CHAPTER 21

Maryam couldn’t blink her eyes for once, her heart was racing and mind all numb. Whatever Arsalan said was true or he was only trying to scare her out? How can her brothers do this to her? They can not settle her on a business deal. Maryam was hell tired mentally, she was feeling exhausted. It was evening when she heard Ali’s voice, she stood up went to the washroom got freshen up and with heavy steps she went out side

“ah! Maryam…… tum uth gaeen?” Ali saw her and coming closer to her he hugged her tight. Maryam couldn’t understand how to react, should she just burst out or play calm?

“Yeah! I couldn’t sleep bhai” she looked into his eyes

“ohoooo… chalo don’t worry, come sit with me” Ali said and they sat on the big sofa

“So, tell me how was your flight?” Ali asked with a warm smile

“It was good…. tiring but good” Maryam said, ignoring the pain in her head

“You look weak Maryam…..” Ali said, looking at her and then stopped in-between his sentence and looked down. Maryam couldn’t read his expressions, her heart pounding in her throat

“bhai….! Is there anything wrong?” Maryam asked

“Nothing… nothing is wrong, it's just that…… I am ashamed of myself maryam, what we did to you, letting you go alone all together a new country, marrying you with a jerk with out knowing his background and all…. Am so ashamed, please forgive me” Ali said still looking down his eyes all wet

“Please Bhai, it wasn’t your fault, I guess it was written to be happening. So what is done is done ap ko maafi mangne ki zaroorat nai” Maryam said taking his hands in her hands

“Exactly! This is what I am trying to make him understand, but tumhare bhai to samajhte he nai, whatever happened was her fate, nobody could change that Ali, and then ofcorse there is always a way to be good again” Sara came in the hall and said casually.

“Maryam…. I know, I understand how shattered you are after all that, but I promise I will change things in your life” Ali said assuringly and Maryam felt that uncomfortable pain in her tummy

“Yeah ofcorse dear! And you are just 20, you have the whole of of your life ahead you, there are so many good proposals for you” Sara said calmly and Maryam jumped up. Ali looked at her, her face turned all pale

“bhabi! I seriously don’t want you people to start all that again, please don’t do this to me now” Maryam said controlling her voice to be calm.

“Maryam! What is wrong? Aese q keh rai ho?” Ali asked

“Bhai!... Bhai who is this Arsalan?” Maryam at last burst out and Sara and Ali both looked at each other

“Array Han! You met him today…. He is a very good guy, bahir se parh ker ayah ea aur…..”

“Bhai, I don’t want to know his credentials…… just tell me kon hea ye”Maryam asked sternly

“He is my business partner’s son……. And,...we like him for you” Ali said, looking down at his tea cup and Maryam got up from the sofa

“Like him for me???? What do you mean by this bhai? How can you do this to me once again?” Maryam raised her voice

“Maryam calm down…” Sara looked at her and try to interfere

“bhabi am not talking to you right now… so please for a while let us talk” Maryam didn’t even look at her and said as in a matter of factly tone.

“Maryam I know you are angry with me, with Asad as well, but now believe me, it's for your good, Arsalan is a very good person” Ali tried to keep calm and said, Maryam rolled her eyes she knew already how decent and nice he was.

“Bhai this is not possible anymore….. I won't marry anyone” Maryam said calmly, though her mind and heart racing

“Maryam, we did a mistake, but that doesn’t mean you are going to behave like this with your elder brothers, aj agar Amman Abba zinda hote to kia wo humein maf na kerte?..... Give us a chance Maryam trust me its for your good” Ali stood up and put a hand on her shoulder.

“No bhai! Wo ap ko kabhi maaf na kerte…… and don’t lie, it's not for my good its for your own good, that’s why you sold me…. You sold your sister on a bloody business deal” Maryam said and shook his hand, Ali’s eyes went wide with shock and rage and he couldn’t control himself. He slapped Maryam hard on her face and she fell on the sofa. Ali was trembling with anger and Sara also stood up.

Maryam, with tears in her eyes and a hand on her cheek looked at him all shocked and shattered.

“Maryam how dare you talk to me like this?..... ye seekh ker aai ho America se? And this is final now, you are going to get married with Arsalan in a couple of weeks and I don’t want to hear any arguments” Ali looked into her eyes and said angrily ignoring his finger prints on her cheek and a blood stain at the corner of her lips. Sara and Ali left her over there and headed towards their room. She stood up and ran upstairs to her room, locked the door and cried hard in the pillow.

Maryam was in her room for the rest of the day, when suddenly she heard a knock she was so scared mentally and emotionally that she almost jumped up, after a couple of seconds the door opened and Asad entered in her room. She looked at him, her eyes all swelled up, she stood up and sat straight on the bed, he came near her and sat with her.

“I am sorry maryam, I was out of the station when you came, couldn’t come to pick you from the airport” he said softly but Maryam doesn’t need any excuse or explanation, she knew they don’t love her anymore. When she kept quiet, he looked at her and put a hand on her shoulder;

“Maryam why are you doing this to yourself?.... Why don’t you want to marry?”

Maryam looked at him right in his eyes and said “I don’t trust you all, I don’t believe you all anymore” her eyes wet once again

“Maryam it was a mistake, we are not going to repeat that. We didn’t know Rohan, but Arsalan is a close friend, his father is one of the top industrialists of the country, working with us for the last whole year” Asad tried to convince and Maryam felt pain on the mentioning of Rohan.

“Bhai!.... Did you people do a deal? You agreed to this proposal on a deal? A business deal” Maryam asked, shattering

“Maryam! It wasn’t a deal, look! When you left the country property and Shares were really down in the market, we sold the house at a very low price and we were seriously in high debt after making these two units. Then, as a business partner, Mr Muzaffar Salman helped us a lot, in many ways Maryam. And then one day he told us about his son who was coming back to Pakistan after completing his degree in business studies and told us that he was searching for his match…… Ali and I discussed and decided that Arsalan is the perfect match for you, we talked to him and he agreed. Maryam us k baad Mr Muzaffar had helped us a lot in settling down…. He is a great man, and so is his son” Asad told her everything and she kept quiet

“Bhai, what if I say no to this marriage, then what? What about your business? What about your partnership with this Muzaffar Salman?” Maryam looked at his face closely when suddenly Ali along with Aliya and Sara entered her room

“Then he will snatch away all the projects from your brothers and cancel all the deals, and your brothers, just because you would come on road” Aliya said bitterly and Maryam looked at her in shock and disgust

“Don’t make me responsible for all this bhabi…. How can you take such big decision about my life without even telling me, let alone asking me?” Maryam said standing up from the bed

“Dekho Maryam! Arsalan mein koi burai nai, he is rich and successful. You will be happy with him” Ali came forward and said

“Did you tell him about my divorce?” Maryam asked

“ye lo….. tum pagal ho? Bhala divorce ka bata dete to wo han kerte? Maryam nobody marries a girl who is once divorced” Aliya said sarcastically and Maryam gave her a weak smile…. “sab ap ki jesi soch nai rakhte bhabi, there are people out there who are still humans” she thought

“maryam talaq aadmi deta hea but the stain comes on girl’s life” Sara added

“ye nai ho sakta” Maryam said controlling her rage this time

“mein ne zabaan di hea Muzaffar sahib ko” Ali said angrily

“And you think your verdict is far important than your sister’s happiness….? Her life?” Maryam spat back

“Maryam listen! Try to understand, don’t make things difficult for us and yourself” Asad came closer to her and said

“And then……

“I can't do this” Maryam said, looking down on the floor, cutting Ali in the middle

“But why? Sara asked, feeling irritated

“Because…. Because…I… Maryam couldn’t say that, she was afraid what was going to happen afterwards

“Because what?........ Ali said trying calm himself

“Because I am already married….” Mryam said, looking down and showing them the ring she was wearing. Everyone froze in their place.

“What???..... Are you crazy? How can this happen?” Ali came closer to her and grabbed her from her arm

“Bhai…ye sach hai, mera Nikah ho gaya hea a month back almost” Maryam said with tears in her eyes, all she wanted was Shehryaar at that moment. The one and only who can save her from anything and everything

“Maryam ye kia bakwaas hai?.... tum ne kisi ka nai socha aesa qadam uthate hue?” Sara looked at her angrily

“I didn’t do anything wrong bhabi, I got married it was my right” She said trying to compose herself. Asad and Ali were all in shock couldn’t say anything

“We will sort it out, we will see what we can do about that… but we can't step back now” Ali said heartlessly “and you won’t say a word about this to Arsalan, they are coming to meet you tomorrow. Did you get that?” he added looking at her and Maryam froze in her place

Ali and Asad left her standing there, Aliya came forward and looked at her ring in her finger. “And you better put that off your finger” Sara and Aliya went out and she stood there like a stone statue, no heart beat no breath…. She after a couple of minutes fell on the floor and started crying hard.

“Shehryaar!.....I need you here Shehryaar” with this she dialed his number.

SHEHRY’S END

Dhoombros were busy in their movie Yaari, Shehry’s character in the movie was that of a quite troublesome guy, always bullying people around him and making fun of them, he was a cool guy who doesn’t give a shit about the world around him. But his personal life was on such a roller coster that he couldn’t concentrate on the acting and he couldn’t go deep down in his character. He used to laugh, but his laugh and smiles never touched his eyes. Hussain and the rest were observing this and they were worried about him, it's been three days that Maryam was gone and they didn’t talk.

“Bhai! Why don’t you try to call bhabi now/” Hussain came with a tray of coffee mugs for everyone and put that on the table, they were in Brooklyn for shooting and it was the second day.

“Hmm!... yeah, I tried, but she didn’t pick up” Shehry said with a dull face

“Yaar I think Maryam is not doing fair now, come on, it was a small fight man! You two should patch up now” Waqas said, holding his mug

“No bro! I was wrong, I wasn’t with her when she needed me the most, it was all my fault” Shehry said and Atif put a hand on his shoulder

“Chalo everything will be all right, don’t take tension dude, you know she loves you a lot” Waqas said assuringly and he smiled weakly.

After having a short coffee break they again started working on the scenes, Waqas was also assisting the director and he was hell busy with his double duties. For the whole of the day they kept on doing the work, with their cell phones on silent. After a hectic long day, they went back to the hotel. They had booked a suite with two rooms and a built in kitchen, they were exhausted physically, but only Shehry was the one who couldn’t even blink an eye for the last two nights he was mentally drenched. He suddenly took out his cell phone from his pocket and saw one voice message, he opened that and his eyes went wide to see her name. He smiled and putting his ear phone he opened the message;

Shehryaar!......shehryaar!.....ye log…shehryaar ap aa jaiye please. Mein mar jaoon gi werna, ye log mera rishta ker rae hen, mein kuch ker loon gi apne sath mein, pagal ho jaoon gi! Ap aa jaiye please mujhe buhat dar lag raha hea shehryaar!...please aa jaiye” Shehryaar froze in his place, the message kept on repeating and he just forgot to turn it off, his eyes flaming with rage, heart aching and brain racing at dangerous speed. He finally punched hard on the wall and Hussain, who was in the kitchen making something to eat and talking to Waqas, heard the sound and  came running into the room. They ran to him when they saw him all shattered on the floor, his mobile phone firmly gripped in his hand

“Shehry!.....Shehry what happened bro?” Waqas bent down and Hussain looked at his face, he was so lost

“Waqas…. Maryam isn’t fine there, she is not okay, ” he said, looking on his mobile phone and Waqas looked at Hussain

“kia hua bhai?....phone aya tha bhabi ka?” Hussain shook his shoulders

“I have to go…. Mujhe Jana ho ga” Shehry said still in trance

“Where? Waqas asked, confused

“Pakistan” Shehry said and Waqas and Hussain kept silent

“Hey! Whats wrong men? And Hussain you burnt the pancakes dude!..... Atif came into the room and said, but he stopped when he looked at three of them sitting on the floor. Shehry all shattered, Waqas and Hussain looking worried

“Kia Hua” Atif asked, sitting near them, and Shehry pulling the headphones turn on the message. They all froze, looked at each other couldn’t utter a single word.

“Shehry you go…. We will take care of everything here. You need to be with her right now” Hussain said thoughtfully and the rest nodded while Shehry was all lost somewhere. He stood up, took his phone and went out of the room.