"Layeba, beta, kya hua?" Shiza asked when  she came out of room. She didn't try to control her sobs nor hide her tears. Without thinking anything, she threw her arms around her mother and started crying hysterically. "Layeba, mera bacha, hua kya hai?"

(What happened?)

Shiza's heart had started anticipating the worst and so did Ozhan's and Abeerah's. Abeerah refused to cry. She was an optimist. She would not react before hearing any words from Layeba's mouth. Ozhan punched a wall and then pulled his hair in frustration.

"He's going to be alright, Ammi", she mumbled in her mother's shoulder. Shiza ran her hand on Layeba's head, thinking it was a repenting culprit's wishful thinking that the harm he'd caused could be reversed somehow.

Keeping a check on her own emotions, Shiza consoled her, knowing how much Layeba took her patients' health to her heart and on top of that, this was her husband whose condition she blamed on her harsh words. She said, "don't worry, meri jaan. Allah will make everything better. I know you did everything you could. Don't feel guilty."

She removed herself from her mother's warm cocoon and tried to smile brightly through her tears. "No Ammi! He's really going to be alright. Nothing went wrong in the surgery. He's gonna be as healthy as he was before, InshaAllah."

Abeerah laughed, sniffing and wiping her face. "Bhabhi, you're telling the truth?"

She nodded and cried, hiding her face in her mother's embrace.

Ozhan couldn't believe his ears. His brother was going to be alright. His knees went weak. He couldn't handle the shock. His heartbeat was going a hundred miles per minute. He balanced himself against the wall and sighed, his head bending low and eyes closing.

Layeba and Ozhan. Both didn't know what they were feeling. They knew they should be bursting with happiness right now. Smile brightly, laugh cheerfully. But they couldn't. Layeba couldn't stop crying and Ozhan just couldn't express any emotion whatsoever.

Layeba hugged her mother again, continuously muttering, "i didn't do a mistake. I didn't do a mistake." While in her heart, she kept repeating, Alhamdulillah.

A body wrapped itself around Ozhan's torso and the sweet scent told him it was Abeerah. "He's going to be alright." His arm went around her, rubbing her arm lightly, and said, "He is. InshaAllah, he is."

"Layeba, beta, ab rona to band karo", Shiza's voice reached his ears and he looked at the figure who he owed so much now. Her hiccups and sobs were getting out of control.

(Stop crying now.)

He removed Abeerah from himself, as much as he wanted not to and went to grab a cup of water from the dispenser which was just two steps away.

He offered it to Layeba, which she grabbed with shaky hands and looked up at him. He wasn't looking at her face and she knew the reason why. The harshness of her words had left a bitterness in his heart. As much as he wanted to get those words out of his head, he couldn't. For all he knew, it might have been her prayers that were heard that day.

She had to apologize. She knew she had to. And she wasted no time to do so. "I'm sorry Ozhan. I'm sorry. I didn't mean for any of it to happen. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, bhabhi." He looked in her eyes.  "I'n sure he deserved whatever came his way. We all did."

She shook her head immediately but he already left.

"He's just worried for Lala, bhabhi. Don't worry. He'll come along." Abeerah too, went behind Ozhan while Layeba once again, put her on Shiza's shoulder.

Her head was bursting with all the crying, yet she couldn't seem to stop. She had cried more in span of months than she had in thirty years combined. Tiredness finally caught up to her and she fell into a restless slumber in that uncomfortable chair against her mother.

•~•

"Ozhan Lala, baat sunein. Where are you going? Rukein to!"

(Listen to me. . . Just stop, please.)

Abeerah was calling, climbing hurriedly down the stairs, trying not to shout.

"Abeerah, go inside. I don't want to talk."

Now, Abeerah sure looked like the timid and obedient little girl but she was stubborn as hell. Just like her brother. Instead of acting upon what he said, she followed her to the parking lot and to his car.

He didn't even know why he tried. Abeerah knew him all too well. And hence, she would never let him leave alone.

He placed his hands on the roof of his car and sighed, trying last time, "Abeerah, i want to be alone. Just let me be and go inside."

She scoffed and matched his position on the opposite side. "Alone? You can't tell me that you're not going to hunt those men down because of whom our brother is in this state."

See? What did i say? She knew me all too well.

"All the more reason for you to go inside and stay out of danger", he sat in the driver seat and hurried to lock the car but she was already in it.

"Nice try", she shut the door and tied her seatbelt.

He groaned irritatingly as he rolled the car out of the lot.

"So, where are we going?" Abeerah knew that since she was with her, he wouldn't go hunting for trouble.

"Just shut up."

"As you wish."

There was no sound except for that of engine for about an hour. Ozhan had opted for a road which was practically empty and he was driving like a maniac. But Abeerah never feared for her life even once. She trusted Ozhan and his reflexes more than her own.

Her phone vibrated in her hand. The caller id read Sanem Api and she picked it up.

"Assalam o alaikum? Abeerah, where are you? Aunty is going crazy worrying about you."

"WaAlaikumAssalam Sanem Api. We're fine. I have no idea where we are. But i'm with Ozhan lala. So, nothing to worry about."

A smile touched Ozhan's face on hearing this which went unnoticed by her.

"Yes, i know that. But atleast tell that man to pick up his phone. I tried his number quite a few times before contacting you."

"Api's saying to pick up your damned phone you insensitive oaf!", She said to him, her phone still against her ear.

"I didn't know you had dyslexia Abeerah", Sanem mused from the other end.

Expecting a smart retort, Abeerah was disappointed when he just said, "i dropped it in the farmhouse."

"He says he lost his phone."

"Oh!  Its Okay, just keep your phone with you and keep me updated about where you are. And Abeerah?"

She hummed in question.

"Please don't be so hard on Layeba. I know what you guys are going through. I understand. But even you won't deny that the one who's suffered the most here is my friend. And Ozhan is like a little brother to her. I don't know if her mental state could handle his cold behavior. I'm even surprised she hasn't gone crazy yet."

"I understand, Api. I know." Of course she knew that. She knew from the very start that her family was bad for any sane person. And Layeba had gone this far. She didn't deserve any of it being dumped onto her. But didn't they all? None of them chose this path. It was chosen for them. They were all just victims of their fates. And a cruel one at that.

"I don't want to force anything on you. But . .  . Please. he'll listen to you. Make him understand that none of it was anybody's fault."

"I will, Api. You don't worry. Just take care of Bhabhi and Lala. I suppose his state is the same?"

"He'll be okay, InshaAllah. Healing takes time. And even the sedatives don't wear off this quick."

Her phone beeped once and she looked at the screen. There was a pop-up notification indicating battery less than 5%.

"I know, Api. Just take care of them. We'll return as soon as the mighty Ozhan thinks he's cooled down."

"Okay, Allah hafiz. Take care."

"Allah hafiz."

Abeerah looked at him from the corner of her eye to see if the frown between his eyebrows had eased yet and sure enough, he was relaxed. She turned her face to the open window once again and smiled, relishing the cool wind blowing on her face.

She could see green fields on both sides of the narrow road they were now on. They were near some countryside. The path was smooth, but it wasn't cemented. Dirt was spiralling around their car, making her roll the window up.

"It wasn't Bhabhi's fault, you know that, don't you?"

If Abeerah were looking at him, she would have seen how he gripped the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles turned white.

"I don't want to talk about it, Abeerah. If you have no other topic to talk about, don't say anything."

"Why are you behaving like this? You're the biggest fan of bhabhi. I don't understand what your problem is. She hasn't even done anything wrong. The poor soul is victim herself in all our mess."

"AND THAT'S THE FUCKING PROBLEM!" He slapped his hand on the steering wheel, making the car get off the road slightly but he quickly regained control. "That's the problem. She's never wrong. I dragged her into this fucking mess. Gave her a thousand reasons to hate ALL of us. But whenever the time comes for her to use all of that against us, to take her revenge, she does entirely the opposite and makes us even more and more indebted to her! She's  fucking perfect! Like a saint, she never does anything wrong. And i'm beginning to hate it. I'm beginning to hate myself because I can't understand what my fucking problem is. Why can't i suddenly just accept what the fate has decided for me? I never had any problem with it before. All my life, i've been controlled by my destiny like a fucking puppet and it has lead to nothing but destruction. And now that things seem like they finally might be going on track, there's this little voice in my head that wants her to do a mistake. Just so i don't have to give her the place only one woman had in my life. My Tai Ammi's."

During his rant, she didn't interrupt once, knowing that's the only way he would fully be able to relax. But one thing that was concerning for her was that he remembered to open up while driving. And that was a dangerous combination.

He had accelerated so much on the ,not so smooth anymore, path that the tires of the car were screeching. But he didn't realize it yet.

"And i'm now fucking embarrassed to go in front of her after taunting her li-"

"WATCH OUT!!!"

On Abeerah's exclamation, he really paid attention to the road (which he was previously just looking without seeing) and in the center of it was a big buffalo, leisurely chewing whatever was in her mouth.

He turned the steering abruptly-

-and crashed the car into a tree while the lazy black animal moo'ed once and then went back to chewing.

After the initial shock wore off, he moved and turned to check on Abeerah. She had her eyes closed with her head against the window, frown of pain on her face.

"Abeerah! Are you okay?" He removed his seatbelt and carefully turned her face. She groaned, her hand going to the side of her head.

"Ah!", She hissed, rubbing the aparent bump on her head. Luckily, he had pressed brakes which had lessened the impact but the accident still got them good with neck and leg sprains and a possible concussion to Abeerah. "Ow!"

"I'm so sorry", he took a water bottle from backseat and offered it to her from which she took small sips, wincing.

A few moments later, Ozhan realised something and said, "We can't stay here."

"No please! I'm dying to stay here!" She couldn't help it. She just couldn't.

He glared at her, muttering a low "Shut  up", and tried to start the car. But it wasn't something which'd cower in front of his death stare and do his bidding. It coughed for a few seconds and then refused to show any signs of life, if one ignores the smoke rising up from its engine.

"Shit!" He cursed once and searched for his mobile to call for help but what a joke! He had to lose it today! "Abeerah, give me your phone. We must go."

She picked it up from the floor where it had fallen during the accident and handed it to him.

He turned it on. Well, tried to, 'cause it was dead. "Kya faida itna mehnga phone rakhne ka jab battery hi nai charge rakhni hoti!"

(Why keep such an expensive phone when you won't keep it charged!)

"Kya faida itne mehnge phone ka jab gira hi dena hota hai!" If anyone had a doubt if she was really living with Dr. Layeba Hussein, it was confirmed now.

(Why keep such an expensive phone when you're going to drop it anyway!)

He let out a cry in frustration and tried the car once again, but of course it didn't work. "We can't stay here. Let's go." He got out of the car, ignoring the pain in his back and leg and kept Abeerah's phone in his pocket.

Running to the other side, he helped Abeerah out of the car. She leaned against it, fighting the dizziness while he took out a black woolen shawl, keeping account of Abeerah's lack of cover and the harsh weather of January in Lahore.

He wrapped it around her shoulders, covering her fully and set her stole on her head, not wanting some unfortunate event where he'd have to break someone's neck or worse, shoot them.

Supporting Abeerah, he started walking. According to a sign not five hundred meters back, there was a village just ahead of them. If they were lucky, they won't have to walk much and would find civilization soon.

He was constantly checking his surroundings, wanting to be in crowd as soon as possible. "What happened? Why are you this tensed?"

"Is this a serious question, Abeerah? Look at the state we're in. I've got no idea where we are. And completely zero idea about where we're headed."

"Then why the hell did you take this path? Itna bhi kya gussa tha?"

(What kind of anger was this?!)

"Shut up, Abeerah. You're talking so much today. Don't waste your strength. I'm not gonna carry you." He was still looking at his back.

"There's something else. What is it, Lala?"

Abeerah's tone told him that she already suspected something. And there was no doubt that her suspicion was right. But still he gave her false hope. "Nothing." And it did work on her. Because she knew, as long as he was there, he won't let anything happen to her.

But it was definitely not nothing. He'd taken this path because he'd noticed some cars following him and it didn't take Sherlock to guess that they were Shah's men. He'd lost them a while back but he knew it was just a matter of time before they found them. And with his car left there, it would be sooner rather than later.

"Well, i know what your problem is."

"What?"

"You don't talk enough", she looked accomplished.

"Wow. You've figured me all out." Was anyone short of sarcasm?  Because It was dripping out of his each word.

"No, like really. You don't express as much as you should. You keep everything bottled in until you can't take it anymore and then you just explode. And whenever you have an emotional breakdown, it brings nothing but trouble. Just like today."

Well, she certainly wasn't wrong there. And even Ozhan admitted that.

"Shut up, Abeerah."

"Yeah, and that worked really well the million times you said this before."

He didn't reply. He was getting anxious now. They should've reached somewhere till now. The only thing on his mind right now was Abeerah's safety. Even his brother's thought wasn't invading his head.

"I'm just waiting for the day when you finally get tired of me calling you a brother", she uttered under her breath. But he heard it. His head snapped down at her in shock, his dark eyes wide.

"What?!"

"Nothing. Oh look!" She pointed somewhere to his left. "There's a woman. And a man. And a house. And lot of people. And a lot of houses. And-"

"And i get it!"

His relief knew no bounds. They hurried to what seemed like a town square. Stopping in front of the first shop, he asked the old long-bearded man wearing a white turban with white Shalwar Kameez, "Yahan koi teherne ki jaga hai?"

(Is there any place to stay here?)

"Ki bolde paye o tussi janab. Punjabi che aakho", he replied loudly.

(What are you saying, sir? Say it in Punjabi.)

Great! He doesn't know urdu.

"Do you know punjabi?" He asked Abeerha.

"How would i know Punjabi? Did you ever teach me?"

"You've been staying in Lahore for a few months now! How come you haven't caught onto it?"

"Yeah, because you've seen Bhabhi or anyone else conversing in Punjabi all day long."

"Uff! Let's go ask someone else."

They went to the nearest group of men who were chatting loudly. Stopping near them, Ozhan hid Abeerah subtly behind him when they noticed them and eyed them from head to toe.

Long story short, the people were overly hospitable. One of them was the nephew of the Sarpanj, the leader of the village and he welcomed them in their haweli with open arms. His name was Chaudhary Tanveer, son of Chaudhary Lateef and Nephew of Chaudhary Nawaz-ud-Din.

As soon as Ozhan heard Tanveer's uncle's name, his step faltered, making Abeerah look at him worriedly. He tried to tell her with his eyes that there was danger ahead, and from the furrowing of her brows, he assumed that she'd understood. Hopefully.

As he took the first step inside the haweli, he cursed his fate.

Out of the frying pan, and into the fire.

•~•

Assalam o alaikum people! 🙋

How are you all?🌺

Yes, you're all welcome!💕 I couldn't do anything to our favourite hero. Well, we all know the favourite is Ozhan🙈 but second favorite. Anyway, he's going to be fine!🎉🎉🎉 So you guys might not have to kill me yet. Phew!

I know i said i was packing some more emotional drama, but then i wasn't in the mood to write it so just reshuffled the series of events a bit.

Hhmmmmm.....

Whyever would i send Ozhan and Abeerah alone to whatever place that is?

Make a guess! I'd love to know your thoughts on it and maybe i'll improvise!🥰

Anyways! Short chapter, i know. Sorry🥺

Please vote⭐, if it was worth your while and comment🖋️ what you thought of it. Do share with others and follow.

Thank you😌
Take care.
Lots of love❤️❤️❤️
Javeria.