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A round burnt mark on the right arm, slash marks as if the wrists and arms had been hit many times with something hard, scars and cuts- He knew those weren't the only which he was seeing, there were still more hidden, veiled behind her layer of clothes.

Haaris turned again heaving a long sigh, he was unable to sleep just because of those scars on her skin. As he was closing his eyes, all he was able to see was her wounded hands, her teary eyes. What he had gotten himself into?

What she has gone through?

Lying on the bed, Haaris glanced at the sky which was getting painted by dark blue shades as the morning was not far. Ghazal would be up at any minute. He felt good about his sleepless night as she got to sleep undisturbed else he was a botherer for her.

Melody of Ghazal's bangles broke the silence around him and he closed his eyes faking sleep. A serene whiff of jasmine hit his nostrils as he felt a presence near him, it was his wife without any doubt. Her warm breath was slowly clashing with his cold ones as Haaris felt her back of the hand on his forehead.

"Alhamdulillah."

Haaris heard her mumbling before she shuffled away from him in quick steps. What just happened? Tiredly he opened his eyes to find himself alone in his room with just Adam sleeping beside him. Last night he didn't talk to Ghazal, he ignored her as much as she was doing it. Didn't know why, but his mind was throbbing, he was getting irritated as he was unable to understand anything around him.

Didn't know whether he was angry on Ghazal for not sharing her past or on himself for pulling herself into his mess when she had gone through a lot, already. He never thought that her past would be painful, that thing never ever crossed his mind.

You were busy in your past.

His conscience scolded him and yes, it was true. Over the years, Haaris had drowned into so much self-pity that he couldn't feel anyone's pain. He always felt like his past was pathetic, he had gone through a lot while there was everybody else who had suffered from problems just they didn't make a big deal out of it.

He instantly got up and moved outside of the house, without bothering about Ghazal and all. His mind was a clutter of thoughts and Haaris just wanted to clear his head for the next time he would face his wife. He fished out his phone from his pocket, the cold gush of air hitting on his face as he mindlessly began to run on the pathway. The high voice of the singer piercing his ears through his earphones and nevertheless Haaris's mind was as usually occupied by his wife, Ghazal.

Haaris was still unable to point out his actions of yesternight. Yes, he was stubborn from his childhood and the sudden absence of his mother had affected his habits a lot but what he was trying to do the earlier night was still a mystery to him. He just wanted to listen to her side of the story anyhow, her tears weren't stopping him nor her silent pleas. Those scars and wounds had made him restless to no end that's why maybe he was unable to have any straight thought at that moment.

Hardly half an hour would have passed when the high pitch song got replaced by the ringtone of his mobile showing Ghazal's id. Haaris quickly cut off her call and switched off his cellphone. After wasting his time as much as he wanted as he opened the door of his house, Haaris got welcomed by his furious wife.

"Where were you?"

"Just gone outside."

Haaris answered in a cold tone moving past her, Ghazal didn't know how much he loved seeing her angry with those pink cheeks, eyes shining bright with rage and at that moment he was in no mood to have a talk with her. His mind was too tired to do anything especially to bicker with his wife who was looking equally irritated.

"And what was stopping you from telling anybody about your whereabouts? "

Haaris was made to turn with force as Ghazal held his arm stopping his ascending steps.

"I had just gone outside. I am not Adam that you are fussing over me so much."

Haaris sighed in an exasperated tone and Ghazal jerked his arm, "Look at me, Haaris."

She looked in his eyes and came a little closer to his face, cupping his cheek. He felt exposed in front of her as if Ghazal was gently reading all his buried deep secrets just by looking in his eyes.

"You are more naive than Adam."

Her words echoed for a little too long in his ears even after Ghazal vanished away from him, timidly pinching his cheek.

***

Placing the empty dinner utensils in the kitchen sink with a thud, Ghazal heaved a tired sigh. She was an irritated-no scratch that she was badly furious on her stubborn, childish husband. Didn't know what was going in his mind and what was he up to?

She was coming to know that Haaris was an impulsive man, he didn't think about the result of his actions or about the feelings of the people related to him. Just like he went away in the early morning to God knows where and returned as if nothing had happened. But a lot had happened during his absence that he would never understand.

Ghazal had the idea he was ignoring her just because she didn't share her secrets with him and that might have woken him up for the whole night as he didn't have any nightmares. At one moment he was sleeping and the next moment when she entered their room for prayer Haaris was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't put that feeling of uneasiness into words finding Haaris lost.

She was shaking during her entire prayer just thinking about Haaris and his absence. So much negative thoughts and then every worse possibility were knocking her mind's door to make her more anxious than before. The cherry on the top was Haaris's stubborn behavior, who cut off her call and then switched off his cellphone.

Mysterious, childish, impulsive...

The sensation of relief seeing him back was much greater than her worry of a few hours ago. Ghazal was afraid for him because he was once an addict and that always haunt her that Haaris would return to that dark path again. But his eyes didn't show any signs of consumption if he had any she could definitely see in his brown eyes.

Now even after giving her a mini heart attack Haaris hadn't accepted his defeat and was tasting her patience by ignoring his meal. Yes, he was starving himself, just to prove whatever he wanted. Haaris was ignoring her same as she was ignoring him yesternight. But she was right, wasn't she? How could she share those dark secrets with him just like that? He should understand this mere thing, but he wasn't. Ghazal was seriously thinking of grabbing his collar and shook him to no end just to fix some sense in his concrete mind. Nanna was totally right when she said that her grandson was stubborn.

He is more than that!

Ghazal found her spouse and son sleeping peacefully on the bed when she entered their room. She hadn't eaten properly the entire day because she was busy thinking about Haaris and his refusal of the meal. Due to this, Ghazal's head was now banging mercilessly and all she needed was a nice sleep.

With her fidgeting thoughts of Haaris when she got some sleep, it got broken by a sound of dropping off the spoon. Haaris was absent from his place. The kitchen's light was gently slicing the heavy darkness around the house. There were no points for guessing that her husband was in the kitchen, searching for food in the fridge.

"Till when are you planning to ignore me and to have a meal like this?"

Ghazal hardly stopped her giggles as Haaris shook from surprise hearing her sudden question. He looked at her sheepishly, mindlessly rubbing the back of his neck. Haaris was looking like a kid who was caught stealing a toffee.

"Come I will make you dinner."

"I don-"

"Stop talking and sit down properly."

Ghazal commanded coldly, regretting slightly the pitch of her voice but it also affected Haaris as he silently grabbed the seat. After making a proper dinner for her spouse she served him and sat next to him watching him staring at his plate.

"Start your dinner, Haaris."

"You should too. Don't skip your meal because of me."

He noticed!

Didn't know what she felt at that time but the irritation and furiousness was subsided with a sense of gratitude and awe? Haaris too didn't know how much good he was from inside it was just that his bad habits overshadowed his goodness. Ghazal hesitantly held his hand, her fingers gently moving on his palm.

"Haaris, forgive me."

"There's nothing I can do if my wife doesn't trust me fully."

Haaris's words hit like a ton of bricks. She had some problem trusting him but Ghazal was trying, trying her best.

"Please don't say that. You know that it's not right."

Haaris again chose to ignore her getting busy in eating without uttering any word further. After silently staring him for a minute, Ghazal too tried to eat but all were way too difficult for her.

***

He was doing all his best to avoid the loud noise of screaming and yelling by putting the pillow over his ear. But that soft material was not coming handy to block out his parents' voices.

"For God's sake Yousuf, it was just a late-night party. Don't make an issue about it."

"What about Haaris? He was unable to sleep because you weren't with him."

"It's his problem, not mine."

Haaris felt his helpless tears slowly getting absorbed on the sheet hearing his mother's words. Why couldn't she love him as he loved her? Why she always proved that he was a barrier to her life?

"Ladiesh are alwaysh chooshy."

Haaris looked at Adam in his arms who was busy devouring the cotton candy but also giving comments glancing at his mother. He only smiled hearing his remark.

"How do you know?"

"Ma ish alwaysh shlow when she goesh for shopping and I get bored."

He chuckled, shaking his head on his son's words. Adam was showing himself agitated like a big man surely living with Haaris was showing its signs on him too. They had departed for Bhopal some minutes ago but Ghazal remembered about Nanna. She wanted to buy something for her and that's why they were now standing in the mall. Ghazal was in one of the jewelry shops while both son and father were having their time outside it waiting for the lady to show up.

Haaris looked at his wife who was busy seeing some bracelets, she gestured at another piece of jewelry at the display. The salesman happily obliged and brought it to her. Haaris's lips pursed into a thin line seeing the over-friendly salesman, he was smiling way too much and staring at Ghazal when she was not looking.

How could he?

"Are you done?"

"No, I was-"

"We will see somewhere else."

With that Haaris grabbed her hand and pulled her outside the shop. Though all was not going well in their married life, both were ignoring each other to their heart's content but he couldn't tolerate any other man's eyes on his lady. Ghazal was his and only his. No man could stare at her like that, only he had the right to do so.

You're whipped man!

Whatever...

"Will you tell me what happened?"

Ghazal took Adam from him and watched him with a questioning gaze.

"Nothing, you were taking too much time."

" Wow. Now that's also a problem for you. Very well then. I can unsee that you were being jealous"

Haaris pinched the bridge of his nose to avoid those black orbs which were narrowed at him in annoyance. "Mrs. Ghazal is having a misunderstanding." He pursed his lips, not liking one bit how Ghazal read him like an open book. "Come, I will take you somewhere else-"

"I am not going anywhere. Everywhere you will have a problem!"

Ghazal announced haughtily, moving her gaze away from him, her lips forming a small pout showing her adorable anger. Haaris glanced at Adam who gestured towards his mother's face mimicking her swollen face resulting in a chortle from him.

"Come on, we are getting late for Bhopal."

Ghazal said and turned around to move towards their car. He held her wrist to stop her, "I don't want to go anywhere." She said wiggling her wrist out of his hold.

"Shometimes you fight like shmall children."

"It's only your mother who is a little girl."

Haaris said taking the driver's seat looking at his wife through the rearview mirror. Ghazal blinked her eyes, they were glaring him to death forcing him to smirk at his spouse. He was still unable to decipher why it always felt so good to tease her maybe because he liked to hear those witty outcomes and remarks.

"Adam you definitely know your Dad is childish."

"Yeah, I have to behave childishly with a little girl like you."

The loud noise of horn broke their banter and they both had to look at their son who had pressed the horn to grab their attention.

"Pleash don't shtart again. I want to meet Da."

Haaris laughed and kissed Adam's temple, bringing back the car engine to life moving towards their house.

***

"Nanna, have you seen Adam?"

"Yeah, many times."

Ghazal had to roll her eyes at Nanna's sense of humor. They had arrived a few hours earlier and Adam was missing from that time. Firstly she thought he must be playing in the yard or doing anything else in the house. But when he didn't return after so much time, she began to get worried.

"Must be gone with Haaris."

"But he didn't tell me anything."

Ghazal anxiously dialed Haaris's number only to find it switched off. She was silently praying, her mind was telling that Adam must be safe with Haaris and her heart was running at a fast pace creating worst of the sequences. 

The car horn somewhat returned back her relief and Ghazal ran towards the gate. Adam and Haaris were laughing at something. Looking at Ghazal, Adam gave a look to Haaris and moved inside the house not before giving a quick peck on his cheek.

"Where were you?"

"To buy some new toys for Adam."

Ghazal fisted her hands and here she was getting worried over them. Why didn't her husband understand the single word 'inform'?

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Adam stopped me. He said you won't allow me to buy new toys for him."

She heaved a tired sigh, "You could inform me later, Haaris. I was getting worried here."

"There was no need to worry. He was with me." Haaris gave a small smile, fixing his specs.

"Adam is my son Haaris and I get worried over him. You won't understand."

The heavy silence dropped over them, Ghazal felt Haaris's stares on her while she was too angry to even look at him. Why couldn't he understand these simple things? At his farmhouse too, they had a fight over it and now again.

"Child not staying for dinner?"

"No Nanna. Had more than enough for today."

Haaris moved out without looking back at her. The whole ordeal was giving her a tremendous headache and it was good that Haaris had left her alone for the time being. Ghazal gave a weak smile to Nanna which she didn't bother to return and returned inside the house.

"Why you did that Ghazal?" Ghazal gave a confused look to Nanna who was sitting on the sofa while she was busy playing with Adam.

"What?"

"You don't think that you did anything wrong." She was unable to understand her words. What she was trying to say? Nanna was not making a little bit of sense.

"We both know Ghazal how Haaris dotes on Adam, how much he cares for him. Yet you proved to him that he is just a stranger for you."

Ghazal's eyes widened in shock. What did she say to him in her anger?

Adam is my son.

That's why Haaris had left, that's why he fell so silent all of a sudden. How rude of her! She had hurt him badly in her anger. Ghazal was so much engrossed in her anger and worry that she couldn't control the words which were leaving their territory.

"Ghazal, I know you would think that I am saying this because I am his grandmother. But I am saying this because I am your grandmother too and I want you both to be happy with each other." Ghazal nodded hesitantly, her eyes brimming with tears feeling the guilt hitting her gut with full force. Now she just wanted to call Haaris and apologize for her more than hard behavior.