It took Prem a long time apologize to Laila and even longer to convince her to not file a police complaint against Noor. While on one hand he couldn't believe Noor had just done what she did, on the other hand, he knew it was nothing compared to what she was capable of doing for him. He had asked Laila to casually mess with Noor, she had made the mistake of getting on her nerves. He had forgotten to emphasize how important it was for Laila to not only understand but also stay within her limits around Noor.
Noor's day at work was like any other. She did feel guilty for losing self-control and hurting Laila but put an end to it by reminding herself that woman was sleeping with her husband.
When she arrived home that evening, "Noor!" Prem's voice entered her ears like a blessing causing her heart and the designer purse in her hand to drop at once.
Freezing right in place, she took a hesitant turn towards him. He was seated in the living room next to Laila, who had a white bandage above her nose. Noor disliked even the idea of her, but she didn't matter in that moment because all her eyes could see was the man of her dreams as his call rang through her ears. Rushing over to him, she kneeled before him with her eyes filled to the brim before softly and with immense affection managing the words, "yes, baby."
He could tell his word had breathed life into Noor. Coming forward, he brought his face inches away from hers and whispered, "dance for me."
"Huh." Noor ended up saying out loud as she replayed his sentence in her mind.
"Dance for me." He repeated. "You see...Laila's a little hurt from this morning. On top of that, she's been bored at home all day...so why don't you go ahead and entertain her? It'll serve as your apology to her as well. I told her you're a great dancer and she wants to see. Right Laila?" He asked looking at her for confirmation.
"Yeah. Dance for me, Noor." Laila agreed in an authoritative tone spelling out revenge.
A single look from Noor's tear-filled and blood shot eyes spelled enough danger for Laila to reel back into her lane. However, that look, within a split second went from destructive to yearning as she faced Prem again. "Je aap nachave yaar tan nachna painda ae, rus jaave dildaar te nachana painda ae..." (If your love himself asks you to dance, then dance you must, if he ever gets upset with you, then dance you must). She stated in a pleased smile. "Peter!" She called out with her eyes still looking into Prem's, "bring me my ghungroos..." her voice broke as the tears in her eyes spilled out onto her cheeks. "I'm gonna dance..." She said almost excitedly. "I'm gonna dance because 'nachna je pe jai ban ghungroo, nach ke vi yaar manai da.'" (If I must dance with dancing bells on my feet, then that is what I will do to please my love.) She sniffled quoting yet another song about dancing to please a lover. "You keep that smile on your face and I will dance all night for you." She told him backing away and wiping her cheek to go prepare for it.
Within minutes, she stood before them ready to perform dressed in a plain white Anarkali suit with golden dancing bells at her feet. Setting the living room lights to dim, Prem took a sip out of the glass of liquor from the table before him and leaned back into the sofa to get comfortable.
Noor snapped her fingers and the soft humming at the beginning of the song she has chosen filled the air. "Pyar tera kare majboor sanam, wafa di te gal badi door sanam..." (Your love leaves me helpless, loyalty from you is a farfetched thought). She lip synced the beginning words of the song looking straight at him. Her feet were planted but she did smooth arm movements. "Qubool ae, qubool ae, qubool ae, meinu teri bewafai vi qubool ae. Fizool ae, fizool ae, fizool ae, meri tere bina zindagi fizool ae." (I accept, I accept, I accept, even your infidelity, I accept. It's a waste, a waste, a waste, my life without you is a waste.) Lip syncing the chorus and meaning every word of it, she broke into her first moves as the beat within the song dropped. She was graceful, she was mesmerizing. She flowed with the music as effortlessly as did the tears down her cheeks. Not only were her moves unique and flawlessly carried out, her transitions were smooth and her emotions were raw and forefront at every second of the routine. She gave life to every word of every lyric in the song, performing it to perfection. The sound of her ghungroos hit exactly at the beat and every hit appeared to be engrossing her further and further into her dance.
While most of the house staff had gone home for the evening, the remaining ones did not have the nerve to look on and see what was happening. It was Maria who walked out of the kitchen and saw Noor dancing and immediately found her eyes moist. Strange were the ways of god - a woman with a status and net worth hundreds of times greater than that of Laila, danced before her to provide entertainment all because she was asked to do so by the man she loves. She looked at Peter who stood with his head bowed and teary eyes. The prayers that escaped their mouths that night reached god himself.
Noor's dance continued as the song headed towards its end. Her forte had been powerful and smooth spins that she liked to finish each song off with. Deeply engrossed in her dance, as she prepared to launch into the spins, she momentarily lost her sense of space and ended up bumping in the table holding Prem's drink. She knocked the glass off of the table, shattering it all over the floor. Prem flinched as Noor took a step between the glass on the floor but held back to prevent the show of any other emotions. Noor paused for a second to examine what had happened. When she trailed her eyes over to Prem, she saw Laila's head resting on his shoulder, a sight that shattered her heart into more pieces than the glass on the floor. Without thinking once, she took a step, "Qubool ae, qubool ae, qubool ae," She told him as pieces of glass dug into the skin under her feet leaving everyone other than Prem visibly wincing in shock. "Meinu teri bewafai vi qubool ae." Tears of emotional and physical pain streamed down her cheeks as she began her spins without a care for the blood now oozing out of her feet. Prem watched on in his best impression of a face unaffected though he couldn't help but clench the armrest with one hand and the fabric of Laila's outfit with the other.
The first song came to an end and the second song in queue automatically began playing. As Noor's pain reached new heights, she could no longer stand upright. The words of the next song, however, were so fitting to her situation that she decided she will go on. "Teri akhiyan ch' noor kina saara, gallan ch' sukoon si sajana, meinu lagya Allah ne vaaj maari, bulaya meinu tu si sajna." (There is so much divine light in your eyes, and such immense peace in your words, that I thought God called out to me, but it was actually you.) Noor cried out loud as she lip synced the words and pointed to Prem at every move indicating she's speaking of him. The pain in her feet was no longer allowing her to be in rhythm but she attempted it nonetheless as the beat dropped. "Oh Jina soch na sake tu, ona pyar karde aa, teri gal hor ae sajna, assi tan tere pairan warge aa." (How much I love you is beyond the scope of your thinking, yet the thing about you is different, I only belong in your feet.) Finally, stumbling her dance towards Prem, she collapsed at his feet at the end of the following line, "Mere nede nede reh tu, teri minta karde aa, teri gal hor ae sajna, assi tan tere pairan warge aa." (Stay close to me, I beg of you, the thing about you is different, I only belong in your feet.) Seated on the floor before him, Noor placed her elbows on his knees as she looked up at him singing along the words of the song. Her tears pleading before him, expressing her regret, her guilt, her sorrow, her love to him.
Holding back every emotion, every expression, Prem stared down at her. He ignored the stabbing heartache in his chest and he ignored the overwhelming urge inside him to grab her, to kiss her, to hold her and to comfort her. All he did in that moment was remove her arms from his knees and get up. He watched the hope in her eyes crash as she further broke down putting her face in her hands. "Peter." He gestured once again for the first aid kit before looking at Laila and heading out with her.
Peter helped Noor to her room and treated her feet in his silently grieving state. Taking out each piece of glass one by one, he applied an antiseptic cream and wrapped her feet up in a bandage before giving her a painkiller and putting her to sleep. He stepped outside her room to find Prem leaned against the opposite wall in the hallway.
"How is she?" He asked softly. His eyes had traces of red as if he had been crying.
"She's fine. Just gave her a painkiller, she's sleeping now." Peter informed him.
"And...did anyone clean up downstairs?" Prem asked.
"No, sir. The cleaning staff is out right now, I had been busy with Mrs. Dhaliwal. I will get to it now." Peter replied.
"Yeah. Don't...worry about it." Prem told him. "Just leave it for a little bit."
"Yes, sir." Nodding obediently at Prem, Peter walked off.
Prem waited for Peter to turn the corner before quietly twisting the doorknob and entering Noor's dimly lit room. She slept peacefully on the edge of her king size bed in the middle of the large room. Tears fell out of his eyes as he spotted the white bandages wrapped around both of her feet. He took a seat on the floor next to her feet and cried silently recalling her words, her pain, her pleas, her love.
"Teri gal hor ae sajna, assi tan tere pairan warge aa." He whispered as he placed his forehead on her feet. Running his hands over the bandages on her feet, he gently kissed the bottom of each foot before resting his head next to her feet. He sat there dwelling in the moment for a while, admiring every inch of her from up close. The rhythm of her breathing, the curves of her body, her stunningly beautiful face, and more than everything her limitless love for him. She was willing to do anything under the sun to repent for the sin she had committed and win forgiveness from him. He couldn't help but plant a small kiss on her temple before leaving the room.
Arriving into the living room, Prem crashed onto the sofa staring ahead at the blood painted floor before him. Noor's dance, her yearning expressions flashed through his mind. The pieces of glass sat untouched on the floor. Prem looked at them for a couple more minutes before ultimately slipping the slides off his feet and stepping below. The first bits of glass pierced into the skin under his feet. He winced in pain, but his heart smiled as he recalled Noor's fearless steps on the same glass. He placed his other foot and applied pressure allowing the glass to sink into his feet. Closing his eyes, he took a step forward, Noor raced through his mind as tears ran down his cheeks. He took a couple more steps and looked down to gladly see the blood oozing out of his feet. He walked around on the glass until he covered the entire area Noor had stepped on finally came back to his slides and slipped his feet back in. He barely made it to his room before dropping onto his bed and calling for Peter. Sending Laila home for the night had been the correct decision.
"Sorry Peter. Your role of a nurse just doesn't seem to end today." Prem joked as Peter silently began working on his feet as well.
It took their feet a week to recover to the point that they could be walking again. Noor had found out Prem hurt himself after she went to sleep but Prem did everything in his power to avoid coming across her so there would be no confrontation. However, as soon as they recovered, it was life and work for them as regular.