The Stake.

9

"You're in love with a married woman?" Shahwar couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Yes." He stated not even flinching.

"And it doesn't make you feel ashamed of yourself?" She stepped forward to his face.

"Did it make you feel ashamed of yourself when your father handed you down to a man like some object?" Rehaan's tone sharpened and cut through Shahwar's heart.

Her eye blinking became faster and frequent as rivers of tears came down her cheeks. It was a reflex for Shahwar. Whenever she'd be about to cry or break down she would start sniffing and blinking uncontrollably as her lips would pucker. Her face would turn into an infant's face, she'd always been that way. Abba ji would always hug her till she stopped crying whenever anyone would say or do something to hurt her.

He was right. Abba ji had abandoned her. She had no one. No one who was her own. She couldn't go to anyone now.

"I'm going to check up on everyone outside." Rehaan walked towards the door when Shahwar didn't say anything and stood there crying without any sounds. The moment he left Shahwar felt like her chest was going to explode.

Rehaan walked towards his friends and passed them a furious look, "Who told Shahwar about Beena?"

"Rehaan. Actually—" Omer tried to calm him down.

"Shut the fuck up! Did I call you here for this!" He was going to drill them down the ground for their distasteful behavior.

"I didn't know she was your wife, it was me." Afshan confessed.

"You know what, just get lost. All of you! You can't fucking undo it now, can you!" His outrage made everyone in the area silent. Even  the houseworkers stilled at the sound of his voice.

"Rehaan, I'll talk to bhabhi." Omer said even though he knew it wasn't going to work well.

"Don't you ever go near my wife! Any one of you! If you don't have the decency to come and talk at my place then you don't need to. Leave. This instant." He ordered with rage and they all knew it was the final word.

Without further delay they all started to move out of the house and slowly towards their respective cars. Other friends of his who hadn't even been introduced to Shahwar had also left after witnessing the loud explosion of anger from inside the house.

As soon as the place was clear of every guest Rehaan went back to the room where he'd left Shahwar only to find it empty. She wasn't there. He asked the housekeepers to search for her around the entire place but she was nowhere to be found.

Rehaan was losing his senses time after time when each of the housekeeping staff came and informed him that she wasn't in the area of the house where they'd been working. He started to go through the house himself and it took him almost forty minutes to check every nook and cranny of the very enormous residence. She was his responsibility, he'd been a fool to let her be on her own even for a few minutes especially after the argument they had. Rehaan Kazmi had never once been irresponsible in his entire life.

He went outside running as men from the house staff followed behind in other directions to look for her. The entire area was completely remote with only patches of heavy trees with nothing but darkness when the sun would set. He didn't want his worst fears to come true. His wife was too small and delicate for anything that could go wrong out there.

He had run for miles but there was no sight or sign of her. He decided to take another round from scratch and slowly walked back hearing the men from other sides as he called out to them to do the same. He was close to the house when he heard heavy sobs. Immediately he hurried towards the sound and flashed his torch at the tiny figure standing near a tree. It was his wife.

"Shahwar?" She didn't answer as he walked closer. He could see her face soaked up in tears. "What did I say about not going anywhere without telling me!" His anger rose as he realized what she had done.

There was no answer again. "Did you even think for once what could've happened to you!"

"It doesn't matter—ttto—to anyone— whe—tther I'm alive or not." She stuttered between her cries.

"There is no escaping from this marriage, I had said it very clearly to you! You knew it from the start, why are you behaving like this!" His yelling was coming out of frustration but Shahwar felt like she was going blank and blank.

"I don't—I don't, don't want to go with you." She was shivering now.

"I've had enough for tonight. This spoiled brat thing is not going to work in front of me. Start walking." Though now he hadn't raised his voice but the tone was absolutely harsh.

"No." Her breaths were short and breaking making her wheeze.

"Did you just say no to me Shahwar?" His jaw clenched as he moved his face close to her face just as much she could feel his breath.

She had been blinking and crying for more than an hour and her abba ji hadn't come to take the pain away. No one had. Whenever girls her age would talk about their mothers Shahwar would be left thinking what she could say, she was at times made fun of because she had never had the person most people around her would revolve their lives around and whenever she said her abba ji would do what others mothers were supposed to she was made to feel like an outcast. Her father had loved her but he was a man. He couldn't do what a mother would, the love of a mother was something she had never received. And now the father had left her too.

"Shahwar?" She felt like his words weren't making sense anymore though it was her name he kept on calling.

The darkness seemed to increase on its own though it was night since she'd been standing out there. Her body was numb and her head from behind started to burn. And then there was nothing anymore.

"Shahwar!" Rehaan held her before she could hit the ground. "Shahwar! Open your eyes! Can you hear me!"

He lifted her in his arms and scurried towards the house. She wasn't waking up and her pulse had dropped when he tried to pull her into consciousness laying her down on the sofa nearest to the entrance.

"Get the car!" He moved towards the exit again holding her. "Prends la voiture!" It was Rehaan's turn to lose his breath.

The moment he was inside the car he checked her pulse again and it didn't seem like he could sense anything.

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