7.1 • Heartbreak

She was standing in a corner, trying to control her tears. Dressed in a beautiful lilac lehenga. Mahir slipped the engagement ring into Aleena's finger and the hall boomed with applause. It felt as if everyone was mocking her. Aleena, the person she hated, was going to marry Mahir, the man she loved. Maya quickly slipped from the crowd of guests and locked herself in her bedroom upstairs. But her moment of heartbreak and sadness was broken minutes later by vigorous knocking on the door.

“Maya, open the door!” It was Mahir shouting her name in utter fear. Why was he scared?

“Go away, Mahir!” She shouted back.

“Maya, please try to understand. I... I love her.”

“I don't care if you love her. I hate her! Just go away!”

“Maya, don't be like this.”

“I SAID GO AWAY!”

Everything went silent after that. She moved to the dressing table and removed her jewellery. Everything was a lie. Why her Maheen Ammi always made it appear like she will get Mahir and Maya married? If she wasn't leaving hints all these years, probably Maya wouldn't have fallen in love with him over the time. And now when he is going to marry some other girl, her family has wholeheartedly accepted his decision. Why didn't any of them slap him?

She threw her bangles on the floor and fell on the bed. Her teary eyes stared at the ceiling.

“He can't love me back... because he loves Aleena. How unfortunate of him.”

💓💓💓

The next morning was gloomy. Everyone was present at the dining table, except for Maya.

“Maheer, go check on Maya,” said Maheen.

Maheer nodded and stood up from her chair but Mahir stopped her, “Umm... can I go instead?”

Elders stared at him sceptically. Before anyone could reply he went upstairs to check on Maya. He knocked on her door.

“Come in.”

When he entered the room, he saw her sitting on her bed. She was wearing her specs and was reading a book. Now that wasn't the scene he was expecting to witness but he was relieved to see that she wasn't bawling her eyes out.

“Good morning.” He tried to sound cheerful.

“Why are you here to ruin my mood? My mood had just started improving.” She said monotonously while concentrating on the book.

Mahir sighed defeatedly and sat down on the bed, looking at her.

“Maya, why can't you just let it go?”

“For once I can let go the fact that you don't reciprocate my feelings. But I can't ignore that you are marrying Aleena.”

“What's wrong with Aleena?”

“Mahir, she had bullied me in school for my weight. I had suffered eating disorder because of her mean attitude.”

“Maya, she has grown up.”

“Doesn't matter whatever I say, you are going to side with her only. You know what, Mahir, your married life is going to be miserable. Mark my words.”

Mahir stood up and left the room, shutting the door angrily after him.

“Truth is always bitter.” She mumbled to herself.

💓💓💓

Mahir's brain was about to blast any given moment. The bad blood between Maya and Aleena was driving him insane. Okay, he loved Aleena. But he couldn't ignore Maya's existence in his life either. They have grown together in one house.

“Ughh... my head hurts. Why Aleena haven't arrived yet?” He looked at the entrance of the cafe.

He waited for another ten minutes and finally Aleena arrived.

“Why are you so late?” He asked.

“I was doing a live session on Instagram and lost the track of time.” She smiled sheepishly.

“Whatever. What do you want to discuss?” He signalled a waiter who came to their table and took their order. Once the waiter left, Aleena replied, “Actually Mahir... can we get our own house after marriage?”

“Aleena, I had told you I don't want to move out.”

“Yeah, but I can't tolerate Maya's rudeness on the daily basis.”

“You had bullied her in school, Aleena. I understand that you have matured but she won't forget that you were the reason she suffered bulimia.”

“You make me look like the villain of her story.”

“Undoubtedly, you are. Back to the topic, Aleena, I will think about it.”

“Make it quick then. We also need to look for a new house.”

“I haven't agreed on it yet. And I don't want to, to be honest.”

“Mahir, Maya's presence will make our married life miserable.”

Maya had said the same but for Aleena. He was torn between Maya and Aleena. Their rivalry was going to mess his life. And he could do nothing about it.

💓💓💓

Maheen entered Maya's bedroom while carrying a bowl of chocolate ice-cream. She put the bowl in Maya's lap and sat beside her on the bed.

“Are you upset with me, Maya?” She asked.

Maya ate a spoonful of ice-cream, “Not really. I'm upset over Mahir for marrying Aleena out of the all the girls. She is manipulative and Mahir is too innocent to understand her mind games. You know what she will do next? She will tell Mahir to move out saying I'm behaving rude with her.”

“To be honest, I don't like her either. But she is Mahir's choice. You know that I've always wanted to get you married to him.”

Maya sighed and kept eating the ice cream.

💓💓💓

That morning, as Maya had predicted, Mahir told the family members that Aleena wanted him to move out. But he said that it's because they needed some privacy.

“It's your choice, Mahir,” said Ayan.

“Thanks, Dad.” Mahir smiled.

“I also want to talk about something.” Maya started.

“What, Maya?” asked Zayan.

“Dad, I was thinking it would be better if you and Bade Papa divide the property among three of us before Mahir's wedding.”

“That can be done later too.” Mahir spoke.

“Mahir, I don't trust your future wife, honestly. So I don't want to compromise on my share of property.”

Her words agitated almost everyone sitting on the table. But no one raised their voice at her. Because they knew why she was behaving like this.

“Alright, I will contact the family lawyer and prepare the documents. Let's do it sooner than later.” Ayan announced.

•••

Aleena ( Alina Boz )

•••

Completed writing this chapter last night. Had thought of posting in the morning right after I wake up. But then I opened Instagram and saw that the reel I had made and had tagged Sona Rafiq in it, her husband liked that reel. And when I opened chats, Sona Rafiq had added that reel and another edit to her story. And I was on cloud nine, man! It just made my day!

☺️😄😭

Last one is a bit stupid, I know. But I'm happy that both of them have seen the reel. And they have seen all three stories.

My day couldn't be any better.