The room was so silent that she could feel the loud thudding of her heart gently melting with the air around her. What she was supposed to do? She was not that young, many of her friends had been married before her but the fact was- she never ever had a thought of marriage in her life.

Yes, she dreamt of having her own small family with her husband and kids but she never went into any more details. Now when she was waiting for her husband to show up, her hands were becoming sweaty, she could feel heat creeping up to her cheeks and she was biting her lower lip, again and again, to keep the nervousness at bay.

The door opened with a click making Ghazal's heart jump in anticipation. Her heavy-worked red dupatta was placed over her face as a veil but she could still see her husband was looking way too handsome for his own good. Faint footsteps became near and she squirmed in herself as she felt a weight in front of her on the mattress.

With a swift motion her veil had been removed but Ghazal kept her gaze lowered, her shyness not giving her guts to look at her better half.

"Go change your outfit and sleep."

His voice was cold and authoritative. She only sufficed in nodding but something broke inside her when Ghazal saw him leaving the room. Her mind creating various consequences on which she didn't want to dwell on but he could at least talk with her some politeness. Was she forced on him and in his life?

Ghazal pursed her lips, stealing a short glance of Haaris from the corner of her eyes. Her heart was fearing to look at her husband whose face was showing sincerity as he listened about the first night she had been rejected by her ex-husband, Farzan. Didn't know why? But she made herself determined to share all about her past to her husband as it was getting difficult for her with every passing day to carry that burden alone as if the weight on her heart was increasing. She never shared it with anyone but now when she had gotten a glimpse of Haaris's love, Ghazal understood that her relationship with Farzan was all compromise and nothing else. It was love when she had saw him for the first time, it remained there until Haaris began to show her that it was not hurt you gave to someone you love rather you make them feel protected and you can't love the one that hurt you and snatches your self-pride.

Now Ghazal was somewhat scared because the protectiveness she used to feel around Haaris, it felt like slowly fading away as his anger came over their relationship. That was thing which had forced her to go back to her past. Maybe it was the phase of motherhood or the ordeal of past few days that had pushed her to doubt herself, was she not good enough that every men in her life became tired and fed up with her. Firstly it was Farzan, then Ghani-her brother and now Haaris, who would get angry and irritated by her and on her actions.

"I didn't bother about Farzan's behavior thinking it of as his reserved nature. But Allah didn't want me to live in oblivion as soon I came to know about him and his past life." Haaris hesitantly grabbed her left hand in his, his fingers gently intertwining with her cold ones, slowly passing his warmth to her.

Ghazal slightly jerked from the loud thud of the door as her husband entered their room. His form clumsy and eyes were droopy, he was doing his best to keep himself stand but the balance of his body was giving up. She with slow pace came near him, her heart was beating furiously as Farzan had denied her to touch him, but she wanted to help him.

"You will never be like her."

Farzan slurred as Ghazal held his hand to support him, making her way towards the bed. Perhaps her heart had been sliced so gently by the hurt that now she could feel the pain coursing through her whole body. That was the reason for his hatred towards her. That was why he never spared a single glance at her. But it could be possible he was just speaking rubbish in this state. Properly making him sit on the bed, Ghazal left the room to fetch him his dinner.

A slap killed the horrifying silence of their room. Ghazal hissed and held her left cheek, she was unable to wrap her head around the throbbing pain. Tears were streaming down on her face and she glanced at her husband, who was shouting at her and abusing her with profanities. Seeing them, nobody could tell that only a week had passed after their wedding.

"I don't like extra salt in my food. Understand woman?"

Ghazal nodded at his slurred question and again a slap marked itself on her face.

"Speak."

"Y-yes."

"From that night, he started drinking and abusing me. At that time I just came to know that someone was present in his life before me." Ghazal said with a sigh trying to keep herself calm and away from crying but her tears had already started their journey by rolling down her cheeks, very silently.

Ghazal whimpered as the broken bottle made a deep cut above her elbow, leaving a trail of blood in its way.

"I can never love you, you filthy woman. You are just forced on me. I'll always love Natasha."

The physical pain was just for some days but she knew those words would hurt till her end.

"Natasha was his college mate but my mother-in-law never approved of her and married off Farzan with me." Ghazal riled up her lower lip, trying a lot to not feel the pain of rejection all over again. Why it was so much difficult for her to go back to those memories? "What broke Farzan more was- Natasha got engaged with another man just after a few days of our marriage. Because of this, he started drinking and whenever he saw me or touch me, Farzan would be too much away from his senses."

Ghazal moved the sleeves of her shirt just a little above that Haaris could see the scar on her elbow, about which he had inquired once, "That's what I had gotten from him that night." She saw Haaris was staring at that scar with his fingers gently crawling on it and his grip tightening on her hand. The twilight made a pain in his eyes visible.

"I thought maybe our life would come to a straight path with Adam but he didn't even give him a love of a father. Leave that, he doubted me for adultery."

Ghazal moved a little back in fear at his yelling, he held her wrist stopping her movements. He stood up, his eyes seemed to be killing her only with his glare, "Whose child is this? Say, you filthy woman," he slurred.

This thought again pierced a sharp knife in her gut. It's the most insulting thing a woman can ever hear and Ghazal had spent million moments with it.

***

Haaris puffed a ball of air from his lips to get rid of the anxiety swinging in his body just listening to Ghazal's past life. The nerve of his brain felt to be bursting out in anger and irritation with the mere thought of Farzan. That filthy excuse of human who never did a single deed of a human- he was inhuman and an animal. Haaris was sure if he would be alive till now, he would have punished Farzan just like he used to do with Ghazal, just to make sure that he knew every kind of pain he was giving his Ghazal. He could feel her pain and was stupefied at his wife's patience with which she had gone too far.

"Why you didn't put a complaint against him?"

For the first time, Haaris's voice broke the trance around them and Ghazal looked at him oddly as if he had asked her the dumbest question.

"I was on a loose hope that my love would take him to the straight path and also this act of mine could make my father shameful, I wanted to make my father proud by becoming a good wife and a good daughter-in-law. But my ex-husband was stuck, he was living just in his past even when Farzan knew that Natasha wouldn't come back in his life."

Why it's creating some kind of jealousy; thinking of Ghazal loving any other man than me?

Haaris silently turned his gaze away from Ghazal, afraid of showing his betraying emotions to his spouse as she was a master of reading him like an open book. "One truck accident was the reason for Farzan's death. On his death bed he asked for my forgiveness, he told me to forgive him-" Now her silent tears had gathered some voice as Ghazal was weeping slowly, her face was hidden behind the bowl of her palms. Haaris shuffled closer to her and wrapped an arm around her breaking presence.

"His voice, his touch used to haunt me for many nights. What if he had asked my forgiveness in his life, what if he had just moved on." Ghazal complained, her orbs full of tears as she dejectedly looked at him.

Haaris moved the loose tendril away from her face and kissed her forehead. Ghazal wiped her face, moving slightly away from him.

"Haaris, past can ruin you if you chose to live in it. That's what I have begun to see in you too. When your past overcomes you, you forget everything in your agitation and anger." Haaris just silently blinked his eyes at her words. She was speaking only the truth and nothing was wrong in it. He had seen her scared in his presence and now he could understand why? When she had seen so much in her past, his mere agitation was sufficient for her to bring back those awful memories.

Haaris was stuck in his reverie that he didn't feel her getting up from her place, "Haaris, you have shown me the meaning of true love and I don't want to lose the one whom I have begun to love so much."

Haaris blankly watched her going away from him in the washroom, the chords of his heart still disturbed seeing her teary eyes. He would change himself for her. She was only asking him to control his anger and he would present himself in front of her as a changed man who would know the meaning of emotional stability. Ghazal would feel protected in his vicinity not scared or afraid because he loved her and you make sure to make them feel safe who you love. Suddenly a tiny blast erupted in his mind as Ghazal's words of some moments earlier made him transfixed.

I don't want to lose the one whom I have begun to love so much.

Crap didn't he just ignore her confession. How simple her confession was that he didn't understand that she had poured out her feelings for him. How could Ghazal confess her feelings so easily and go as nothing had happened? He was the dumbest man on earth, why didn't he paid attention to her when she was professing her love for him. Maybe he was too caught up in his past, present and future to carefully listen to her confession.

Very good, Mr. Haaris. You have again proved your dumbness.

Haaris moved inside his room to see Ghazal lying on one side of the bed. Was she sleeping? Should he wake her up? He had every right to do so because that enchantress had easily told her feelings leaving him in trance and sleeping so peacefully without thinking about her one and an only husband who was now sleep-deprived. He came closer to her and watched her shallow breathing as still some tiny droplets of tears could be seen stuck on her eyelashes.

His fingers gingerly wiped off those tears as he placed a kiss on her forehead. There was no necessity to wake her up, he should understand how difficult it would have been for her to go back to those awful memories and then to pour her heart out in front of him. It must have been draining and that too in that phase which she was going through.

Haaris lied beside her, keeping his arm around her waist he nuzzled her neck. His heart had come to an eternal bliss thinking of their future, they both loved each other. A thing which perhaps they both hadn't thought ever and now were baroquely fallen in the arms of love. Before entering into the valleys of slumber, Haaris felt Ghazal's hand gently holding his arms returning his embrace.

***

Ghazal pinned up her scarf in place and moved a finishing glance at herself in the mirror, her heart missing a beat as her orbs gently clashed with her husband who was watching her every movement while pouring the cologne on himself.

She was still somewhat hesitant to talk to him, to look at him, firstly it was due to the last midnight when she had let out every pain residing in her heart and let him see the weakest side of herself. Secondly, it was because of her intense confession which had slipped up from her in vain and her husband was so naive that he hadn't even paid proper attention.

It was the truth that had come out of her. Though there were many differences between them, Ghazal had fallen for him. That man had earned her love through his care, his tenderness and the way he held her. In the case of Farzan, she had started liking him from the start thinking him off as a gift from her lord. But now she understood, Allah will not always give you a gift sometimes he tests you by giving pain prior to bestowing the treasure on us. Haaris was a pure treasure for her which Ghazal had gotten as the result of her patience, pain and every tear.

"Haaris..." She grabbed her handbag from the bed, "Will you drop me to the hospital on your way?"

Haaris nodded with a smile. An hour ago he had dropped Adam to his school and now they both were getting ready for their respective work. Her mind was still muddled up around him. Those gone days had created an ice wall between them that needed to be melted by the warmth of love and care. She didn't know when all would come back to normal.

Did he actually not understand that she confessed her feelings for him? He wasn't so naive! She wanted to hold and ask him but her shyness and embarrassment were coming in her way. It was not sure whether he loved her or not, their relationship was not build up on love, it was on need and now it had been transformed into a habit, a serene habit of being together.

Their journey was going silent until her husband's husky voice broke it, "I will pick you up in the evening. We have to go somewhere."

Ghazal nodded quickly, didn't know where he was taking her. "Where?"

"I have to discuss some paperwork with you."

"Paperwork?" Haaris nodded, his gaze on the road in front of him and his expressions so serious that Ghazal found her ability to talk vanished. Wasn't it a legal matter which contained paperwork. Paperwork as in will or divor- No. Why would she thinking it like that? It could be something different. But why all of a sudden a paperwork came into existence between them. Was he thinking of leaving her? No why would he? Azkiya, Ghazal had done a mistake of bringing her back in his life and now he wanted to leave his wife for that psychotic lady.

Getting jealous with the ex-girlfriend?

Obviously!

Ghazal hurriedly left as their car stopped in front of the tall building of her hospital. She moved inside without giving a proper glance at her husband. There was no need. She didn't know what was running through his mind and he was going back to his mysterious self. Would he really leave her? What about their child? Why was she becoming a pessimist? 

Ghazal whole day went in counting the seconds when she would be able to leave her work and go to her husband. At the exit, she found a car waiting for her but not the person she was dying to meet. Instead the driver came to usher her towards the car.

"Mam, Haaris sir has told me to take you to the venue."

Ghazal nodded dejectedly. Was it getting too much for him to pick her up from her workplace? Once she would be in front of Haaris, she would take care of every single thing. The car halted at the familiar gold building bringing back a memory now a pleasant one for her.

As she was about to finish the Rangoli by pouring pink color in one of the flower, Ghazal felt herself caged in someone's gaze. She looked up and found a man with a black apparel staring shamelessly at her. Her hand instantly moved to her long sleeve to fix it properly which had moved slightly up during her preparations. That man was surely shameless as hell, he didn't bother to move his gaze away from her even when Ghazal was glaring at him.

"Haarish."

An amused voice of Adam made Ghazal alert and she looked at his way who quickly ran to that stranger and hugged his legs. How he could be Haaris? Adam must have mistaken him for Haaris, that man was looking different, his hair was trimmed, the face was shaven and thin frame specs were perfectly placed on his nose.

By that time, the man had taken Adam in his arms and ruffled his cheek.

"How are you, champ?"

That voice was sure of Haaris, but now it had some serenity rather than the rudeness which used to be a part of his speech.

"I am fine. I mished you."

Adam said and hugged Haaris tightly, bringing forth a chuckle from him as he returned his innocent embrace. How could Adam recognize him so easily every time, Ghazal was unable to decipher. Haaris was now looking at her with an amused smile and she moved her gaze away from him, embarrassed with herself.

Ghazal's lips tilted in a small smile as she shook her head and moved towards the reception, a room had been booked on Haaris's name. She heaved a long sigh and made her way to the elevator, her heart beating furiously thinking about the paperwork her husband was talking about.

***

Haaris glanced at his wristwatch impatiently, everything was prepared. Ghazal would be here at any moment and he wanted everything to be perfect. On the cue, the doorbell rang. The room's lighting was remote-controlled, so he quickly switched off the lights and slowly opened the door. Taking his place behind the floor-length curtain, he began to watch his wife who was taking measured steps in the dim-lit room.

He had planned this just to melt away the ice wall which had formed between them mainly due to his behavior. Haaris was sorry for his behavior, for spoiling their relationship in his anger and all he wanted to be a repentance on his mistake.

"Haaris." Ghazal called him, her eyes roaming around the room in order to find him. He switched on one corner light where there was something important which he wanted to show her. The light grabbed her attention and she slowly sauntered towards the painting which had been hanging there.

Haaris had painted it a while ago, it was a replica of the photograph he had taken in his farmhouse; Haaris with his small family but the difference was, in this painting Ghazal was holding a little baby in her arms. Amusedly he had stuck a note below that painting just to ignite the anger of his tigeress.

This is the paperwork I was talking about.

Haaris watched as Ghazal smiled seeing that painting, her fingers gently moving over it. Then her eyes furrowed over the words written below it and he saw her biting her lower lip. "Haaris." Now her voice was holding some kind of urgency. He would surely get beaten up today.

The silence of the room got broken by his ringing phone. Crap, he had fully forgotten about his cellphone and it was blinking due to the call of his wife. As he cut the call, the curtain moved away and a soft cushion got directly with his face. Haaris quickly switched on the lights and again a cushion hit his shoulder.

"You stupid man, what was that?"

Haaris gave a sheepish smile to his lady coming out from behind the curtain, his hands trying to stop Ghazal's movement who was ready to beat him with a cushion in her hand. His hands were defensive as he was doing his best to save himself from her attack.

"You don't know how scared I was. Paperwork. Do you have any single bit of idea how hard my day was just because of this? You-"

Haaris wound his arm around her waist pulling her closer to him and silenced her with a gentle kiss on her lips. His hands cupping her heated up face as he sought every forgiveness that he wanted, slowly wanting to remove every wall that they had built between themselves. He felt Ghazal's form stiffen for a moment then she gingerly wrapped her arms around his nape and her grip loosened on the cushion as it fell with a soft thud near his feet.

"I am sorry for everything I have done, tigeress."

He rested his forehead on hers, her warm breath balmily clashing with his features. Ghazal whimpered with tears in her black orbs and put her head on his chest, "I missed you, this nickname, everything." Haaris kissed her cheek, carefully opening the scarf around her face and slowly opening her loose bun letting her curls fall on her back gracefully.

"Where's Adam?"

"He's with Papa. I had told Adam and he happily obliged because he was going to see Big Hero 6 again." They both burst into peals of amused laughter over their son, "That means, there's only me and you."

Ghazal lowered her gaze with a smile as he came towards the bed, his hand holding her tightly.

"You could have simply told me to come here, I would have. What was there a need to give me a mini heart attack? "

"It's called tit for tat. How you so easily confessed your feelings yesternight leaving me in a trail of thoughts, so this was my way of taking revenge."

Ghazal looked at him for a moment in surprise then pinched his cheek with a roll of her eyes. "I thought my husband is so naive that he will never understand my confession."

"Not so naive as you think just a little dumb."

Ghazal's giggles filled the whole room as he just looked at her with awe, his heart again coming to an ethereal solace as Haaris watched her laughing. How much he loved her! The love inside him for her felt to be growing with every passing moment just like new leaves in spring, snow in winter and tiny water droplets in rain.

"You know when I fell in love with you?"

Haaris asked grabbing her arm to pull her whole attention towards him and Ghazal just shook her head in negative, her eyes boring into his brown orbs.

"When you smiled for the first time in front of me, in the hospital."

Ghazal shyly twisted her fingers, shades of redness creeping to her cheeks as she blushed profusely. After a while, she looked up and cupped his jaw in her shaking fingers.

"And when did you come to know about these feelings?"

"When you pour out that water gun on me."

Ghazal chuckled hearing the truth, her eyes slightly widened at the realization. She moved a little closer to him, her breath fanning on his lips as she placed a kiss on his nose.

"Then I am glad that I used that water gun on you."

Haaris laughed at her witty comeback as he pulled her closer to him placing kisses over her lips, enjoying the warmth that surrounded them and the bliss that settled down in his heart in the company of his better-half.