Besabriyan

37|THIRTY SEVEN

Bits of his conversation and how Aahil responded lingered inside his head as he fisted his car key and strode towards the entrance of the haveli. From the information he gathered earlier from his father's secretary, his parents were out for dinner with their old friends. He was meaning to talk to Ali Dawar sahb about his concerns about Khan sahb and what he might plan with Hisham, knowing that the latter was sane only when he was with his wife and now that she died of a reason unknown, he didn't think Hisham Abdullah held onto the concept of sanity or sobriety- going back and forth between the city and the village and minding the business and helping his grandmother in whatever she did. Hisham came from a very strong background and he was no less than a starving lion. At Aslam sahb's funeral, he seemed rather very calm and collected. Zaviyar knew nothing much about him and hadn't met more than thrice.

He was worried for Noorul Ain just as he was for her father. She thought he was in Istanbul although he was in the same land as her. Noorul Ain had done so much for him and for his life that he didn't think he could pay her back in one lifetime. In her, he saw his dead phuppu. Noorul Ain didn't fail to take her qualities from her mother. Noorul Ain didn't forget how graceful her mother's presence was, so she let it shade over her own presence- leaving traces of her mother everywhere she went.

The haveli's main entrance was ajar- sliver of moonlight skidded through the opening. He could hear his stomach grumble in hunger and the first thing he wanted to see upon entering was his wife although he wished she was asleep because it was already a little over eleven and she would have to wake up early for the company. He wanted to ask what Aahil was talking about. He was curious however he didn't want to pry into her matters unless she told him herself but he was worried. He was worried about how she was going to take it. He was worried if anyone had mistreated his wife within his territory and just the thought of it boiled his anger to the surface. As much as he wanted her to have her victory, he was scared of her getting hurt.

A petite form paced around in the dimly lit living room. For a brief moment, he let his mind flash many different possibilities before approaching the package of nerves. He knew it was Ahlah and he knew something was bothering her from the way she covered the distance and walked back. She was worried and he was reminded of the night she told their father about Adeeb Akhter. It was as though he walked in after university and found his sister worried for the man she loved. It was as though he relapsed to being a nineteen years old teenager who watched his sister succeed in love.

"Ahlah?" He could hear his stomach grumble against his wish for the second time as he called out for his sister. Ahlah stopped on her tracks upon hearing her name being called and turned over her left shoulder to find her brother walking in- his shirt untucked, suit jacket hanging loosely over his right shoulder, hair disheveled and face bearing exhaustion.

Ahlah blinked at him once and then twice as she looked up at her brother with brimming tears, "What happened? Why are there tears in your eyes?" He said, holding her by shoulders.

"Did Akhter-" Before he could complete his sentence to voice his doubt, she shook her head vigorously. Adeeb Akhter wouldn't dare to do anything after the lesson Ali Dawar sahb taught him- he wouldn't dare to even breathe in his former wife or his daughter's direction. Adeeb Akhter knew better than to mess with her father who had always had his eyes on him.

"No. God, no." She said, wiping the hot tears that fell down her cheeks as she cupped her brother's face to prepare him for whatever she was about to tell him.

"Noor had a breakdown." She muttered slowly, the weight of pain heavy in her throat as she attempted to swallow it down.

His body steeled in no moment and he anticipated the worst but never in his worst nightmare did he think what awaited him would happen. How was he going to help his cousin collect herself when he needed someone else to do it for him? From the evening he said yes to Maheen, he had been afraid of Noorul Ain's tears and pain. He feared her heartbreak and he feared how it was going to come back at him and since then there hadn't been a single night where he went to sleep without crying or begging for forgiveness.