Chptr 6 saif & Maya
1054 Words
Saif Pov
The next morning, I woke up to several missed calls from Dadu and Daadi.
I had been in the shower and hadn’t heard the phone ringing.
The moment I saw their names on my screen, I called back immediately.
Daadi answered first, still clearly upset with me after what happened with Aly all those years ago.
According to both of them, Aly would have understood everything if I had just trusted her enough to tell the truth.
But they didn’t understand.
Loving someone didn’t mean dragging them into your darkness.
And I refused to ruin Aly’s life with responsibilities that were never supposed to become hers.
After a few moments, Dadu took the phone.
His voice softened slightly as he informed me—
“Haya’s father has finally been discharged. His condition is much better now.”
For a moment, I closed my eyes.
After years…
Finally.
Everything about my sister’s death still felt like an open wound.
People thought she died in an accident after falling from our third-floor balcony in the middle of the night.
That was the story my parents paid the police to believe.
But the truth?
The truth was uglier.
Before she died, my sister confessed to her husband that she never stopped loving him.
She told him she had been forced into another marriage by our mother and uncle.
They had threatened her.
If she refused, they would kill her daughter.
So she obeyed.
She married the man they chose.
And when she finally broke under the pressure—
She ended her own life.
After her death, I found a letter she had hidden for me.
A letter exposing everything.
The threats.
The lies.
The a***e.
Even my father had stayed silent through all of it.
I was young and stupid enough to think the police would help.
But the moment I overheard them casually assuring my uncle that “everything was handled,” I realized how powerless I actually was.
So instead, I called Dadu and Daadi back from Qatar.
The second they heard my voice, they knew something was wrong.
They arrived the very next evening.
I still remember how furious they looked after confronting my parents.
But despite everything, they never spoke about it in front of me that night.
They simply fed me dinner, sat beside me until I fell asleep, and quietly took me away from that house forever.
And they took Haya too.
For years, Haya believed she was my younger sister.
Not my niece.
She never understood why our mother treated her differently.
Why she was always criticized.
Controlled.
Never fully loved.
The truth came out accidentally one day after our mother hit her badly over something minor.
I lost control completely.
Years of anger exploded at once.
And in that rage—
I told Haya everything.
Who her real mother was.
Who I really was to her.
Why our mother hated her existence so much.
The look on her face that day still destroys me.
She locked herself in her room for hours.
And honestly?
I had no idea how to fix what I had broken.
But Aly did.
She came over immediately after hearing what happened.
I still don’t know what she told Haya behind that closed door.
But somehow…
She calmed her down.
Made her eat.
Made her feel safe again.
That was Aly.
She healed people without even realizing it.
Over time, Haya slowly rebuilt a relationship with her father under Daadi’s supervision.
And now—
After years of treatment—
He was finally ready to build a life with his daughter again.
A peaceful one.
Maybe the kind my sister never got to live.
After the call ended, I headed downstairs.
Maya was in the kitchen making breakfast.
“Good morning, Saif,” she greeted softly.
“Good morning, Maya.”
The kids soon joined us and sat down for breakfast.
The house stayed mostly quiet.
As usual.
Once they finished eating, I grabbed my keys.
“We’re getting late,” I told the kids. “I’ll wait in the car.”
As I stepped outside, Maya followed behind me.
Before I could react, she wrapped her arms around me from behind.
I froze.
For a second, I almost forced myself to respond.
But I couldn’t.
Something inside me resisted every time she got too close.
I gently removed her hands.
“Maya… the kids could come out anytime.”
She laughed lightly. “So what? I’m hugging my boyfriend.”
Then she leaned against me again.
I sighed softly.
“Maya… some things should wait until marriage.”
Immediately, disappointment flashed across her face.
She always thought I was too old-fashioned.
But the truth was much worse.
I simply didn’t know how to love her the way she deserved.
Maya Pov
Today was special.
Our second anniversary.
And for once, I wanted everything to be perfect.
I woke up early to make breakfast myself because Saif loved homemade food, especially proper Indian dishes.
People assumed he barely ate because of how disciplined he was with workouts and routines.
But secretly?
That man loved food more than anyone I knew.
Especially chicken biryani.
When he came downstairs, I greeted him warmly.
Like always, he replied politely.
Formally.
Distantly.
Sometimes I wondered if he had ever truly let me into his life at all.
Or if I only existed because the children loved me.
Still, I pushed the thought away.
Maybe love just looked different for some people.
When I hugged him outside, I expected him to pull me closer.
Instead, he gently stopped me again with the same excuse—
“We’re not married yet.”
I smiled anyway.
Pretended it didn’t hurt.
After they left, I cleaned the kitchen while helping the maid organize the house exactly the way Saif liked it.
Then finally, unable to control my excitement anymore, I grabbed my phone and texted him:
Happy second anniversary, Saif.
I’m so happy to spend life with you.
I love you.
Try coming home early tonight… I’ll be waiting.
I stared at the message for a few seconds before smiling to myself.
Tonight would be perfect.
I could feel it.
And for the first time in a long while—
I genuinely wanted to tell the whole world that Saif was mine
- Writer
