The soft hum of the AC filled the quiet room as Hadi sat in his plush leather chair, his head leaned back slightly, eyes unfocused, a pen twirling between his fingers. His office was tastefully minimal, clean lines, warm lights, the smell of strong coffee lingering faintly in the air.
But his mind… it wasn’t there.
It had been two days since he last saw Maira.
Two days since he had left her alone with a long list of restrictions. At times his mind wondered, had she eaten? Was she still crying? Was she angry at him? And somewhere deeper, unspoken: Was she okay?
He sighed, placing the pen flat on the desk, fingers drumming anxiously. His guilt hadn't waned. If anything, it had only settled deeper, like sediment in water.
And then....
Knock knock.
A sharp knock broke his thoughts, and the glass door creaked open. Hadi turned his gaze toward it, expecting his assistant.
But instead, a man walked in. Confident stride. Warm smile. Dressed sharply in a steel-blue suit. A face that pulled Hadi back in time.
“Mr. Pathan?” Hadi blinked, caught slightly off-guard.
The man gave a low laugh, stepping forward with a hand extended. “Oh come on, drop the formalities, Hadi. Call me Faiz.”
Hadi stood up, instantly recovering his composure, shaking the man’s hand with a polite smile. “Of course. Please, have a seat.”
Faiz settled into the chair across from him, stretching slightly like an old friend making himself at home. “I was here for a client meeting in the opposite building. Thought I’d drop by and say hello. Been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Yes, it has,” Hadi agreed, the corners of his mouth lifting faintly. “How have you been?”
The two eased into conversation effortlessly. Faiz Pathan, a businessman from Hyderabad, had met Hadi during a finance summit two years ago. They weren’t close, but mutual respect had formed back then, strong enough for a casual visit now.
Their conversation moved smoothly, from industry chatter, to stocks, to the rising competition in the market.
And then Faiz chuckled, running a hand through his neatly styled hair. “You know, looking at you all settled with a wife and a child… I won’t lie, I’m envious.”
Hadi raised an eyebrow at the unexpected comment, half-smiling. “Envious of the sleepless nights and toy-strewn floors?”
Faiz laughed. “I’m serious, man. I think I’m finally ready to get married.”
Hadi blinked, slightly surprised. “Really?”
Faiz nodded. “Yeah. I mean, business is stable, family’s been hinting for a while now. Just feels like the right time.”
Hadi leaned forward, intrigued. “So… have you found someone yet?”
“Not yet,” Faiz shrugged. “But I’m looking. I’m hoping something just clicks, you know? If you know anyone suitable, you better tell me first.” He gave a light-hearted laugh.
Hadi chuckled softly. “Sure. I’ll keep that in mind.”
After a little more small talk and a few laughs, Faiz stood up, checking his watch. “Alright, I’ll let you get back to work. It was good seeing you, Hadi.”
“You too, Faiz. Take care.”
As Faiz walked out of the office with an easy wave, the air slowly returned to its usual stillness.
But Hadi… sat frozen.
His fingers tapped slowly on the table, his mind no longer in the room. Faiz’s words echoed in his ears. “If you know anyone suitable, you better tell me first.”
He sat back in his chair, eyes narrowing in thought. A sudden heaviness settled in his chest, not discomfort, but dilemma. His heart and mind were at war again.
The name at the center of that silent battle: Maira.
She was suitable.
Most importantly, she didn’t belong here. Not in this limbo. Not as a ghost in his life, haunting the shadows of his home and heart.
Hadi closed his eyes for a second.
Was this… an opportunity?
Or was it just another way of distancing her from their hidden relationship?
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, face buried in his palms.
His mind was working faster now, weaving threads of possibility. But deep down, something twisted in his gut.
Because even if this was the most logical way to make things right… why did it feel so wrong?
---
The wind outside had begun to carry the scent of approaching rain, subtle yet strong, like emotions unspoken but deeply felt. Inside her apartment, the air was still, quiet, as Maira sat on the floor, folding her laundry with deliberate slowness. She had been better over the past two days, less fragile physically, but emotionally, she was still nursing wounds Hadi had no idea he’d left behind.
A sharp knock broke the silence. One… two… then three gentle raps. She looked up, startled, her heart instinctively picking up pace.
She walked toward the door, straightening her dupatta. A peek through the peephole revealed what she already guessed, Hadi.
Her hands hesitated on the latch. She wasn’t ready, not again. But she opened the door anyway.
He stood there, hands tucked into his pockets, dressed in his usual office attire, white shirt sleeves folded to his elbow, face unreadable. But the exhaustion was unmistakable in his eyes.
"Assalamualaikum," he said softly.
“Walaikum assalam,” she replied, her voice neutral.
He didn’t ask to come in. Instead, he stood right there, shifting slightly on his feet. “I was hoping to talk to you… if you’re not too tired.”
She stepped back in silent permission. He entered and sat on the edge of the couch, his back straight, fingers laced tightly as though holding himself together.
Maira sat across from him, still unsure of what this was about.
There was a long pause before he finally looked at her. His voice came low, almost hesitant. “Maira, I… I want you to meet someone.”
Her brows furrowed. “Who?”
He inhaled slowly, not quite meeting her eyes. “A friend. Faiz. His name’s Faiz Pathan. He’s a businessman, someone I know from work. He’s been thinking of getting married.”
Maira blinked. The words floated in the room but didn’t land anywhere just yet. Her hands tightened slightly around the folds of her dupatta.
“I don’t understand,” she said carefully.
“I just…” Hadi struggled, searching for the right words. “He’s looking for someone kind. Good-hearted. And I thought of you.”
Her lips parted in surprise, but no words came out.
“I’m not saying anything has to happen. It’s just a meeting. You don’t have to say yes or no. But… would you be willing to meet him?”
A silence followed. Maira stared at him, her eyes didn’t well with tears, but something visibly flickered in her gaze. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what she was supposed to feel. Gratitude? Shock? Betrayal?
And Hadi, he couldn’t look at her anymore. His eyes dropped to the floor as if even he wasn’t sure if what he was doing was right or wrong. It was like handing over a delicate glass he’d already cracked, hoping someone else would know how to handle it better.
“Okay,” she finally whispered, voice quiet and flat.
He looked up sharply. “Are you sure?”
She gave a small nod. “If that’s what you want.”
Her words were soft, but he winced, because they sounded like surrender, not consent.
And that hurt more than he expected.
He stood up, awkwardly, as if unsure of whether to leave or stay. “I’ll talk to him. If you change your mind, just tell me.”
She said nothing more.
As he stepped out of the door, the weight on his shoulders didn’t lessen. Instead, it grew.
Because deep down, he wondered if he had just done something unforgivable, again.
---
As the door clicked shut behind him, Maira stood frozen, the silence pressing in on her like a second skin.
He wanted her to meet someone.
A stranger.
A prospective groom.
The thought echoed in her head like a distant thunderclap, slow and disorienting. She backed into the wall beside the door, her legs folding under her as she sank to the floor, knees to chest, arms wrapped around herself.
Her breathing was slow… shallow… as if even her lungs were afraid to draw too much in.
"He wants me to move on."
Her eyes remained fixed on the patterned rug beneath her, but her vision was somewhere far beyond it, somewhere caught between disbelief and devastation.
Not because he asked her to meet someone.
But because of the way he said it.
So gently. So calmly.
As if her heart were some tired passenger he was helping off a train that was no longer going her way.
"Itna asaan tha?"
(Was it really that easy?)
She whispered the words to no one.
Was it really that easy for him to push her away?
To suggest she build a life with someone else, just like that?
A bitter laugh escaped her, soft but sharp, cutting through the thick silence like a threadbare string snapping under pressure.
She shouldn’t have been surprised. She knew this was always temporary. He never promised her anything.
And yet…it hurt.
She knew, this wasn’t a fairytale.
This was her reality.
Where she was a mistake he was trying to correct… piece by piece. Step by step.
“You’re not a burden, Maira,” he had said.
Then why did it feel like he was trying to hand her over like one?
Maybe he meant well. Maybe he truly believed she deserved someone who would love her.
But wasn’t that the cruelest part? That he’d do everything to... Get rid of her?
A sob caught in her throat but she swallowed it down. She wasn’t going to cry for him anymore.
She wiped her face with the back of her sleeve, then sat straighter.
If this was what he wanted… she’d do it.
She’d meet this Faiz Pathan. She’d listen, she’d nod, she’d be polite.
Because what other choice did she have?
It was time she reminded herself who she was before Hadi Ansari walked into her life.
And maybe, just maybe, it was time to learn who she could be after him.
---
In Ansari residency, the study was dimly lit, the amber glow from the desk lamp casting long shadows across the mahogany table. Hadi sat still in his high-back chair, elbows resting on the table, fingers lightly steepled under his chin. The silence in the room was thick, the only sound was the occasional ticking of the vintage wall clock, each second punctuating his hesitation.
In front of him lay his phone.
And beside it, a half-filled tumbler of water that had gone untouched for over an hour.
He stared at the screen for a long time. His fingers tapped once on the glass, then stopped.
This was not just any call.
It was the kind of call that would change something. For her.
For Maira.
With a deep, quiet breath, he picked up the phone, unlocked it, and found Faiz’s contact.
His thumb hovered above the green call button for a beat longer, then he pressed it.
The ringing began.
One ring… two… three....
“Hello?” Faiz’s voice crackled through, cheerful, as always. “Hadi bro, how are you?"
Hadi cleared his throat. “Faiz, I’m good, how about you?"
“All well, just got back from a meeting. Everything alright?”
“Yeah… actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. I might have someone in mind for you.”
There was a pause. “Wait, what? Are you serious?” Faiz sounded intrigued.
Hadi let a dry smile form on his lips. “Yes. Don’t get too excited, I’m not claiming to be a matchmaker. She’s just… a friend.”
“A friend?” Faiz asked, surprised. “Matlab koi close wali ya bas acquaintance?”
(You mean someone close or just an acquaintance?)
“She’s someone I know well enough to trust her character. But we’re not… close in the usual sense,” Hadi said, deliberately vague. Each word felt like a knife, not because they were untrue, but because of how much he wasn’t saying.
Faiz paused thoughtfully. “Okay… and you think she’d be open to meeting?”
“I asked her. She agreed.”
“That’s great, yaar. Can you share her name and number? Or do you want to arrange the meeting?”
“I’ll arrange it,” Hadi replied quickly. Too quickly. “I’ll message you the location and time. Just be decent.”
“Come on, when have I not been?” Faiz laughed. “I’m honestly touched you thought of me. Looking forward to it.”
“Alright,” Hadi said flatly. “I’ll let you know.”
He ended the call.
And sat still.
The smile vanished. Replaced by a hollow ache. The room suddenly felt colder.
He placed the phone down slowly and leaned back in his chair, exhaling through his nose, jaw clenched.
He had done the right thing.
Hadn’t he?
Then why did his chest feel tight?
Why did it feel like he had just offered a part of his guilt to someone else?
“She deserves a life,” he whispered to himself. “A proper one. With someone who can love her freely.”
The words hung in the air like a haunting.
And then he stood, walked to the window, and stared out at the fading light.
He had kept the truth hidden. Called her a friend. Because if he told Faiz who Maira really was, his second wife, his accidental partner born out of guilt and impulse, he wouldn’t just be risking scandal.
He would be risking the very lie that was holding his life together.
And that… he couldn't afford
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