"Did you already divorce that girl?" Aqia asked, making the water he was gulping stay in his mouth.

A bitter taste came on his tongue as he sipped the water down his throat again. Why everything was so difficult? Why did leaving her seem like the most complicated thing in this world? Haider had taken a decision but he didn't want to act upon it. He never thought that someone would melt the ice around his heart but here Ishmal did it. She warmed up his heart. But he brutally crushed the melted ice again. His ego again won against his heart.

He put the glass back before shaking his head. "Not yet."

Aqia raised a brow. "Then when? I at least don't want a drama again, Haider. She was introduced to everyone as your wife and when they won't see her here, it will be more bothersome than to tell everyone that you divorced her because she was not a good girl and you weren't happy with her."

Haider narrowed his eyes at her. "That isn't going to happen, Mom. Stop bringing her into this when it's not her fault. Tell everyone the truth. I don't fear anyone."

"The truth is that you are still sulking over a married woman with kids who ditched you because of another man. Is that what we should tell everyone?" Tashfeen replied instead, sarcastically.

He never brought Nisha in an obvious way in front of Haider ever. Aqia was more than enough for that task. But today seeing how his son was ruining his life because of some mountains of ego, he couldn't help himself. If not Ishmal, however, Haider should now move on from the past.

Haider's grip increased painfully on his fork. "What satisfaction do you all get by bringing up that woman's topic again and again? I damn care about her. She can go to hell from my side. She is not the reason why Ishmal wanted to leave me and why I sent her away."

"Then why did you do that?" Tashfeen asked.

"Because that marriage was based on a contract which was bound to come to an end. I don't think so it's that difficult to grasp this thing," Haider said, with a slight tilt of his shoulder.

"Then what are you going to do after divorce? You plan to live like this forever?" Tashfeen lifted a brow.

"When I feel like committing again, I will marry that before you can even question me once more. That's the thing I have been telling you for ages." He stood up and pushed the chair behind which caused a characteristic sound.  "I am full now. Ask someone to bring a cup of coffee to my room quickly."

After that, he left the table. Aqia glared at his back while her husband sighed.

"He is unbelievable," Huzaifa commented.

Unaiza bit her lower lip while seeing and listening to everything in silence. What was Haider hiding from them?

              ______________________

Unaiza entered his room with a cup of coffee. He was perched on his bed with a laptop on his lap. On the couch, she could see his uniform's jacket and pistol which were recklessly thrown. It was after such a long time she was seeing a mess in his room. Maybe Ishmal was very good at acting like the doting wife.

"Your coffee," she said to gain his attention.

Haider glanced up at her. "Why did you bring it yourself? But thank you."

Unaiza gave him the cup and sat on the edge of the bed. "It's fine. I wanted to talk to you."

Haider exhaled. "Unaiza, if your talk again concerns her, I have no mood to have such a discussion."

"If you have passed over what happened years ago, then why did you let Ishmal Bhabi go?" She questioned.

"Because that was needed Unaiza. She wanted to get something else from this relationship which I couldn't give her so that was the most suitable option to do. And please don't keep on annoying me with this topic again and again all of you. I am getting tired of it. You should leave now. I need to sleep," Haider told her sternly.

Unaiza kept on glancing at him without uttering a word. He never seemed this distant before. Even when his breakup with Nisha occurred, she was the only one with whom he could find the comfort zone to talk. She stood up and walked out. Maybe their father was right; Haider should be given some time to have some self-talk.

However, there was definitely something that wasn't right. Something which didn't occur according to Haider's plan and wish. Something which was bothering him. The way he had been avoiding Ishmal's topic and trying to stand up for her against every negative world for her was unusual. If she meant just a contract wife for him, he wouldn't have done that. He hated women and Ishmal was no exception.

                ________________________

The next morning, Haider was getting ready to leave for the police station when his phone rang. His eyebrows knitted in confusion finding an unknown number. Since he was getting such phone calls for quite a while, he decided to ignore them. They were mostly from that MNA threatening him from his resources to release his son. Warnings now changed from mild to severe as most recently he got a death threat. But Haider was least affected by it. Justice, honesty, and sincerity were the crux of his job and what was expected of him as an ASP. And he wouldn't budge away from it even if meant he needed to give up on his life.

Haider wrapped his watch around his wrist and grabbed his wallet when his phone again rang. Getting annoyed and wanting to show that he was not the type to get intimidated, he picked it up. He who was expecting some warnings again, was stunned to find a voice which he was so eager to hear but which he was expecting the least.

"Mr. Haider? Is that you?" Her soft and terrified voice reverberated through his speaker. "I...I am Ishmal."

That wasn't the voice which he could forget anything soon. The owner of this voice still owned his heart. He still had dreams about her and his thoughts were still filled with her memory. How could he forget her like this so easily? 

It always amazed him how she always called him with this Mr. tag. But dismay at the same fact that he never gave her a reason to feel any right and familiarity from him.

"Ishmal," he murmured.

Why was she calling him? Was she in any danger? After her reaching out to the police station for the sake of her jerk of a stepfather and him declining her request, that was the first time she again approached him. He hoped she was okay.

"I want to ask you something. Please leave my life for God's sake. Don't make things difficult for me once again. Let go of my father. He hasn't done anything. I left my house because...because I was seeing a guy who asked me to flee to do a court marriage because my parents weren't agreeing. My father...."

Haider's hold increased on his phone in anger. What the hell was she saying? "Ishmal. Are you in your senses?"

"My father caught me talking to him on the phone hence I...I injured him in fear. He is innocent. I lied to you to save myself. The story which I told you was not correct. Let him go. Please."

After that, she cut the call. Haider again tried to dial the number but now the line wasn't reaching. There was definitely something fishy. Why was Ishmal making a false story to save her father? Was someone trying to threaten her? The way she said all the words in clutter and the fear lurking in the back of her voice was proof of something getting really bad. He needed to go to her.

               _____________________

That was a sunny morning when Ishmal woke up. After getting freshened up, she decided to cook breakfast. After greeting her grandparents and asking them to join the table, she went towards her mother's room. But what she found here was terrifying. Farah's whole left side of her body was useless and it was fluttering. She was lying on the bed but due to her motion, it was also moving vigorously. The side of her mouth was drooping and saliva was declining from it. She was saying some incoherent words. 

Ishmal ran towards her and crouched down before her. "Ammi...what happened to you?"

Ishmal cupped her face and a tear dropped from Farah's right eye. She tried to say something but only random rambling was coming out of her mouth.

"Mm...my...my sss....sons," Farah mumbled.

Ishmal's eyes itched and brimmed with moisture. What happened to her mother all of a sudden? Since the time they were here, Farah's condition only deteriorated in remembrance of her sons.

"Ammi...what is happening to you?" She whispered and then ran towards the door. "Nano...please come here. Look what occurred to Ammi."

Her grandfather came and then they took her to the hospital only to get know that Farah got an attack of stroke.

Ishmal felt the ground got slipped away from her feet. Why all of this was happening? She felt like she was the reason for all of this misery upon her loved ones. And that was when she took that hard decision to take every blame upon herself. 

                  __________________

AssalamoAlaikum/ Hi guys!

How are you?

Here's a new chapter for you.

I hope you like it.

What do you think Haider do now?

Will Farah ever see her sons back?

What do you think will happen next?

If you like this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment.❤❤

Till next one, Allah Hafiz/ Bye. ❤❤