Fate

Chapter 5

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Bakhtu had been ordered to inform Anwar about Meerab after Murtasim had basically been kicked out of the room by the nurse when his wife's condition began to deteriorate.

Despite Anwar and Meerab's rocky relationship, Murtasim had noticed the effect of her sudden disappearance on his health. Worry lines and wrinkles had made a permanent home on his forehead and face and frustration seemed to be a new trait in his otherwise stoic personality. Loss of appetite was a whole other thing and it had caused him to not only lose weight but become so weak and sick that the doctor recommended constant bed rest and a proper diet until he got better. But it seemed that the only cure that would work and the only one that he was willing to accept, would be Meerab's return.

It wasn't until nearly two and a half hours later that the room to Meerab's private room suddenly opened and a panicky Anwar stumbled in, Meerab's name leaving his lips in a cry. Bakhtu had only managed to give him a mini summary of Meerab's deteriorating health upon his arrival when he rushed to her room not allowing Bakhtu to reveal the most vital piece of information about his newborn granddaughter.

Murtasim stood up at the sight of his father in-law walking in, looking distraught as his eyes landed on his daughter. He immediately sat by her side on the bed and let his tears fall uncontrollably at the state of his daughter, his hand coming up to caress her face with a fatherly affection.

His regret for giving up his daughter all those years ago was evident on his face. He had blamed her for the death of his wife; her own mother when she was just a baby. She had passed away during child birth and he had blamed Meerab for it ever since, refusing to accept her so Salma Begum had given her to Waqas and Anila to raise as their own and keep her real identity hidden from her until the time was right and with the promise that they would return her to the family when told.

As she grew up, became smarter, stronger, kinder and confident and Anwar Khan realised she was more like her mother than he had thought. She not only looked like her but she embodied her personality as well. Her feisty nature, impulsiveness, confidence, bold personality, sharp tongue, quick wit, her inability to follow orders until she was given a valid reason to do so along with her ability to care for everyone and the uncontrollable urge to help anyone in need; they were all traits Nadia Anwar Khan possessed, traits that he loved in his wife and his daughter had inherited. So with time Anwar had grown to be more accepting of her, welcoming her with open arms anytime she visited the Hyderabad mansion.

But sometime during all that, he had also learned to take her presence fore-granted. Even if they didn't live in the same house, he always knew she was safe under the care of Waqas and Anila. They kept him involved in all important decisions about her life and provided constant updates about her whereabouts.

So when she had left home 7 months ago in the middle of the night without a driver or maid and without informing anyone, everyone including him had immediately assumed she went back to Karachi, to the people she called her parents.

But when it was discovered that she never got there, that is when reality began to settle in for Anwar. Even though he had claimed to be her biological father when the time for her marriage to Murtasim came, he realised he had never really fulfilled any of his parental obligations to her.

He had only selfishly claimed her as his when it suited him, not when she needed him. And when she was nowhere to be found, he found himself being pulled into a never ending abyss of guilt and regret.

Had he attempted to fix things with her when they still had time, he probably wouldn't be sitting there crying by his nearly lifeless daughter's side on a hospital bed praying for her life.