Khaani: Mera Dushman Mera Ishq

You grow through what you go through

Once Mir Hadi got to know the source of the video, he immediately flung himself into action. At first, he called a press conference revealing the exact timing of the footage and then apologised unequivocally to the public for his reckless behaviour. The reality of the video and Hadi's apology  calmed the public anger to an extent. 

Hadi spent the next few days going from one charity to another, ensuring the public knew that Sarim Khan wasn't the only one who was concerned about their well-being. Seeing this, Mir Shah and Sitara were extremely pleased, their son was coming onto his own; understanding the nuances of public sentiment and how to use them to his advantage. Mir Shah felt that if Hadi continued working like this, he will surely win over Sarim. Right now, Balochistan remained a tug of war between Sarim and Mir Hadi, where one had equal chance of defeating the other. 

Khaani's viral pictures had delivered a crushing blow to Sarim's popularity. However, he was recovering from it now, slowly but surely. He was regularly interacting with the public, sitting for interviews and attending news debates. Whenever he was quizzed about Khaani's pictures he was smart enough not to openly take sides but give a diplomatic answer. It was evident: Salman had trained him well. Moreover, Hadi's partying video and Khaani's exile from the public eye had helped people forget about the very pictures, they had been obsessing over a month back. 

Khaani, for her part, had turned  to her fashion designing to keep herself distracted from a number of unpleasant things around her: first, her own guilt of being the reason behind Sarim's possible defeat at the hands of Mir Hadi. Oh...how she wished she had shot him in his heart that night. It would have ended all her problems for once. Every time, she saw him on screen with that smug smile of his, she wanted to scratch his eyes out. So much of meticulous planning and precautions all down the drain! He barely suffered for a week because of her, while she was caged in this ivory tower because of him. Maybe, not literally. But her father still treated her like some war criminal and refused to take her calls while he and Sarim remained in Balochistan, her extended family treated her like dirt and kept taunting her at every chance they got. Nayeema aunty often defended her, but it was uneven fight which she often lost. Under such toxic circumstances, there remained a single source of delight. It was (Khaani felt almost embarrassed to admit) the letters and gifts from the stranger. She knew it was immature and maybe dangerous to entertain such thoughts but she couldn't help it. The letters were the only cure to her loneliness these days. 

She may be in her father's home - her home, but she was away from everyone and everything she loved and everyone who loved her. When the whole world, blamed her, abused her for some pictures that was unlawfully taken from her private social media account, there was someone, somewhere who supported her; who understood her and that's what touched her heart. These weren't letters from some crazed fan who had a crush on her and wanted to go on a date with her. Each and every letter she got after the first one, was about her, asking if she was okay, if she was taking too much stress over those pictures, reassuring her that this too shall pass. At face value, these words may feel trivial. But to Khaani, who couldn't spend a day without being subjected to hurtful remarks from her own flesh and blood, in a country whose culture and customs were too stifling for her, these words were her single source of comfort, making her look forward to these letters.

When she had first received the letter and cupcakes, she just thought it was some well meaning fan sending her their good thoughts. But now, she realised this person was no mere fan. When their letters started coming frequently, she checked the CCTV footage to see who it was, but it showed nothing out of the ordinary.  

"Bibiji",  came Yasmin's call accompanied by a knock, "Aapke liye kuch aaya hai". Khaani, who nodded expectantly. Yasmin softly placed the orchids and gift wrapped box with a letter attached on the bed.