Danish and Naila did not speak with each other for three days straight. He was coming home late daily and leave before breakfast. This made things easier for Naila to handle her stuff.
Naila packed all her stuff. Her clothes, accessories, everything she bought. She called for movers and moved few stuff to her parents' home as she did not have the budget to find a place and live alone. Danish was not aware that she started moving her things.
"Naila, what do you mean by all of this? Did you not solve the quarrel? Compromise and don't leave him. Why are you sending your stuff? Are you serious about this?" Her mother called soon after her things and suitcases got delivered.
"I'm dead serious about this umma," she said. You cannot leave you husband. You should not. Men always behave pathetically. Whether he did right or wrong, we are not in a position to correct him, we can only ask you you to reconcile with him. What will his.family think? They will say that we did not bring you up properly. Is that what you want for us? After doing all of this for you?" Her mother started with the emotional blackmail.
"Umma, you have no idea what he has done to me," Naila replied. "Do you not wish to see your daughter happily, without worries? Do you wish to see me suffer again and again?" She questioned back to which both her parents did not have the answer for. Sarah, her mother, remained silent. She could understand her daughter, her need for freedom, but Sarah could not accept it, surrender to it, as she was never given a space to have such thoughts. Sarah couldn't believe the decision her daughter was making. Bold move. But a dangerous one. The consequences spun her head. It made her want to press her daughter to stay in the marriage. "I cannot live here for another moment. Besides, he asked me to leave," she dropped the bomb.
"He did?" That's all her mother asked after a long pause. "Fine. Come and rest here for few days. Men don't think when they make decisions. Both of you need to be away from each other for few days to realise the mistakes and get back together," it appeared Sarah was not ready to accept the reality but still thinking about getting her daughter somehow back together with her son in law.
Naila took a deep breath. She closed her eyes and inhaled again. "See you tomorrow," she said and hung up.
"I have no idea how I'm going to survive next few months living together with umma and uppa," Naila thought and buried her head under the pillow. Except a cabin size trolley, Naila appeared to have sent everything else.
Naila waited for Danish to reach home. She wanted to inform him that she is leaving the next day. But he did not show up till midnight. Naila fell asleep waiting in the living room, on the couch.
She heard the door creak open. She knew it was him.
Keeping her breathing slow and even, she pretended to be asleep until she was certain he had drifted off. Only then did she reach for her phone. The screen read 3:00 a.m.
Naila again checked whether he has slept or not and picked up his phone. She opened the gallery and checked the photos clicked. He appeared to have spent the night with his colleagues in a pub. He was drinking. She finally got the proof for it. She shared the image to her WhatsApp and the. Open the chat with his ex girlfriend. She took some screenshot and shared them too. She made sure to delete them from his phone. She also found the flight ticket to the city she live in. She smiled. She shared a copy to her phoe too. She gritted her teeth. She tried to control her anger and frustration. She placed the phone back on the bed side table as it was kept.
She quietly walked back to her room.
It was only then that the realization truly struck her.
This was her last night in this house.
The house she had poured countless hours, endless effort, and pieces of herself into, turning empty rooms into a home. She had chosen every corner with care, every detail with love.
The weight of it all settled heavily on her chest.
She hadn't realized how deeply she was attached until this moment.
For one fleeting, irrational second, making peace with him seemed easier than leaving behind the place she had built, nurtured, and called home.
A home that was hers too.
Naila had tears in her eyes again. She closed her eyes, trying to sleep.
"Naila, I'm leaving. I have a business trip. I will be back after three days," he said. Naila woke up listening to it.
"I need to talk to you," she sat up.
"After I come back. Not now," he said walking hurriedly. "I'm late to the airport."
"Where are you going?" She asked. He had no informed her about this trip at all. He never did. He doesn't like to inform her anything.
"Should I inform everything to you?" He asked. She rolled her eyes. She was aware but she just wanted to know whether he will be honest or not. "We will talk once I come back. We should sit for the legal procedures." And he was not. Naila took a deeo breath.
"What if I leave before that?" She asked back looking straight into his eyes. To that, he smirked and left. He felt confident that she would not. He felt that way because he knew that she had no one on her side. No close friend, no supportive family, and now no husband. He put on his shoes and left.
"Maybe I will stay for two more days and then leave," she decided. She locked the door behind her and decided to make dosa and chutney for breakfast.