"You did not fine me worthy enough to tell me that my brother has forced you into this marriage." Dua snapped.
"Also I didn't expect that from you that you can stoop so low, just to gain your lover by your side you played with my brother's emotion. Only for once, just for once if you had discussed the whole matter with me I had helped you in every possible way to get out of this forced marriage Zahra but what you did? What you did Zahra? What the fuck you did? Keeping my brother's action aside, how can you do that to someone, leave this thing that he is my brother. How can you do that to anyone Zahra? I considered you a very nice girl inside out, with a pure heart but my assumptions about you were certainly wrong. I didn't want to be closer to a girl who plays with other emotions, who find it so easy to crush someone's feelings only to get what she wants." Dua ranted and Zahra just looked at her with wide teary eyes.
Her words were hitting her heart like a dagger.
"And you know Zahra I had seen it in my brother's eyes, the love, the admiration, the fondness just for you. He had never exhibited such emotions for anyone. He has been in love with you since his childhood. For his whole life, he had just waited for the right moment to marry you. Just think about this, a person who had waited someone for his whole damn life, and when that someone enters into his life, she plays with his emotions in such a brutal way. Just think, how much it had hurt that person.You know my mother, she was in an extramarital affair. She was betraying my father behind his back and one night Irtaza and Shehryaar bhai, they both caught her with that man in her room when Baba and Uncle were out of country. And then my mother committed suicide, my brother saw with their own bare eyes, her hanging body from the ceiling, her dead eyes looking towards them, they were too young. After that incident my brother had closed the gates of his heart for anyone. He became a killer. He found it really hard to trust anyone, gaining his trust has always been the biggest task for his subordinates. But Zahra, he liked you, since his childhood. And you broke his trust just like my mother. You once again brought back those horrendous memories in my brother's life. You crushed his heart. You once again made him a living corpse. You stole the reason of his life. You took away that light from his eyes which we saw after decades. I know he forced you into this marriage and his actions could also not be justified that is why I am also ignoring my own brother. Both of you are wrong but atleast I didn't expect that from you Zahra."
Zahra's eyes were tear filled, tears were freely cascading down, flowing to her neck. It was too much for her to handle. The pain of betrayal and guilt collided in her heart. She found it difficult even to breathe.
"Both of you are wrong but this wasn't expected from you Zahra. Just think for once if that Daniyal had played with your emotions like that? If he had played heinous games just to gain your trust and then break it, leaving you all alone in a blind alley. I was also in love with someone once and that man went away, betraying me. You have no idea Zahra how much pain I have to go through because of it. The pain of betrayal is the worst pain ever. It crushes hopes and expectations, it steals the will to live and I have went through the same pain two times in my life. It wasn't expected from you Zahra. If you had told me that you were forced I might have taken a solution out but you way of handling this matter was erroneous. Even for once you had thought before running away with that guy, that what humiliation your whole would have to bear? The respect which our family earned over the years would have been destroyed. This wasn't expected from you, I didn't expect any of this thing from you" Dua said it all and then stood up before leaving the cafeteria.
She sniffed clearing her tears, she had lost her appetite and then she left the cafeteria too.
By evening her mother was discharged from hospital. Everything was fine now. Doctor had suggested Ammara not to take any emotional stress or any tension otherwise her situation could get serious. And now it was the time to go back.
Zahra on insistence of her elders went with her mother to haveli for a week. And she kept herself locked in her mother's room. She won't come at the table for breakfast, lunch or dinner, when her food was served to her in her mother's room, she won't eat anything other than some fruits which her mother forced down to her throat. At night, her eyes used to be wide awake, she was feeling numb but sometimes she would cry hugging her mother tightly. Her mother could feel the pain her daughter was going through. But most of the time Zahra would just feel only numbness, she knew if she unlocked her emotions she would want to kill herself so she locked everything inside her, not pondering on anything that happened to her.
Dua didn't talk much to her and whenever Haseeb would try to she didn't give much response to his questions, she spent her time praying to her Lord. Her numbness would diminish whenever she prayed, her dam would break, and she would cry and cry sharing her every sorrow and miseries to Allah.
A week passed in a blur and Irtaza sent a driver to take back Zahra to the mansion making a sudden sadness settle in her heart, she didn't want to leave her mother so soon but this thought consoled her that her Allah is with her all the time and she went back to the mansion.
The driver parked the car and Zahra got out, moving inside the residence. She walked towards her room when a maid suddenly stopped her.
"Ma'am where are you going?" She asked.
"To my room"
"That's not your room anymore, its upstairs next to sir's room. Your accessories and clothes are shifted there."
"Upstairs?" She asked in shock.
"Yes, please go there"
"Ok" she replied and went to the room, the maid told her.
Why would he ask her to shift there?
On reaching there, her eyes analysed the large ostentatious room, a king sized bed placed in the centre, almost every make up product was placed on the dressing table in a proper order, the large window was curtained. She walked towards the window and tied the curtain so sunlight could enter into the room. It was early morning about 7 oclock and she was clueless why Irtaza had called her back so early in the morning.
She analysed the view through the window, she had never seen this side of the mansion when her eyes fell on Irtaza who was swimming in the pool. His naked torso bare to her eyes, water dripping down from his hair, his chest glimmering with the water and then he again dived into the pool.
Her lips formed a O. She was impressed, Irtaza knows swimming.
She moved inside the huge pentagonal walk in closet and her eyes widened, shoes, bag, clothes, jewellery every single thing was present there along with ruffian sofas a small table on which their was a telephone so she could telecom and call maids for her help.
She tried to open one of the cupboard but it didn't open as it was locked and needed the thumbprint to unlock, so she placed her thumb and the cupboard opened, her eyes widened.
She opened one of the drawer and she couldn't believe her eyes on seeing the beautiful set of diamond necklace stucked with rubies. She continued to open each of the drawer in the cupboard and each one of them contained a beautiful set of gold, diamond, rubies etc.
She was shocked, she hasn't seen this amount of jewellery in her whole life.
And then she peeked into other cupboards filled with clothes, western, eastern, shoes, bags. The walk in closet itself was so huge.
She got out of the dressing room, went towards the washroom and again she was surprised to see the huge, posh washroom. Sighing, she took a shower as she always started her day with a shower.
After taking a long warm bath, relaxing her muscles and trying to shake off every depressing thought coming to her mind, she wore her robe and did her toothbrush when again another distressing thought hit her mind, when she will be able to continue her studies?
If she will continue to live like that in this house like a rapunzel, then she will die soon of claustrophobia, her thoughts would kill her, if that numbness cracked, she will kill herself.
Her eyes on their own moved towards the mirror infront of her, she observed her face, specifically her big brown beautiful eyes which looked dead, they had no will to live anymore, no spark, no light, no hope. Indeed, eyes are the door to soul and indeed her eyes were depicting the suffering, the agony, the ache her heart was feeling.
Betrayal
The interesting thing about this word is that it does not comes from a stranger but from the one who is closer to you and the pain afflicted by betrayal is proportional to the closeness you had with that person and Daniyal was her life.
The spark in her eyes was due to him, the smile on her face was due to him.
But now if it was in her hands she would want to kill him with her own hands, she can never forgive nor forget how he played with her feelings and emotions when another thought consumed her mind.
The absolute law of nature, 'as you saw so shall you reap'
She played with Irtaza's feeling and Daniyal played with hers.
She put up a facade infront of Irtaza of being nice and Daniyal did the same.
Irtaza loved her, she was the reason behind his smile, the light in his eyes and she stole that light away from her and Daniyal did the same with her.
Karma? Was that karma?
But isn't she punished enough?
What more was left to take away from her?
She took in a deep breath, clearing her tear which slipped down her eye.
She will definitely die with depression if she will ponder more and she splashed some water on her face moving outside when suddenly she bumped into someone.
Her eyes widened.
She looked up and saw Irtaza standing there, water dripping down his naked chest as if he just had a shower and her cheeks tinted red, she was just in her bathrobe.
"Do you wa...nt some...thing?" she stuttered, stepping back when suddenly he dug his fingers into the belt of her bathrobe pulling her towards him, making her hand fall on his chest.
He gave her a good two minutes perusal making her gulp, but was she afraid of him now? No. Definitely no.
She has been through much and being fearful would be the last thing she would do but still she could detect some uneasiness building inside her, his sharp grey eyes were making her heart beat fast.
"Can you give me that something?" he whispered, prying off the hair away from her face with which she was trying to hide her face from him and then his fingers begin to play with the knot of her belt making her mouth hung open on getting the meaning behind his words.
"No!" she shrieked and held her belt so he couldn't untie the knot.
"Ok, I'm not doing anything." he muttered and pulled away.
"Are you done punishing me?!" She suddenly snapped.
"Yes"
"Why? Don't you want to punish me more? Don't you want to see my tears, my cries?"
"Why should I do something that takes away my peace of days and nights?"
"So only to dismiss your restlessness, you are done punishing me. Right?"
"The question is why your tears makes me restless." he muttered under his breath but she couldn't hear it.
"What?" she frowned.
"Here is your university card, if you want to rejoin your university then get ready, the driver is waiting outside."
"Really?" she asked shocked.
"Yeah, now get ready"
............
After dressing up, she went downstairs for breakfast, Irtaza had already left for the office. She sat on her chair, her eyes running on the varieties of food, was that for her?
She chuckled at her thoughts.
'Where is my chicken roast?' she thought with dismay.
"What would you like to eat ma'am?" the maid asked making her frown.
"I was supposed to eat chicken roast?"
"No, you can eat whatever you want to ma'am" the maid said.
'What?'
"A toast would work" she mumbled.
Why isn't he punishing her?
After the breakfast, she went to her university almost after a month.
She was happy, more than happy that she could continue her studies and it will divert the way of her thoughts, she didn't want to think about anything but the atmosphere of the university brought back the last memories she had with this place.
The last day flashed in her mind when she met Daniyal here, hugged him hard and they were running away.
She really loved him, with her whole heart and was this the payback she got for her love, selfless love?
She cared for him more than herself, she did what he said, on his insistence, she betrayed Irtaza.
Her throat clogged with tears threatening to escape, was it that easy for him to crush her emotions?
But now she just had pure hate for him.
She hated him with the same intensity with which she loved him.
She wished the worst death for him.
He had made her a living corpse.
The whole day in the university passed in a blur, there were lectures after lectures and now it was the time to go back and complete her assignments. Her final exams were coming closer and she had to work hard.
Standing at the gates, she waited for the driver to pick her up when her eyes fell on Irtaza's car, he was waiting for her there and she moved towards the car, getting inside.
Without saying a word he drove it towards somewhere, making her wonder where he is taking her to as the way lead to somewhere else.
After half an hour long drive, they reached a warehouse and he got out of the car ordering her to follow him and she did that.
She got inside and the very next second her eyes widened when they fell on three man who were brutally beaten but she was able to recognize one of them.
"Shoaib bhai" she whispered.