She had been burning with fever for two days and hadn't regained consciousness. Even in her unconscious state, the only words that escaped her lips were: "She wants to go to her Papa..."
Using his influence, Kayan had Hooreen shifted to a room that had a connecting door to another room, where Kayan was currently staying.
Sometimes Halima Begum would stay with Hooreen... sometimes Ilyas Sahib... Amna would also come to see her every day. Whenever she was alone in the room, Kayan would come and sit by her side, just watching her...
Even while unconscious, she would sense the scent of Kayan's cologne and, terrified, she would start talking in her sleep, which made her condition worse, forcing him to leave. Hooreen wasn't waking up.
He went to Dr. Aafia, who was treating Hooreen. Due to Kayan's position and status, everyone knew him well, and when they found out she was Kayan Zarar's wife, they left no stone unturned in her treatment.
"Doctor, why isn't Hoor waking up...?"
He asked with concern, and she replied:
"Sir, a fear has settled in her heart, and her condition has become like this because of that fear. She herself doesn't want to regain consciousness."
"Hmm, alright. I know how to bring her back to consciousness."
Having said this, he went to Hooreen. Today, he had decided he would take her with him. But it was daytime, and Hooreen's parents were right outside. He put on a doctor's coat, covered his face with a mask, entered the room, and sat by Hooreen. He held her hand in one of his and placed the other on her cheek, speaking tenderly:
"Hoor... Hoor... wake up now... you've rested long enough... Mrs. Kayan Zarar, wake up... look, I've come to take you... Hoor... Hoor..."
In her unconsciousness, she could hear Kayan's voice, and the scent of his cologne made her sense his presence. She thought it was a hallucination, but when the same voice kept calling, she woke up screaming.
"N-no... No... Pa...pa... he..."
Hearing her voice, Jailani Sahib and Halima Begum rushed inside, and Kayan stood back a little distance from her.
"N... no... don't... do... this... I... want... to... go... home... Papa... he... will... take... me..."
She was getting hysterical. They were trying unsuccessfully to calm her. When she didn't settle, Halima Begum slapped her across the face and spoke angrily, shaking her:
"Tell me, whose face have you blackened that you've brought yourself to this state...?"
Kayan clenched his fists in restraint.
"Halima...!"
Ilyas Sahib's hand stopped just before striking her. He roared in anger.
Hearing her mother's words, Hooreen forgot to cry and just stared at her. Ilyas Sahib took her in his arms and shouted in rage:
"Get out of here! Before I do something wrong."
She left the room. Kayan also left, feeling a wave of anger at himself that Hooreen was in this state because of him.
"Papa... I... didn't do... anything... all of this... he... did... he... forced... the Nikah..."
Crying, she told Ilyas Sahib everything. Tears welled up in his eyes upon hearing it. He had kept his daughter so shielded, yet sorrow had found its way to her. He was furious at that man and pained for his daughter, but amidst it all, he was relieved that his daughter's honor was intact.
Halima Begum, who was standing outside the door, involuntarily looked up and thanked God that her daughter's honor was safe. Nothing had happened as she had feared. She entered the room and hugged Hooreen, saying:
"My... daughter... forgive me for what I said. If I hadn't done that, you would never have found the courage to speak the truth and tell us everything. I know my daughter can do nothing wrong."
Halima Begum took her into the shelter of her maternal love. Hooreen had been longing for her affection and love for so long, and today her mother had finally embraced her with love.
What had happened to Hooreen was very painful for them, but they stood by her and became her strength.
"Noor...!"
She was just about to enter the house with her husband after getting essentials from the market when she heard a familiar voice. Her steps halted. When she looked back in surprise, her suspicion was confirmed—it was her beloved brother.
She called out instinctively:
"Brother...!"
Saying this, she ran and hugged him, the brother she had been away from for so long.
"Noor... where have I not searched for you...? For what crime did you punish your brother...? Why did you stay away from me for so long...? How did you bear so much alone? You should have told your brother at least once..."
She said nothing, just kept crying. Her husband then spoke:
"Please come inside, brother. Let's talk inside."
The three of them sat in the drawing room. Noor was still sitting under the affectionate shadow of her brother.
"Noor... why did you leave your home...?"
"Brother! That wasn't my home; it was yours and Big Mom's home. I had no home of my own. I was sent into this world only to be kicked around and humiliated."
She said sadly.
"What kind of talk is this, Noor...?"
"I'm telling the truth, brother... What was my fault if Papa married Mama secretly? Mama left me as soon as I was born. Papa handed me over to Big Mom, who always rejected me with hatred. Only you gave me love and cared for me, but after you left, Big Mom threw me out of the house and made me swear never to contact you. I had no place to go but my grandmother's house, and I couldn't live in peace there either—that vile man ruined my life. What was my fault in all this? For what sin was I punished...?"
Jailani Sahib's father, Mustafa, had secretly married a middle-class girl whose only living relative was her mother. Allah blessed them with a daughter, but his wife passed away. He then handed little Noor over to his first wife, Afsha. Zarar Jailani was ten years old at the time and was very happy to see the little girl, while Afsha Begum fell silent after making a huge scene. But in her heart, she harbored nothing but hatred for Noor. After some time, her father passed away, leaving Noor in Jailani Sahib's care. He raised Noor more like a parent than a brother, taking care of her every need. Fifteen years passed like this, and Jailani Sahib's love for his sister grew. Afsha Begum couldn't stand this and sent Jailani Sahib abroad for studies. Now there was no one to stop her, and she committed countless atrocities against Noor. Noor talked to her brother every day but never mentioned the cruelty she faced; she knew her brother would leave everything and come to her. There, he met Rumaisa and fell in love. He first told Noor, who spoke to Rumaisa and told her brother that she liked her. Circumstances were such that he had to marry her in haste. On the other hand, Afsha Begum's cruelty crossed all limits; she threw Noor out of the house and made her swear by Jailani Sahib that she would never contact him again. She had nowhere to go but to her grandmother. As days went by, Noor fell in love with her cousin, who also loved her immensely. Their families fixed their marriage. She worked a job to run the house. Their life was going happily until Amin Laghari entered and destroyed their lives.
"Madam, how can your life be destroyed while I am here? I am at your service for life,"
Ilyas Sahib said humorously to lighten the mood.
Jailani Sahib had searched for Noor for a long time but couldn't find her, and today he had suddenly found her like this. He spoke in a voice filled with grief and anger:
"Noor, I am your brother. You should have told me everything once. I would have left everything to be with you. When you needed my support, why did you deprive yourself and me? Someone else told me everything... why didn't you tell me...? And you left me... To punish your offender, I took the help of the law, but you weren't there and he escaped. I would have killed him right then, but that punishment wouldn't have been enough. That's why I thought of marrying my son to his daughter. I knew Kayan had no interest in marriage or relationships and because of that, he would never form this bond, and seeing his daughter like that, he would die little by little and be punished for his sins. But nothing like that happened; everything turned upside down. She wasn't even Amin's daughter; she was his brother's daughter whom he was raising—he has no children of his own. And Kayan also fell in love with another girl and married her without her consent. Do you know who that girl is...? That girl is none other than your Hooreen..."
His words felt like the ground had been pulled from beneath their feet. They both stared at Jailani Sahib in disbelief. Ilyas Sahib clenched his fists in anger, stood up, and looking at him furiously, said:
"Today, because of your son, my Hooreen is in this state. I will never forgive him."
Jailani Sahib joined both his hands before them and said:
"I apologize to both of you with folded hands. Forgive me and my son. I became the cause of grief for my beloved sister... I..."
Halima Noor and Ilyas Sahib both caught his hands at the same time. Halima Begum couldn't see her brother like that, nor could Ilyas Sahib. Although he was meeting him for the first time today, everything he had heard about him from Halima Begum made him feel as if he had known him for years.
"Brother, you are our elder. Please don't fold your hands like that. It pains your Noor as much as it pains me,"
Hearing Ilyas Sahib, he embraced him and said:
"My sister is very lucky to have found a life partner like you, who stands by his wife through every bad situation as her shield."
"But I will never forgive Kayan. What he did to my daughter was wrong,"
Ilyas Sahib said in a firm tone, and Jailani Sahib remained silent.
Halima Begum's voice broke the silence in the air:
"Brother, all this was written in Hooreen's fate. A sigh from someone's heart never goes in vain."
And then Halima Begum told him something that left Jailani Sahib in deep shock this time.
"Dad, none of these things matter to me. I love Hoor; she is my wife, my honor. Nothing else holds any importance for me."
The two were sitting in the office. Jailani Sahib had told him everything, which Kayan heard silently and then replied. His answer satisfied Jailani Sahib, who embraced him with pride and joy, saying:
"Today, by saying this, you have removed such a great burden from me."
Within a few days, she recovered and started going back to work. When she arrived at the school, there was a strange hustle and bustle in the air. Ignoring it, she went into the staff room. No sooner had she entered than Amna immediately hugged her and said:
"Thank God you're back! I was about to die of boredom."
She just smiled, and Amna spoke into her ear in a secretive, happy tone:
"Do you know our school has been sold...?"
"It's been 'selling' for the past two years; what's new in that?"
She said normally.
"No, crazy girl, this time it's really sold. And what's more, I've heard they won't hire new staff, which means our jobs are perfectly safe."
Seeing Amna's excitement, she said:
"So what's there to be so happy about? You're acting as if you've been given the Principal's seat."
"Useless girl, listen! Before, they could fool the Director, but this time it's different. Our new 'Sir' is quite educated and has a huge business. So now, what will happen to Sumaira, Mahjabeen, and Ma'am...?"
She said mischievously.
"How did you get so much information...?"
Hooreen asked in surprise, and she replied naughtily:
"Madam, you know I get news of everything. I'm just worried that if he turns out to be more cruel then...?"
"What do we have to do with any of that? We should only care about our work and our job. We did our work honestly under those three, and we'll do the same in the future, whoever the owner may be."
"I know that, buddy. They are also making everyone sign a one-year contract."
"So we'll sign it. It's not like we intend to leave the job. Neither you have such an intention nor do I,"
Hooreen said nonchalantly.
Then the 'Ma' came to call them, saying Ma'am had called everyone to her office. They all went and signed the one-year contract. Some new things had been added to it, such as the right to fire them being solely with the owner. Without his permission, they couldn't hire or fire anyone. No employee could leave the job without their permission; doing so would require them to pay a heavy fine.
Neither of them cared about these things; in fact, they were happy after reading these conditions.
They were all about to leave when Mahjabeen stopped Hooreen and asked:
"Where were you all these days...?"
"I wasn't well, that's why I didn't come."
"What kind of illness was it that you took so many leaves?"
Sumaira said sarcastically, and she restrained herself while Amna spoke angrily:
"The doctor's reports and certificate are in the file on the table in front of Ma'am. You can satisfy yourself and see what the reason was. Come on, Hooreen, let's go from here."
Amna caught her hand and brought her outside. She looked at Hooreen, whose face was completely flat, as if she didn't care. Since she had recovered, there was a significant change in her; she didn't cry at every little thing and laughed very little, as if all her emotions had died. She had composed herself only for her parents.