Author's P.O.V

Flashback

Hana was in her class. When the bell rang for the lunch break, she ran to Rumaan's classroom. She wanted to have lunch with him—it was their routine to eat together in the playground. But when she reached his classroom, she didn’t find him outside, even though Rumaan always stood waiting for her.

"Hey, can you call Maan?" Hana asked a boy who had just exited the classroom.

"Who is Maan? We don’t have a classmate named Maan," he replied, looking at her curiously.

"Umm, I mean Rumaan," she corrected herself, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, Rumaan. He is—"

"I’m here, Hanu," Rumaan's voice cut in as he appeared before her.

"Maan! I was waiting for you here for so long," Hana said with a pout.

"Hanu, I’m sorry. I had some homework to finish. My next teacher is really strict. If I don’t submit it, he’ll throw me out of the class."

"It’s okay, Maan," she said, smiling.

"Hey, but his name is Rumaan, right? Then why are you calling him Maan?" the boy asked.

"Umm... I—"

"Because for her, I’m her Maan. It’s the nickname she gave me," Rumaan replied with a smile.

"Ohh, okay," the boy said and walked away.

"I think I should start calling you Rumaan..." Hana began, looking at the floor. She didn’t like the idea of using his full name.

"No! You won’t!" he practically shouted, cutting her off.

"But—"

"I’m telling you, Hana. I’m your Maan, and only you can call me that. Understood?" he said sternly. And Hana, being Hana, obediently nodded her head.

"I’ll always call you Maan," she said softly. He smiled, and they began walking.

As they sat next to each other on the playground, Hana looked at him.

"Maan, why do you like this name?" she asked, curious.

He turned to her. "Because you gave it to me. And Hanu, I just love hearing you say Maan—it feels like... Maan belongs to you," he said with a wide smile.

"You tell me, why do you call me Maan?" he asked.

"Because... Maan belongs to me," Hana said, giggling, and he laughed.

Flashback back ends

Hana was hurt when Rumaan didn’t recognize the nickname she had given him. She couldn’t believe that Rumaan had forgotten something so special.

She was still lost in her thoughts when Rumaan chuckled and spoke.

"How am I supposed to know, Mama!? It’s not like ‘Maan’ is my..." he trailed off as something clicked in his mind.

"Rumaan... Maan... It’s me?" he whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

He looked at Hana in disbelief, and when their eyes met, two tears silently rolled down her cheeks.

Knowing she couldn’t hold back anymore, Hana ran outside. But she froze when she heard Shabana's voice. Standing hidden in the side doorway, she overheard them talking—arguing, to be precise.

"Yes! It’s you, Rumaan! How could you forget the nickname that was once your favorite?" Shabana exclaimed, disbelief etched across her face. Her son had forgotten a name given to him with so much love by Hana—his wife.

"Mama, how could I remember something no one has called me in eight years? And why are you all looking at me like I committed a murder?" he asked, raising his eyebrows and rolling his eyes.

No one answered. He shrugged and returned to his phone.

"You did kill my innocent Hana’s happy mood," Marziya snapped, glaring at Rumaan as she slammed a fruit salad bowl on the table and walked toward him.

"Tell me, Rumaan, what else have you forgotten?" she demanded as she stood in front of him.

He stood up, clearly confused. He genuinely didn’t understand what was happening. Everyone was looking at him like he had done something unforgivable.

"Aapi—"

"Or should I ask, do you remember anything?" she asked, dreading his answer.

She knew how much Hana loved him. Hana couldn’t bear rejection from him. If Rumaan said he didn’t remember their nikah, it would break her completely.

"What do you mean, Aapi?" he asked seriously.

Marziya hesitated. She didn’t want to ask directly about the nikah. She was too afraid of what his answer might be. She turned away, muttering, "Leave it..." But then Ahmed spoke.

"About your nikah."

Everyone turned to Ahmed. Shabana looked at him and shook her head. She had a feeling this was going to open a wound that shouldn't be touched.

"Nothing, Rum—" Shabana began.

"My nikah?" Rumaan interrupted, frowning.

"Yes, your nikah," Ahmed said firmly, standing with his arms crossed.

"Don’t tell me you guys fixed my marriage without telling me?" Rumaan asked, incredulously, then burst into laughter.

A gasp escaped Hana’s lips when she realized what Rumaan meant. He had forgotten their nikah. Her breath hitched. Her heart felt like it stopped beating. Pain stabbed through her chest. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle a sob.

"Rumaan, you’re already married," Ahmed said with a serious expression.

Rumaan looked at his father, then at his mother and Marziya—tears welled in their eyes. That’s when he realized they weren’t joking.

"What do you mean by that, Baba?" he asked, trying to make sense of it all.

He recalled Hana calling him Maan… her tears… everyone’s strange behavior. And suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind.

"Why did Hana attach her name with mine? Oh, I get it—she had a crush on me, right?" he joked awkwardly.

"Your name was attached to hers a long time ago," Ahmed said seriously.

"Huh? Baba, I don’t know what you're saying. Let’s just stop this for now. I’m hungry," he said and began walking toward the door.

"Rumaan, you were way more mature when it all happened. Don’t pretend you don’t remember anything," Ahmed yelled, still not turning to face him. He knew Rumaan remembered and was just trying to escape.

Rumaan stopped in the doorway—right near Hana. She felt his presence and quickly stood up to leave. But she froze when she heard him shout.

"Yes! Yes! I was mature enough to remember what happened 10 years ago! And now I know what you're talking about!" he finally blurted.

"Then why are you behaving like this, Rumaan?" Shabana asked in disbelief.

"Because, Mama, I don’t remember that crap! When Baba said I was married, that’s when I started putting the pieces together. And yeah, I recognized that a nikah happened 10 years ago, when I was just 13. Seriously? And what’s more shocking is that you all still believe in that nonsense," he shouted and then chuckled bitterly.

"Rumaan! That wasn’t crap! That was your nikah we’re talking about," Shabana snapped, heartbroken that her son could dismiss something he once treasured. Her son—who never got tired of calling Hana his wife—had forgotten everything.

"Whatever," he shrugged and walked out before anyone could say more. Behind him, his parents kept calling his name, but he didn’t stop.

Just outside, he felt a presence behind him. Turning, he saw Hana standing there, eyes brimming with tears. For a moment, he felt a pang of guilt—but then remembered how his parents had treated him since his return. Anger swelled inside him. This was all happening because of her tears, he thought bitterly, glaring at her, and walked out of the house.

Leaving a broken Hana behind.

A loud sob escaped her lips as she covered her mouth, devastated.

"Hanu..." Marziya saw her sister standing there when she was on her way to check on her.

"Aapi..." Hana couldn’t speak, so she simply hugged her tightly.

Marziya immediately led Hana to her room. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this. She wanted Hana to stay strong in front of everyone—no matter what. Rumaan was still their son, and Hana was still their daughter-in-law. In the end, the family would side with him. So she had to make Hana strong—for her baby sister, and for the battles ahead.

As they stepped into Hana's room, Marziya closed the door and made Hana sit on the bed with her.

"Aapi... I... I didn't want this to happen," Hana said, sobbing.

"It's all my fault."

"No, Hana, it's not your fault, baby. It's Ruman—" Marziya tried to say, but Hana didn't let her complete her sentence.

"No!! It's my fault, Aapi!! If I had controlled my emotions and those stupid tears, then this would never have happened," Hana said in a loud voice.

"Nahi, bacche..." Again, Marziya tried to speak, but Hana cut her off.

"Yes, Aapi! It's all because of me. Baba brought up that topic because he saw my tears, and you know they can't bear to see me crying. Baba thought maan was the reason," Hana said, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"He was, Hana," Marziya said angrily.

"No! He wasn't! How can you think my maan would ever hurt me intentionally? He just forgot that name. Anyone could. He said it himself... no one called him maan for eight years, so he forgot... it's not a big deal... but now I've made everything more complicated for him. He..." Hana kept blaming herself until Marziya cut her off.

"Stop it, Hana!! It was not your fault. Did you hear me?" Marziya said sternly.

"But Aapi..." Hana started, but Marziya shook her head firmly.

"No, Hana. Look at me." Marziya cupped her face and made her look up at her.

"Hanu, he didn't just forget the nickname you gave him—he forgot you! He forgot Hana! Your relationship with him. Your nikah with him. You were there, right? You heard him when Rumaan said that this nikah was crap to him," Marziya said with a tear in her eye.

"No, Aapi. I told you, didn't I? He's just distracted. He will come back to me, Aapi, when he realises..." Hana said, a small hopeful smile appearing on her lips.

But Marziya shook her head and said, "Hana, stop this blind trust in him. He's not the same Rumaan you married. He has chang—"

"Stop it, Aapi!! He came back after eight years, for God's sake!! Why can't you understand?!" Hana shouted at Marziya in frustration. She couldn't understand why Marziya kept insisting that Rumaan had changed, that he had forgotten her, forgotten their nikah.

Marziya didn’t say anything. She simply kept looking at her sister, who was blinded by love. Rumaan’s behaviour today had made everything crystal clear to Marziya. She knew Rumaan would never accept their nikah or Hana. And that thought scared her even more. Here was her sister, clinging to blind faith in their bond, while for Rumaan, their nikah was nothing but a meaningless memory.

"Aapi, I'm sorry," Hana apologised softly when she noticed her sister's silence. She thought she had hurt her and lowered her head, feeling ashamed of her outburst.

"No, Hanu... Don’t say that, baby. It's okay. I know how much you love him and that you are married to him. You have every right to stand up for him," Marziya said gently, with a small, sad smile, cupping her face tenderly.

"I'll pray for you. I hope your trust and blind love for him will never break," Marziya whispered, kissing Hana's forehead lovingly before standing up.

She walked toward the door, but before leaving, she turned and looked back at her sister, who was lovingly gazing at her locket with a small, bittersweet smile. A tear escaped Marziya’s eye.

I hope he comes back to you before you break, meri jaan, Marziya prayed silently in her heart for her sister, before quietly walking out.

............