Chapter 50 #8
"Zaviyar won't leave you. I'll make sure of that.", Wajahat's voice echoed through the study, stopping him in his tracks. His hand tightened around the file, but he remained where he was, hidden beyond the doorway.
"Oh! So, now you will force him to be with me. You can't force him to love me."
"On our anniversary. He was so good to you. Why will he leave you, bachcha?", Safiya gently moved away from Wajahat's comforting hand.
"That is to show the world that we are a happy couple. Don't you know the men of your own house? They would rather fake it than show the world their weakness."
It was partly true. That's what it had been like during the initial phase of their marriage.
"Safiya..."
"Dad, just tell me. Do you plan to move to Azamgarh or not? If not now, then in the future?", She searched his face, only to find him avoiding her eyes. A faint, defeated smile crossed her lips.
"Okay. Stay here for as long as you wish. I'm sorry for wanting my parents to stay with me.", she hissed.
"Safiya, bachcha, listen to me...", She turned away before he could finish. With heavy steps, she walked towards the door and pulled it open.
The moment her eyes lifted, she froze. Zaviyar stood directly outside. A file rested loosely in his hand. His face revealed nothing. Neither anger nor disappointment.
Only an unsettling emptiness lingered in his eyes. For a fleeting second, their gazes met. Her heartbeat faltered. Without saying a single word, Zaviyar looked away.
He walked past her as though she wasn't even there. Not once did he spare her another glance. He crossed the room in measured strides before placing the property file on Wajahat's desk with quiet precision.
"These are the assets Grandfather left you. And these are the ones he left for... your daughter.", Safiya's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. He hadn't even uttered her name.
"You wanted our marriage so that you could walk back into that house and claim these assets. Here you go.", Zaviyar's voice carried no anger, no bitterness. It was simply cold.
He placed the files before her and turned to leave. As he walked past, his eyes met hers for the briefest second. There was nothing in them. No fury. No disappointment. No pain.
That terrified her far more than if he had shouted. Without so much as a blink, he strode past her, his shoulder grazing hers ever so slightly before disappearing from the room.
Oh God...
The color drained from her face.
A wave of panic crashed over her all at once. She hadn't meant a single word she'd thrown at him. She had only wanted her parents to hear them, to believe she wasn't happy there, so they would stop insisting on staying and return to Azamgarh.
Instead...
She had shattered the one man she never wanted to hurt. Safiya hurried upstairs, almost stumbling over the steps. She pushed open the bedroom door with enough force for it to slam against the wall before her frantic gaze searched the room.
It was empty. Her heartbeat quickened until she noticed the balcony doors standing open. He was there.
Silhouetted against the night, Zaviyar stood with one hand resting on the railing. The faint cherry-red glow of a cigarette burned in the darkness, briefly illuminating the sharp lines of his face before fading again.
Between his fingers rested the same pink lighter she had gifted him. The sight made her chest tighten. Ever since she had given it to him, he had never once used it to light a cigarette.
Tonight, he had. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she walked toward him with hesitant steps.
"I- i didn't mean that.", He didn't turn around.
" Your words were clear, no hesitation in your voice when you said that. ", His fingers tightened around the lighter before he flicked it shut with a soft metallic click.
He let out a quiet breath, the smoke disappearing into the night.
" you're misunderstanding. Let me explain... "
" You have already explained Safiya. ", Her throat burned.She wanted to stop him. She wanted him to call her love, sweetheart... all the names that had once come so naturally to him. Anything but the distance in his voice now.
But the words refused to leave her mouth.
"You were right.", His voice was calm.
"Your husband doesn't want your parents living there."
Each word landed with quiet precision, sharp enough to leave wounds no apology could immediately heal.
"And yes...", He finally looked at her, "...you're also right about one thing."
"I am not giving you a divorce."
It vanished just as quickly. His expression remained unreadable, almost frighteningly so.
"You signed the nikah papers." His voice dropped lower. "So did I. And that's all I know.", He stepped past her.
"Zaviyar-" she caught his arm, trying to make him stop. " Tum galat soch rahe ho.",He halted, but he didn't turn around.
"mom and dad promised me that if I married you, they could stay with me. I- i said all those things back there so that dad and mom would worry about me a little and move back to Azamgarh.", Her words tumbled out in a rush, desperate and breathless.
Zaviyar merely nodded. He still didn't look at her. The silence that followed stretched unbearably between them. Unable to bear it any longer, she stepped closer and gently tapped his shoulder.
"Say something."
The desperation in her voice was slowly giving way to frustration, but he remained standing exactly where he was, unmoving, leaving her alone with the crushing weight of his silence.
"What exactly should I say?", Safiya parted her lips.
Nothing. Not a single word came out.
For the first time in her life, the woman who always had an answer for everything found herself completely speechless. Every explanation sounded meaningless now. Every excuse felt too small to undo the damage she had caused.
"I heard enough.", His shoulders remained stiff, his back still turned toward her.
"I'm not angry at you. ", his voice remained calm
Safiya remained rooted to the floor, watching him disappear into the room as though he were taking every ounce of warmth with him.
She had seen Zaviyar furious. She had seen him possessive. She had even seen him cruel. But jis was unbearable.
He walked to the bed, picked up a pillow and folded a blanket over his arm.
Her heartbeat lurched, "Wait..."
She hurried after him, her fingers instinctively wrapping around his bicep, as though holding onto him physically could stop him from slipping away emotionally.
He looked down at her hand for a fleeting moment before speaking.
"I'll sleep on the sofa. You don't have to bear the burden of sharing your bed or your life with a man who's nothing more than a contract husband."
The words were calm. But they carved through her heart with ruthless precision. He gently freed his arm from her grasp and walked away.
She stared at her hand, cold and rejected. Moments later, he lay down on the sofa, pulling the blanket over himself and turning his back toward her.
Safiya stood in the middle of the room, frozen. The distance between the bed and the sofa was barely a few feet. Yet it felt impossible to cross.
For the first time since their marriage, she realized she had no idea how to reach her own husband. The room fell into a suffocating silence, the kind that pressed against her chest until it became difficult to breathe.
Her eyes burned as she stared at his motionless figure.
He wasn't looking at her. He wasn't arguing. He wasn't asking for an explanation. He had simply... shut her out.
"I know you are angry. Then talk with me goddamnit. Blame me if need be. "
Her voice cracked as she shouted, frustration and desperation colliding in a single plea. He remained still for a long moment before answering.
"I am not blaming you, safiya. I understand where you are coming from just give me some time."
Time.That one word broke something inside her. Because she knew Zaviyar.
If he had shouted, she could have calmed him.
If he had argued, she could have argued back.
If he had cried, she would have wiped away every tear.
But a man who only asked for time... was a man quietly trying to gather the shattered pieces of his heart where no one could see him.