Sadqay Humare.

nine

"On an evening like this, twelve years ago. Zaydaan Ziagil, our Prime Minister, a respected man in the society..he was a foreign minister. Working at the foreign office with my client Maria bibi. Maria bibi could not find the courage to stand against a powerful man like him so she remained silent. But how long can one remain silent? Finally, she seeks justice and I am sure that our judicial system will not disappoint her. "

The kind of preparation that the opponent's lawyer had, it did not seem like he was hired by a middle class working woman, it seemed like he was hired by a top ranked businessman or a cunning politician.

His words were crisp and straightforward, accusing the Prime Minister like it was the most casual thing to do.

There were not many people present in the courtroom, just a judge accompanied by his needed people, both the representative parties and a few lawyers. Three to four high ranked journalists were also present in the first hearing of the harassment case against the Prime Minister Zaydaan Ziagil.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by his first lady, his most trusted advisor and a few of his core team members.

It felt absolutely horrible. Whether it was Aaina who had been dreading this day or Zaydaan who managed to look calm, confident and absolutely crisp, both of them felt horrible sitting there in front of a judge, hearing absurd things.

"Your honor, Prime Minister Zaydaan Ziagil has no morals, no dignity, he is an embarrassment to a country like ours, a man with no conscience -" Before the lawyer could continue, Zaydaan's lawyer had already stood up, objecting to the crude words.

Zaydaan wanted to chuckle even though he felt absolutely serious. He wanted to chuckle because he had heard worse words being said about him, if they thought they could break him with disrespectful words, they didn't know him that well.

"Objection, Your honor. Mr Malik is accusing a Prime Minister of being someone without morals even though the case has just started. I believe it is unfair and incorrect, have you forgotten the law Mr Malik?"

"I have not. I will a call a person without morals, a person without morals."

The judge interfered in between the small argument.

"Mr Malik." He motioned the man to continue his argument.

"With your permission, sir. I would like to call Maria bibi."

Maria bibi. The first woman who had accused the Prime Minister. She was the same woman that Zaydaan had respected all those years ago, had somewhat considered her a friend, had worked with her in the most pleasant environment. Her fake alligations did not shock him though, the world was full of traitors.

Maria bibi, a woman who had never even worn a dupatta around her neck in her entire life..this woman was infact wearing a large chaddar around herself.

"Salam, Maria bibi. Please tell the court your name, occupation and your reason of being here." The lawyer started to question her and everyone around them got busy with their work.

A woman typed away on her laptop, sitting just below the judge's seat, a few journalists taking out their phones and pads, noting down her words.

"Salam. My name is Maria khanum, I'm thirty nine years old, I was the secretary at foreign office and a special assistant to foreign Minister of the time, Zaydaan Ziagil." She started off.

"He was very kind towards me, it being the reason I always trusted him. He protected me in my work environment. I had no idea he was obsessed with me though, one day we came back from a meeting and the security guard said Salam to me. He got so angry that he fired him on spot. " 

She told her story in such a convincing way that if Aaina hadn't known Zaydaan, she would have believed the woman on spot.

"That was the start of his obsession. I would get dictated after that. Where I should go, what I should eat. When I tried to quit, he tried to harass me. He almost succeeded, if I hadn't run away on time..maybe he would have crossed all limits. I don't know. "

She gulped, looking at Zaydaan who was not staring at her but staring ahead. Her mere words were not affecting him but at the same time, her words were literally cutting through him. He was a man of honor and it was at stake.

"He touched my breasts once, without my consent. One time, he touched my behind. Even thinking about it makes me disgusted. I couldn't say a word, first his father was the Prime Minister and then him. Who would have listened to me?

She sobbed, words coming out of her mouth like it was the ultimate truth. Aaina pressed her hand on her husband's, not even bothering to hide her disgust and fear and anger, and all those feelings that were arising within herself.

"And why did you reveal this now?" The lawyer asked, Maria bibi let out a sigh.

"Because its us humans that keep feeding these people with power. They need to understand too. We can't let men harass us, no matter who they are." She dictated.

Aaina wanted to stand up and shout at her, tell this woman that she was nothing but a lying cunning fake ass b***h. She wanted to feel some sympathy for her, she wanted to think that maybe this woman had some reason behind lying like this, maybe she had some weakness that was being used against her.

But her love was clouding all the pity that she had in her heart.

She saw the lawyer nod at the woman, done with his questions.

"Thank you, Maria bibi."

They waited for the Prime Minister's lawyer to ask the woman some questions, to cross question her but she didn't.

Instead, he simply looked at the judge and started to speak.

"Your honor, what a story that was. And that is exactly what it is. A story. A fabricated piece of filth, meant to defame a man who is our country's Prime Minister." He said out loud, words coming out confident and cool.

"I would like to tell you that Maria bibi was not only an employee of the then foreign minister but also his friend. They shared lunches, dinners, they went out for brunch together along with their mutual friend, Minal ashfaq."

Minal.

Zaydaan didn't understand how a woman could be so loyal, so understanding and yet get hurt the way her husband had hurt her.

He was on his knees now, begging the woman he loved to take him back, they hadn't exactly been divorced but Minal felt reluctant, she was not ready to forgive him.

She wanted to say the truth to the court, testify in Zaydaan's favour first and then see the reaction of her husband.

When Zaydaan had met her, for the first time in years..it had felt awkward. It was only after a cup of tea that both of them felt comfortable enough to talk about the recent events.

Minal had promised to help him out and he had promised that he would help her sort everything out with her husband, only if she was ready to forgive him and be with him.

Even though she was in her forties, Minal looked just as beautiful as she used to look. Aaina noticed how the woman had lost weight, how there were wrinkles around her eyes and how she still looked so regal.

"I'd like to call miss Minal Ashfaq." Minal stepped forward, ready to answer any question being thrown at her.

"What were you of the Prime Minister?"

Minal kept a straight face, answering the question calmly.

"We were friends, good friends." She replied.

"And Maria bibi?"

"She was a good worker, Zaydaan's favourite since she always knew what he wanted."

"Did you ever see Zaydaan Sahab ogle her in an uncomfortable way?" He questioned next, she shook her head.

"Never. He was too noble for that. He didn't need to drool over women, women drooled over him anyway. He was an eligible bachelor at that time." She elaborated.

"And is it true that you went with them on several lunches?" Minal let out a small scoff.

"It's the other way around. Zaydaan and I used to go out to eat alot, we were extremely good friends and Maria used to join us at times." She answered.

Minal herself was a bit confused by Maria's stupid allegation. She was such a nice woman that it made no sense to her. Was money really all that mattered?

"How would you describe the relationship between Maria bibi and Zaydaan Sahab?"

"Professional, extremely professional and slightly friendly but nothing over the top."

She replied.

"If you were to tell the truth in front of the entire court, would you say that Prime Minister Zaydaan could have done it or not?" The lawyer questioned, the entire court awaited her response.

Minal simply gave a smile and then shook her head, not agreeing at all.

"Not at all. Zaydaan Ziagil is an honorable man." She testified.

The lawyer had no more questions left to ask.

"Thank you, miss Minal." Minal stood up from her designated seat, going back to the place where the other witnesses were sat.

Rehman Malik, lawyer of Maria bibi and a very famous human rights activist, the man who had always stood by the right people was standing against the Prime Minister today, trying his hardest to prove that Zaydaan Ziagil was not an honorable man.

"Your honor, Miss Minal has been a friend of the Ziagil family for ages. She could lie very easily." He argued.

"So could Maria bibi. It's our job to prove the truth. That's why we're here, Mr Malik."

Azhar Saleh, the Prime Minister's lawyer shot back. Azhar was best of the best, but he was also a close friend of the Ziagil family and that made him much more special to everyone. They knew that it was not just a case for him, it meant much more to him. He had assured Zaydaan that he would do his very best.

Rehman Malik knew what he had to do next.

"Your honor, I would like a date so I can bring more witnesses into the court." He requested.

The Prime Minister's lawyer knew that the more this case got dragged, the more damage it could do. He requested against it.

"I don't think so, your honor. This is a defamation case against the Prime Minister, we should not prolong it." He suggested instead.

"This is a case against s****l harassment. Not defamation." Rehman Sahab intervened.

The judge wrote something on his file and then announced his decision favouring the opposition party.

"Two weeks, Mr Malik."

With that, the court was adjourned.

--

The Prime Minister and the first lady were taken out of the courthouse in high security. With Zaydaan's security team surrounding them and Aaina right by his side, the media's flashes came from quite far away.

There were journalists and reporters right behind a barrier, with police and army surrounding the entire large area.

Security was at high alert. Aaina looked at Zaydaan, trying to read his facial expression, anything that could give away the turmoil inside of him. Instead, all she got was the very signature PM Ziagil smile, he waved at the journalists, a small wave and then he started to walk towards his car.

Aaina was about to walk with him when his advisor started to talk.

"It would be suitable if the first lady talks to the media. A woman defending her husband is always a good thing, the media would talk more about her talk then what went inside the courthouse." He explained.

Zaydaan understood what the man meant, media had the power to influence minds of the public. He didn't want the terms harasser to be used against him, not by the people he cherished the most. His Pakistanis.

He nodded.

"You go." He told her, Aaina nodded knowing what she had to do.

She started to walk towards the barrier, with a few security members by her side. The lawyers didn't want to talk to the media so soon and it felt like the perfect time for Aaina to speak up.

She made a quick prayer in her head, just as she always did. The amount of reporters and journalists and camera men that she faced in that moment, she couldn't even count them.

She heard several questions being thrown at her, really complicated questions at that. All the questions were almost jumbled due to the amount of people and the noise. Silence only took place when the first lady started to speak.

"I know you all have questions but I can not answer each and every single one of them. I'll keep this short and precise." She started off, giving a small smile. The polite smile that she always had on her face.

"Out of all the things that I know about him, the one that I'm the most certain of..it's his morality. The accusations against him are so sickening that it pains me. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister will fight for justice and prove that they're all liars." She said out loud, voice sounding as confident as it could.

Even though her heart was fearing for her husband, she had learned to fake a little in front of the world in the last decade. He had taught her how to do so.

"Men who gossip like a couple of fish wives, we shouldn't expect anything good from such men. And even though these women are at the front field, we know which men are controlling them."

She accused, knowing that her words would create much more hype in the media, the mere curiosity of who those men were would make the media have a field day.

"Who are those men?" The reporters questioned her, suddenly finding the spice that they so badly craved.

Aaina only smiled.

"You'll have to wait and let time show it to you. Thank you." She excused herself then, ignoring the calls of her name and the many more questions.

---

As she finally sat in the car, feeling the hot rush of heat, mixed with the fear and the worry that she contained in herself, it all all made her completely exhausted.

She wanted to believe that everything would be fine, that they had the best lawyer, they were right and truthful, she wanted to believe in the judiciary but this was not just one case against the prime Minister. This shows the list of many cases that were coming their way with one of them being the biggest one, the entire country had eyes on that particular case.. everyone wanted to know what would go on in that certain hearing but the first lady simply dreaded that day.

Today was just the start and she felt exhausted already. She could not even imagine how her husband must be feeling right now, at least she could express herself, maybe even cry whenever she wanted to but he had this wall around him, he thought of himself as a cold, calculative man who did not express or show any emotion to the world.

He was much more than that, she had seen his vulnerability and his emotions too but the world had not. The world still loved him though and she knew no matter how much he denied it, a part of him would get heavily affected if he lost that love.

She stared at him, her head on her own arm. He was quiet and the silence felt defeaning.

"It went better than how I expected it to go." She stirrrd up a conversation.

He barely nodded. Instead, he looked at his watch and then straight ahead.

"We had to take Zayla out today." He stated, reminding her.

"We'll go tomorrow." She replied.

Her husband shook his head.

"No. We'll go right now. Let's take her from home and leave. I am not going to neglect my daughter for some pathetic female." His voice was heavy, clouded with anger.

"Zaydaan," She just took his name, hoping that he would understand all that she wanted to say.

"Don't argue with me right now, Aaina. For God's sake." He snapped.

She frowned at his attitude.

"I didn't say anything!" She exclaimed.

He didn't say a word in response and she remained quiet too.

"The lawyer says Minal's testimony took them off guard." Upon hearing her name and the appreciation in his voice for her, she couldn't help but let out a sarcastic response.

"Minal told the entire country how good of a friend you were to her." She mumbled, Zaydaan looked at her, mouth formed in a straight line.

"She defended me. I'll always be indebted to her." He said instead, awaiting her response.

He wanted her to atleast call Minal and thank her, that was the most polite thing for her to do.

Instead, Aaina rolled her eyes..looking away. He knew her dislike for Minal, he understood the insecurity, the jealousy but it made him so furious that she wasn't being understanding in this moment.

"Mhmm." Her sarcasm still present.

"You can be the most understanding woman on the planet but the moment Minal gets mentioned, you turn into the most unreasonable, immature little girl." Zaydaan hissed, anger evident in his voice.

"I didn't say anything." Aaina repeated her earlier words. He let out a bitter chuckle.

"I know you well enough, Aaina. Don't think I've forgot about the immaturity you displayed at her wedding." He was referring to the drama she had created, that she didn't want to go and she sure as hell didn't want him to go.

He hadn't, for the sake of his love for her.

"Can we talk about something more important than her? Yes?" She insisted, he shook his head at her.

"No. She got divorced because of me, yet she came into the court and defended me. She defended your husband's honor. If anything, you should be thankful to her."

They clearly were arguing, fighting. Not even caring that Sami was sat in the front seat of the car and the driver was right next to him.

"I am thankful. I just don't want to talk about my husband's first lover. Is that so hard to understand?" She shot back at him.

"Besides, she's not exactly divorced. He used the word talaq once and has been regretting it ever since. Your Minal needs to get over it." Aaina taunted.

And Zaydaan was done. Absolutely done with this entire conversation.

"This is absolutely pathetic coming from you." He mumbled, expressing his disappointment in her.

Aaina was about to reply when his phone started to vibrate and he quickly picked it up.

"Hello?" He went on..talking on the phone.

"Yes father. It went well, baba. No, I didn't say anything." He told his father all the details of the court, glancing at his wife and then staring straight ahead.

"Yes, she is with me too."

"No, I didn't. I'll handle it, don't worry. I'm a Prime Minister, I've handled worse things."

Meanwhile, Aaina suddenly felt guilty. He was going through so much and here she was, giving him a hard time for an ex who had helped them and an ex who had made him realise his love for his wife, an ex who hadn't done anything to sabotage their relationship.

And instead of being supportive and telling him that everything will be okay, she was fighting with him.

He was right then? She turned into the most immature little girl when it came to Minal. She bit her lip, hearing him speak to his father as she contemplated how to apologise.

"Okay, inshaAllah. Safe flight. Tell mama Salam from my side." With that, he ended the phone call.

His parents had to attend a relative's wedding in England, Safina Ziagil had been preparing for it since months. Her nephew was getting married in Birmingham and there was no way in hell that she wouldn't attend it.

Ahad and Zaydaan were both busy so she didn't force them to attend it.

"They're leaving?" Aaina quietly asked.

"Yes." He mumbled, focusing his attention on his phone.

"What was your father saying?" She asked next.

The Prime Minister didn't respond, staying silent. She gulped.

"Zaydaan.." Her hand reached out to touch his, he shook his head at her attempt.

She let out a sigh, tightening her grip on his hand.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean for my words to come out bitter." She apologised.

He still didn't say a word.

"Tch, I'm sorry and I'm grateful for the way she defended you. Okay?"

She waited for his response, something, anything. He remained silent for a minute before he spoke up.

"Your mother has been meeting with Awan chaudhry alot, baba was informing me about it." He finally told her.

She frowned. Another day, another problem.

"I don't understand why she would even meet him." She mumbled more to herself than to him.

"Talk to her, Aaina. I don't want to talk to her but I will if I need to." He told her, before this..he had stopped her. He had told her to only talk to her mother about it when the time was right, and now..he was telling her to talk to her.

Clearly, he was frustrated and things were changing.

"I'll talk to her." She affirmed.

With that, they reached home. 

-----

She was putting a band on her daughter's head, one that matched with the blue dress that Zayla was wearing when the Prime Minister arrived.

He was freshly showered, smelling like his signature scent. She smiled at him and he smiled back. As her daughter was all dressed up and ready to go, Aaina quickly started to apply some makeup on her face, her hair still wet from the shower as she had no time to dry it.

She looked at her husband from the corner of her eye as he called his daughter's name.

"Zayla, come here love." The three year old jumped into her father's arms.

"Ready to leave, Princess? We're going out." She nodded in excitement.

"Who dressed you, haan? You look so beautiful." He knew Aaina had been the one to change her but he still asked his daughter.

"Mama." She replied, looking at her mother who was applying a soft nude lipstick and then spraying cologne all over herself.

"Mama? Hmm? Well, she knows how to make you look the prettiest. Doesn't she?" He talked.

This was the most soft talk she had heard him do in the entire day, it seemed like this was some other man. Aaina knew the stress that was there since the past few days, she knew that he had alot on his plate but seeing his eyes light up at the sight of his daughter, that relaxed face..she was genuinely amazed.

She looked at him and then at Zayla. Even the sight of them warming her heart.

"Come on." Zaydaan called her out, telling her that it was time to go. She still stared at him.

"What?" He questioned in confusion.

She shook her head, walking towards him.

"Your eyes really light up when you see her, you know." She whispered.

Zaydaan put his hand around her waist. He had Zayla on one arm and the other one had pulled his wife onto his side.

"They light up upon seeing you too." He replied, she simply smiled at him.

"Lately, all I've been seeing is frowns." She told him, he clicked his tongue.

"You and Zayla are the only ones relaxing me right now." He confessed, suddenly craving for something more.

He looked at his wife with a sudden decision made up in his mind.

"Maybe we should have another one of her." He said out of the blue, Aaina looked at him in shock.

"What?"

Her husband barely shrugged.

"What? It's about time, don't you think?"

She sighed. She wouldn't mind a baby but there was already so much going on, was it right to add another thing to it?

"When you're accused of s****l harassment?" She questioned, he smirked at her.

"I'm not getting any younger." He replied, Aaina let out a laugh.

"No. You're not. Old man." She teased, pointing to that one white hair on his head that had been there forever.

He chuckled, asking her what she thought about another baby.

"Tell me then." He insisted.

"Another baby would be nice." She admitted.

The couple felt happy at the thought of another child but what they didn't understand was the fact that bringing another life into the world meant another life that they had to protect.