ISHQ ZAAT

Epilogue

असीर-ए-मोहब्बत — اَسیرِمحبّت

𝐀𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐫-𝐞-𝐦𝐮𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐛𝐚𝐭: 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞
noun: Subdued by love; charmed or
captive of ardour.

بزمِ خیال میں تیرے حُسن کی شمع جل گئ
درد کا چاند بُجھ گیا، ہجر کی رات ڈھل گئ۔

𝗕𝗮𝘇𝗺 𝗲 𝗸𝗵𝗮𝘆𝗮𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗻 𝗸𝗶 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝗷𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝘆𝗶
𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗸𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗷𝗵 𝗴𝘆𝗮, 𝗵𝗶𝗷𝗿 𝗸𝗶 𝗿𝗮𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗮𝘆𝗶.

• • •

THE MISTRESS OF THE ROOM WAS STILL NOT SATISFIED BY THE FINAL TOUCHES; there seemed to be a need to add something that would further please the eye,

Even though the suggestion of simplistically demure grace was amply fulfilled. There was a hint of beauty, a graceful air wrapped around the girl's sylphlike frame.

With hasty yet anxious movements, petite fingers reached out for the kohl stick resting on the little wooden table.

Soon, Anabiya was gliding the inky stick through the base of her waterline all while keeping her eyes closed. Inwardly praying that it would help with the overall beautification.

Her perturbed state was mainly due to receiving the most anticipated news. The sense of eagerness was causing her to become all frivolous.

However, despite the gaiety, a slight pang hit the girl's heart as she thought of what had passed. The continual reminders did her no justice, there was simply no way out of them.

Only a little past 19 years of age —"lily-livered", almost her entire life — she still managed to suffer through the most painful of heartbreaks,

Also had managed to fall in love, and to have been purely and purely loved by her beloved in return.

Her beloved had mastered the art of vivid parade of affection. Even the thought of his words or him in general, resulted in a pretty red to mantle her pale cheeks.

This was why she wanted to make sure that she looked the same as she did months ago, lively and glowing, exactly what he'd desired before.

The girl was clueless to the fact that her mere presence was enough to fuel the man's life, as looks never held the rightful significance in the eyes those of Jalal Alam Shah's.

A ray of bright sunlight came marvelously shinning into and out of the dispersing storm-clouds, right through the large windows of the lal haveli and easily lit the girl's entire room in a soft vermillion light.

Consequently, now under the influence of the sharp light she could scrutinise her face's frame. This easily led to the ambiguity regarding the case of her makeup.

Amidst the frenzy, her eyes connected with the sharply moving hands of the long-case clock and she stopped her action midway.

With dreary despondency, Anabiya finally decided to leave the mirror's range. Her lack of skills in the beautifying affair as well as the shortage of time, discouraged her from doing more.

As the sunlight dimmed and another presence finally filled her room, "Aapi, aap ki tayaari complete hai?"

At first, in eager and feverish impressions, the girl concluded that they were finally leaving, she sent a beaming smile towards her younger sister, only to hear the next words,

"Wo actually ... thora aur delay hai!" Noor offered an sympathetic smile.

This revelation considerably disheartened Anabiya's spirits and she blew out air in a little irritation before moving towards her bed.

Even with an impatient frown formed on lips, Noor couldn't help but let the sight fill her system with awe. There was a distinct glow in Anabiya's cheeks and eyes today,

Clearly not in the harmony with all the sullen expressions she had held in the same face before.

A prayer left past Noor's lips for the permanence of her sister's happiness. "Aisi tayyari ko dekhnay kay baad, lagta hai jeeju aj bus jaan say hee jaye gay!" Noor mused.

Instinctively upon hearing the comment, Anabiya's face lowered as if to hide the flesh that crimsoned her cheeks. She failed in replying back as her women's heart gave way.

"Ohho, ab sharmanay ki tau koi baat nahi!" Noor chirped impetuously as she witnessed her sister's blush betray all the hidden feelings.

A short smile played on Anabiya's lips as she gained a little courage while lifting her face just to meet her sister's gaze, "Pata nahi kyun Noor, aaj bari shiddat say dil mein, khoobsurat lagnay ki chah paida hui hai!"

With a slightly heavy voice, the girl was evidently employing her failing strength in holding herself from convulsing into tears.

An almost pained smile formed on Noor's lips upon hearing the words and she immediately moved forward to engulf her sister in a warm hug. "Kyun nahi, ab tau waisay bhi saari umar issi tarah tayyariyon mein hee guzray gi aapki, aapi!"

Her comment caused bundles of peace to settle in Anabiya's heart.

She returned a grateful smile towards her sister and soon both of them indulged in their regular chatter. It wasn't long till Noor's phone beeped with a message notification.

The younger girl's eyebrows squinted in confusion right after reading the text. She paused talking midway just to further focus upon the message.

"Nooray? Sab theek na?" Anabiya asked in urgency. Her heartbeat effortlessly raised.

Hearing her sister's worried voice made Noor turn towards her, "J-Jee Aapi, Daryab nay koi zaroori baat karni hai!" The girl shared with visible hesitancy.

"Oh acha acha, Noor tum lala say baat karo na? apnay ghar bhi mujhay itnay ziada kaam hain, hamain jaldi nikalna chahiye!"

"Jee aap fikar mat karay, mein baat karti hun aapi!" Noor reassured her sister.

Anabiya was about to ask further upon the matter but Noor had already left by then, leaving behind a deeply perplexed Anabiya, all alone to herself once again.

The girl was already aware of the dark clouds of misfortune that had taken over the haveli. There was a simple yet homely pathos in the events that had taken place within only few days time.

This easily enlisted her sympathy, she knew how everyone's heart clung over the head of the family and keeping his deteriorating health in mind, touched her deeply.

Taking in a prolonged breath, she prayed for her grandparents wellbeing before finally getting up from her bed to walk across the room.

In no time, Anabiya found herself standing in front of an partly open wooden wardrobe. Her fingers reached out for the little brown bag securely placed in one corner.

Within a few calculative movements, the girl had unwrapped the velvet pouch out of the brown bag.

There were tiny ribbons lightly tightened in a small knot on one end of the velvet pouch and upon unwinding the ribbons, a visually stunning box came to her sight.

It held a matte recess in contrast to the gold pearlescent covering over the exterior of the box. The brand's name in an minimalistic writing was engraved over one side of the box.

This classical combination was enough to scream about the height of expensiveness the item was surely worth of.

To this day, Anabiya still found it difficult to become familiarised with the type of luxury her husband was used to living with.

The thick gold chain looked undeniably beautiful but the girl's vision was zeroed elsewhere.

A particular part of the jewelry piece to be more specific, the cursive Urdu letterings right in the middle of the chain,

"جلال عالم شاہ"

Thin fingers traced each of the delicate letterings in their own accord and in no time, warm butterflies started fluttering in the pits of her belly.

"Kya aap waqaye mujh say khafa nahi?" Anabiya voiced in a soft little protest as if still finding it hard to believe.

It hadn't taken the girl much to put two and two together, the jewellery was sent by the man to her in order to evoke some kind of sentiment.

It felt as if, because he was aware of her distraught nature more than anyone else and with her not even bothering to switch on her phone,

He decided upon sending his name chain to her,

The man wanted her to know; that whatever situation it may be, he would always want her to remain connected to his name.

There was nothing else in the bag, no note or anything to further confirm the cryptically sent jewellery and so, Anabiya moved away from the range of the wardrobe to look for her phone.

The search for the phone wasn't very long and as soon as it came into her hands, she wasted no time while going straight to the last messages sent by the man,

"Anabiya meri jaan, sirf ek dafa call utha kar bata do kay tum theek ho? ... hamaray darmayan tau sab theek hai na? Bakhuda tumhari yeh la talluqi mujhay bohut takleef dey rahi hai!"

The girl's hands became clammy under the influence of the sweat formed and she had to force her trembling fingers to move as she swiped towards the next text,

"Sau tumnay waqaye maan liya kay mein tumsay badzan hun? Kya kehnay hain aapkay begum!

Ek mein hee pagal hun jo tum pey diwaana-waar jazbaat nichawar kartay huay thakta nahi, warna tumnay tau meri muhabbat ko har baar parakhnay ki qasam uthayi hai!"

Anabiya immediately blinked away the suddenly arising blur ahead of her vision and paused. A second passed by and a little giggle left past her lips.

It felt as if all of her stress had vanished into the thin air. Even while being upset, his impudence while confessing love hadn't diminished one bit.

As much as cynical it sounded, she had manage to find pleasure in the knowing that the man was very evidently vexed.

That too in profusion.

Eventually ceasing her little laughs, Anabiya finally placed her phone aside. His distressed state wasn't a big of an inconvenience as convincing him to become resilient was an easy task,

What mattered solely was his take upon the situation.

His trust over her hadn't faltered. He was still the same Jalal Shah who was infatuated with her.

"Thank you" whispered Anabiya with a soft smile. He had no idea how much honored he'd just made her feel.

Within the bounds of femininity in every woman; hides an exceedingly need to become wanted, trusted and loved unconditionally. The undeniable truth behind her flesh-and-blood.

To have an unwavering shelter to take refuge upon. To have a man whose heart is always soft for you, the one who easily understands the intricacy behind the vulnerable emotions of a woman.

Coming through a stage where her heart had once been broken, crushed and trampled into the mire, she had kind of lost wishing for love.

After being betrothed to a man like Batoor for over a week, even the thought of marriage seemed like a mockery to her, something she'd never wished to entertain.

Truth be told, she had always been naturally reserved in regard to her feelings, passions and patience, But regardless of her complexities,

Love found her in the most unexpected part of her life.

Early yet true and potent in its form. In fact, now she had someone who she truly desired with all the might of her heart. Her husband.

Amidst her passionate outburst of emotions, Anabiya directed innumerable thanks to her lord for bestowing her upon with someone who made her feel worthy and of importance, in his as well her own eyes.

Shaking herself out of the love-stricken trance, Anabiya carefully unlocked the hook of the chain and allowed it to settle upon her slender neck.

She finally felt pretty in real terms.

The item clasped around her neck felt heavy yet extremely significant. It made her realize that she took pride while wearing his name as the need to display it to the eyes of the world was immense,

But as much as she truly wished for it, the chain was eventually going to hide under the veil of her chadar. A content smile graced her lightly crimsoned lips over the thought.

The girl took a hold of the heavy gold letterings of his name like the one who is sinking, and kissed it while bedewing it with her single teardrop.

He was finally coming home.

نِگاہ و دِل کو قرار کیسا، نشاطِ و غم میں کمی کہاں کی،
وہ جب ملے ہیں تو اُن سے ہر بار کی ہے اُلفت نئے سِرے سے۔

𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘩-𝘰-𝘥𝘪𝘭 𝘬𝘰 𝘲𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘬𝘦𝘴𝘢,
𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘵-𝘰-𝘨𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘬𝘦𝘦,
𝘞𝘰 𝘫𝘢𝘣 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺
𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘬𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘺.

❏ ❏ ❏

The man was on a call when he saw Noor hurriedly make her way inside the mardaan khaana.

"Daryab sab kheryat?"

Her question made Daryab Khan end his phone call and turn towards her with his undivided attention. "Nahi Dil, kuch theek nahi hai!

Itni bari azmaish aan giri hai ham sab pey. Samajh nahi aarahi kay Baba ko iss sab say kesay door karu ga?" The man shared the reason of his anxiety.

Noor immediately moved forward to settle down next to him on the sofa."Aap kyun itna stress ley rahay hain Daryab? Taya jaan say iss sab baaray mein baat karay aur please khud ko tau relax karay!"

"Kesay relax karu? Tum khud batao, relax karnay ka waqt chorra hee kahan hai Baba nay hamaray liye?

Pehlay hee pichlay parchay ka masla baki tha, aur ab baba nay mazeed dushmani mol lee!" Daryab Khan exasperated.

Noor took in a deep breath, not at all knowing how to calm the man. It wasn't something she could control.

Placing a comforting hand over his shoulder, she gave him a light squeeze. The contact simultaneously relaxed Daryab Khan a little and he grabbed her hand and engulf it in his own.

"Gharwalon mein say kisi nay kuch pucha tau nahi?" The man inquired rather softly this time.

"Nahi nahi, kisi nay kuch bhi nahi pucha. Ami aur tayi jaan, kitchen mein din kay khanay ki tayyari kar rahi hain aur Anna, Anadil kay sath khelnay mein masroof hain." Noor assured him with a gentle smile.

"Aur Anabiya? Uss nay kuch pucha?" He put forward another question.

"Nahi Daryab, lekin aapi kab say uper tayyar bethi hain, baat baat pey unko taalna mujhay bilkul bhi munasib nahi lag raha!" Noor shared with a considerably sad voice this time.

Daryab Khan took in a deep breath and lowered his head a little, truly in a vanquished state this time.

"Mujhay jirgay kay liye dair horahi hai abhi mujhay nikalna hoga, baad mein hospital bhi jaana hai,

iskay baad hee mein kuch soch sakuga iss maamlay kay baaray mein!"

Noor pursed her lips together but nevertheless affirmed him with a single nod before the man finally got up to leave the mardaan khana.

As much as Daryab Khan despised feudal politics, his presence at the jirgah was mandatory.

Now, since his grandfather's presence wasn't possible, his father—Tawfeeq Khan suggested for him to lead the tribal meeting.

The drive towards the khan dera wasn't a very long one and soon he was welcomed with a sight of countless of men already present

As expected, a crowd of middle aged to old men was settled upon different sofas and all of those sofas were lined in a way that they faced a single charpai, placed right in middle.

Tawfeeq Khan was also present amongst the rest of the men.

Ignoring the questioning stares, Daryab Khan sauntered his way towards the main charpai. His father took his presence as a cue to get up as well.

Tawfeeq Khan's hands firmly held onto the lungee as he started making his way towards his son. The chatter of the crowd was immediately ceased as the men observed the spectacle intently.

Tawfeeq Khan carefully placed the lungee atop of his son's head and moved back slightly to take a second while savoring the moment of pride.

Wearing a deep brown colored waskit over the starched white kurta shalwar and now with the addition of the lungee over the headgear, Daryab Khan undoubtedly looked like a true tribal leader.

Seeing his father's eyes glimmer with tears of pride made Daryab Khan swallow down the bile and avert his head to the side.

This took the rest of the men all by clear shock as they hadn't expected such an hasty decision from the family of Haji Agha Zaeem Khan.

But despite all the prestige, the man wasn't a willing participant of this arrangement.

Only a single thought kept on ringing in his head that this position had to be passed down to his chacha not him

Not even his father, as Tawfeeq Khan hadn't ever hinted any interest regarding the tribal or business matters.

Realizing the situation's intricacy made Daryab Khan close his eyes momentarily and try blocking the rest of his senses as well just to solely focus upon supplicating towards Allah.

He wanted to make sure that things would turn out to be smooth and in his favor.

Right after the getting done with the brief dua, Daryab Khan cleared his throat to finally commence the jirgah. "Assalam u Elikum, zama roona!" [Peace be upon you, my brothers!]

His confident voice cut the silence short and soon his Salam was replied back with countless of Salams in return.

The pathan men might've been taken off guard by the younger pathan's presence but nevertheless, they respected the position currently occupied by Daryab Khan.

"Ma tasoo tul dalta yaou zaroori khabarai la ra jama karee yayee" [I have gathered you all here today to discuss something very important.]

The men continued remaining mute as if intently waiting for an proper explanation. However their relaxed composures soon proved out to be short lived

Amidst the absolute silence, the roaring voice of SUV engines filled up the atmosphere. Consequently, this noise resulted in the men getting up from their respective places just to look for the the loudly arriving guests.

The SUVs were three in total; two white Pajero's lead by a black Range Rover.

This certain intervention even made Daryab Khan halt his speech just to motion his guards to allow the cars for entering the dera's premises.

Dimmed murmurs broke out among the men as they became curious about the guests whereas Daryab Khan continued holding an impassive expression transfixed on his face as if already had been expecting the arrival.

As soon as the vehicles were parked in their rightful places, a number of guards swiftly got out of the white Pajeros and on cue the driver's seat of the Range Rover was pushed open as well.

To much of the pathan men's fury, the Sardar finally made his presence known to everyone.

Taking off the black sunglasses, the man finally got out of his Range Rover. With his Kameez's sleeves rolled up-to sleeves and the first three collar buttons open, the man looked like his very old same self.

The audacious lazy smirk fixed over his lips maddened the rest of the audience to the maximum.

Jalal Alam Shah with his usual rigid demeanour yet dominating strides, very casually started his walk. His armed guards had been quick at clearing the whole path just so that Jalal Shah could make his way straight towards where Daryab Khan stood awaiting.

"Yeh kya tamasha hai Tawfeeq Khan?!" A man eventually gained a little courage to show repulsiveness regarding the matter but could only manage to direct the question towards Tawfeeq Khan

But as soon as Jalal Shah neared, the crowd's noise instantly died down.

The pointed stares didn't faze the man or even Daryab Khan, who easily chose to ignore the audience and embrace Jalal Shah in a brief yet warm hug.

"Mujhay daawat denay kay liye shukriya, Daryab Khan!" The deep magnetic voice was as sharp as ever.

Jalal Shah moved back after thanking Daryab Khan's for the invitation before finally settling upon the the charpai which Daryab Khan was to alone settle upon.

Daryab Khan shook his head over the action but a short smile kept on playing on his lips as he lowered himself to sit right next the man.

"Jalal Shah ki aamad nay aaj kay jirgah ko muqammal kar diya hai! Mein khush hun kay meray bhai nay mujhay aaj sab kay saamnay mayoos nahi kiya!" Daryab Khan announced loudly.

Jalal Shah eased himself by relaxing his leg over another and placing both of his arms over them. Even though the brute of a man hadn't bothered replying, the dark glint fixated in his coal eyes was enough to announce his inclination upon the matter.

"Baba ki na saaz tabiyat, sab kay ilm mein hai. Ham sab unki sehat ki behtari kay liye dua-go hain,

Lekin jo kuch bhi uss roz hua; Mehaz jazbaat say liye gaye ghalat faislon ki bina pey hua. Mujhay yeh kehnay mein zara si bhi dikkat mehsoos nahi ho gi kay uss waqiye ko, nahi hona chahiye tha!"

As if on instant, whispers broke out amongst the crowd, everyone was disappointed in Daryab Khan's decision to openly betray his grandfather.

Jalal Shah remained quiet while keenly observing the audience's reaction.

"Daryab Khan, wo hamaray azeez hain, hamaray buzurg hain, ham unki ghair maujoodgi mein bhi unkay khilaaf nahi jaa saktay." The words were spoke with clear resentment.

The aged man's declaration was backed by numerous of others. They all proved out to be headstrong regarding the matter.

Seeing Daryab Khan's head lower a little was enough to spike the man's rage to an heated limit,

"Hairat hai, Kya yeh tum logon ka Sardar nahi?" Jalal Shah couldn't stop himself from bellowing. The words were dripping malice to a threatening level.

"Khuda gawah hai kay Sardar Jalal Alam Shah ki panjaiyat mein aur uskay diye gaye har faislay pey, aj tak kissi nay sar kham na karnay ki jurrat nahi kee!" He roared out so loud that his voice was heard all across the vast land.

The murmurs stopped as if on impulse, they were all stunned by the knowledge of such an strict admission.

Daryab Khan was equally taken back by Jalal's take upon the matter, though he couldn't find himself to think of this as a lie. He was very much aware of the man's temperament.

"Aisi har gaz koi baat nahi hai Daryab Khan! Aur tum jaantay ho kay tum jo bhi hukam karo gay, Ham log teh dil say iss jirgay kay tamaam faislon kay paaband rahay gay!

Ham nay tau bus tumhara Haji Sahab kay amal ko "ghalti" kehna na pasand kiya hai!" Another man spoke out this time, not at all wanting the same treatment from their chieftain.

A smile threatened to fall on Daryab Khan's lips but he chose to keep it away by calling out once again, "Agar issi shiddat pasand tasalsal ko ham logon nay mazeed qaim rakha, tau ham log bus kuch hee arsay mein sab say qatah talluq hojaye gay

Mein kesay tum sab pey waazay kar du kay yeh jhagray aur nafratein hamaray mustaqbil kay liye behtar nahi?!"

With a slight tilt to his head, Jalal Shah stroked his moustache upwards as if daring for anyone to refute.

"Jo kuch hamaray bhai Akhtar Gul kay sath hua, wo na qabil e qubool hai, phir jo Gulzaman Khan nay sakhti kay beej boye, aakhir kya haasil hua iss sab say? Bajaye zalaalat kay, kuch bhi nahi!

Mein aaj aur abhi hee tum sab pey wazeh kar dena chahta hun kay ainda baad, baba kay sab faraiz, mein Daryab Khan saranjaam dunga!

Tau jo meri raza hogi, behtari issi mein hai kay wo tum sab ki bhi ban jaye!" Daryab Khan cleared out everything once and for all.

"Daryab Khan, magar jo meri beti-" The father of Durkhanayi hesitated while speaking but the rest of his request was dimmed in between as Daryab Khan heard furious under breath retort coming from beside him, "Saala haraamzaada, ab baap ban'na yad aaya hai iss madarch** ko!"

Daryab Khan was relieved of his short tempered friend's decision to not speak of this loud

and at the same time truly thankful as well of Jalal Shah for respecting the Pathan tribal traditions by keeping aside his status and giving Daryab alone the power of taking all the decisions.

"Durkhanayi kay munh bolay bhai honay ki hesiyat say mein ab khud usski zindagi kay tamaam faislay khud lunga, aur mein nahi chahta kay ainda baad wo tum ya Gulzaman Khan jaison kay hath wapis lagay!" Daryab Khan didn't hesitate while glaring at the man.

"Aap sab ko batata chalu, Durkhanayi nay Jalal Shah ko maaf kar denay ki bhi haami bhari hai aur mujhay yaqeen hai ab Jalal Shah kay case ko khatam honay mein sirf kuch hee dair baki hai!" He shared the information with everyone.

Everyone's eyes widened on cue and they started looking at each with shock plastered on their faces.

"Daryab Khan, hamain sab baatein qubool hain, magar jo intishar iss Sardar ki wajah say phela hai wo kesay bhool jaye ham sab? Ham logon nay pehlay bhi bataya tha, ab bhi bol rahay hain; iss Sardar ki aamad hamaray liye bohut nuqsaanday sabit hui hai!"

An respectable elder called out very calmly all while keeping his point forward.

This caused Jalal Shah to tense a little as algorithm of a man's pride wasn't lost on him. He was aware of what was being hinted at.

With his eyes focused on no point in particular he tried thinking upon the matter. He did spend a lot on the lands and his house and the construction of his dera at the pathan village.

Jalal Shah did manage to meet a lot new people including Daryab Khan and also the light of his life—his wife,

but he realised that it was about time he finally left.

Keeping in mind his own village's problems. It was time he finally took control over his forsaken responsibilities.

Daryab Khan remained quiet as well, equally perplexed. It seemed as if he himself was giving Jalal Shah time to think openly upon the matter.

As if he realised the cost of what was being asked for.

"Mujhay manzoor hai!" And Jalal Shah had made up his mind without even having to think much.

Daryab Khan wasn't willing in the situation but there wasn't a way out of this messy problem. "Meinay apnay gaaon wapis jaanay ka iraada kar liya hai!" Jalal Shah continued elaborating further.

"Lekin meri biwi ka khandaan yehi maujood hai, uskay abu ki qabar yahan maujood hai, tau mein chahu ga kay ussay yahan aanay pey koi rukawat paish na aye! Beshak mujh akelay pey paabandi musallat hee kyun na kar dee gayi ho!"

Daryab Khan instantly turned his head aside to look at the man. The way the man made sure to not want any restrictions imposed over Anabiya had taken everyone by surprise.

"J-jaisay yeh chahay" the older man who had spoken before lowered his head after hearing Jalal Shah's request. Clearly speechless at such an authoritarian man to be such fond of his wife.

Daryab Khan's tensed shoulders eased ultimately as he was very well aware that there was nothing belittling for a man to publicly show concern over his wife

and that he couldn't expect nothing less from a man who had openly embraced enmity just to show that he was man enough to fight for a woman till the end.

"Tumhay apni biwi kay sath puri ijazat hogi yahan rihaish kee Jalal Shah, Haan lekin mustaqil rihaish kee nahi!"

The Pathan finally called out and made sure to add a little humour at which everyone including Jalal Shah let out a little laugh, this had easily submersed the tense atmosphere.

Thus the crowd's struggle was finally put to an with the conclusion of Jalal Shah finally taking his leave from the lands of Pathan.

And the when everyone came forward for musafah with Jalal Shah, the man didn't allow his smile to waver one bit even while meeting the ones who earlier had been bent on slandering him.

The men started decreasing in number by leaving the dera and so Jalal Shah and Daryab Khan finally found time to converse with each other. Looking at the very prominent red blotch visible beneath the man's starched white Kameez, Daryab Khan was the first one to speak,

"Jalal tumhari aamad pey mein waqaye bohut khush hun. Mujhay umeed nahi thi kay jo kuch hua, uss sab kay baad bhi tum yahan ham sab kay darmayan maujood hogay" He spoke in a little dimmed volume, not wanting anyone else to be a part of their conversation.

"Jo kuch hua uss sab mein tumhara koi qusoor nahi tha Daryab, aur waisay bhi aj tumhara bara din hai, mujhay tau laga kay shayad tumsay jirgay ki sarbarahi akelay sambhaalnay nahi hogi, lekin chalo ... khair!" Jalal Shah feigned a little mockery.

A little chuckle broke out from Daryab Khan as he took off his lungee to finally set it aside.

"Tum nahi sudhar saktay!" The Pathan spoke with a shake to his head and a newly formed smile on his lips.

Looking at the pathan's content expression lightened Jalal Shah's heart as well. He had always wished for Daryab's peace.

"Tumharay Baba ki sehat ab kesi hai?" Jalal Shah inquired in an genuinely concerned voice this time as thought slid into his mind, "Theek hain, khatray say bahir nahi hain lekin doctors pur umeed hai!"

With a slight nod of his head, the man averted his gaze to look elsewhere,

Even by thinking about the eventful day at court was enough for Jalal Shah to take a trip down the memory lane and start sending tons of thanks to Allah for miraculously easing his way.

In a series of unbelievable events, Haji Agha Zaeem Khan shot a fire at Jalal Shah, the one that went piercing through his arm and consequently resulting in absolute chaos.

The police guards already present to maintain the court's order started barking out commands for Zaeem Khan to stop the fire at once but this hadn't fazed the older chieftain as he shot once again at Jalal Shah, this time straight to his abdomen.

By the time the third shot was about to make itself through the air, the guards had already started forcing Agha Zaeem Khan to the ground which resulted in the third shot being fired as well but this time, accidentally go penetrating through Zaeem khan's chest.

His struggle had resulted in him getting shot and falling unconscious right after the single impact.

Daryab Khan immediately started shouting out at his guards to take both of the injured men to the hospital and to much of Jalal Shah's surprise,

throughout the journey to the hospital the man remained conscious and couldn't find himself hurt to an extremity instead, it was too bearable.

The doctors informed the audience that the second bullet shot at Jalal Shah could've easily result in a fatality except, it missed him.

This was due to Hassan's last minute decision to hand him the pistol belt on time and him wearing it immediately resulted in the second bullet to miraculously get stuck into the belt.

Verily Allah grants life and health to whomsoever he wishes for. Thanking Allah for blessing him life, Jalal Shah finally got out of his memory train as he saw Hassan make his way towards them.

"Saeen gaaon kay liye kab tak niklay gay ham?" Hassan had arrived at the dera soon after getting the knowledge of Jalal Shah's whereabouts.

"Daryab, iss say milay ho?" Jalal Shah responded back with a different topic instead as he included Daryab Khan into their conversation.

"Haan bhai, jaanta hun mein Hassan ko!" Daryab Khan became a bit surprised by the sudden introduction. He was fully aware of every guard and help of Jalal Shah.

"Arey nahi yar, meri behen ka shohar hai!" Much to Hassan's shock, Jalal Shah disclosed the news with a hearty chuckle.

"Kya waqaye? Falak ka shohar?" Daryab Khan turned around to look at Hassan in a different light now. He was aware of Jalal Shah's only younger sister and the surprise after receiving such a revelation was quite in abundance.

"Haan na, behnoyi ban gya hai yeh mera! 100 feesad yaqeen hai mujhay kay yeh hamesha meri behen ka khayal rakhay ga. Ussay khush rakhay ga saari umar, jaanta tau hai hee yeh meray mizaaj ko!"

The man spoke with an almost meaningful laugh this time while placing a thumping pat over Hassan's shoulders and Hassan gulped a little, fully intimidated.

Daryab Khan bit back a smile but played along as well. "Haan bhaye Jalal, baat tau tumhari bilkul drust hai!"

"Chal sahi hai, mera intezar kar mein aaraha hun. Phir baat kartay hain!" Jalal Shah informed Hassan who nodded before finally taking a very eager leave.

As he'd left Daryab Khan let out a much suppressed laughter. "Khawamkhwa dubaa raha hai tu becharay ko!"

"Kya karu, majboori hai!" Jalal Shah spoke while keeping his eyes transfixed on the retreating back of Hassan.

"Chal sahi hai phir Daryab, mein chalta hun, ek do zaroori kaam nibtaanay hain. Phir chakkar lagaunga teri taraf!" He was still meaning to ask the Pathan regarding Anabiya but couldn't bring himself to ask about her.

Badar Shah had truly turned him ashamed in front of Daryab Khan's eyes. He was about to leave when a sudden thought forbade him from doing so,

"Daryab kuch maangna chaahu ga, Haan agar tumhari ijazat maujood ho tau!" The man finally initiated the conversation he'd been wanting to discuss for a while now.

Seeing Daryab Khan nod to this made it all easier him, "Ab jo tumnay Durkhanayi kay munh bolay bhai ban' ay kee zimedaari utha hee lee hai tau mein chahta hun kay apnay Haider kay liye uska hath maang lu!" He presented his wish with obvious seriousness.

Daryab Khan's eyes widened on accord but he easily recovered from it, "Durkhanayi akelay nahi hai Jalal Shah; Zamurad ki bhi puri zimedaari uthaani parhay gi Haider ko!"

"Haan bilkul, dekho Daryab tum jaantay ho kay mujhay bohut hee ziada azeez hain meray sab larkay, kal jab Haider nay apni khuwahish ka izhaar kiya tau sach bataun tau mujh say raha nahi gya kay kab tum say iss sab kay mutalliq puch lu,

Bus Ab agar Durkhanayi ki qubooliyat shamil ho tau mujhay nahi lagta hamain zarra si dair karni chahiye, aur tumhay batata chalu, mein apnay larkon kay kirdaar ki zamanat khud leta hun!" Jalal Shah wanted to make sure his request didn't go to waste.

"Sahi hai, agar aisa hai tau meri puri koshish hogi kay Durkhanayi ko samjhaun, agar wo maan gayi tau theek, nahi tau phir Haider say maazrat kar lena meri taraf say!"

Unknowingly, Daryab Khan felt a bit of comfort to settle in his heart as he realised that there weren't any ill emotions present in Jalal Shah's heart regarding Anabiya or Haider even.

Jalal Shah sent a grateful look towards him and placed a single pat over Daryab's arm before moving past him and that was when Daryab Khan called him once again, "Jalal?"

Turning around, the man raised a brow, "Mujhay khushi hogi agar tum Anabiya ko wapis nikkah mein ley lo, haan lekin iss baar uskay gharwalon ki razamandi ki shamooliyat kay sath!" He didn't hesitate while putting forward his request as well.

And upon hearing the words, a large grateful smile formed on Jalal Shah's lips.

شامِ فراق اب نہ پوچھ آئ اور آکے ٹل گئ
دِل تھا کہ پھر بہل گیا، جاں تھی کہ پھر سنبھل گئ۔

𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘮-𝘦-𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘲 𝘢𝘣 𝘯𝘢 𝘱𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘪 𝘢𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘢 𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘪,
𝘥𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘺𝘢, 𝘫𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘦 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘳 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘢𝘺𝘪.

❏ ❏ ❏

The man was now driving his way towards his own dera.

He was more than eager to get over with his duties and place his car towards the Haveli's direction. The need to meet Anabiya was profound.

Upon her mention, a quick mental image of the girl's face chose to slide to his mind and the man's heartbeat effortlessly raised a little.

Wanting to relieve himself from the altruistic feeling of his love, Jalal Shah's spare hand moved towards the car's stereo system and in no time he was swiping through the large screen just to browse through the playlist having tons of ghazals and qawwalis,

As soon as the soothing voice of harmonium, shortly followed by Faiz Ali Faiz's vocals filled the car's atmosphere, he relaxed back to his seat with a smile

Bhool sakta nahi, dil mera muhabbat teri,
Aj jo kuch bhi hun mein, yeh hai inaayat teri
Dekh kar tujhko, dekh kar tujhko,
mein gham dil kay, bhula deta hun

♪♫♪♫

Tum nay nigah-e-shauq say dil jagmaga diya
Mein kya tha aur tunay mujhay kya bana diya,
Dekh kar tujhko mein gham dil kay, bhula deta hun

The events of the past whole year started playing in his mind and the siren's voice rang through his head, "Mujhay bus mera shohar chahiye, apnay paas chahiye, mein nahi reh sakti aap kay begair!"

Her usual vulnerability was audibly evident through the broken voice.

Just by hearing the plea, he wanted to erase all the distances at once. The need to give her everything that she'd desire or wish for came naturally to him.

Then came in her consistent detachment or the need for her to isolate herself from him. He wondered often times how easily she'd manage to unlink herself from him

Because for him, even the thought of separation from Anabiya was nothing less than a torture.

"Meri muhabbat uss muqaam mein hai jahan sab ko risayi haasil nahi, hataa kay meray mehboob ko bhi nahi!" He let out a humourless chuckle after his own words.

It felt that his Allah was aware that nothing could hurt him more than the separation from Anabiya and right after getting her, he had somewhat lost valuing her,

Of course no one realises the true value and worth of relations until they've been completely removed. So now, it wouldn't have been a lie if said that after his case, he'd started valuing Anabiya, more.

The man was fully aware that he'd become diseased beyond cure in the illness known as ishq.

Khud hee badal gya mera mahol-e-zindagi,
Jab meray astaan pey tunay sar jhuka diya
Dekh kar tujhko mein gham dil kay, bhula deta hun
Raat din tujhko mein jeenay ki dua deta hun

Jalal Shah kept on allowing the music to elevate his heart till he finally reached the large iron gates of his dera.

As soon as he got out, he saw Akbar hurry his way towards him, "Saeen ek bohut buri khabar hai!" Akbar seemed almost as if out of breath.

"Kya?" Jalal Shah became tensed all of a sudden.

"Saeen w-wo, Badar Saeen gaon wapis jaa rahay thay kay rastay mein kuch logon nay unhay ghair liya, abhi kuch hee dair pehlay unhay hospital shift kiya gya hai. Mein tau najaanay kab say aapko call bhi kar raha tha!"

"Haan wo ... jirgay mein masroof tha mein!" Jalal Shah spoke a little differently this time, "Kuch pata chala kaun thay wo log?"

"Nahi Saeen, Munawar Saeen kuch hee dair pehlay aaye thay. Darasal Badar Saeen ko khoon ki zaroorat thi, meinay 2-3 larkon ko bhijwa diya. Munawar Saeen nay yeh bhi bataya hai kay Police ko inform kar diya hai hadsay ki tehqeeq karwanay kay liye!" Akbar informed.

"Chal yeh tau achi baat hai. Acha mein hospital kay liye nikalta hun, unko meri zaroorat hogi!" Jalal Shah responded back before motioning his guards once again to ready the vehicles.

The ride to the hospital was of a short one and he had barely made it till the floor's hallway when Badar Shah's younger brother rushed towards him, "Jalal Bhai, yeh kya hogya?" Munawar Shah was trying to find comfort out of the desolute condition through the next head of his family.

"Himmat karo Munawar, sab theek hojaye ga. Yeh jis ka bhi kaam hai, ussay aisay hee nahi jaanay dega Jalal Shah!" The man placed a promising pat over his cousin's shoulder before walking towards the doctor who was standing nearby.

"Ab kesi tabiyat hai Badar Saeen kee?" He inquired with seriousness.

"Jee Sardar Sahab, zakham tau bohut gehray aye hain lekin Allah ka shukar hai kay unhay hosh barwaqt aagya warna coma mein bhi jaa saktay thay!" The doctor explained.

Sending an understanding nod towards the doctor, Jalal Shah started asking out more questions regarding Badar Shah's health and after gaining the acquired knowledge, he finally moved towards the patient's room.

A weeping Fehmida was sitting on the sofa along with her two sons and upon Jalal Shah's arrival, both Saim and Daim came rushing towards him to engulf their chachu in a hug "Chachu!"

"Kya hogya hai meray sher beton ko? Iss mein ronay kee kya baat hai ... bahadur bano! Baba jald hee theek hojaye gay!" He kissed the cheeks of nephews and kept them tightly close to himself for a few seconds before finally pulling away.

"Badar Saeen, yeh kesay hua?" The man now moved towards to bed where a very brutally battered Badar Shah laid, mutely observing his surroundings.

"Payi jaan, pata nahi kiski nazar lag gayi hai meray ghar ko, hassi khushi ham sab wapis gaon jaarahay thay aur achanak say itna bara hadsa hogya!" Fehmida croaked out whilst crying.

"Sabar karo bharjayi, bachay aur aap logon ko tau koi nuqsan nahi pohncha? Aap log Badar Saeen kay sath gari mein maujood thay kya?" Jalal Shah placed a hand over his sister in law's head and directed a question once again,

Seeing the man's gaze momentary focus upon Badar Shah made Fehmida blurt out a reply, "Wo bol nahi paarahay, doctor Sahab nay bataya hai kay munh itna zakhami hua hai kay bolnay mein bhi takleef pohnch rahi hai inhay!" She hiccuped before continuing once again

"Ham log jee dusri gari mein thay; unhon nay aatay sath hee Badar Sahab ko dono drivers samaid gari mein daala aur faraar hogaye!"

Jalal Shah blew out air and ran a hand through his face in frustration, "Kitni dafa samjhaya hai kay itnay saaray guards sab kay tahaffuz kay liye hee rakhay hain meinay, kyun har baar akelay nikal jaatay hain aap log?!"

His angry voice made Fehmida immediately cower back to the sofa and lower her head to continue crying to herself once again. Shaking his head at their carelessness, he now moved towards the injured man who had been observing him intently for a while now.

Noticing his pointed look made Jalal Shah smile and settle down in the empty space present on the bed, "Badar Saeen, aap fikar mat karay. Aapkay gharwalay meri zimedaari hain, ab aap bus jaldi say sehatyab hojaye!" There was a fierce flame in the man's eyes as he spoke with a hint of inner meaning to his words

And a few tears filled Badar Shah's eyes. All of a sudden the older man was desperately trying to forcing his hands together in front of Jalal Shah as if pleading,

"Arey yeh kya kar rahay hain aap!" Jalal Shah added in a little humourless chuckle before lowering his cousin's raised hands.

He moved his face closer till Badar Shah could hear the venomously whispered out words next to his ears, "Kaha tha na meinay, uss larki kay peechay apni zaat tau khatam kar sakta hun. Magar uss say kabhi badgumaan nahi ho sakta!" Badar Shah's eyes widened in shock but with his condition, he couldn't do anything but continue lying mutely still.

Getting up to his full height, the man raised his head high and threw a sharp look to Badar Shah who in return easily ciphered the message.

before finally taking his leave

Munawar had been anxiously waiting for Jalal Shah out in the hallwahy and as soon as he saw Jalal Shah come out of the room, he leaped towards him.

"Jalal bhai, police ko shamil karnay ki kya zaroorat hai? Ham khud hee unn admiyon ko dhoondh nikaal kar unhay marwa nahi saktay kya?" His blood was clearly kicking in,

And as someone who was already aware of Munawar's impulsive nature, replied back with a glare. "Hosh mein tau ho tum larkay? Mujhay bahir niklay huay ek din pura nahi hua aur tu chahta hai key teray peechay mein wapis unhi purani beghairtiyo pey utar aun?!"

His rumbling growl forced Munawar to lower his head in embarrassment. "Ainda baad mein aisi bakwas na suno, samjhe?" He continued lashing at the younger man.

"J-Jee b-bhai!" Munawwar became a stuttering mess.

"Hmm, ab yeh bata mujhay; kisi pey shak hai kay nahi?" Jalal Shah inquired very calmly this time, the tone from earlier long gone.

"J-Jalal Bhai, kuch arsa pehlay hamari mulaqaat hui thi kuch logon say Zameen ki karobari kay silsilay mein, unn logon nay kaghzaat muqammal na honay pey kafi dhamkiyan wagera bhi dee thi,

mujhay lagta hai unhon nay hee Badar Bhai ko aghwa karwaya hoga!" Munawar informed whatever came to his knowledge.

"Zameen ki khareed o farokht kay silsilay mein mulaqaat hui thi kya? Aur kis Zameen kee deal done hui thi?" Jalal Shah was already aware about whose lands had the brothers been selling but couldn't help himself but question.

Sweat beads started forming on Munawar's forehead and a shiver left past his tall frame, "W-Wo .. bhai ko maloom hoga, aap unhi say puchiye ga!"

Jalal Shah didn't pressed on the matter further and decided to give the shaking man some leverage by leaving himself. His fingers were quick to dial in a few digits as soon he neared his car. "Haan Haider, sab kher kheryat say hogya tha na?"

"Jee bhai, unnko pata tau nahi chala lekin mujhay shak parh raha hai kay Badar Bhai nay kaarkhanay ko pehnchan liya tha!" Haider informed.

A dark laugh reverberated from the man as he eased against his sleek vehicle, "Pata hai ussay, baray achay tareeqay say pata hai Badar Shah ko kay jo kuch uskay sath hua hai usskay peechay kiska hath hai. Haan lekin fikar mat kar, munh nahi kholay ga kabhi!" He added in with a cunning glint to his eyes.

"Bus phir Saeen, sab theek hai!" Haider was finally relieved now.

"Ab bus aisa kar kay Amjad aur uskay ghar kay sab mardon pey 365 ka parcha katwa aayi, mein chahta hun kay wo sab haraami bhi jail ki sair kar aye!" He laughed while giving the reference of the people Munawar talked about before;

The ones who bought Jalal Shah's lands through Badar Shah.

"Aur Haan, Tu bhi ab tayyari pakar, haami jald hee milnay wali hai tujhay!" And it didn't take much for Haider to understand what the man was trying to suggest but couldn't bring himself to say anything in awkwardness.

A little smile formed upon Jalal's lips as he ended the call.

He had been happiest when Haider put forward the interest in marrying Durkhanayi. Having known him for plenty of years, he was aware that it was about time since Haider remarried.

The man was about to enter his car when he saw his nephews hurriedly make their way towards him. "Arey, tum dono akelay kyun aye ho? Munawar chachu kidhar hain?" He was furious at the carelessness of Munawar.

"Munawar Chachu call pey hain, Jalal Chachu ham aapkay sath ghar chalay jaye? h-ham nay mama say permission bhi lee hai." Daim asked with a bit hesitance.

The man could see the innocence was visible on the faces of children who were hardly 9 years old. The selfishness of the elders couldn't possibly serve as a basis of judging children.

One of his guard came out of the other car to ask him about the children, "Saeen aap haveli jaye gay, inhay ham kothi tak khud chor aatay hain"

Although this suited according to Jalal Shah's preference but seeing the boys become nervous all of a sudden did something to his heart. They were a part of his own blood after all.

"Nahi, mein apnay beton ko sath lekar jaunga!" The man bent down to gently caress one of his nephew's cheek. This made the kids smile so widely that Jalal Shah couldn't help but let out a little chuckle as well.

Ushering the two inside the car and onto the passenger's seat, Jalal Shah finally took the driver's seat to begin the ride.

Taking a quick glance to his side, the man couldn't help but think deeply upon the situation.

"Wo banda shayad ab theek say paon pey khara bhi nahi ho payega, inn masoom bachon ka kya qusoor tha iss sab mein Jalal Alam?" His conscience reminded him of his doings like it always did whenever he whenever he lost control over his anger issues.

"Tau meri biwi ka kya qusoor jo uskay kirdar ki dhajjiyan ura kar ussay ghar say nikaal diya gya?" His stubborn nature however couldn't ever allow him to regret his actions. He had mentally countered his own self within an instant.

"Usool sab kay liye ek hee hain meray, chahay wo apnay khoon kay liye hee kyun na ho,

aur waisay bhi ... sakhti say khabardaar kiya tha uss shaks ko iss dushmani ko nibhaana sab kay buss ki baat nahi!"

He lightly punched the steering wheel in turmoil. He wanted to regret what he'd done just for the sake of his nieces and nephews but this was all going in vain, his decisive nature remained firm. Even a pacifist has a limit of restraint.

Taking a few deep breaths, he tried pushing back all the thoughts and easily succeeded in doing so. "Saim, bachay aapki behnay kidhar hain?" He inquired gently, "Chachu, Khala kay ghar hain." the boy was quick to respond back.

"Bhalla aisay kabhi koi behno ko akelay chorta bhi hai kya? Behno aur Ammi ka tau bohut khayal rakha jaata hai. Unko hamesha pyar diya jaata hai!" Jalal Shah made sure to teach them in a tender manner.

The man was aware that softness with children always the right away to gain their attention.
And as he'd expected, both of them started nodding their heads in understanding.

They hadn't expected something like this from Jalal Shah as they'd always taken him to be similar to their father, as by being his cousin,

Yet the men were different when it came to the treatment of women. With lowered heads and somewhat ashamed expressions, Daim and Saim chose to not reply back.

Sensing their discomfort, the man called out once again, "Acha wapis ghar jaanay say pehlay abhi Chachu rastay say apnay beton ko acha sa khana khilaye ga, phir yahan say ham thori dair kay liye chachi ki taraf jaye gay, sahi hai na?"

He asked in a light manner and the twins became happy with the knowledge of spending more time with him.

Seeing them become comfortable unknowingly put the man's heart in a little ease.

He would've eventually forgiven Badar Shah's wrongdoings but as soon as he found out that Badar had rebuked Anabiya, he knew that there was simply zero chance of forgiveness or compromises.

For Anabiya he could cross limits as this emotion wasn't even in his control. He was simply helpless.

تمہارا ہجر منایا تو میں اکیلا تھا،
جنون نے ہشر اٹھایا تو میں اکیلا تھا۔

یہ کہاں سے آئ ہے آخر تیری طلب مجھ میں؟
مجھے خدا نے بنایا تو میں اکیلا تھا۔

𝘛𝘶𝘮𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘩𝘪𝘫𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢
𝘫𝘶𝘯𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘯𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘳 𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢

?𝘠𝘦𝘩 𝘬𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘺𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘢𝘬𝘩𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘣 𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯
𝘮𝘶𝘫𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘩𝘶𝘥𝘢 𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘺𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢

. . .

The nikkah was commenced and gotten over with in no time

And right after it, all of the women of the haveli except Anna decided upon leaving for Anabiya's place.

The moment Anabiya stepped inside the white marbled mansion, a different kind of euphoria wrapped itself around her frame. There was a different type of sense emitting from every corner of her home.

This had to do mostly with the deep and boisterous laugh coming from the drawing room that momentarily had her shelled on spot. Hearing him sound this near felt almost otherworldly.

Despite being a part of the total of three residents living in the mansion, the girl now understood how incomplete it felt before, clearly had been lacking it's owner's presence.

Cutting the meetings short, Noor and Benazir decided to help Anabiya with the food preparations whereas her mother and Tayi became busy at instructing the maids for the overall cleaning of the mansion.

Soon, Falak joined the girls as well. Although she couldn't do much work because of the post delivery pain but did make sure to provide the girls with whatever little help she could provide easily.

In about the next three hours, the ladies were finally done with their duties.

Anabiya was busy making tea for the newly arrived guests. The number of men coming to meet Jalal Shah had actually started irritating Anabiya now. She would get over making refreshments for a few of them when she'd get the message of new guests.

She had forced the rest of the ladies including the maids, out of the kitchen, but now when the rest actually got busy while being indulged in a chatter outside, she had started to regret her decision.

Suddenly, Noor rushed inside the kitchen to hurry her way towards Anabiya, "Api jaldi chalay aapko kuch dikhana hai!" Her fervid eagerness was ignored by Anabiya who handed her a strainer instead.

"Yeh lo, ab chai daalo taakay mein bhi bahir jaun" She spoke in a little irate tone. "Offo issay choray aap aur meray sath chalay!" Noor was as stubborn as ever as she ignored Anabiya's protests and started dragging her towards the large windows of the kitchen.

"Noor agar kisi nay dekh liya ham dono ko tau kitna ajeeb lagega!" Anabiya anxiously whispered to her sister who was busy closing the kitchen lights just to lightly pull back the curtains for a better peeking view. "Shush, ab koi nahi dekhay ga."

Looking at where her younger was sister was pointing at, Anabiya shifted her gaze towards the garden as well. There were countless of men along with guards taking a normal stroll.

The setting seemed normal till Anabiya finally understood the reason for Noor's excitement. The visible large bars of the steel cage.

The shiny and sleek hair over the black panther looked majestic under the moonlight. "Jeeju ka panther!" Noor turned towards her with eyes filled with awe.

Anabiya couldn't help herself but allowing a smile to settle upon her lips as well as she observed the proud walk of the panther as it eyed everyone while taking a casually arrogant a stroll in its spacious cage.

The animal undoubtedly suited its owner.

"Haan ... Sheru" Anabiya spoke in an trancelike state while keeping her gaze fixed over the scarily large animal. It felt like all the stress was lifted away off of her shoulders

Falak was standing next to the drawing room's glass doors while waiting for Hassan. Hassan showed up right after receiving her call, "Jee?" He questioned his wife. "Hassan, inn sabko bolo kay uthay, mujhay apnay bhai say milna hai!" She replied back very coolly.

Hassan was slightly taken back by the command, "Aap theek tau hai? Matlab mein unnkay mehmaano ko jaakar uthnay ka bol du sirf kyunkay unki behen ko milna hai iss liye?"

"Please na? Itni dair hogayi hai, acha mujhay sirf thori dair kay liye milna hai, agar tum unnko jaakay khud bol do? ya aisa karo, Nayel ko ley jao, bhai waisay bhi bachon kay sath kafi attached hain dekhna khud hee sab ko jaanay ka bol dey gay!" Falak chirped out a quick suggestion.

Hassan could only shake his head at her delusional ideas. "Abhi jaye aur thora sa aur itezar kar lay, khawa mkhawa khud bhi daant khaye gi aur mujhay bhi sab kay saamnay beizzat karwaye gi!"

Falak immediately moved forward to lightly slap his chest and arm, "Had darjay kay tum badtameez aur aur darpok insan ho!" "Arey" He saw her angrily stomp away and a smile formed on his face before he left for the drawing room once again.

About an hour later,

the large glass doors of the drawing room were finally pushed open and Hassan quickly called Falak who hurried towards him, "Chalay, bula rahay hain aap sab ko!" He informed her with a smile.

The girl's face glimmered with all the happiness present and quickly pushing Nayel to his father's arms, she rushed past him.

After meetings numerous of different people who'd come to congratulate him over his case, Jalal Shah finally ordered his men to inform all the ones who further wished to meet him, to visit him tomorrow at his own dera back in his village.

The man was drinking his tea when he saw his sister enter the almost empty room. "Bhai!" Falak immediately embraced him in a hug, this made Jalal Shah let out a little chuckle and place his teacup aside to wrap his arms around his sister, "Bhai ki jaan" He placed a kiss over her head.

Falak smiled in contentment while continue laying her head over his chest. Hassan entered with Nayel in his arms and Jalal Shah called him over as well, "Bus yar ab mujhay apnay bhanjay say milna hai!" He jokingly pushed away Falak to make room for Nayel.

"Masha'Allah, oye mamu ka sher!" He smiled at Nayel while holding him in his arms and the baby was looking at him with wide eyes filled with wonder.

"Shareef baap ki tau koi qadar hee nahi tumaharay sahabzaaday ki nazar mein aur dekho kesay tumharay gangster jaisay dikhtay bhai ko dekh dekh kar smile pass kar raha hai!" Hassan whisper complained to his wife.

"Kya bola tumnay meray bhai ko?!" Falak replied back in a harsh whisper as well, "Mazaaq kar raha hun baby, relax" Hassan quickly responded back, fully aware that Falak wouldn't refrain from complaining about it to her brother.

Placing a kiss over Nayel's forehead, Jalal Shah told Falak to take him from his arms. As soon as the child was taken away, the man took out a few bundles of money to place it over Nayel. Hassan tried protesting but Falak was quick to step in between. "It's okay" she mouthed him.

"Waisay bhai, itnay say bachay ko kya samajh hogi inn paison ki" She spoke in an light atmosphere. "Sirf 2 lakh hain aur yeh iskay mamu ki khushi mein diye gaye paisay hain. Aqeeqay ka kab tak ka iraada hai Hassan?"

"Saeen wo bus walimay kay liye bhi ammi nay gaon mein khaana khilwa diya tha tau wo keh rahi rahi thi kay ab bhi gaaon hee jaakar aqeeqay ki intezamaat karaygay."

Nodding in understand, Jalal Shah called out once again, "Apnay betay ka aqeeqa iska mamu karwaye ga, Insha'Allah!" He left no room for arguments by putting forward an ultimatum.

Sending a quick look at Falak, Hassan tried giving her a pleading look to which Falak immediately grabbed his hand to give it a squeeze.

She was aware that they couldn't change her brother's mind over the decision.

And soon Anabiya's family joined the siblings as well.

There was a bliss surrounding the family as they chattered in a lively atmosphere, all of them had been wishing for such merriment for a long time.

Anabiya carefully placed a few refreshments in a tray and instructed the maids to take it inside the drawing room.

As soon as the maids had left, she quickly placed a hand over her heart. It had somehow become an erratic tattoo against her ribcage, easily putting her entire frame restless.

Taking in a few deep breaths and mentally giving herself a prep talk, she finally took a hold of the tea tray and left the kitchen.

Only to find him absent,

"Kitnay weak hogaye hain hain na bhai?" She heard Falak talk converse with Noor and fought against the urge to inquire about his absence, if only her lala wasn't present in the room along with the rest.

She would've made sure to fill the land of her heart's desire.

As she was leaving with the empty tray she heard him entering from the backdoor while talking on phone with someone.

The girl could only roll her eyes at the dramatic situation. Her irritation spiked up once again,

Jalal Shah took his place on his usual spot once again before joining Amna's topic of conversation. "Bus jee, kal tak niklay gay gaon kay liye aur aagay Insha'Allah haftay mein ek do baar yahan pey bhi chakkar laga liya karay gay!"

The girl hurriedly placed the tray on the kitchen counter before leaving for the drawing room once again.

Only this time, she hid behind the fancily decorated glass doors of the drawing room while desperately trying to take a peek inside.

The struggle and attempts were only proving to be futile as her eyes couldn't find his frame at all.

Jalal Shah had his hands casually placed on the rims of the sofa he was settled upon. The man ran a hand through his hair all while taking a quick glance at the door once again, he'd been doing the same action continuously for a while now.

Ever since he'd arrived, he hadn't once met her.

The hand that was about to make its way back to the side of the sofa stopped all of a sudden as he finally found his object of desire.

He could clearly see the chadar cladden figure, standing outside the room but right next to the glass doors. It seemed as if she was anxiously trying to take a look inside.

Following her gaze, he found his wife's centre of vision to be occupied by his own sister, this confused Jalal Shah a little.

But it eventually led him to understanding his wife's antics,

she was trying to find him!

A surprised smile touched his lips upon the revelation and he eased back into his sofa. Blocking his surroundings completely, he now turned his full concentration over the girl.

She looked the same as before and even more better if it were possible. A deep sigh escaped his lips as he continued looking at her. He had been longing to see her this close for a very painfully long time.

She was a delightful sight to look at. For his eyes, the personification of morning and everything that linked to the brightness suited to match and fill the hollowness of his heart.

In his excitement and exhaustion even, he couldn't help but think of her presence as something just not real.

Instead, a figment of his own imagination, someone who he'd wished having his entire life. This was exactly why now after seeing her stand only at a feet's distance made her seem as an hallucination of a moving sun.

"Sam.. w wo samnay lift tak chor aye?" The enchantress's vision took him to the very first day where it all begin from. The same day she had unknowingly resulted in painting herself as his obsession.

She'd become someone who the man willingly risked everything for without a second thought and he still wouldn't wish for anything otherwise,

as he'd forever continue loving her this selflessly.

Feeling a very intense gaze over herself froze Anabiya on spot.

Gulping a little and internally praying for the person to not be Jalal Shah, she slowly moved her gaze around the room. To her luck, she found everyone present except one.

As soon as her gaze connected with his, a new emotion unlike anything she'd ever known, thrilled her heart and left her face burning with blushes.

Being the first one to break the passionately penetrating eye contact, Anabiya ducked her head down and dashed out of the frame.

The girl's cheeks were burning hot with shyness as she placed her both of her hands over them. She fought against the urge to scold herself for trying to look so eager.

She had finally succeeded at taking a look at him, even if it were for a few seconds only but did end up getting caught in the action as well.

The girl remembered the exact expression over his face and her head lowered further more,

There wasn't any exact emotion of happiness or joy present. However the way those onyx eyes, diluted further as they skimmed through her face, sent shivers of excitement down her skin's lining.

Jalal Shah on the other hand, yet couldn't peel away his eyes from the place that was earlier occupied by the girl.

Hearing Daryab Khan call out his name was enough to bring him out of the pleasurable daze. Sending a nod at Daryab Khan to agree upon whatever was being discussed by the rest of the people,

He eluded himself from the discussion once again to focus his source of thoughts over his wife alone.

"Kab tak bhaagti raho gi mujh say Anabiya?" He thought to himself. Even the most littlest of her actions amused him to the core.

نگاہوں کے تصدم سے عجب تکرار کرتا ہے
یقین کامل نہیں لیکن، گماں ہے پیار کرتا ہے۔

𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘢𝘩𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘶𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘫𝘢𝘣 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘳𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘪,
𝘠𝘢𝘲𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘯𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭, 𝘨𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘪 𝘱𝘺𝘢𝘢𝘳 𝘬𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘪.

. . .

As soon as Daryab Khan received the doctor's message regarding his grandfather's health, he decided to leave.

The man was yet to explain the whole situation to his family members as except Noor and Tawfeeq Khan, no one was aware of the fact that Agha Zaeem was admitted to the hospital

As informed by Daryab Khan, the rest knew that the head of their family was busy with official affairs.

Daryab Khan's departure caused the rest of his family members to leave in a hurry as well. This lead to Falak and Hassan being the only ones left behind.

The girls were currently sitting on the dining table talking with each other whereas Hassan and Jalal Shah were still in the drawing room.

"Yeh Fehmida baji log sab itni jaldi kyun wapis chalay gaye? Matlab ... ham log sath hee chalay jaatay?" Anabiya questioned with her curiosity piqued up.

"Honestly bhabhi mujhay koi idea nahi hai, sach bataun tau mujhay bhi bohut herangi hui hai. Kam az kam bhai say tau mil kay jaana chahiye tha unhay!" Falak was equally perplexed.

Realising that Falak was equally unaware of the actuality behind the situation. Anabiya decided to drop the topic.

However, Falak chose otherwise.

"Bhabhi meinay aap say ek zaroori baat karni thi" The called out a bit hesitantly.

"Haan puchay?"

"Aap jaanti tau hai kay meinay bhai say Fehmida Baji wali tamaam baatein khud kee thi lekin w-wo jo baat thi na kay Badar Bhai aap mein interested thay, wo nahi kar payi!"

Anabiya understood right away but couldn't bring herself to reply back as the humiliation from a few days ago resurfaced.

"Bhai kay ghussay ka tau aapko andaaza hai, bohut jaldi hyper ho jaatay hain. Aur yeh aaj say nahi hai, shuru say hee aisay hee hain. Kal ko ham sab bhi wapis gaon jaye gay,

aur agar aisi koi baat bhai ko pata chal gayi tau bohut ziada hadd tak badmazgi phel sakti hai."

Averting her gaze to look elsewhere, Anabiya thought to herself if a coalition was actually possible after what Badar Shah did a few nights ago,

Falak wasn't aware that her sister in law had been kicked out by the same man who she was trying to save from Jalal Shah.

Nevertheless, Anabiya gulped down the painful bile to force a smile upon her lips. "Haan don't worry"

This particular conversation had once again given Anabiya a whiplash of her miserable past. A past that she was very sure would never repeat again. As her husband's presence would ensure of it.

Soon the conversation shifted elsewhere. It wasn't long before Hassan knocked on the door,

"Falak, chalay?"

Nayel had been sleeping for a while now so it wasn't much of an hassle for the couple as Hassan adjusted a sleeping Nayel in his arms and finally left with Falak.

The situation which Anabiya had been hiding from since the past few hours was finally coming under highlight.

Luckily for her, Jalal Shah still didn't bother inquiring her presence and left for his room upstairs.

On the other hand, as soon as the man entered his room, a displeased look registered on his face.
Seeing the room's condition completely taken a 180° shift caught him by an unpleasant surprise,

All of his photo frames, including the single large frame present on the front wall of the room, were nowhere at sight

He walked towards his wardrobe and a fuming feeling settled in his system as he found his wardrobe barren of all of his clothings and belongings. "Bua!"

Bua jee was helping Anabiya with the dishes when they both heard the furious bellow from upstairs.

Bua stopped cleaning midway before rushing out of the kitchen, "Hadd hoti hai, aatay sath hee shuru hogaye hain!" Anabiya shook her head in disappointment and whispered to herself as soon as she saw the older woman leave.

"Bua yeh kya hai? Yeh kis nay meri cheezon ko haath lagaya hai?! Aap jaanti tau hai kay iss sab say kitni shadeed koft hoti mujhay!" He had always been extremely possessive over his private belongings.

And seeing them all moved from their respective places maddened him with an intensity.

"Arey puttar Badar Saeen nay tau mushkil say ek din guzaara tha iss kamray mein" Bua easily guessed the reason behind the man's temper.

"Darasal yeh Anabiya beti nay hee kamra set karwaya tha. Namaz parhti hai na tau issi liye kamray say saari frames hattwa dee thi uss nay!"

As quick as the anger boiled inside him, it dissolved away within an instant, he turned around to look at her in surprise, "Anabiya?" As if still finding it hard to believe.

Seeing her nod made him clear his throat and compose himself once again, "Aur meray kapray?" He had turned his head away while speaking as if regretting his earlier statements.

"Wo tau uss nay andar dressing room mein shift karwa diye hain!" Nodding at her, he began talking once again. "Acha ussay uper bhejay meri taraf!"

The helper left shortly after.

As soon as the man heard the door close shut, he raised his head to give a quick once over to the entire room as if openly taking in all the changes,

The girl had put her little touches on everything present in the room.

A smile formed on his face as he started walking towards the open wardrobe once again, it seemed as if now the lingering warmth emitting off of the furniture pieces had suddenly become his favourite.

The man lightly ran a single finger across the thin folded shawl neatly placed in one of the cabins. Looking at the little thread peaking from underneath the shawl made Jalal Shah lift it the shawl slightly,

And he felt his heart skip a beat when he saw two dried gajrays securely placed upon the wood.

Moving away now with a playful smile visible over his lips, the man finally left to offer his Isha prayer.

Bua jee informed Anabiya about Jalal Shah's message and Anabiya's face covered in blushes. The girl had to force herself to smile agreeably at the older lady after being informed of the order.

"Bua ab aap jaiye, kafi dair hogayi. Aur aap please unn bakiyon ko bhi bol dena kay apni packing tayyar rakhay, kal shayad jaldi hee nikal jaye ham log." She referred to the rest of the female house staff.

Bua Jee nodded with a smile before finally retiring for the servant quarter.

Anabiya now became busy at drying the wet utensils. In about the next twenty minutes, she was over with her task.

As there was no work left remaining for her to execute, she prolonged moving the little towel over the glass in her hands, regardless of the glass being dried already.

She was cluelessly staring at no spot in particular when she heard him clear his throat.

Listening him this close made Anabiya almost jump in her place and the glass to go almost slipping out of her hands.

"A-aap?" She stuttered out a reply but made sure to not raise her head while speaking, "Kya aaj sonay ka iraada nahi hai tumhara?" The thick octave voice turned Anabiya a fidgeting mess.

His darkened eyes didn't bother leaving her frame even after seeing her tremble under his stare.

"N-Nahi tau wo .. y-yeh bartan samait rahi thi!" The girl quickly made up an excuse to cover herself.

Upon hearing the excuse, Jalal Shah's eyes ran through the entire frame of the kitchen, noticing the spotlessly clean dishes already placed in the kitchen shelves made him raise a brow at her,

Following his gaze around the kitchen and then settle upon herself made Anabiya flush red in embarrassment.

Sensing him take a step forward made Anabiya immediately blurt out another excuse, "B-Bua nay bola tha kay-kay aap raat ko doodh peetay hai ... I-issi liye dair hogayi thi!"

She was bent upon not changing the topic as his nearness wasn't easy for her to manage.

"Mein peeta hun? Aj say pehlay yeh baat maloom nahi thi mujhay, lekin khair sahi hai, lao do?" He was heavily amused.

Getting a green signal was enough for Anabiya to rush towards the fridge to take out the milk. Throughout the time she readied the cup, she felt him continue keeping her in the fort of his vision.

Taking the glass out of the microwave she placed it on the counter to wait for it to cool a little but it seemed as if the man was very eager to get over with the action as he moved closer to her till there was only a breath's distance left in between,

Anabiya heart started hammering inside her chest, the girl couldn't bring herself to raise her gaze.

As soon as he extended his arm forward Anabiya tightly shut her eyes close. A second passed by and still not feeling any contact over herself made Anabiya immediately open her eyes,

Only to find the man taking sips from the glass while looking at her with an interest. "Tabiyat tau theek hai na tumhari?"

The girl turned red and all sweaty like anything. Her timidity was fuelling the man's enjoyment. "J-jee? ... jee" Anabiya was lost for words. The humiliation felt so much overpowering that she felt herself about to let out a sob.

Finishing the milk from the glass all while keeping the darkened eyes remained transfixed over her. It seemed as if he was enjoying her sturggle. As throughout the time, Anabiya didn't kept on mentally praying for the glass to empty soon so she could take her leave.

In actuality, it hadn't even taken more than a second before the glass was emptied but it felt like an eternity long for the girl.

And soon he placed the empty glass over the shelf she was leaning against.

His fingers lightly touched the ones that had been tightly clasped around the shelf's edges and Anabiya swallowed hard. It was visibly a deliberate move, yet his interest seemed to be too hard to decipher.

"Jaldi karo larki, mein intezar kar raha hun tumhara" He stated in his usual impassively obstinate tone before finally taking his leave.

As soon as he left Anabiya let go of the shelf to grab the ends of her hair in frustration. She was yet to recover from the previous mortifying event and now there was an addition of a new one.

The girl started cursing herself for thinking so way ahead of herself. She'd figured that he was about to make a move over her but he had only moved past her to grab the milk glass.

"Ya Allah please yeh tau 2 baar hogya hai, abki baar wapis hua tau promise mein ro dungi!" Anabiya plead to her lord prior to finally leaving the kitchen herself as well.

The girl was now standing outside the room. It took her quite a couple of minutes for mustering up the courage to enter their room.

As soon as she made her way inside, she discovered that the room was in fact empty,

the girl nervously made her way towards the bed and settled down. Rubbing a hand against her forehead to wipe any present sweat, her hand accidentally pressed against the chadar covering her head and she paused.

Remembering something, she completely took it off.

Neatly folding the chadar, she got up and placed it inside her wardrobe. As she sat on the bed once again, Anabiya heard the bathroom's door open.

Drying his face and and wet hair with the towel placed over his neck, the man then threw the towel in the little basket placed in one corner of their room.

Anabiya continued sitting mutely, as if waiting for him to begin the conversation.

Running a hand through his wet hair to set them back, the man finally took his place beside Anabiya on the bed. The proximity between the two very easily tensed Anabiya.

Jalal Shah allowed his eyes to savour the moment by taking a quick skim over her entire frame.

Engulfing a single trembling hand in the large one of his own, he slightly pulled her further closer to himself. "Kya khushi nahi hui mujhay dekh kay?" The man asked in a lowly imploringly voice.

He had but one idea, only to wish listening to what he truly desired, requited affection.

"N-Nahi aisi baat nahi hai Jalal!" Anabiya immediately denied the assumption. Not at all wanting him to believe otherwise.

Her face looked fresh somewhat by consisting a few beautiful hues of pink present on her cheeks. The knowledge of her readying herself just for him pleased the man.

Lowering his gaze from her face, his eyes stuck upon the shining gold hanging over the sharp shoulder blades, "Bohut khoobsurat lag rahi hai yeh chain tum pey!" He spoke without disconnecting his eyes from his name chain.

"Jalal, yeh aap nay kab banwayi?" After listening the mention of the name chain, Anabiya immediately put forward a question.

"Jawaani ka shauq pura karnay kay liye. Ab tau iss baat ko bhi ek arsa guzar gya hai!" He chuckled while sharing with his wife.

The revelation confused Anabiya. Subconsciously, she raised her gaze to connect her eyes with his, "Jalal aapko pata hai na kay sona haraam hai?"

"Haan lekin pehlay samajh nahi thi. Pehlay Halal ki qadar na thi. Par ab jo Halal ka maza Chak chuka hun, Haraam ki koi Talab baki hee nahi rahi!" He spoke while looking deeply into her eyes.

"Jaanti ho Anabiya .... meray sunn'ay mein aaya tha kay jis shaks ko paa lenay kay liye aap sachay dil say khawahishmand ho, ussko khonay mein waqt nahi lagta,

Jaisay hee wo aapki zindagi ki zeenat ban jaata hai, tau aab uski qadar karna bhool jaatay ho. Baat tau qabil e yaqeen hai, magar meray nazdeeq bohut hee ahmaqaana byania hai!" He chuckled out at his own words.

"Matlab?" Anabiya couldn't understand any of the words but still tried moving along the conversation.

"Matlab yeh, kay meray aagay talab ka nasha, haasil kay aagay kuch bhi nahi!

Jab koi aapki dastaras mein ho, subah dupehar shaam aapki nazron kay saamnay ho, aap usski Zaat pey tamaam haq rakhtay ho. Tau iss say barh kar kya khush qismati ho sakti hai?"

The huskiness laced through his voice made as he slightly leaned forward made Anabiya place a hand over his chest just to snap him out of the daze.

"M-Mujh pey waqaye achi lag rahi hai kya?" She asked with a little nervous laugh.

Bringing forth the topic that had been long forgotten in between, Anabiya easily managed to gain some relaxation. The man raised the hand initially placed over his chest and kissed the backside of it, "Haan, bohut achi lag rahi hai!"

A soft smile touched Anabiya's lips after hearing the endearing words.

"Waisay jo pehlay khareed kay diya tha, wo kahan hai?" The man decided upon teasing her a little, "w-wo? Wo tau ghum hogya tha na?"

He had referred to the same locket that had remained constantly attached with him throughout his period in jail, as if preserving the unbroken chain that linked him to his beloved.

"Acha tau yunh kaho na kay tumsay uska khayal nahi rakha gya!" He nodded his head while pushing out a lie with all seriousness,

"Aisa nahi hai, promise meinay pura hospital bhi check karwaya tha, sab say puchwaya tha lekin wo kahin mila hee nahi mujhay!" The girl voiced out in worry.

His face's features softened instantly after seeing her panic a little. "Haan kyun kay wo meray paas hai! Sambhal kay rakha tha meinay!"

"Acha waqaye? Mein bhi kahun kay locket aisay kesay achanak say ghayab ho gya. Ab aap mujhay mera locket wapis karay!" Anabiya wasted no time before asking for her locket.

Jalal Shah could never get used to Anabiya's assertions, it always left him with pleasure. His lips formed a smile as he spoke out once again. "Sath daraz mein hee maujood hai!"

Following the man's instructions, Anabiya immediately turned around to check the side table's drawers.

As soon as she opened the drawer, a thin rectangular box came to her sight. "Aap nay iski packing bhi dobara karwa lee?" She asked with a giggle.

The man didn't reply back but continued watching her actions with deep interest present in his eyes.

Much to Anabiya's confusion, instead of the locket, there was an intricately delicate anklet placed inside the box. "Yeh-?" She looked up at her husband.

"Ek arsa pehlay tumharay liye khareeda tha. Phir shayad zehan say hatt gya. Kal jab jail say zaroori samaan pack kar raha tha tau mujhay yeh bhi mil gya, socha pehlay pehna na saka, ab pehna du?"

"Meinay yeh kabhi pehna nahi hai!" Anabiya shared truthfully. "Kya pazeb pasand nahi tumhay?" Jalal Shah became a little off after the revelation.

"Pata nahi, kabhi pehna jo nahi. Mujhay apni taraf attention attract karna sakht na pasand hai, aur pazeb say tau sirf mamooli si harkat pey bhi awaaz nikalti hai!"

Her honest reply sent waves of comfort to settle in his heart.

The man couldn't help but wonder how did he manage to end up with someone as pure and as lovely as Anabiya. He considered himself insanely rich with whatever forms of love she could provide him with.

This was all due to the power behind fidelity. Smiling a little, he tilted his head slightly to look at her eyes filled with immense love and pride,

"Haan lekin mujhay tau bohut acha lagay ga jab jab yeh pazeb mujhay tumhari maujoodgi ka ehsaas, apni awaaz say dilaati rahay gi!"

Blushing at the warm words, Anabiya nodded her head.

The girl understood how much her husband wished for her wearing the pazeb, so easily agreed. She finally unlocked the anklet's hook to rest it over her ankle.

Anabiya was about to lock it when her husband offered helping, "Lao do mein pehna deta hun" but as soon as soon as he tried touching her foot, the girl instantly recoiled back.

Her rejection made Jalal Shah clench his jaw and look away to gather his cool.

"Mein hath nahi laga raha tumhay larki, baat baat pey mujhsay yunh ghabra kar mujhay meri hee nazron kay saamnay mat girao!"

Strong agitation had been visibly present over his face's expression. The cold words made Anabiya heart drop.

Jalal Shah was about to get up when his wife erased all the distances by embracing him in a tight hug, this action froze Jalal on spot.

"Jalal I'm so so sorry. Kasam say mera aisa koi Matlab nahi tha. M-Mujhay bus aapka meray paon ko hath lagana munasib nahi laga-" She continued apologising in an trance but the man was too shelled to listen.

The feeling of her against him felt like a blissful dream. He couldn't shake off the feeling of the warmth pressed against him.

Involuntarily to his body's reflex, he raised his hands to place them on her back but immediately stopped midway, not wanting her to lose her comfort with him.

The man swallowed hard and tried taking in a deep breath to restraint himself before losing complete control.

"Sorry Jalal. Aap please naraaz mat hona" Anabiya as if cried out once again whilst pushing her face tightly into his neck.

After failing to keep his attention diverted from his wife, the man eventually had to pull away Anabiya's frame off of himself.

He was about to get up to cool himself down when his caught the very painfully disheveled look of the girl's face.

"Tum pagal ho kya?" The man's heart soared uncontrollably. He couldn't bear looking at such a sight.

"Larki mein tum say junoon ki hadd tak muhabbat karta hun, aur muhabbat mein mehboob hamesha ek darja aagay rehta hai." He once again brought forth the same topic that managed to tense Anabiya at such an extent.

For a man who'd never gone for courting, he put his hand under the pretty chin and looked down wonderingly, reverently, at the tear stricken face.
Gently wiping away her tears, he lowered his hand towards her feet.

Softly placing his hand over her foot, he gave it a light squeeze.

"Aur tumhay koi haq nahi pohnchta kay tum mujhay muhabbat karnay kay usool samjhao. Meri muhabbat ka tumsay koi garz nahi hai!" He firmly continued,

Picking up the fallen anklet in his hands, he placed it over her foot once again. Now with gently precise movements, he finally closed the lock.

Anabiya's eyes blurred slightly after feeling the warmth of his love. She rested her hand atop of his which was still placed over her foot

After which the man intertwined their fingers together.

"Jalal mein bohut khush naseeb hun. Khud ko aap kay sath bohut ziada mahfuz mehsoos karti hun. Aap nay waqaye hee mujhay wo panaah gaah dee hai, jiska aap nay mujh say waada kiya tha" Anabiya sniffled slightly while truthfully speaking out her words.

This made Jalal Shah immediately cup both of her cheeks in his hands, "Itnay arsay ka Hijr iss liye nahi kaat kar aaya kay tum hamaray milan kay lamhay, ansuon bahanay mein ganwa betho."

A little laugh escaped her lips after hearing his teasing voice and she wiped away her tears with nod. The man was about to speak further when his phone started ringing.

Internally letting out a string of curses, Jalal Shah still managed to force a smile over his lips and offer it to Anabiya, "Tum let jao, mein wapis aata hun thori dair tak!"

He picked up the device and was about to make his way towards the balcony when he called out to his wife once again, "Aur suno, sona nahi hai!" He spoke with a very different meaning to his words.

Upon hearing the minimally suggestive sentence, Anabiya turned beetroot in colour as her gaze lowered in shyness.

As soon as she saw the man leave for the balcony, she started mentally prepping herself to remain calm.

"Saeen, Daryab Khan Sahab ki call ayi thi, Agha Zaeem Khan ki tabiyat bohut shadeed kharab hai, mujhay nahi lagta kay wo bach paye gay!" Hassan spoke the second after the man received the call.

This took Jalal Shah by a shock.

"Yeh kya bol rahay ho tum Hassan!" Jalal Shah lowly bit out his words, not at all wanting to gain Anabiya's attention over the matter.

"Sir doctors nay jawab dey diya hai! Ab aap bataye kay aagay kya karna hai?"

"Daryab ki call aye tau ussay yehi bataana kay mera phone off hai. Aisay batana kay mujhay iss sab kay baaray mein maloom hee nahi. Kal din kee, din ko hee dekhi jaye gi!" The man notified Hassan about his opinion regarding the situation.

"Jee sir!" The call was only a few minutes long.

So now, he turned towards the balcony to think over the situation. The man decided upon disclosing the news to Anabiya, but stopped himself the second after he turned around to look at her.

She was still sitting on the bed. Constantly playing with her fingers as if to kill time while waiting for him.

The man was aware that his wife's heart was undeniably weak. Someone like her wouldn't ever get over a news like this, especially since she'd recently lost her father as well.

Running a hand through his hair in frustration, he turned around once again to gaze upon the dark clouds of nothingness.

He had left for a solid 5 minutes but even after this time Anabiya hadn't gotten better. With a quick peek through lowered lids, she saw him finally make his way out of the balcony.

The man placed his switched off phone on the dresser before moving towards the bed once again, along the way he dimmed the side lamps.

He now was standing right in front of the bed on which Anabiya was sitting upon. Gently grabbing her face in his single hand he turn her head upwards and allowed his lips to roughly connect with hers.

Anabiya—who had never been used to such intensive vehemence ever before, had to slightly get herself up and off of the bed right after a few seconds just to start pushing him backwards.

As soon as the man pulled back, Anabiya started taking in deep breaths. Throughout this time the man's hand continued lovingly caress his wife's jaw.

After giving her a break of a few minutes, he started lowering her back into the bed.

In about the next few minutes, the girl had become a trembling mess under the influence of Jalal Alam's passionate affections. She had to push him back from time to time to take a minute to regain balance over her heated system

Anabiya felt the man remove his lips off of hers once again, and place a single rugged hand right next to her head, pushing against the mattress with a firm force.

Feeling the bed dip a little made Anabiya focus her blurry gaze over his ruggedly handsome features as she saw him lower his head into her neck

The effect of his bulky figure atop of her along with his brazen actions turned Anabiya almost claustrophobic.

She couldn't help but once again start a series of struggles against the man. "Anabiya ..relax" The words were whispered next to her ears as if trying to contain her panic but hearing the gruff voice only resulted in her feeling more overwhelmed than ever before

Immediately raising both of his hands to disconnect with her docile frame, Jalal Shah tried grabbing both of her arms in his hold but with her nonstop retaliating hits, this resulted in his already injured shoulder to start bleeding profusely.

Feeling the trail of blood down of his arm's legth made the man finally remove his arms off of the writhing girl. The man cussed under his breath as he got off to sit over the edge of the bed.

"y-yeh meinay nahi kiya" Anabiya's eyes widened in shock after seeing his kameez slowly start to drench in blood. His stitches opened right after the little fight she'd put up.

"Jalal I'm sorry, yeh kab hua?" She cried out, clearly panicking after seeing him stop the shiny crimson blood from gushing out of his arm by keeping a hand firmly against the soaked bandage.

'Apnay uss kameenay Baba say pucho' Amidst the painful frenzy, the words were at the tip of his tongue but he couldn't bring himself to speak of them loud.

Realising that the problem had gotten a little out management, Jalal Shah got up to his full height and finally took off his white bloodied kameez to hold it against his open wound.

The man did try holding his Kameez against the wound to help ceasing the blood but this attempt proved out to be futile as well as the Kameez drenched beyond the ability of soaking.

So he finally had to leave for the bathroom.

Seeing him leave with wide eyes filled with fright, Anabiya placed a hand over her mouth, not believing what she'd just witnessed. She couldn't help but cry harder after realising that throughout the time, she'd been keenly observing him, instead of offering help.

Anabiya didn't have a single clue regarding the bullet wound and when it actually did come to light, it looked as bad as it could possibly get.

Fearing her husband's anger, Anabiya started praying to her lord to let his temper remain controlled with her.

Jalal Shah came out of the bathroom after quite a lot of time but now the tanned muscular arm looked clean since he'd redone the wound's dressing. "Jalal I'm sorry" Anabiya blurted out the second her eyes fell on him.

Not even sparing a single look at the her, the man took a black kameez out of the duffel bag placed in one corner of the room and clothed himself once again.

Assuming that he was in a bad mood, Anabiya broke into tears once again.

Finally giving an ear to her nerve's struggle, the man decided to settle down beside her on the bed. "Jalal I'm sorry, I swear mujhay aapkay zakham ka koi idea nahi tha. Meinay kuch jaan booj kay nahi kiya" She started apologising in an abstracted state.

Running his eyes through her tear stricken face, the man came forward and embraced her in a hug. "Pagal larki iss mein ronay ki kya baat hai?" He chuckled out.

Hearing his voice barren of all of the strictness, Anabiya immediately pulled back to look at him. "Mujhay laga aap mujhay daantay gay" She spoke in a shaky voice.

"Waisay tau nahi daantu ga lekin agar yeh rona dhona band na hua tumhara tau bohut daantu ga!" He feigned a bit seriousness this time.

Hearing the words made the girl instantly cease her sobs into light sniffles. "Yeh hua kesay? Aap nay mujhay bataya kyun nahi?" She was hurting seeing him in so much pain.

Lightly touching his bandage, she looked up to meet his gaze.

Her hypnotically euphonious voice already had him wrapped around her little fingers and now with the gently hesitant movements, she was only testing his patience.

Listening to her soft little sniffles made Jalal Alam Shah take in a deep breath before speaking out once again,

"Aj raat ham sirf dhair saari baatein kartay hain, theek hai na?" He thought of a quick solution to put her nerves into comfort.

Due to the rigid expression visible on his face, Anabiya let go of her question as well. Not at all having the courage to carry out the inquiry once again.

"Ya phir baatain bhi kal ka lay gay. Kafi raat hogayi hai; subah jaldi bhi nikalna hai. So jao!" He almost as if grunted out his reply.

Seeing him move past her to sleep made a crushing guilt settle within the pits of her belly, and Anabiya involuntarily blurted out a no.

Her eager response took the man by surprise and seeing him raise a single questioning brow made Anabiya moved forward to engulf him in an hug once again,

Making it the second time of her initiating intimacy herself.

Anabiya was aware that she wouldn't be able to look him into his eyes so she had thought of an easy alternate way out of her situation.

And this time, the man placed his hands on her back to respond back to her initiation as well. "Jalal mein bilkul theek hun. I swear ab panic nahi karu gi" She murmured out a response.

Smiling at her reply, the man placed a light kiss over the back of her head.

A second passed by and she felt him slowly moving his hand along the length of her back. Delightful shivers started forming under the girl's skin upon the contact.

She felt him pull away from her and finally lower her onto the bed once again. Closing her eyes tightly shut, Anabiya decided for the easiest possible way to get over the sensations by blocking all of surroundings.

They could hardly make out each other's outlines under the dimmed lights and Anabiya was thankful of that.

Similar to his earlier expressions, the man firmly grabbed both of her hands in a single large one of his and raised it atop of her head, not at all willing to give her a second attempt of clawing him once again.

As soon as he got over with almost minimal foreplay mixed along with the nerve shattering effects over her entire body already,

Anabiya lost all the senses that connected her to the reality. Feeling her slump against his system made Jalal Alam stop his action right away.

"Anabiya?"

Hearing no response from her side further confirmed his suspicion and he pulled back to lightly pat her cheek. She had undoubtedly fallen unconscious.

Not being able to control himself, a boisterous laugh escaped the man's chest.

He hadn't expected such an reaction from her and this had entertained him to the core. Gently shaking her shoulders, he tried getting her up. "Anabiya meri jaan, ankhain kholo yar!" He was finding it hard to cease his chuckles.

As soon as a few water droplets fell over her face, Anabiya gained back consciousness and got up within an instant.

And when she saw the man clear his throat while trying to withhold a laughter, Anabiya died a million a deaths of embarrassment.

"Mujhay lagta hai aj tum kafi thaki hui ho!" He finally concluded his observation and Anabiya lowered her head in shyness.

The girl wanted to explain it to him that in front of his unrestrained rampancy and as well as his raw motions, she couldn't stand a chance. The man himself was unaware of his naturally domineering imposition.

Biting down her lower lip, Anabiya turned away her vision to look elsewhere. She was clearly in a deep struggle.

Sensing him about to get up from place, Anabiya immediately reached out to grab his hand.

The thin petite fingers quickly curled around his thick index and middle fingers and Jalal Shah stopped his action midway to observe their connected hands.

In contrast to his large rough textured hands, hers looked delicately pretty. He couldn't stop himself from pressing a kiss against her hand.

As he'd left her hand, Anabiya moved the same hand close to his face and softly stroked the manful jaw. This made Jalal Shah subconsciously lean in towards the touch.

Pushing back all the second thoughts, the girl finally moved forward to connect their breaths once again. The man had been resolute regarding the decision of not further continuing their act of love but as soon as he felt her shyly press herself against him, he finally took the charge.

Feeling too overwhelmed under the high of euphoria, Anabiya moved her hands till her fingers found the wet jet back strands and then running them through the wet hair felt almost too therapeutic for the girl.

She realised that for her there could never be anything better in this world other than the feeling of solace in the arms of Jalal Shah.

Throughout the time of forceful proximity, the man had turned his face to a side as if refusing to look at her in the moment but made sure to continue softly caressing her entire frame to provide her a little leverage.

During the most agonising part of the process, she pushed her head further into his neck.

There was no restriction for her tears to fall freely over her cheeks but her heart continued sighing in content.

Her screams soon dialled down into mewling moans and they filled the room's air along with the deep pitched guttural groans of the man.

As their tempo eased back to a bearable level, Anabiya lovingly started combing through his hair once again.

میں جب بھی چاہوں اُسے چھو کے دیکھ سکتی ہوں
مگر وہ شخص کہ لگتا ہے اب بھی خواب ایسا۔

𝘔𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘫𝘢𝘣 𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘶 𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘬𝘩 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘵𝘪 𝘩𝘶𝘯,
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘷𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘬𝘩𝘴 𝘬𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘣 𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘣 𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘢.

. . .

"Tau hamain mehmaan nawaazi karnay ka kab mauqa do gay tum?" He heard the man from the other end of the call.

"Bus jee Insha'Allah jald hee mulaqaat hogi!" The man replied back with a roguish smile gracing his lips.

"Theek hai phir Jalal Shah, ab tau waisay bhi call pey aksar baat ho jaaya karay gi. Khayal rakhna apna betay!" Mukhtar finally decided to cut the conversation short.

"Chalay jee, bohut shukriya call karnay kay liye. Momna ko meri taraf say dhair saara pyaar. Allah Hafiz!" Jalal Shah disconnected the call. The man then switched off his phone to make his way back to his room.

The girl still hadn't ceased her sobs. Her cries had been so loud that Jalal Shah had to leave for the balcony to attend his calls.

"Suno ab naha liya hai tau tahajjud bhi parh lo. Kab tak iss tarah beth kay ronay ka iraada hai begum?" He commented very casually while taking a quick look over the crouched figure.

"Jab tak mera dil karay ga. Aap ko kis nay permission dee mujh say baat karnay kee? Haan? Meinay nahi karni aap say koi bhi baat!" She sniffled out and threw a glare towards the man.

Jalal Shah didn't took any offence to her distraught self and instead let out a chuckle. Leaning against the dressing table to look at the girl more clearly, he called out once again,

"Jaan kab say roye jaa rahi ho aap? Ab tau aisay lag raha hai kay jaisay waqaye koi gunnah kar diya hai meinay!" His words were laced with mirth .

"Biwi ko tang karna aur takleef pohnchana bohut bara gunnah hai, aapko kya maloom hoga. Kahan qadar hai aapko apni biwi kee?" She furiously wiped away her tears to glare at him once again with her reddened eyes.

"Arey? ... aur jo saari raat tumhay apni shiddaton kay hisaar mein rakha, kya wo kisi khaatay mein shumaar nahi?"

Anabiya's cheeks reddened after hearing his words but she still didn't allow him to intimidate her this easily, "Haan hotay shumaar, lekin sirf agar aap saari raat meri muzahmat ko khatir mein laatay!

Lekin aap ko najaanay kya hogya kal raat ko. Jism toot raha hai mera bukhar say. Itni takleef mein hun mein, sirf aap ki wajah say!

Mujhay apni legs bhi nahi feel horahi. Mein kesay sab ko face karu gi aj?" There was simply no stop to the train of intrusive thoughts.

Realising that she wasn't going to let go of the situation, the man immediately changed the topic, "Tau tumnay bhi tau kitni takleef dee hai mujhay. Bhalla aisay kabhi koi shohar ko maarta hai kya?"

"Meri ghalti nahi hai, mujhay pata nahi tha!" Anabiya replied back within an instant. Not at all wanting to take any accountability of her actions.

"Mein aapko kabhi maaf nahi karu gi!" She asserted her grievance.

"Sahi hai Anabiya. Itna khoon zaaya kiya hai tumnay mera, aur ab baaki jalaanay pey amaadah ho!" He spoke with a click of his tongue.

This did manage to enlist some of her sympathy. A worried look covered her face as her eyes started looking for his bandage once again.

Finding it still in its position made her a bit relieved. Her eyes then found his and she blurted out a quick response to his earlier comment. "Aur jo accident karwaya tha wo? Meinay tau aaj tak aapsay kabhi uskay baaray mein kabhi koi shikwa nahi kiya jabksy aapnay tau mujhay coma tak pohncha diya tha!"

The man eyes widened after registering her words.

A second passed by and the laugh he had been suppressing down for a while now, finally escaped freely.

"Yar tum waqaye hee meri biwi ho. Mizaaj bhi bilkul thanedaraana hai!" Ceasing his laughs, he finally replied back an appreciative comment.

Blushing slightly, Anabiya immediately pressed her lips together to force herself to stop speaking further.

"Bohut bari ghalti hui thi mujh say uss roz. Mein waqaye bohut nadam hun apnay kiye pey. Tum jaanti ho uss hadsay kay baad mushkil hee hai jo mujhay sukoon mila ho." The man truthfully bared everything to his wife.

"Lekin ab aisa har gaz nahi hoga. Mein tau itna dar hun kay ab 20 say uper gari bhi nahi chalaata!" He teased a little by the end of his delivery.

Feeling her eyes water a little, Anabiya shifted the conversation elsewhere "Paas say mujhay brush laa kar day aur so jaye!"

Like an obedient child, her husband took a hold of the hairbrush and walked towards the bed to pass it to her.

Amidst her obliviousness, the girl started to harshly untangle her knotted hair. Seeing the almost too painful display made Jalal immediately grab the hairbrush from her hands. "Yeh kya kar rahi ho?"

Hearing him become this concerned further put Anabiya's nerves into unease, "B-Brush kar rahi hun?" Shaking his head in disappointment, he placed the brush aside,

"Narazgi mujh say hai tau mujhee pey ghussa utaaro. Khud ko kyun zakhmi kar rahi ho? Peechay murho mein khud karta hun." He was severely bothered after looking at the amount of hair collected on the hairbrush after Anabiya's violent action.

This touched Anabiya unexplainably.

"M-Mujhay hair cut bhi karwani hai!" She spoke out her words while turning around for him to brush them. Eagerly wanting to know the type of length he preferred.

"Hair cut kyun? Pehlay hee itnay chotay hain. Tumhay pata hai meinay aj tak Falak ko kabhi baal nahi katwanay diye. Bohut pasand hai mujhay lambay baal!" He spoke with a smile while gently untangling the bigger knots with his fingers.

"Theek hai, ab mein bhi nahi katwaungi" The girl thought to herself with a glee.

He'd taken a whole of 5 minutes while brushing her hair. This was due to him being so much careful and focused while carrying out the action. His aftercare for her was so opposite and gentle that it seemed as if he viewed her as a delicate glass in his arms.

Anabiya remained quiet throughout the action, clearly confused yet excited to become conscious of her surroundings. The tremendously strong impressions she had been receiving in the form of his gentle touches, soothed her heart to the core.

After he was done, the man got up to place the brush back onto the dressing table. Seeing his back turned around, Anabiya ran a hand down her wet hair and couldn't help but awe in wonder. He had been so sweet to offer the brushing.

And as someone who had always been eager to chop off her after every two weeks, she couldn't help but actually wish for having longer hair.

There was a stretch of half an hour, the couple had together offered their Fajr namaz and now Anabiya was lying on the bed right next to beside Jalal Shah.

Despite it being too late, sleep was nowhere to be found.

A pang hit her across her heart as she once again started thinking about the wound on his shoulder. Hundreds of possibilities behind him getting shot started swimming in the girl's head.

Turning around towards his direction, she lightly picked herself up to place her head and arm over his chest.

Jalal Shah was mutely staring at the ceiling when he felt her push herself into him and take one of his arm to wrap it comfortably around herself.

This is what he had been thanking his lord for throughout his duas. For Allah to think of him worthy enough to reunite with his spouse.

The silence started to hurt Anabiya's head and she soon found the opulence in shedding tears once again. Jalal Shah could sense her shaking figure and it hadn't taken him much to deduce that she was in fact crying. However, he didn't stop her from doing so,

It seemed as if he wanted her to get over the emotions once and for all by emptying all the sorrows.

"Kitnay buray hain aap Jalal. Kitna dara diya tha aap nay mujhay!" She threw an accusing look towards him.

Jalal Shah's lips formed a small smile and he looked down at her with all the love present in his eyes, "Bohut intezar karwaya na tumhay?"

"Haan, bohut. Lekin ab aap aagaye hain na? Ab aapko mein kabhi bhi aisay kamo mein nahi parhnay du gi. Yeh dera of baazi wagera bhi khatam kar day Jalal!"

Hearing her complaint made him chuckle slightly and start playing with her wet hair strands.

"Kya chahti ho, kaam kaaj chor kar bus ghar betha rahu, subah say lekar raat tak bus tumpey lafzon kay phool barsaata rahu?" He spoke in a suggestive tone

Upon hearing the words, a thought slid into Anabiya's mind and she got up in an sitting position.

"Haan tau iss mein harj hee kya hai? Mujh say pehlay bhi tau kafiyon ko impress karnay liye yeh phool barsaye hongay na aapnay!" Like always, the girl couldn't contain the boiling lava of jealousy brimming inside her.

Jalal Shah's eyes widened on accord, "Uff khudaya kitni masoom dikhti ho tum aur..." He was undeniably stunned.

"Mein hee pagal hun jo tumharay iss haseen sarapay pey aur sharafat kay labaaday pey dil kho betha, Mujhay kya khabar thi kay yahan tau maamla hee kuch aur hai!" He trailed his words, making her blush furiously.

Seeing her not reply back and shrink herself back again made Jalal Shah to continue his playfulness. "Tab hee mein kahun, iss larki kay baap, bhai, sab ko Punjabi mein mahaarat Haasil hai. Magar jab shadi issay meinay shadi ka paigham diya. Yeh yak dam bokhlahat ka shikaar kyun hogayi?"

Anabiya's head lowered and she tried hiding her face into his neck but the man gently pulled her aside to look at her face,

"Ab sharmaanay ka kya faida? Itni bahaduri say tumnay sab raaz mujh pey faash kiye hain, ab inn ka saamna bhi karo?" He bit back a smile after looking at her lips quiver slightly,

"Jalal meri taraf dekh kar mat baat kiya karay!" Feeling too overwhelmed under his intense gaze, she immediately turned his face to the other side. To which Jalal Shah let out a booming laughter. Ceasing his laugh into little chuckles he looked at her with his interest piqued up once again,

To his dismay, his wife's eyes had welled up with tears once again as if the embarrassment was taking a severe toll on her,

"Tumhari har baat maanu mein, tum bus meri na maan'na!" He feigned a little hurt. "Kab aapki koi baat nahi maani meinay Jalal?"

"Ghanton pehlay tumhay bola tha kay mat rona lekin tum nay tau ronay ko pasandeeda sheva hee bana liya hai!"

"Haan tau aapnay konsa chup karwaya tha mujhay?" She asked in a little upset tone.

"Arey? Pehli Martaba hee dhamkaya tha kay daantu ga, lekin tumhay meray beja laad pyar nay itna begaar diya hai kay meray ghussay ya meri narazgi ki koi ehmiyat hee nahi yahan!" He exerted an dramatic effect to his words.

This made Anabiya blush and let out a little laugh at the same time.

Scratching his gritty stubble a little to show a bit of anger, she then forced his face towards herself once again. "Pehlay aapki har baat maanti thi kyun kay aapko bohut pyaar karti thi!"

"Mujh jaisay shaks ko sirf muhabbat karnay kay liye banaya hai aur tum ho kay mujhay nafrat ka mustahaq samajh bethi ho?" He joked a little.

Listening to arrogance made Anabiya squeeze his face that almost made him wince a little. "Nafrat nahi kaha, sirf na pasand"

Ignoring her violent claws over his face, he still managed to smile at her while his eyes glimmered with fervent love.

"Yeh jo tum meray liye mehsoos karti ho, issay agar na pasandeedgi kehtay hain, tau mein bhi tumhay bohut bohut na pasand karta hun. Tum say sau gunna ziada!"

Her cheeks flushed red as the meaning of the words settled in, but she still chose to act oblivious regarding the matter "Bus na pasand hee karna. Yeh nahi kay mera khayal rakhay, mujay khush rakhay!"

Her stubborn words made the next words come out of his mouth freely, "Mein saa vi girvi rakh desaa, tu qeemat dass khush honay dee?"

This made Anabiya let out a giggle and immediately press her face next to his.

Seeing her become so comfortable with him made Jalal Shah teasingly throw a suggestive smirk at her direction before he slid a burly arm behind her dainty waist.

Only this time, his wife had been equally reciprocating in terms of proximity.

𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘻 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘯𝘪 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘬𝘪 𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘬
𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘬𝘢𝘮𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪 𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘪 𝘮𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘬
𝘉𝘢𝘻𝘶𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘬𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘲𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘬𝘰𝘪 𝘯𝘢𝘻𝘶𝘬 𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘯
𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘬𝘶𝘤𝘩𝘩 𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘢

𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪-𝘦-𝘳𝘶𝘬𝘩𝘴𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘩𝘬𝘪 𝘩𝘶𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘢
𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘻𝘶𝘭𝘧𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘦𝘮 𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘺𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘪 𝘤𝘩𝘩𝘦𝘥-𝘤𝘩𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘥
𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘬𝘩 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘢 𝘢𝘬𝘴
𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘩𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘪 𝘬𝘪 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘬𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘬

𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘦𝘩𝘫𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦 𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘩𝘪 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘬𝘪 𝘣𝘢𝘢𝘵
𝘥𝘢𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘬𝘪 𝘥𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘬𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘶𝘯𝘫𝘵𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪 𝘪𝘬 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘢
𝘒𝘢𝘢𝘯𝘱𝘵𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪 𝘈𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩 𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘧 𝘪𝘬 𝘥𝘶𝘢
𝘬𝘢𝘢𝘴𝘩 𝘺𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘢𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘳 𝘫𝘢𝘢𝘦𝘯 𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘢!

𝙀𝙘𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙮 - ایکسٹیسی

عِشق ذات ۰ اختتام پزیر

word count: approx 23,000
(2nd draft of wip - unedited content)

• • •

The official am(end) to the previous
chapter and to Ishq Zaat overall

About the last scenes, the only reasonable excuse for writing these scenes so poorly will be that I'm never fond of too much explicit content. This and because meri mental capacity while imagining intimacy + reunions is limited bus yahan tak hee lol x2

Also, please make sure to vote on this chapter (only if you liked it) as well as the previous ones in case you haven't already (of course no pressure tho) but do comment to let me know about your reviews regarding this book in general. I would love to know about your thoughts and requests if any

With that being said, Thank you all for reading my book and becoming a part of
this beautiful journey!

With love,
• از قلم حُسْنىٰ - ḥusnā •