Salam!

Sorry for the late update. I had to update CH first because otherwise this chapter would have been a spoiler for that one. If you haven't read that chapter, go read that first.

Happy reading!

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"How is she now doctor?" Zayan asked the doctor as soon as he got out of the ICU.

"We were able to bring her back. The next twenty-four hours are critical. We need to keep her under observation so we have shifted her to the wards for the time." The doctor said patting Zayan's shoulder.

The doctor left them there and Maya looked up from the bench at Zayan tentatively. 

"What did the doctor say?" She asked him impatiently. 

His expression was of pure happiness.

"He accepted my duas this time. She will make it." Zayan said to her as if in a trance and even though she had no idea what he meant by 'this time' she smiled at him. He just need someone to listen to him and she would be there for him.

"Where's bhai? I think he's still in the mosque. I'll go tell him." Maya said smiling genuinely for the first time in days.

Before she could get up and fo she saw Fawad coming towards them.

She ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Bhai she's fine. The doctor said she is fine." She said hugging him tightly.

"W-what?" He asked her weakly as if he thought he was dreaming.

"She's fine bhai. You should go see her. She hasn't waken up though."

She looked up to see tears falling from his eyes. She wiped away the tears from his eyes and beckoned him to go towards the ward.

"I'll go tell everyone." Maya said to Zayan and left.

As she was walking through the halls to the nursery section where they would be with the baby, the past memories that she was trying to supress hit her with full force. How he had forced her, how he had touched her in forbidden places. It was very hard for her to get over that because she had kept herself in hijab all her life and never in her wildest dreams had she thought that she could be the victim of things she thought happened in another world. It didn't seem real to her and now she prayed to Allah from her heart that He would keep all the girls honours safe.

 She looked around herself and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself when she saw a male passing by. It all came back. Her helplessness and his animalistic behavior. It just took her being alone and her demons would come to accompany her. Would she always be like this around males now? He had destoryed her.

The whole time Zayan was with her she hadn't thought about that. Maybe it was because she felt like he was silently reassuring her that it would be fine. She hadn't been able to meet his eye after everything but she had tried to be there for him when everyone else wasn't. She had listened to what he had to say about Areesha as a silent gratitude for doing what he had done. She had felt very small at that time. She was scared that he might judge her on that.

Heck how would she ever be able to look at him. At times, she was so scared that he might mention it to someone else like Areesha or his mother and her parents would find out.

Telling Fawad was one thing but telling her parents about it was completely another. Even though her grand parents were against coeducation and the education of girls, but her father had made no compromise in her education and so she couldn't tell him that he had somehow made the wrong decision even though it was directly no one's fault. But she knew how her father was. He would blame it on himself. 

Tears started running down her cheeks as she thought if what would have happened if Zayan hadn't come on time. She would have been destroyed, robbed of her honour. She owed Zayan more than he could ever know. He even took the blame for her. He hadn't uttered a word when her brother was on the verge of killing him. He had stayed silent. She just hoped he would stay quiet for the rest of the time as well.

She silently thanked Allah over and over again when she thought about how worse it could have been. But what she didn't understand was why it had been her?

Why her? What did she do wrong that she was getting this punishment? She asked Allah for forgiveness. The worst thing was that she didn't even know what she had done wrong.

The more she thought about it, she felt like it was more of her fault than anyone else's. She had practically invited Daniyal to come by being rude to him. She shouldn't have challenged him like that. 

But that wasn't her fault. She had always been like this. She didn't take crap from others instead gave them another share of there's. Only this time it had backfired.

She shook her head fiercely as if wanting to shake those thoghts out of her head. She didn't want to pity herself. She loved being a doctor. She loved how she could help people cure. She was not going to let those memories come in the way. She wasn't going to look at a hospital and think about that vile man. She was stronger than that and she would prove that. She would prove that to herself more than anyone else because she had lost all her honour in her own eyes. She had lost that respect for herself.

She tried to shake her head as if wanting those memories ro fall off. She stopped by the hospital canteen and brought a water bottle. Taking a long drink from the bottle she went back and proceeded to the hall where everyone else was waiting.  

"Maya?" She heard her name from behind. Her head snapped in the direction and she saw Zayan coming towards her.

She discreetly tried to wipe her cheeks trying to hide the fact that she had been crying.

"Yes?" She asked him and she saw him averting his gaze as if he didn't want to embarrass her because he could see the tear trails on her face.

"What hapened? Why did you come?" She asked trying to steady her voice.

"Fawad was with Areesha." He explained and she understood that he was trying to give them privacy. That was thoughtful of him. "Did you call everyone?"

"No I am just going." She said and he nodded.

"Z-Zayan?" She started tentatively still weighing the pros and cons in her head.

"Yeah?" He asked her questioningly as she paused.

"C-Can you please not tell that to anyone?"

"What?" He asked confused before he realized the next second what she was talking about.

"E-everything that happned that day." She said her voice breaking in between. She felt heat creeping up her neck out of embarrassment. She couldn't even meet his gaze.

"Maya, you don't need to worry about that." He said firmly trying to reassure that he would never share that with anyone.

"Thank you. Please just never let anyone find out." She repeated trying to amke her point clear. She hardly knew him. How couod she trust him? What if he shared that with his mother? She would never be able to meet their gaze then.

"Maya, I don't know how to reassure you. I would never, ever say anything like that to anyone. You can trust me."

"T-thank you." She said as she dared to glance up at his face. She felt he was sincere and he wouldn't embarrass her in front of anyone. "You don't know how much that means to me. Thank you for everyhting you did that day."

"Don't thank me. Allah just sent me there at the right time." He said trying to ease her. He felt embarrassed the way she was looking at him as if she owed him something.

"I-I am sorry for the way bhai treated you that day." She said as she glanced at his hand which was bandaged.

"Maya stop apologizing for something that wasn't your fault." He said firmly, waving her apology away.

She nodded slightly owing to the lack of words. She was actually very grateful to him. She owed it to him that he hadn't blurted out everything that day when he could have arrogantly said that he had found her in a shameful state that day and he could have said so many wrong things but he didn't use the opportunity like any guy could have so he was clearly a respectful man.

"Maya please try to forget about that day and move on. Your mother was very worried about you." 

"Easier said than done." She said and it came out harsher than she had meant to. All those disturning scenes had come crashing back to her and hse couldn't do anything at that point.

Zayan sighed. That was definitely a reckless statement to make. How could he ask her to forget everything?

Before either lf them could say anything, Maya's mother interrupted them.

"Maya? Beta what are you doing here? And how is Areesha?" Her mother asked and she could see the question clearly in her eyes that what was she doing here with Zayan. Unconsciously she stepped a little more away from him even though there was already enough distance between them.

"Ma Areesha woke up, she is fine alhumdulilah. I was just coming to call you all." She said to her mother avoiding her questning gaze that whay was she doing alone with a non mehram.

"Areesha is fine?" She repeated in disbelief. "Alhumdulilah for that."

Her mother's expression was of pure happiness as she went of to call the rest of the family.

Maya glanced at Zayan who was typing something on his phone. She observed him from the corner of her eye as negatovethoughts invaded her mind again. What if he had told someone? What if her brother asked him and he said something? A lot of 'what ifs' invaded her mind and scared her to the core. 

She tried to reprimand herself. She had never been like this. She was always an optimistic girl. What was happening to her? Would she spend her life like this now? She hated herself right now. With these negative thoughts in her mind she went back towards the rest of the family and tried. Mingle with everyone to forget everything. 

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That all for now folks!

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Hope the chapter wasn't all that boring!