آج دیدار کو تیرے اشک ترس گۓ
کہ کل گزے تو سال گزر گۓ

///////

She was gone.

It was all over.

Ibraheem sat the large oak table , repeating those words again and again, the collar unfolded, three buttons undone and the sleeves of his office shirt folded. His arms stretched out, one holding a glass of a golden coloured poison and the other held his head. Red eyes and the half empty bottle was proof of his undone state.

But nothing could explain how he felt. She had left him. He hurt he and she left him.

Drinking more of that champagne liquid, Ibraheem ran a had through his hair. He was frustrated at himself, at her. Was this it? She wouldn't even give him a chance to explain?

One sided love is always painful. But rejection, distrust and hate from your beloved is destroying. It burns one from the inside until he is nothing but a shell, a shape without form and a shade without colour. He becomes hollow.

That is how Ibraheem felt that day in the darkness of his study.

Will his past destroy him?

Unconsciously, he rubbed at the left side of his chest where his heart was to try to physically reduce the pain but in vain.

The clouds cried that night for the jilted lover,the moon invisible in the gloomy sky.

                     ///////

Jannat had just reached into the drawer to pick the sleeping pills but someone knocked at the door. Jannat quickly dropped it back in and turned around to hide her red face.

The door opened with a creak and Jannat's heart thumped. Will she have to explain it in front of her cousins too now?

"Jannat baji, should I bring your lunch here? Everyone will come back after lunch."

Asifa, their made was saying this and Jannat exhaled a breath. Without turning around she said, "I am not hungry. I will eat later."

When she was gone Jannat went to shower.She stood in the shower, her tears mixing with pouring water, her hand against the cold glass of the shower area for support.

She cried for a lot of things, then she cried after thinking about what she was going to do. Did she try to take her own life?

If it was not for Asifa knocking on the door, she would've done it in the craze of that moment.

She decided she needed to face it. She would be brave until all the guests are gone and then she would explain everything to her mother. She would get the divorce. Just some more days.

///////////

At four in the evening, Ibraheem came back. Everyone met him happilly except one person. She scoffed at their stupidity, they thought he came back now but in reality...

The tea and then dinner passed quickly and Jannat kept herself busy in the kitchen. She tried stalling but at last, she had to go to his room.

He was in the bathroom when he entered maybe, so she quickly set the sofa to sleep and went to sleep before he came out, without bothering about changing.

In the morning when she got up, he was already up, watching her. It unnerved Jannat. How didnhe get up so early? Ignoring him, she started folding the blanket but his voice stilled her,
" You didn't give me time to talk yesterday. I want to explain everything."

Hurt and then anger flashed through her eyes and she walked straight to the bathroom without even bothering to answer him. He was pacing in the room when she came back and stopped, grabbing her arm and pulling her forward.

" What the hell does this mean Jannat? Where is your trust? I am asking you to listen one last time, otherwise you'll be responsible for the consequences. I won't explain my self in front of you again."
He was fuming, his voice hard like steel and eyes like iron.

Maybe it was the broken heart, maybe it was the insecurity, but Jannat was unforgiving in the moment. Her eyelashes blinked to keep the tears at bay, her voice broke at first but then hardened.
" I don't need to hear any explanation. Would you have trusted me if I was in her state in another man's bed?"

Ibraheem's eyes turned, his hold on her arms tightened, fingers forming red patched on her milky skin.
Jannat scoffed at his silence,
"Aap hain hi aisay mard, jiskay liye aik aurat kaafi nahi ho sakti kabhi kabhi. Mey hi galat thi."
(You are the kind of man for whom only one woman can never be enough. It's me who was wrong."

With a jerk, she freed herself from his hold and left the room with the door wide open and him standing in the middle and clenching his fists.

If she didn't want to listen then to hell with it. He could make her listen forcibly, treat her like a little school girl but why would he?
Trust and faith in someone you love is important. He trusted her to trust him but now he wanted his smash his own head. Why did he have to fall in love with such a kid? She was young,inexperienced and emotional. But he was hurt, she didn't believe in his love? He wanted to laugh at himself, the pity he felt for himself was intense. The girl he had been in love for for ages, the one who he spent his days and nights confessing his love to didn't even believe in it. He felt like a fool. So her opinions of him were so low? He knew she didn't love him but could he live with her hate. even she would have to learn it the hard way.

/////////////

Two days passed in that hide and seek, her waking up early and going to sleep, unbeknownst to how much they have hurt each other.

Even if other were clueless, Ammi could feel the tension between them. Jannat would only speak when she was addressed to, Ibrahim's gaze wouldn't even drift to Jannat if she was sitting right in front of him. Ammi noticed the way she would avoid Ibraheem and then how Ibraheem would stay out late. They would soon leave for their house and she wanted to talk to them about it first.

She caught Jannat in the kitchen, stirring the pot of soup, the dark circles visible. The past two days had taken a toll on her health and she had gotten weak. She was living in a fairytale and then she was thrown on the ground with such harshness. Her self-respect, her love, her trust, everything had been broken.

"Jannat, beta, what happened? Why are you getting so weak?"

Jannat turned to her mother who was looking at her with concern and her eyes watered. Only few days later, she would ask them for her separation but she didn't want to hurt her mother. She would wait until her mother's health was better since her blood pressure was not normal these days.

" Kuch nahi hua mjhe ammi, bus aapko lagta hai."
(Nothing happened to me Maa, you just think that.)

Ammi came forward, cupping her face in her hands.
"Ammi sey jhoot bolo gi? Itni barri hogayi ho?"
( You think you have gotten old enough to lie to your mother?)

Jannat smiled.
" Barri tau boht ho gayi hun lekin aapsey jhoot nai bol sakti."
( I have grown up a lot but still, I can't lie to you.)

Ammi lightly kissed her forehead. "Ibraheem is treating you good, right? He loves you very much but he is very stubborn. If he does something, tell me okay?"

Jannat could just smile lightly.

//////////

All the cousins were sitting in the living room, Dua, Hoorain and Ali playing ludo despite the absence of one player. Omar and Azlaan sat beside Khaala, talking with each other.
" Khaala, ab iski bhi shaadi kar dein. Burha ho raha hai."
(Aunty, now you should think about his marriage, he is getting old.)

Khaala stopped talking to Ammi to listen to him and laughed a little.
"Haan haan, lekin yey maanta nahi hai."
( Yes but he doesn't listen.)

Azlaan ran his hand through his hair,
"Burhay ho gay tum. Ammi, yey bus isliye baar baar shaadi ki baat shuru karta hai k shayid koi iski shaadi bhi baat kardey."

Omar smiled sheepishly and both women assured him of them looking for a good girl for him.
Ali, who was just about win gave his opinion.
"Ammi, aap tension na lein. Omar bhai ney larki dhoond li hai!"
(Mama, don't worry about it. Omar bhai has already chosen the girl!)

Everyone turned to look at Ali at this announcement. Omar was the one who was shocked the most,
"O konsi larki?"
(O which girl?)

Ali looked at Omar mischievously,
" Lo, aap ney hi tau kaha tha k pyaari baji boht pyaari hain!"
( You were the one to say Pyaari baji is very pretty.)

Everyone laughed at his joke.Pyaari was on of their maid who Omar had called pretty jokingly one day even though she was married and had two kids already.

" Oho chup karo. Sun ley gi wo."
(Oho, shut up. she'll hear.)
Khaala was the one to scold Ali.

Jannat who had just came in, served tea to everyone and Dua started briefing her about how she had killed Ali's 'pakki goati'.

Jannat listened to their banter and when Ibraheem entered, in his three piece black suit with his hair mused, she got up to leave the room immediately.

" Woah, yey abhi is tak tumsey sharmati hai?"
(Woah, she is still shy of you?)
Azlaan was surprised, looking at Ibraheem who sat down between them.

Omar patted Ibraheem on the back,
"Sharmati nahi, bachi darrti hai."
( Not shy, the kid's scared.)

Ibraheem smiled while shaking his head and everyone else laughed.

/////////

FINALLY! I am not fully satisfied with this chapter but uh everything can't be perfect. I hope you like it!

I wrote the shair on the top myself. Here's the future shayir ladies and gents.

Until the next time! Remember me (and my result) in your Duas please!