She was sleeping in her mother's lap when the door to her room opened. Maheen looked outside the window, and it was dark already. How many hours had she slept? She had no idea, but it was the most peaceful nap she had in a while. Her mother tried to move, but Maheen caught her hand, "Ammi na jaaye, aaj mere saath sojaye."

She signalled towards the door, Abdullah stood there, and Maheen didn't look at him. She didn't want to be left alone with him, she didn't want to look at his face, she didn't want to be reminded of that slap although she carried the mark on her face.

"Abdullah beta andar aajao," as he walked inside Maheen on instinct hid behind her mother, Abdullah noticed the fear in her eyes. Maheen held onto her hand. She was scared, terrified again. All her guards were down in front of her mother. "Ye iss kamre mai rehega toh mai nahi rahungi". 

"Maheen! Izaat se bolo, shauhar hai tumhara", She reprimanded, "Haan izzat se bol lungi, Ammi ab toh nikkah bhi hogaya Mujhe iss shakhas k saath abhi bhi rehna padega?"

Her mother sighed she was holding onto her as if her life depended on it, "Beta tumhare Abba ko pata chala ki tum aisi harkatein kar rahi toh woh yaha se jaaney nahi denge", She whispered in her ear, and kissing her head, "Meri pyaari beti haina".

Maheen didn't say anything. Her mother left, and the door closed. She grumbled something under her breath and turned towards the window, ignoring his presence.

Abdullah saw her side profile, the wind made her hair fly, and he saw the true extent of the slap. There was a reddish mark, her lips split. Maheen suddenly felt his presence close to her. He was sitting beside her. She backed off, "Mujhse durr raho tum," she said, pointing her finger at him.

"Maheen, let me apply medicine. Otherwise, you will get a swelling", he showed her the antiseptic bottle, "Let the mark remain. Does it matter? Ek aur thappad lagado, tumhara kya jaata hai. Haq jataney ke liye mil gaya koi toh, apni taaqat dikhane k liye..."

He closed his eyes, "I will never slap you.. please let me apply this, " As he brought the cotton swab near her face, she slapped his hand away. The bottle fell,  "Kisi aur ko marham lagao, iska asar mujhpar nahi hoga. Jaangayi hu tum kaise mard ho, aur jaaney ki zaroorat nahi, isliye ye sab drama mere saamne mat karna".

The words fell out of her mouth on accord. She hated that he believed a medicine could make her forget the humiliation of the slap. Like every other man, he had proved that his self-respect was the most important to him.

He left the room, and she sighed in relief. But that was short-lived, as he entered the room with a tray in his hand. He placed the tray by her side, "Bhook nahi hai mujhe", she pushed the tray aside.

"Maheen tumne kal raat se kuch khaaya nahi hai-"

"Maine kahana mujhe bhook nahi hai, tum yaha se jao!" She screamed at him, her eyes red, she was done with this good boy act of his.

He caught her wrist, "Maheen tumhe pata hai in sab mai meri koi galti nahi thi... fir kyun apna mujrim maan rahi ho?"

He had married her to save her, everything he had done so far was her, and he was still the villain in her eyes.

She glared at him, "Tum ho mujrim mere aur Afshan ke, Abdullah tum mera bura waqt ho. Mujhe tumse chutkara chahiye".

He couldn't understand where all of this was coming from, "Maheen tumne apna bura waqt khud chunna, na tum uske saath bhaagti-", this was it she pushed him, "Now you are blaming me for this mess? Disgusting. "

But somewhere, she too blamed herself, not for running but for getting caught.

"Nahi mai bas yeh keh raha hu k tum mera bhi socho, aise ladladkar zindagi mushkil hojayegi"

He paused, hoping his words would reach her, but she remained defiant. Maheen turned away, unwilling to engage further. The tension in the room hung thick, suffocating both of them with the weight of their conflicting emotions. Despite the darkness outside, the turmoil within them seemed to cast an even deeper shadow.

"Mujhe tumhare saath nahi rehna," Maheen's voice was a whisper, yet it carried the weight of finality.

"Kaha jaogi phir?" Abdullah's voice was steady, but his hands trembled imperceptibly.

"Iss gao se durr..." Her gaze drifted to the horizon, where the last hues of twilight bled into darkness.

"Aur agar mai tumhe waha na lejao toh?" There was a challenge in his tone, a subtle tightening of his jaw.

"Toh mai khud chali jaongi. Saza toh milgayi toh kyun na woh kaam pura kardaalo jiske liye ye saza mili thi." Her resolve was iron, her stance defiant, a stark contrast to the vulnerability in her eyes.

"Maheen khaana khaalo fir mai sochunga," he said, attempting to inject normalcy into the charged atmosphere.

"Tumhe kisne kaha sochne ko? Maine jo faisla leliya wahi hoga bas!"

"Tum shayad bhool rahi ho," he said, a dark undercurrent to his words.

"Kya?" She turned, her silhouette framed against the dying light.

"Mai tumhara shauhar hu, ye faisle meri ijaazat ke bina tum nahi lesakti." His statement hung in the air, heavy with centuries of tradition.

"Khudko mera shauhar samajhne ki galti mat karna." Her voice was low, dangerous.

He smiled, a slow, slight curl of his lips. "Woh toh mai hu."

"Mujhe tumhari bakwaas nhi sunni mai jaarahi hu!" She spun on her heel, her dupatta swirling around her like a storm cloud.

But he caught her wrist, his grip firm. "Pehle tum khaana khaaogi."

"Maine keh diya mujhe nahi khaana bas!" Her voice rose, a crescendo of desperation.

"Tamaasha mat banao," he warned, his tone deceptively calm.

"Tamaasha? Tamaasha toh tum sabne meri zindagi ka banaya hai. Nafrat hai tumse, aur iss ghar k har fard se." The words spilled from her, bitter and scathing.

"Tum sheher jaongi kaise? Pakdi gayi toh?" His question was a velvet-covered dagger.

"Jaaongi mai, aur pakdi gayi toh maut bhi qubool hai tumhare saath rehne ke bajaye." Her declaration was a slap across his face, leaving a sting that was more than physical.

"Mai tumhe yaha se kahi bhi nahi jaane dunga," he vowed, his voice a low growl.

"Tumhe koi haq nahi mujhe rokne ka," she shot back.

"Mai tumhara shauhar hu Maheen, aur mujhe pura haq hasil hai k mai tumhe kahi bhi jaaney se rok saku." His words were a chain, meant to bind her.

"Haq? Tumhe haq hai mujhe dard deney ka? Haq hai mujhse meri marzi chheenney ka? Haq hai mujh par zulm karney ka?" Maheen's voice trembled with rage as she confronted Abdullah, her eyes ablaze with defiance.

Abdullah's expression softened, a flicker of remorse crossing his features, he knew she was referringto the slap, but he held his ground. "Maheen, mai majbur tha. Tum samajh nahi rahe ho..."

"Samajhne ki zarurat nahi hai mujhe! Tum bas mujhe chhod do," she cried, pulling her hand away from his grasp.

"Nahi chod sakta..."

But Maheen had reached her breaking point. With tears streaming down her face, she turned away from him and collapsed onto the bed, her body racked with sobs. The weight of her emotions, the trauma of her past, and the suffocating sense of helplessness engulfed her.

Abdullah stood there, watching her anguish with a heavy heart.

All of their confrontations led to one result, her breakdown. He had to remind himself that she was still a kid.

As Abdullah lay on the bed, distance separated him from Maheen, both physically and emotionally. He watched her silhouette in the dim light, waiting for the exhaustion of her grief to lull her into sleep. But before the weight of slumber could claim her, Abdullah succumbed to his own weariness, his eyelids heavy with the burden of guilt and sorrow.

When he awoke, the room was shrouded in darkness, and an unsettling emptiness pervaded the space where Maheen had been laying. Panic surged through him as he realized she was no longer there. Frantically, his eyes scanned the room, searching for any trace of her presence, but she was nowhere to be found.

In a frenzy of fear and desperation, Abdullah rushed out of the house, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Maheen! Maheen!" he called out into the night, his voice trembling with anxiety, but his cries echoed back to him unanswered. Haunted by her words, Abdullah's mind raced with worry.

Had she truly left? Was she out there, alone and vulnerable, willing to face any danger rather than stay by his side?

The weight of his failures pressed down upon him, suffocating him with remorse..With trembling hands and a heavy heart, Abdullah retraced their steps, searching every corner, every shadowed alleyway, in a desperate bid to find her. But as the minutes stretched into hours, hope began to fade, replaced by a gnawing sense of dread.

Then, just as he was on the brink of despair, a glimmer of hope pierced the darkness. In the moonlight, he saw a figure kneeling beside a grave, the silhouette of a woman hunched over in sorrow. "Maheen?" he called out softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

As he approached, he heard her voice, soft and trembling, as she poured out her heart to the soul resting beneath the earth.

"Afshan mai tumhare baazu apni qabar banane ko kahungi, kam se kam marne k baad saath reh payenge. Tumse zindagi bhar mohabbat karungi... aur tumhari maut ka badla lungi mai," Maheen's words floated through the night air, heavy with grief and regret.

"Kaash uss din mai marti, tumhare illawa mera koi dost nahi... tum jaante toh ho.. kon meri baatein sunega?"

"Maheen," Abdullah said, as he knelt beside her, "Tum yaha kya kar rahi ho?"

She didn't had the energy to argue, "Afshan ki yaad aari thi, isliye ..."

"Isliye tum akele kabristan aagyi. Mujhe boldeti tumhe yaha le aata", he sighed as he prayed for the young man who was brutally killed.

Maheen didn't say anything, she was quietly sitting there, Abdullah waited for her, an hour passed. The sun began to rise and Maheen fell asleep on her lover's grave. As she was sleeping Abdullah examined her cheek, realising that he had indeed turned into the men of this village. It started off as survival instincts, then his male ego, now he was one of them. He had hurt his wife. He had failed to protect her..

___

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