grumbled under his breath.

Zoha's anxiety gave way. She felt sweaty in her seat, unable to relax the agitation. Nervousness bloated under her skin, creeping to her throat. She began to convulse from her hands. Her strength turned brittle and weakness bit at her bones.

She could sense the disaster ahead. Nothing was going to be good. Why couldn't she keep her mouth shut. Why did she give up in front of Shehryaar? she thought. It wasn't that he would have killed her if she didn't answer. But she was terrified of his burning discontent. And seeing that, it made her say whatever came to her tongue.

"What are you going to do?" Zoha was frightened to ask. She could merely look at him in embarrassment if he turned to look on the side. But his eyes were at the road, hand tightly grasping on the steering wheel. He accelerated the car, making Zoha jerk forward.

"You don't have to get scared," he said in a normal tone like everything was okay.

Zoha was getting a bad feeling about the way he was acting. He was capable of doing anything. She decided to stay quiet and not question him further.

When they reached home, Zoha did not get out of the car. Her fingers trembled in her lap like winter breeze had hit her. Shehryaar pulled out the key from the ignition. He threw a glance on Zoha and froze with a concerned look.

"As I said, don't be scared," he said.

She knew what she was going through. Shehryaar could never fathom her emotional state. He could only see from the outside. Zoha's instincts told her that things were far more serious than before.

She balked to open the car door. Shehryaar came around and did that for her. He watched her make every move, slowly, engulfed in unspoken terror.

"Things never change until you stand up for yourself and fight against the problem." He kept giving the courage to her, as much as she felt it losing.

Zoha wished she never had to come back here. Her life was getting better when there was no Manal and no Faiza. She was beginning to feel carefree from that matter.

Her arms were shaking as she stepped out of the car. She had no nerve to face the situation.

Shehryaar called Manal, as he went inside. His face glowed in fury. "Manal!"

His loud voice tore through Zoha's ear. She was not ready for this. The reality was seen altering into nightmare. She told herself she could stop this. But it made her feel guilty as she thought of it. Would she ever want someone like Manal to treat her this way? Insult her and blame her for faulty reasons? Did she deserve this?

At some point, Zoha felt Shehryaar was doing the right thing. He was standing up for her when she couldn't for herself. He was making her realize that she had the courage inside of her. She could do it. If she really went forth, she could make a difference. There was nothing to be afraid of. But she was the one, timid, and unsure.

After calling thrice, Manal came down, in her pajama suit, hair tousled with a surprising look on her face.

"Come here!" Shehryaar said, biting on the anger.

"Bhai, what happened?"

"Today whatever I ask you, you have to have answer me." Shehryaar held his patience tight in his fist.

Manal's attention leapt on Zoha. Her acrimony was revived. She then understood what this fuss was all about.

"You brought her back?" she said, giving a nasty look to Zoha.

"Watch how you are talking." Shehryaar raised his voice to overpower her.

Manal rolled her eyes, acting solipsistic. "If you are going to talk about her, then I have no time. I thought it was some other emergency." She dismissed him and turned around with no fear of his older brother.

Shehryaar grabbed her hand and pulled her as she began to leave. "Where do you think your going?" His resentment grew.

"Leave me." Manal tried to peel his strong hands off of her arm. She appeared cranky and annoyed. "What are you doing, bhai?"

Zoha's chest thudded, her whole body began to go numb.

"I told you not to behave like this with me," Shehryaar said. "You can do this with mummy but not me. I have tolerated enough of you. Now tell me what you have done to Zoha? Justify the reason she left this house."

"I am not in a mood to talk about this stupid matter. And leave me alone." She revolted.

"I don't care what happens. You scream and call mummy. Then call her. I am not scared."

"Mummy!" Manal screamed.

"Mummy! Look what bhai is doing to me." She tried to scrape his hands off her.

"Why are you doing this to Zoha?" Shehryaar questioned her, boring his eyes in hers.

"Why are you doing this to me? I am your sister."

"A spoiled one, who could go off limit to hurt others. Isn't it true?"

Saliha showed up at the top of the stairs, in her long, maroon nightie with floral design on them, with un-matching dupatta around her neck. She sprinted, seeing Shehryaar red with anger, squeezing Manal's hand. He did not even look at his mother.

"Mummy, save me," Manal cried.

"Shehryaar!" Saliha retorted. "What are you doing? Are you in your senses?"

Shehryaar continued glaring at Manal. Saliha came forward and tried to separate the siblings, who much looked like enemies in war.

"Mummy, I am talking to her. I don't want you to interfere." He stated in the most blunt and simple words that left Saliha in even more shock. "What has been going in this house?" He proceeded speculating Manal.

Manal glared at Zoha, who was standing at a distance behind Shehryaar, tears clouding her eyes. "She must have told you already. Then why are you asking me?"

"Because I want to hear from you."

"Hate. I hate her," Manal blurted, shamelessly. "I can't stand her in my house. Take her away. I don't care where she goes."

"She is not going to go anywhere. It's her house too as much as it's yours. You can't kick her out. You have no right to."

Saliha pierced a mad look at Zoha, lips pursed thin as string.

"She was living here because of dadi. Now she can't live here. The best place for her is her Khala's house."

Shehryaar was still holding onto Manal's hand. She was goading him to challenge her, acting brazen and utterly rude.

"Who are you to decide this?"

Saliha once again attempted to stop this. "Shehryaar! What's got into you? Have you gone crazy?"

"Are you looking at her?" He bursted on his mother. "No wonder why daddy got mad at you. Because you have contributed all your effort in spoiling her."

"And you have so much shame in talking to your mother like this." Saliha raised her voice as the authority of the house. "Leave Manal's hand right now."

"I have tolerated her enough. Today she will say sorry to Zoha. In front of me."

"Shehryaar! You are not old enough to make decisions and impose it on people."

"This would have been daddy's decision if he was here. You know how much he loves Zoha. And it looks like you both are involved in this." He included Saliha this time. He was too angry to see through the veil of respect.

"Since your daddy left you have become too supportive of Zoha. For once I didn't see you talk kindly to Manal. Everytime you are criticizing her, arguing with her and acting like she is your enemy." Saliha gave him a tongue-lash. "For God's sake leave your sister alone."

"So she has the freedom to kick Zoha from the house again."

"What is this sympathy for?" Manal began suspecting him again. "What spell has she cast on you that you are seeing us as your enemy?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Shehryaar rebuked.

"You are being a fool in the hands of her. She is using you as the front defense because she is all alone," Manal said.

"Shut up!" Shehryaar had had enough. "If you talk like this bad about her in front of me, then how worse it might have been in my absence."

Zoha silently cried. She put the dupatta to her mouth and left from the front door.

"And she deserves that," Manal said. "She had always come in my way of happiness."

"Now I understand how easy it must have been for you to do that to her. Poor girl has no support, no parents to protect her. She has been alone since after they passed away. I am disgusted by your mentality. Everyone is living and yet you got no problem with them. Only her. Who never wanted bad for you. This is how you treat her?"

Manal pulled her hand away from Shehryaar and looked away in ill-temper.

"I can't tolerate her. She is always trying to prove me bad."

"Really?"

"Today I saw her real face. She can be that innocent? Unbelievable."

"Manal, go to your room," Saliha scolded.

"These kinds of people don't deserve to live happily after tearing families apart for their own good."

"Manal, right now," Saliha yelled.

"People like you can never understand someone's pain." Shehryaar spat his words. "Where respect disappears, the shames fades along with it. I am telling you, you are going to regret it. Keep that in your mind."

There was barely any word that impacted Manal. She stomped up the stairs and slammed the room door loud enough to shatter the glass.

Saliha and Shehryaar stood face to face each other. A rope of anger connected them.

"I am joining my hand. Don't create this storm ever again," Saliha said. "Please."

Shehryaar just looked at her but didn't say anything. He had no words to comfort her.

In the afternoon, Zoha was sitting in her room. She felt like an outsider. She looked at things with blank mind. The place appeared hollow and alien, echoing with mocks and cries. It brought no pleasant feeling. Dry and empty. She was all alone. And it wasn't that unusual for her. She was used to it.

The tears were absent from her eyes. She was feeling weary, a poor huddled mass. It was as if she had been through a storm, the dangerous one. She was feeble, not wanting to face anymore hardship. She wanted to rest alone on bed, with no one to bother her. She didn't care about Manal, nor Saliha. Shehryaar had protected her. He became her back bone. It brought her ease to know that somebody looked out for her.

She called Yumna to inform that she was at her own house. Shehryaar had picked her from the bus stop. Yumna was worried about her. She asked if everything was okay. Zoha said,"pray that everything stays the way it is."

How was this chapter? Indeed smaller than the last one. I really wanted to update this chapter because of the cliffhanger I left in the last chapter.

Comment please, like I mention everytime and hit vote. Make my day like I made yours. Thanks lovely people.