He had planned to not have thoughts to bet on his father's call for a meeting. Zaviyar had managed to look as normal as possible when he turned around and found his wife sitting in her chair and fidgeting with a coaster- lost in her thoughts. He knew what she was already feeling about Noorul Ain and she was caught off-guard when he told her about not meeting the other woman until later next month. She tried not to display much of her inner turmoil but she wasn't hiding her concerns.
Zaviyar pushed himself off the elevator wall when it dinged at his floor, waiting for the door to open. The bustling and the chattering that he usually walked into was nonexistent, instead of which he was welcomed by an utter silence. His brows furrowed as he gave a curt nod to those who greeted him. He didn't mind much about the commotion in the morning since they tended to fall silent once they got completely busy with their work later on. There was a sharp tension in the air as if it strangled them to speak a word about it to him.
He caught a sight of Taimoor moping around the floor who then ran away to his desk upon seeing Zaviyar before the he could walk up to Taimoor. His eyes then looked around for his assistant and Maha wasn't on her desk. It was his company but it didn't feel like it. It was as though he relapsed to the period when Meraki was under his father. The employees preferred silence because they valued their places in the company and feared Yahya Ali Dawar to death. It took a minute to strike as his brain was still hazy from all of what he witnessed but it was possible. It was possible that his father was in Meraki. It was possible because he was already seeking out to meet his son for a talk.
Filling his lungs with air and tilting his head at Taimoor for one last time before taking off to his father's office which was unused and untouched after he walked down from his position. The adjacent one to his office that they used to meet clients who worked with his father. It was comfortable to talk business in a familiar air, they said although he didn't catch on much of it except that they were assertive about their places in the company's growth. He cared less but he had to cater.
He flung the door open only to find it rather emptier than ever. He had asked his employees to clean it and take everything of no use out. With only the empty desk and a chair sitting in its place, the feeling of familiarity faded away. It was the place where twelve years Zaviyar used to sit with his knees drawn up, listening to how his father dealt with business. He got older and the training got severe. Initially it was only the weekends which gradually crept into weekdays evening, mostly after school. He was trained like a slave and not like someone who they called a heir.
His mood sour as he loosened his tie and opened a button on the top striding into his office but the moment he did, his feet halted a few steps away from the doorway upon seeing Maha standing with a folder and hugging it to her chest- her eyes rolling to eye him something. There sat his father on his chair in his complete glory, examining the papers that he examined a day before.
The man adjusted his glass on his nose as he looked above from the papers, dropping them back on the desk and standing up. He beckoned Maya to leave and she left, muttering sorry to him on her way out. He wasn't expecting her to stay there and he would have sent her out had it not been for her father. His life was already made enough fun of in front of the people, he wanted nothing more of it and he would do anything to make sure of it.
"Is that how you dress up for your work, Zaviyar?" Ali Dawar sahb asked, eyeing his opened button- his tone stern.
Subconsciously, he looked ambushed before he realized that the old man was baiting him, "Why, I used to show up in cartoon t-shirts and shorts, remember?" He fired back. The last thing he wanted was to cave in. His day ruined as it already was.
"I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense. Let me get to my point." He said, walking over to the couch and giving his son his seat.
"Gladly." He took his seat, a feeling of being at home washed over him. It had been days since he felt like it. The days until yesterday and until he decided to sort it out with his wife were like the period of time spent in prison.
"Noorul Ain's father called me this morning." That was one of many things that he appreciated and admired about his father. Yahya Ali Dawar was a no-shit person; somebody who wouldn't speak unless it benefited or provided for him.
Zaviyar's mouth curled with anticipation. He didn't want to hear anything bad or disastrous but he also knew that if he wasn't a part of it, he wouldn't be sitting there with his father who was always ready to shove a stake down his throat. He hadn't done anything but it didn't mean he wouldn't do anything, it was only a matter of time before he retaliated. If there was one thing that he couldn't measure- it was Ali Dawar sahb's anger and Noorul Ain's pain.
"What did he say?"
"He is sending Noorul Ain to us." He said as if it was nothing. He said as if it didn't really mean anything. He hadn't slept properly in the last few nights, fearing the depth of her pain. He couldn't pass by a second without thinking about how she was dealing with it alone. He hadn't spent a single moment without regretting his actions. It wouldn't have impacted her so much if he had broken it off way before- when he should have instead of playing on and airing the fire.
"What?" His thoughts then moved to his wife. His wife- she had just begun to make herself at home. She had just started to walk around without worry as though she had lived there all her life. She had just started to accept everything she was given. And she had just been giving her everything to her in-laws. The slow giggles, the amused faces, the happy smiles and everything else would be taken away from a woman who was already rotting in guilt.
"He is going away for a while. Istanbul, for a conference and he doesn't want to leave his daughter alone in this situation." Ali Dawar sahb had his eyes on his son to process the changes in his expressions and he watched it morph from confusion to emptiness. His eyes dilated for a moment, thinking about the way it could change many things in his life. He had just begun to settle things that had been messed up.
"But baba I beg to understand his judgment. Wouldn't it cause his daughter more pain to see her ex-fiance living with his wife?" The pain- nobody would know better than him. It was a kind of pain that staked a person's already bleeding heart and he had gone through it when he watched his wife getting ready as somebody else's bride. He didn't want it for anyone else, he definitely didn't want it for a person like Noorul Ain. People like her deserved the world and beyond.
"I know." He sighed, uncrossing his legs and leaning back.
"Then how could you accept it? Let her heal first."
"You know why I favor Noorul Ain so much. She is the last living reminder I have of my dead sister."
"Baba," In that whisper, Ali Dawar sahb heard his son's guarding walls shiver and go down a little bit. In that whisper, Ali Dawar sahb realized his son was relapsing to the time of helplessness. In that whisper, Ali Dawar sahb heard more than just anguish. He didn't make his son go through hell for him to fall weak later in his life. Zaviyar Ali Dawar was much stronger than that but it was a moment where he wanted his father on his side.
"I'll try to take care of it, just be sure to go along with me." Ali Dawar sahb assured although his son didn't seem to be trusting him.
"What about my wife?" The father might do all he could to keep it under covers but he would run to the end of his fate to keep his wife with him for the rest of his life. He was still wary- Zaviyar Ali Dawar was still wary and yet to recover from the cruel pain from that evening. The man was yet to trust her and he was already pushing his way to the end to keep her away from the demons of his life. What would be made of him when he did trust her? How far he would go, the world can only imagine.
"Divorce hasn't been in our family tradition in the long run, except for your sister's case of course, which is why we stick to each other regardless of differences. I may not have warmed up to having Maheen as my daughter in law just yet but I won't have that girl removed from my home and your life for whatever reasons." He wanted to feed off his father's words now that she was already in his house as his wife, only he knew he couldn't. He was against Ahlah's marriage too but he changed his mind when he understood Adeeb made her happy. In her picture, there was no third person. In her picture, there was no nephew that Ali Dawar sahb had to take side of.
"I don't have a good feeling about this." Zaviyar shook his head, nodding it off. He needed a little more time to think over it- to realize and understand the upcoming situation. Ahlah had already hinted about Noorul Ain having feelings for him in a very subtle manner. He hoped she wouldn't have feelings for him. He hoped Ahlah's judgment was wrong.
"This is your chance, Zaviyar, as well as your wife's to talk to Noorul Ain because her father has no intention to allow the two of you to even breathe in her direction. She is coming here but she won't be living in our mansion. The haveli is under the cleaning process for her stay." Ali Dawar sahb stood up to leave. It was all he wanted to talk to him and the mansion wasn't the place to talk about it since his wife and daughter hovered over him everywhere in an attempt to try and protect the son of the house from his wrath or whatever though he could just do it himself.
"How long is she going to be in Islamabad then?" His eyes followed his father up, his question making the man stop in his place and turning around to meet his son's eyes.
"A good two months." With that and with a small nod, the man strode away. Zaviyar could hear the weight of his footfalls on the tiled floor and his power emanating from his body as he walked off and crossed one desk after another. The man still held most of the employees in a chokehold- in a fear.
Zaviyar leaned back on his chair and stared at the ceiling, thinking of how to make use of the next two months to settle everything. He had two months to make everything fall in its place. He had two months to talk to Noorul Ain. He had two months to make his wife come out of her cocoon. He had two months to give her to win his father's trust. It seemed too much time but it would only last a blink of an eye.
~
Maheen stared hopelessly at her cousin who, instead of making himself useful and study for the upcoming exams, was busy making origami in the middle of a crowded library. Maheen could barely hold it together with all the buzzing and the stench of sweat. A text from Zaviyar from earlier in the morning made her racing heart to calm down. It wasn't the guilt that hit her in the morning, it was the fear of losing him. She couldn't lose him now that she had him and the taste of his love.
She stabbed the pencil lightly on the wooden desk in an attempt to gather her cousin's attention but in vain as he tore another paper from the notebook. Giving up, she put the pencil inside her textbook and knocked her fist in front of him. Daniyal looked up at her with the cheekiest smile he had to offer and went back to making craft. He was so engrossed that she was losing patience. It wasn't new for him to derail in the middle of a study session and they used to sum it up later by covering the syllabus on the balcony at night but it was not the same anymore because, one, she didn't live with him, two, he had a business to build for which he worked on at nights.
"Oh lala!" She hit his crown with the back of her pencil.
"Let me focus on what I'm doing." He clicked his tongue, shook his head and tore another paper to make a new pattern.
"Do you want me to remind you what you'll be doing this time next week?"
"Shut up, I'm destressing." He shooed her hand away and his words softened her.
Daniyal had been going through so much to be where he wanted to be. He was giving up so many things but never talked about it. It was her and only her who complained about most random things in her life. She didn't need to be there with him all the time to see his struggles- his undereyes bags in the morning was one of the many things that spoke in his stead. Pride soared in her chest because anyone could earn money but not everyone could build a company of their dream.
"How is it coming together, the start-up?" She had, now genuinely interested.
Daniyal looked up at her for a split second before moving his attention back to the paper, a soft smile birthing on his face, "Good. I met two more investors two days ago."
"What did they say?" Curiousity had her scoot closer, suddenly the desk felt huge and he seemed to be ten yards away.
"They liked it. They are investing." He didn't go into it. Maheen sighed knowing him, knowing he wouldn't want her to glimpse at the weight he had been carrying around even though he was the person to listen to her.
"You're making it through, Daniyal. Your dreams are coming closer." Maheen took a paper and tore a strip before she started to shape it, a smile of contentment latching on her face. It had been ages since this kind of contentment hit her- the feeling of accomplishing a dream and the feeling of watching someone so close accomplishing their dreams, it made life a little more bearable and a little less stressing and for someone who was brought up in a state of always being torn, the life felt complete.
Though he still wore exhaustion, the comment from his cousin made him feel a lot more relaxed. This dream was his everything since the day he woke up and found his father struggling to make ends meet, years later their life had gotten so much better but the burning need to sit their parents in a silk seats and have them look at him with pride kept him awake at nights. He would have started two years ago if it wasn't for Maheen and her wish to do masters, he tagged along because he didn't want to leave her alone, "All thanks to your husband, if not for him I would still be out looking for my first investors. I've gathered eleven for now."
"Why are you suddenly so modest and humble?" She blinked, faking astonishment and shock to contain the smile that was forming. Daniyal threw the paper back on the desk and leaned back, taking a good look at her and watch her turn red with her breath stuck in her throat. Maheen Layah Kamran was only seconds away from laughter.
"I have many things to boast meanwhile my hustle, until I make it, is not one of them." He said, throwing a nasty glare at her before reaching out for her notebook and tearing a paper from hers this time. The redness washed away as her breath released when she realized what he did. He looked at him and then at the note, snatching it away from his hands and burying it under one of the books she had borrowed from the library.
"Zaviyar just showed you a way, it's your hardwork that is getting you to your rightful place."
To which he said nothing, partly because he knew she was right and partly because he wanted to push her limits, "I have this urge to hire you when I start to hire people-" He said with a look of hope glint in his eyes.
She looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue, "However, I don't want the company to go bankrupt the minute it goes public."
"Your loss." She shrugged her shoulders, pretending to be offended by him when her phone went off.
"It's your call." Daniyal pointed towards her phone. Her phone went off again and for the third time- deliberate missed calls indicated that her husband was on the other side of the university gate.
"Come with me-"
He cut her off mid sentence by a slow nod and click of tongue, "I have a meeting in about a hour and twenty three minutes. I was just keeping you company until your man comes for you."
"What does that mean?" She stood up and collected all of her books and seperated the ones that needed to be returned by the end of the working hours.
"Zaviyar bhai texted me this morning asking if it was okay for him to pick and drop you." He was surprised when he saw the text from him in the morning. He was aware that they were giving each other space to think over their life and he was told that Zaviyar was going to do everything to make her least bit worried, even by keeping his distance from her. It was a shock but was a happy one.
"And you agreed?"
"Na karta aur abbu ko pata chal jaata toh meri haddiyan torh dete."
I'm outside
Zaviyar
The text popped on her screen, distracting her from collecting her books and watching Daniyal leave in a hurry. It must have been hard for him to hold on a thin thread for her. It must have been hard to clean after someone else's mess when he already had so much on his place, yet never for once did he complain or even heaved a wry sigh in her direction. She wasn't sure- she couldn't see where she would have been in her life if not for Daniyal Ahmed.
Making a silent prayer for his success, she went up to return them in the return counter and walked out of the library only to find students rushing to leave the campus. There were a few more minutes until they were supposed to be done for the day but nobody seemed to care as they flooded everywhere. Maheen heaved in dismay, knowing the way it could prove to not be the very best time to leave but he was there, just a few metres and a block away from her. The source of her peace would engulf in his warmth and take away all day's blues from her. She would be home and she would be safe with him.
With a smile on her face and looking forward to meet her husband after a tiring day at the university, she pushed through the crowd and made her way out to the elevators when a student, who rushed to the other side, bumped into her shoulder- causing her bag to fall off from her shoulder. There was no way she could crouch down and pick her bag- they would push her and run over her and no way that she could leave her bag as it was, it had the books she borrowed from the library, her textbooks, her notes and her laptop. The things in the bag were much precious to her than a country to its king.
Having no other choice but to bend down to pick her bag, she realized someone stood behind her- guarding her from the students who showed no mercy to other's misery. A smile, smearing as her mind went back to the man of her life. He was here to hold her- to guard her against the world. To safe her from every negativity and make her feel at ease but the smile was brutally snatched away when her eyes saw the person who protected her from the students. Her colors, draining.
"Rayyan," The stress on her response told him she wasn't ready to confront him just yet. Not when she was humiliated in front of everyone and not when he cheated on his wife and betrayed her. She wasn't ready because even though he seemed sorry for his actions, he didn't do much except walking away with his mother. She needed answers. She needed them to resolve the growing self-loathe in her. She felt used and thrown away. None of which was going to go away.
"I wanted to talk to you." He said, scratching his temple as if he was embarassed. He was embarassed when he should be ashamed for dealing with women the way he did. Maheen stepped away from him, turning around and standing opposite to him- her hands folded over her chest.
"You could have found me at home." She blanked, not wanting to indulge any unwanted information and have him use it later. To be true about what she felt, she didn't think much of Rayyan and how he turned out to be. She didn't want to think about him. She was too occupied with the thoughts of her husband clouding over her mind. She thought of him whenever she felt alone. She thought about him in the moments where solitude showered her with humiliation.
"Daniyal filed a restraining order against me."
"Under what accusation?"
"Ah-" He couldn't help but feel words die in the base of his throat. He had practiced so many times. He had so many things to say to her, "H- harassing you."
She wasn't sure how he expected her to react to it. She had nothing to display and so there would be reaction from her, "Good for you." Saying so, she put the books she had in her hands and was about to walk away when his fingers coiled around her wrist- stopping her on her place.
"Hath choro, Rayyan." Maheen uttered through gritted teeth.
"Listen to me-" Before he could complete his words, he was cut off by a sharp glare that then moved to his hand holding her. Seeing Rayyan look baffled, she followed his gaze to finally meet the one she had been looking forward to see. As always, he found her. As always, he found her when she needed him the most.
"Jis par tumne hath rakha hua hai, woh meri izzat-e-nafs hai." Zaviyar didn't move from his place as he stood there, shooting daggers at his wife's cousin and telling him to let go of his wife's hand while he was still pretending to be nice. The facade that men put on to look as innocent before they went out to hunt down their prey.
"It's my cousin we are talking about." Rayyan protested, his grip tightening around her wrist. Maheen winced, fighting to jerk his hands off when she felt most pain. Zaviyar fists clenched on his sides upon seeing her flinch in pain.
"Don't provoke me, Rayyan. Don't make me start what I have put down for my wife's sake." In that moment, a lot had changed. For good and for worse.
•••