The one-and-a-half-year-old boy had been crying continuously while Ashar sat there, holding his head in frustration. “I want milk,” the child sobbed. Ashar had come to Pakistan from London for the first time, only to lose his twin brother in a car accident. Since then, his brother’s little son had begun seeing Ashar as his father, and taking care of the child alone had become nearly impossible for him. “Agha Jaan, please… arrange a maid or nanny for me.” The old man looked at him seriously. “Listen. There is a girl who will take care of the child twenty hours a day, but you will have to marry her.” Later, he warned Minha sternly, “Listen carefully. You have to look after this child around the clock. I don’t want a single complaint about you.” The beautiful, helpless girl began raising and caring for his child. Late one night, Ashar suddenly entered the room and froze when he saw Minha sitting there, feeding Burhan. “You…” Minha panicked at the sight of him and quickly tried to cover herself. Ashar’s face first showed surprise, but his expression suddenly hardened. “What are you doing?” Minha immediately pulled Burhan away from herself, completely flustered.
Ashar stepped closer, his voice filled with anger. “Were you already married?” Minha said nothing. She simply held Burhan close to her chest, sitting silently. “I asked you something. Were you already married?” His voice rose, but Minha kept her eyes lowered. She had no answer she could give him. “Why did you hide this from me?” he demanded. He had slowly begun accepting her as his wife, and the revelation felt like a betrayal. “Do you even realize what you’ve done to me? I thought you were a girl who had accepted this marriage only because Agha Jaan asked you to. But you were already someone else’s wife.” Minha remained silent, tears slipping down her cheeks. Ashar’s patience began to run out. “Tell me, Minha! Who was your husband? Where is he? When did you get married, and why didn’t you tell me?” She only tightened her arms around Burhan. “Answer me, Minha!” he snapped. When she still remained silent, he nearly shouted, “Why are you quiet? Should I assume you committed some kind of sin—” “Enough, please! For God’s sake, don’t accuse me!” Minha finally cried out through her tears. Ashar stared at her. “If you did nothing wrong, then why won’t you speak? You married me without even telling me that you had already been married. Don’t you realize that this was a betrayal?” Minha continued crying silently. Ashar stepped back bitterly. “Your silence is driving me insane.” After staring at her for a moment, he finally said, “Fine. If you don’t want to answer today, then don’t. But I need to know the truth.” He turned and walked out, leaving Minha sitting there, holding Burhan tightly against her chest and crying.
Ashar stormed straight toward Agha Jaan’s room. He opened the door and entered without permission. “What happened? And when did you get here?” Agha Jaan asked in surprise. Ashar’s face was burning with anger. “What have you done to me, Agha Jaan? I trusted you! You told me this girl was alone. You said you were bringing her into my life only so she could take care of Burhan. But you knew she had already been married, didn’t you? On what basis did you bring her into my life? With what right did she marry me? Why did you hide such a huge truth from me?” The veins on his forehead stood out with anger. Agha Jaan sighed deeply. “Ashar, listen to me first.” “No, Agha Jaan! I won’t listen to anything today,” Ashar shouted. “I gave that woman respect. I trusted her. I accepted her as my wife, yet I never claimed my rights because I believed she had only come into my life to take responsibility for Burhan. But she was already someone else’s wife!” Agha Jaan sternly told him to lower his voice, but Ashar was too furious to stop. Just then, they heard Minha crying outside. She stood there with Burhan pressed tightly against her chest, tears covering her face. Ashar approached her angrily. “Why did you hide this from me?” Minha remained silent. When he angrily tried to take the child from her arms, Burhan suddenly began crying loudly and stretched his little hands toward Minha. “Mama! Mama!” Ashar froze. “Mama?” he whispered in disbelief. Burhan cried again and clung tightly to Minha. Ashar’s eyes widened. He looked at Agha Jaan, then at Minha. “Mother…” he murmured. Agha Jaan’s voice filled with pain as he said, “Stop, Ashar… a mother…”
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