She fell in love with him at a very tender age. An age where you just had pleasant dreams and want them to come true. You would be sincere and your every emotion would be raw and pure.
Nisha's love was also pure for Ruhaan. It was genuine and innocent. His little attention and sweet words moved her amateur heart. The love at this age could never die. It always remained alive and that was the case with her as well.
Despite knowing Ruhaan's true intention behind their marriage, she couldn't scratch away the love she had for him from her heart. She wanted to but she couldn't. Her brain then used another method to fight Ruhaan; to make her strong and decisive. She couldn't forget the love but same as this, she couldn't forget what he did with her innocent emotions. What his father did with her Baba. He made her an orphan when she was just five years old kid.
It had been so difficult for her to live a fatherless life and for her mother as well. How much she trusted Ruhaan. Even gave all of her to him but he broke her trust.
But there was her mistake too. She knew who he was. She was been warned by her mother, but she couldn't stop herself from getting attracted to him. She even couldn't stay loyal to her dead father and doting mother; the reason was she was lonely and wasn't given any liberty. She wanted to enjoy her life but her mother had made a golden cage for her. She was a young girl, who had fantasies and when a Prince came into her boring life, she couldn't stop her desire to make this into a fairytale.
Now she thought it was not her fault totally as well. She tried her best to resist him. She used each and every method in her mind to keep herself faithful to her parents. But maybe it was! She should have been strong enough from the real start to stay away from that enchantment named Ruhaan Sufiyan Ahmad.
Today she heard Ruhaan's side of the story and it made her think how much they were alike. Their situations were the same and the backing force was also similar. He also did this for his loyalty to his father and she also tried to avoid him for her parents. He was given a wrong picture of his father and she had been given a twisted impression of this revenge that Sufiyan Ahmad was never remorseful.
When she loved her mother so much, then Ruhaan must have also respected his father at the same level. For her mother, when she attempted to resist his charm, then he also tried to go closer to her at the same level for his father's sake. Their purposes were the same for some reasons.
The question was whether she forgave him or not. And the answer was simple yes. She did.
He also suffered like her. To suddenly know that your father was a culprit and you didn't even know anything about his true self. To live a lonely life in the presence of a family. Who could know better than her how difficult was this to live like this?
Then he didn't leave any chance to doubt his intentions after she left him. He didn't have to do it. He got his money back and if he didn't have anything to do with her, he would have happily given her divorce even before she would have demanded. But he didn't.
He waited for her. Tried to appease her, make amendments, and asked for forgiveness multiple times. He even accepted whatever she said except divorce, never threatened her, and became a loving father to her children. Even got himself hurt due to her, talked with her mother with respect, bear her dry behavior, and last but not least, got humiliated by her in front of his own father's lawyer and best friend.
Everyone could make a mistake. Even she did it once. But the most important thing was he attempted to rectify it.
Topmost, she was not a stone. She had a heart that had feelings; that too just for Ruhaan Sufiyan Ahmad. She still loved him and it was not easy to let it go.
But despite all this, Nisha couldn't delay or stop the divorce. Even if she had accepted his apology, she couldn't think of going back to him. Her promise and loyalty to her mother didn't let her do otherwise. She already hurt her enough. Ruhaan's Daddy made her Baba die like this. Even if he wasn't her murderer as her mother referred to him, but still he became the cause of his death. And the least she could do to make corrections for her wrongdoing was to not bring the son of her enemy in her life back.
That was the reason, she told Ruhaan in clear words about divorce and to indicate that she wanted to end this, she decided to go home by herself. Seeing Aliyan crying for his Daddy made her heart clench. Her small children would affect so much by this. Nevertheless, she couldn't hurt her mother anymore.
Aliyan was sobbing softly after getting tired of crying. She snugged him onto her lap while she made Eshal stand in her baby walker as they settled in the rickshaw. Bending down, she kissed Aliyan's wet cheek and removed his tears with the pads of her fingers. Her babies were so innocent and young.
She dialed Lawyer Ijaz Ali's number and asked him to prepare divorce papers.
But her heart and mind just had one question; how would she be able to live without Ruhaan?
And the answer was clear as crystal.
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Night had commenced, taking pleasant breezes with it and the moon was shining in its full glory. The environment was indeed so lovely but her inside world was gloomy and shattering.
The babies were fed and now they were sleeping. She gave a glance at them before getting off the bed. The room was feeling congested for her. She felt like she wasn't able to breathe properly. Nisha walked out of the room and walked into the balcony. Sitting on the bench, she peeked at the sky- looking so beautiful with twinkling stars sprinkled everywhere.
"I love you, Nisha. Whatever I did in that time before our marriage, it wasn't fake. I thought it was fake, but it wasn't. It was real. My words, my acts, my smiles each and everything came from my heart....."
Ruhaan's voice reverberated in her ears and a tear dropped from her eye.
She could make her mind understand but what should she do with this heart? Which took Ruhaan's name on every beat.
She again looked at the sky and called Allah in her heart.
"Ya Allah, what should I do? I love him and I want to go back to him. I can't live without him. But...I can't do that. I ca Ammi angry with me again. Ya Allah, please give peace to my heart. Take away Ruhaan Sufiyan Ahmad's love it. Or else this love will kill me from inside like a moth. It wouldn't let me live peacefully."
Footsteps sounded behind her and someone put their hand on her shoulder.
"Didn't sleep yet?" Tabinda asked, sitting beside her.
Nisha looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. Tabinda became alarmed. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
"I came out to take water but I found the atmosphere nice so I sat here. I am just going back," she said and stood up.
Tabinda regarded her meticulously. Her daughter wasn't looking fine to her. And she somehow knew the reason. Her innocent Nisha's heart was as pure as hers and she did a mistake by falling in love with a monster like Ruhaan Sufiyan Ahmad. She was aware of the fact that Nisha still loved that guy and was trying hard to overcome it.
"Keep the water bottle in the room at night," she told her. Nisha nodded and left. She wanted to be alone at this time.
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He didn't know where he was at this part of the night. After meeting her, he was lost. His mind stopped functioning and he was just driving the car aimlessly on the roads. He had lost everything. His wife; the girl he loved, his children, and his peace as well. And he wanted to burn the money for which he started all this. This wealth felt like a lethal snake for him right now, injecting its poison into his otherwise fine life.
A truck was coming from the front and its horn brought Ruhaan back to this world. He quickly pushed his foot on the break and then the car stopped along a tree on the side of the road. He took a deep breath to calm himself down but nothing was helping. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and put his head on the steering.
He was ruined. The successful and rich businessman Ruhaan Sufiyan Ahmad was ruined. All this wealth meant nothing to him if she would get out of life.
And it was the sad reality. Ruhaan had to bear this for hurting Nisha. But he didn't know at the other corner of Karachi, Nisha was also dealing with the same emotions as him.
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Ruhaan woke up late today as he came home after midnight yesterday. He wasn't able to sleep for most of the time. Lazily, he took a shower and headed downstairs. Rutba Begum found him going to the office without breakfast.
"Ruhaan, wouldn't have breakfast?" She asked.
He sighed and shook his head. "I am getting late already."
Rutba Begum regarded him curiously. He didn't seem okay to her. His eyes were red and looked like he didn't sleep properly. And she knew the reason. She could tell this from the way her poised grandson was behaving.
"She didn't agree?" She implored.
Ruhaan's lip twitched. "She wants a divorce."
"And you will give her divorce?"
He swallowed the bitterness of this statement. "I promised her that I will do whatever she will say. I thought I could appease her in the way but all in vain. I don't know what will I do without her."
Rutba Begum's heart slashed at hearing him. "Ruhaan, I don't know what to say. If it was in my power, I would have done anything to give happiness to both of you but...but it's impossible. Whatever happened shouldn't have happened. You hurt her. You broke her heart and hurt her true feelings and love but one can't blame you altogether as well. You were oblivious and one can act this way."
Ruhaan closed his eyes to calm himself down before looking back. "I am getting late. I need to go." He kissed her forehead. "Bye."
Rutba Begum glanced miserably at his back. She lifted her hands in the form of a dua. "Oh Allah, give them what they want. Help my grandchildren. Make their happiness in the same thing."
What she didn't was that their happiness was indeed the same thing. Getting each other back.
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In the morning, Nisha got a message from the medical university about the commencement of her classes next week. The twins were three months old now. She wasn't anxious about anything but Aliyan. Tabinda's behavior with him was still the same; cold and not giving him a single glance. She couldn't believe till now, Tabinda had never picked her son. She decided to talk to her mother about this today.
She was changing the dresses of the children but Aliyan seemed cranky. He wasn't allowing her any room to make him wear the garments. She believed it was due to yesterday when she took him away from his beloved Daddy.
Nisha made Eshal wear a cute yellow floral frock and after a lot of effort and whispers, Aliyan was dressed in a blue overall having a Mickey Mouse on its heart.
"My cute babies," she mumbled and kissed their cheeks lovingly.
Picking them on either of her arms, she walked out of her room, her direction towards the dining table where Tabinda was already seated, waiting for her to have breakfast. She greeted her mother and made both the babies sit in their cribs. They were adorable having the distinct color of blue and pink; a gift from Nisha's grandmother.
"My classes are going to start the week," she begins, taking a bite of the bread.
Tabinda glanced at her and nodded her head in understanding.
"Ammi, as I will be gone in the daytime, the children would be with you. I am already very anxious. They are very small. They aren't used to my absence," she said.
"I know. But what can one do, Nisha? You can't waste your life like this," she retorted.
"You are right. But the thing is..." She licked her lips to not to say something straightforward which could irk her mother. "Aliyan is very energetic Masha Allah and he is a bit stubborn too. To be honest, more than Eshal I am worried for him. He is not used to anyone else except me."
She couldn't add Ruhaan here of course.
"Everything will be fine. Have your breakfast. It will get cold," Tabinda declared.
Nisha sighed and diverted her attention back to her plate. Maybe she was getting extra anxious. After all, Tabinda would love the kids since they were her grandchildren. Her only and beloved daughter's babies.
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