Chapter 11
Author's POV:
Rayyan sat motionless, his fingers tightening into fists as the photographs scattered across the floor replayed themselves in his mind like a cruel film. His heart was burning, his chest heavy as if someone had caged it with iron chains.
'How could she? No... no, Aayat can't... but these pictures...'
Aayat's trembling hands reached for his. Her eyes brimmed with tears, her lips quivering as though each word weighed like stone.
"Rayyan... bharosa karo mera. Main ne kuch nahi kiya."
Her voice cracked, desperation dripping from every syllable. She clasped his hand tighter, but Rayyan pulled away, his jaw stiff. He bent down, picked up one of the photos from the floor, and turned it toward her face.
"Aur yeh?" His voice was sharp, almost breaking. "Kya yeh bhi jhoot hai? Kya yeh tasveerein bhi jhoot hai?"
Aayat's throat dried. Her fingers shook as she took the photo from him. When her gaze fell on the image, her breath hitched. She looked back at Rayyan, her eyes wide, almost pleading.
"Rayyan... yeh-"
But he cut her off, his voice roaring like a storm.
"Bas! Sirf itna bolo... yeh tasveer asli hai ya nahi? Aur ek lafz nahi!"
The hall fell into silence, everyone holding their breath. Even Ramsha, standing in a corner with that faint victorious smirk, seemed to enjoy every second.
Aayat's lips trembled. Her heart screamed inside her chest, 'ye pics asli hain, pr jo tum soch rahay ho ray, wo sach nahi hain. Aur ab agar mein haan bolun gy toh tumhe kho dugy aur agar jhoot bolugy tb be tumhe pata chal gaya toh tab be mein tumhe kho dugy.'
Finally, she whispered, her voice breaking.
"Haan... yeh asli hai... lekin-"
The word hadn't even left her tongue completely when Rayyan's hand flew across her cheek. The crack echoed in the room, silencing every soul.
Her face turned with the force, tears spilling instantly, but the pain wasn't from the slap-it was from the disbelief in his eyes.
Rayyan's vision blurred with rage and betrayal.
"Tum ek na-mehram ke saath chal rahi thi... uska bazu pakad ke, muskurati hui... aur phir us k ghar be gayi. Chiii, Aayat!" His chest rose and fell violently. "Sharam aati hai mujhe ke main ne tum jaisi ladki se mohabbat ki...."
His voice broke at the end, but his eyes remained cold.
Aayat stared at him through her tears, every muscle in her body trembling. Her soul screamed-"Not you... anyone but you..."
She turned her gaze to her family, to her father, Rashid Malik. Her lips stammered as she moved toward him.
"Abu... aap to mujh par bharosa karte ho na? Meinkych be kar sakti hoon kisi k saath prank kr skti hu , sharartein kr sakti hoon..... lekin aisi harkat? Kabhi nahi..." Her voice broke. "Abu... inhe batao... main aisi nahi hoon. Ap ki aayat aise nahi hain."
Rashid's eyes burned with tears, but his hands shook with rage. He looked at her, his face hard, and then his hand lifted.
SLAP.
The second blow landed, harder than the first.
"Asli hain na tasveerin? Bolti ho asli hain! Toh phir kya bacha kehne ko?" Rashid's voice thundered as he hit her again, a third slap that made her stumble to the ground.
The room froze.
Aayat fell, her knees scraping the marble, her tears mixing with the pain. She looked up at her father with shattered eyes. Her heart screamed silently, "You too, Abu? Even you?"
Everyone else averted their gaze. Hayaat, her younger sister, lowered her eyes quickly, guilt flashing across her face. The unspoken truth in her eyes was something she dared not reveal.
But Ramsha stood tall, watching like a predator savoring its kill. Her lips curved into an evil smile.
Aayat's body shook as she stood again, every bone aching. She walked to Ramsha, her eyes burning now-not with tears, but with fire. She stood inches away, her voice trembling with rage.
"Yeh sab tumhari karstani hai... tumne ye sab kiya hain pr kyu, kya bigada hai maine tumhara."
Her hand shot forward, pushing Ramsha with sudden force. Ramsha stumbled and fell, gasping.
The entire room erupted-voices, gasps, chaos.
Before Aayat could lunge again, Rayyan's body moved like a wall between them. His eyes locked with hers, cold, unrelenting.
"Bas!" he roared. "Band karo yeh drama, Aayat! Khabardar jo tumne Ramsha ko haath lagaya."
Aayat froze, her lips curling into a bitter smile of disbelief. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, voice trembling but cutting through every heart.
"Tum... is ke liye mere saamne khade ho?"
Her voice cracked. "Kal raat tumne kaha tha ke meri izzat tumhari izzat hain aur tum mere izzat k liye lad b sakte ho.... aur aaj...?"
Rayyan's jaw clenched. His throat tightened, but his pride forced the words out.
"Woh baat main ne us ladki se ki thi... jo meri nazar mein qabil-e-izzat thi. Jo meri duaon ki manzil thi. Jo aaj mere saamne khadi hai... usse toh mujhe apni bewi kehne pr be sharam a rahi hain."
Aayat staggered back as if his words had physically struck her harder than any slap. Her vision blurred, but she forced herself to speak.
"Ye ladki... Ramsha... ye hamare beech galat fehmiyan dal rahi hai! Abhi tak samj nahi paa rahi thi kyu? Pr ab sab samj rahi hoon...Ye tumhe chheenna chahti hai mujhse, Rayyan. Tumhe dikh kyu nahi raha?"
Before Rayyan could answer, Naziya Hashmi-Ramsha's mother-stepped forward, her voice sharp and accusing.
"Bas! Ab meri beti par ungli uthao gi tum? tunhari ye bakwas agar kisi ne sun li toh kon shadi karega meri beti se? Pehle apni izzat ki parwah nahi ki, ab hamare khandan ki ladkiyo ki izzat b mitti mein milaogi kya? Sharam aanii chahiye tumhe."
Aayat's chest heaved as she screamed through her tears.
"Main sach keh rahi hoon! Aapki beti ek shadi-shuda mard ke peeche padi hai... sharam usse aani chahiye, mujhe nahi!"
Gasps filled the room. Nafeesa Malik (Rayyan's mother), stepped forward, her eyes flashing with fury.
"Bas, Aayat! Ek lafz aur meri bhatiji Ramsha ke khilaf kaha toh main bhool jaungi ke tum Rashid Bhai ki beti ho!
Ramsha ek izzatdar ladki hai mere bhai ki beti hain .
.. character hai uska. Tumhari tarah nahi.
Aur agar tumne meri beti par ungli uthayi hai.
.. toh main yahin sab ke saamne ilan karti hoon-Rayyan aur Ramsha ki shaadi ka! "
The words fell like thunder. Everyone froze.
Rayyan's father (Shahbaz Malik), looked stunned, but his silence spoke volumes-he wasn't going to go against his wife.
Aayat staggered forward, clutching Rayyan's arm desperately.
"Rayyan! Tum sun rahe ho na? Inhe kaho... tum nahi karoge aisa! Meri taraf dekho... agar ladna chahte ho toh lad lo mujhse, beshak maar lo mujhe, lekin yeh... Ye zulm mat karna..."
Her voice shook the walls.
Rayyan's lips parted, his chest heavy. He looked into her broken eyes, and for a moment, his own heart twisted in pain.
But before he could speak, Nafeesa's voice cut through again.
"Aur sirf shaadi nahi... mera beta tumhe talaq dega, Aayat. Abhi ke abhi."
Aayat's body froze. Her knees nearly gave way as her gaze shot back to Rayyan.
"Nahi... Rayyan aisa nahi kare ga... nahi karo gay na tum Aisa ....tum aisa nahi karoge. Kaho na... tum nahi karoge. Please..." She cupped his face with trembling hands, her tears soaking his skin.
For a heartbeat, Rayyan closed his eyes, his chest heaving with the war inside him. "I still... I still love her... but these pictures... this betrayal... what if..."
When he opened his eyes, his voice was steel.
"Nahi duga..,"
Aayat exhaled, relief flooding her veins. A broken smile touched her lips, her soul clinging to hope.
But the next words shattered her entirely.
"Main tumhe talaq nahi dunga... tum zindagi bhar isi ghar k kisi kone mein padi raho gi. Aur haan main... mein Ramsha se shaadi karunga."
Her smile died instantly. Her breath caught, as if someone had ripped her heart straight from her chest.
The room spun around her, voices blurred, but all she saw was Rayyan-her Rayyan-turning away from her.
The one man she loved, the one she believed would stand against the world for her... had just buried her alive.
And in that moment, Aayat Malik broke completely.