Introduction

Hassan is a Harvard graduate and comes back to his country to take control of his father's business.
Contrary to his father's personality, he is arrogant and a suave business tycoon.
Maniha is a witty, clever and a friendly girl who's studying in a good medical college. When she meets
him, she dislikes him instantly because of his snobby attitude. Her personality doesn't click with him
either as he is more of an unemotional guy.
But as time progresses, they find that they are not that d ifferent and gradually develop a liking for each
other. Just when Hassan decides to leave his ego and stubbornness to marry her, he discovers
something about her that shatters him completely. Believing that he had been fooled by a girl lower
than him, he tries in all ways to hate her. The result being that life becomes miserable for both of them.
But how long will this continue before he finally comes to know the truth and would it be too late for
both of them to mend things?...

Chapter 1
Time To Go Back
She still didn't know where to go at this middle of the night. But she would figure that out...she always
did. Walking towards the gate, she started thinking about whether her home would be a good place to
go or not when she bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorr- " she stopped just in time.
It was Hassan with a livid expression on his face. Not a big deal for her. He always had that kind of
expression on his face... She didn't say anything- she had had too much of him.
She turned away from him- she didn't want any talk whatsoever with him. She had barely taken a few
steps when his voice called from behind her.
"Do you know how worried I've been? For the past five hours I have been going berserk trying to find
you."
She turned around. For a moment, she thought that he...

"I couldn't even tell my family about your whereabouts." He spoke every word with gritted teeth now.
"Does it matter?" Her face flushed with anger at his words.
His expression slackened a little. It was as if he was a fighting for a response. Maniha stood for like a
very long time before he finally answered;
"Doesn't matter to me but it does to the family."
She wanted to cry now but crying in front of him was the biggest mistake she could ever make. So, she
kept quiet, fighting her feelings down. How could a person be this cruel, she thought. Her sister had
said it wrong 'he wasn't a borderline running between good and evil. He was purely mean.'
"The car is outside. Come quickly." He didn't wait for her response. Something that he never did. And
never will, Maniha thought.
"Maybe you didn't hear me right when I said that I didn't want this marriage anymore, Mr. Hassan. I
really meant what I said today." He stopped at her words.
"Didn't YOU hear me right, when I said I want you to come outside?" She looked at him amazed; she
was at a loss for words. Was he going to keep doing this? Wasn't he even going to listen to what she
had to say?
"Or are you waiting for me to take you back home forcibly?" He continued.
She almost shouted at him, "I DON'T WANT THIS MARRIAGE. I DON'T WANT..."
"I don't want it either," his reply was simple and honest. "But as if now, I will have to tolerate this
crappy thing. So don't make it harder on me than it already is."
They both glared at each other. Then suddenly, he grabbed her by her arm and almost dragged her
outside the building. There was no one besides them on the street. His car was parked at the entrance.
He made his way towards it.
Within no time, they were both sitting inside the car. Maniha showed some resistance so Hassan had to
forcibly push her inside. Once inside the car, he started driving it back to their home.
"And let me tell you once and for all. If you ever run away like this in the future, I'm not going to try
and find you. I am going to tell your family that you have decided to separate from me." he looked
straight ahead on the road as he said this. "And in case I haven't made myself clear, I'LL DO IT." he
added.
"My family trusts me, Mr. Hassan. They won't believe..."

"Then I'll make them believe it. And you know that it's not at all hard for me."
Maniha became quiet. Although she was still angry at him but she had to admit that he did do anything
he said. So she didn't want to try his patience and besides, there was no wa y to get rid of him. If only
she knew why he was doing this to her...he had not always been like this. Sure, he had been arrogant
and brusque since the beginning but it was something that he was with everyone. Then why did he
react like this just with her only...
Whatever the reason was, she didn't have enough time to ask. They were both at the home now. The
guard was opening the gate. Hassan parked his car in the driveway.
"Go inside quietly. Just don't create any noise," he said, while taking the key out of the engine.
"Everyone's sleeping. I don't want them to wake up."
By now, the guard had come to open his door.
They both came out of the car and made their way towards the main door. But at that very moment, the
door opened from inside. Hassan's dad had been waiting for them.
"Where were you?" He directed his question at Maniha with a worried expression.
Before she could give him any reply, Hassan said; "She was with me dad. I had found her long ago. It
was just that we decided to stop by her house which made us late."
Maniha looked at him disbelievingly.
A smile came across his father's face now.
"Oh- you should have stayed there for the whole night then?" He said, moving away from the door to
allow them to cross it. "Why did you come back?"
Both of them were quiet now. They didn't know how to answer this question. But thankfully, his father
didn't insist for one and before they could even think for a suitable response, he turned around to go to
his room.
"Does this satisfy you now?" Hassan asked as soon as his father had closed the door behind them. "I
have to lie to my dad because of you." His voice and face was full of hatred for her.
And with this, he went upstairs to go to his room.
*******

Maniha woke up early the next morning. Hassan had created so much noise while getting ready for
office that she couldn't sleep. Lying on the bed with her eyes open, she thought about last night.
Hassan had not let her go. She was once again stuck with him in this house. If she was really going to
be stuck with him god knows till when, she decided to make it as torturing for him as it was for her.
Standing up from the bed, she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. And when she came out, she
had a plan for how to irritate him in the best possib le way. She smiled at her own childishness.
"What are you doing late at night?" Hassan's mother asked Maniha who was sitting idle on the dining
table with food on it.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"Ma," she replied. "I'm waiting for Hassan since it is not suitable for a wife to eat without her husband.
I'll start eating only when Hassan is back."
Mariam stared at her daughter-in- law for a long moment and then, a smile lit her face.
"Why don't you just say that you miss him?" she said teasingly.
Miss him! Maniha thought. I would rather not see his face for the entire lifetime.
But she managed to give a smile to her mother and said, "You see ma, I have been trying to call him but
he doesn't pick up my call."
Mariam understood. "Don't worry, I'll call him myself."
And then Mariam took out her cell phone and started dialing her son's number.
"Hello," it was Hassan on the phone.
"Hassan, where are you my child? Why don't you come early tonight to eat dinner with us?"
"Sorry ma. It won't be possible today. I have a lot of work here." He replied.
Her mother decided to use another tactic to bring him home.
"Oho! So much work that you can't take out time for your own family! Maniha is waiting terribly for
you here. She wouldn't even eat food without you." She said, smiling at Maniha.
It took sometime for Hassan to register what she had just said. Then realizing the truth, he said to her
mother. "Ma, why don't you give the phone to Maniha?"

"He wants to talk to you." Mariam handed the phone to Maniha.

"Hello baby!" Maniha said, without worrying about what her mother would think. She had to play as
long as it took to irritate him.
"Baby?" Hassan asked her. "Anyways, what the hell is this? You can't eat food without me, since when
did that happen?"
"Since the time I realized I haven't been a good wife to you. But now I have decided to change myself."
Hassan rolled his eyes in irritation. As if she knew that he had just done that, she further added;
"When you'll come home, we'll eat the food together. Like true husband and wife."
"O shut up!" He remarked. "I'm not coming home. If you don't want to eat, it's your choice. But stop
disturbing me and my family."
She pretended as if she had not heard him; "OK then. I'll wait for you, love." She feigned to coy a t the
last word.
"What the..." Hassan said angrily.
But Maniha had already cut the call.
Hassan threw his own phone at the table. Maniha was getting impossible for him now, he thought
angrily.
******
Maniha looked at the clock that hung on the wall. It was 1:00 at night. To her dismay, Hassan still
hadn't come. The food had gone cold by now. She groaned in frustration. The aroma was too much for
her to tolerate now. With one swipe, she grabbed a plate and poured the gravy on it and started eating.
So how was it? Please leave your comments. Will love to hear them :)

Chapter 2
When Hassan arrived at home, he had expected everyone to be asleep. What he hadn't expected was his

whole family to be wide awake and waiting for him. He looked at everyone seated around the dining
table; his mother beside his grandmother, with Maniha on the other side and his brother on her
opposite. They all looked up at him as he walked in.
"Hassan sit down," his mother said motioning him to sit down on a seat opposite to her.
Maniha didn't know herself why his mother had called her from her room just when he had come back
from his office. She looked at his mother just as confused as Hassan was at that time.
"We have to talk to you about something important." His mother explained.
"Talk about what?" He asked a little worried.
"Hassan we have to talk to you about you and Maniha." His grandmother's loud voice said this time.
Hassan gazed at Maniha, questioning her silently. Maniha who had been about to take a sip of water
from her glass, choked at granny's words. Everyone looked at her.
"Sorry.." Maniha said sheepishly, putting her glass down. Fear ran through her body. What was it that
they wanted to talk about with both of them? Her mind started racing. Had they possibly come to know
about their unhappy marriage or was it something else?
"What is it?" Hassan asked, a little reserved.
"Well we have decided that from tommorow onwards, she will not go to the hospital alone." His
grandmother said.
"What do you mean?" Hassan said confused. "She doesn't go alone even now. The driver drops her
off."
"Exactly! What I'm saying is that from now onwards YOU will drop her there instead of the driver."
Hassan's face changed colors. A tinge of annoyance came to his face.
"You know I can't do that granny."
""And why not?" She asked him sternly.
"Because I can't pick her up and drop her everyday. I'm a busy man."
"But she's your wife."
"And where is it written that it is compulsory for a husband, to drop his wife off for her wo rk,

everyday?"
"It is not compulsory but it is considered good if a husband does that." His granny reasoned.
"Nonsense!" Hassan spat out. "We are living in 21st century. All these stupid husband wife rules have
become nonexistent in this world now!"
"What you call stupid husband wife rules is what I call good manners and taking good care of others."
His grandmother replied calmly.
"Whatever granny! You know I can't do that."
"Watch your tongue Hassan!" His mother spoke this time.
Maniha who had been listening to their argument silently, decided to intervene before things got out of
hands.
"Actually granny." She began diffidently. "It's OK really if Hassan doesn't drop me."
"See Maniha is fine with it too." Hassan said as if the problem had been solved. "Now if you will
excuse me I...." he said standing up but his granny interuppted him;
"Hassan I am not done yet. SIT DOWN!" He sat down, more annoyed than before. His grandmother
never let him off easily.
"Now where was I?" Her granny continued. "O yes, as I was saying you will drop Maniha off for work
tommorow and I don't want any opinion on that FROM BOTH OF YOU!" She said pointing to both
Hassan and Maniha who had opened their mouths to speak. Maniha shrank back on her seat at her loud
voice.
"I am sorry granny but I can't do that. What I can do for her instead is buy her a car so that she can go
to the hospital herself."
"And here we go again." This time Ibrahim, his brother spoke, putting his hands on the table and
leaning forward to look at Hassan. "Everything that you do revolves around money. Is there any
solution that you can ever suggest that doesn't involve money? The world runs on feelings too, you
know."
"If you are such a big fan of feelings then tell me where have YOUR emotions taken you so far?"
Hassan retorted. His brother made a face at him.
"Now I don't want you two to start fighting over it." Granny spoke. "Hassan you are dropping Maniha
off for work tommorow and that's it!"

"I am sorry granny but like I said before, I can't do that." He replied, standing up from his seat and
turning around.
"Ok then. If you can't do that then fine." Her grandmother said, standing up too.
Maniha stood up too but after realizing it was just on an impulse that she had done that, she sank back
to her seat, blushing in embarrassment. Ibrahim let out a chuckle. His grandmother decided to ignore
that and continued;
"From tommorow there's no need for you to come to this house. You can stay at your apartment that
you bought for yourself. I don't need someone in this home who doesn't care about other family
members. The whole point of being a family is to help each other but clearly you don't want that, so
you can just get out of this house."
Even at the age of sixty, her grandmother's voice was resolute. Hassan turned back to stare at his
grandmother.
"So you will throw me out of my house now?" Hassan growled.
"YOUR house?" His grandmother chuckled at his remark. "This is my house gentleman and I suggest
that everyone live here with certain rules otherwise they can find a home for themselves."
"Now now mother, there's no need to get angry." His mother said, seeing how they were both glaring at
each other. "We can talk about this tommorow. I'm sure Hassan is tired right now so that is why- "
"Fine." Hassan said before she had completed her sentence. "I will drop her from tommorow onwards."
Hassan turned on his heels, as soon as he said this and walked away from them, with his suitcase in his
hands.
Maniha looked at his retreating back silently. Had he actually agreed on dropping her off, she thought a
little surprised. His grandmother sat down on her seat, a little happy with herself.

Chapter 3
Hassan threw his suitcase on the bed as soon as he entered his room. Undoing his tie, he took out his
phone from his pocket which had started ringing. He saw Matthew's name on the screen.
"What is it Matthew?" he blurted out as soon as he put the phone on his ear.
"Hey Hassan." Said Matthew's cool voice. "Why do you always sound so angry? Is that time ever going
to come when you don't sound this angry?"

"Shut up and tell me why you called?" Hassan growled.

"Apparently that time is not going to come soon." He heard Matthew say. "OK so the problem is that I
can't find the file of the project we are currently working on? Do you know where it is?"
"We need that file tommo in our meeting and you are asking about it NOW?" Hassan asked with his
eyebrows raised.
"Well..." Matthew said sheepishly.
"It's in my office below the cabinet."
"Ok. Got it. B- "
"Dammit!" Hassan said loudly.
"What is it Hassan?" Matthew asked him bewildered.
"I locked my office door before coming home." Hassan explained.
"Don't worry. I'll ask for the spare key from your secretary."
"Matthew, seriously sometimes, I really wonder why my father gave you this job considering how
stupid you are."
"What do you mean?" Came Matthew's voice, slightly offended.
"Do you really expect my secretary to be in the office at this time of the night?"
"O yeah..." Matthew replied, suddenly remembering.
"Wait I'll come there and give it to you myself". Hassan said after thinking for a moment.
"You are coming here yourself?" Matthew asked surprised.
"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Hassan replied wearing his watch which he had just taken off, a
moment ago. "Now wait for me." Hassan hung up after saying that.
Grabbing his coat, he made his way towards the door. But just when he opened it, he saw Maniha
standing outside it.

Chapter 4

"What?" Hassan blurted out, seeing her.

"I just..." Maniha began, looking down on the floor.
What was she being nervous about? It wasn't like she had personally asked granny to say all that to
him. Before he thought that it was her idea, she had decided to tell him that it wasn't.....Just so he
wouldn't get angry. Which was a stupid escape because even if he did know that it wasn't her idea, he
wouldn't still believe her.
Mustering up her courage, she looked up at him and said;
"I just wanted to tell you that whatever granny said, it wasn't my idea."
"And you expect me to believe that?" Hassan remarked carelessly.
There we go again.
"Of course not. But I decided to tell you that anyways." Maniha said, steel in her tone.
There was a moment of silence between them. It was like Hassan was in deep thought.
"Is that all?" Hassan said, almost at the same rime and started walking out of the room.
Maniha turned around surprised, "Where are you going?"
"None of your business."
"Of course." Maniha said skeptically, "But do come back early as you have to drop me off tommo."
Hassan turned around, just in time to see her grin. He seethed in anger silently. But he would deal with
her later; he had an important task to do right now. Nevertheless, he turned back and stood in her path,
to stop her from stepping through the door.
"Listen to me. Be ready by 7 tommorow. I won't give you any more time. Just remember that." Then he
walked away before she could reply.
It was Maniha's turn to get angry. "Be ready by 7." she maimed him and went inside the room.
*******

Fifteen minutes later, Hassan had reached his office. He took out the key to his office door and went
inside the room, with Matthew trailing him. Picking up the file from the cabinet that they had been
talking about on the phone, he handed it over to Mathew. Before Matthew could turn; however, Hassan
put a half- nelson around him and held him tightly under his arm.
"Tell me you won't do this again." Hassan hissed under Matthew's ears.
Matthew tried to get out of Hassan's grip as he said; "No, of course not, I won't." he said. "Please leave
me...I won't."
Hassan ignored the struggles that Matthew was putting to get out of his grip.
"Good because let me tell you for the first and the last time if you ever do such a stupid thing again, I
WOULD FIRE YOU! No matter what dad says, I will personally make sure that you never get back to
this office again. You understand me?"
"Yeah. Of course, I understand you.."Matthew squealed, "Now will you leave me?...I can't breathe."
Seeing that Matthew's face had started to redden, Hassan let him off. Matthew loosened his tie to
breathe properly as he let out a sigh of relief.
"Bring me a cup of coffee." Hassan said.
Matthew looked up at him surprised. "But aren't you going home now?"
"JUST DO AS I SAY!" Hassan yelled belligerantly.
Matthew almost ran to get his coffee. Ten minutes later, he returned back with two steaming cups of it.
"I thought I asked you to bring only one cup of coffee." Hassan remarked skeptically, looking up from
the file that he had been reading.
"Oh it's just that I thought I could help myself with a cup of coffee too." Matthew said with a smile on
his face. Hassan didn't return that smile. Matthew waited for Hassan to ask him to sit down but when he
didn't say anything, he pulled out a chair and sat down on it anyways.
"When are the clients coming tommo?" Hassan asked, taking his cup from him.
"At 11 sharp. They are known for their punctuality. So I guess we should be at the office by 10 sharp."
"Just make sure YOU are at the office by 10. Don't worry about others. I hardly doubt that they are
going to be late. You are the only one who comes late". Hassan pointed out.

Matthew chose to keep quiet at this and saw Hassan resume his activity of reading the file.
"Is everything fine?" Matthew asked after some time.
"Yeah." Hassan replied without looking up.
"You sure?"
"What do you mean by you are sure?" Hassan gazed up from his file, irritated.
"Well you seem like there's something going on in your mind. Whenever something is disturbing you,
you always become busy in your work so that that thing doesn't affect you anymore." Matthew
explained.
"Wow you understand me so perfectly well." Hassan said sarcastically, "Seriously what are you? A
woman?"
"There's no need to be this rude you know. I just thought if you needed my help, I would have helped
you." Matthew's face showed hurt.
"Talk about yourself. You are the one who always needs help, not me. Even when your sister..." Hassa n
stopped just in time and looked at Matthew with worry.
He saw tears glisten in Matthew's eyes at the mention of his sister. Hassan realized his mistake and said
quickly;
"I'm sorry."
"What?" Matthew said wiping the unshed tears off his eyes. "No, its okay."
It were times like these when Hassan felt pity for Matthew. However stupid he was, Hassan knew that
he still had a good heart and not to mention that his sister had been really close to him. Hassan
clenched his jaws as his sister's face came to his mind. She had not only been close to Matthew but to
him too...really close.
"She was more close to you than me." Matthew said as if he could read his mind. "That is why,
sometimes, I really wonder why I get this sad at the mention of her name."
"Everyone feels like that for their siblings." Hassan explained, looking down at his file again. He
couldn't bare to see Matthew who was about to cry obviously.
"Yeah but still. I mean at first I used to envy you. She always talked about you so much. It would
always make me frustrated." Matthew said, recalling the past.

Hassan kept quiet. He didn't know what to say. To be honest, he really wanted to say a lot of things but
he didn't know where to start.
"But I'm glad that the last few months of her life that she spent were with me." Matthew continued.
"Did she say anything about me?" Hassan asked unsure of why he had asked this question. Although he
knew the answer himself even before the question had come out of his mouth.
"No, she didn't. But we both know that she loved you. More than anyone else."
Hassan looked up at Matthew. For a moment he could have sworn he was gazing at Matthew's sister for
she had the same green hazel eyes which Matthew had. It was too much for him. On an impulse he
stood up and said;
"Look go home now. We have to come here early tommo. It's better if we get a good night's sleep
before tommo's meeting." he said picking up his phone from the table and putting it inside his pocket.
Matthew stood up too. He didn't like these abrupt changes in Hassan but now he had become used to it.
"Yeah sure. Forgive me. I am such a girl." Matthew said again wiping off the tears from his sleeve.
Hassan ignored that and went out the door.

Chapter 5

Maniha looked up at the clock. It read 1:30. Hassan hadn't arrived still. She had been sleeping when
suddenly her eyes flew open. Looking around, she realized that it was her mobile phone which had
beeped and had woken her up. She picked it up and read the message she had received. It was from the
hospital telling her that she was supposed to bring Cassie's medical file tommo. After reading it, she put
her phone back again, beside her on the bed. She sat up straight on the bed.
Now that she was awake, she wondered why he hadn't arrived yet. Not that it mattered to her. But still
it bothered her to know that he hadn't come yet. He had never been this late out of home. Should she
wake someone up and tell him about Hassan?
She tossed in her bed in anxiety. Why was she feeling this restless anyways? She turned around to sleep
again but she just couldn't. In the end, she became annoyed of this restlessness.
Grabbing the medical file from the side table, she busied her mind in diagnosing the disease of the

patient that she was checking these days. It helped her a lot as her mind became preoccupied.
Realizing that she needed the patient's personal history to diagnose the disease further, she stood up to
go the cupboard. She was rummaging in the drawer when a pamphlet fell down on the floor. She bent
down to pick it up.
Getting curious, she took out whatever was inside it. There were some pictures inside. She gazed with
surprise at them. It was Hassan standing with a girl. The girl seemed strangely familiar. Maniha was
sure that she had seen her somewhere else before but she just couldn't remember.
Then, another thing caught her attention. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the picture again. She just
couldn't believe it. But sure enough, she saw that Hassan was smiling. Her mouth literally opened on
seeing his smiling face.
"What are you doing?" Came an imperious voice from behind her. Turning around, she saw Hassan
standing just behind her. She lurched back and dropped the pamphlet down in fright. But soon, she
realized her mistake. Hassan gave one look to the pamphlet and then gazed up at Maniha.
"What were you doing?" Hassan asked slowly, coming towards her, anger evident on his face. "Why
did you have that in your hands?"
Maniha backed off a little in panic. Her heart started racing as she said;
"Nothing. I was just- "
"Do you have any manners?" He bellowed. "Looking into someone else's things?"
"Actually I was just finding- " Maniha began a little angrily now.
"Get out of here!" Hassan picked up the pamphlet from the floor, threw it inside the cupboa rd and
closed it with a thud. He gave a menacing look to Maniha before he went in front of the mirror and
started undoing his tie.
"You are a complete nuisance do you know that?" Hassan said loudly. "You always create trouble in my
life. Now tommo I have to make sure that you get to your hospital too. I mean who the hell am I? Your
driver?"
Maniha wanted to shout at him too but she controlled the urge.
"Hassan will you speak in a low voice?" she said in a tone sharp enough to match his.
"Hell with you and everyone else!" Hassan said icily, going inside the bathroom and slamming the door
shut.

Chapter 6

Hassan turned on the shower and stood below it. As soon as the water touched his head, he felt relaxed
as if his thoughts were being drained away. He had once again lost his temperament. At times, he didn't
even understand why he felt so angry towards Maniha. Her very presence irritated him...the very fact
that she existed bothered him. He hated her. And nothing else. Whatever she said or did just added to
his resentment. He closed his eyes and remembered the time when he had seen her for the first time.
"Well, did you like her?" Ibrahim said as soon as he had hopped inside the car and took a seat beside
Hassan.
"Like who?" Hassan asked, lifting his gaze from the phone that he had been using.
"The girl of course. Maniha?"
Hassan recalled his meeting with her. Maniha was nice-looking and a doctor. But it wasn't like there
was anything extraordinary about her. She was just like a regular normal girl. Not a type for him
basically. She was a typical woman.... and a perfect bride for his brother.
"I think you two will make a good couple." Hassan commented.
Ibrahim chuckled. "What the hell dude? Mom chose that girl for you, not for me. "
Hassan's eyes showed surprise as he looked up at his brother. "You are kidding right?"
"No, I'm not." Ibrahim laughed. "I can't believe that you don't know this."
"What was mom thinking?" Hassan remarked. "I will have to talk to her."
"Right. You should. Because personally I think you are not good for her."
"Why?" Hassan asked, curious to know his brother's opinion about him.
"She's just too sweet for you." his brother replied.
"And what makes you think I'm not into sweet girls?"
"Well its just your personality. I mean even if you were interested in a sweet girl I'm sure that the girl
won't be interested in you at all."
"What a theory? And why do you think like that?" Hassan scoffed.

"You're arrogant, that's why. I mean just look at the way you just rolled your eyes right now. That was
so rude, you know."
"And whatever you are saying about me right now, isn't that rude?"
"Well. Technically you asked for it. Anyways I am just saying that you two won't make a good couple."
Hassan opened his eyes. Sure they hadn't made a good couple. But it wasn't his mistake. It was
Maniha...who knew there was a evil side to her beneath that innocent face.

Chapter 7

Maniha gazed at the bathroom door that Hassan had just shut. She just couldn't believe him. What right
did he have to get angry at her like that? Moreover how could he even shout at her like that? It wasn't
like she had done something wrong. How was she supposed to know that those pictures were his and
she wasn't supposed to look at them? If it had been someone else she would have laughed it off. Or
maybe not even bothered about it and just slept. But the fact was that Hassan had did this to her. If he
hated her so much then she wondered why he had married her in the first place...why he had not
refused downright to the proposal. Why? why? why? She felt angry and betrayed. She wanted to barge
inside the door and beat him or even shout at him. Just to tell him that she hated him just as much as he
hated her. But instead she began to cry. Hot tears cascaded down her cheeks. Hassan was driving her
insane with each passing day. Maniha knew if things went on like this, she would burst in front of him
someday. Feeling furious, she thought of taking revenge from him. Tommo she just wouldn't wake up
early like Hassan had asked her to. Let him have it, she thought as she turned off the lamp and lay on
the bed to sleep.
****
"Hey you little girl!" Hassan called out to a girl who was washing the lawn. The girl in the white frock
came rushing towards him.
"Yes sir?" she asked on approaching him.
"What's your name?" Hassan asked, leaning against the car door.
"Sir, it's Rose." The girl said flashing a smile.
"Rose, it's a nice name." Hassan said.
"Thank you sir."

"Do you work as a maid servant here?"

"Yes sir."
"OK then will you do me a favour?"
"Sure sir." The girl straightened herself as if she were about to do an important job and it was her
responsibility to complete it. He couldn't help but smile at her. Optimism simply radiated from her.
"Go upstairs and call Miss Maniha." Hassan said, smiling at the little figure below her. "You know my
wife."
"The one with the beautiful eyes." Hassan made a irritated face at her remark.
"Yeah that one."
"Sure sir I will call her."
Rose started to walk away but at that moment, Hassan took out a ten dollar note from his pocket and
stopped her.
"Tell you what Rose if you call her and manage to get her over here within five minutes, I will give you
this ten dollars, what say?"
Rose beamed in excitement and giving him a nod, ran upstairs. Hassan smirked as he saw Maniha and
that little girl coming towards him a few minutes later.
"You did a very good job Rose." He said giving her the ten dollar bill and moving away from her to sit
inside the car. The girl ran off to the other side, pleased with herself.
"You were late." Hassan said as soon as Maniha had taken a seat beside him.
"Oh, was I?" Maniha replied nonchalantly. "Didn't realize that actually."
"Then you should have realized it. Next time if you don't-"
"If you are so bothered then I'll get out of the car," Maniha interrupted him, unbuckling her seat.
"Don't you dare do that." Hassan said exasperated.
"But I just thought that you were irritated by me?" Maniha looked at him innocently.
"I am," Hassan said, starting the car. "But I'll be in more trouble if granny knows that I haven't dropped

you."
"Of course," Maniha gave a fake smile. "I almost forgot that you were so scared of granny. If you want
to then I won't tell her that you didn't drop me."
"Just shut up." Hassan said as they drove off.

Chapter 8

"Morning Maniha."
Maniha turned around to see who had said that to her. It was Christine, her colleague. She smiled at her
as she replied;
"Morning Christine. How are you?"
"I'm fine. And you?"
"Good as ever. How's your daughter?"
The smile that Christine had on her face vanished the moment Maniha asked her that.
"She's uh...she's fine." she replied.
Maniha understood her hesitance.
"She isn't getting any better, is she?" she asked.
"No," Christine replied, shaking her head.
"Well, don't worry. She is a strong girl." Maniha said, putting on a cheerful smile. "I'm sure she will be
fine."
"I hope that too." Christine mumbled. Then she remembered suddenly, "Maniha, I have a good news.
The party that we were talking about is on this Sunday."
"Really?" Maniha asked excited.
"Yeah. And it's a couple thing." she replied.

Maniha's face dropped in disappointment.

"Is it?" she asked.
"It is." Christine couldn't help notice that too. "You will come, right?"
"Yeah. I will. I guess." she replied uncertainly and stalked away.
****
Maniha swivelved in her revolving chair one more time. She had become frustrated now. She knew that
she had seen that girl in the picture before but where? she just couldn't remember. After trying in vain
for remembering her for the past ten minutes, she had finally given up and started looking up at the
report of her patient.
"It's just depression. That's it. Not some disease."
Suddenly, these words reverberated in her mind. It was just a few months months ago that a patient had
said to her. With a pounding heart, she stood up and went to her cabinet. With shaking hands, she took
out the last month's reports of her patients. Flipping through the pages quickly, she came across the
report she was looking for. Sure enough she saw the picture of that same girl there. And she suddenly
remembered all about that girl, where she had met her and who she was.
****
"Wow, the meeting went well," Matthew remarked as he entered Hassan's office behind him.
"Hmm," Hassan replied sitting on his revolving chair.
"Hey Hassan, I wanted to ask you about something." Matthew asked nervously.
"About what?" Hassan asked, looking up at him.
Matthew pulled a chair and sat down in front of him. "Well, these clients will sure as hell bring us a lot
of profit if we get them to sign this deal. So I was thinking why don't we throw a party for them? In this
way, they might get to know that we are really interested in them."
Hassan studied Matthew's face for a moment. Did this stup id jerk just give a sensible suggestion right
now?
"You know that's the first time you have ever suggested a suitable idea. I like that." Hassan remarked.
"Thank you. Coming from you, it's really a big compliment. So tell me the day I should organize this

party?"
"It's up to you." Hassan replied nonchalantly.
"OK. Then what about this Sunday?"
"Sunday is fine."
"Great," Matthew said standing up, "So I will go and start preparing for it."

Chapter 9

"I'm asking you something Hassan!" Mariam said, waving her hand in front of her son, "Are you
listening?"
"What?" Hassan peeked at her from the lid of his laptop.
"You clearly weren't listening." Her mother said, sighing in exasperation. "I don't really understand
how Maniha bares you. I was saying that she has a party to go to this Sunday. So you have to go with
her."
"I can't." Hassan replied.
"Are we always supposed to have a long argument before you finally say yes?"
"No need for that. I really can't go." Hassan replied, resuming his typing.
"Why?"
"Because Matthew has planned a party himself this Sunday. I have to go there." In the pause that
ensued, Hassan inwardly thanked god that he had an excuse for not going to this party with Maniha.
'Is it a business party boy?" Granny said, entering the drawing room where they were sitting.
"Yes." Hassan replied, looking at her over his glasses.
He felt really happy at that point. There was no way his granny could force him to go to this with
Maniha. After all, a business party was a lot more important than any stupid party that Maniha had to
go to.
"Don't go there." His granny said simply.

"It's a busine..." Hassan began to explain but his granny cut him off by saying;
"Since it's a business party. Ibrahim will go there on your behalf. After all he also has a share in your
business. And besides your dad's presence should be enough for both of you."
Hassan groaned in frustration. "My presence in that party is as important as dad's presence. So I'm
afraid I'll have to go." He said, his tone indicating decisiveness.
His grandmother analysed her grandson carefully over her spectacles. Something was wrong, she felt.
"Hassan, when was the last time you both went out together?" she asked.
"What has that got to do with this?" Hassan asked her, surprised.
"It has everything to do with this. You barely go out anywhere with her. She's your wife but you don't
treat her like one. I am beginning to suspect that there is something wrong between you two," his
granny said.
Mariam looked up from the magazine she was reading.
"Is that true Hassan? Did you and Maniha have a fight?" she asked.
Hassan clenched his jaws. This wasn't what he had expected to happen. God knows, how quickly a
woman's mind worked. Just one seed of doubt in her mother's heart and she wo uld start investigating
about his relationship.
"No everything is fine." he replied, trying to appear calm and collected.
"Then tell me why you won't go with her?" her granny insisted.
"Ok fine! I'll go with her." he replied in exasperation.
****
OK. So this was quick. I am not a type of writer who explains each and every bit. I prefer things to
happen quickly in my novel. I have the least patience and I'm sure you would have realized this
yourself after reading my story. But anyways, that's just how I am.

Chapter 10

Ninthgrade
"Hey Hassan." Maddie said loudly when he spotted him in the class.
While other students were enjoying their free period by joking and talking with each other, Hassan sat
behind his desk, his face contorted in concentration, writing feverishly on a paper, the frown lines
evident on his face. He looked up and his tired eyes landed on Maddie.
"Hey," Hassan replied.
"What's that?" Maddie asked, looking at the paper that Hassan was solving.
"Huh, nothing." Hassan shrugged. "Just a math assignment." He quickly put the paper inside his bag.
Luckily for him, Maddie didn't question him any further.
"Do you know a new girl has come in our class?" Madd ie informed him excitedly.
"Hm?" Hassan mused.
"Yeah and from what I have heard she doesn't talk too much. I guess she's a shy person."
"Maybe." Hassan replied nonchalantly.
"Hey! Now that I come to think of it. You should try talking to her. Maybe she will respond if you
speak to her. You know no girl can resist your charm." Maddie winked at him. "Look there she is,
sitting by the window." He said, pointing over to a side.
Hassan didn't look up. He had other worries in his mind than looking at a girl who he had clearly no
interest for.
"Look I have to go at the moment." He said throwing his bag over his shoulder. "The debating
competition is about to start in a minute and you know, I have to host it." Hassan said, standing up
suddenly.
"Yeah sure. Being the head boy has its perks, doesn't it?" Maddie asked sadly.
"It sure does." Hassan replied, walking away from him. If only they knew why he was struggling so
hard...
*****
"But I don't understand why you want to do this?" Miss Aganda, their class teacher looked up at

Hassan, when she had read the form that Hassan had just handed to her. "I mean you are doing good
academically. You have the highest score than other students in the class. Then I don't understand why
you are asking me to allow you to take three additional subjects?" She was frowning.
"But ma'am." Hassan began deferentially, "I want the top grades and that can only be possible if I take
these extra subjects."
"But Hassan, that is just insanity! You already have fourteen subjects at your hand and not to mention,
you are already excelling in them, then why add to your burden by taking extra subjects?"
"Ma'am if you think I can't handle them..."
"I'm not saying that you can't handle them." Aganda interjected. "It's just that you already have too
much in your hands. I mean you are the head boy. You will just add up to your stress if you do that!"
"But ma'am, it's my choice. And I think I can handle it."
Aganda sighed. "Very well. If you think you can handle this then whom am I to stop you? I will sign
the form. You can come in the evening to take it from me."
"Thank you ma'am," Hassan said, standing up and turning around to leave Aganda's office.
"Oh and Hassan!" He turned to hear what Aganda had to say. "I just wanted to inform you that a new
student has come to our class. I want you to discuss the class schedule with her and you know, help her
out a little bit. Apparently,she is having difficulty adjusting in."
Hassan frowned. "Do I have to..." He stopped, thinking that what he was about to say might anger
Aganda. Instead, he said with a smile; "Sure ma'am, I will help her. What's her name?"
"Oh, she's Laura."
******
"And this is our school's swimming pool. It's big, isn't it?" Hassan said to Laura who was standing a
few feet away from him. "Do you like it?" Hassan asked, pointing towards it.
"Hm." Laura responded shyly.
Hassan scowled. "Do you even talk?" He asked, getting irritated by Laura's silent replies to his
questions.
Laura looked at him in worry. She didn't know how to reply.

"Uh! Forget it." Hassan said, turning around.

"I was a swimming champion in my previous school." Laura said suddenly.
Hassan stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly.
"You were? Like really?" he asked amazed, more by the fact that a girl like Laura could actually be a
champion in something than by the fact that she had just uttered a full sentence in her reply. Maybe he
just needed to know her well...
"I was." She affirmed and then started gazing downwards.
"Wow, it's amazing!" Hassan replied, astounded.
"Thank you," Laura said in a low voice.
"Where are you from? Like which school?"
"Gatesberg. It's a school in- "
"In Germany!" Hassan responded quickly. "No way! You are from Gatesberg and still you are so shy!"
Laura's face changed color. A tinge of red came to her face and she looked at him like he had just hurt
her.
"I mean...I was just," Hassan said, realizing his mistake. "It's just that it's a popular school and I have
been there. The girls are quite bold there."
"If you are so interested in bold girls then you can go and have them." Laura replied, offended.
"No, it isn't like that." He began slowly. "Hey, what does your dad do?" He asked, by way of changing
the converaation.
"He teaches." Laura replied frowning and folding her arms across her chest.
"Yeah? Where?" Hassan replied, clearly agitated by Laura's anger.
"Harvard."
Hassan stared at her in shock. His interest in her peeked hundred times all of a sudden.
"Good to know that." He replied, trying to keep his voice smooth. "Hey if you have any problem
making friends here, you can always come and talk to me."

Laura eyed him suspiciously but then seeing the serious look on Hassan's face, she simply nodded in
agreement and walked away.
******
"Hey Hassan, aren't you getting close to that Laura girl too much?" Maddie asked, munching on his
beef sandwich."I mean you always stick with her all the time. Give us boys some time too, will you?"
They were sitting with his group of friends in the cafeteria during the break time.
"She doesn't have friends. That is why I stay with her." Hassan replied looking up.
"I don't think so." Rahul chimed in suddenly.
"What do you mean?" Hassan asked him.
"I mean you can't just be sitting with her if you didn't have a ulterior motive in your mind. I think you
have just found a good way that she can help you and that is why you remain with her all the time?"
"O shut up!" Maddie responded, disgusted. "Why would Hassan do such a thing?"
"I am just saying...." Rahul replied.
"Just keep your thoughts to yourself, will you?" Madie replied.
Hassan stared at Laura for a minute who was sitting alone, eating her lunch on a table, reading a text
from her book that she had propped open on her lap. She lifted her gaze and their eyes met. He smiled
at her which she returned with a smile of her own. There was no way he had an ulterior motive in his
mind when it came to her.
*******
"You bastard Hassan! Why did you beat Steven last night?" Marc said angrily to Hassan, grabbing him
by his collar and pushing him away from his locker. Hassan fell backwards and Laura who had been
standing behind him, crashed into the locker by his force.
Hassan looked at Laura whose hands had just pierced and then at Marc who was eyeing him like a tiger
about to to pounce on his prey.
"Because he was misbehaving with Amy." He replied, trying to keep his voice calm despite the anger
bubbling inside him.
"So what?" Marc pushed him against the locker this time with so much force that Hassan's head

collided with it and a sharp pain ran through his head. "He misbehaved with a girl and you decided to
rub him off for that, did you?" Marc continued maliciously. "He is my man and what you just did has
made you my enemy?"
"Really?" Hassan replied nonchalantly. "Is that supposed to scare me?"
"Oh, you will know about it in a minute."
And with this, Marc landed a punch on his face so hard that Hassan fell down on his knees. He covered
his face that had just started bleeding, with his hands.
"Hassan!" Laura said, dropping her books in fright and crouching beside him to help him. But Hassan
didn't care about that. He removed her hands from his face and stood up.
"Oh look guys!" Marc said to his group of bullies. "Our brave Hassan is getting ready for a fight. I just
thought Hassan, with the blow that I have given you, you might have lost all your strength after that."
The other boys laughed at this.
"Looks like I haven't." Hassan replied, punching on Marc's face all of a sudden.
Marc staggered backwards but being more strong-built than Hassan, he soon regained his composure
and proceeded forwards with lethal expression. Once again, he grabbed Hassan by his collar and this
time continued punching him again and again. Other students sta rted coming out of their classes on
hearing the noise. They gasped when they saw both of them. Laura tried to come in between them to
stop their fight. After a while, Marc let go of him and threw him backwards. Hassan fell down with a
thud, with all his power diminished.
"And just for the record," Marc said, talking to Laura this time. "Don't think he's been hanging around
you ever since you arrived because he actually wants to be your friend. He only fucking cares about
you because you are his golden ticket to Harvard!" And with this, he stomped out of the corridor.
******
Hassan spotted Laura sitting on a bench. He had bandage on his face and right now, he was in a
miserable state, not because he had been beaten up by the school's biggest bully (which btw he had
made his teachers notice and Marc was right away expelled) but because he didn't know how Laura felt
about him after the revelation that Marc had just made to her about him. He slowly came towards the
bench and sat on it. He saw Laura throw pebbles inside the small lake that they were close to. After a
while, she stopped doing that and gazed at Hassan.
"How are you?" she said.

"I'm fine."
"Good." Laura replied and they both became silent after that.
For some reason, her silence was killing him.
"Laura, do you believe what he said?"
"Who? Marc?"
"Yes."
"Hassan, don't think that I didn't know it myself before Marc said it." She replied, smiling a little.
"What do you mean? Hassan asked, confused.
"I mean," Laura said, standing up. "I figured it out eventually why you showed so much interest in me
than in other girls. But to be honest, I don't mind it." She then turned towards the lake to breathe in
fresh air. Suddenly, she looked at him and asked;
"In all honesty, does it make a difference to you when I say that you are the only person I have become
very close to in such a long time?"
Hassan stared at her for a minute, unable to reply.
Laura sighed. "You know what Hassan? Sometimes, you become so quiet, deep in your thoughts, never
let others know about your feelings. But one day, I wish you do that and make life easier for the people
around you."
She stood up and walked away, leaving behind a baffled Hassan.
Sophomore year
"And the prize goes to Laura Bandington." As the speaker said it, Laura stood up excitedly from her
seat and went to the podium take her prize. Group of students cheered and hooted for her and Hassan
saw her waving back at them happily.
"So you beat me finally?" Hassan asked Laura as she stood with him, an hour later, enjoying the afterparty.
"Finally?" Laura replied skeptically, "If you must know I have beaten you many times before."
"O really?" Hassan smirked. "The thing is I don't remember you doing that."

"Your bad then. Because last time I remember it was I who won the debating competion and before that
even the Maths olympiad. "
Hassan looked at her for a minute and then said suddenly; "You have changed."
"Hassan," Laura said matter-of-factly, "Honestly, did you really think that after staying with you for so
many years, I wouldn't have changed."

Chapter 11

Matthew was talking on the phone when Maniha burst inside his office.
"Yes, that will be fine..." he was saying when his eyes fell on Maniha. "O hi Maniha!"
Maniha just gave him a weak smile before she dropped down on a chair behind his desk.
"OK then hope to see you in the party." Matthew said talking into the phone. A moment later he hung
up and looked at Maniha.
"Hassan is not here. He's attending a mee-"
"I haven't come here to meet him." Maniha interuppted him.
"Then what brought you here?" He asked picking up a file and going through it.
"Actually..." Maniha began a little diffidently. "I have come here because I wanted to talk to you about
Laura."
Matthew raised his head and looked at her. Maybe he had heard her wrong.
"About whom?" he asked nervously.
"Laura." Maniha said confidently now. "Your sister."
"Actually, you know what Maniha." Matthew said standing up sudde nly. "Hassan just called me a few
minutes ago. He asked me to co- "
"Please don't change the topic." Maniha said sharply. "I already know about her and Hassan so there's
no need for you to go away."

Matthew sat down and gaped at her. How in the world had she come to know about this? He was sure
Hassan had not told her himself. And he couldn't remember himself mentioning Laura in front of her
ever.
"I just want to know whether its true that my husband...I mean Hassan had a relationship with her?"
Maniha words yanked Matthew out of his thoughts.
Matthew looked at her again nervously. He didn't know how much to tell her, not to mention that if
Hassan came to know about this, he was as good as dead. In the end, he figured that she was his wife
and it was her right to know about it.
"Well," he said, sinking back into his chair. "It is true that my sister knew him. They both studied at
Harvard together."
"And?" Maniha urged him.
"They both liked each other. Or more to say loved each other."
Maniha didn't know why that hurt her. Maybe it was the fact that Hassan of all people who hated her,
could actually love somebody. She thought.
"I have never seen my sister this happy before." Matthew continued unaware of her feelings. "Hassan
meant the world to her. Whenever she was with him, she smiled, laughed and of course cried at the
same time." He smiled at her. "You know how rude he can be at times."
Matthew's face then took a sombre look. "But when they separated, my sister became really depressed.
She really loved him but it broke her heart that he- "
Just then, Hassan came inside the office, a coffee clutched in his hand.
"Matthew, you bastard! I have been calling you for the past- " he stopped on seeing Maniha's face.
"You?" Hassan said a moment later, coming out of the shock of her unexpected presence. "What are
you doing here?"
"I just came here to talk to Matthew." Maniha replied.
Hassan looked at Matthew doubtfully. "What about?"
"Actually." she said coming towards him and looking him in the eye. "It's none of your business."
And with that, she went out of the room.
Maniha placed a hand over her chest. Her heart was beating so fast that she felt that it might explode
inside her. So this was how Hassan was? She thought. All these months, she didn't know what she had

done wrong? Why he hated her so much? Why he just didn't tell her what was wrong with her? All
these months she had cried, felt enraged but at that point she realized that it wasn't her who was wrong.
It was Hassan who had done wrong...Not only with her but with Laura too.

Chapter 12
Hassan just didn't understand what had happened to Maniha. When he arrived at home, she barely
talked to him. Not that they ever talked to each other before. But at least she retaliated at his sarcastic
remarks before. This time, however, he could sense something was different. She didn't talk to anyone.
As a matter of fact, just sufficed everyone with a nod or the shake of the head whenever someone
talked to her. Not that it mattered to him. The less she talked, the better, he thought.
"Thank god you have stopped talking." Hassan said wearing a tie.
Maniha was in the same room getting ready for the party herself when Hassan had said that to her.
"At least my ears can have some rest now from your constant blabbering." he continued.
Maniha stared at him. She just couldn't believe that he had said that to her. But of course it was Hassan.
When had he ever talked to her nicely? Or to anyone else, she thought.
"No doubt you are talking like this to me." she shot back. "After all you hated every girl you were ever
with."
Hassan turned back slowly. What did she mean by that? he thought. Had she come to know about...
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Maniha realized her mistake just then. She had introduced a possibility to him that she knew about him
and Laura.
"What did Matthew tell you today?" His tone was sharp this time.
Maniha decided to keep quiet and get out of the room as soon as possible. But the moment she reached
for the door, Hassan's voice boomed behind her;
"Maniha!"
Maniha stopped in her tracks and turned around to face an angry Hassan.
"Who were you just talking about?"

"Why do you care?"

"I bloody well care! Just tell me who were you talking about?"
Maniha felt like she was a volcano about to erupt. One last movement of plates and explosion will
happen.
"Just speak dammit." his voice was dangerously low now.
And the plates moved a whole centimeter. She blurted out;
"If you want to know so badly then I will tell you. I was talking about Laura! You do know her, don't
you? Or have have you just forgotten her just like you forget everyone else!"
It took a moment for Hassan to register that and then his jaws clenched as he shot her a dangerous look.
"Don't talk about what you don't know."
"I don't know? Of course I know about you and her. You hurt her in the same way like you hurt me.
You destroyed her life just like you destroyed mine!"
"One more word Mani- "
"Why? Does it hurt you to know that you are the meanest jerk ever! You hurt me! Break my heart every
time that I talk to you! All you ever care about is you. And nothing else!"
Hassan had had enough. With a quick movement, he gripped Maniha by her wrist and pinned her
against the cupboard that she was standing near.
"I hurt you?" he asked, venom laced in his tone. "And what about you? What about the hurt you have
given me?"
"What are you talking about?" Maniha asked confused. She hurt him? It could never be possible. And
besides, it was her time to be angry. He could not just be angry her. Not this time anyway!
"You fooled me Maniha! Don't even try to play innocent with me!"
"I don't know what you are talking about! Just leave me Hassan!" She winced as his nails dug into her
wrist.
"I saw you there on the terrace that day standing with Rehan." Hassan spat at her. "I SAW YOU TWO
TOGETHER AND YOU CAN'T DENY THAT. NOT WHEN I SAW YOU TWO WITH MY OWN
EYES!""

Maniha looked into his eyes which were gazing at her with intensity. She was shocked beyond any
point.
"So?" She asked, momentarily forgetting the cause of her anger and trying to fathom what he really
meant by what he said.
"So? Don't even get me started now!" he shouted. "If you liked him so much, you should have told that
to me already! At least you could have saved both of us this marriage!"
"I- "
"And don't even talk to me about Laura. I don't even feel the need to explain my relationship with her
to you."
And with this, he let go off her hands with a jerk and burst out of the room.

Chapter 13

"Maniha! Are you listening?" Christine shouted.

Maniha had dressed herself in a sari. It was a rather fancy one with heavy embroidery throughout. The
material was a light chiffon. She glowed under the light because of the sequins. She was standing
beside Christine at a corner, with a glass of juice in her hand.
"Of course I am." Maniha manage to croak out.
"Then tell me what I was just talking about?" Christine questioned.
"You were talking about..." Maniha tried to remember, "your meeting with the hospital's head?" She
finally said, unsure.
"No. That was ten minutes ago. Right now, I was telling you about how delicious these pastries are."
Christine said, waving the pastries that she was holding in her hand, in front of Maniha.
"Oh." Was all what Maniha said.
"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" Christine asked, frustrated. "Why do you keep you spacing out
every minute or so?"

"I- I don't know."

Christine looked at her friend with worry etched on her face. Then her expression changed as she
asked;
"Is everything OK...you know between Hassan and you?"
"What? O yeah yeah! Everything's fine." Maniha blurted out, putting on a cheerful smile to prove her
point.
"Then why is he sitting alone?" Christine asked, looking over the direction where Hassan sat. He was
sitting at a round table, looking very bored.
"You should be with him. Not here." Christine continued.
"I wanted to meet you that's why I came here." Maniha said hastily.
"Well now you have. You should go and sit with him. I'm sure, he must be feeling out of place
considering that there are mostly doctors here."
After a moment's silence, Christine looked at Maniha strangely,
"Have you spaced out again?"
"What? Oh no. I was just- "
"Maniha there is seriously something wrong with you! Well anyways, Sarah has just come to the party.
I'm going to meet her." She said, pointing towards the direction where they could see Sarah.
"OK." Maniha mumbled.
As Christine walked away, Maniha glanced at Hassan who had now taken out his mobile and was
talking to someone on it. It must be Matthew, she thought. And he must be discussing some business
matter with him.
She didn't understand why he had to do that here in the party. It could have been a good chance for
them to enjoy...have fun. But nothing was right. They were a co uple in the eyes of people but in reality,
it was the complete opposite.
They hadn't talked to each other during the drive to the party. Hassan had been dead quite and she
didn't have much to say either. She was shocked by the revelation that he even kne w about Rehan.
Slowly, she walked towards where he was sitting. He didn't say anything to her when she approached

him. Instead, he just kept talking on the phone. A few minutes later, he hung up and stood up to go
away from her.
"Hassan." Maniha said, just loud enough for him to hear. "I want to talk to you."
Hassan turned around and looked at her.
"We have nothing to talk about," he said coldly.
His words stung her. She felt hot tears well up in her eyes but she tried to control them.
"I know you hate me." She said looking down before Hassan could see them spill. "But still, I want to
talk to you."
"Didn't I make myself clear that I don't want to talk to you," he repeated, frustrated. "And when is this
bloody party going to end? I'm getting hell- "
"Hassan Iqbal!" yelled a loud voice that seemed to ring throughout the hall.
They both turned around to see a brown-haired, blue-eyed, muscular looking man. A smile appeared on
Hassan's face as he let the man engulf him in a hug.
"Hi Asad. How are you?" Hassan said clapping him on the back.
"I'm super fine!" Asad replied, flashing a bright smile. "It's so good to see you here. How are you
man?"
"I'm good too." Hassan said as Maniha stood up from his seat.
"Is this your girlfriend?" Asad asked when his eyes landed on Maniha
"No, my wife." Hassan replied.
"Oh." Asad looked a bit surprised. "So you got married, huh? Never thought you would. Anyways, I'm
Hassan's cousin." He said smiling at Maniha.
"Nice to meet you." Maniha replied, straining to put on a smile on her face when all she wanted to do
was cry.
"Nice to meet you too." Asad flashed a smile at her. "So how come you are here in this party Hassan?
Last time I checked only doctors were invited."
"My wife is one. I came along with her."

"O really? Where do you work?" Asad asked, looking at Maniha.

"St. Mary's hospital." she replied.
"That's amazing! I just got a job there recently. Guess then, we both will be seeing each other often." he
said smiling.
"Yeah... I guess." Maniha said, unsure.
"I must say Hassan your wife is really beauti- "
"We are leaving." Hassan said suddenly.
"What?" Asad and Maniha said together. "Already?" Asad continued.
"Yeah." Hassan replied.
"No. We are not." Maniha said.
"We are." Hassan said, looking at her.
"No. We are not."
"We are." Hassan said, in a tone indicating sharpness.
They held a staring contest with each other for a minute before Asad decided to break that finally.
"Er guys..." he said, waving his hands. "I'm also standing over here in case you have forgotten me. And
Hassan, the party hasn't even begun yet! Then why are you leaving so early?"
"I have some business to attend to."
"Can't that wait?"
"No, it can't."
"Then, why don't we do a thing? You can leave and I'll drop Maniha off whe n the party is over. After
all, I haven't met your family for years. In this way, I'll get to meet them too."
His comment was followed by silence from both of them.
"Well, what do you think?" Asad urged.

"I think it's a reasonable idea. What do you think Hassan?" Maniha said smugly. She saw Hassan's jaw
stiffen and for some reason, it made her glad.
"I guess I... can stay here for... another hour probably." Hassan replied hesitatingly.
Maniha beamed inside but she dared not show it from outside.
"But didn't you say you had some business to attend to?" This time it was Asad who spoke.
"I'll ask someone else to take care of it." Hassan replied in an agitated voice.
Asad looked at him, then at Maniha and then as if he had realized something funny, sta rted chuckling.
"Well. I'll see you both later then." he said, still chuckling.
And he left, leaving behind Maniha and Hassan staring at his retreated back with surprised looks.

Chapter 14
Hassan searched for Maniha in the party. He saw her standing with his cousin, Asad, talking with him
animatedly. Approaching them, he said to Asad, gazing at Maniha all the while;
"Will you excuse my wife for a minute Asad?"
Then, without waiting for his reply, he grabbed her by her wrist and brought her outside.
"What?" Maniha asked irritated.
"We are leaving." He replied simply.
Maniha sighed.
"I- " She began but was interuppted by Hassan.
"Don't say no now!" grumbled Hassan. "I have already wasted my one hour here and I won't waste one
more minute!"
"Actually," Maniha said. "I was about to go inside and say goodbye to Christine." She looked at him
skeptically. Hassan was a bit surprised by her reply and unable to say anything, he saw Maniha turn on
her heels and go inside.

She returned after a few minutes but this time, Asad came along with her. They were both laughing
over something. Hassan, who was leaning by the car door, came closer to them to hear what they were
talking about.
"O Hassan. Your wife is so funny!" Asad said, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes.
"Ok Asad. We will leave now." Maniha said before Hassan could utter a word in response. "It was nice
meeting you."
"It was nice meeting you too." He replied, smiling.
When he turned to Hassan;however, his smile disappeared from his face,seeing the serious look on
Hassan's face.
"Goodbye Hassan." He said, extending out his hand.
"It's goodnight." Hassan corrected him, without taking his hand.
"Well then, goodnight." Asad replied, flashing a smile. "Whatever sails your boat."
A moment of awkward silence fell between them then. As Asad was about to pull away his hand,
thinking that Hassan wouldn't take it, Hassan grabbed it suddenly and a little too forcefully.
"You are right. Whatever sails MY boat." Hassan agreed and turned on his heels to open his car door.
Asad pulled away his hand, confused by his reaction but soon forgot about it as he saw both of them sit
inside the car and then drive away. He looked forward to meeting Maniha again, he thought with a
smile plastered on his face as he went inside to resume the party.
*******
Hassan gazed at Maniha as they drove in silence. She was sitting with her half-back to him, a little bit
tilted away from him and gazing out of the window. His eyes fell on the speedometer and slowly, he
increased the speed. Maniha kept staring out of the window until Hassan had increased the speed of the
car so much that she couldn't ignore it any further. She frowned and turned around to look at him.
"Why are you driving so fast?" She asked. "Do you want to get hit or something?"
Without replying, Hassan increased the speed further. Maniha looked at the road and then at him. Her
face drained of all colour as she saw a trailer moving, a lo ng distance, in front of them. The only
problem was that the long distance would become short, in just a few seconds, if Hassan continued
driving with this speed.
"Hassan, slow down." She demanded, though her voice came as a squeal.

Still no reply.
"Slow down HASSAN!" Just when she thought they would slam into the trailer and just when she had
closed her eyes, waiting for the impending doom, the car came to a halt with a screech, just an inch
away from the trailer.
Their bodies came forward slightly but due to their seat-belts, they remained protected from collision.
The trailer continued moving forward and was soon out of sight. Maniha put a hand on her chest. Her
heart was pounding very fast and she had to bend her head downwards to stop herself from being
nauseated.
"Why?" She chocked out, her voice thick with emotion.
"Why what?" Hassan asked calmly, folding his arms across his chest and looking at her.
Maniha stared at him and asked;
"Did you want to kill yourself and me? What was the point of driving so fast?" Her voice was loud
now.
"I like driving fast." Hassan replied, clearly amused by her state of restlessness. "But I see, you don't
like to."
It was all that took for Maniha to lose control. She balled her fists and started beating Hassan w ith
them, across his chest.
"You-scared-the-hell-out-of- me." Maniha said, punching him as hard as she could.
Hassan, a little taken aback by her action, grabbed her wrists and tried to pull them away.
"Stop it Maniha!" he said.
But Maniha didn't stop.
"I said cut it off!" Hassan threw her hands back forcefully. They hit the dashboard hard and a few of the
bangles that Maniha was wearing, broke in her wrists, cutting off her skin. Blood oozed out of the
wound and Maniha gazed at it surprisingly. Hassan was equally surprised, seeing that he had actually
physically hurt Maniha. Not that he had meant to. He had hurt her accidently while trying to protect
himself.
Her rage began anew and she glared at him. Then, after a second, she stepped out of the car.

"Shit!" Hassan growled, hitting the dashboard hard with his fist. A moment later, he came out of the car
too.
"Sit inside the car Maniha!" He ordered, seeing that Maniha had her back to him.
"I said sit inside the-" he began but stopped when Maniha turned around.
"I hate you," Maniha said, tears gushing down her cheeks. "I hate you. I HATE YOU MR HASSAN
IQBAL. I HATE YOU JUST AS MUCH AS YOU HATE ME!"

Chapter 15

Hassan stared at Maniha for a minute and then came close to her.... so close that he could feel her
breath.
"And what makes you think I love you?" He looked at her with disdain.
Maniha wiped her tears off from her sleeve.
"Fair enough." she began slowly. "Since we both hate each other. Why don't we separate?"
She then grabbed Hassan by his collar, jerked him a little and blurted out to him;
"BECAUSE I'M SICK OF THIS LIFE! BECAUSE I'M SICK OF YOU HASSAN! I AM SICK OF
THE FACT THAT YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME! BECAUSE YOU MAKE THIS LIFE A LIVING
HELL FOR ME!"
Hassan stared at her, shocked by her sudden outburst.
"And you know what?" Maniha said, looking him in the eye. "You don't even talk to me! You don't
even let me explain things to you! You don't even- "
"Just shut up," hissed Hassan. "And leave my collar. People are staring at us."
It was then that Maniha realized that they were indeed being stared by a group of pedestrians who had
stopped, hearing her loud voice.
"Ma'am." said a voice behind them.

They both turned around to see a man standing a bit away from them. He had tattoos all over his body
and wore a baggy shirt over short pant. A gold chain hung loosely from his neck which made him look
like, no less than a rogue.
"Is this man disturbing you?" he asked Maniha.
Hassan stepped forward to face that man, pulling Maniha behind him, by her wrist.
"This man," he said. "is the husband of this ma'am. So, I had appreciate if you stay out of our
business."
They stared daggers at each other and before anyone of them could make a move, they heard Maniha
turn on her heels, walk towards the car and slam the door shut, sitting inside it.
After a while, the man started chuckling saying;
"Looks like your wife isn't in the right mood right now. You know what, I have a wife too and," he
leaned forward to talk further, "if you want a tip on handling such women, I say beat the shit out of
them! That's what I do with my own wife when she gets nasty."
Just as he spoke that line, the vision of Maniha's bleeding wrist crossed through Hassan's mind....the
fact that he had physically hurt her....and whatever that man had just said, caused him to lose his
control and before he knew it, he had landed a punch on that man's face.
The man fell down on the ground, holding his nose in the process. Groaning in agony, he glared at
Hassan.
"What the hell did you do that for?" he yelled. "I was just telling you how to control your wife and you
decided to beat me for that!"
Hassan crouched down a little to talk to that man.
"You are lucky that I didn't beat the shit out of you!" He hissed. "If people weren't staring, I would have
gladly given you a piece of my mind for your wise advice."
Saying that, he spun around,sat inside the car too and started it.
The drive seemed so long for both of them that it felt like ages before they finally arrived at home. As
Hassan parked the car in the driveway, his eyes fell on Maniha's wrists and guilt overtook his
conscience.
"Maniha..." he began but she was already out of the car, heading towards the door. He got out of the car
himself and followed her inside. Before anyone of them could enter the room; however, they saw
Mariam come towards them.

"Finally, you guys are back." Mariam said, smiling. "So how was the party?" She asked to both of
them.
"It was good." Maniha replied in a low voice, staring down to hide her wet eyes.
"Now c'mon. You can't just say that it was good. I want to know everything! Tell me all- "
Her smile vanished suddenly as her eyes landed on Maniha's wrists.
"O my god! What has happened to you?" She said grabbing Maniha's hands in her own.
Maniha finally looked up and tried to smile. "It's nothing ma," she said, though her voice seemed to
waver. "It's just that I broke my bangles while sitting inside the car."
Maniha knew that it was a lame excuse but her mind was so confused at that time that she couldn't
think of anything else to say.
Hassan just plainly stared at her, lost for words.
"You should have sat carefully then," Mariam said, her face showing concern. "Go upstairs and apply
some lotion on it. It will get better till tommorow. "
Maniha nodded and left the room.
Mariam saw her son gazing at the stairs where Maniha had just gone. When he didn't say anything, she
clicked her fingers to get his attention.
"Hassan, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing." he said promptly.
His mother stared at him for a while, as if figuring him out. Then, she sighed and said;
"Hassan, Maniha is a really good girl. Just don't ever lose her. Even if things don't turn out right
between you two... just think that this is how life is. No one is perfect. You just have to learn to
comprise with each other."
Hassan stared at her for a long time, nodded and then walked out of the room silently.

Chapter 16

Show me the meaning of being lonely

Is this the feeling I need to walk with?
Tell me why I can't be there where you are?
-The Backstreet Boys
-------As soon as Maniha entered her room, she started crying.... she cried so bad like she had never done
before. Without caring, she let her tears fall.
She looked at herself in the mirror. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and when she dabbed her
fingers on them, they were all puffy.
She dropped down on the bed, a wave of despondency washing over her. It had been a long time since
she had cried and it felt good to let everything out. Right when the tears threatened to fall down her
cheeks again, she heard the door open.
Even without looking back, she knew that it was Hassan. Her rage began anew and it was with utmost
patience that she controlled herself from screaming at him.
"Maniha." She heard him say her name quietly. He sighed when she didn't reply.
He walked over to her, achingly slow.
"Maniha." He called out again.
Again, Maniha kept quiet. After a while, when he thought that she wasn't going to reply that easily, he
reached out and grabbed her hand.
Maniha pulled it away instantly, standing up and glaring at him.
"You hate me, don't you?" she blurted out. "Then why are you doing this to me Hassan? Why do n't you
just leave me?"
He stared in her brown eyes, trying to comprehend the meaning behind it.
"Let our relationship end. Because," she pushed him back this time. "Let's be honest. We are both sick
of each other. We both hate each other then I don't understand the point of us being together!"
"Listen to me Maniha." Hassan said with gritted teeth now.

"No, you listen to me Hassan!" Once again, she pushed him back. "If you think that I had fallen in love
with you, then you are quite wrong. I never loved you and never will!" She yelled at him, pushing him
back once again, but this time Hassan was prepared. Grabbing both of her hands, he turned her around
and pinned her against the wall behind him.
"What the hell?" he shouted at her.
Maniha flinched at his loud voice but didn't lose her composure.
"If you say one more word- " he seethed.
"You will do what?" As she glared at him, she saw his jaws clench. For some reason, it made her more
angry than before. "Don't forget Hassan, if you can get angry then I can get angry too!"
"I- "
"You don't see anyone besides you, do you? All that matters to you is you only!"
"Manih- "
"Others can live their lives, however difficult it may be for them. But you just make sure that you never
have any sort of problem!"
"Shut up Maniha!"
"No. I won't SHUT UP! Because today, I will tell you how mean and selfish you really are..."
Just then, Hassan heard a knock outside. He muttered an imprecation, knowing fully well that it would
be his mother, who must have come upstairs, heating their loud voices. Sure enough, he heard the faint
voice of his mother, from the other side of the door, call out his name. Maniha, oblivious to it, kept on
shouting at him.
And before he knew it, he had pressed his lips against hers, to stop her from talking further. She got
pressed up against the wall and to stop her from pushing him away, he held her wrists above her head.
She tried to get out of his grasp but he just tightened his grip on her even more.
After a long moment, they broke apart. Maniha stared at him, too shocked to reply. Her eyes were
flowing and her cheeks were flushed. Her lips had become swollen from the deep kiss.
"What did you do that for?" She murmured.
"To shut you up." Hassan replied simply.

"You- " Maniha began but Hassan held a finger, indicating for her to stop.
"Don't say a word now or I swear I will be worst than this!"
The moment he had said that, he immediately regretted it. He cursed himself internally as he saw
Maniha stare at him for a long moment, then turn on her heels and dash towards the washroom.
He groaned in frustration and anger of what he had just done. Walking over to the bed, he undid his tie
and threw it at one corner of the bed. He wanted to yell but he knew that it wasn't the right place to do
it. Instead, he sat on the bed and closed his eyes.
He felt so furious inside that it took several minutes for him to calm down. Right when he thought he
felt better, he heard a muffled sound from somewhere inside the room.
It didn't take him long to realize that it was Maniha crying inside the washroom. Unable to bare it any
further, he rushed towards the terrace. It was going to be a long night, he thought as he took out a
cigarette and lighted it up to inhale it.

Chapter 17

A sharp drizzle fell the next day as Hassan sat inside his car, talking on the phone.
"Yes...postpone the meeting till a few days. I don't think I will- WHAT THE?" He heard the back door
open and slam shut. He glared at Maniha who had just sat inside the car.
Then realizing that he was actually talking on the phone with his staff member, he quickly muttered a
sorry to him and continued giving him instructions about his next meeting.
"No, dad will handle that meeting. I will just look at the files before we send it to him. So keep them
ready today, OK?" He said, eyeing Maniha from the front mirror. She was sitting with her arms crossed
and staring out of the window.
"Yeah, thank you so much for that. Bye." And with that, he hung up.
"Maniha. Come and sit in the front." He said, turning his head backwards to talk to her.
She just kept quiet and after thinking that what he had done last night, he shouldn't have expected, any
less behaviour than this, Hassan geared the engine and started driving.

It took them twenty minutes of complete silence to get to the hospital. As soon as they arrived, Maniha
stepped out of the car and was about to head inside, when she heard a familiar voice call her name;
"Maniha!" She turned around to see Asad approaching her, his white coat, hanging on his arm and a
stethoscope around his neck. He smiled as he stopped and stood in front of her.
"How are you?"
"I'm fine." Maniha said softly.
Just then, Hassan stepped out of the car and exchanged the usual greetings with him.
*****
The light drizzle that fell in the morning had changed into heavy rain by the night. Clouds thundered
above; the atmosphere had turned cool and nib and Maniha jumped over a small pothole, adj usting her
umbrella above her.
A car came in front of her and stood a short distance away from her. The car's owner motioned for her
to come forward. When she approached it, she realized that it was Asad. He lowered his car window to
talk to her.
"Is everything fine?" he asked.
"O yeah. It's just that Christine had to drop me but she left early today as she wasn't well. Now, I guess
I will just have to take the bus."
"I can drop you if you want to."
"No, it's okay."
"No really, I highly doubt that you will get any bus at this time of night and that too, in this bad
weather."
"No, I'll be fine."
"Oh well. If you think you will be okay then I'll go."
As he started the engine, Maniha thought what if he was right? There were high chances that she would
never find a bus in this stormy night. And if she let him go....who knows maybe she'll have to spend the
whole night at the hospital. Just the thought of lying in the staff room's couch, all uneasy and
uncomfortable, made her rethink his proposal.

"Isn't this the time when you should insist on dropping me?"
Asad gazed at her and chuckled softly. "Well, I really thought you wouldn't say yes. But I can drop you
if you want to."
"Since I don't have any other solution..."
"It's okay," Asad grinned. "Hop inside the car."
*****
"Wow, the house is still the same." Asad said as they waited for the driver to open the gate. "It looks
like a mansion really."
He parked the car in the driveway and they both stepped out. Before the driver could close the gates;
however, another car came inside. It was Hassan's.
They gazed at him as he picked up his suitcase and stepped out of the car. Maniha averted her eyes
from him as she felt anger boil inside her.
"Hey Hassan," Asad greeted him as he approached them.
"Hi. What are you doing here?"
"Well, I came to drop off Maniha." Hassan stared at her for a while as he listened to Asad further, "But
now that I have come, I should go and meet your family too."
Hassan nodded as Asad said, "So, let's go inside, shall we?"
"You go. I have to talk to Maniha for a moment."
Maniha glared at him but due to Asad's presence, didn't say anything.
"Oh well. I'll go then." Asad said.
As soon as he left, Hassan opened his mouth to speak but she interuppted him;
"I don't want to talk to you."
And with this, she wheeled round and went inside, leaving behind an angry Hassan.
"My mobile..." Maniha said irritated, apparently to no one.

She stood finally, her hands akimbo, searching for her mobile all over the room. After some time, she
realized that Hassan held it in his hands.
"Give me my mobile," she said on approaching him and extending out her hand.
He didn't reply and she felt anger surging inside her suddenly.
"Hassan, my mobile." She demanded, shaking her hand a bit.
Still, he didn't reply. Maniha was about to make a swipe for it when suddenly he stood up. Maniha took
some step backwards but stood her ground.
"First say sorry. Then I will give it to you." He said.
Maniha stared at him in shock. "Why should I say sorry? What have I done?"
"You didn't listen to me back then."
"And I still won't listen. Now give me back my mobile."
She tried to grab it but at the last moment, he pulled it away and put it inside his pocket.
"Either you say sorry or you don't get your phone at all."
Maniha narrowed her eyes. "You are the one who should say sorry to me, not me!"
"Well, I was about to say that back then but you never let me." He said, sitting ba ck on his bed. "So
now, you will get your phone back only when you have said sorry to me."
"Urgh!" Maniha seethed. "If you don't give it to me...then...." she tried to think of a suitable threat but
her mind went blank. How was one supposed to threaten him?
"...I will tell mom," she finished smugly.
Hassan just plainly stared at her and then burst out laughing. Maniha looked at him strangely. "You
really think I'm sacred of my mother," he said, standing up once again.
"I...then.... I'll delete all your important files in your laptop when you are sleeping."
Yes, that was a good threat, she thought.
"You do that and I'll make this life hell for you."
"You already do that Hassan,' She added in an ineffably sad tone. Her eyes held his for a brief second

and he could plainly see the hurt in them.

He shrugged and sat down on the bed again. "You know the deal. Say sorry or you're never getting this
mobile again."
Maniha eyed him defiantly.
"I won't. And if you don't give it to me now....then I'll.....go stand in the rain outside. The whole night!"
"Fine," he said. "As you wish."
Maniha gaped at him. She felt she could tear him apart in her fury and not mind it.
"Fine!" She blurted out. "You should start thinking of a good reason to tell your mother when she find.
my dead body in the morning!" Stomping her foot, she turned around to go to the terrace.
"Maniha," she heard his whimsical voice behind her, "do you really think that she will find your dead
body in the first place if I don't want her to?"

Chapter 18

After Hassan was done with his work, he stood up and stretched himself. He heard a beep sound. His
eyes fell on Maniha's mobile on the sight table. Picking it up, he saw that her sister Aisha had sent her a
message;
"Why aren't you picking up my calls??? I have to tell you something important."
And sure enough, as he ran through her mobile, he noticed that she had sent Maniha a countless
number of calls.
He heard the sound of lightening outside. And he suddenly realized how cold it was. He approached the
cup board and took out a brown coat from inside to wrap it around himself.
His aching body began to relax instantly due to the warmth of the coat. He closed his eyes to enjoy the
moment....it was then that he remembered....he walked briskly towards the terrace outside his room.
The cold air hit him. God, was it freezing. And dark. He saw her standing outside, shaking wildly, her
arms wrapped around her chest to give herself some warmth.

"Great," he mumbled.
Maniha looked up at him. She felt cold and shivered profusely but there was no way she would appear
frail in front of him. She tried to maintain her composure as he deliberatelywore the coat in front of her.
She just wouldn't give him the satisfaction that she was being tortured...
A wave of happiness ran through her body though; maybe he had had a change of heart and seeing her
terrible condition, decided to give her mobile back to her....
"Hey," he said, whim in his voice. "Can you pass me that chair?" He pointed towards a plastic chair
that was placed in one corner. "You know, it might get damaged if it stays in this rain for too long."
Maniha gaped at him.
So he had more feelings for a damn chair than an actual human being?
"I would have taken it myself," he stated nonchalantly, "but I don't want to get wet."
She looked at him venomously and blurted it out to him;
"If you want that chair, go take it yourself."
He stared at her and then a smirk came across his face.
"Sure." He nodded and went inside the room. A moment later, he appeared with an umbrella over his
head. He walked towards her in the rain, picked up the chair and brought it inside.
Maniha felt enraged beyond point. So he can use the umbrella but she couldn't? She was fuming now.
"And Maniha," he stopped suddenly before moving inside, "you can come inside if you want to."
Her hopes began to rise all of a sudden. "So will you give me back my mobile?"
"Of course not. That deal is still there. Say sorry and only then you will get your mobile back." He
stood there for a minute, waiting for her reply.
Maniha glared at him. "I-won't-say-sorry." She declared furiously.
"Fine." He said. "Enjoy the rain then."
And he went inside the room, leaving behind Maniha, more enraged than before.
There was another sound of thunder and Hassan's eyes flew open. He searched wildly for a light
source. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and his hands fell on a solid object. He picked it up

and pressed it. A faint light emerged out of it; he realized it was Maniha's mobile.
The room was brightened up immediately. He sat up on the bed and took a breath. Then his eyes fell on
the terrace. Suddenly, the terrace lit up as if someone had turned on its lights; light poured inside his
room and illuminated everything. It was strange.
But then he remembered it all.... of course it was Maniha. She probably had turned on the lights. He
couldn't bare the cold which was inside his room; he could only imagine how freezing cold it must be
outside.
He slipped into his shoes and slowly went towards the terrace, making as little noise as possible. He
saw her standing with her back facing him. Her clothes were all drenched in rain. She didn't know that
he was gazing at her. They stood like that for a long time.
Then slowly, she turned around and looked at him straight in the eye.
"All I wanted was..." she began slowly, "freedom.... freedom from you Hassan. But all I got from you
was torture."
He gazed at her intently; his heart beat quickening suddenly. Even from a long distance, he could figure
out that her eyes were dark.
She started moving back now, taking small steps each time she said a word;
"But I can't bare it any more."
She had gone back a long distance..... wait, why was she moving back?
"Maniha," Hassan started coming towards her.
"Maniha!"
He saw as she fell down on her back from the railings of the terrace. Rushing towards it, he looked
down and saw her lying in a pool of blood.... all color drained from his face as he saw her dead body.
Yet another sound of thunder. His eyes flew open. He sat up straight on his bed and rushed towards the
terrace. The moment he reached the railings, he looked down.
There was nothing there.... he didn't know whether he should have felt joy or not. He just searched
wildly everywhere for her but failed in every attempt. Then, he heard a whimpering sound.
Wheeling round, he saw Maniha sitting on the entrance of the terrace, her body quivering slightly. And
then it hit him... it was all a dream.

Hassan heaved a deep sigh as he approached her shaking body. She had her face buried inside her
knees and was oblivious to his presence. He came close to her and sat down beside her.
"Maniha," he said softly, "Maniha." He poked her slightly this time.
She raised her head and her tired eyes met his. Her teeth were chattering.
"Get up and get inside," he ordered.
"Fir..rrs...ssttt giivveee meee myyyy mobb...illl..e," she stuttered.
Hassan let out a grunt.
"It is damn freezing here and all you care about is your stupid phone. There, have it." He took out her
mobile from inside his pocket and handed it over to her.
She took it with shaking hands, a smile forming on her face. As she clutched it weakly, it fell down
from her hands a moment later.
"See what you have done to yourself now?" Hassan questioned in an agitated tone, picking up her
phone and handing it back to her. "You can't even hold it straight. Now come inside before you do
yourself any more damage."
As she stood up, she fell down again, too weak to walk. He let out another sigh, this time of frustration.
Holding her arms, he tried to pick her up himself but she just wouldn't budge;
"Whaaatttt arrreee..."
"Carrying you inside." He answered for her, "you don't look like you have enough energy left inside
you to walk by yourself."
"I wiillll g..oo..ooo on myy ownn."
She jerked his hand away and stood up again, this time with resolution. She would go inside the room
herself....without his help. She felt glad when she was able to take a few steps inside...a few
more....there's the bed, I can see it, she thought. Just a few more and then I'll be lying on it....I'll be off
to sleep.
But then her temperature rose up so suddenly that she felt herself falling....but Hassan had grabbed her
before she could hit the the floor.
She half- heartedly protested as he scooped her in his arms and hauled her up inside the room. The last
thing she heard when finally subconscious took over her was Hassan placing a hand on her head and

cursing himself.

Chapter 19
And I'll never be quite the same
As before I was
Too naive, yes I was, that's why I let you in
-The Ghost of You
-------"She stood there dancing in the rain for- "
"Wait a minute, did you say dancing?"
"Yes Asad. I said dancing. And then I came to her and- "
"And I'm guessing that you started dancing too." Asad guffawed.
"Yeah and then we started hooting too," Hassan said sarcastically.
"The thing is Hassan I can imagine Maniha doing it but you.... I mean you can bare ly even whistle."
Hassan rolled his eyes.
"Are you here to check my wife or to pass sarcastic comments about me?"
"Hassan," Mariam said. "He's trying his best. He just needs to know what really happened to diagnose
the disease."
They were standing in his room. Maniha was lying on the bed; beaded sweats coming from top of her
head.
"Please ma," Hassan replied, "It's simply flu. Not some serious disease."
His mother shrugged. "What do you think Asad?"

"Well, I just think that Maniha couldn't bare the shock that her husband danced with her in the rain and
she got," he smiled, "love-sickness."
Hassan rolled his eyes once again. Her mother burst out laughing.
"Now c'mon, I would have become sick too if you had danced with me. I'd get what they call- " he bend
his first two fingers of each hand, "bromance sickness."
It was impossible for her mother to control her laughter now. She fell down on the sofa, lying in
Hassan's room and doubled over with laughter.
"Seriously, what kind of a doctor are you?" Hassan asked skeptically.
"Ah well," Asad replied, wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes. "you are right, it's just flu. She
should be alright in a few days. But why was she dancing in the rain anyway?" He added on a serious
note.
"That's what women do in rain." Hassan shrugged.
He saw Asad eyeing him a little skeptically now; he knew perfectly well that Asad hadn't bought his lie
but thankfully, he didn't say anything in front of his mother.
"OK, I'm writing you some medicines now." Asad said, scribbling in his notebook and handing a page
to Hassan. "That should fix her up."
*********
"Maniha," Hassan said, slapping her face a little to jerk her awake, "Hey, wake up."
She mumbled some incoherent words and remained slumbering.
"God, you are so annoying. Wake up already!"
She opened her eyes slightly and saw him standing beside the bed.
"Let me sleep," she murmured, changing her position to the other side and snuggling the blanket.
"What the hell?" He remarked but then he heard her snoring.
"Ah, forget it." He rushed out of the room, irritated.
Hassan sat on his couch, a book in his hand. Every now and then, he would glance at Maniha who was
still sleeping. He wondered how she could sleep for so long. It had been fourteen hours and she still

hadn't woken up.

He heard a knock on the door. Approaching it, he opened it and saw a maid outside.
"Sir, I have to check on Miss Maniha," the maid said.
He nodded and allowed her to come inside. He saw as she dipped a piece of cloth in the water and
place it on her head.
For the next fifteen minutes, she kept on doing that.
"I think her temperature has gone down a little now," the maid remarked finally.
She expected a reply from Hassan but he just remained silent, concentrating on his book.
A few minutes later, she went out of the room.
*******
"Is it still raining?" Maniha mumbled as she felt water dripping over her head.
"No," Hassan remarked, "I'm just dripping water over you from this glass because you just won't wake
up."
Maniha's eyes flew open and sure enough, she saw Hassan holding a glass of water though he placed it
on the sight table once he saw that she had woken up.
"Finally, you are awake."
She gazed at him. "What kind of a absurd way is that to wake someone up?"
"That's the most appropriate way when the other person just refuses to wake up," he countered.
"Well then you wouldn't mind if I used this method on you too."
"Whatever," he said, picking up a bottle and a spoon from the sight table, "Drink this."
"What's this?"
"Poison I especially imported from France for killing you."
"Huh?"
Hassan let out a grunt.

"It's medicine. What else do you think it is?"

She grabbed it from his hand and after pouring it on the spoon, drank the medicine. He placed the
bottle back on the sight-table.
"Now go to sleep," he said.
"I thought you wanted me to be awake."
"This medicine causes drowsiness. So even if I told you to remain awake, you wouldn't be able to do
that.
And sure enough, she started feeling sleepy and before she knew it, she had sank back into her bed.
"Just one thing Hassan," she mumbled, "why are you doing all this?"
Hassan shrugged and looked at Maniha whose eyes had started closing. He knew that sleep had started
to take over her and she wouldn't remember any of what he said now. In every way, he was safe. Sure
enough, she didn't hear when he said;
"Because I saw you die and I just couldn't bare that it was because of me."
______________________________
"Maniha, if you sneeze one more time- " Hassan began threateningly.
"I wasn't going to sneeze, OK?" She replied, though she had been about to.
They were sitting in the living room; Hassan busy in his work on laptop and Maniha sitting at the far
end of the sofa, wiping her runny nose with a handkerchief, every now and then.
Achoo!
Hassan looked at her with lethal eyes.
"I couldn't control it, OK?" She muttered.
"Can you at least get out of here?" He remarked.
"Hey, this house is as much mine as it's yours. So I'll stay where ever I- Ach- " She was about to sneeze
again.

"Don't you dare." He shot at her quickly.

"No, no. I'm fi- " She started saying, causing Hassan to mutter a "thank- god" under his breath but before
either of them had completed their sentence, she had sneezed again.
"Achoo!"
Shutting the lid of his laptop angrily, he got up and rushed out of the room.
"At least I can annoy him now." Maniha said with a satisfactory smile on her face as she saw him leave.
*********
"Maniha, your sister has come to meet you." Mariam said to her daughter- in-law.
Looking behind, Maniha saw her sister standing behind Mariam. She got up and rushed towards her to
engulf her in a hug.
"Geez Maniha!" Her sister said on seeing her runny nose and red cheeks. "Do you have flu?"
Maniha sneezed again. That was an answer enough.
"I'll go make drinks for you two." Mariam said, walking away.
They both sat down on the sofa, her sister keeping a distance between them both.
"It's a mild flu, OK? You won't die if you come close to me." Maniha pouted.
"Yeah, whatever." Her sister remarked. "I need my health since I have to go for an interview
tommorow. It won't be a pretty sight if the interviewers see me sneezing all the time."
Maniha shook her head at her reply.
"Anyways, how are you?" She asked.
"I was fine until yesterday."
"Why? What happened yesterday?"
Aisha glanced at her younger sister, looking at her full- square in the eyes this time.
'I met Rehan yesterday."

Maniha felt an uneasy sensation in her stomach but she tried to keep a straight face as she asked:
"Oh. How is he?"
"Maniha, I'm not here to tell you about the health of our cousin. I'm here to talk about you and him."
Aisha said matter-of- factly.
Maniha felt a chill run through her body.
"What do you mean?" She asked. More like mumbled.
"I mean that he told me everything. Every single god damn thing." Her sister added the last part to
emphasize her meaning.
Maniha's face went pale.
"Why had you do this Maniha?" Aisha asked sternly.
Maniha stared at the angry look on her sister's face which made her even more pale.
"And moreover, why had you do this to Hassan?"
"I didn't do anything!" Maniha blurted out angrily. 'You know I haven't done anything wrong."
"But you haven't done anything right either." Her sister looked at her matter-of- factly. "Imagine if
Hassan comes to know about it-"
"He knows." Maniha mumbled.
"What?" Aisha blurted out in shock. "Are you telling me that he knows about you and Rehan."
"Apparently, he saw me and him together." Maniha muttered.
"O my god Maniha! And he didn't say anything to you?"
Maniha remembered all the times when he had hurt her, been cruel to her....despite not knowing
everything.
"He did. He said a lot of things."
"You did explain to him, right?"
Maniha felt anger boil inside her again.

"Explain? He doesn't even let me utter a word!"

"Are you saying that you never talked about this issue with him?" Aisha asked, surprised.
"I was shocked that he knew about Rehan," Maniha replied, "I decided to tell him everything but he
just wouldn't listen. So now I have decided to tell him nothing."
"Maniha," Aisha said, leaning towards her. "Please allow me to say that you are a dick."
"Why had you say that?" Maniha asked, enraged at her sister.
"Just because he won't listen to you, you had shut this matter off forever?"
"You don't know him. He....he..... didn't even give me a chance. He's just so stubborn!"
"And what about you? Aren't you being stubborn now too?"
That shut Maniha up. She felt hot tears well up her eyes suddenly.
"Listen to me Maniha." Her sister said, cupping her face gently with her hands. "I think he
misunderstands you, that's it. If you talk to him..."
"If you think by talking to him, he will change his cocky and egoistic attitude, then you are wrong. He
won't! I know him better than you. He- "
They heard a thud behind them suddenly. When they looked behind; however, they saw nothing.
"It's probably a cat." Maniha mumbled after a momentary silence.
"Have you thought about it the other way round Maniha?" Aisha asked, continuing the conversation.
"Maybe it is you who don't care about him. That is why, you never made it a point to tell him
everything. Tell me do you really care about him?"
"I did care about him," Maniha replied suddenly. "I did. But everything has changed now. I have
become tired Aisha. Of my life. Of him." She said the last part more to herself than to her sister.
Aisha looked at her for a whole minute and said:
"I know it's hard. But I want you to do it. I want you to talk to him again. Tell him everything."
"What the heck is wrong with everyone?" Hassan entered the kitchen, fuming.

"What happened Hassan?" Mariam asked, looking up at him, from the drinks that she had been making
for Maniha and Aisha.
"I asked for a glass of juice and I still haven't got it. That's what happened!"
They heard a whimper sound and one of the servants shakily came forward.
"Sir, I...I'm sorry. I....urm.... forgot about it. I'll prepare it right away."
Hassan looked at him dangerously. The servant couldn't help but cower under his look.
"Hassan, he said sorry, now will you give it a rest?" Mariam said quickly.
"Fine. But if you do this again, I will fire you. You understand?"
The servant nodded fervently and started pouring orange juice in a glass with his hands shaking
slightly.
Hassan stomped out of the kitchen. Had he not heard loud voices coming from the living room, he
would not have stopped and kept on walking towards his room. But he halted suddenly when he heard
a familiar voice from somewhere inside the living room.
"If you think that by talking to him, he will change his cocky and ego istic attitude, then you are wrong.
He won't! I know him better than you. He- "
Just then, the servant came behind him, stumbling on his way, from a fold on the carpet. The glass of
juice that he held in his tray, jerked a little upon the stumble but stayed in its place. The noise, however
was enough to surprise Hassan and the 'people' inside the living room.
"Sir, your drink." The servant said in a shaking voice.
"Go away." Hassan said in a dangerously low voice as he turned around to face him.
Something about his voice scared the hell out of the servant and without further ado, he ran out of his
sight.
"It's probably a cat." Hassan only faintly heard Maniha's voice as he stomped away to his room.

Chapter 20

At night finally, Maniha entered her room. She looked around for Hassan but thankfully, he wasn't
present there. Taking out a blanket from the cup board, she spread it out on the bed and was about to lie
down when she heard the door open.
Hassan had just entered the room.
I know it's going to be hard. But I want you to do it.....Tell him everything.
Her sister's words reverberated through her mind. Before she could say something, Hassan started
coming towards her with a strange expression on his face.
When he didn't stop, she started moving back.
"Why are coming towards me?" She asked, surprised.
But he didn't reply and continued moving forward.
"Hassan, why are you coming forward?" This time she asked a little scared.
She hit the wall behind her suddenly; Hassan had closed the gap betwe en them both. Then as if she
knew what he was about to do next, she quickly started walking away from him.
But she had just moved a short distance away when Hassan's hand grabbed her wrist and jerked her in
front of him again.
"Hassan, what are you doing?"
She asked, positively scared now.
He ran back of his hand through her hair and then her face. She flinched at his touch. Then suddenly, he
started leaning towards her face. Maniha's breath caught in her throat. She tried to run away but he
trapped her by putting his arms on her sides.
His face was very close now.....
"You said it right." He whispered in her ear. "I'mcocky and egoistic but there is something that you still
don't know about me. But don't worry I will tell you about it today."
It didn't take her long to realize the double- meaning of what he had just said. But there was no way she
could get away.
"Hassan- " she began, her voice barely a whisper.

"Shh," He put a finger on her lips to quieten her.

"Don't worry," he said. "I won't be that bad with you as you might think me to be."
She blanched at his words. Hot tears had started to cascade down her cheeks as she looked in his eyes.
She could see nothing there....except for wildness.
"What are you saying?" She mumbled although she already knew the answer.
"You know perfectly well what I'm trying to say here."
This time, he leaned even more closer and just when she had closed her eyes, knowing that the
inevitable was about to happen, he backed away suddenly.
She opened her eyes to see him standing there as hard and cold as a statue. They stood there in
complete silence, their gazes transfixed on each other.
"Get out of here." He ordered suddenly. And before she knew it, Maniha had run out of the room as fast
as she could.
_______________________________
"Maniha. Seriously it won't hurt you if you laugh at my joke."
"Huh?' She looked around to see who had talked to her. It was Asad with a frown on his face.
"I have been telling jokes and you haven't even laughed once. Are you alright?"
They were sitting on the dining table having dinner. Mariam looked up at her and said:
"Are you fine Maniha? You don't look alright."
"Do I?"
Just then, they saw Hassan enter the room. Everyone looked at him.....everyone except her.
Pulling a chair, he sat next to her. She stiffened and found herself moving towards the edge of her seat.
"I think you have fever." Mariam said, putting a hand on her head to confirm. "See, you really do have
fever. Hassan, put your hand on her head and tell me if I am wro ng."
"No." Maniha stood up suddenly. She felt every gaze on her.

Every gaze except one.

"I mean..... I'll go check it from a thermometer." Her voice faltered.
And before others could start questioning her, she had run away. She had lied to them but she didn't
care. Instead of her room, she actually ran towards the roof...the only place in the house where she was
sure no one would find her..... at least for some time.
It was dark. Except for the faint light that came from the adjacent roof. She put her hands on the hard
cement parapet and gazed in the night.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around immediately, she said:
"Don't you dare- " she stopped when she saw granny standing before her with a puzzled look. "Oh," she
mumbled.
"What are you doing here?"
"I...I was just- "
"And why had you leave so suddenly?"
"Actually, I..."
"Is everything alright Maniha?"
Maniha felt beaded sweat run from the top of her head and her hands started shaking.
"Imafine," she said.
"What?"
"I'm fine. I just came here for some fresh air."
"Hm," her granny mused. "What did Hassan say to you?"
That was out of the blue for Maniha.
"What?" She asked flustered.
"What did Hassan say to you?"
"Nothing. He said nothing."

"You are lying."

"I...I'm not." She replied though her eyes had started to well up.
Just one more comment and her eyes would start leaking. "He didn't say anything."
"And I'll say again that you are lying."
Her tears actually started to fall now and she rushed towards her granny, embracing her in a tight hug.
And before she knew it, she had started crying and sobbing in her arms....without caring of what her
granny would think.
"Hush," Her granny said patting her back, "don't cry Maniha."
"I'm not crying." Maniha hiccoughed.
"Tell me what happened?"
Maniha broke the hug and looked at her.
"Hassan- " she began but stopped suddenly. She saw him standing right behind her with expressionless
face.
"What did he say?" Her granny urged, oblivious to his presence.
Maniha looked at her and at Hassan, then again at her granny and said:
"He's stopping me from going to my home. I want to go there and meet my family because I miss them
but he doesn't let me."
"What? And you started crying just because of that?
Maniha kept quiet.
"I'll talk to him. Don't worry."
Just then, Hassan cleared his throat.
"Walahi Hassan!" Her granny shouted. "You scared me boy"
When he didn't reply, she demanded a bit seriously:

"What am I hearing Hassan? You stopped Maniha from going to her home?"
He looked at Maniha who had averted her eyes and was staring on the other side.
"Now why did you do this?" Her granny continued sternly.
"If she wants to go then she can. I won't stop her now."
"And you better not! Because if I hear that you did this again, I won't be this lenient."
"Hm,"
"I'll go then. Take care of her. She isn't feeling well."
"No, I'll come with you," Maniha blurted out quickly.
"No, no," her granny said, "you should stay here. Take in some fresh air and get alright."
And before she could reply, her granny had walked away, leaving them behind.
"What were you about to tell her?" He asked when he was completely sure that she had gone away.
Without replying, she started walking away from him but at the last moment he grabbed her tightly by
her elbows and made her stare into his eyes.
"What were you about to tell her?" He repeated his question, his voice sounded more demanding.
"Answer me already," he added shaking her a little.
"Even if it makes you angry, I'll tell you what I was about to tell her. I was going to tell her
everything....every single thing between us."
She saw his jaws clench and his brows knit together. She sure was scared by the awful glower on his
face but kept on staring into his eyes. His light eyes went dark as he sa id:
"Whatever you think I was about to do to you in that room, you are right about it." She turned pale as
he said his next words:
"I was going to do it."
Her heart began to beat uncontrollably as the events of that night flashed through her mind. He pulled
her closer to his face as he continued; "In fact I wanted to do that. And what could you have done?
Nothing, you wouldn't have been able to do a thing. You would have shouted, pushed me away but
what do you think? Would I have backed away so easily? No, never. I could have silenced you. For the

whole night. You wouldn't have been able to tell anyone anything. And what would you have told them
anyways? They would have laughed at you. A wife who is scared of her own husband? I could have
done a lot of things with you....a lot of things. But I never did them. Never, I didn't even touch you."
She stared at his face strangely as he continued, "Have you ever thought why I backed away at the last
moment? Never, right? Because this is what you wanted to believe about me from the start. In fact, you
should add a new word in your dictionary about me. I'm not only cocky and egoistic. I'm also mean. I'm
sure you will be happy then...it will give you satisfaction to know that your husband is just like as you
always thought him to be." Then his eyes took on a dark hue. "Do you know whenever I think about
you and Rehan, I really don't understand how you could have done it. That night of our wedding, I was
coming to speak to you. I just thought that since we were both getting married, I might as well open up
to you a bit. And just imagine when I saw you standing with another guy, telling him to stop stalking
you. That it was just coquetry and nothing else. What should I have believed? At first, I thought that
you just didn't want to marry me. That you had been forced to. I was ready to back away from this
marriage. But then, it crossed my mind that if you really had been forced, you could have backed away
yourself and never looked at me again. But you didn't. I spent so ma ny days trying to understand why
you did like this....I couldn't even think straight. I wanted answers. And that I'm going to get now. I
won't let you go until I have had my answers."

Chapter 21

"Speak." Hassan said.

There was a momentary silence between them both.
"Hallelujah." Maniha said a moment later.
"What?" Hassan's face took on a puzzled look.
"Hallelujah," she repeated.
He raised his eyebrows at her. She only smiled and started dancing in front of him.
"What the hell are you doing?" He asked, confused.
"Dancing. What else? C'mon, you should dance too."
And then she whirled herself in front of him with a loud weeeeeeeee! She banged her hair many times
singing; "I pull my hand back and forth."

"Hey, that's a song," He told her. "And those are wrong lyrics!"
"Who cares?" she smiled.
And he realized it too late that his already mad wife had become even more mad.
Then, she fell down as her ankle twisted suddenly and she said:
"Dear dear. I fell down. Hassan, my dear, not-so-lovely and only husband, would you give me your
hand please?"
"I won't." He said, crossing his arms around his chest.
"You are such a dick. I'm hurt and you won't even help me." She pouted.
He sighed and extended out of his hand. Just when she was about to take it, he pulled away instantly
causing her to stumble forward.
"You are a dick too," For a moment, she could see a slight smile forming on his face. But that smile
was long gone as he stared back at her.
Then, it started raining.
"Aw," She said, "It has started raining. So romantic."
Hassan wiggled his eyebrows at her as he looked down at her.
"O c'mon. Do you smell this rain? It's so refreshing." She said standing up and turning away from him.
"And these clouds," she said running away from him, "they look so beautiful. And oh, this wind," she
spread her arms as she continued further, "Gone with the wind." Her face took on a sad expression now.
"Just like that."
"What the hell are you saying Maniha?"
In reply, she held his arms and dragged him along with her.
"C'mon Hassan, let's enjoy this rain. Oh I forgot- " she said on seeing the skeptical look on his face,
"you don't like me touching you."
A smile appeared on her face then. "But it doesn't matter to me. Not at all. Because now I have become
used to it, haven't I? Do you know I don't even get hurt anymore. It doesn't even affect me anymore. I
feel like I'm a free bird now. And do you know why it is like that?"

She came closer to him and smiled. "Because of you. Because you have told me everything Hassan. I'm
very happy." She grabbed his shirt this time. "I'm so happy that I feel like crying now. But I won't cry.
Because that would enrage you. No, no Maniha, you shouldn't cry," she started slapping her face,
"Should. Not. Cry. In front. Of. Hassan."
"Maniha, what are you doing?" Hassan asked surprised, grabbing her hands and pulling them apart.
"Oh," her eyes started bulging. "Did you get angry again? Tell me Hassan, did I enrage you?"
Hassan's eyes softened as he came towards her.
"Lekin is meinkyanaibaat hai? (What is new in this?) Tumein to humeshagusacharta hai. (You always
get angry)You got angry that night at the party. You got angry when I said I wanted to tell you
something. You got angry when I called you egoistic," she grabbed his collar now, "And do you know,
that night at the party, I decided to tell you everything. About me and Rehan. BUT YOU NEVER LET
ME UTTER A WORD! I WANTED TO SPEAK TO YOU BUT YOU GAVE ME NO IMPORTANCE!
I wanted to clarify things for our sake. Lekinphirbhitummeinitnihimat hai ketummujh se ye kehsakoke
main netumeinkuchnahibataya! (Still, you have guts to tell me that I didn't tell you anything!) If you
wanted to know so badly then YOU SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO ME!" She let go off his collar
with a jerk and ran away.

Chapter 22

Maniha threw all her things in a bag. All rationality had evaded her mind. She started packing her
suitcase to leave the home forever. She didn't care what Hassan's family would think. All she wanted to
do was get away from him forever.
Moving downstairs, she sat inside her car and sobbing and crying, started the engine.
As she drove her car away from his home, she thought about these past few months, her failed marriage
with him and how this all had started......
She kept paddling faster and faster, her breaths becoming ragged with the passage of time. She knew
that if she was one moment late, she would be doomed forever. With determination in her mind, she
paddled even more vigorously. But she didn't realize when a car came out of nowhere and almost
crashed with her bicycle. She fell down on the ground as the driver applied the brakes at the last
moment.
She looked at her hands which had suffered from multiple lacerations. But she didn't care about it at
that moment. She had an important place to go to right now.

Oblivious to the shouts of the driver who had stepped out of the car and was haranguing her, she picked
up her bicycle in a dazed state and was about to sit on it when that man grabbed her by her elbow. She
stared at him questioningly.
"Where do you think you are going?" He shouted at her.
"Huh?"
He sighed and glared at her.
"If you don't know how to ride a bloody bicycle then what are you doing riding it? I won't let you go
now till you have paid for the damage you have done to my car."
She studied him this time. He seemed to belong from a rich family then why was he asking her to pay
for a slight damage done to his car?
"Damage?" She said after a while. "I think your car has barely even got a scratch."
"I don't care about how small it is." He came dangerously close to her. I just want you to pay for it so
that people like you can learn a lesson." He replied, pointing a finger at her.
"Please leave me." She replied, trying herself not to lash at him. "I really have somewhere important to
go."
"And like I said you won't move an inch till you have paid for the damage."
And then she did what she wouldn't have done normally. She jerked his hands away and flinging
herself onto the bicycle seat, started paddling furiously. Before he could catch her. And he was left
watching her incredulously.
"Stupid," he mumbled as he hopped inside his car and started driving again.
*********
"Aisha! Aisha!" Maniha shouted as soon as she reached her home.
"Why are you shouting Maniha?" Aisha asked coming down the stairs.
"Where is Aliya?"
"She is in her room. Why?"
Maniha ran upstairs to her younger sister's room with Aisha trailing her. She banged on her door many

times.
"Aliya!" She yelled. "Aliya, please open the door. Listen if you don'topen the door then I'll tell
everyone everything."
"Tell us what?" Aisha asked her.
"Don't ask now." Maniha replied in a hoarse voice. When Aliyadidn't open the door, Maniha decided to
break the window to get inside her room.
"Maniha!" Aisha gasped when she saw her break the window using a vase from the showcase. "What
the hell did you just do? You know mom will kill us if she knows about it. And WHY THE HELL ARE
YOU ENTERING HER ROOM LIKE THIS?" She added the last part when she saw her climb through
the window and jump inside Aliya's room.
At that moment, Manihadidn't deem it suitable to reply. She jumped inside the room, her shoes making
creaking sound as she stepped over the broken pieces of glass.
"Aliya!" She yelled and searched for her younger sister in her room. "Aliya!" When she couldn't find
her anywhere, she decided to check in her bathroom.
"Aliya, are you there?" Maniha asked as she approached the bathroom door.
"Maniha, mom is here!" Aisha said in an alarming voice.
But Maniha didn't worry about that. She had another concern in her mind. Very slowly, she pushed
open the bathroom door. There she was; her body lying in a twisted form, her wrists bleeding profusely
and a sharp blade in her right hand which she had used to cut her wrists.
"Shit Maniha. MOM is coming upstairs. Come back immediately." Aisha yelled.
"Aisha," Maniha mumbled.
"What?" Aisha asked irritated.
"Aliya is dead."
***********
Hassan stood on the terrace, the soft breeze blowing his fringes lightly. It was still raining. Just then, he
heard the ring of his phone.
Groaning in frustration he took his phone out. He didn't want to talk to anyone at that moment. He

didn't even care who had called him.

"What?" He asked into the phone.
"Hey Hassan. It's Matthew. I just wanted to say that a client just came in our office. He wanted a
meeting to be arran- "
But Hassan had already cut the call. He wasn't in the mood to talk about any business meetings. All he
wanted to do was talk to Maniha. So putting his phone back inside his pocket, he rushed downstairs.
"Hey Hassan." His mother greeted him when she saw him. "Were you bathing in the rain?" She asked
staring at his drenched clothes in surprise.
Hassan just shook his head.
"No. I just....have you seen Maniha?"
"She must be in her room. Why? Have you decided to take her along with you?" She asked winking.
Without replying, Hassan dashed towards his room. But when he got inside, he saw no one there. In
fact, when his eyes fell on the open cupboards, he saw that there was nothing inside. No sign of clothes
or anything that could indicate that she had once lived in this room.
Just then, the phone rang again. This time, his anger was unbearable.
"Listen Matthew! Now is not really a good time for us to discuss any business meetings so- "
"Mr. Hassan Iqbal." The husky voice on the other line asked. It was definitely not Matthew's.
"Yes." Hassan replied.
"I'm inspector Richard. We have found a car just now and we believe it's yours. Is 332-B your car
number?"
Hassan once again felt anger boil inside him.
"It is." He replied, trying to keep his voice smooth. "Look inspector, if my car has been stolen, we will
talk about it later. This is not the first time time it has happened- "
"Now hold on a minute. Did I say that your car has been stolen?"
"Then what is it?" Hassan asked impatiently.
"Actually, not just your car but your wife has also been stolen."

"Huh?"
The man started laughing now. "I mean I can see signs of struggle here. A few broken bangles too. It
was hell of a fight she put up against us. But then again, all women are like that, aren't they?"
It was then that it dawned upon Hassan what he was trying to tell him.
"Who are you?" He asked in a hoarse voice. "You are not any inspector Richard, are you?"
"Well, once I was. But not anymore. But that's a completely different issue. Now as I was saying your
wife....but wait a minute, I think you just need a solid evidence. How foolish of me to not to give you
that! Just wait a second."
And then Hassan waited with abated breaths for what seemed like eternity before he heard a shriek.
And he knew whose it was.
"Now, now pretty lady." He heard the voice of that same man. "Speak to your husband and tell him
how much you miss him."
Again a silence fell. Suddenly, Hassan heard the sharp sound of a slap followed by another shriek. And
he knew whose it was.
"Well. Looks like your wife doesn't want to talk right now." The man had come back on the phone
again. " But that's not the problem, is it? The main problem is that your dear wife is with us and we are
keeping her untill you do as we say. Hey, you there?" He added the last part when he heard no reply.
"I'm here." Hassan replied quietly.
"Good. Now wait for our next call to know what you have to do to get your wife back."
And with that, he hung up. Hassan fell down on the bed. And before he knew it, he had stood up again
and threw his phone down in anger. Clasping his head, he sat down again, this time, looking at the open
cupboards with a vague look.

Chapter 23

SIX MONTHS LATER

"Maniha tell me what happened."
Aisha asked Maniha, bursting inside her room. She was sitting on her bed in a trance.
"I know that you know something so tell me about it."
When she didn't respond, Aisha had to nudge her.
"Maniha are you listening?"
She started to get worried at her sister's petrified state when at last, Maniha broke the silence.
"She loved him. She also wanted to marry him."
"Who are you talking about Maniha?"
"But she couldn't do it." Maniha continued in a dazed state, "Because he rejected her."
Aisha turned her around forcefully this time.
"Who are you talking about? Answer me!" Aisha asked her shaking her a little.
"Rehan."
That was the last name that Aisha had expected to hear.
"What Rehan? Maniha, you are scaring me now. Why don't you tell me everything already? "
"Aliya..." Maniha began.
"Yeah." Aishaurged her.
"She loved Rehan."
"What?"
"It's true Aisha! She loved Rehan! Now that I come to think of it, it's all my fault." Maniha said,
standing up and clasping her head in horror. "I should have told you all about it. Aliya asked me not to
but I should have. She could have been saved. It was because of me that she died. She- "
"Maniha. Stop blabbering. And tell me what really happened."

A silence fell between them when Maniha decided to tell her everything.
"Aliya was sending him love letters. But he rejected her and she committed suicide."
**************
Maniha sat in front of the mirror and looked herself over. Tommorow was her wedding day and she
wasn't happy in the least. A few months ago, her sister had died. And she felt ineffably sad. Aisha
entered her room, looking blithe but her smile vanished on seeing her sad look.
"Why are you sad again?" Aisha asked coming towards her with a worried look. "At leastdon't get
worried today. TOMMOROW IS YOUR WEDDING DAY!"
"Whichdoesn't change anything." Maniha replied quietly, playing with the hem of her dress.
"No, it changes everything Maniha." Aisha said, grabbing her by her shoulders and making her look
into her eyes. "Twenty- four hours later, you will be married. At least, be happy for today."
Maniha shrugged. "Should I tell Hassan everything?"
Aisha shook her head. "Don't say a word to him. Better keep it a secret."
"But I want to tell him."
"Maniha look. There is no use of telling him. By doing so, you will just ruin Aliya's reputation. You
know how our society works. Suicide just makes everything worse. You understand?"
Maniha nodded in disappointment. "My mind goes berserk thinking that I could have saved Aliya if I
had been one moment early."
"That is just bullshit. You wouldn't have been able to save her. Death arrives unexpectedly. You can't do
anything about it."
"I COULD HAVE DONE IT AISHA if that jerk hadn't stopped me from going."
"What jerk?"
"When I was coming back home, I had a small accident. And the guy didn't let me go. He said
apparently I had to pay for the damage I had done to his car when his car was all fine. That insolent
brute!"
"Forget about it Maniha. Whatever happened has happened, you can't change it now. J ust think that you
are going to start a new life from today, I want you to be happy."

Just then they heard a familiar voice.

"Is it who I think it is?" Aisha asked with her brows knit. Anger flashed in her eyes and she was about
to go out when Maniha held her wrists.
"Don't say anything to Rehan. It isn't his fault."
"Hell, it isn't his fault!" Aisha yelled. "Of course it is his fault and the nerve of him. To come in your
wedding after all that happened?"
"No, listen to me Aisha!" Maniha said, coming in her way. "It really isn't his fault. It was just one-sided
love. Rehan never loved Aisha. He never even answered her love letters."
"And how do you know?"
"Because...well... I talked to him."
Aisha looked at her incredulously.
"LOOK...I just...wanted to talk to him for Aliya. Actually I didn't want to talk to him at all. It was
Aliya. She forced me....I mean she asked me too."
Aisha shook her head dejectedly. "Is there anything else left for you to say and for us to know?"
"No, that's all." Maniha mumbled.
"Great! Just great!" Aisha started clapping her hands. "So you two decided to do everything yourselves
huh? No wonder that she committed suicide."
"Aisha!"
"No seriously Maniha, you should have told me or mom. Why the hell did you decide to do e verything
yourself?"
"Because she didn't want me to!"
"Oh so you did all this because she asked you to. Next time if I ask you to jump off a cliff then please
do that too!"
"Now you are making me cry."
Aisha sighed, embracing her in a hug. "OK. Don't cry now. I was just angry."

*****************
"Wake up bitch."
Maniha felt water splash on her face as someone said that to her. She coughed and saw a tall, lean guy
standing in front of her with a phone clutched in his hand.
"Here, talk to your husband." He said, putting the phone on her ear.
Silence prevailed for a moment before she heard a familiar voice;
"Maniha." But she couldn't judge whose voice it was. Her mind was in a dazed state and a ll she felt was
sleepy.
"Answer your husband bitch!" The man shouted at her as a slap came across her face. But all she did
was mumble some words before going back to a state of unconsciousness again.
Tomorrow is my test. But I have tests like everyday. Shit! :(

Chapter 24

"Does your husband even care about you?" The tall, lean guy asked Maniha who was sitting, tied up on
a chair.
"It's been five hours," The man continued, "and neither your husband nor any member of your family
has come for your rescue."
Maniha looked up at the man who had said that her and started laughing suddenly. The man looked
back at her, confused.
"Why are you laughing bitch?" He questioned angrily.
"What ransom did you demand from my husband?"
"What?"
"What ransom did you demand from my husband?" Maniha repeated her question, amused.
The man studied her for a moment and then answered;

"What's it to you how much ransom I have asked him to pay? The main thing is that I have kidnapped
you and I won't let you go until your husband or your family gives me the money I want."
She started laughing again. Her body heaved up and down as she bend her head downwards to stop
grinning further at the puzzled look on his face.
"Stop laughing!" The man yelled as he came close to her face, holding her hair from behind and
making her look at him.
"If you laugh one more time bitch, I'll kill you."
"Too bad but you'll have to kill me anyways."
"What do you mean?" The man looked at her again, baffled, pulling her hair even more harder. S he
winced in pain which gave that man a little satisfaction.
"What I mean to say is that," she answered, "my husband doesn't care about me at all. I'm sure he
doesn't even give a damn that I am kidnapped. He won't give you a penny."
"What shit are you saying?"
"What you call shit is what is really the truth. He doesn't care. In fact, he wanted to get rid of me as
much as I wanted to get rid of him. And now finally, he has found a way."
"Are you saying that he wouldn't want his wife back?" The man asked her, surprised.
"No. What I am saying is he DOESN'T want his wife back. Knowing him, I'm sure, he must be
attending some business meeting at this moment."
"So he won't come to save you?"
"Not even when his life depended on it." Maniha replied simply.
The man slapped her again. God, it hurt so much. Her lips started bleeding and her mind jolted a little.
"But I can do one thing which will give us both what we want." She said, after a while.
"What is that?"
"Allow me to speak to my so-called husband. I will ask him to give you the money you want."
"And why would you do that?"

"Because I don't want to stay with him anymore. At least, in this way, we both will get what we want."
The man thought about it for a moment.
"Think about all the money you'll get..." She urged him.
"That's a bargain," he said, after a while.
"A bargain for what?"
The man started smiling as he approached her. He caressed her face with his fingers. She flinched but
since her hands were tied behind her back, she couldn't do anything.
"A bargain forletting me rape you, dear." The man replied grinning.
She looked at him in pure horror.
"When your own husband doesn't care about you then what is there to worry about? Now, you will not
only call him to send me the ransom but also, after I get that, I'll rape you and then, I'll let you go
wherever you want to go. Whether away from your husband or to him, I don't care."

Chapter 25

"Hassan, we have everything under control. You don't worry at all baita," Mariam said, grabbing his
hands in her own.
"Ma, your hands." He remarked softly.
"Huh?"
"Yourhands." He replied, staring at her shaking hands.
"Oh, yes, yes. But it's just because..." she answered, removing them away. "Anyways, don't you worry
about Maniha. Asad says he has everything under control. He has informed the police. And we have
talked about the ransom too. Manih- "
But he had already stood up. He inhaled a deep breath before he muttered;
"Ma, I'm going to my room."

His mother sighed when she saw him leave. God knew what was going on through his head? She
wished for the first time that she knew what his son was really thinking. What he really thought about
Maniha?
********
Three years ago
"You will not marry Laura. And that's it!" His mother declared for the umpteenth time.
"Then I won't marry at all and that'sit!" Hassan replied belligerently.
They were both sitting in the living room, having a heated argument about his marriage which was, of
course started off by his mother.Hisgrannywho had been listening to the whole argument, sighed and
decided to intervene finally;
"What non sense is this Hassan? You know you can't marry some non-Muslim girl."
He started chuck lingonatre mark which earned him death glares from her.
"I knew you would sayt hat. Just know that It doesn't matter to me if she's a Muslim or not. I love her
nonetheless."
His mother gasped and blurted out to him;
"But that is wrong Hassan. Marry in ganon-Muslim woman is against our religion and not-to- mention,
we won't be able to show our faces to the people if you do that."
"So showing faces to the people is more important than your own son's happiness?" He asked,
nonchalantly.
"You know that's not true. I want to see you happy. You can marry any girl you want, just not her."
"Laura is the girl whom I am going to marry. I like her. She likes me. We both understand each other
perfectly well. And if I have to get married, then better her than any other girl."
"But that is against our reli- "
"Please ma, don't talk about religion with me. When I was young, all you ever taught me was that
ambition is more important than anything else. What happened to you then? Back then, you never
explained to me about the importance of religion then why now?"
"I thought you were doing fine on your own," her mother answered softly. "You never created any
problem."

"Then you should understand that I am different from other kids. I didn't struggled hard all these for
nothing. I can make decisions on my own."
His mother looked at him in shock and disappointment.
"You have changed Hassan," she remarked sternly. "I see that sending you abroad wasn't really the best
decision we made."
"Ma," He said, standing up. "I don't think you should say that because I have turned out just exactly
how you raised me up to be. After all, mothers have a big hand in their children's upbringing."
************
"Look Hassan, just give me a straight answer." Laura asked, glaring at him. "Are you or are you not
going to marry me?"
"Jeez Laura, will you shut your mouth?I'm already fum in gover my family and you are just making
everything harder for me."
"Fine." Laura pouted, standing up from her seat. "I'm going to buy my coffee. You have just," she
looked over at her wrist watch, "twenty minutes before the plane arrives. If you don't give me the
answer by that time, I'm leaving for good." She concluded, walking away from him.
"I'm trying to sortit all out, OK?" Heshouted, standinguptoo.
All the people in the airport stared at the mon hearing their loud voices.
"Look." Laura saidgently. "All Iamsayingisthatwedon'tneedtorushthings. And I think if your family
doesn't agree to our marriage, then we should not get married."
Her reply earned a angry look from him.
"Unlike you Hassan, I do care about people I'm close with. By marrying me, you will hurt your family
and as for me, I can't bare to think that I end up marrying a guy whose family clearly refuses to accept
me."
"I told you I didn't care about my family."
"Then you should!"
"Exactly whose side are you on?" He asked her with a livid expression.
"No one's. I am just saying what isright."

"Fine. Getoutofmy lifeanddon'tevercomebackagain!"

Laura'seyesshowed hurt for a moment.
"Fine." Shedeclared. "Ifithastobethiswaythenbe it. Just don't miss me when I'm away!"
"Youshouldn'tevenexpectmeto."
She gave him one last glance as she lifted her bags to go to the reception. Before she moved, however,
she paused, came over to his side and leaning over to his cheeks, kissed him gently.
"I love you. Just remember that."
With that, shewentinsidetheairport. Littledidheknowthathewouldneverseeheragain.
**************
Slamming the door shut, Hassan entered his room. He heard his phone ring suddenly. With shaking
hands, he took it out and muttered a hello to which a shaky and whimpering voice replied back to him;
"Hello."
It was Maniha.
Before he could hear further what Maniha had to say, Hassan heard his door open and shut softly. In
filed not just Asad but the whole family including his mother, brother and granny.
He gave them a puzzled look to which Asad replied back softly in his ears;
"Keep her talking. The police is tracking her and the kidnapper."
Hassan nodded to let him know that he had understood. He turned his attention towards Maniha then.
"And I don't know what made you think that..."
"Maniha," he interjected.
"Hassan, I wanted to tell you something." She said, then paused and he knew that she was struggling to
say her next words.
"Please, will you listen to me?" Hassan could not help but notice the plea in her voice.
"Yeah?" He urged her.

"That night when you saw me and Rehan together, I don't want you to start thinking that I cheated on
you or something."
He felt the color of his face fade away as she continued;
"I was so scared after Aliya's death. Aliya, right. She's my younger sister that I never told you about.
She...um...committed suicide and there was no way I could save her. She loved Rehan."
He was getting more and more confused by each word she said. Turning around, he saw Asad mouth to
him to keep talking. Asad himself talked to a police man on his own phone. That police man was
tracking them down through a Gsp system and reaching that place.
".... And when she committed suicide, I didn't know what to do. Like I said, I was scared. And Rehan,
well he wanted to talk to me about Aliya. And I told him that I had been sending him those love letters
and all. I thought that would save her reputation. And I don't know but you came there and listened to
that all. And thought that I was cheating on you or something." She paused and hiccoughed.
"Maniha, why are you telling me all this?" he asked suddenly.
"Well, that is not exactly the response I was expecting from you. Because I," she tried to think of a
suitable answer, "because I want everything to be sorted between us."
He felt his heartbeat quickening suddenly and to buy more time, he said to her;
"Sorted? Why now? Why not earlier?"
Hearing his remark, everyone in the room gave him puzzled look. But an idea had popped in his mind
at that time. If she was telling him all that he wanted to hear from her for a long time, that only meant
that she was in great peril now. That only meant that the kidnapper was standing near her.
He approached Asad and muttered in his ears;
"I think that that kidnapper is standing with her. Has the police tracked them down yet?"
Asad shook his head in reply and Hassan tried his utmost to control the urge to mutter a "dammit"
under his breath.
"Put her on speaker." Asad told him.
So, he pressed the speaker button and Maniha's teary and faltering voice rang in the whole room.
Mariam cried silently for she couldn't do anything to save her. Her granny patted her softly on her back.
"I don't....understand your question Hassan," Maniha answered him truthfully.

"You don't need to even." he answered for her. "Listen, I know you are there kidnapper. If you do
anything, I will make sure that I track you down and kill you."
And sure enough, they heard a the soft gasp of Maniha followed by a chuckle as the kidnapper
snatched away the mobile from her hands.
"Very sharp, aren't you? But how the hell did you come to know that I was standing beside her?" His
voice showed genuine amazement.
Before Hassan could reply; however, he heard Asad mutter to him;
"Keep talking. The police are nearing them!"
Hassan nodded in response.

Chapter 26

"It's been three months Hassan, why don't you talk to anybody?"
An anxious Mariam asked Hassan who had been "playing with his food" that she had set in front of
him to eat. Hassan looked up to meet her worried brown eyes.
"Hm?" He hadn't heard a word of what she had just said.
His mother sighed and gazed back at him, irked.
"And get rid of this stubble." She said, pointing towards his face. "It doesn't suit you at all."
He ran his fingers through his coarse hair on his chin. Sure, they felt hard. Nevertheless, he had no
intention of getting rid of his stubble.
"Why don't you answer me?" His mother asked him, irritated.
"What do you want me to say?" He replied after a long hiatus.
"Anything. Anything that makes me believe that you are still alive. Still living!"
"But I'm living."

"But only as a dead person!"

"Then what do you want me to do?"
"I don't know. Start meeting people or going out a bit. You haven't even attended any busine ss meeting
for such a long time! So maybe, you can start concentrating on that too."
He stood up suddenly. His mother looked at him, annoyed;
"And where are you going now?"
"I am going to meet Asad. Like you said, I should start going out a bit."
He stalked away saying that.
***********
Parking his car in front of the hospital, he got out of it and went inside.
"Excuse me can you tell me where is Asad Iqbal's office?" He asked the receptionist who gave him an
awry look seeing the baggy shirt and pant that he was wearing, which was way too casual for a visit to
a hospital, before giving him the directions.
"Thank you." He said with a smile which was returned by a grimace on her face.
Just when he was about to open the said door, Asad came out of his office, laughing about something
that a person inside the room had just said to him.
When his eyes fell on Hassan, his smile disappeared suddenly and his expression took on that of shock.
"Hassan..." Was all that Asad managed to say.
"It's not a nice way to greet your cousin." Hassan remarked sternly and then, a smile appeared on his
face as he embraced Asad.
Asad, quite taken aback by his reaction just stood their motionless, trying to decipher the meaning of
his act.
"How are you?" Hassan asked, breaking the hug.
"I...I'm good." Asad replied, baffled. "How are you?"
"I'm good too. I came here to meet you. Let's go inside your office and tal- " His hand was on the handle

but Asad grabbed it suddenly.

"I think we should go out to talk."
"But it's really hot outside. I think your office is the right place- "
"It doesn't matter." Asad replied quickly and firmly. "We will talk outside."
Then pulling his arms, he almost forcefully dragged him outside.
"Are you trying to hide something from me?" Hassan asked as soon as they had sat on a bench, under a
shade with cokes in their hands.
Asad looked at him and smiled.
"What would I hide from you?"
"There are a lot of things that you could hide from me but as if now, I think you are hiding a person
from me." Hassan replied, taking a sip of his drink.
He saw as Asad's face changed colors and a tinge of red came across his face. Asad chuckled softly to
diffuse his suspicions.
"What are you talking about? Why would I hide a person from you?"
"I don't know." Hassan replied, leaning back on the bench casually and staring ahead of him. "Who
knows? Maybe that was your girlfriend in that room."
Asad choked on his drink and looked at him with wide eyes.
"What? Why would you think something like that?"
"Then tell me why weren't you letting me inside that room?" Hassan replied, amused by the
embarrassed expression on Asad's face. "There was a girl, right?" He added, clearly enjoying his
uneasiness.
"Yeah whatever. Tell me why you came to meet me?" Asad asked, changing the topic.
"In order to know who you are dating lately."
"That's enough Hassan!" Asad blurted out causing Hassan to burst out laughing.
When his laugh was no more than temporary sniggers, Asad decided to tell him something.

"Hassan," He began, not sure of whether he should tell him this or not. "There is something I wanted to
tell you for a very long time."
"There is no need to tell me as I already know." Hassan replied sternly.
"You already know?" Asad asked him, bewildered.
"Yeah. I know that you are dating a girl and you haven't told anybody." Hassan replied, his lips curling
in a smile.
"You bastard!" Asad replied, throwing a light punch on his face. "Why wouldn't yo u quit it already?"
Hassan stopped laughing seeing the angry look on his face. After a while, Asad had calmed down too.
"But seriously. There is something that I want to tell you. And do not make a joke about it!"
"OK fine. Tell me."
Asad took out a page out of his pocket and handed it over to him. It was only when Hassan looked at it
carefully that he realized that it was actually a small envelope.
"What is this?" Hassan asked, confused.
Asad stared at him for a full whole minute before answering.
"This is the letter she left for you."
Hassan started smiling again. "Your girlfriend?"
"No! Maniha." Hassan felt his heart beat stop suddenly as he looked at Asad with a solemn expression.
His smile disappeared as Asad continued;
"She asked me to give this to you. But seeing the condition you were in for the past three months, I
couldn't really bring myself to give you this. But now finally, I have decided to hand it to you. Are you
listening Hassan?" He added the last part seeing the distant look on his face.
"I am."
Asad could not help but notice the coldness in his voice.
"Just so you know I never opened it. Well, it was never meant for me so why would I have really
opened it? Anyways, I guess you would want to see what's inside it so I'll go to give you some privacy."

He stood up and was about to leave when Hassan's hoarse voice called behind him.
"But when did you talk to her?"
Asad turned around to give him the answer.
"That night before she left the house. I met her on the way to her room. Of course, back then, I didn't
know that you two, you know, had a fight and she was deciding to leave the room forever. She just
gave me this envelope and told me to give it to you."
And with that, he bade him a good bye and scurried off to attend his call.
All that had registered in Hassan's brain were the words that Maniha was dead. His face took on a sober
look as he remembered that night when it had all happened.
"Keep talking, the police is nearing them," Asad said urgently to Hassan.
Hassan nodded simply as he kept on talking to the kidnapper. Unbeknownst to him, the police had
already reached there and located their position. Sure enough, Hassan and his family heard the sound of
shooting, through the speaker.
"Stop!" They heard the voice of the kidnapper suddenly. "Don't come a step closer or I'll kill this girl!"
And with a jolt, everyone realized that Maniha was in great peril.
"OK, don't kill her. We are putting our guns down. Just don't kill her!"
"Good, good," the kidnapper replied, "now, all of you, put your guns down! C'mon all of you!"
And they heard the sound of metals touching the ground. Hassan heard a whimper behind him. When
he looked back, he saw his mother looking at him with wide eyes. No one knew what would happen
next.
Seeing that Asad had relaxed a bit, Hassan felt that everything was going to go smooth. But then, once
again, they heard the sound of shooting. The kidnapper yelled and so did Maniha as he threw her on the
ground.
Just then, the kidnapper yelp in pain as a bullet pierced through his skin. Hassan waited with abated
breaths as he heard Maniha's voice;
"Please don't kill me! Please don't- "
Just then, there was another fire and they couldn't hear her voice anymore.

"What does it mean?" Hassan asked, rounding up at Asad. "What does that mean? Tell me why isn't she
speaking anymore!"
And then Asad told him something that he never wanted to know.
"It's over man." He said, looking at Hassan who had clasped his head in his hands. "She's dead."
Hassan came back from his reverie and glanced at the envelope in his hands. With shaking hands, he
opened it and took out the page inside it.
'You have lost me forever' were the only words that were written inside it.

Chapter 27

"You are sad."

"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!" Hassan replied, irritated.
"Fine. I believe you." His mother mused. "Now, look at these pictures."
They were both sitting inside the car which was parked in front of the super market. His mother had
insisted him to assist her on her shopping. He had refused at first but seeing that she wouldn't quit
asking him, he had finally gave in and decided to go.
"Whose pictures are these?" He asked, unconcerned.
"Just look at them." Mariam replied, waving the photos in front of him.
Sighing, he gave a glance at them. He looked at his mother, surprised.
"Well?" Mariam asked, smiling.

"Well what?"
His mother heaved a deep sigh. "Do you like any girl in this photo?"
"What do you mean?"
"I MEAN if you like any girl in these photos, I can get you married to her."
"Ma, seriously?" He asked, rolling his eyes at her.
She placed the pictures on her lap and gazed intently at him.
"What is wrong in it?" She asked.
"What is right in it?" He replied, flabbergasted.
"There is everything right in it! You are young and single. Any girl would want to marry you."
"But I don't want to get married."
"Why?"
"I just don't want to ma! And besides, you never gave me the permission to marry the girl I wanted to
get married to."
Her mother fell silent then.
"I know why you don't want to get married again," She said a while later, putting the photos back in her
purse.
"Why?"
"Because clearly you miss Maniha." His mother replied, zipping her purse and looking at him.
"I don't miss her."
"I know you do. Even if you don't say it, I still know that you do."
"No, I don't."
"Don't lie to me Hassan. You have been talking very less lately. You remain busy in your work all the
time and not to mention, you have started smoking a lot too. You smoke only when something is

disturbing you."
Just then, he had been about to take out a cigarette from his pocket but his mother's words stopped him.
"I'm just stressed by my work. That's it." He replied non-chalantly.
"You can lie to me all you want but I know the truth. We all know the truth! This sad expression on
your face says it all. You look so much like a depressed person these days."
"Ma, remind me why we came here?"
"Ah, yes! I completely forgot. Here is the list. Go and buy these things from the supermarket."
He was all glad to leave the car and get away from her. So, grabbing the list from her hand, he stepped
out of the car and went inside the supermarket.
While he was searching for a cereal packet from the shelves, he heard the sharp sound of heels beside
him. Looking up, he saw a woman standing before her. When their eyes met, she gave him a smile. And
he couldn't help but notice that it was a seducing one. What was this woman thinking? He thought.
Not that he wasn't handsome and all but he felt that his mother was right. He hadn't been dressing
properly these days. And his face looked awful even to himself because he hadn't shaved for ages. Still,
that woman was staring at him as if she liked him or something?
Rolling his eyes, he went to the next shelf to buy the remaining things. After he had picked up
everything on the grocery list, he went to the counter to cash them.
"Morning sir. That would be $200," the woman at the counter said to him, cheerfully.
Was he really being pessimist that day or were all the other really being optimist extraordinarily? He
thought to himself.
Taking out his wallet, he rummaged inside. But he had $150 only. He stood there, searching in every
part of his wallet, trying to find extra money from any part but failed to do so.
"Don't worry. Here you have it." He looked up to see that same woman who had given him a seductive
smile just some minutes ago, say that to him, a 50$ bill clutched in her hands in front of him.
"Don't bother." He replied.
The woman looked offended by his reply but he didn't care. Taking out an item out from his grocery
shopping, he proceeded to hand over the $150 bill to the woman at the counter.

"How much is it now?"

"$130 sir. Are you sure you don't want to buy this cereal packet sir?"
"Yeah. Don't add it up in the bill." He answered, putting the wallet back inside his pocket.
"OK sir."
After he had taken the change, he moved past the woman who had even refused to budge on hearing his
cold remark. Within no time, he had reached his car.
"Have you bought everything?" Mariam asked him once he came back.
"Yip." He said, sitting inside.
Gearing the engine, he started driving. He must have gone a short distance away, when his eyes fell on
the side- view mirror. When he looked at it, he saw that the woman was sitting in her own car. And in
doing so, her purse had fallen from her hand bag but she hadn't realized that.
"Why are you slowing down?" His mother asked him suddenly.
"I will just come back in a minute." He replied, stepping out of the car and walking back to where he
had come from.
Almost rushing towards the spot where the woman had dropped her purse, he stopped only when he
had reached it. But he was disappointed to know, that the woman had already drove away.
Picking up the purse, he returned to his car and sat inside.
"Where did you go?" Mariam asked him.
"A woman had dropped her purse. I was going back to give to her but she has gone away."
His mother took the purse from him and examined the contents inside.
"There is an address inside it. Maybe it's her's."
Hassan took the card where that address had been noted and read the address.
"I think we should go there to give it back to her." His mother stated.
Nodding in agreement, he started the car. Within no time, they had reached the written address.
Thankfully, the address was of a nearby place.

When he went inside the house, he knocked on the door softly. He was glad to see that the same woman
had opened the door. When she saw him, her eyes beamed in excitement.
He hadn't thought about the fact that she might think that he had come running after her. So, he decided
to get away from there as soon as possible.
"Ma'am you dropped your purse." He said, handing it over to her. She took it from him, not before she
had brushed her fingers across his hand, smiling at him.
He gazed at her surprised at her boldness and turned around quickly. If he stayed there for one more
minute, god knew what that woman would do next.
As he turned around to leave, he heard someone call her from inside the house. He froze when he heard
the voice say;
"Maniha, who is it?"
He turned around slowly. The woman had been about to close the door but seeing that he had turned
around to look at her, her hopes began to rise. Maybe, he likes me after all, she thought gladly.
"Is your name Maniha?" He asked her.
"Yeah," she replied, blithely. "Is there something you wanted to say?"
"No, I....It's nothing." And he stalked away saying that, leaving behind her, more disappointed than
before.

Chapter 28

"Sir. I will get it fixed as soon as possible."

"Get out." Hassan replied, holding his head in exasperation.
"Sir please give me another chance."
"Get out Nathan." He said again.
"Sir please I will do my best. Just don't fire me."
Hassan stood up from his desk suddenly and approached Nathan with glowering eyes.

"I'm not firing you and will you get out now?"
Nathan looked at his boss in a mixture of gratefulness and diffidence.
"Thank you so much sir. I promise I'll do my best from now onwards. I'll go then." And he scurried off
before he could chastise him again.
Hassan threw the file that he had been holding in his hands on the table and loosened his tie. Instead of
going back to his desk, he went to the couch and sat down on it with an unenthusiastic slouch. But not
before he had turned off the main lights of the room, leaving on just a bulb which gave a faint glow.
He folded up his sleeves and took out a cigarette from inside his pocket. Soon, wisps of smoke began to
fill the room as he sat there smoking. When he was putting the lighter back inside his pocket, his hands
touched something.
Taking it out, he saw that it was the same folded piece of paper where Maniha had written him those
words. His cigarette fell down from his mouth as he glanced at it. Oblivious to the burning cigarette on
the carpet, he kept on staring at that piece of paper for a very long time when"Why have you come here?" He asked her without looking up.
A shrill laughter filled the whole room...a laughter he was way too familiar with.
"Didn't you want me to come?" The voice asked.
"No, not now." He replied, putting the crumpled piece of paper back inside his pocket.
"Too bad but I can't get out," the voice replied.
"Why?"
"Because," he felt the sofa dip in as the other person sat down beside him. "I'm a hallucination,
remember? "
He looked up for the first time. It was Laura, her blonde hair resting on her shoulders, a smile lighting
her face.
"It's not the first time that you are hallucinating since I died," she reminded him. Her brows knit in
worry then. "Are you fine?" She touched his shoulders gently but he didn't feel any pressure which
made him feel as if she was there but wasn't there at the same time. It was after all a hallucination.
"What would happen to me?" He replied, picking up the half-burnt cigarette from the carpet and

smoking again. "I'm perfectly fine."

Laura sighed. "I think that's not the case."
"Says who?"
"Says your face. Look at yourself Hassan. Any sensible person can tell that you are depressed."
Hassan felt anger surging inside him suddenly. "No, I'm not! Why does everyone keep saying that?"
"Because you are. You are in the same state as you were back when you came to know that I had died."
He clenched his jaws when she mentioned her own death. It hurt remembering that time. It hurt a lot.
"Tell me the last time when you smiled?"
"What has that got to do with this?" He replied, surprised.
"Maybe it has nothing to do with it. But it pretty much explains the state you are in now."
"Listen to me," he said, moving closer to her, his eyes wide with anger. "I work everyday like I used to
before. Every night before sleeping, I eat dinner with my family. I have attended countless meetings
just like I did before. Then how does it make you think that I am depressed?"
"It's the way you say it! Tell me why are you getting so angry suddenly?"
"Because you are saying that I'm sad when I'm not!"
"No," she countered. "Because I'm telling you the truth and you know I'm right!"
He stood up, not wanting to talk to her anymore. He went to stand behind the glass window of his
office, with his back to her. But this didn't change the state of his mind.
His mind still believed that she was sitting behind him, staring at his back. He inhaled a deep breath.
This is all just a hallucination, he told himself. He took another deep breath"You know what makes you more angry?" Her voice continued. "It's your guilt. I know it's that." He
saw her silhouette standing beside him now.
"You feel angry because you are the cause of her death and you can't do anything about it. It's the guilt
that's killing you inside. That it was your fault that she died."
Hassan bend his head down in sheer despondency and shook his head. It's just a hallucination, he told
himself.

"And now this guilt is eating you inside. Sure, you still do the same activities as you did before. But
this time, you get busy in your work because her thoughts come into your mind. And once you start
thinking about her, you can't stop the track of thinking- "
"Don't." He murmured.
She continued despite the restless state she was sending him in. "-this time, whenever you go to bed,
you sleep knowing that you will never see her face when you wake up the next morning- "
"Don't," he said again, this time his voice barely audible even to himself.
"-this time whenever you go to attend some meeting, you know that when you will return to your
house, you will never find her again."
"Please don't," he pleaded one more time.
"This guilt and conscience kills you inside. Why don't you admit it to yourself? Why don't you accept
it? That you are bothered by her death. You are hell like bothered. You are broken inside. You can't
even think straight anymore. Look at your state. You don't find any happiness in life anymore. You are
more like a dead person to other people. Why don't you admit it that you have lost her forever and
move on with your life."
"I haven't lost her," he mumbled with his head still bent.
"Accept it Hassan. Maniha is dead and you have really lost her- "
"I HAVEN'T LOST HER!" He raised his head to glare at her but when he looked at his side, there was
no one there. He turned around quickly but saw no one in the room. It was dead empty.
He fell down on his knees defeated and the burnt cigarette rolled slightly before settling to a spot beside
him.
*************
"But I think that he- " Asad stopped suddenly when he heard a knock on the door of his apartment.
After bading a goodbye to whoever he was talking to on his phone, he went to open the door.
"Hi Hassan." His voice mirrored shock when his eyes fell on him standing near the entrance.
"Hi Asad," Hassan mumbled. "Can I come inside?"

"Yeah sure." Asad held the door open for him.

He had to grab Hassan by his arms when he tripped on his way.
"Woah! What happened to you?" Then he looked at him, surprised. "Are you drunk?"
"No," Hassan laughed. "But I am in a similar state as I haven't slept for twelve hours. And you can
leave me Asad, I can go in by myself."
It was then that Asad realized that he had still been holding him. He removed his hands and closed the
door.
"So what brought you here?" He asked, entering the living room where Hassan was sitting.
"Well, like I said. I haven't slept for twelve hours. And I felt all blurry when I was driving home. But
then I thought it would be dangerous to keep on driving. Since your apartment was near so I decided to
stop by your place for the night. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course I don't mind. You can sleep here for the night." Asad replied, concern laced in his voice.
"Great," Hassan replied, lying on the sofa.
Asad left him to bring a glass of juice for him from the kitchen. When he retur ned, he placed the glass
on the table and held some tablets in front of him.
"What is this?" Hassan questioned, once again sitting on the sofa.
"These are tablets that will help you sleep."
"But I don't want them. I am already feeling sleepy."
"It will help you get a good night's sleep then. If you don't eat them, you will most likely wake up in the
middle of the night."
Hassan reluctantly took them from his hands and swallowed them down his throat. Soon, he had eaten
all three of the tablets.
"My bedroom is over there. Go and sleep on the bed." Asad said, pointing towards the direction.
He saw him stand up and leave. Once he was alone, he went to the kitchen and put the empty glass on
the shelf. His eyes fell on the box from where he had taken out the tablets. He looked at its cover. The
drug name was Cymbalta, an anti-depressant.

He went to the room to check if everything was okay. Turning on the light, he saw him lying on the
bed.
"Ow! Turn off the light. You are ruining my sleep." Hassan yelled.
Asad quickly turned it off and went to stand near the sight table.
"Listen, if you need anything then you can call my name. I'm sleeping outside in the living room."
"Hm." Hassan mumbled in response.
Asad started to leave but Hassan grabbed his hand suddenly to stop him from leaving.
"I didn't want to hurt her," he mumbled. "Bus wo mujhey aik dafa mil jaye tou main us se maafi mang
lun ga (if I get her just one more time, I'll ask her to forgive me."
"Ask who?"
But before he could hear his reply, Asad felt his hands slip away from his own as he started snoring
lightly. The drug had obviously taken over its effect on him.

Chapter 29

"Wow Hassan," Mariam exclaimed in delight. "You are looking gorgeous, my son."
"You think so?" He replied, smiling.
"Yeah. You really do. I mean you have finally shaved properly and look at you, you smell right too. Are
you going somewhere?" She winked at him.
"Yeah."
"Good," her mother replied. "I'm glad that you have moved on and become normal again. If only
Maniha was here, she would have loved to see you."
They both stood in silence then, sadness washing over them. Then his mother put on a cheery smile
again.

"Anyways where are you going?"

"To Aisha's house."
His mother choked on the water that she had been drinking. Hassan patted her back in concern.
"Are you fine ma?"
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. So you are going to Aisha's house?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah, I am. Anything wrong?"
"No, no. Everything's fine," his mother replied sternly. "It was just.... anyways leave it."
She started walking away but he held her arm.
"What is it ma?" He asked her concerned.
"No, it's nothing." His mother replied, not meeting his eyes.
"No, you have got to tell me. C'mon tell me," he insisted like a child.
"Well," his mother began, unsure. "I was wondering if you...urm...you know...I was thinking that you
were going to her house because you liked her or something." His mother concluded nervously.
Hassan looked at her in plain shock. His own mother thought tha t he liked his dead wife's sister?
"Ma, how can you even think like that?"
"So you don't like Aisha?"
"Of course I don't!"
"Well, good then. I think you should go now." She said, pushing him forward.
"What are you doing ma?" He asked, baffled.
"Just go to meet her." His mother said simply before shutting the door in his face.
Confused by his mother's reaction, he took out the keys from his pocket and started the car. He
chuckled while driving. What on earth had made his mother think that he was interested in Aisha of all
the girls in the world? Or maybe, he thought it was something else that his mother was not telling him.

The guard opened the gates to let him inside the house.
"Salam sir!" He greeted him, smiling. "It's been a long time since you ca me here."
Hassan smiled in response. "Yeah, I have been busy. Is Aisha here?"
"No, she is out for some work. I think she'll be back in a while. Meanwhile, you can sit in the drawing
room."
Hassan nodded in response and went inside. Once, he had sat himself inside the drawing- room, the
servant went inside to get a drink for him. Soon, he had returned with a glass of juice.
"Thank you Jamal," Hassan said to the servant. "Can you give me today's newspaper? I haven't read it
yet."
"Sure Sir. I will bring it to you right now."
While he was away, Hassan looked at his surroundings. The place was beautifully decorated. A large
portrait hung on the wall. He couldn't help but admire Aisha's taste in decorations. Everything just
added beauty to the place.
His eyes fell on the photo frame standing on the showcase. With a jolt, he realized that there was
Maniha's picture inside it. He approached the frame and picked it up. He remembered the words that
his hallucination had said to him a few months ago.
Why don't you admit it to yourself that she has died and you really have lost her.
So, he had admitted finally that he had really lost her. For the first time in his life, he had failed
miserably. He had destroyed the life of someone closer to him. For the first time, he had repented. Felt
bad about something he had done.
He took out her picture and folding it, put it inside his pocket and sat back on the sofa. By now, the
servant had come back with the newspaper and handed it over to him.
"Thank you." He said to the servant who after bading him a good bye, left the room.
He was about to flip through to the next page when he heard a commotion outside. Thinking that it
must be Aisha, he decided to keep on reading until she came into the drawing room to meet him.
"No, no Christine. I promise I'll come back this Thursday..."
He froze in place. He couldn't believe it. Slowly, he stood up and took small steps towards the living
room.

"It's not like that. I was really busy the past few days-"
He had come out now. There she was, talking on the phone, just about to close the fridge when their
eyes met. It was as if the world had come to a standstill. He couldn't believe it. This couldn't be true.
Had he started hallucinating about her too?
He proceeded towards her with slow steps. Maybe she would disappear after some time. But she didn't.
She just stood there, their gazes transfixed on each other. Suddenly, they heard the front door open and
in came Aisha with shopping bags in her hands.
"Maniha, I'm so sorry I was late-" And then her eyes fell on both of them.
Squealing in shock, she dropped her shopping bags and held her hands over her mouth. Hassan looked
at her and then at Maniha who was standing a few feet away from him. Then he again looked at Aisha;
"Is she..." he began unsure. "Aisha, is she...is Maniha alive?"
Maniha stared at him, surprised. How could he not believe that she was alive when she was standing
right in front of him? But then, she thought, maybe he was in shock.
When Aisha didn't reply and kept on staring at them, too shocked to speak, he decided to ask what he
thought to be his hallucination himself.
"Are you alive Maniha?"
But Maniha kept quiet as she didn't know how to answer him.
"Are you alive Maniha?" He asked once again, still unsure.
He poked her a little then. "But you look so much alive." He said that more to himself than to her.
"Why don't you speak to me already? Tell me?"
But instead of answering, Maniha glared at Aisha;
"You promised you wouldn't tell him. Then why did you- " But before she could complete her sentence,
Aisha had come running off, putting a hand over her mouth to stop her from speaking.
"Don't. Say. A. Word." Aisha hissed. "He doesn't know a thing yet."
But that did more damage than good.
"What don't I know?" Hassan asked to the two of them.

"Eh....Eh..." Aisha began nervously, thinking of something good to tell. But her mind came blank. "I
guess you should ask that to Maniha." She said, moving aside from them.
Maniha glared at her to which her sister gave her "What else was I supposed to say?" look and left
them to it.
Looking over at Hassan, Maniha said to him bluntly;
"Yeah, you are right. I'm alive. Why should I hide it from you now. Besides, it's not like I'll be able to
hide it anymore."
"You really are alive?"
Maniha sighed. "Of course I am. There is a reason I'm standing in front of you so..."
He clasped his head in terror. Maniha looked at him, frightened.
"And all these months when I thought you were dead....but you weren't....and I thought...."
She stared at Aisha who looked at her just as confused as she was at that time.
"Did you know about this?" He glared at Aisha, anger replacing his shock.
"OK, I swear I wanted to tell you everything." She pointed towards Maniha, "but she made me not say
anyth-" But Maniha had already held her hands over her mouth just like she had done a while ago.
"So you knew that she was alive but you didn't tell me?" He asked her, incredulous.
Aisha shook her head violently, making muffled sounds as Maniha still had her hand on her mouth.
"And will you stop it?" He yelled at Maniha.
She blanched at his loud voice and removed her hand.
"I think I should leave you two to it." Aisha scurried off from there, inviting deathly glares from her
sister.
Once left alone, they kept quiet for a very long time when he decided to break the silence finally.
"What is all this Maniha? Why don't you tell me anything?"
"What should I say?"

"GIVE ME AN EXPLANATION!"
"FINE!" She said, stomping her foot. "Don't yell at me!"
"O you just wait..." he began threateningly.
"I won't tell you anything then..." she started walking away from him but holding her wrist, he brought
her back.
"You are not going anywhere unless you have told me everything. Do you understand?" He shouted at
her.
"God! And all these months I thought that staying away from you could change you a bit but here you
are, still the same! Still as angry as you used to be before!"
"I have a reason for being angry! What do you want me to do? Start dancing in joy because my wife is
alive?"
She tried to control the smile that threatened to form on her face.
"OK fine. I'll tell you everything if you just leave my wrist. It's hurting."
He let go off her hand and folding his arms across his chest, stood there waiting.
"What do you want to know?"
He sighed in exasperation. "Well, you could start by explaining to me how come you are alive when I
saw you... wait a minute," something clicked in his mind. "I never saw you die. I only heard the
shooting. Then does it mean..." He glanced at her to make her answer.
"When you heard that shooting, it wasn't me. It was the kidnapper. The police had taken over the whole
place. It looked like the kidnapper was winning but then there was this police officer who shot at him
and he fell down on his knees. He was about to shoot me in fury," She shuddered at the memory, "but
there was another fire and it hit him directly in the chest and I think he died at that very second." She
took a deep breath then. "I was petrified seeing his dead bod y but then I remembered that he had been
talking to you on the phone a few minuted ago, so you must still be on the phone. I was about to pick
up the phone and tell you all that I was alive but then it crossed my mind that the way you had been
harsh to me all these months, I could torture you a little too. So instead of speaking to you, I cut the call
which made you guys believe that I was dead. Anyhow, Ibrahim and your dad had come with the
police. They were all glad to see me and decided to escort me to the house but I asked them not to do
so. Of course, when they asked me the reason behind it, I never told them that the actual reason why I
didn't want to go back was because you were there. So, I asked them to take me to Aisha's home
instead. And from there, I called your mother and Asad and told them everything but asked them not to

tell you anything. They were reluctant at first but then they agreed so here I am." She concluded, as if it
was the most normal story she had ever told.
"So you mean to say that my entire family knew that you were alive except me?"
"Yeah. Pretty much like that."
He slammed his fist hard on the shelf. Sharp pain shot through his body as he winced in pain.
"Hassan!" She said, approaching him.
"Don't!" He pointed a finger at her to stop her from coming. "Don't. Just don't." He inhaled a deep
breath before closing the distance between them all of a sudden. "Do you have any idea how I have
been living for the past few months? Do you have any idea how I was spending my every day? Do you
have any idea how I thought you had died and I thought it was all my fault?"
She took a few step backwards. "Technically, you were the reason I had almost died."
He came closer to her one more time. "But that doesn't give you the right to do this with me!"
"No, it does!" She answered him, looking him straight in the eye.
"Urm..." Aisha cleared her throat. "Sorry to interrupt your fight but Hassan can I ask you do you like
spaghetti? Because I'm going to make them and I wasn't sure if you liked them..."
They both looked at her incredulously. "Aisha, seriously?" Maniha asked, rolling her eyes.
Before anyone of them could say anything else, they heard the front door open yet again and in came
Asad, apparently oblivious to Hassan's presence. Then his eyes fell on him and he registered the sight
in front of him.
"OK before you say anything," he said, pointing towards Hassan. "Let me tell you I didn't know a thing
about it. I didn't know that Maniha was alive. Maniha, you are alive?" He feigned a shock expression.
"I think you should cut the act." Aisha told him. "Hassan already knows that you know."
"Really?" He asked, rubbing his neck nervously. "Well then, before you say anything," he said quickly
to Hassan who had opened his mouth to speak, "let me tell you that I wanted to tell you everything.
Maniha just made me not say anything."
"That's what Aisha said too." Hassan replied sarcastically.
"No seriously, we both wanted to tell you. Especially, after the state I saw you in last night- "

"Why? What happened to him?" Aisha asked, curiosity taking the better of her.
"So about that spaghetti.." Hassan interjected quickly.
"We will talk about that later." This time it was Maniha who spoke. "So Asad, tell me what you were
about to say?"
"Actually you know what?" Asad said, looking over at Hassan's face. "I'll tell you all about it if you
guys got back together."
"That. Won't. Happen." Maniha blurted.
"And why is that?" Hassan asked her, livid.
"Need I tell you that I don't like you?"
"Listen to me, you have had enough time living away from me and now you are coming back with me
whether you like it or not!"
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not!"
"I'm famished," Asad said, breaking their fight.
"Spaghetti it is." Aisha said, scurrying off to the kitchen to make it.

Chapter 30
"So that day when I came to the hospital, that girl was Maniha, right? That is why you were not letting
me in?"
Asad looked up from the plate of spaghetti he had been about to eat.
"Yeah..." he replied sheepishly.

"Great," Hassan mumbled, slumping back on his chair. "And you didn't think it important enough to tell
me?"
"Look man." Asad replied earnestly. "I wanted to tell you. I really did. But Maniha made me swear that
I shouldn't."
"But that was six months Asad!" Hassan replied, enraged. "I had been away from her for six goddamn
months! I had really believed that she was dead."
"Well, look at it this way. If you consider it a long distance relationship, then whatever feelings you two
have for each other must have rekindled by now. You know, it has made your love more stronger. Now,
whenever you two will fight with each other, it will be because you both care each other!"
"You do realize that you sound like a woman right now."
"I may sound like one but I am just saying it because I know something that you don't." Asad replied,
giving him a smug smile.
Hassan looked at him uneasily. "Which is?"
"Sorry, I can't tell you but when the right time comes, I'll tell Maniha. "
"You are just saying that because you don't have anything to tell."
"Trust me Hassan. I do know something but I am just not going to tell you."
"Yeah whatever."
Then, something clicked in Hassan's mind.
"O my god." He said, clasping his head in exasperation.
"What happened?" Asad asked, concerned.
"When I was coming here, my mother behaved strangely. She asked me why I was coming here.
Obviously, she knew that Maniha was here so that is why she was behaving like that! I should have
figured it out earlier."
"All is well that ends well." Asad said matter-of-factly.
"I still can't believe you all hid it from me." Hassan continued, ignoring his comment. "You do realize
that what you did to me was awfully bad."

Asad started chuckling. "Why are you getting so worked up about it anyway? I just think you have
started liking her."
"It's not that."
"Yeah, tell it to someone who doesn't know you." He laughed in reply.
Asad still hadn't told him about the last night. How he had heard him say "I will ask her to forgive me."
If anything, that statement had confirmed it to him that Hassan really had feelings for her.
***************
"I can't believe you are making me do it."
Maniha huffed as she saw her sister throwing her things in her bag. Things that she had taken along
with her the day before she had left Hassan's house.
"You should start believing then. Because you are leaving this house no matter what you say." Aisha
replied firmly.
"But I was doing so much better without him!" Maniha protested.
"Look sweety," Aisha said, momentarily stopping all her activity. "First of all, I didn't approve of your
staying here for six months in the first place. I just agreed to it because what he did to you was pretty
bad too. And second of all, what's done is done. It's high time that you two got back together."
"What do you think? If I go back, he'll change himself? No. He will remain the same. I just know it."
"I think that he has already changed. In the last few months, whenever I went to his home, I saw him
brooding most of the time."
Maniha rolled her eyes. "That's because he thought I was dead! That was his conscience and nothing
else!"
"Then why don't we do a thing?" Aisha asked her, irritated. "Stay with him for the next six months and
if your relationship doesn't progress, then you can come back."
"What are you trying to say here?"
"What I'm trying to say here is that what you have done to him is punishment enough! You should give
him a chance now."
"O please! Give him a chance? I would have gladly given him a chance if he was, I don't know, maybe

a bit more like Asad!"

"You fancy Asad?" Aisha replied, shocked.
"Of course not!" She sat upright. "I was just thinking of getting him married to you."
"Stop thinking about my marriage and first, save your own." Aisha replied, continuing the activity of
throwing her things into the bag.
"I'm telling you, you are making a big mistake..."
"I'm making the right decision for you Maniha. And you may not realize it now, but a few years from
now, you will agree with me."
"I highly doubt it."
"Just wait and see it yourself." Aisha concluded, putting her packed bag down from the bed and
walking out of the room.

Chapter 31

"I'm going to take a bath." Maniha stated the minute she had entered her room and flung her bag on the
bed. She decided to unpack later.
She made sure that she showed Hassan that she was still unhappy with his decision of forcing her to
come back to his home with him. So, slamming the door shut, she went inside the washroom.
But he was too preoccupied about something to notice that. He went out into the living room.
"Why didn't you tell me that she was alive?" He asked his mother who was washing dishes.
"Because Maniha asked me to. But most importantly, I wanted to teach you a lesson of loving your
closed ones when you have the time. Once they are gone, you will never see them again."
"And you thought showing me the pictures of other girls and asking me to marry one of them can teach
me that lesson."
"But you never agreed to get married. And besides, I was just testing you. It wasn't like I was showing
you those pictures because I really wanted to see you get married again."
"Great," he mumbled, leaning against the door.

"You do realize that whenever you say great like that, it implies that you are being sarcastic, right?"
"That's a habit of mine."
"Then change it. And be good to Maniha." She said, looking into his eyes earnestly."I know that you
love her. But you just have to become more expressive about your feelings. Don't hide it from her
anymore."
Just when he opened his mouth to reply, Maniha burst inside the kitchen.
"Ma, do you need any help in your work?"
Her hair were wet and covered in a towel. A few curls fell out from it an into her face.
"I don't think so." Her mother replied, glancing over the whole kitchen. "I think I have done everything.
But I wouldn't mind if you made parathas for us. I missed them a lot. And of course, I missed you a lot
too." She embraced her in a hug.
"I missed you too." Maniha smiled.
"Don't leave us again like that. Or we will be bored to death without you. And I think Hassan won't be
able to bear your absence anymore too." She winked at Hassan, clandestinely.
He glared at his mother. Maniha just gave him a expressionless look and started putting potatoes inside
a basket.
"Oh, I just remembered. I have to call your father to tell him that you are back." Mariam said, leaving
the room.
Once she left, a awkward silence fell between them both. They stood in silence, praying fervently that
someone else would enter the room and break the silence that ensued between them.
"There is something that I want to say..." he began.
"Here." She said, turning around and thrusting the basket in his hand.
"Eh?" He looked confused.
"Can you put them on the dining table? I have to peel them."
He looked at her strangely- no one had ever ordered him to do something. In fact be had been the one
giving orders. It was the first time he had got a order from someone- let alone a woman.

"I'll. In a minute," he said putting it back on the shelf. "First, I have to talk to-"
"Good then." she interuupted, completely ignoring his comment. "When you are done with it, can you
please send my clothes for laundry too? You see, I'm a bit busy here."
He gaped at her. She started walking away from him but he grabbed her by her elbow.
"Are you ignoring me?"
"Absolutely not. I just thought that since you were so impatient to bring me back to your home, we
should start behaving like real husband and wife." She concluded, giving him a fake smile.
He stared at her for a full whole minute before his lips twitched into a smirk.
That was the last reaction she had expected from him.
"Fine. We will behave like true husband and wife from now onwards."
She tried her cool as she nodded.
"Fine." She stated. "Then you will drop me to my work everyday like you used to like a true husband,"
she made a sarcastic face remembering the time when he would fuss about dropping her. "I'm sure you
wouldn't mind that now, would you?"
He came a bit closer to her. So close that they were just inches apart.
"Absolutely not. I wouldn't even mind if you asked me to do a lot of other things too." He replied,
immediately causing her to become uneasy.
"What kind of things?" She asked, biting her lips.
He stepped a few feet away from her and gave her a smirk.
"You know, things that true husband and wife do. In private. You wouldn't mind that now, would you?"
"I'm waiting Maniha." He added when she remained silent for a long time.
"Just get out of here."
"Why? Already scared of our joint venture of becoming a true couple?" He said, knitting his brows in
fake concern. Inside, he was having a good time teasing her.
"I'm just surprised that you have the guts to stand in front of me and just smirk like that? When clearly,

you should have been doing something else instead of smirking!" She burst out.
He arched a brow at her. "What do you mean?"
"And of course, you wouldn't know what I mean unless I have told you that myself!"
"Well, you will do me a whole lot of favour if you did that." He replied, gritting his teeth. "I can't
always know what's going on in your complicated mind?"
"Then you should start figuring out yourself what goes on in my complicated mind." She said, pointing
towards her head. "Because I'm not going to tell you that myself!" She stomped her foot and wheeled
round.
"And will it hurt you if you told me that yourself?" He asked, looking at her back angrily.
She just gave him a glare before turning back again.
"Fine. Don't say anything." He said, walking out of the room, enraged.
"Ah!" She said, a little on the edge. "Look at his guts! Can't even say sorry to me after all that he did to
me. And even that I have to tell him myself. That man!" She turned around and stopped immediately.
He was standing there with his hands half-way to the basket. Apparently he had come back as he had
forgotten to take it with him. She turned red, a bit embarrassed. Had he heard all that? Of course, he
had heard all that. That stony face on his look said it all.

Chapter 32

"Yeah and make sure that you send them the right files." Hassan ordered into the phone to Matthew
before he hung up.
He turned around and looked at Maniha who was working on her laptop.
"You are not busy, atleast hear me out now."
She scrunched her nose and answered him without looking up.
"I am working on my laptop. Can't you see?"
"Stop making excuses. Why don't you say it directly that you don't want to talk to me."
She closed her laptop in irritation, stood up and came in front of him. "Fine. Say whatever you wanted

to say."
"I- " He began but stopped when his eyes landed on her arm. "What is this?" He asked, grabbing her
arm and pointing towards a wound mark on it.
She pulled her arm instantly, averting her eyes from him.
"Nothing. It's just- " She looked at him again. "Anyways, what did you want to talk to me about?"
"First tell me how did you get hurt?"

"In the same way as everyone gets hurt. What's the big deal about it anyway? Just tell me whatever you
wanted to say and be over with it."
"Will you stop avoiding my question?" He asked, livid. "I'm asking you a simple question, can't you
answer that?"
"No, I won't answer that.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have some very important work to do." She went back to the bed quickly
and sat down in front of her laptop again.
"Did that kidnapper do that to you?"
She kept on staring at the screen.
"Answer me Maniha."
She closed her eyes and opened them after a long time.
"Yeah, that's right. The kidnapper did that to me. So what?"
"Will you consider it important enough to tell me what else he did to you?" He asked, losing control
suddenly.
"Why? It's not like you care."
"Just stop it Maniha!"
She flinched at his loud voice and stared at him, a little frightened. He looked so dangerous at the
moment. Suddenly, he approached her and stood a few feet away from the bed.

She backed away a little, afraid of his next move. He simply bend downwards to talk to her.
"What else did that person do to you?" He asked venomously."And don't you dare avoid my question
now."
"He just..." she replied diffidently.
"He just what?"
She put on a cold look. "He said he would rape me. But it isn't like he said something wrong
considering that my own husband tried to rape me once."
Suddenly, all his anger disappeared. He stared into her cold eyes, stony- faced.
"I never.... you know that I would never do that to you Maniha. You know it."
"You might have forgotten that night but I haven't." She replied simply.
She saw his jaws clench and stand there like a statue as if he was fighting for a response. They both
stood there in utter silence before he left the room finally.
**************
She saw him standing on the terrace, his hands in his pocket and his back to her.
"Ma is calling you for dinner." She said and turned around hurriedly so that she didn't have to talk to
him at all. But to her sheer bad luck, she heard him call her name.
Wheeling round, she saw him staring at her from afar.
"What?" She tried to sound as irritated as possible.
"That night," he began slowly, his hands still inside his pockets. "I just lost control. I couldn't stop
myself. I heard you talk bad about me and I just got angry. And before I knew it, I had..." He stopped
and bend his head downward. Was it remorse? She thought as she stared at him, bewildered. "But it
isn't like I did something bad to you. I stopped myself before I could let anything bad happen to you,
didn't I?"
As much as she was moved by his reply at that moment, she still tried to maintain a cold look on her
face as she replied.
"Easy for you to say that you lost control. Tell me something Hassan, what should I do when I get

angry? I should probably start beating you since I'm not capable of doing that to you anyway?"
She saw him come forward which made her take a few steps backwards. Had she made him angry
now?
"Can't you forget all that?" He asked her, stopping to stand a few inches away from her.
She didn't notice any anger or frustration in his voice. For all she knew, it sounded more like a plea.
"I'll. Eventually. Like they say time heals everything. But I won't be able to fill that void which you
created inside me after all that you did to me."
She saw him register her response for a minute and then clear his throat.
"What I wanted to say was," he said, staring into her eyes earnestly, "I am sorry."
Aw. Finally, he behaves like a human. Seriously, why did I make him so inhumane in the beginning
anyway?

Chapter 33

"And I just wanted to say," he said, staring into her eyes earnestly. "I am sorry."
She stared at his eyes for a minute, trying to read the emotions in them. All she found was that he was
truly being honest with her at that moment. She couldn't help but question herself though; how could he
expect her to forgive him so easily?
"Why are you leaving me without answering?" He asked her, bewildered, grabbing her arm to stop her
from leaving.
She turned around simply and stared at him without replying. A few minutes later, he dropped her hand
and sighed.
"Fine. I just wanted to let you know that I won't force you. If you don't want to stay with me anymore,"
he took a deep breath, "then I won't force you. You can leave me." He said the last words, looking into
her eyes.
"What do you want from me Hassan?" This time, she was the one who was surprised. "I haven't been
able to figure out since the beginning what you have really wanted from me? You asked me to come

back with you and forced me to stay here with you. And now, all of a sudden, you are giving me the
choice to leave?"
"But I thought that was what you wanted- "
"I wanted that but not like this. You know what? I know why you have sa id this to me. You know that
after living here for a few days, I have become attached to your family and I won't be able to leave
them now. That is why you are saying this to me, aren't you? Because you are sure I won't leave them.
Trying to become good by giving me the choice to leave."
"Why do you become suspicious of my intentions every time?"
"Because that's just how you are! First Rehan and now..." she trailed away. She sighed and started to
leave but he pinned her against the wall.
"Can't you think even for one moment that I am being good to you?"
"Don't even say that to me." She glared at him. "When have you ever given me the chance to consider
you good in the first place?"
"What the hell do you want from me then?"
"I don't know. But right at this moment, I want you to LEAVE ME!"
He dropped her hands and backed away.
"You know there was no need for you to get angry." He mumbled.
"There was Hassan! Just because of you, I was about to lose my life back there. You are right. He did a
lot of things to me. He slapped me, kept me starving for days. He did a lot of other things too. And I
wasn't even sure if you would come. But why does it affect you? You pretend like nothing has
happened by just saying a sorry to me. Well, you know what? I don't forgive you." She said and ran
away from him.
He punched hard on the wall before walking out himself.
*************
"Maniha," Mariam said once she had sat on the dining table.
"Hm?"
"Someone called on the phone today. Said he wanted to meet you. I think it was someone from your

family."
Hassan made loud noise in pulling out a chair to sit beside her. He was still fuming at her.
"Yeah, who is it?" Maniha questioned, ignoring him.
"I don't know it was someone named.... Ah! I don't remember the name. Anyways, he said that he
would come and meet you today in the evening."
"Here?"
"Yeah." Mariam replied, eating her food.
Maniha felt hungry herself so before wasting any more time, she tried to grab the plate. But it was a bit
far.
"Here." Hassan deliberately grabbed it before her and in the process of handing it over to her, brushed
his fingers across her hands.
She glared at him before nearly snatching it away from his hand. He saw his lips twitch at her reaction.
As if he was enjoying it.
Mariam, who had been oblivious to this all, said;
"O, I just remembered the name. It was Rehan."
Maniha nearly dropped her plate in shock.
"Rehan?" She asked to confirm.
"Yeah." Her mother nodded.
Maniha could not help but give a sideways glance to Hassan to see his reaction. But he was just busy
pouring the rice on his plate silently. She didn't see him get angry or show any other reaction. She didn't
even know if he was just appearing cool or was really feeling like that inside.
**************
"Aisha, there is something important that I have to tell." She blurted out into the phone once she had
eaten all the food hurriedly and came back to her room to talk to her sister.
"Please tell me that you and Hassan have sorted things out and you are pregnant." Aisha replied in an
amused tone.

"What?" Maniha looked bewildered. "That is a crude joke Aisha."

"I know but you can't blame someone for his sense of humor."
Maniha sighed. "Aisha, please you have to hear me out. I'm in so big trouble."
"My dear sister. You have always got into trouble since childhood and you have always managed to get
out of it too. So don't worry whatever that is troubling you, you will get out of it." She replied nonchalantly.
"No Aisha! This time it's something serious," Maniha replied almost hysterically.
"What is it?" Aisha asked more seriously now. "Did Hassan do something to you? Where is he?"
"No, he didn't do anything. And he is out talking to some guy from his office. Anyways, the problem is
that," she took a deep breath, "Rehan is coming to my house."
Aisha choked on the juice that she was drinking.
"What? Are you serious?"
"I am." Maniha replied. "What do I do now?"
"Well, clearly you don't allow him to come here at your house."
"But I was thinking that he was just coming to meet me. So it wouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Maniha, do I need to even tell you this? It will obviously enrage Hassan. You don't even know how he
might react to his arrival."
"But he seems pretty cool about it. He wasn't even angry when he heard that he was coming."
"I don't know Maniha but better be on the safe side, shouldn't we? Don't worry, I'll call Rehan and ask
him to come to my house instead of yours."
"You will do that?"
"Of course. Now, don't worry. And tell me how is it going with Hassan?"
"I don't know. I get so enraged whenever I see him. I mean, virtually, he does nothing wrong but I
always get angry. I don't know what's wrong with me. He even said sorry."
"Aw. Did he? That's sweet. And also, that's one step closer for you to get pregnant with his child."

"You know what? I'm done talking to you. So bye." She said, hanging up immediately.
As she glared at her phone, she heard the door open. She immediately sat up straight as Hassan came
inside. He gave her a glance and without saying anything, started walking towards the washroom.
"I just wanted to let you know that I didn't call Rehan here." She said quickly behind his back.
"Did I ever say that you did that?" He remarked, turning around to face her.
"I know that you are just acting to appear this cool in front of me like that but I really think that you
should take out your anger at me right now before you do that some days later as per your habit of
course." She replied him mechanically.
"What makes you think I am angry?" He questioned, putting his hands inside his pocket.
She laughed before replying, "I don't know. I guess the fact that you always contain your emotions
inside yourself before actually letting them out a long time later when that thing has happened." She
stood up from the bed. "Anyways, before you actually get so worked up about nothing at all, I want
you to know that I will not allow Rehan to come here. I will ask him not to."
"There is no need for that. I would like to meet him."
She looked at him as if waiting for him to say anything further but he just kept quiet staring at her.
"You are serious?" She asked him strangely.
"Absolutely." He replied, before walking inside the washroom.

Chapter 34
Maniha felt so nervous the whole day. She knew that Hassan was just acting- she really wanted to
know what was going through his mind.
Even if it meant knowing that he was angry inside, she was satisfied with just that too. Somehow, his
cool demeanor sent negative vibes all around her-as if there was really something wrong with him.
But he had shown no reaction after their last conversation. In fact, they both hardly talked to each other
when Hassan dropped her to the hospital and went to his work himself. She decided to go home early to
meet Rehan. Though she didn't really want to.

So, at the moment, she sat in the drawing room, playing with her shirt nervously.
"Maniha, is everything fine?" Her granny asked over her spectacles.
She just gave her a polite nod before looking down again, biting her lips. She felt awfully nervous
inside. What if they both didn't get along? What if Hassan said something insulting to Rehan? What if
he lost control?
Her heart hammered violently inside her chest. It was just about time for Rehan to come.
Unable to take any longer, she ran inside her room. Going inside the washroom, she threw water on her
face. Everything will be fine, she repeated to herself but still, her nervousness didn't go away.
After what seemed like ages, she finally came out.
"There you are." Mariam said, handing her a tray. "Rehan has just come. Will you carry these tea pots
in the drawing room?"
"What?" She blurted out. "But I didn't hear him come? Where is Hassan?"
"He is inside meeting with him." Mariam replied, looking strangely at her sudden outburst. "And the
door bell did ring, I think you just missed it."
"Yeah, I think I did miss it." Maniha mumbled, still stressed that Hassan had met Rehan before her.
She composed herself and entered the drawing room nervously. The moment she went inside, her eyes
landed on a man who was a few years older than her yet looked very handsome. It was her cousin,
Rehan.
Hassan sat across from him...and if Maniha was not mistaken- they were both laughing. Maniha tried to
control the urge to drop the tray and rub her eyes with her hands just to confirm that the sight in front of
her was indeed really true.
When Rehan saw her, he stood up and greeted her, smiling;
"Maniha, how are you?"
"I am fine." She replied, sitting beside Hassan.
So, everything was going to go smooth, right. They were both laughing over something which only
meant that they were getting along.
Her tention abated somewhat as Rehan and she began to talk like normally cousins do. She handed him

over the tea cup.

"So Maniha, how's your married life going?" Rehan asked out of the blue.
"Good. Really good."
"You know what Hassan," Rehan said, turning towards him. "You are really lucky that you have got
Maniha as a partner. She's a great person."
Just to save Hassan a reply, Maniha stood up suddenly saying;
"I am going to bring delicacies for you."
Rehan shook his head, sighing. "There's no need for that. I just came here for some time. I don't want to
give you any trouble."
"No, really. It's the first time you have come to my home. I won't let you go without having a proper
dinner." She said before walking out of the room.
"I consider it more of a bad luck that I couldn't marry her," Rehan said after a moment. "I mean we
were together for a very long time- "
"Pardon me?" Hassan said.
"Yeah." He stared at him in confusion. "Didn't Maniha tell you we were engaged?"
"No, she didn't."
Rehan suddenly became uneasy. "I hope I didn't say anything wrong. I didn't mean to, you know, create
a rift between you two."
"No, it's perfectly fine. So what happened then? Why didn't you two get married?"
Rehan didn't know if he should have continued speaking further but since Hassan had asked him to, he
didn't have much of a choice.
"Well, both of us were about to be married when,"
It was at that point that Maniha entered with a trolley of delicacies.
"There was no need for this," Rehan said, standing up immediately.
In reality, he had stood up because he just wanted to avoid answering him.

"No, it's okay." She replied, smiling.

"You know what," Rehan replied, glancing over at Hassan. "I think I'll go now. I'll come some other
time."
"No, it's perfectly fine. At least you should stay here for the dinner." Maniha said.
"No, I really have to go,"
"But- "
"Why are you so impatient to get away from here Rehan?" Hassan interuppted. "I mean you have
barely stayed here for an hour, why get away so early the n? And Maniha, come here and sit with me."
He patted the side of the sofa beside him.
She looked at him, confused, nevertheless, she sat with him.
"Have a seat Rehan," Hassan motioned him to sit down as well.
"Maniha," Hassan said, turning towards her and smiling, "Rehan here was just telling a very interesting
story right now. The story of how you two almost got married."
The fake smile disappeared from Maniha's face as she stared back at him. She hadn't expected him to
know that. Not like this, anyway.
"So Rehan, moving towards the part when you two got engaged but couldn't get married. Now, why
exactly you two couldn't get married?"
Maniha felt beaded sweat come out of the top of her head suddenly.
"Uh," Rehan said, glancing over at her who just gave him a bewildered look. "So, we were about to get
married when," He stopped as he didn't want to say the next words. To be honest, he didn't know how
much to tell him. After all, he was her husband. And what he might say may cause damage to their
marriage.
"When what?" Hassan urged.
"When her sister committed suicide."
Even Hassan hadn't expected that reply. Not had Maniha expected him to ever hear that.
"Aliya right?" Hassan asked, leaning forward suddenly.

Maniha felt her insides tumble and her heartbeat quickened suddenly.
"Yeah, Aliya."
"Then what happened?"
"Well, nothing. Things didn't work out after that. And here we are."
Maniha bend her head downwards and grasped it in her hands. She prayed fervently that Hassan had
not just heard all that. That it was all just but a dream. However, his next words brought her back to the
reality.
"Rehan, do stay for dinner."
**************
As Hassan sat down on the bed, her words came back to his mind.
And Hassan, I was so scared. Rehan came to me to talk about it. And I lied to him that all those love
letters that he had got, were written by me. I wanted to save Aliya's reputation. And you heard that all
and thought that I was cheating on you or something.
Had she lied then? Had she really cheated on him then? So he was right all along.
But he couldn't let those words manipulate his mind yet. He couldn't yet come to a conclusion. He had
done a big mistake of not trusting her once. He couldn't do that again.
But he felt anger surge through him suddenly. Why hadn't she told him about her engagement ever
before? She was supposed to tell him that. But this time, he won't come to a decision yet. He decided to
wait to hear what she had to say.
"Hassan," He heard her say his name. He stood up as she approached him. She looked at him, a little
frightened. So she thought he was angry? Yes, he was. He was really angry. But he couldn't and
wouldn't say anything to her unless and until he had heard whatever she wanted to say.
He saw her standing in front of him, averting his eyes. Why was she doing that? She was supposed to
give him an explanation. Maybe he was still misunderstanding her. So she ought to give him an
explanation instantly.
"Maniha. I won't say anything to you. Just tell me whatever I heard outside was not true."
When she didn't reply for a long time and just stared anywhere but him, he grabbed her by her elbows
suddenly and made her look into his eyes.

"Why don't you speak to me already?" He asked her, his voice sounding demanding.
She looked up at him and he was surprised to see tears forming in her eyes. She was crying. She was
really crying. For the first time, he saw her crying and he couldn't help but feel a little worried. Was he
still suspecting her? Was he still doubting her when she had done nothing wrong?
"Maniha please tell me that whatever I heard outside was not true? And we will get over with it." He
said softly now.
But she didn't reply and instead, buried her face in his chest, defeated. Her body heaved up and down
as she made muffled sounds. He had the sudden urge to hold her back with his arms just to let her know
that he was there. She didn't need to cry.
But her silence was killing him inside. Why wasn't she talking to him? Did it mean....
He let go of her suddenly and went out of the room, slamming the door shut.

Chapter 35

As Maniha sat beside the bed, her head bent downwards, buried between her knees, she heard the door
open and in came Hassan.
She didn't even want to look up at his face as he stood there gazing at her, his jacket dangling from his
hand.
"I have hurt a lot of people," he said after a long hiatus. "A lot-my family, Laura and then you." He
inhaled a deep breath then. "But today for the first time I have got hurt. And its hurts really bad
Maniha. You have hurt me really bad."
She just sat there in silence, unable to reply. In fact, she didn't have the courage to even look up at his
face.
"Why?" He asked in a broken voice, looking down at her. "Why did you do all this? Don't you have
any answer to give me? Will you sit there being quiet like that all night?"
When she didn't reply, he started walking away from her to the other side of the bed. He threw his
jacket on it and looked at her back.
"You know I spent all these six months blaming myself for misunderstanding you. I felt so bad that I
had done so bad to you all along. I felt so guilty. I didn't want that all to happen again. And after what

Rehan told me just now, I tried to give myself an explanation. That there might be something that you
know that I don't. Just because I didn't want to misunderstand you again. But what should I start
thinking if you keep quiet like that?"
Maniha kept her head bend downwards. She suddenly found tears forming in her eyes again. She didn't
even want to look back at his face. It was all too much for her.
Her body shook when she heard a lamp being thrown downwards. She gasped as he came closer to her
and grabbing her arms, made her stand up forcefully. She looked at him, scared.
"Tell me that all these months that I spent misunderstanding you, they were a waste," he glared at her.
"Don't be quiet like that. Tell me that what I am thinking is wrong. Tell me!"
But she remained silent.
"You know what Maniha?" He said, pushing her away slightly, "You are as bad as I am. In fact you are
even more bad than me. You lied to me. The sole reason this marriage didn't work out was because you
had lied to me. You lied from the very beginning. You knew everything but never told me anything.
And all these months I thought that what I did to you was wrong. That I was to be blamed for this all.
But I was wrong."
He pointed a finger at her. "It was you who created this misunderstanding all along. I never wanted to
misunderstand you. Hell, if you had given me an explanation, I would have heard that too. But you
didn't. Do you know what I think? I think you even knew that I was hearing your and Rehan's
conversation that night. I think you knew I was standing there but you didn't say anything."
"Why would you think like that?" Maniha spoke for the first time, bewildered. She was genuinely
surprised at him.
"I think you just wanted to make me misunderstand," Hassan continued, ignoring her question.
"It is not like that."
"It is like that!"
"No, it isn't Hassan!" Maniha yelled. "I didn't know that you were listening to our conversation."
Her loud voice silenced him for a minute. "And as far as that thing is concerned," she continued more
softly now, "That's right. I did lie to you. I did get engaged to Rehan."
"And it never crossed your mind to tell me that?" He questioned her, livid.
"Yes, I didn't tell you. That's because I never wanted to."

"What do you mean?" He was confused.

"It means," she spoke, looking into his eyes for the first time, "that I didn't tell you all that because you
were involved in Aliya's death and I was angry at you!"
"What? How was I involved in your sister's death?" He asked her, bewildered.
Before she could reply him, the door opened. S he quickly wiped away the tears as she saw Mariam
approach them.
"I have something to tell you both," Mariam announced, "Rehan gave me this card. His wedding is on
this Tuesday." She handed them that card.
"Is it?" Maniha asked, grabbing it.
"Yeah," Mariam mumbled as she stared at her carefully, "Are you fine, Maniha?"
"Yeah. I am, why?" She wiped her face with her sleeves.
"No, she isn't." Hassan spoke, turning towards Mariam. "She's crying."
Both of them looked up at him.
"No, I wasn't crying mom," Maniha said angrily.
"Yes, you were- "
"No, I wasn't!" She shouted at him and ran out of the door.
"Huh, what happened?" Mariam asked, confused.
But Hassan didn't deem it suitable to reply her at that moment. He rushed out of the door himself.
The first place he looked for her was the terrace. He knew that whenever she felt sad, or as in this case,
angry, she went up there.
So, once he had reached that place, he searched and searched...but he couldn't find her. He came back
downstairs and looked for her everywhere. For the first time, he cursed himself for having a mansionlike house. There were just so many rooms!
"Woah bro!" Ibrahim exclaimed when he nearly collided with him. "Look where you are going."
"Did you see Maniha?" He asked him quickly, ignoring his comment.

"Maniha who?" Ibrahim replied, feigning the expression of remembering someone. "Your wife?"
"Obviously." Hassan replied through clenched teeth. "Where is she?"
"I know but I won't tell you."
"What the fu- why?"
"She asked me not to."
Hassan stared at him surprised but composed himself a moment later.
"Ibrahim, just tell me where she is. I want to talk to her."
Ibrahim looked at him for a long time before sighing.
"She's there." He said, pointing towards his back, "I am not going to tell you the exact location though."
And then he stalked away before Hassan could pester him further for the location. Hassan almost ran
towards the said direction and looked to his right and left. There were no rooms over there in fact it was
just a vacant hall way.
But when he came to the far end, his eyes fell on a small door and unless he was mistaken, some
muffled sounds were coming from inside it.
"Maniha," Hassan whispered.
The sounds stopped just then.
"Are you inside?"
Silence.
"I want to talk to you Maniha. Please open the door."
"I won't." He heard her reply from inside.
Although the answer was in the negative, he was happy that she had at least replied to him.
"Why?" He asked her.
"Because I don't want to talk to you. Isn't it obvious?"

He sighed before replying.

"Maniha, please just open the door."
She didn't reply him then.
"If you don't open the door..." he decided to threaten her.
"Then what? What will you do?" She replied belligerantly though she was a little scared.
"Then nothing." He mumbled. "I will just wait for you to come outside the whole night."
His reply shocked her. Maniha couldn't believe that he had just said to her. How could he say
something like that?
"You are lying." She mumbled.
"No, I am not. I will do that."
"Fine then. Do that. I don't care."
He sat down on the floor beside that door and leaned against the wall. Taking out his mobile, he started
checking his messages. It was going to be a long night...
The very first message that he had got, was from Matthew.
Today is Laura's anniversary. Going to visit her grave right now.
He sat up straight when he read that. He had completely forgotten about the anniversary- he had never
missed it but this time, it didn't even cross his mind once. How could it happen?
"Hassan, you there?" He heard Maniha ask in a low voice.
"Are you checking that I am here or not?"
"No." She replied quickly. "Whether you stay here or not, I don't care."
He glanced at the closed door, before returning back to his phone to send a message to Matthew that he
will visit her grave tommorow.
"Why? Why don't you care?" He asked.

"You should know the answer to that." She replied sarcastically.

"No, I don't. Tell me." He crossed his legs and leaned against the wall again. It was going to be a long
night...
"Don't make me angry Hassan! You know everything!"
"No, I don't, Maniha. That's the thing. I don't."
She turned quiet for a minute before replying. "Because... because..."
"Because what?" He urged.
"Because..." She broke off and started crying then.
He sat there listening to her sobs- he wanted so much to open the door and rush inside, just to hold her.
"Why did it happen Hassan? Why did we get married in the first place?" She asked him, between the
sobs.
"Because I..." He broke off, not wanting to tell the true reason behind his marrying her. Besides, now
was not really the time. "Because you liked me."
He didn't hear any response from her just like he had expected. A moment later, he heard her voice that
implied shock.
"What?" She gasped.
"You heard me. Because you liked me."
"No....I didn't."
"You did. I distinctly remember hearing you say that you liked me because I was a Harvard graduate
and I was handsome."
Maniha's cheeks turned red. "How did you...when- "
"I overheard the conversation you had with Aisha the day....when I was coming up to tell you.... when I
was coming up to talk to you."
She couldn't help but notice the long hiatus that he had before saying the last part. But she decided to
ignore that at that moment.

"You were coming to talk to me?" She asked him, surprised. "When?"
"The night before the wedding." He replied simply.

Chapter 36

"Why were you coming to talk to me?" Maniha's voice came from behind the door.
"I told you that before too," Hassan replied. "Because I thought that since we were getting married, we
should get to know each other a bit more."
A momentary silence prevailed after his reply which was broken by her.
"And you saw me with Rehan that day. And you started thinking tha t I... how could you do this
Hassan? Why did you think like that about me?"
"You didn't tell me that you were engaged too."
Maniha stood up angrily. "Why are you talking like you don't know the reason behind it?" She spat
angrily.
He sat up straight this time.
"Because you thought that I was involved in your sister's death? That's what you think?" He tried to
keep his tone smooth.
"I just don't think that!" He heard her approach the door. Maybe, she was going to open it, he thought
gladly. But she didn't. Instead, she stopped to stand just behind the door and muttered angrily.
"I know that you were involved in her death! Do you remember that two years ago, you nearly got an
accident once. Do you remember who nearly crashed into? There was a girl, right?"
Hassan just sat there, looking confused.
"Anyway, so you didn't let that girl go. She begged to you but you didn't. You said she had to pay for
the damage done to your car."
And as she said the last line, he clearly remembered everything."That girl was you?" He questioned
uncertainly, not wanting to know the answer.
She mumbled a yes and he felt a piece of his heart break away.

"It was you Hassan. You didn't let me go that day. And it was the same day that Aliya committed
suicide. I had a premonition that she would do something like that that day. So, I almost ran to my
home after my college was over but on my way, you bumped into me. And you didn't let me go."
She found tears forming in her eyes again. "I can't help thinking that if I had been one moment early, I
would have reached home and saved her life. And after a few months when you came to my house, I
was shocked to see you. But I didn't say anything. Because I didn't know how to handle the situation
after Aliya's death. Besides, I didn't want my parents to get another shock. So, I kept quiet. And I got
married to you. But I was angry...really, really angry at you. When you were so harsh on me, it did
cross my mind once that you might know about Rehan. But I didn't say anything. Because I wanted to
make you wallow in your pain just as much as I was doing that myself!"
She stopped and blinked away the tears. Her body quivered remembering all those sad moments of her
past. She sat down back again.
"Now, I have told you everything. And this time, there are no lies. Now tell me, what do you want to
tell me now?" She asked him.
"Maniha, first open the door."
He really thought that she wouldn't still comply with his order. But he was surprised when the knob
turned and the door opened a moment later.
Maniha had opened the door because she wanted to know the answers herself. That would be it. She
didn't want these lies to go on forever. She wanted to end that all....
"That was a bathroom you were talking to me from all this time?" He asked, shocked when he saw her
coming out.
"I thought that was one place you wouldn't look for me." Maniha mumbled. "Anyway, I did what you
asked me to. Now, tell me everything." She added the last part furiously, crossing her arms across her
chest.
"Maniha," he mumbled. "The person who didn't let you go that day," he took a deep breath as he
registered her expression, "wasn't me. It was someone else."
"Huh?" Maybe she hadn't heard him right. She had to confirm what she had just heard.
"You don't remember all the details of that day." He continued. " What you remember is just my face
and somehow, you have related that whole accident thing with me."
"Wh- " He held a hand to stop her.

"That day, you did get into an accident. And I was present there. But it was not my car you crashed
into. It was someone else's. That person wasn't me. It was someone else. I was just standing there as an
on looker. That's it! I think you just confused that man's face with mine. Just try to remember the
complete details. Was that person really me?"
She did what he asked her to. She tried hard to remember and his statement did ring a bell in her mind.
There were two men present at that time... a person who was standing with a cigarette in his hand,
leaning against a car as she talked to another man, asking him to let her go.
"That person wasn't you." She gasped, unfolding her arms from her chest. "You were just standing there
looking at us. The person whom I was talking to."
"Do you remember now?"
She stared at him for a minute before replying. "I do."
"Then you were wrong about me all this time, weren't you?"
Maniha started laughing. "Wrong about you?" She said angrily. "Maybe about that thing only but let
me tell you something. You are exactly like I thought you would be. There is not e ven an ounce of
goodness in your personality!"
"It doesn't matter to me how I am." Hassan said, getting furious himself. "At least I don't put on a
facade like other people do."
"Then put on that facade!" Maniha burst out. "Because your this facade," she said, pointing towards his
face, "is ugly and it torments me and so many other people!"
"Then what do you want?" Hassan asked loudly. "Do you want me to fall down on my knees and beg
you to forgive me?"
"No. Because I know you would never do that. Your ego would never allow you to do that. But at least,
you can behave like a human, who treats everyone in a good manner!"
"What do you think I have been doing all this time?" Hassan asked, surprised. "I didn't shout at you and
listened to your every word patiently. Isn't that enough?"
"So, you think listening to my every word so patiently is enough?!" She asked him, bewildered.
"What more do you want?"
"I don't know Hassan! Am I supposed to tell you that myself too?"
"Yeah, you should!"

Maniha looked at him, surprised. Suddenly, her anger abated and a coldness took its place in her heart.
"You are right." She mumbled. "You did listen to my every word patiently. Thank you so much for
that."
She started walking away from him and he sighed behind her.
"Don't go like this."
She turned around to see him standing with a sad expression on his face. For one moment, just for that
very moment, Maniha felt sad herself as she looked back at him. Nevertheless, she had to ask that one
question that had been nagging her that whole time.
"Then how do you want me to go? Do you want me to leave this house forever?"
Instead of replying, he came close to her. Dangerously close.
"Can't you understand anything? Can't you figure out things yourself?"
"Figure out what?" She said, stepping back, scared.
"Why I am standing here." He muttered angrily. "Why I had been listening to you so patiently all this
time? Why I was coming to talk to talk to you you on our wedding day? Can't you understand
anything?"
"No. I can't! Make me understand!"
"I love you Maniha!"

Chapter 37

"What?" Maniha asked, surprised.

"There. I said it." Hassan replied. "I love you." He said a bit softly now.
She looked at his face and waited him to say anything further. And that was exactly wha t he did.
"Why do you think I got so worked up about Rehan issue anyway? Why do you think I got that angry

with you all these months when I saw you with him?"
He waited for her to reply to him but she just kept quiet staring at him.
"Because I had started liking you Maniha. I didn't want that to happen but...I...started to fall for you."
She just stood there, in complete shock by his confession. All this time she had wanted to hear this but
at that very moment, she didn't like him saying that to her. And she didn't even know the reason behind
it.
"I don't know," he continued, "whether you will be able to...love me back... or even like me a slight bit.
But I just want you to know that... I am sorry."
He locked at his eyes with her and both of them stood there quiet like that for a long time before she
decided to break that silence.
"I don't like you. It was different before. I didn't know your personality but now I do, and I am sorry I
can't you like you anymore. I just can't."
Once again, she started walking away from him but his voice called from behind her.
"Then you are leaving me?"
She didn't turn around to reply.
"No. But I don't know what else to do either."
He grabbed her shoulders suddenly and slammed her across his chest against her back.
"You know everything now," he muttered in her ears. "Then why can't you decide what to do?"
Before she could reply, she felt his hands move from behind her back down to her belly slowly. She
wanted to move away but she suddenly found herself enjoying the moment. That was the first time he
had ever touched her like that. She was loosing herself in the moment.
He nuzzled her neck suddenly and she opened her eyes in shock. She untied his hands which had
strongly gripped her stomach and turned around to face him.
Unable to meet his eye after the little encounter they had just now, she wheeled round and ran off to her
room.

Chapter 38

"Are you going?"

Maniha looked at Hassan who had just addressed to her.
"No." She stated firmly as she busied herself in her laptop again.
"If you think I wouldn't like it- "
"It's not because of you." She interrupted. "I am not in the mood to go to Rehan's engagement."
He kept quiet for a moment before changing his mind.
"I was thinking that if you don't want to go there, we can go to a restaurant together."
"Me and you." She replied, bewildered. "To a restaurant? Like together?"
"Yeah." He stated firmly.
"I will pass." She smiled.
"But I won't. You are going with me and that's final." He turned around after saying that.
She felt anger boil inside her. But she couldn't refuse to him too. Whenever he said things like that, she
was obliged to follow him whether she liked it or not. When had he ever listened to her?
"Fine." She said, closing the lid. "I will go with you."
"Good- "
"To Rehan's engagement." She concluded, smirking.
"Just two minutes ago you didn't want to go there."
"But now I want to go." She answered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Is there a problem?"
He took a deep breath. "Absolutely not."
*********

"Why are you turning the car?"

Hassan didn't reply as he turned the car and then, stopped it. "Because we are going to a restaurant
instead of Rehan's engagement party," he cocked his head towards her.
When Maniha didn't reply, he started driving the car again.
"Why are you doing this?" She asked a moment later.
"You know the reason behind it."
She sighed before turning on the music. They kept driving for a very long time when she heard him
humming.
"Hassan. How much did you love Laura?"
The humming stopped just then.
"How did she come into your mind right now?" He asked her, surprised.
"She just did." She turned to look at him. "Anyways, that doesn't answer my question. Tell me how
much did you love her?"
"Loads." He tried to control the urge to look at her reaction when he said it.
"And you said you love me too. How much do you love me?"
He parked the car on the side way and stared at her. "Maniha, what are you trying to ask from me?"
"I just want to know whether you loved her more or me?"
"When I met her, it was different. Besides, I didn't marry her. I have long since forgotten about her."
Which was a lie since he had had a hallucination about her when he came to know that Maniha had
apparently died. But he didn't want to tell it to her then.
"But with you, it's different," he admitted. "I started liking you eventually. Of course, I didn't know
about it until we got married."
He paused, taking a deep breath. "And I can assure you your silliness really used to amuse sometimes."
He added, chuckling.

"When did I ever behave silly?" She asked him, punching him on his arm.
"Like now?" He turned to look at her, smiling.
"Stop smiling."
"Why? Doesn't it make me look handsome that you once said I was?" He made a challenging face.
She smiled herself. "Yeah. It makes you look very handsome. So, stop being the brooding person that
you always are."
"I'm not always brooding," his smile disappeared.
"Says the man who never treated her wife right?" The words came out of her mouth even before she
could stop them.
She gave a uncertain glance at him, hoping that he wouldn't have got hurt and become his cold-self
once again. Thankfully, he didn't. In fact she was surprised when he said;
"You have just seen me brooding all the time till now. But now you will see how loving I can be too.
Just remember Maniha, the person who hurts is also the one who can love. Despite the way I am, I am a
good lover." He concluded, winking at her.
Maniha didn't know whether to smile or just sit there like that, surprised by his comment. He chuckled
on seeing the dumb found look on her face and started the car again, this time, humming louder than
before.
********
"Do you see that?" Hassan said, pointing towards the sea.
"It's just water. What's there to see?"
"It's not just water. Look at the depth of this water. This sky, this night and then this sight. Do you see
how beautiful it is?"
"Yeah, it's really beautiful." She admitted half- heartedly.
"And so serene too. Don't you agree?"
"Are you going?"
Maniha looked at Hassan who had just addressed to her.

"No." She stated firmly as she busied herself in her laptop again.
"If you think I wouldn't like it- "
"It's not because of you." She interrupted. "I am not in the mood to go to Rehan's engagement."
He kept quiet for a moment before changing his mind.
"I was thinking that if you don't want to go there, we can go to a restaurant together."
"Me and you." She replied, bewildered. "To a restaurant? Like together?"
"Yeah." He stated firmly.
"I will pass." She smiled.
"But I won't. You are going with me and that's final." He turned around after saying that.
She felt anger boil inside her. But she couldn't refuse to him too. Whenever he said things like that, she
was obliged to follow him whether she liked it or not. When had he ever listened to her?
"Fine." She said, closing the lid. "I will go with you."
"Good- "
"To Rehan's engagement." She concluded, smirking.
"Just two minutes ago you didn't want to go there."
"But now I want to go." She answered, crossing her arms across her chest. "Is there a problem?"
He took a deep breath. "Absolutely not."
*********
"Why are you turning the car?"
Hassan didn't reply as he turned the car and then, stopped it. "Because we are going to a restaurant
instead of Rehan's engagement party," he cocked his head towards her.
When Maniha didn't reply, he started driving the car again.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked a moment later.

"You know the reason behind it."
She sighed before turning on the music. They kept driving for a very long time when she heard him
humming.
"Hassan. How much did you love Laura?"
The humming stopped just then.
"How did she come into your mind right now?" He asked her, surprised.
"She just did." She turned to look at him. "Anyways, that doesn't answer my question. Tell me how
much did you love her?"
"Loads." He tried to control the urge to look at her reaction when he said it.
"And you said you love me too. How much do you love me?"
He parked the car on the side way and stared at her. "Maniha, what are you trying to ask from me?"
"I just want to know whether you loved her more or me?"
"When I met her, it was different. Besides, I didn't marry her. I have long since forgotten about her."
Which was a lie since he had had a hallucination about her when he came to know that Maniha had
apparently died. But he didn't want to tell it to her then.
"But with you, it's different," he admitted. "I started liking you eventually. Of course, I didn't know
about it until we got married."
He paused, taking a deep breath. "And I can assure you your silliness really used to amuse sometimes."
He added, chuckling.
"When did I ever behave silly?" She asked him, punching him on his arm.
"Like now?" He turned to look at her, smiling.
"Stop smiling."
"Why? Doesn't it make me look handsome that you once said I was?" He made a challenging face.

She smiled herself. "Yeah. It makes you look very handsome. So, stop being the brooding person that
you always are."
"I'm not always brooding," his smile disappeared.
"Says the man who never treated her wife right?" The words came out of her mouth even before she
could stop them.
She gave a uncertain glance at him, hoping that he wouldn't have got hurt and become his cold-self
once again. Thankfully, he didn't. In fact she was surprised when he said;
"You have just seen me brooding all the time till now. But now you will see how loving I can be too.
Just remember Maniha, the person who hurts is also the one who can love. Despite the way I am, I am a
good lover." He concluded, winking at her.
Maniha didn't know whether to smile or just sit there like that, surprised by his comment. He chuckled
on seeing the dumb found look on her face and started the car again, this time, humming louder than
before.
********
"Do you see that?" Hassan said, pointing towards the sea.
"It's just water. What's there to see?"
"It's not just water. Look at the depth of this water. This sky, this night and then this sight. Do you see
how beautiful it is?"
"Yeah, it's really beautiful." She admitted half- heartedly.
"And so serene too. Don't you agree?"
"Agreed. And very...delicious."
"Why would you say it's delicious?" He said, turning around with his eyebrows raised.
And then he saw her staring at an ice cream banner that hung over a building.
"And very peaceful too." He said, dipping his hands in his pocket and looking at her face which was
still tilted away from him.

"Yeah," she said dreamily, "very peaceful too."

He smiled looking at her and waited for the time till she would look back and know that he was
watching her. It was his silence, perhaps, that caught her attention. So, she turned around and found
him staring at her.
"Oh, um... so you were saying!" She stammered when she saw him staring at her like that.
"You weren't listening to me?" He complained.
She tried to bring a smile on her face. "O no no. It's not like that. I know you were talking about the
sea. It's so serene, beautiful and delic-" She stopped herself just then.
"If you wanted that ice cream, you could have asked from me." He told her. "We would have both gone
together to eat it."
"OK. I will tell you now. I really want to eat it."
He shook his head before chuckling. "Fine. I will bring it."

Ending

"No, I think..." she tried to tell her mom the best reason of not going. "Actually, I'm not...feeling well."
She concluded finally, feeling guilty of lying.
"Oh, well. In that case, you probably shouldn't go." And with that, her mother wheeled round and
scurried off.
Maniha closed the door and looked up at Hassan questioningly. She felt Hassan's hand move up her
right arm and a tingling sensation ran through her body.
"What are you doing?" she asked timidly.
"Shh..." Hassan said, approaching her.
He came so close to her that she could feel his breath on her. And it smelt good....she took a gulp and
stepped away from him. He was affecting her mind.
Just then, the lights went away and they were left in total darkness.

"What the..." she said and then smiled. This was what usually he would say in such situations. Turning
around, she was about to tell him about that when he approached her once again. This time, he came
behind her back, moved her hair to a side and kissed her neck.
Maniha moaned and wheeled around quickly.
"Hassan..."
But he had already crashed his lips against her. Maniha felt herself giving in. In deliberately, she found
herself kissing him back.
She held his hair from behind and before they knew it, they were kissing each other like newly-wed
couples. After a long moment, they broke apart to take in a breath. The lights had also come back.
They gazed into each other's eyes. Maniha shuddered at the intensity in his eyes. A tinge of red colour
came to her face and she slowly moved backwards, moving away from him. But she had barely taken a
few steps back when Hassan grabbed her hands firmly and pulled her closer to him.
She looked at him questioningly. He simply shook his head. Maniha, understanding his gesture,
blushed in embarrassment. And as they were both feeling amorous, the inevitable happened.....
New chappy
"Maniha, there's something I wanted to tell for a long time," Hassan said, concern in his voice. "But
promise me first that you won't get angry."
They were both lying on the bed, side by side. She sat up suddenly and looked at him.
"What is it?" she asked, worried.
"First promise me that you won't get angry."
"Hassan, I won't! Now tell me already."
Hassan cupped her face in his hands and said to her, his voice earnest.
"I love you."
"And would you believe it? The author portrayed me as some really cruel guy which I'm really not!"
"Oh puhleez! You are worst." Maniha said.

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Well," he said, leaning closer towards her. "In that case you wouldn't mind if I kissed you."
"Noooo." Maniha said, springing out of the bed.
"What? Are you scared of me now?" he said smirking.
"God no," she replied, rolling her eyes. "I just thought that since you have been so cruel to me
throughout the whole book, why don't I be a little cruel to you too?" She started grinning.
"What do you mean?" he murmured.
She cleared her throat imperiously, "It means Hassan Iqbal, you won't be getting any of me at least
for...." she started calculating mentally, "for three months!"
Hassan gave the whole situation a big think for about two seconds and reached an accurate and succinct
conclusion:
"This is unfair."
"Everything is fair in love and war."
He sat up straight. "Please don't do this."
Maniha laughed at the plea in his voice. "Duh, I'm already doing that with you baby." And she ran away
before he could hold her again.

THE END

This book was distributed courtesy of:

For your own Unlimited Reading and FREE eBooks today, visit:
http://www.Free-eBooks.net

Share this eBook with anyone and everyone automatically by selecting any of the
options below:

To show your appreciation to the author and help others have

wonderful reading experiences and find helpful information too,
we'd be very grateful if you'd kindly
post your comments for this book here.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Free-eBooks.net respects the intellectual property of others. When a book's copyright owner submits their work to Free-eBooks.net, they are granting us permission to distribute such material. Unless
otherwise stated in this book, this permission is not passed onto others. As such, redistributing this book without the copyright owner's permission can constitute copyright infringement. If you
believe that your work has been used in a manner that constitutes copyright infringement, please follow our Notice and Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement as seen in our Terms
of Service here:

http://www.free-ebooks.net/tos.html