as her anger starts to fade away with the old fear that she always hides behind. She feels someone grabbing her hand tightly making her wince as she turns to find Waali glaring at her.

"Oh, I was standing here for a while and she just joined me here". Gulzar said

She turns to look at him lying clearly about everything but before she can justify herself Waali pulls her with him forcefully as they walk towards the room. Once inside she tries to pushes his hand away from her only for him to tighten his grip on her hand pulling her towards him.

She looks at his eyes looking at her like an accuser of something she isn't even aware of.

"I really thought for a moment that you weren't like how I thought you were but then you always show me that I am wrong. How can you stomp so low?. I gave you money, place and everything that you want but still, you have to be like this?". He said hurt, "How can you not be loyal?. How hard it is to be one?. Why?. Tell me, Almaas, why?".

She closes her eyes shut from the way he is looking to the way he is talking. Each word and action seems to hurt her more than anything else.

He pushes her away from him leaving the room.

*****

The whole night she waited for him but she wasn't even sure why she was waiting in the first place. After she realised that she prepared herself for the day and went to work early.

"You are working late today?". Safa said

"I have a lot of things to do". She replied

"You know that is not the reason. And you know you have explanations to do". Safa said sitting in front of her

She closes her eyes shut not wanting to speak but with the heart break, she had yesterday her emotions didn't allow her to stay still as she explains everything to Safa.

"I cannot believe this. What is the reason he says all this shit about you?". Safa said angrily

"Language. I don't know why he says it and I don't even know why it hurts this much". She said angrily

"Because you are falling for him. It's clear as a day you cannot see it?". Safa said sadly, "It's going to hurt even more with a relationship like this".

*****

"You were staying late?". She hears Amir's voice as she enters, "Why didn't you tell me?".

She turns around looking at Amir a smile gazing her lips.

"At least don't make the kid suffer because of you". Waali said

She swallows hard to not look at him or allow the hurt from his words as she walks closer to Amir. She bends down sitting in front of him taking his hands.

"Sorry. I had a lot of work and I thought I will come by but I just forgot. Do you want to wait for me at home instead of here?". She asked

"Isn't this home?". He asked innocently

Her heart clench, "No, our home is our favourite place and your favourite place is orphanage isn't it?".

Amir nodded smiling, "Guess what?".

She chuckles at his wide grin, "What?".

He looks in his hand where he is holding a paper for her jumping up and down as she reads the paper.

"It's your school trip". She said smiling, "You are going?".

"Yes". Amir said happily

She tilts her head looking at him suspiciously, "What change, huh?".

"Nothing". He said smiling

"I am sure it's nothing. Do you have a pen?". She asked as she searches her bag for one

"You are allowing me to go?". Amir asked

She smiles looking at him brushing his hair away, "I know you didn't want to go before to not make Asad sad and alone. I wanted you to go then too and I want you to definitely go this time. Besides the fact that why you are so excited about going".

"There is no reason besides it's my first trip". He said stubbornly

She chuckles signing his paper as she waits to look at them sadly because she wishes his mother somehow comes and do this for her son.

"Here". She said handing him his paper, "I will speak to Kiran later then".

Amir eyes widen, "What talk?".

"Nothing". She said smiling, "I will drop you back".

"No, no, tell me what talk?". Amir said whining

"I don't want to say and why do you want to know?". She said softly

"Because because of...". Amir said trailing off

She laughs, "I am just playing with you. Come on, I won't be speaking to her about anything".

*****

The next day she sits at the table in the kitchen sketching her design when she screams in pain due to the hot water that falls on her hand. She turns to look at his sister standing there smirking.

"Sorry. My hand slipped". His sister said

She winces in pain from the severe pain as she pushes his sister away trying to find something that can help her hand.

"Ma'am, please let me see". She hears the older woman who works in the kitchen say

"I don't think it will help. I will go to the hospital". She said as she covers her hand with her scarf taking her keys

Before she can sit in her car someone stops her. She turns around looking at her husband standing in front of her.

"What?. Let me go". She said as the pain increases by each second but she swallows to not cry

"I will take you". He said signalling Muzamil

"You don't need to". She said trying to take her hand out

But he grabs her hand dragging her towards his car.

****

"It will pain for the first five days because the burn is severe. We will give you a high dose of painkillers but they will make you drowsy". The doctor explained

She nodded.

She looks down at her hand even though she is still given high dose the pain isn't subsiding. She wants to cry at the amount of pain but she will die than show weakness to him.

She sighs.

"Can I leave now?". She asked nonchalantly

"It will be hurting more than other days today". The doctor said

"I can leave?". She said again

"Yes, you can leave". The doctor said

She stands from the bed walking outside wearing her coat on her shoulder since her hand is bandaged and she doesn't want to move it just yet.

"Muzamil, cancel the party-". She hears Waali says

"Don't". She said shortly

"What?". Waali said

"Don't cancel the party. My dress is good enough to hide the bandage it won't be an issue". She said

"But-". Waali started

"Don't cancel anything". She said walking away

*****

"It was a mistake". His sister said to him

"Appi (sister), I don't want you to do things like this. You are ruining yourself and the actual you like this. Please stop. I married her to stop her and I will stop her on my own. I don't want you to do anything". He said firm

"I didn't do it just because of my husband. I saw you sleeping outside yesterday. She is hurting you now". His sister said angrily

"Whatever it is I will deal with it". He said walking away

******

She looks around to the great party which she realises is her introduction as his wife. She wonders if he even considers her his wife and the thought itself hurts more than her hand.

"I never knew you are his wife". Her boss said

"You never told me". Her colleague said

"It's her personal life. She doesn't have to say". Safa said irritated

She sees everyone walking away just as Safa joins making her chuckle.

"How do you do it?". She said walking with Safa

"Talent. You had it once". Safa replied smiling

She halts after hearing the words.

He watches her walking around with her friend as she smiles at times. He can see her wince every other second.

"You seem stressed these days". Muzamil said looking at Safa

"What do you mean?". He asked

"You seem happier past few days but then something changed again. What happened?". Muzamil asked

"I found her with Gulzar in the front garden". He explained briefly

"And?". Muzamil asked further

"Gulzar said he was standing there when she came to him". He said frowning

"You don't seem to believe that. Did you check the CCTV?". Muzamil said

"Why would I do that?. Gulzar is my family and her- she is....". He said trailing off

"She is your wife". Muzamil said as he sees Safa walking towards some men making him clench his fist

Safa walks away to greet some of the higher officials because her father wants her to do it.

Almaas looks at her hand she moves her finger making her shriek at the pain.

"Almaas". She hears someone say

She turns around looking at the man (Noman) she hates standing in front of her.

"What are you doing here?". She said angrily

"I wanted to talk-". He started

"No, we don't have anything to talk about". She said turning around to walk away

He blocks her view, "No, you have to listen to me. I didn't mean to-".

"You didn't mean to what?. Not kill my best friend or her son?". She said as her anger grows

"Look, it was because-". He started

"No, I don't ever want to see your face again". She said moving to her left to leave but he blocks her again

Waali sees her the anger on her face that he hadn't seen in a while. He remembers even when he accuses her she didn't say a word. He watches as the man keep blocking her way even when she is clearly not interested.

He clench his fist taking stride towards her standing in front of her.

"Leave". He said angrily

Safa looks at where Almaas is only to find the man she wants to kill. She takes steps towards them but before she can kill him he walks away.

"What is he doing here?". Safa said standing beside her

"I don't know and I don't want to know". Almaas said sighing

"This doesn't look good". Safa said angrily then she stops to see how stressed Almaas looks, "Are you ok?".

She sighs, "I don't want him anywhere near me".

Safa hugs her, "He won't be".

She nodded walking towards their table.

"What is it?". Safa asked

"Huh?". She asked sitting down and feels him sitting beside her

"You look different. Did he say something?". Safa asked

"I didn't let him speak neither I want to hear him. Don't talk about him, please". She said angrily

"I hate officials". Safa said looking around to find more of them

"Where is your father?". She asked looking at Muzamil and Waali following behind them closely

"Busy". Safa said and she nodded as Safa speaks again, "Ugh, why is he here?".

Almaas looks at where she is looking to find a handsome man standing there, "Who is that?".

"Dad had been recently very interested in him". Safa said angrily

"Great! That's your future husband". Almaas said teasing her

Muzamil heart stopped. He looks at Safa making a face at her words.

"Don't call him that. He is absolutely self-obsessed shit". Safa said

Muzamil sighs and a small smile appears at her attitude.

"Language. And what did he do to make you this angry?". Almaas asked

"I am not talking. You will tease me more". Safa said

"I am going to do it anyway. So, let's go meet him". Almaas said

Waali hides his smile at Almaas carefree attitude while Muzamil thinks of a way to stop them from talking about that man.

"No way. If you go near him I am walking out of this hall". Safa said

"Come on, it will be fun". Almaas said

Safa holds her head making her wince in pain.

"What's wrong?". Safa asked worriedly

"Nothing. You are holding it too hard. Let go". Almaas said pushing her hand away

"No, this doesn't look like nothing". Safa insisted

"Excuse me". Almaas said moving away

Almaas looks around to find no one to finally leave the sigh of pain. She decided it's best if she takes the painkiller to pass this event. She feels him grabbing her hand which hurts her, even more, to cause her to scream a little pushing him away from her only for him to push harder against her.

Waali walks through the corridor until he sees his wife being cosy with a stranger. He runs towards her throwing a punch at the man and grabbing her hand dragging her to his car asking Muzamil to drive it because he isn't in his senses to do so.

"What were you doing?". He said angrily

"W-Why were t-there two you?". She said frowning

"What?". He said confused

"Yeah. There were t-two y-you". She said pouting

He feels the car stop to find they reach home he holds her hand dragging her to their room making her sit on the bed.

"Why are you talking like that?. Who was that man earlier?". He asked trying to maintain his anger

"It w-was you". She said smiling, "Right?. M-My hands still hurt because you h-holding it ha-ard".

"Are you drunk?. Did you eat something or drink something?". He asked worriedly placing his hand on either side of her face

"I don't know. I ate my medicine to lessen the pain but it's still there". She said sadly

"Oh god". He said brushing his hair away frustrated

"But that doesn't hurt more than what you did to me". She said at the verge of tears he looks at her, "You broke my heart. Why did you do it?. Why did you force me into this marriage then be mean to me?. No, you were mean even before the marriage. You said bad bad things to me that I never did".

She hits his chest, "I never did anything that you said. I liked one man and he went to someone else and I didn't even tell him that. How can you say I did all that?. Why did you hurt me?. Why?".

She cried harder.

"Every time you say those words they hurt so bad, Waali". She cried, "I never did anything".

He holds her face, "I am a bad person, right?".

She nodded innocently then she pushes him away wiping her tears, "No, I don't want you to see me crying. It means I am weak and I don't want you to know anything. Close your eyes, quick".

She moves forward closing his eyes then her eyes went to his lips, "Beautiful".

And then they shared their passion that night. All night

*******

For the next month, she wasn't able to face him again. She hides in her responsibilities far away from him after that night.

She didn't want her heart to break again originally.

She walks inside the house after a tiring day. Amir's energy is reaching the height like her work and handling them with hiding is tiring. She heard the noises coming from the lounge as she walks further in she recognize the sound immediately making her take step faster.

She enters inside looking at Noman sitting there talking with everyone.

"What are you doing here?". She said angrily

Noman looks at her standing from his seat, "You are here".

"I asked what are you doing here?". She said clenching her fist

"He is here for a deal". Waali said

She chuckles dryly, "Deal with him?. What exactly is the deal about?".

"Almaas-". Noman started

She glares at him, "Don't take my name".

"It's about him working in my company". Waali said frowning

"Did you even see his qualifications or run a background check on him?". She said looking at Waali who shakes his head, "Then maybe you should. Get out right now".

"Look-". Noman started

"I said leave this house at this moment before I make you regret everything". She said

Noman takes a step closer to her, "I am not going to leave everything like before. If you don't want to hear it, don't but I have reasons I am here for".

She grunt, "You didn't leave you ran away there is a big difference. And I don't care about your reasons as long as you stay away from Amir".

"I am not going to stay away from my son". Noman said angrily

"Really?. What about the son that died alone in the hospital room?. He wasn't your son?". She said pissed, "Leave".

Noman walks out of the house as she roams around thinking about what she has to do next. She walks inside the room texting Safa about everything.

******

"You are participating". She said looking at Amir excited face

Amir visited her again at Waali house today because she came early.

"I am so excited. It's tomorrow". Amir said smiling

"I will come". She said kissing his forehead, "Let's leave for now. You need to sleep for tomorrow".

******

The next day she skips her work walking to Amir's school. Just as she was about to enters she sees Waali standing at the gate.

"What are you doing here?". She asked taking a step back when he takes a step towards her

"I am coming with you". He said

"But-". She started but then she heard the announcement of the show starting so she decided to not talk to him

She walks inside the hall standing in the side looking at the stage waiting for Amir to come. She feels more people coming in pushing her more and more into Waali. The lights dim just as the performance started so she cannot actually see how many more people came in but then she feels Waali hands on her waist as he brings her to his chest wrapping his hands around her waist tightly. She knows it wasn't any use fighting against him beside creating a scene.

She sees Amir coming on stage and she waves her hand for him to find her. When Amir sees her he grins happily going into the performance. This time the lights come on because the performance doesn't require lights.

Amir starts his performance but she sees as he loses his focus in between the performance. She turns to look around where he is looking to find Noman standing at the other corner. She tries to break away from Waali holds but he didn't allow her to do so no matter how hard she pushes until the winner is announced.

"Wait for the hall to be empty". Waali whispers in her ear making her shiver lightly

She taps her foot impatiently as she sees everyone leaving. She asks Amir's teacher to take him with her for a few minutes until she comes for him.

Just as the hall empty with only Muzamil and Waali left behind with Noman.

Waali allows his hands to move away from her not willingly but he knows he needs to do it. Just as she is set free she strides filled with anger towards Noman slapping him hard on his face.

"How dare you?". She said angrily, "How dare you show your face to him?".

"He is my son". Noman argued

"You didn't understand that day that your sin is big enough to not face your son again, right?. You didn't understand because I didn't say them clearly, right?. You want me to say clearer?". She said pushing him away, "You married my best friend (Aliya) and when you found about her deadly disease you ran away leaving her with twin sons (Asad and Amir) to feed. You ran away leaving your almost dying wife and your equally sick son all alone. You didn't come back when she was in the death bed crying for you. You didn't come back when she told me all that you have done. You didn't come back when your son was in the same condition and now you are here saying you have reasons. What reasons?".

"That you loved me. I left because I came to know about it". Noman shouted