The Stake.

8

"How many people are coming?" Shahwar looked up from her view to her husband's as the girl who was doing her hair continued adding pins to her head.

"Selective. These are my close friends." Rehaan adjusted his collar. "The ones at the Paris reception were business associates, this one is a personal gathering." He stood next to the dressing area where his wife was seated in front of the mirror. He'd worn a semi casual navy blue polo shirt with a light sweater that matched his grey pants unlike the usual suit attire he'd be seen in.

"Should I know some things? What not to say or do?" She asked in pure naivety and Rehaan eyed the girl who was styling his wife's hair while Shahwar didn't catch his disapproval for her words.

"You look nice." He decided to change the topic.

"Thank you." Shahwar felt the glow on her cheeks with the first ever compliment from him for her appearance. She was wearing another dress from him, and this one was more of her own style, blue pastel, sleek, strappy floral ankle length with a slit that went up to her knees. She felt his secretary did a good job this time.

The girl left a minute later and Shahwar sprinkled her favorite floral perfume on her décolletage with two pumps on each side. Her hair was down and few strands were twisted and pinned behind her ears. It was a look she preferred over the one that she had a day ago.

"Your phone's ringing." She heard Rehaan say and she turned to see her stepmother's name on the screen again.

"Are you not going to answer?" She shook her head with a changed expression staring the screen lying on the bed as she stood far from it.

"It's not important." She turned her face back to the mirror trying to collect herself and not wanting to think about anything that might make things weird in front of her skeptical husband.

"Right." He cleared his throat and took a look at his watch. "I'm sure most of them are here." The huge windows did display people gathered outside. Not many like the other day.

They both went downstairs and people were moving in and out of the house freely. Two men came walking towards them as they both reached the outer area of the house. "Congratulations man!" They hugged him and passed a huge smile at Shahwar acknowledging her presence. "Finally, it's happened." Said one of them. They all looked the same age and Shahwar assumed they might be from the same college or something.

Rehaan just smiled in response, "Shahwar." Was all he said to introduce her to them and she tensed up feeling like some irrelevant thing in his life that didn't have any detail or significance.

"I'm Haider and he's Omer. We're from his batch from Cambridge and elementary school." One of the two said with good wide grin. She hadn't even known he'd been to Cambridge for college. All of it was new information. Shahwar passed a nervous smile.

"Our friend Rehaan here has always been the luckiest." Omer remarked. "It just makes it much more obvious looking at our bhabhi doesn't it Haider?"

"Yeah, it does." Haider passed a look at Omer and Rehaan stood in silence, which made Shahwar unsettled.

"I'll just get myself some water." Shahwar excused herself before it got more awkward.

"I'll get it for you." Rehaan left before she could, not understanding that she wanted to escape.

"Omer, did you see his wife? Is she prettier than that girl he liked?" A woman approached them not knowing that Shahwar was standing there hearing it all.

Omer and Haider at once passed a head shake at the woman who hadn't understood their situation. "What?" She asked with confusion and then looked at Shahwar who felt extremely uneasy and uncomfortable now.

"Afshan." Haider moved his hand to gesture at Shahwar.

"Here." Rehaan returned with a glass of water and held it in front of Shahwar, that's when Afshan understood it all.

Shahwar's hands trembled as she took the glass from him and she wanted to run far, far away. "What's wrong?" Rehaan asked looking at his wife and all the others standing in the strange silence.

Afshan's eyes were drilling the ground fearing the next moment.

"Nothing." Shahwar tried her best to smile like she always used to but failed halfway. "I just need to use the restroom." She moved away from the group of people and walked towards a door to an empty room.

Shahwar felt like she couldn't breathe if everyone out there knew that this whole marriage was a joke to her husband. He already had someone else in his life. Of course he did. But then why had he agreed to marry her?

"Shahwar?" Rehaan was inside the room now. "What happened?"

"Is there someone else in your life?" She turned around to face him, her breath was shaking.

"Where did that come from?" His face changed into a stern one.

"Yes or no?"

"I think I made it very clear right in the beginning what you were getting yourself into." He stepped forward not letting his voice falter for a second.

"You did not mention another woman." She felt her eyes burn.

"Why? Do you expect me to believe that you didn't have any man in your life? Coming from where you were? Shahwar, it's obvious that we weren't each other's choices." The words shook Shahwar apart.

"I don't." She cried. "I never did." She tried to fight her tears and blinked hard again and again to stop them.

"Is that why your father pressed you to marry me in such a short time?" He was trying to be direct with everything he had been told.

"I'm not a liar. Or a cheater." She felt her voice coarsen.

"There's no need to cry about this." His face was still the same, emotionless.

"Why did you marry me when you have another woman in your life? I don't care what happens behind closed doors but you've publicized it to everyone out there that I'm the unwanted wife." Shahwar wanted to truly know even if it was breaking her.

"I'm not in her life. She's married. It's only from my side. I'm the one who loves her. She doesn't love me." The words brought all the memories back for Rehaan.

The way I want to cry for Shahwar for everything she has to go through.

Rehaan Kazmi; 😒