Dobara. (1)

"I'm sorry, I can't do this anymore."

Silence captured the entire room, the only audible sound was my heart beating and thumping against my ribs.

"What do you mean?"

He averted his gaze for a second then took a deep breath and looked straight into my eyes.

"I like her, I don't know how that happened but I just know that I can't leave her now."

A single drop of tear left my eye and I looked at my husband of two years in disbelief.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind? You are married to me, what about me? Huh! Are you going to leave me?"

He again averted his eyes and muttered, "I can't leave her."

"Sheryar for god's sake, tell me you're joking."

"I'm sorry but I can't live with you anymore Rameen, I never loved you, you were my mother's concern which she threw in my life by force, I knew this marriage has an expiration date, the day has come now."

I flinched at his harsh words.

His mother found me in the hospital room clutching both of my deceased parents' hands in a death grip. I was fifteen at that time and had no extended family interested in taking me, my mother's best friend took pity on the bruised broken girl who survived the horrendous accident which swallowed her parents. since then I had been living with my Gull aunty—sheryar's mother.

She wanted to see her son settled and she found me the perfect candidate to fulfill that responsibility

"You left nothing for negotiations, I won't hold you back go wherever you want to be but before going complete the procedure of our divorce."

It looks like he always wanted to hear those words from my mouth and didn't hesitate for a second and nodded at me.

********

In all these five months, I learned a very vital lesson from leaving Sheryar  Life is all about making irrational, haste, and poor decisions, and my wrong decision was to marry Sheryar.

The only thing which we have to focus on is not holding ourselves from achieving our dreams and goals. Life goes on, people move on, and letting go is the best option we humans have.

I thought my life stopped after the divorce but sheryar wasn't worth my attention. I didn't want to care for a person who doesn't tend to have a single concern for me in his life. From that day onwards, I rejoined the office.

My savings earned me a good apartment in a good neighborhood, I had a thick paying salary and my life was finally coming on track.

"Mr. Hadid, I completed all the tasks and emailed your tomorrow's schedule, I'll be on my way home now, goodnight sir."

He was typing something on the laptop but halted when I came in.

"Miss yousuf, my driver will drop you at your home. It's pouring outside."

My Boss who is a man of few words uttered those words with his deep and clear voice.

"Uh—I don't want to be a burden on you, I can go on my own."

He exhaled a tired breath and got up after closing his laptop.

"C'mon I'll drop you off at the car."

"Mr. Hadid—"

"Miss yousuf you've met my mother, she will kill me if she found out that I let you go alone in this weather."

He didn't speak anything further and I accepted his offering silently because I was also scared of going alone home in this weather. Just two more paychecks until I can finally buy a car.

We were in the lobby when the drenched security guard came toward us.

"Mr. Hadid, Ahmed asked me to tell you that he has gone home his mother's health is very terrible, she may not survive this time."

I instantly prayed a silent prayer for the driver's mother to recover. I know how life is without parents. The people eat you alive with their hurtful words and there's no shield shielding you from those vultures.

"That's fine Sultan, I'll call him and ask him about his mother, for now, you can lock everything and leave, go home to family."

He patted the security guard's back and gestured for me to come with him.

"Sir, it's no problem, you don't have to do that."

"I thought we were over this discussion."

That made me shut, we walked for a minute till we reached his car, and like a true gentleman he opened the door for me.

He was right, the weather was horrible it felt like the sky was mourning for something like never before, it felt like all the hopeless people's tears gathered together to form a thunderstorm.

The traffic was jammed in some areas so took a different route, he told me to send my family the live location so that they would know I'm safe.

I internally laughed at this statement because I had no family and no one would ever know if something happened to me, however, I know him and his family and I know his mother raised him as a gentleman, I would have never take a ride from him if I had a doubt.

It was a barren road where the police stopped us.

Mr. Hadid slides his window down o speak with the bald inspector.

"ID?"

He gave his ID to the bald inspector.

Izhaan Hadid was acting like the inspector has wasted ten years of his life  even it was just two minutes.

"Who is she?"

"She's my employee, I'm driving her home."

The inspector let out a belly laugh and shook his head.

"Who are you fooling here young man, if she is your employee then I'm the president of Canada."

"Stop talking insanity, check my ID, and let us go, if you need some cash tell me."

"Ohh stop it here, not every inspector is dishonest, you privileged ungrateful brat, I'm just doing my job here the prime minister has announced that whoever non-married couple we see on Valentine's day we should get them married on spot  now come out you are going to be a groom soon."

My heart dropped in the pit of my stomach. If what he was telling true then they will get us married by hook or crock. I just saw this news in the morning as many young couples got caught on Valentine's day doing unusual things. I never thought I'll be the one to get trapped in this trap and that with my boss.

"C'mon give me your phones you both."

The bald inspector snatched the phone forcefully from Izhaan phone.

"Bibi jee please give me your bag." He politely asked me with a mischievous smile.

Izhaan argued for straight half an hour but the inspectors were printing they weren't hearing anything.

Molvi continued to prepare the papers and I stood like a statue.

They didn't give our phones and IDs back and they also held the car hostage.

Every door was closed except to get married to each other.

"Okay, everything is ready, Molvi Sahaab starts the Nikkah, bride, and groom are ready." The inspector whose name was Ali rubbed his hand together and smiled at Izhaan.

I took a glance at my soon-to-be husband and instantly it made me gulp. His jaw was tightly clenched, and the blue veins trying to burst from this temple were scaring me.

I only saw him angry a handful of times and those times were some of the worst times in the office.

Fifteen minutes later, we were sitting in the car as the new bride and groom.

It's funny how both of the times in my marriage my consent was not involved and both of the times it was a haste decision.

I didn't utter a single word and sat silently in the car. His phone lit up with an upcoming call.

He tightly closed his eyes and opened them to receive the call.

"Yes, Ammi?"

"Yes, I was stuck in the traffic."

"So they broadcasted it on the news, Yes it's me Ammi, I got married."

Damn, he didn't even lie or hesitated.

"I'm coming, yes I'm bringing her with me."

He glanced at me and declined the call.

"Call your family and tell them about the situation. But don't worry you don't have to explain they are broadcasting the names of the couples they helped to get married."

He scoffed and rubbed his temple in annoyance.

"I don't have a family." In a meek voice, I uttered.

"Pardon?"

The truth has to come out at some time. Why not now?

I closed my eyes and gazed outside the window.

"My parents died when I was fifteen, I went to live with my mother's best friend and I got married to her son when I was twenty-three, he left me after two years gave me a divorce, and here I'm."

I told my story calmly to him. I was calm in this whole situation because I knew divorce was still an option it happened before it will happen now.

When a major trauma hit you then all these other traumas felt normal.

"I didn't know about all this."

He cleared his throat and spoke deeply.

His woodsy spicy fragrance engulfed his whole car.

"You were not supposed to till now but anyways you don't have to bring me to your home, we will solve this matter privately."

"What do you mean?" He looked genuinely confused for the first time I've seen him.

"I'm talking about divorce. what else?"

He slams the brakes so hard and thankfully to the seatbelt or I would have been six feet under the ground.

"Are you in your goddamn mind? What kind of girl are you? You are talking about divorce when we just got married."

"I'm the girl who has been divorced first. You and I both know our consent wasn't involved so it's better to solve this matter before we involve other people."

"Listen to me and Listen to me very carefully Rameen, consent or not I'm not going to give you divorce. Forget about what happened in the past and look at me closely because I'm your present."

My mouth was half open after listening to his speech, we both gazed into each other's eyes and I realized he called me by my first name which he never did ever before.

Holaaaaaa

It's been what six months or a year.

I don't have any idea.

I am busy and demotivated my other writing projects which I wanted to share with you guys are also on hold. I have story ideas but I'm so demotivated, I don't know.

Anyway since I'm kind of back I wanted to write one shot this story has been in my drafts for a very long time it was supposed to be one shot but today as I continue to write I decided to change it into a short story.

Tell me your thoughts on this one

Keep me in your prayers cause I need them so bad it's difficult times rn but Inshallah it will pass.

Last but not least did you guys miss me?

As always

Take care

Allah hafiz.