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He was sitting on the sofa in his room. Today, he had called for a doctor; he was worried about Maham. He wanted to resolve this matter.

‘I’ll go alone.’

He was stepping down the stairs when he heard Maham say this near the dining hall. She was standing between her two mothers, and exhaustion was clearly visible on her face. She was ill, and perhaps worried too after yesterday’s events.

Za’im didn’t try to speak to Maham, nor did they cross paths. He came downstairs and walked straight toward the corridor. Just then, Rahila Begum called him from behind. He turned his gaze toward his mother, his expression hardened, his eyes burning with restrained anger.

“Son, are you going to the university?” Rahila Begum asked in a pleasant tone.

“Yeah.” It was a one-word answer, his tone serious.

“Then, son, take Maham with you too. These days her health isn’t very good, she keeps fainting again and again,” she said, lovingly caressing her head.

Maham didn’t want to go at all. She didn’t know why, but after yesterday, she felt embarrassed. She was in a lot of pain. Za’im’s last words echoed in her mind.

She was confused. Her mind told her that whatever she had said was right, that she was justified in saying those things. But her heart… whatever her heart was trying to tell her only confused her more.

She wanted to cry. Had Za’im really started hating her? Her eyes welled up with tears. 

“I’ll tell the driver. He can drop her off safely,” he said without looking at Maham even once. His heart kept pulling toward her, but he was trying to control himself now.

“If I wanted to send her with the driver, why would I ask you?” Rahila Begum replied. Both she and Nafisa Begum found his response strange. Maham hadn’t expected this from Za’im either.

“Then call Anza. She can take her along, she goes that way too,” he said again, trying to end the matter by bringing up Maham’s close friend’s name. Now Rahila Begum was clearly surprised.

“Za’im, what has happened? Have you two argued again?” she asked, startled by his behavior. His answers had already unsettled her.

“Ahh… no… it’s not like that,” Za’im said, suddenly flustered. Maham’s gaze remained fixed on the floor.

“Actually… I drive a bit rashly. That’s why I said it, so she wouldn’t get worried.”

The real shock hit Maham then. Perhaps for the first time in her memory, Za’im hadn’t taken her name, nor had he called her by any endearment. Instead, he had referred to her as “her.”

Maham wanted to break down in sobs.Why? Even, she didn’t know.

God was her witness…there was a strange kind of comfort she found with Za’im. Something unfamiliar… something she couldn’t name. And for that very feeling, she considered herself guilty.

But how could she know the truth she was unaware of? Every confusion, every question within her had only one answer,one that no one seemed willing to give her.

“So what? Take her with you. Just drive carefully,” Rahila Begum said, though the light on her face had visibly dimmed. Nafisa Begum, too, felt something was off.

“As you say.” Saying that, he turned and walked toward the door. Rahila Begum and Nafisa Begum exchanged a glance, then looked at Maham, who still stood there, her eyes lowered to the floor.

***************

Both of them had accompanied Maham to the car and left before she got in.

Maham was about to open the front passenger door when the driver quickly stepped forward and opened the back door for her. She flinched, then quietly sat in the back seat.

As soon as she sat down, Za’im appeared from somewhere and opened the front door, sitting in the passenger seat. Maham stared at him in shock.

For a few moments, she kept looking at Za’im’s left arm, which was continuously moving as he adjusted something on the car’s system. Then suddenly, something like flashes appeared in her mind and a sharp pain hit her head. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Behind the curtains of her mind, blurred images began forming… She was sitting in a car… someone called out to her and she startled… then suddenly she laughed… she was wearing a red frock… someone was speaking to her, but his face was unclear… he jerked his jacket collar and a voice echoed

“I am not your driver, sit in the front!”

She immediately laughed and reached for the front door.

Maham was drenched in sweat. She suddenly opened her eyes, breathing heavily. Slowly she lifted her gaze…Za’im was turning the ignition key. Just as he was about to press the accelerator, he suddenly turned his head, sensing something… maybe he had seen her in the rear-view mirror.

What happened?” he asked in a careful tone. She was drenched in sweat and breathing heavily.

“Should I give you some water?” While saying this, he opened the water bottle and moved it toward her. His every action toward her remained cold and distant.

Maham raised her hand, took the bottle, and drank some water before handing it back to him.

“Are you feeling well?” he asked expressionlessly, looking at her.

“No…” She wanted to say yes, and wanted to lie, but she couldn’t.

“Let’s go inside the house,” Za’im said as he got out of the car. She also stepped out.

Za’im was about to call the maid when she said, “I want to sit here in the garden,” pointing toward the lush greenery ahead. Za’im nodded and moved toward her.

“Can you walk on your own?” he asked slowly, coming closer. Maham looked at Za’im and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her skin felt cold now.

Za’im raised his hand toward her, and without knowing why, Maham took it. She didn’t know why, but she felt safe and at peace in his presence, and her heart never questioned her for feeling that way.

They both sat on the stone bench, and Maham rested her head against the backrest. A few moments of silence passed when suddenly Maham’s phone rang.

Za’im flinched and looked at her, while Maham stared irritably at the flashing screen of her phone. Because of the caller ID app, the name was also visible….“Bakkal Bhai.”

Where a bitter taste rose in Maham’s throat, anger also flashed in Za’im’s eyes. For a few moments, she endured it in frustration, then finally decided and answered the call.

“Hello…” she said in a harsh tone.

“Hey… my love!” came a voice, filthy in tone and full of disgustingly inappropriate familiarity.

“You need to remember your limits. That one word has already damaged your character and faith more than anything else ever could. Your punishment will be far worse on the Day of Judgment. Do you understand?” She was shouting now, clearly furious.

Za’im immediately snatched the phone from her hand and turned on the speaker.

“I didn’t call for a lecture, my love!” the voice continued. “That day when you came to university in that red frock… and your silk hair left open… I swear to God, I just wanted to hold you.”

Za’im felt like he could kill him right there. His eyes had turned red with rage.

Maham’s eyes were also now filled with redness. Something clicked in Za’im’s mind. He quickly ended the call and blocked the number.

Maham looked at him for a few moments, then silently turned her face away.