Ishq

dunya badi zaalim hai|4 Part 1

Asif Khan, although he was a stepfather, quickly gained Murtasim's respect. He saw how happy his mother and sister were around him. Neha considered Asif her father. So Murtasim too came around and started respecting the man. And he was genuine. They had similar natures. The two of them talked less, were workaholics. They would play chess at night while discussing business.

Slowly Murtasim realized why his mother trusted Asif. He was extremely clever. His tactics impressed him. Murtasim was just a side player in the business. He had no interest in it. But he had the actual power. So Asif had to take his signatures for every project. The SNK corporation, which was in debt, soon became one of the most world-known enterprises. Apart from being a businessman, Asif Khan was a professor in college. A man dedicated to his work. The perfect father figure Neha needed.

"Woh meri beti se badhkar hai. I am extremely proud of my child." He would say all the time. Neha, who wanted a parent's love, started leaning towards Asif more than Gul Khan. Gul Khan was closed off. She rarely expressed her love. Every day she would sit in the woman panchayat meetings and deal with the problems of women, solve them. But she never had the same enthusiasm for her own family problems. Murtasim and her would greet each other, not more than that.

She rarely called them with sweet love-filled words like Asif did. She never acknowledged their achievements. Where Neha was compensated by Asif, Murtasim tried his best to achieve at least one word response from her. His father loved him. But his mother's aura was different. All his life he had craved for her love and attention. He could cross any limits to see his mother happy. If accepting Asif as his father was one of them, then so be it.

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"Mahjabeen neechey aaja!"

"Mahjabeen"

She didn't listen to anyone. She simply sat in front of the broken TV as if she was watching a show. A week had passed. She would grab her bag, go to school, and come back on her own. She stopped acknowledging her parents. She stopped talking to them completely.

It didn't matter because they didn't trust her. They didn't listen to her. Her mother always called her Bawli. Can a Bawli like her create such a scene?

Her family sat at the table. They still didn't believe her. But they wanted to move on.

Mahjabeen hadn't spoken a word. A girl who could speak for others was silent. She didn't respond. She didn't look at them. "Theek hai Mahjabeen galti hogayi hai, ab khaana khaaley meri jaan." Her mother tried to bring her out of the shell. But Mahjabeen didn't respond. "Khuda ke liye Mahjabeen baat maanle humari." Her mother pleaded. Bakhtiyaar looked at his crying wife, his tired son who had to compensate for his college fees now that Bakhtu was demoted to a driver, and his daughter. He couldn't figure her out. She was a liar. But this time around his heart believed her.

"Mahjabeen!" He softly called her and she peeked out from above. "Tayyar hojao, Khan k hai daawat mere saath chalna, Biryani bani hai aaj." He said, trying to cheer her up. She blinked her large brown eyes at him, and he cursed himself for even thinking that his innocent girl was responsible for all of this.

She was lost in thought. 'Naraaz rahu, ya Biryani Khau?' And then she chose the latter. 'Dunya jaiye bhaad m, mai toh biryani khaungi.' She thought, getting up from her seat. She loved biryani more than anything. Maybe it would make her forget her troubles for a while. Maybe it would make her family happy too. Maybe it would make everything better.

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"Usama ye kya likhte rehte ho, apne bhai se seekho, ye shayari Mardon ke shauq nahi hotey", Gul Khan scolded Usama who was lost in his own world penning down his thoughts, Murtasim wanted to take his brother's side, that he was a poet too, but stopped himself, "Lagta hai tum apne chacha jaan pe padh gaye ho", There was a hint of disdain in her voice, his mother hated her dead husband- his father.