Mujhe Pyaar Hua Tha

Ch. 29: Death Anniversary

🎶Bichchad gaya har saathi de kar pal do pal ka saath. Kis ko fursat hai jo thaame deewano ka haath? Humko apna saaya tak aksar bezaar mila. Humne toh jab kaliyan maangi, kaaton ka haar mila. Jaane woh kaise log the jinke pyaar ko pyaar mila?

(Every partner has separated from me after giving me support for a moment or two. Who has the time to hold the hand of a crazy lover? I have often found my own shadow uninterested. When I asked for flowers, I got a necklace made of thorns. I wonder how those people were whose love was reciprocated?)🎶

- Jaane Woh Kaise | Sahir Ludhianvi | Hemant Kumar

👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻

Alizey's P.O.V.

"Where are you going?" Fawad gripped my arm, stopping me from reaching my shoes near the door.

"Mujhe akele rehna hai thodi dair ke liye."
(I want to be alone for a while)

"Tabiyat thik nahin hai tumhari."
(You're not feeling well)

I tried removing my arm from his hold to no avail, "I'm fine. I need space."

"So you can deal with whatever is bothering you alone, while I wait for you helplessly here knowing you're crying over there by yourself?"

His words amplified the urge to cry. I turned my face and covered it with my hands as I sobbed silently. Fawad's shoulders slumped, and he let go of my arm. He took me into his embrace.

"Jaan," he murmured into my ear before pressing a kiss to it. "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to fight with you. I love you the most. I'm just so scared of losing you.

Fawad led me back into our space and sat me down at the end of the bed. He kneeled before me and lowered my hands from my face. He wiped my tears before taking my hands. His lips pressed to my knuckles. "I'm just concerned about you, Alizey. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I apologize if I-"

"No," I attempted to blink my tears away, inhaling deeply. "I know. I was being oversensitive. I think there's just a lot going on. Mala, another girl at my work who's going through something similar, Judy, Mama stressing out about Mateo and Api, Papa apparently wanting to invite Siraj Uncle and his family for dinner with us so I can apologize for standing them up, on top of that, I was roped in for a new project at work," and the constant, nonstop, suffocating intrusive thoughts. I cupped his cheek, "But I swear I ate." It was true. I had a few of the crackers.

I leaned down and kissed him.

He brushed some of my hair behind my ear afterwards, studying my eyes with his concerned ones. "All of that isn't yours to bear. What Mala, your coworker, and your mom are going through, you can only support them. You can't take on their distress. There's nothing you can do directly to change their situations. Being there for them is more than enough, and it makes a difference to them, whether or not you realize it. We all have our respective burdens to bear, it's not fair to add them to it by taking on the world's worries onto your shoulders."

My sweetest love. You always have the right words that act as ointment to my wounds. I wish you listened to yourself. You've suffered the most and are deserving of the most ease. Were it possible to give all the peace written for me, I would hand them to you in a heartbeat.

I nodded.

"And about your father—if he wants us to apologize then we will. I would do anything that would give you peace and save you from spending time stressing over it. Regarding your work, it's nothing you haven't handled before. If anything, with the amount of work you do, you should be compensated more. You don't get paid enough for what you do. I would advise you that you ask for a promotion or look for a new job."