Hiraeth

31

"IT'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT." The doctor assured, pressing onto Sitara's shoulders as she followed her to the main door of the house. She looked distraught, even though her daughter's condition was stable by now. 

She silently carried herself to Ayla's room, watching her father hold her hand as she slept and she neared the bed. Rehaan looked extremely distressed and had worry lines engraved on his forehead. 

"You should have informed me before." He whispered, keeping his tone dangerously low as his daughter slept after hours of being in pain and suffering. He didn't want to wake her up, but couldn't help himself from expressing his disappointment to her. 

"I didn't want to disturb you or increase your worries. The situation was always under control." She sighed, slowly taking one of Ayla's hands in hers. 

"And what if something would have gone wrong?" He interrupted, looking visibly agitated. Sitara didn't move her lips for the slightest bit and closed her eyes, caressing her hand with her fingers. 

"I was here." 

Ayla stirred in her sleep. Her grip on his hand slowly faded as her body reacted to Sitara's caress and touches. A faint 'Mumma' escaped her lips whilst her attempts to hold her close and Sitara brought herself closer to her, letting her hug her stomach in slumber. 

Rehaan looked at his empty hands. They were left abandoned and cold, while her lap was full and warm. It was true that his only daughter, the one whom he loved the most in this whole world; was growing attached to someone who wasn't him. He was the one who had been with her from the time she had opened her eyes, to when she had uttered her first word or taken her very first wobbling steps. 

It made him realise how wrong he was. He remembered his conversations with his mother, in which she'd get tired with convincing him to marry again. He thought that he was enough to fill that void for his daughter. He wasn't comfortable enough to trust someone again into this. He was very careful about Ayla and last thing that he wanted, was to entrust her into the hands of a woman he barely knew. 

Sitara's gaze fell on him. The anger in his eyes slowly mellowed and she could see it further fading away, transposing into a faint smile. She could see the corner of his eyes crinkle when he'd do that. It made her heartbeat faster but also held succour. 

She couldn't tell him that to her, he had the most beautiful eyes. She'd silently feel butterflies whenever she'd see the faintest glint of happiness in them. 

"What?" Her eyebrows were raised, masking her inner exhilaration. He was first smiling to himself and had then looked at the two of them. She failed to understand anything beyond the fact that he was upset just a few seconds ago and she knew that she was in some trouble. 

"I'll go and freshen up." A sigh escaped his mouth when she saw him remove his coat. She ran her hands in Ayla's hair, nodding at him. 

"I'll tell the Talwars that we won't be able to come." He added as he was on the verge of leaving. He didn't want to leave his little girl alone tonight, even if it was for a few hours. It was an important dinner but as a father, he knew that he was lacking somewhere and all of this would only add up to his guilts. 

"I'll serve the dinner then?" Sitara asked and watch him do a slow hum in response. She was glad that they didn't have to go. Meeting new people, especially after her case went a little public; made her nervous. She could barely muster up the courage to back to her office yesterday. 

She kissed Ayla's forehead before freeing herself from her soft grasp. She had a habit of holding people in her sleep, completely opposite of Abeer; who kept his hands to himself and preferred the same from his mother too. She was finally getting all the snuggles that she begged her son for, and that warmed her heart like nothing else.