𝐄𝐱 𝐖𝐢𝐟𝐞'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞

46. A Few More Words

She tells him "ooh love"
No one's ever gonna hurt you, love
I'm gonna give you all of my love
Nobody matters like you
She tells him "your life ain't gonna be nothing like my life (straight)
You're gonna grow
and have a good life
I'm gonna do what I've got to do"
So, rockabye baby, rockabye
I'm gonna rock you
Rockabye baby, don't you cry
Somebody's got you

Tahera noticed his reticence and asked with a raised brow, "What's wrong? Did I misunderstand what you meant?"

Fine, I did mention something to that effect. But the slip was only to help you win the argument... I didn't really mean it.

His grandfather also interrogated him, "You really agree for her to take away the child?"

"He did, you heard him, right?" Tahera chimed in, taking advantage of Taahir's silence.

Obaydul glared severely at her. "Don't speak if you're not asked. I'm only interested in his answer!"

"Didn't he already answer you? There is no other way to interpret what he said." Tahera replied matter-of-factly.

Taahir was at a loss for words. The lengths she would go to mince my words. Isn't this a bit too much...?

"Well, tell me. Do you agree or not‽" Grandfather had his gaze zeroed in on Taahir. It was as if the moment Taahir nodded, he would disown him as his grandson.

Tahera too was staring at him with a pair of shining eyes... So, this is how it feels to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. But how did it end up like this‽ What did I do wrong?

"I'm asking you a question! Do you agree or not‽" Grandfather repeated with added emphasis.

"I..." Taahir opened his mouth to say but before he would continue, he pulled Tahera up and said, "Grandfather, I think we will go see Tahseen first, it's not good to keep a child waiting. We will continue this conversation later."

Under Grandfather's withering gaze, he dragged Tahera out of the living room in a hurry.

He stopped and groused helplessly when they turned into the corridor, "Didn't I tell you not to mention the custody in front of Grandfather?"

"I didn't promise you I wouldn't." Tahera struggled out of his grab and, in that moment, Taahir felt inexplicably disappointed.

He retracted the hand that still felt warm from her body heat and said, "But doing so would anger him. I don't think you can handle the consequences."

"What's the worst that can happen? Have me murdered?" Tahera said with a shrug.

Taahir chuckled, "Of course, he wouldn't go that far, but he most likely will forbid you from seeing Tahseen."

"Forbidding me to take him away, forbidding me to see him, really, what's the difference?" Tahera sighed disconcertedly, lowering her eyes in distress.

She was going to die soon, if she couldn't change her son's fate before then, seeing him or not made no difference... What she wanted was not to see him but to alter his destiny.

Taahir felt the sadness in Tahera but he couldn't figure out why. He asked in a gentle tone, "You want to take custody of the child so badly?"

"Yes," Tahera answered without hesitation.

Taahir looked seriously at her for a heartbeat or two and he asked another question, "You mentioned you're willing to do anything for this purpose. Is that still true?"