Chapter 12: A Father's Assurance

Poornima's tears refused to stop.

Slowly, she walked towards Haji Kareem.

Without saying a word, she knelt beside him and gently rested her head on his lap, just as a daughter would.

The room fell silent.

Haji lovingly placed his hand on her head and stroked her hair.

In a trembling voice, Poornima spoke.

Poornima: "Abbu..."

He looked down at her with affection.

Haji Kareem: "Yes, beta?"

She closed her eyes.

Poornima: "Do you really believe... in my happiness?"

Haji smiled softly.

Poornima continued.

Poornima: "Do you really think... I'll be happy?"

Her voice cracked.

Poornima: "Will he make fun of me because I'm divorced?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

Poornima: "Will he taunt me for my past?"

She looked towards Ayat and Aarhan.

Poornima: "Will he accept Ayat and Aarhan... or will they always feel like outsiders?"

The room grew heavy with emotion.

Haji gently lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes.

Haji Kareem: "Listen to me carefully, beta."

She nodded silently.

Haji Kareem: "The day someone makes fun of your past, he loses the right to be your husband."

Poornima listened quietly.

Haji Kareem: "Your past is not your shame."

He spoke firmly.

Haji Kareem: "You did not abandon your family. You did not betray anyone. You stood by your marriage until the very end."

His voice softened.

Haji Kareem: "Never lower your head for a mistake that was never yours."

Poornima's tears flowed even more.

Haji smiled gently.

Haji Kareem: "As for Ayat and Aarhan..."

He looked lovingly at the children.

Haji Kareem: "I have already made one thing very clear."

Poornima looked at him.

Haji Kareem: "I told the boy's family that if they accept Poornima, they must accept Ayat and Aarhan too."

He continued,

Haji Kareem: "There is no Poornima without her children."

Ayat quietly walked over and hugged her mother from behind.

Aarhan held her hand tightly.

Haji looked at all three of them.

Haji Kareem: "A man who cannot love these two innocent children does not deserve you."

Poornima held his hand.

Poornima: "You trust them that much?"

Haji smiled.

Haji Kareem: "No."

Everyone looked at him.

Haji Kareem: "I trust Allah."

He continued calmly.

Haji Kareem: "And I trust the man whose family came with this proposal."

Poornima remained silent.

Haji Kareem: "The grandfather himself told me that nothing would ever be hidden, and no one would ever ask you to leave your children behind."

He gently wiped her tears.

Haji Kareem: "You have called me 'Abbu' for years."

His eyes became moist.

Haji Kareem: "Would I ever knowingly send my daughter into another life of sorrow?"

Poornima immediately shook her head.

Poornima: "Never."

Haji smiled warmly.

Haji Kareem: "Then have faith in me this one last time."

He kissed her forehead.

Haji Kareem: "I am not giving you away because I want to be free of you."

His voice trembled with emotion.

Haji Kareem: "I am letting you go because I want to see you smile again."

Poornima hugged him tightly, crying like a little girl in her father's embrace, while Ayat and Aarhan held on to their mother, hoping that perhaps, after years of pain, a new chapter of their lives was finally about to begin.