His Little Neighbour

eighteen

"Please give me a chance. I'll try to be a good husband to her"

Murat remembered these exact words which he used while pleading her parents to let him marry Mashal. They didn't even want him to marry her when he revealed his past, but it was him who made it happen. He knew he can never call himself a good husband if he lets his wife get humiliated and walk out of here for just an unintentional mistake. It'd be like a total letdown to her parents. And he can never let that happen.

On one side was his stubborn twin and on the other side was his wife. Both were equally important to him. He glanced at his mother, hoping she'd help but she didn't want to involve in this it seemed. He felt utterly helpless at that moment.

"I'll just leave, you can stay here for as long as you want!" Mashal stood up abruptly and began to walk out of there. She sounded hurt and disappointed. Almost like she expected him to stand up for her. Of course, he was going to do just that. But he needed a minute to compose his mind. It was a very sensitive issue after all.

Murat handed his niece to his mother and ran to stop his wife. She walked too slow and it saved him from running very far.

"Mashal, wait," he held her hands firmly and stopped her from walking further away. He won't let her get humiliated like this. Not under his presence anyway. She stared at him wide-eyed. Almost in disbelief that he's stopping her. He felt like he has failed as a husband to get such a reaction from her. His heart sank in despair.

"Murat! Why are you stopping her? I don't want her around here." Syra hissed furiously, he gave a challenging look to her in return. His hold on his wife's hands tightened.

Mashal gave him another surprised look as she blinked away her tears and puts up a strong presence. At that moment, he felt so damn proud of her for being so strong given the situation.

"You can't just ask her to leave like that, Syra. She's my wife. You ought to give her some respect for the relationship we share." He spoke to his twin. His voice was stern and authoritative. Even if he was the younger twin, he has always been the dominant one. He tried hard not to argue with Syra but she's trying everything to hurt his wife and he's not going to encourage that behaviour.

Mashal gripped his hands more tightly, fearing the look Syra just passed her way. He could feel she was too overwhelmed. He gave her a reassuring nod. She breathed shakily while holding onto him.

"Are you listening to this, ammi?" Syra became mad with anger as she banged on the dining table, not knowing how else to show her anger.

Hania was rocking little Shazia, trying to calm her down but the poor baby wouldn't stop crying.

"Mashal has equal rights on this house as me. If you ask her to leave, I'll leave as well. You're disrespecting me by mistreating her." Murat added with a frown as he eyed his twin who scoffed at him.

"She almost dropped my baby. What if something happened to her?" Syra snapped, feeling frustrated. She couldn't stand Mashal and the bitterness only increased further today.

"I'm sorry about that, Syra. It was a mistake. She was too excited by seeing Murat and jumped out of my hand. I'm sorry I couldn't hold her properly," Mashal apologized whole heartily. She did make the mistake albeit an unintentional one. And she has no fear in owning up to that.

"Oh, shut up. I don't want to-

"Okay, that's enough. You won't use such a disrespectful tone with my wife." Murat's angry voice stopped Syra from speaking any further. She gave him a look of disbelief. Enraged that he's supporting his wife and not her.