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The living room buzzed with life as voices rang in the apartment, laughter filled the air as the man glared at the screen intently watching the eleven year old win over him.
A frown settled between his brows and groaned making the girl smirk at her victory. Haider gazed at the woman sitting before him watching as she stayed engrossed in her work. Her phone rang and she excused herself from the gathering making him look away from her retreating figure and turn his attention back to the girl who was already looking at him with raised eyebrows.
"So...." She asked making him raise his own eyebrows.
"So what?" He asked making Mihrimah roll her eyes lean back in her chair studying him intently.
"Are you going to only gaze at her like a failed lover or take a step further?" The child asked making him stare at her in shock before looking away feeling annoyed.
"I don't know what to do?" He admitted as the frustration settled in his tone making Mihrimah sit up straight.
"What's the problems?" She asked making him glance at her briefly before wondering if she'll be of any held at all.
"My grandmother won't allow this" he sighed making Mihrimah furrow her eyebrows.
"Why would she mind? Shouldn't she be happy that you're getting married?" She asked making Haider chuckle bitterly.
"She wants me to marry the girl of her choice and I said no, now she's tormenting Zaviyar to marry her" he frowned making Mihrimah gasp.
"Is Zavi uncle going to marry her?" She asked seeing her fantasies breaking.
"I really hope he doesn't. He considers her his mother and she... And she abuses that way too much" he kept mumbling not realizing the wide eyed child who was near tears.
"So.... What if he doesn't want to marry her?" She questioned feeling her heart beat rise with his silence.
"I....." He was about to start when the door flew open and in walked her mother who was furious.
"Is everything okay?" She asked getting up from her place but the woman walked straight to her room and locked the door.
"What happened?" Nuha walked in with a frown on her face as rubbed her temple.
Mihrimah shrugged making her turn to Haider who shook his head not knowing what happened, Nuha sighed feeling her heart get heavy with every second and all she needed was to cry to Ayat about everything that was happening. Haider noticed her foul mood and tried asking her for the reason but she only shook her head and dismissed everything.
"Mah, you should get to bed now. It's getting late anyways" Nuha spoke in a small voice making Mihrimah take the hint and nod her head before she hugged Haider goodbye once and went to her room.
"Is everything okay?" He asked making Nuha sigh and nod with slouched shoulders.
"Just a little overwhelmed by everything." She mumbled.
"What's going on?" He asked cupping her face as he forced her to make eye contact with him. Nuha opened her mouth to say something but closed it back shaking her head. Her arms rounded around his torso as she hid her face in his chest making his heart to pick up it's pace and he immediately wrapped his arms around her.
"Nuha?" He questioned caressing her hair.
"She's no more Haider" he heard a faint cry and his breath got caught in his throat.
"What? Who?" He asked pulling her back a little.
"I couldn't...." Her breath hitched as she's sobbed while he held her arms to keep her from falling to the ground "I couldn't save her" she sobbed making him gulp his anxiety down as he sat her down, his eyes caught movement in the corner and he found a now calmed Ayat standing in the doorway with a frown on her face.
"What's going on?" Her voice rang in the now silent room and Nuha's head snapped in her direction.
"Ayat" Nuha sobbed making the woman run to her side and hold her extended hand.
"What happened?" She asked embracing Nuha's trembling form.
"She... She's... She's go... Gone" Nuha hiccuped making Ayat frown at her broken state.
"I... I... p.... promised myself I'll save her... I.. failed" Nuha cried in her chest and Ayat frown dissolved into shock, her hands turned cold as she pulled Nuha's face back to stare in her eyes questioning her.
"Nuha?" She asked in a small voice indicating that she had caught the hint.
"She overdosed" Nuha sobbed making the man stare at the two girls in confusion. He caught the hint that someone close to them had departed from this world but... Who?
Ayat mumbled a prayer for Nuha's mother under her breath as she rubbed her back letting her friend wail at her shoulder.
"Can.." Ayat started but her voice cracked and she shook her head to clear her thoughts.
"Um... Haider can you... Like...." She was trying to find the words but her tongue didn't want to say something.
"Are you sure you don't need me here? Nuha...." He said taking the hint and nodding towards the hysteric woman.
"I'll take care of her, don't worry. I'll tell you everything later, but right now I have to take care of her" Ayat whispered softly as the woman in her arms had now gone quiet, her silent tears soaked Ayat's shirt, her own eyes teared as she tightened her hold around her.
How can life be so cruel to her friend? Just when her mother was starting to get better, just when Nuha had held onto hope of maybe having her mother back life took her away from her.
Haider left with uncertainty in his mind as his heart yearned to go back to her and comfort her but right now he knew only Ayat could handle her.
"I fucking failed" Nuha yelled pulling at her hair making Ayat to hold her hands and stop them from hurting her.
"If only I had been stern with her. If only I hadn't listened to her" she sobbed making Ayat gulp the lump in her throat down as her nose turned red and she wiped her own eyes.
"Nuha... Have patience jaan..." Ayat mumbled against her hair making Nuha fist her shirt and let her tears out.
"How?" Nuha asked brokenly, her brown eyes swelling with every minute, her face turned red and soaked with her tears. Ayat's lips quivered as she gazed into her friends eyes.
"I lost her Ayat" Nuha whispered as her tears came to a halt.
"No you didn't" Ayat said scooting closer to her.
"She's here Nuha" she said pointing to her heart "she'll always be a big part of your heart Nuha, maybe this was for her own good. She's in a better place now Nuha. This life was already a hell for her, don't you think? Living on the streets and I taking those deathtraps?"
Nuha listened to every word she said and let herself loose as she slumped in her place.
"I'm sorry mom" Nuha cried making Ayat stay mum beside her. Her own tears falling one after another, as her eyes wandered to Mihrimah's room to find her standing in the doorway wiping her own tears.
Nuha opened her eyes feeling smaller arms wrap themselves around her neck and pull her in a tight hug. A low sob raked her form as Nuha hugged her niece tightly.
"It'll be okay aunty Nuha" Mihrimah mumbled making Nuha nod against her neck.
"Maybe" she mumbled and soon Ayat wrapped her arms around her girls. That night the mother and daughter consoled their dearest for losing a loved one. So what the drugs took her mother's thinking away but everytime she would look Nuha with newfound happiness her heart would swell with delight even if it wasn't the one she was looking for.
Nuha slept under the influence of the sleeping pills while Ayat stayed awake running her fingers through her hair. Her eyes hazed as she gazed into oblivion with her own worries marking her mind.
"Miss Ayat Sukhera, am I correct?" A dominating voice spoke from behind her as she added sugar in her coffee. Her eyebrows furrowed at the familiar voice and she turned around only to have goosebumps rise on her body.
"İbrahim?" She questioned skeptically making the man smirk at her.
"How have you been dearest?" He asked stepping forward making her eyes him from top to bottom defensively. Standing her ground she stared into his eyes.
"Good." She's answered making him chuckle at the coldness marking her voice. Ibrahim raised a hand to push back the strand of her hair that had fallen on her face.
"Still as beautiful as ever, eh?" He mused letting his finger trace the outline of her heart shaped face. Ayat was quick to grab his wrist and shove it away making his smirk widen.
"How's your little munchkin? I heard she almost died" he said with a pause at the end "again?" He whispered making her tremble under her skin.
"Move" Ayat said in a clipped tone making him shake his head with a ridiculous pout on his face.
"Going so soon?" He frowned getting in her way making her roll her eyes and turn her piercing gaze back to him.
"Move. Out. Of. My. Way" she said pressing more on each word making the man chuckle, the dimple on his right cheek evident with his brown hair falling on his forehead. His hands stuffed in his pocket as he nodded and stepped aside.
Ayat's steps halted as the voice from behind recited her home address and she gulped turning to face him.
"What?" She asked making him shrug and shake his head without any aim.
"I was just confirming the address before I pay a visit" he said making her clench her jaw and walk away feeling her legs tremble in her boots.
Ibrahim was back.
And he knows where she lives.
She didn't realize when she fell a sleep but her eyes opened to her phone ringing, it was still late at night and her nerves came back looking at the name on the screen. Moving out of her room she answered Haider's call who's voice gave it away that he was worried.
"Is she okay?" He asked making Ayat hum in response.
"She's fine, her loss is too big to handle. She's currently sleeping though" she said making Haider nod and ask her what happened. Ayat was a little hesitant before but gave him a brief idea of what had happened and he mumbled prayers for Nuha's mother.
Her mind was running a marathon as she felt herself getting cold yet again at the sight of his pale green eyes. He was once the dearest to her but after what he did, his mere existence made her feel hatred of emense heights for him. If Micheal made her face the humiliation, Ibrahim was the cause of his outrage.
If now Micheal thought that Ayat had cheated on him, it was because Ibrahim abused their friendship. He caused a rift between the two, taking their arguments as a chance he struck them in the worst ways possible, because of him Micheal tried to kill his own child thinking of her to be someone else's.
Even if she had forgiven Micheal for all he did to her, she could never forget the things he said to her. They used to be such good friends but it all went wrong when Ibrahim misused is power that he got from his father being a tycoon.
Her eyes hazed as she felt herself shutting down, with a lazy yawn Ayat let go of the clutches of consciousness and slept next to the other two with Nuha in the middle and under the other two's arms.
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"Why are you doing this Zaviyar?" Kashaf Qureshi asked her grandson who had his head held down Infront of her. Her voice soft and concerned as she tried to make him understand what she wanted.
"Maa jaan..." Zaviyar started holding her hand, his youthful hands covering her frail ones with affection.
"I don't like her Maa jaan.... She's a child and she's not the kind of woman I want in my life." He tried explaining caressing her hand. "Please" he whispered.
"But I know you will only be happy with her" she spoke adamant making him lower his head on her hands feeling anger bile up inside him. His hold on her hands tightened which didn't go unnoticed by her.
"Was baba happy?" He questioned letting her hand go as he leaned back away from her. His question made her clench her jaw as he stared out of the french doors that over looked the garden.
His lips threatened to pull up in a smile as a memory of him, Ayat and Mihrimah flashed before his eyes. His hardened gaze softened a little before his grandmother spoke finally.
"Safeena couldn't keep him hap—" Kashaf was silenced by the way his head snapped to hers and he glared at her.
"You know why she couldn't keep him happy?" He asked making the woman match his glare.
"She just wasn't—"
"Who he loved" he finished her sentence and a deadly silence prevailed between them.
"Ofcourse he did, you're the proof—"
"Then why didn't he look back and ask of me, when I'm the proof of his love for my mother who he was forced to marry" he said making Kashaf gulp and look away with a stoic face.
"No Maa jaan. People who get married forcefully don't fall in love, they only wait for a way out and if by chance they have kids, they're not a sign of their love and if one of them dies, then what's more merrier than that." He said walking around the vast room with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Just like baba did as soon as mama died he escaped and hasn't returned yet." He said moving a hand outwards with a casual shrug, a bitter chuckled left his lips as his eyes turned to Kashaf who was not meeting his eyes. Her eyes teared as she remembered her only son.
"I've compromised alot for you Maa jaan, I married safeena because of you but now when life has given me another chance I'm not texting it again. I'm sorry but I can't do this anymore"
"Not everytime you can be right Maa jaan" he spoke lowly making Maa jaan wipe her tears and face get up from her place. She walked her way to him and turned him around.
"Is this how you'll repay me for all I've done for you? I raised you when your father left you" she yelled making him clench his jaw.
"I'll forever be grateful for what you've done for me. No one can take your place in my life Maa jaan but, i can't marry an innocent girl and ruin her life because of someone's happiness. I'll never be able to keep her happy" he said holding her shoulders and smiled brokenly before walking away. He stoped halfway through the living room and turned around.
"There's no doubt you love me Maa jaan, but sometimes you don't understand me at all." With those being his final words he left the room and went out of the house.
Maa jaan kept staring at the door and felt her anger taking the best of her as she stomped her foot and went to her room. Tears fell out of her eyes as she wept remembering her family, back when her Umair used to be with her.
She knew Umair didn't like safeena but if was what she had grown up with, marriages were fixed by the elders and so far she'd seen them work. Hers did. And now when her son was opposing her she couldn't understand it and here history was repeating itself.
Haider was never in her clutches as his father had always been a firm believer of such freedom, her being his mother couldn't do much but to accept it and before her demise there was one thing that was written on her face and that was contentment. Haider was the bold kid that held onto Zaviyar's hand when his confidence was at its lowest, he brought the timid Zaviyar out of his shell and even now some parts of his personality reflected Haider in them.
It was Haider who taught Zaviyar all of this, to talk and to stand up for himself and now that timid and obedient Zaviyar that she raised was gone, she didn't have her hold on this one. This Zaviyar didn't see things from her lense and it angered her.
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"How are you feeling?" Ayat asked gently as she brought the spoonful of soup to Nuha's lips.
"Fine I guess" the woman replied leaning her back swallowing the warm liquid.
"It'll get better Nuha" Ayat said rubbing her hand over hers making Nuha nod blankly.
Her fever wasn't coming down and it worrying Ayat to no extent, Mihrimah went back to her routine and school a few days back and now Ayat was taking off from work to pay attention to Nuha.
"Haider called" Ayat told her as she saw the woman nod, her tongue tied. This is how they had spent weeks and Nuha wasn't even trying to get better.
"What'd he say?" She asked making Ayat realize she never completed her sentence.
"Oh... Yes... He was asking if you're willing to go out today" she informed making Nuha take in a deep breath and look into Ayat's bright eyes. A smile pulled at her lips as she's saw the twinkle in her friend's eyes, she narrowed her eyes and Ayat raised her eyebrows in question.
"I'll see" Nuha said making Ayat grin at her and cup her face before she kissed her cheek.
"Love you" she mumbled against Nuha's shoulder she hugged her making the woman hug her tightly.
"I've taken out your outfit" Ayat said making Nuha frown at her.
"How'd you know I'd say yes?" She asked making Ayat smirk.
"I'm your friend, you've rejected his offer five times and I just knew you won't this time" she winked making chuckled briefly with a shake of her head.
"It must've been something really comfortable then" Nuha said making Ayat's smirk to widen and Nuha raised her eyebrows in question.
"He'll be here at seven"Ayat said making Nuha frown at her before shaking her head yet again and focusing her mind back on her grief.
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"What if this too early?" The anxious man asked his friend making Zaviyar roll his eyes and glare at him.
"It's almost been a year and I guess it's enough to know that" he deadpanned making Haider nod anxiously.
"Do you think she'll say yes? Is this even a right time?" Haider asked once before he could step out of the house.
"Yes.... To both questions" Zaviyar answered making Haider nod.
"Ayat knows?" Zaviyar asked making Haider nod.
"Her and her daughter as well" Haider replied.
"How long have they know this for?" Zaviyar asked with narrowed eyes.
"Two weeks—"
"You told me literally three days ago and you told them before me" Zaviyar gasped in shock making Haider's eyes go wide.
"I... I was about to tell yo—"
"You fucking traitor, you replaced me with those girls....." the man yelled running after his friend who got in his car and locked all the doors.
"I'm sorry" Haider yelled as he rolled down the window just a little.
"Get out of my sight" Zaviyar yelled stomping inside the house but he was happy that Haider was finally willing to take a step forward for his feelings.
Tonight depended on Nuha's one answer and he wished for it to be positive.
Assalamualikum guys how are you all?
So here an update.
hope you like it.
Comment and tell me how it is.
Enjoy.
Allah Hafiz.
Love
hafsa tahir