Unwanted Relations

Chapter 13

Noor was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she was unable to stop them. Her face was flushed red from the feeling of humiliation.

The door opened, Noor didn't bothered to look who it was. Mehr closed the door behind her and sat in front of Noor.

" Noon why are you crying and that too for Erum? You know how she is. She was talking nonsense and nothing else."

Noor looked up at her. " What did she said wrong? Everything she said was right." Noor said, her voice strained.

" have you gone mad? What right thing she said? She talked rubbish and you believed her?"  Mehr questioned her, this time she was upset from Noor's sudden remark.

There was a moment of silence only the soft noises of Noor's sobs.

" Noor let go of these thoughts from your mind. Don't fell for her words. You know she wanted you to take her words to heart and then cry. And you just helped  her. You should have said something to her, don't always stay quiet." Mehr tries to make her understand, this time her voice was calm, slow.

Noor wiped her tears. " am I not an orphan? Or am I not the worst decision of your brother's life? What could have I said when she was right." Noor asked her. She wasn't crying now but her tear stained face was making it difficult to judge.

Mehr shook her head in refusal, although she couldn't hide the shock on her face upon listening to Noor's question. " Noor what has happened to you? Have you never saw me and mom as your family? Or did Umer bhai said anything like that to you? I thought you were smart enough to know your own reality because Everything she said was nonsense and nothing else." Mehr asked her with disbelief.

Noor was quiet. She was almost speechless. It was correct that Mehr and Hajra never let her feel the absence of a mother or sister but Umer? Didn't he married her only for his mother's sake. He had no wish to marry her in the first place, Umer did pity her. Noor thought again. This time she didn't said anything out loud.

" Noor in bekaar ki socho ko inkaal do apne zehen se warna kabhi khush nhi reh paogi. Or apne liya bola karo jahan bol sakti ho. Har waqt chup rehna bhi sahi nhi hota." Mehr again said. And it wasn't just today she was telling her to take a stand for herself, Mehr always told her this but Noor never acted on her words. She had been afraid to act on her words. To take a stand for herself, which she knew was her greatest weakness.

( Noor remove all these negative thoughts from your mind or you will never find happiness. And don't always stay quiet, learn to say something, take a stand for yourself. Being quiet is not always helpful.)

" now stop all this crying and calm down. Just look at yourself you are looking like a ghost." Mehr smiled at the end, her voice playful now.

Noor couldn't help but chuckle at her change of words and tone.
  
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It was dinner time when again Noor wasn't allowed to have hers because Umer has not come yet. Noor was left with no choice but to obey the rules, she didn't mind waiting for him, the thing she minded was all these rules and traditions were only for her, like she was the only one who was obliged to follow them.

She still remembered when Grandmother again ordered this, again refused her. She was leaving the dining hall when her gaze fell on Hamza, who was coming inside, he was standing in front of her, looking at her with the same smile from the morning. Noor hated that smile.

" oh, How sad that Umer doesn't care about you. If you were my wife, I would never let you wait for me. By the way it's not too late, what do you think?" She remembered his words, his smirk, his eyes on her. And she felt disgusted.