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"Oh my God! It's a solitaire Faizah aapa! Just look at it! It's so beautiful!"

Zara was squealing in excitement at the sight of the huge diamond on Mayra's finger. The extraordinarily huge and expensive gift hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone when Aamir had carried his wife back into their home. Amidst the hugs, the tears and the joy of Mayra's homecoming was the overwhelming sense of guilt and pain, of regret and sorrow, and the burning need to bring back all the happiness that had been lost.

Mayra hadn't expected in her wildest dreams to receive a welcome such as the one she had when Aamir crossed the threshold with her in his arms. It had been like walking in to a baby's birthday party. Colourful streamers were hanging from the wall and a huge poster of Welcome Back Home with drawings of Disney Princesses in their ballroom gowns dancing, was hung with innumerable balloons stuck to the walls and left on the floor. There was a huge cake right in the middle of the room and her entire family was standing around it, smiling widely at her as Khalid, Zara, Faiza and a four year old Amina screamed "Surprise!"

Mayra was stunned into silence and immobility as she watched the people who hated and loathed her, now celebrate her homecoming. Aamir gently lowered her to the ground when one by one everybody started forward to meet her. She was pulled into massive hugs, her forehead was kissed multiple times and Aamir had to keep reminding everyone not to smother her.

She still had difficulty in breathing out of pure disbelief.

When Mayra's parents moved forward to hug her, she pulled back a little and lowered her head. Maimoonah still flung her arms around her daughter and sobbed. Mayra stood rooted to the ground, her hands of their own accord remained unmoving, refusing to hug the woman back. They remained the same way when her father gave her a bear hug.

When Farhan walked up to her, she walked in to his embrace. He had been her parent, her father. The only benefactor her heart recognised.

She didn't smile like everyone else, she didn't laugh at their silly attempts to make her loosen up by wearing ridiculous party hats. She just blindly and unemotionally did what they asked her to do. She had been made to sit down and click pictures with Faiza and Zara. She had been made to wear a party hat and spray foam at Aamir. She had been made to cut the cake and with everybody watching she lifted a piece for Aamir. She saw relief and tenderness wash over him as he gave her a huge smile and leaned forward to give her piece first before he had a bite of his own.

She did it all with bitterness and a complete lack of joy.

Fariha and her mother had been the only two who watched from a distance and refused to join the revelry. Mayra had caught Farhan shooting daggers at Aamir's mother, silently telling her to ask her sister to warm up to Mayra or leave but the elderly woman remained aloof with a scowl on her face, disgusted at the way everyone were throwing themselves Mayra. But Mayra had been glad. At least something hadn't changed in the last couple of months and consistency was something she could definitely do with at the moment. Familiarity was what she wanted even if it meant that she would be ignored, or worse humiliated, but in familiar circumstances she knew how to react to situations and what was expected of her. In these new developments she was absolutely clueless about the what her family now wanted of her. Did her parents want her to open her arms for them and pretend like the last two years never happened? Did Khalid expect her to forget that he had called her a slut in front of her paralysed husband? Did Faiza expect her to laugh along with her and not be reminded of all the torture she had borne because Faiza had instigated Aamir?

At least with Aamir's aunt she knew that there were no expectations. The woman didn't expect Mayra to greet her, and Mayra knew not to dare to do that. Fariha and her mother walked away in disgust without saying a word to her, and Mayra felt relieved at that well known and well-remembered action.

Aamir had been smiling a lot that afternoon, chatting amiably with her parents and his own, discussing her progress and medicines. For the first time in months Aamir had seen a little less hostility from his father and that reinforced in his mind that he was doing something right. The relief squeezed his heart painfully, he didn't remember feeling this happy before.

Now, as the three girls Faiza, Zara and Mayra sat in their room, at Aamir's insistence that Mayra should rest, Mayra's sisters-in-law could barely hold in their curiosity any longer and kept pulling her hand to examine and gush over that rock of a diamond over and over.

"I am so going to pester Irfan to get me one like that!" Faiza exclaimed. "Its so beautiful!"

Zara looked at her cousin and reminded her, "Irfan bhai got you diamond earrings for your birthday two months back, remember?"

Faiza pouted and ducked her head, "ya."

"But Bhabhi," Zara said turning to look at Mayra, "why did Bhai buy you a ring now? I know it isn't your birthday or anniversary. Bhabhi!"

Mayra snapped out of her thoughts and said, "sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked what the occasion was! Why Bhai gifted this stunning solitaire to you now."

"Umm.. he said that -uh- it was to make up for my birthdays and anniversaries that he missed till now."

In unison both girls said, "awww."

"That's so sweet!" said Faiza.

"I never knew," Zara piped in, "that Bhai could be so romantic!"

Mayra blushed and the girls laughed at her rosy cheeks and teased her for transforming Aamir into a love-sick puppy. They kept teasing her and laughing till Mayra herself started to smile at their weird jokes and unladylike peals of laughter as they collapsed on her bed.

"Having a great time, ladies?" Aamir spoke up from the doorway he was leaning against, his arms folded across his chest, his gaze lingering at Mayra's smiling face.

Aamir's amused voice stopped their crazy taunting and Faiza smirked at him, "Mayra is having a great time with her diamond. Why, Aamir, we never knew you could be such a Romeo! What's next?"

"That," he said, pushing his tall frame out of the doorway and sauntering into the room, "is a surprise."

"Oohhh!" laughed Zara.

"Now both of you, please leave so that Mayra can rest."

"But she is resting!" pointed out Faiza.

"Yes I can see that!" Air commented sarcastically. "I asked you guys to bring her hear and then leave, not to relocate yourselves in my room to continue to annoy her!"

"Your husband is so rude, Mayra!" a laughing Faiza huffed as she got up from the bed and pulled Zara up who was sticking her tongue out at Aamir.

"Ya bhabhi, he's mean!" Zara accused.

Aamir laughed at them and held the door open for them to walk out. He shut the door behind them and turned to look at Mayra who was still wearing a tiny smile.

"Did the trouble you a lot?" Aamir asked walking up to her and sitting beside her hip, facing her.

Mayra shook her head.

"So, love sick puppy, huh?" Aamir smirked.

Horrified, Mayra asked, "you heard that?"

"I heard everything!" Aamir admitted shamelessly.

"Uh.. uh.. that.. uh Faiza.. uh" Mayra stuttered, her blush deepening into a deeper red.

Aamir threw back his head and laughed loudly. He caught her shoulders and pulled her into his chest. Burying his face in her hair, he inhaled her sweet scent and whispered, "Princess, for you I am and always remain a lovesick puppy!"

He could feel the rapid hammering of her heart. He could feel the sharp intake of her breath. He could feel her respond to his touch. He pushed her further into his chest, shrouding her as completely in his embrace as he was surrounded by her love.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck. Again a wet kiss, but what had her mind reeling was the way he pressed the tip of his nose in her neck and deeply sniffed in her scent.

It took every ounce of restraint he possessed to pull back and gaze into her widened eyes. He brushed the back of his hand across her cheek. Her eyes rolled back and her heavy lids sagged closed on their own.

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her cheek and then to her forehead and pulled back but remained as close to her as he could. When she opened her eyes and stared directly into his, he said in a husky voice, "I'm madly in love with you, darling."

Her eyes welled up with tears. She looked at him, scared that he would get angry if she let her tears fall, and tried to keep the water in her eyes but failed as two streams flowed down her cheeks. She continued to look at him and cry not knowing what he would do.

Aamir smiled sadly as he wiped her tears away. He wouldn't stop her. He knew that she needed this, needed it very badly, and the least he could do as offer her whatever little comfort he could.

"It's ok darling," he promised her, "it'll be all right."

She stopped herself rubbing her eyes and saw that Aamir was offering her his kerchief. She took it and dabbed at her still wet cheeks and murmured at him, "I'm sorry. I j.just can't hel.. help it sometimes."

"You've nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. I'm just glad that you are back where you belong, in my life, in my arms, like this. My life was so meaningless without you, my Princess, and now that you are here, it feels like all the colours have suddenly flooded my sight once more. Everything looks beautiful now, everything smells like perfume, all because I have you, and there's nothing else I want."

She looked anywhere but him while he spoke, she was clearly uncomfortable. He couldn't decide whether it was because of him, or because she was back in the room where all the worst memories of her life were still lurking in the dark corners.

He paused for a moment and deciding that a change of topic was necessary, he asked, "may I ask you something?"

Hesitantly, she nodded.

"Will you not talk to your parents? Their awfully guilty and heartbroken too."

Mayra looked away. "Do you want me to -"

Aamir cut her comment short, knowing full well where this conversation was going, "I don't want you to do anything, sweetheart. You are free to do whatever you want, whenever you want. I'm merely asking you when you will do it because I know that right now you are not in the mood to do so."

Mayra took a deep breath, "I don't know. There's just so much of everything all at the same time, I just don't feel like talking at all."

Confused and suddenly alarmed, Aamir asked her, "why did you agree to speak to the counsellor then?"

"Umm.. because you asked me to, and.. and..you were being so nice to me. I didn't want to say no to you."

Aamir stared at Mayra incredulously. She had her head ducked and he put a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. "Are you only doing this because I asked you?"

Mayra shook her head so fast, her hair pilled over her shoulder, "No. Its because I knew you were telling me to do the right thing and may be it will really help if I could speak to someone who isn't related to me and.." She stopped, guiltily looked at Aamir.

"I'm not offended, Mayra." He reassured her. "I know you don't want to speak to any one of us now. I understand completely. We'll go to Gaurav tomorrow, ok?"

Mayra nodded, relieved.

"Now, lie down," he instructed as he got up and straightened Mayra's pillows so that she could lie down, "I'll go get some juice for you."

Mayra watched him smile at her and leave. She looked at the diamond on her finger and wondered if she could take this extravagant present as proof that her husband had truly changed. Or, at least, was in the process of changing.

Aamir hurried down the hallway to the kitchen but Faiza's sound coming from her room stopped him cold.

"I know.. I know.. Jaffar is calling me again."

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