Hearing this, Mr. Jilani lunged at him in rage and landed a hard slap on his face. He spoke in a bitter, venomous tone—words he hadn't wanted to say in front of Hooreen or Laghari.
"Don't utter another word! The one you are calling filthy blood is your own daughter! My sister Noor and your... you must remember Noor, don't you...???"
Amin Laghari was shocked; a dark shadow fell over his face. He stammered in disbelief:
"What are you saying... you... this... my... daughter...? And Noor... your... sister...?"
"Yes, she is your daughter and Noor is my sister... I came into your life because of that Noor. I would have killed you long ago, but that wouldn't have made you feel the pain we all went through. That's why I chose Hareem for my son—but later I found out she wasn't your biological daughter. Even then, I didn't step back; I knew Kayan would never take the relationship seriously and that would hurt you. I wanted to see you writhe every moment, but look, fate brought you to this turn. The girl Kayan married turned out to be your own daughter—your own blood, the child you yearned for day and night. You are responsible for her state...!"
At these revelations, Hooreen, who had been listening with held breath, closed her eyes in agony and questioned her Lord:
"How many more tests are left...? How much more agony and grief... is left to endure...?"
"No... you are lying... she... my... daughter...??? Is that why I was... drawn... toward her...? No... all of this...? Oh... my God... this... my daughter... my daughter...!"
With tearful eyes and a smile on his face, he moved toward Hooreen with staggering steps. Meanwhile, Mr. Ilyas also came inside. Hooreen opened her eyes and saw Laghari approaching her while her Papa stood in the doorway. Hooreen immediately got off the bed and ran to hug Mr. Ilyas... She, who had been imprisoned in agony and grief, forgot everything in her father's embrace. The shadow of a father's affection is such that a child feels free from every trouble, grief, and worry under it.
"Hooreen child...!"
Gathering courage, Laghari moved toward them and addressed Hooreen. She pulled away from Mr. Ilyas and turned toward him in anger:
"Don't call me child! I am nothing to you."
He spoke in a defeated tone:
"Don't speak like that, I am your father and you are my daughter...!"
Before he could finish, she spoke:
"Neither are you my father, nor am I your daughter!"
Saying this, she grabbed Mr. Ilyas's hand, brought him before Laghari, and finished her sentence:
"This is my Papa, and I am his daughter, only and only his!"
"I am ashamed of what I did, my daughter, forgive me. No matter what you say, you are my blood; my blood is circulating in your veins, you are my daughter...!"
At his words, she spoke maniacally:
"I said I am not your daughter! Will your being ashamed fix everything...? Will my Mama's grief and agony end...? Will what happened to me because of you be fixed...? Look at me—this state of mine is the penance for your sins! Look at me—the man who couldn't even dream of hurting me, who became restless at my slightest pain, today that same man became the cause of my greatest agony, only because of you...! Where was my fault in what you did to Mama...? My Mama hated me considering me your blood and prayed that the same should happen to me that you did to her... and look, the same happened to me... but where was my fault in this...? What was my crime...? In her grief, my Mama made prayers of agony for me... and now all of you be happy seeing me in agony! And you were right when you said I am someone's filthy blood... your filthy blood is in my veins... which won't stay for long!"
Saying this, she picked up a knife from the fruit basket and slit her wrist. It all happened so suddenly that no one could do anything.
"Hooreen...!"
All three called her at once; everyone's breath hitched. As the three of them moved toward her, she spoke:
"Stay right there, all of you! Otherwise, I can do much more than this!"
"Hooreen child, why are you agonizing your Papa...? Drop it, look how much blood is flowing...!"
"Child, why are you harming yourself? Look, you're badly hurt, drop it... Doctor... Nurse...!"
While talking to her, Mr. Jilani also called out for the doctors. Everyone rushed in and were stunned by the situation. Seeing her like this, Laghari spoke in agony:
"Child... don't do this... forgive me, a sinner... I was deprived of children my whole life and yearned for a child, and today my daughter stands like this before me... I am an offender to you and your mother, forgive me... but stop this madness...!"
Hooreen ignored them all and spoke to Amin Laghari:
"I should forgive you...? Never! Just as you yearned for a child your whole life, now seeing her in this state, you will spend the rest of your life writhing in pain... Look, Mr. Amin Laghari, look, your blood is flowing, it's leaving my body. Now perhaps you've understood that I am not your daughter...!"
Her attention was toward Laghari, so the other two signaled each other. Mr. Jilani moved forward and took the knife from her hand while Mr. Ilyas caught her. Her blood was flowing very fast. She spoke while becoming exhausted:
"Now you will writhe like this your whole life, knowing that I received the punishment for your sins...!"
After that, she lost consciousness. They laid her on the bed and the doctors rushed toward her.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself in a car. Her head was resting in Mr. Ilyas's lap. She sat up and asked:
"Where are we going...?"
Mr. Ilyas said:
"We are going home."
"I don't want to go home... not at all right now."
"Hooreen child, you can come with me, can't you...?"
In response to Mr. Ilyas's question, she said:
"No Papa, Mama is there too, and also Kayan... he will never let me... stay there."
"I know this, you don't want to go to Kayan right now, nor with your Papa. But no matter where in the world you go, Kayan will find you and take you with him. I don't want any force used on you. I want you to make this decision of your own will, whether you want to stay with Kayan or not... and anyway, Kayan will look for you everywhere except his own home. That's why I am taking you to the house in Karachi so you don't have any problems."
Hearing this, she nodded in an understanding and agreeing manner. She also knew she couldn't hide from Kayan for long... and her fear didn't prove wrong. Mr. Ilyas dropped them at the airport and left for Sialkot. They were waiting for their flight when Kayan's call started coming on his phone. He answered the call while looking at Hooreen and turned on the loudspeaker. At that time, only the two of them were in the waiting room.
In just a few hours, he turned heaven and earth upside down to find Hooreen. He was Kayan Zarrar; it was impossible to hide anything from him, and this matter concerned his Hoor. Through his sources, he learned that Mr. Laghari had taken Hooreen to the hospital. He immediately reached the same ward where Hooreen had been. Upon arriving, he saw a great deal of blood on the floor, which a ward boy was cleaning. Seeing this, Kayan's heart began to sink. His gaze fell upon Mr. Laghari, who was sitting on the floor near the bed, weeping. He went to him and asked desperately about Hooreen.
"Where is my Hoor...? You brought her here, didn't you? Where is she...?"
In response to his question, Laghari lunged at him in a state of fury. Before he could grab Kayan's collar, Kayan caught his hands, and Laghari spoke out in rage:
"You bastard...!"
"How could you do something so low to my daughter...? You should have punished me for my sins—why my daughter...? Why did you do this...? My daughter is in so much pain... my Hooreen... my child...!"
Kayan, who had been listening with confusion and annoyance, was startled at the mention of Hooreen's name. He had assumed Laghari was talking about Hareem; he hadn't even imagined in his wildest thoughts that he was referring to Hooreen. At this revelation, he jerked Laghari's hands away, grabbed him by the shoulders, and spoke:
"Hoor...? Where is she...? Tell me, where is Hoor!"
"Do you think I consider you worthy enough to tell you about my daughter? Even after everything you've done...?"
Laghari spoke with a bitter sneer, to which Kayan replied in a cold tone:
"For your kind information, she is my wife."
"I have every right to know about her, and I am worthy enough to ask you about her. Yes, you are not worthy of calling yourself her father, nor will she ever consider you as such... As for what happened between Hoor and me, the right to talk about it or give punishment belongs only to Hoor. This is our matter, and we will handle it ourselves. Tell me decently, where is my Hoor? Otherwise, you know me very well...!"
At his cold demeanor, Laghari was stunned for a few moments. Then, after a short while, he spoke in a defeated tone:
"I don't know... she hates me. She just left here... I know nothing about it."
"If I get even a hint that you had a hand in Hoor's disappearance, or if anything happens to her because of you, I will wipe out your very existence!"
Speaking in a freezing tone, he left and went straight to the security room because he had already noticed the cameras in the hospital and that ward. He knew very well how to use his status. He checked the hospital footage, where everything became clear. Seeing Hooreen slit her wrist, Kayan's heart almost stopped. His eyes involuntarily moved to the blood on the floor near the bed that the ward boy had been cleaning; he now understood why his heart had felt such dread upon seeing it. He also saw Mr. Ilyas and Mr. Jilani taking an unconscious Hooreen with them. The scene where Mr. Ilyas said he wouldn't let Hoor stay with him and that he would receive a divorce notice flashed before his eyes. He immediately called Haleema Begum, from whom he learned that Mr. Ilyas was going home alone and Hooreen was not with him. Then, he called Mr. Jilani.
As soon as his father answered the call, Kayan spoke:
"Dad, where is Hoor...?"
At his voice, Hooreen's breath hitched. Mr. Jilani spoke in an angry manner:
"You should know where Hooreen is. Why are you asking me? I don't know where she is."
Hearing this, Kayan spoke in an agitated voice:
"Dad, I know my Hoor is with you. I have checked the CCTV footage. You and Uncle Ilyas took Hoor with you... I have already found out she isn't with Uncle Ilyas, so it's obvious she is with you. Please tell me where she is... she has hurt herself badly, Dad. She needs me right now, please tell me where she is...!"
At his words, Hooreen's heart rate accelerated. On the other side, Mr. Jilani was stunned into silence, wondering how Kayan found out everything despite all the hiding and instructing everyone to stay quiet. He had even paid the security to remain silent, but he had underestimated his own son's reach. Controlling his surprise, he spoke:
"I did take her with me, but she is not with me anymore."
To this, Kayan spoke with confidence:
"Dad, Hoor is right there with you. I can hear her racing heartbeat."
At his words, Hooreen instinctively placed her hand over her heart, as if she wanted to suppress the sound of those fast-paced beats... to stop them. Mr. Jilani also involuntarily looked toward Hooreen. Kayan continued speaking:
"I also know that Hoor is listening to our conversation right now... Hoor... please forgive me... You can sentence me to any punishment, I will accept it, but not the punishment of staying away from me, Hoor... come back to me...!"
As Hooreen's restlessness grew at his words, Mr. Jilani cut him off mid-sentence and spoke:
"Kayan, I did bring Hooreen along, but she didn't want to go with me, nor does she want to return to you. She didn't even go with Ilyas. She wanted to be alone. If I had insisted on stopping her or used force, she would have done something wrong to herself. Surely you saw her slitting her wrist; I didn't want to see her do that again, so I let her go... None of us knows where she went, nor did she say anything. And anyway, I am taking my luggage and some files from Karachi and going to America...!"
After saying his piece, he ended the call. Kayan closed his eyes in agony, and leaving that place, he began driving frantically through the streets, searching for Hoor.