It is not because the husband was secretly cruel.
It is not because the saas was a monster.
It is not because the bride was too modern, too traditional, too quiet, too loud.
It is because nobody had the conversations.
You have met your fiance four times.
Once with your father in the room.
Once at the engagement.
Twice on the phone, where you were both too nervous to say anything real.
You know his name.
You know his job title.
You know his sister's Instagram.
You do not know what he is like when he's tired.
You do not know what he does when his mother criticizes you.
You do not know what he expects from a wife.
You do not know what he assumes you have already agreed to just by saying qabool hai.
You will find out.
You will find out one assumption at a time, one fight at a time, one quiet evening at a time, for the next five years.
This is how good Pakistani girls end up sitting in their sasural at 4am wondering when they became someone they don't recognize.
Not because they were weak.
Because they were unprepared.