Believe! [Completed]

Chapter 19

From as far as the eyes looked, there was only darkness. It was past midnight and dark to the point that it was haunting her. The balcony she was so in love with as soon as she came here was now suffocating her. She stood there looking at the dark, quiet and cold Hunza. She didn't know for how long she stood there doing absolutely nothing. Just blankly staring at the night that had fallen on her, on her life and on the world.

She never had expectations or hopes from her life anyway, but she was a human being after all. Aariz entered her life, provoking her to hope for good, expect the better. His love was a breath of fresh air to her life. She had never dreamt of getting married to a man she loved and who loved her as well. And just as she thought it was working for her, something had to go wrong. So much was going through her mind, so many thoughts were colliding hinting at a storm that was brewing within her. But this was on the surface. On her face, there was nothing. No sign of pain, no sign of heartbreak nor the feeling of rejection. There was just nothingness.

Her phone started ringing and that was the only thing that brought her back to her surroundings. Dejected, she walked back inside the room and held her phone. The caller ID had made her feel some ease.

Faiz Bhai.

"Assalam o Alaikum."

"Walaikum Assalam, kaisi hai meri pyaari?"

She was silent for a good few moments. She was not okay but she couldn't worry her family so far away.

"Mein theek hun, ap sab kaise hain? Itni raat ko phone kia? Wahan sab theek hai?"

"Haan sab theek hai. Neend nahi arai thi, tumhari yaad buhat arai thi. Toh socha try karke deikhta hun shaed tum jaag rai ho. Aariz kaisa hai?"

"Theek hai, so raha hai."

"Oh chalo, phir mein subha phone karlunga. Tumhari awaaz hi sunnani thi, woh sun li. Tum bhi jao so jao."

She had closed her eyes as a lone tear rolled down her cheek.

"Allah Hafiz bhai."

She hung up and placed the phone back on the table. She stared at the empty room with her tired eyes. She had lied. Aariz was not in the room. He hadn't returned since that time. She was somewhat worried for him, she wanted to call and ask if he was okay. But she also couldn't. He left on his own, it wasn't her fault. He was not a child, he would return when he wanted to. Instead of laying on her side of the bed, she grabbed her chaddar and sat on the two-seater recliner and leaned to its side and closed her eyes as sleep crept in.

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Outside, he was sitting on the bench at the entrance of the hotel. Just like her, even his face was giving out nothing. There were some signs of shed tears, but they had dried up now. He was blankly staring between the trees and his hand where he was wearing his wedding ring. He had promised himself in his heart that he would never intimidate Minaal. All her life, she was controlled, dictated at, and caged in her father's world. The torture she had to go through because of Usman's kidnapping of hers was also in his mind. He was aware that she loved him, and she was happy to be married to him. But there was a part of Aariz who still didn't want to force Minaal on anything. It was these thoughts that caused his reaction to the earlier event. He knew he had hurt her, but he was blaming himself for violating the guard that he had built up to protect her from any form of his pressure or control.