Aina's POV.

Sometimes we tried to take the things which were never meant to be us. We betray, we cheats, we scream, we snatch but still, the things which were never meant for us, wouldn't come to us. So don't run after the things which didn't belong to you. Don't hurt you parents for the things they couldn't bring for you.

You snatch today but who knows you had to give something more precious than the previous ones. Don't hurt anyone for your happiness cause karma is real.

Jaisa karoge, waisa bharoge.

As you sow, so shall you reap.

Just like I take Reema's fiance but she took my husband. Losing a lover maybe wouldn't have shattered you the way losing your husband would. I wish I let him marry the girl he chose for himself. I wished i wouldn't be tarnished his name. I wished i wouldn't have disgrace my parents name.

I gave him everything. I love him immensely. But what I got in return? His hate? His betrayal? I become a toy he loved to play. He said my beauty made him came close to me. He never love me. He only have anything for me than its need. I didn't believe him before but now I believed it.

Don't love like this. Love that disgrace you. You got nothing, not even forgiveness.

A alone tear fell from my eyes.

"Aina" Mama wipe the lone tear which fell from my void eyes. I looked at the woman who was still beside me when everyone left my side. Her eyes were moist and I realised that her eyes were like this since a week. She cried seeing me like this.

"Aina, come beta we will have our breakfast out, today" she said caressing my cheeks.

"I don't want to go out" I whispered looking down at the book in my hand which I didnt even open.

"How long will you do this? It's been a week since you went out of the room" she said softly. "You have to accept all this Aina. You have to accept that Saim moved on in his life. You have to accept that you lost him. Ankhe band karne se sach badal nahi jata meri jaan," (closing your eyes doesn't change the truth) she wiped the tears that fell from my eyes. I lowered my head even more as I couldn't hold back my tears. I don't know how much tears I have. It didn't stop even after crying day and night.

He moved on.

I lost him.

Ankhe band karne se sach badal nahi jata.

I looked up and wipe my cheeks.

"Ab ankhe nahi band karungi mama. Ab samna karungi. Ab ki beti bahot strong hai." (Now I won't close my eyes Mama. I will.face it. Your daughter is strong) I smiled with teary eyes. She also smile with tearfilled eyes.

"Be strong. And remember I will always be with you. You don't need anyone." She rubbed my back. I nodded holding her tightly.

i went to the washroom after taking shower I came out in peach cobbler simple kurta and pant with white dupatta. Mama dry my hair while I sat on the bed. She gathered my hair in a rabber band loosely as it was still damp and a few strand fall on my face.

She held my hand and took me out of the room.

Allah please give me strength. I prayed as I step out of the room.

She took me to the dining table. My step halted as I saw Reema sitting on my seat beside Saim. He looked up and his hand that were holding the spoon halted.

I lowered my head, My heart started hurting again and tears threatened to fall but I held it back blinking again and again.

She took my room. My bed. My husband. This chair is nothing in front of that.

Mama took me and I let her dragged myself wherever she took me. She made me sat on the table. I was infront of him. I can feel his eyes on me but still I didn't look up. My head still lowered.

Mama filled my plate. With difficulty I took a bite of paratha but gulping become even hard.

Aina you have to be strong. No one care for you except your mother and you have to be strong for her.

I took the glass of water to swallow the food.

"So Saim I was saying you should take leave for atleast one week." Tayi ammi said.

"Mama please we will talk later" Saim said, my heart flip hearing him after one week.

"Why? You can't deny. You both should go to honeymoon. Reema wanted to go to Kashmir you should take her there"

Allah!

A screamed left my heart but didn't come out of my lips.

I lost him already. There is nothing I could save now.

But kashmir?

After that I didn't heard any of them maybe they remembered I was also here. I tried to take another bite but my hand trembled. Gulping the lump I took it in my mouth and again took the glass to gulp it down.

God it's so difficult to swallow this food.

"I'm done mama" I said in low voice to mama who was beside me. She nodded and didn't force me which I was thankful to.

I stood up and started walking away from there when tayi ammi called me.

"Aina" I stopped. My heart trembled I know she will say something to hurt me more. I'm scared of her now. I couldn't help the tremble in my hands. I held my both hands tightly to stop the tremble.

"Aina... Give me these bangles. It's mine. I kept it for Saim's wife. The wife he's happy with. So give me this" she said.

I held the bangle before trying to pulled out but my tremble hands didn't have the strength to take it out. I tried many times but still it won't came out.

Allah please help me. I screamed in my head. I wanted to run away from there.

"Let me help you" she held my hand and started pulling it out. I felt the burning sensation as she was trying to dragg the bangle from my hand but it still didn't come out.

"Ah" a low whimper left my lips and a lone tear I was holding till now. She was brutally pulling the bangle out.

"Stop it" I heard Saim's loud voice just then I felt his hand on mine. He dragged me to the kitchen took the handwash and put it on my both hands I didn't stop him. He just wanted the bangle. He can have it.

He softly took the bangle from my left hand then right hand. I took my hands from his grip and turned to go.

Tears fell from my eyes. I walked away from there keeping my head lowered.

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

Author's POV

Throwing it at his mother's feet, he said,

"Take it!" His voice was loud and cold. Then he walked out of the kitchen.

Saim had been feeling anxious and restless for the past week. He couldn't sleep or even breathe without thinking about her. He didn't know why he couldn't hate her. He wanted to hate her. He wanted to move on, but he couldn't. Aina had become his only thought. His mother and Reema gave him a reality check every now and then, yet he still couldn't hate her completely. He was angry with her. He was disappointed in Aina. But hate? Hate was a strong emotion. Why couldn't he hate her? What was stopping him? She had wronged him in so many ways. She had put him behind bars. She had tarnished his reputation. Because of her, his parents had to bow their heads in front of the world.

THEN, WHY CAN'T HE HATE HER?

Just like today-when they were having breakfast, his mother started talking about his honeymoon with Reema. He just wanted to refuse, but then he saw the girl who had stolen his peace walk into the dining room. Saim released a breath of relief seeing her alive and well. But she looked drained. Her dull, colorless face twisted something in his heart. He screamed in his head that she deserved it, but no-his heart refused to hear that.

She paused for a second near her chair, but then her mother held her hand and took her to another seat. Saim so badly wanted to pull Reema from that chair and give Aina back her place, but he stopped himself again.

His mother continued talking, and he tried to stop her. He didn't want to hurt the girl who was already hurting so much. But when his mother said he should go to Kashmir, Saim looked up with a warning in his eyes, and that finally silenced her. His gaze then went to Aina, who was struggling to take bites of food, using water to force them down.

Breakfast was long forgotten for Saim. He only sat there to watch Aina. After a few minutes, she stood up to leave, but Shamim stopped her and demanded the bangles back. Saim closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead to calm his emotions. He didn't want to explode at his mother, especially when she wasn't completely wrong. Aina had brought this upon herself. She (Aina) was trying to remove the bangles as if they were burning her skin, but still, his mother had to play the cruel mother-in-law's role. She grabbed Aina's delicate hands and started pulling the bangles off brutally. And when that single tear slipped from Aina's eyes with a painful whimper, Saim lost it. He stood up, went to them, and held Aina's soft hand in his gentle but firm grip. He dragged her towards the sink, took some handwash, and applied it on her hands before slowly removing the bangles. He did this only to stop his mother's torture, knowing that if he left silently, she could do something even worse to take those bangles from Aina.

He saw a couple of tears fall from Aina's eyes. He wanted to soothe her pain, but as soon as the bangles slipped off her wrists, she ran away, and in frustration at his own emotions, he threw the bangles at his mother's feet.

Saim sat in the car, resting his head on the steering wheel.

Why can't I just ignore her?

I married someone else-and that too the girl I had always wanted to marry-then why can't I just forget her? Why can't I accept Reema and be happy with her? What is stopping me?

He was lost in his thoughts when he saw Aina walking out of the house. He was still parked outside. She had a shawl around her and a handbag on her shoulder. He thought she would call the driver, but she didn't. She simply walked out of the gate. He started the engine and drove behind her.

She walked along the road, lost in her thoughts. It was the first time she was going to college alone. It was always her father or brothers (Affan, Zaid), and after marriage, Saim had taken the responsibility of dropping and picking her up whenever possible.

Aina came out of her thoughts when she heard a car horn close to her. She looked up and frowned-it was Saim's car. He slid the window down.

"Aina, come inside. I'll drop you to college," he offered. But Aina didn't respond and continued walking.

"Aina!" He called again and got down from his car. "Aina, I said I'll drop you."

"Mr. Saim... I think you have a wife at home. So you should take care of her, not some girl on the road." She spat the words and turned to go.

"Don't forget you are still my first wife," he said through gritted teeth and held her arm, but within a second, she jerked him away.

"Your first wife died the day you kicked her out of your room and out of your life. This is Aina." She pointed a finger at herself. "Only Aina."

Saim noticed she didn't even take her father's name this time.

With that, she stopped a rickshaw and got inside. The rickshaw drove away, leaving him standing there in shock.

How can Aina do this to me?

_______________

"Reema, don't stress yourself. Saim has cared for her since childhood. He always protected her. That's why he can't see her in pain. It doesn't mean he loves her as his wife. No, it doesn't." Shamim held her shoulder and tried to console her, though deep down she knew she was wrong. Saim did care for Aina before marriage, but now he cared for her like a wife. He gave her the attention that only a wife deserved.

Reema slightly glared at her mother-in-law, making her step back.

"You all cared for her as a daughter. But after discovering her truth, you all hate her. Yet he can't hate her." She pushed Shamim's hand off her shoulder and walked into her room.

Instead of feeling displeased by her behavior, Shamim felt pity for her. She thought about talking to Saim.

Reema was waiting for Saim. Since their marriage, he came home only at midnight. She became restless because of his behavior. Everything was happening opposite to what she had imagined. She thought Saim would accept her, that he would divorce Aina. She thought she would make him divorce Aina. But Saim didn't even let her come close to him. And as for giving Aina divorce? That should be forgotten. Seeing the way he reacts in Aina's matters made Reema furious.

The misunderstanding she had-that Saim never loved Aina-was slowly slipping away.

But she wouldn't back off. She had made him marry her, and now she would make him love her too. Reema thought as she went to the washroom to get ready for the night.

But who will tell her... love cannot be forced?

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

Saim stepped into the room with a heavy heart once again. He couldn't bring himself to be with someone else, even though that someone was the very woman he once liked and wanted to marry.

Reema was a very nice, mature, 28-year-old woman. She understood him. She cared for him like a friend. She respected him and his feelings. Everything he once wanted in his future wife, he had found in Reema. But after marrying Aina, he had tried to see Aina in that role. And Aina was the opposite. She was an immature, childish, 20-year-old girl. She didn't understand Saim. She didn't respect him. But yes, he couldn't deny that she loved him immensely. She tried to take care of him.

He was lost in his thoughts in front of the wardrobe when he suddenly felt two arms wrap around his torso. Saim jolted and tried to move away, but the grip was tight. He knew it was Reema-the jolt he felt was only possible with her. She came infront of him.

"Saim..." her sultry voice came. She pressed her face into his chest. Saim wanted to push her away, but he couldn't. She was his wife now. He couldn't disrespect her, especially when she was the one who had saved his reputation in front of the world. He couldn't hurt her because of that girl who had done everything to destroy his image.

"Saim." She whispered again, snuggling her face into his neck. Saim looked down and found her in nothing but a small one-piece nighty that ended above her knees and was sleeveless. Her milky skin was on display. He once felt happy and excited when Aina wore such nighties for him, but now he felt disgusted seeing Reema in the same. He knew he shouldn't feel like this. He knew it was wrong. But he couldn't help it.

Aina was in his nikah. They had stayed in that marriage for two months without any physical contact. Aina never came to him by herself. He was the one who went to her. It had been so easy for him to move on from Reema, but from Aina-it felt like dying. He couldn't move on from her. Aina's deep love had imprinted itself on his heart.

He was lost in Aina's thoughts when he suddenly felt Reema's lips on his neck. He clenched his fists to stop himself from pushing her away. She started kissing his neck. Saim closed his eyes tightly, jaw clenched painfully. He felt disgusting.

She felt happy that he wasn't resisting, and taking it as a green signal, she moved up to his jaw while her hands went to his shirt buttons. But before her lips could touch his jaw and her fingers could undo his shirt, he pushed her away. Unknowingly, his push was so hard that she fell to the floor.

"Don't come near me!" he yelled before rushing into the washroom and locking the door behind him. He sat on the floor, guilt consuming him. The fact that he had let her even touch him made tears well up in his eyes.

What is happening to me!?

I married her by my own choice. I always wanted to marry her. Then why am I behaving like this with her? Why do I feel like if this heart and body belong to anyone-it can only be Aina's?

His mind screamed that Aina didn't deserve his loyalty. She was cunning, manipulative, and obsessed. But his heart whispered only one thing-

She was his peace.

"Urgh!" He clutched his hair. This battle between heart and mind was driving him insane. "Allah, help me!" he screamed through gritted teeth as tears fell from his eyes.

And that was the moment of realization.

You fell in love with her. His heart screamed louder. This time, his mind went blank, his eyes shot open, and his heart repeated again and again-

You fell in love with your Ain.

"Ain... I love her?" His lips asked.

And the answer was-

"Yes!" His lips whispered back, confessing his heart's words.

"No! Allah, how can this be possible? Someone like Aina doesn't deserve my love. She only knows how to hurt everyone. I can't love her. What has happened to me? Have I loved the wrong girl?"

The realization hit him hard. He felt angry at himself. He stood up abruptly.

"No! I can't love her. I like... Reema... No... I love Reema. Yes, I love Reema. I love Reema!" He splashed water on his face again and again, tears mingling with the water as his heart refused his words.

On the other hand, Reema cried in the room because of his behavior. She felt humiliated. How could he treat her like this? She had left everything for him, yet he pushed her away. She loved him, but he was still caught in Aina's charm. Aina had won even after losing everything-she had Saim's strongest emotions.

No, Reema wouldn't believe that he loved Aina. Saim was never the type to love easily. She had been his friend for years, yet he had never fallen for her. He wanted to marry her, but he hadn't loved her. Then how could he love Aina, when that marriage had been forced on him?

No, she couldn't let Aina win. She would defeat Aina completely this time.

Reema wiped her tears and went to bed, lying on her s

ide. They slept in the same bed, but still, Saim kept a safe distance between them. Even in sleep, if she tried to come closer, he pushed her away. He slept alert, or perhaps... he didn't sleep at all.

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