the online world is very fake, so many people online do not respond to messages, do not respond promptly or do not talk that openly. Also i realize i cannot be too fool hardy, careless or show any desperation. I have learn’t the hard way in the past that you cannot ambush a girl online just like that and that it has to be a slow gradual process.

  3. I could send my parents to her parents and elders to ask for her hand in marriage. While that was my original intention, for now this does not appear to be a very wise idea given the fact she is fighting very hard for the boy in her family and therefore she will reject any proposals received left, right and centre for the time being.

  4. She just might successfully be able to convince her parents especially her father and they might agree to her union with her classfellow. If this does happen, then fairplay to her, her happiness is my happiness, i will suck it up, dig deep and find a way to move on and this chapter will be closed

  5. It is equally possible that her parents especially her father will continue to refuse to accept the boy and she might eventually be resigned to the fact that it is just not happening and they both might decide to end things for good and move on. I mean if she does not get married to the boy, somebody else will marry her right? If my parents were to approach her parents, there is a chance they might accept and agree. I know people keep warning me that this is not a situation you want to get into, you do not want to be her rebound, she is going to resent you and take
    her frustrations out on you for losing the guy. But i have always been a gambler and risk taker in my life, i have always followed my heart, gut instinct on major life decisions. The fact that i personally really like her and have really liked her for a while should be a big plus for her and i will do my utmost and fully back myself to bring a smile to her face, happiness in her life, to help her be the best person she can be personally and professionally. Plus lets get real, it is very common now in Pakistan where girls date guys before marriage, they break up of their own accord or due to family dissaproval and then the girls get married to the guy their parents chose for them. I know of a few examples and these girls after marriage are like any other normal spouse with kids, happily married, i mean people eventually move on at the end of the day.

But the fact is that her parents are receiving Rishta proposals for her from all quarters as well which is perhaps why she might have told her parents about her relationship with her class fellow.

Based on the reality of the situation, i think i will need to follow an approach which combines 2 and 5.

This is where i really could use help from people in terms of feedback, tips, ideas, suggestions on this whole situation. Also tips,ideas on how to speak to her online, things to talk about, not talk about, messaging strategy, messaging frequency e.t.c

I will be grateful for your feedback and advice

Regards

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Tough situation, OP. You’ll get tons of opinions here but at the end of the day you need to trust your gut and make the best decision.

What makes you attracted to this girl? Does her personality enlighten you? Will she be a good wife/mother? Do you both have similar goals and vision for the future? If you have not even talked about this, and you like her so much, time to think about what it is that makes it difficult to consider others that may be a better match.

If I were you I would not invest in someone that was not interested in me. You can try to woo her through online convos but why waste your energy and time with someone who is deeply interested in someone else? You mentioned that it took you some time to get over a rejection you had in the past…unless you’ve learned to become more emotionally stronger, this consistent communication with her, which she is not reciprocating well might hurt you a lot.

Her father may very well not agree to her relationship with her classmate and you may have a chance but she will need time and space away from him, you and the situation to start considering someone else. So you will need to leave her alone. It’s a personal process and she needs to be mature enough to go through the emotions, grief and everything else in order to have a strong relationship with someone else.

One of my favourite quotes that I keep reminding myself is “Allah doesn’t always give us what we want but always gives us what we need”.

So have faith and what is yours will come to you with ease.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Never marry a girl who is in love with someone else. I could never understand the one sided obsession from a distance. People here take a long time to get to know the person they want to spend their life with. How could you possibly know anything about her?

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

PS you cant make someone love you because you will kiss the ground she walks on, there is something called chemistry and if she doesn’t have it for you then she doesn’t. Why would you have such low self esteem, I would not in a million years had married anyone who I wasn’t no 1 for. Seems really dodgy that you want to benefit from a grave injustice. Her father has absolutely no right to deny her.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

So from what I have read, you don’t really know her at all thus the feelings for her are purely based on physical attraction… well UFC2015 if she has been in a steady relationship with someone else for a while and has brought it to her parent’s attention then she clearly is very serious about this guy and is quite invested in him. If you feel so strongly about her from distance, imagine how she feels for the guy who she is in constant touch with and has been for quite some time? You may think you care about her so much but in reality, you have an easy way out.

However, if you are completely bent on pursuing this girl, few things to keep in mind.

1)- Strong feelings toward a person do not just disappear over night so if by some reason her relationship with the other guy does not work out, she will need a lot of time to figure out how to deal with it.

2)- You may get to know her and find out you guys are not compatible personality wise.

With the above in mind, take whatever route you see best. Good luck.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

i am a cinematographer by profession but I am giving you an advice based on my very personal experience so i hope it will definitely help you.

I covered a wedding of a boy few years ago and believe it or not his story was 110% exactly the same like your’s but in his case he took the big risk of getting married as well with his so called love (who was also his cousin). The father of that girl was also a drinker as well as a big criminal and even spent many years (like 5 years) in jail for kidnap for ransom and attempt of murders etc. But that guy was badly fallen in love with that girl so despite of all BIG and HEAVY criticism from ZAALIM SAMAJ he came to Lahore from Canada just to marry with that girl. Long story short just after few months when he sponsored his wife to canada he found that his Wife was still in touch (or madly in love) with her boyfriend in pakistan. The story did not ended up here. That boy came to know that his 'criminal minded father in law was trying to steal their property in pakistan by fraud and making forged documents.. he instantly divorced his wife on spot and even filed a case against her in canada which i don’t know but she was deported immediately and came back to pakistan by the help and expenses of pakistani embassy in canada.

i hope this real life story will open up your ears and eyes to take the right decisions in life. Good Luck!!

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Try to forget about her. Talk to a close friend, someone who is smart and has some relationship experience. That might help you figure out your feelings. The larki probably doesn’t even know you’re interested in her. Even if she did, there are hundred other people vying for her attention.

I don’t think it’s smart to marry someone who feels nothing for you. Plenty of girls out there, plenty who’d wanna be with you, she ain’t one and she ain’t worth it.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

From what I have read from your post, she hasn’t really given much indication that she is interested in you. You even know she likes someone and is serious enough about him to tell her parents about him, regardless of the opposition.

Please don’t ruin your life and hers by trying to persue a one-sided romance. You deserve someone who likes you, and she doesn’t deserve to be with someone she doesn’t want to be with.

Nip it in the bud now and look elsewhere. I promise you, you will get over her.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

I know what it’s like to obsess over someone from a distance. Unfortunately, you’re basing your love for this girl on that memory of her from when she was 17 and the first time you saw her. Your love for her, that image which your mind has made up of her is clouding your thoughts a bit because you aren’t seeing the reality of the situation. Do you think you’re in love with the memory of her from back then? She’s obviously very beautiful now but again you’re not seeing this girl’s personality and for what she really is but the physical beauty is drawing you to her. You know nothing about her. You keep hoping that she would eventually be yours regardless of all the red flags that are so loud that want you to see them.

She’s in a steady relationship with another guy, super red flag that she is not meant for you.
Your family members mentioned that she is already baat pakkied by another family.

These are all pretty huge red flags or flags that are saying that you need to see reality. I’m not saying you should marry the next person that says yes to your rishta inquiry because that would be foolish but change your routine, change your environment and surroundings so you aren’t in the habit of thinking about her the first in the morning and before you go to sleep at night. Experience new things in life so you see all this from another angle and at some point see the situation for what it really is.

You can’t force someone to love you. That would be one hellish marriage for you being with someone that reminds you everyday when you look into their eyes that they love someone else or more importantly that they never wanted to marry you. How crappy would that make you feel every day. Even if somehow your family gives her family a huge incentive to marry into your family, will that girl really give you the love you hoped for especially when she is pulled away from this other guy that she was in a steady relationship with?

Is it possible for you to talk to her in person or is that not allowed? Are they really conservative in that way? Something that would break this illusion your mind has made up about what she is like. Not everybody really sees texting, messaging as the best way to communicate so they send one word responses. Online messaging is not the route you should take because that would continue the same thinking of creating this image you have of her in your mind. Is there no way you can visit her family’s house?

You’ve wasted years, obsessing over someone else’s wife(eventually she’ll be some other guy’s wife, if she has never been meant for you). I know it’s really easy for us to type away saying “move on”, yes it’s so much easier said than done but there has to be something that needs to give you that jolt of reality so you won’t waste any more of your precious years trying to acquire someone’s heart that might not be meant for you. It’s classic unrequited love. You’ve created this idealized image of her.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Apologies if this comes across as harsh but what part of she likes someone else, to the extent she’s broached the subject of marrying him to her family (despite what they think of him) do you not understand? Your motivation to get to know her will only get you so far but it seems, from what you’ve written, that’s she just not that interested in you.

Go out, pursue your interests, have fun, meet people and you’ll hopefully meet a person who’s made for you in due course. Don’t waste your time. You’re a determined and motivated person who has achieved so much but finding a spouse isn’t an easy task bevxause it involves another living, breathing (hopefully), thinking human being.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Totally agree. You do NOT want to be someone’s second choice.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Well then there are still people who treat women as possessions rather than a person and if you own a goat what a goat wants is inconsequential.

Re: Advice and Tips needed for this situation

Have to agree with your last message @Bobby1