CHAPTER 20 - TALK OF THE TOWN

'Do you realise what you have done? You gave away your life on a platter to another woman.' Aliza's mother yelled at her after all the relatives and neighbours had left who came in to gather all the information they could under the disguise of offering condolence.

'Arey, Aliza. Who even does that? Whatever you decide, you should have stayed there. You lost your opportunity to make Ahmed think in your favour. You could have convinced him to leave her. Tch.tch.tch...' Humaira tried adding her own flavour to the conversation. But Aliza responded to neither. She stayed quiet with no orientation to her surrounding. She was, in fact, not even listening. 

'Can you both let her be? Let her rest now.' Fahim interrupted Humaira and his mother. 'Humaira, give her something to eat. She must be starving.'

Humaira, who was clearly more invested in discussing Aliza's life, sulked at Fahim and went to the kitchen reluctantly to bring her the leftovers from lunch. But Aliza refused to even look at it. She felt she was dreaming the whole scenario. Her getting pregnant, her travel to Bangalore, her coming back with Cyra's mother, the disclosure, Ahmed's confrontation, everything. She felt the world around her was spinning. She couldn't differentiate which was real and which was not. She did not want to speak to anyone or listen to them. She wanted to curl into herself like her child in her womb and forget everything. 

As her mother and Humaira began speaking again, someone greeted her with salam from the doorway. To everyone's shock, Cyra's mother stood by the door with crutches guided by her nurse. They stood jolted until Aliza's father welcomed her in. Cyra preferred to stay in the car because she did not want to make it more awkward and wanted to save herself from heartbreak. She had tried to prevent her mother from visiting Aliza and her family, but she wouldn't listen.

The situation inside Aliza's house was growing tense even though everyone remained silent. Nobody knew how to react. Aliza stared at the floor while the rest gazed at each other's faces. Aliza's mother looked at her husband and gestured with her head to ask their visitor about the purpose of the visit. 

'How many months is it now, child?' Cyra's mother broke the silence without giving others the trouble of breaking the ice.

'Three months.' Aliza's mother answered because Aliza did not.

'I am sorry for putting you all through this. I know, Aliza, the pain you must be going through. I..I..I did not know.' She continued speaking though she did not receive any response.

'I lived alone for the past 25 years, and when Ahmed came, Cyra and my world changed. It was me who thought they would be perfect for each other. I was the one who planted the idea in Ahmed's mind. But I didn't know he was already...' 

Though Aliza did not reply, a tear trickled down her cheek, and her heart fluttered in agony. 

'He never mentioned once about his parents or you. If he had, I would have never, never let this happen.' She looked straight at Aliza, loaded with guilt.

'It's okay. What has happened has happened. Nobody can undo it now. Please tell us why have you come to visit now?' Fahim's voice echoed through the hall, making Cyra's mother uneasy.

'She must have come to learn about Aliza's decision. Why else? Or to convince us for divorce to save her daughter's marriage.' Humaira interrupted.

'No, no. Never will I do that ever in my life. Aliza is just like Cyra to me. I came to check after her. To tell her that whatever she decides, she will also have me by her side, and she is under no pressure to save my daughter's life.'

'And, Aliza child, you must understand we are also the victim here. Ahmed has definitely cheated you. But my daughter is in no way responsible for this. We would never let another woman suffer this way. And our lives are destroyed as much as yours. Not to belittle your pain, Cyra has also been going through the same. I will not interfere in her decision about her marriage. And I would never want you to suffer too. I am not sure what can fix this. But I would happily convince my daughter if you want us to leave.' 

Everybody in the room was too stunned to hear that. A mother is willing to convince her daughter to give up on her marriage for the sake of another woman. They had never heard about it and had never seen it before. They imagined them to be the devil that destroyed Aliza's life, but they did not seem so bad after all. 

'What has your daughter decided?' Aliza asked which were the first words she spoke after leaving Ahmed's house.

'You could ask her that yourself. She is in the car outside.' Cyra's mother directed her hand towards the doorway, aiming at her car's driver seat.

To be continued…

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