I thought heaven can't help me now

Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down

He's so tall and handsome as hell

He's so bad but he does it so well

I can see the end as it begins

While Tahera was chatting the night away with Aaban, Taahir was out looking for her.

He had been searching for 2 hours but it was to no avail. He only realized how ludicrous he was acting when Rosa called.

"Taahir, are you in bed?" it was Rosa's habit to call him every night.

Honestly, Taahit didn't have many conversational topics in common with her and he had no interest in listening to her recap her daily life so the nightly calls rarely went beyond the perfunctory hello and good night.

"I'm still up, is there anything you want to discuss?" Taahir asked half-heartedly.

"How is Tahseen? He didn't look so well during dinner." Rosa asked cautiously. She knew Tahseen was averse to her presence but for the sake of preserving her image, she had to pretend she didn't notice.

"He's fine. He's sleeping now."

Rosa said with a smile in her voice, "That's good to know. It's late. Taahir, do retire to bed soon."

"Okay."

"Good night," Rosa concluded warmly.

Taahir kept his phone, stopped his car by the roadside, and lit a cigarette.

As throngs of cars rushed him by, he chuckled to himself. So what if Tahera had disappeared, why was it his responsibility to find her? She was a grown woman, she could find her way home.

Taahir turned his car back home but as a safety measure, ordered some men to investigate Tahera's present situation. At least that way he would know she was still alive and finally have an idea what had happened to her in the past few years.

He was interested to find out how a woman with such a sizeable amount of alimony could end up in her state.

***

Early the next morning, Taahir received updates on Tahera for the past three years. After the divorce, she was taken in by her uncle.

Through family connections, he understood her uncle had a son and the three of them had been keeping each other afloat. Their life took a turn for the worse when Rahim Hussain was diagnosed with kidney disease.

To earn money, Tahera had to take on multiple odd jobs. Cleaner, dishwasher, waitress... She spent her times doing all sorts of menial labor.

However, she was bullied and isolated at every single workplace due to her reticence and reluctance to socialize. This meant that none of her work lasted longer than a month.

Three years of bouncing from one harsh working environment to another had taken a toll on her.

Taahir was still surprised when he thought back to their encounter yesterday. It seemed like she had aged tremendously since their divorce.

He could barely recognize her anymore. If not for their chance encounter yesterday, he wouldn't have known how much pain and cruelty she had endured...

Nevertheless, there was one thing that puzzled him. Why hadn't she used her alimony ?

He knew Tahera wasn't a spender but even if she was, it was impossible to burn through the amount he'd given in a short period of time.

Taahir leaned back in his chair with a serious expression. It would appear that there were some details that were hidden from his knowledge...

When Taahir stepped into the dining room, his whole family was already seated, having their breakfast.

Tahseen was the first to wake up since he had an early bedtime the day before. He had already finished his breakfast when Taahir sat down.

"Take Tahseen to school for me," Taahir ordered one of their maids.

"Yes, sir," the maid complied. She took Tahseen's hand and led him out of the room.

Mrs. Haseena took a delicate bite of her barley porridge with a porcelain spoon before asking, "Why did you leave so suddenly yesterday? You are the reason we were gathered there, you know? How awkward you've left your father and mother."

"I did call to say Tahseen wasn't feeling well, didn't I? By the way, mom..." Taahir looked at his mother, the rest of his question caught in his throat.

Mrs. Haseena encouraged him with a smile, adding a "Yes?"

Taahir continued, "Did Tahera accept the alimony after our divorce?"

Haseena's spoon froze in mid-air and her face dropped... Based on her reactions, Taahir knew instantly that the answer to his question was no.

"Why didn't you tell me if you didn't give her the alimony?" He thought Tahera was living well with the money. That was why he didn't think to check up on her.

If not for their chance encounter yesterday, he would still be left in the dark.

Haseena's face froze over. She shrugged, "It wasn't that I didn't give her the alimony, she didn't want it."

"Still, you could have told me."

"Why should I? She no longer had anything to do with us Rahman Family. It's better that the relationship was cut off cleanly. If she didn't want our help, good riddance, I'd say."

Tahseen said in a low rumble, "Either way, Tahera is still Tahseen's mom. Yes, we are no longer legally married, but we can't just close our eyes to her suffering."

Haseena frowned slightly as she retorted, "It's the woman's decision to slap our helping hand away. You, yourself, are familiar with her weird and stubborn attitude. It has been nothing but trouble since she came into the Rahman Family. She's unwilling to admit her mistakes and refuses to communicate with the rest of the family, causing all of us to walk on tiptoes around the house. I did the best I could by offering her help once but she refused it. We had given her Denmohar while marriage. It's enough for her! We're not running a charity here, I'm not going to beg her to accept our aid!"

"But she used her Denmohar to buy a golden diamond chain for Tahseen. Regardless, you should have at least told me..."

[ In Islami Marriages a man has to pay Denmohar to his wife while getting married. If the groom don't pay it it'll be sinful for him. Even if they didn't pay it while wedding after divorce the husband must pay it. Denmohar is huge amount of money that has to give by the bride groom to the bride. ]

"Taahir, your marriage to her was from the beginning a huge mistake. Your father was obviously not thinking straight when he allowed that woman to marry into our family. I know it couldn't have been easy for you having to live with that horrible woman. It was a blessing that she asked for a divorce so I'm not going to give her any chance to squirm her way back into our family. Plus, she's a fully-grown woman, she's not going to die from hunger."

[True, but she's not doing much living either... When the truth is revealed to Tahseen in the future, he will definitely be mad at them.]

Without waiting for his breakfast to arrive, Taahir stood up and said, "I'm going to the office."

"But you haven't had your breakfast yet." Haseena called after him but Taahir strode out of the house without even once turning his head.

"See, didn't I tell you to not hide it from our son? I told you that he's going to be angry when he finds out," Taahir's dad, Alim Rahman, chided his wife.

Haseena leveled him a sidelong glance. "You're blaming me now? This is entirely your fault. If you didn't agree to the marriage in the first place, we wouldn't have ended up in this hot soup. Now you see, none of the parties involved is happy."

Alim sighed. "I owe Tahera's father my life and that was his dying wish, so how could I have said no? Plus, how could I have known the two of them won't match. In any case, I've learnt my lesson. I'll stay out of our son's marriage in the future. He can choose whoever he likes to marry."

"What nonsense are you spouting this time? That person has been chosen and it is Rosa. I've known this girl since she was a baby and I've always treated her as my own daughter. She is perfect for Taahir." Haseena's mouth curved into a smile with the mention of Rosa's name.

***

Tahera woke up with fatigue bearing down on her. The sudden resurgence of her old memory must have added some pressure to her mental state. The fact that she was run down by a car didn't help her situation either.

She decided to stay home that day to nurse her health. It was a holiday so Aaban also stayed back to help take care of his sister.

"Sis, are you sure you're feeling well? Shall we go to the hospital?" Aaban enquired worriedly.

Tahera shook her head, saying, "I'm fine. Doctor's orders, I'm to stay home for a few days to rest. The injury is not so serious or else they wouldn't have let me out."

"But you're looking frighteningly pale."

"This is how a recovering patient normally looks..." Tahera said with forced levity. She didn't want to go back to the hospital. Their family couldn't afford to spend on her medical bill.

Tahera had obviously let the driver who knocked her down go. She didn't want to owe Taahir so she opted to suffer in silence.

Aaban couldn't bear to see her like this, adding, "Sis, I think it's better we go see the doctor. We still have some money left to spare. Even dad said to bring you to the hospital before he left for work so please listen to us!"

In truth, they barely had enough for a check-up. Tahera insisted her injury wasn't serious and refused to leave her room.

Aaban of course knew why she wouldn't go. When he was at his wit's end, someone knocked on their house's door. It sounded slow and deliberate, a great contrast to the rushed ones normally done by their ruffian neighbors.

Author's Note

This baby is working so hard! Shouldn't you guys click on the little star to give her a gift? 🥺🥺🥺🥺

~ Ittefa ♥️

Read my other books:

Billionaire's Seventh Wife:

Prank wth the Playboys:

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