Mehrin stood still. Her eyes were still locked inside the glass of the cafe. Rashed's eyes met hers—but there was no love in that gaze, only fear, the terror of being caught.
Time stopped for a few seconds.
Then Rashed suddenly stood up.
The woman sitting next to her asked something, but Rashed didn't answer. He quickly pushed the door open and stepped out.
Mehrin's chest was pounding.
She couldn't move.
Her feet felt like they were stuck to the ground.
Within moments, Rashed was standing in front of her.
"Mehrin..." Her throat trembled.
How many times had she heard this call before. But today, this same name seemed so unfamiliar.
Mehrin looked at him slowly.
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she wasn't crying.
"What is this?" Her voice was strangely calm.
Rashed stopped as he was about to say something.
"Why are you here?" He asks the opposite question.
Mehreen laughs lightly—a painful, broken laugh.
"Why I'm here, that's not important," she says.
"Why you were there—tell me."
Rashed is silent.
The silence says it all.
Mehreen says slowly—
"Who is that girl?"
Rashed looks away.
"You know…" she says in a low voice.
"No," Mehreen says loudly now.
"I don't know anything. You never let me know anything."
Her voice trembles, but she doesn't stop.
"I just heard—you have a wife. But I've never seen her. You've never shown me. You've hidden me."
Rashed now says, a little annoyed—
"You're making a big deal of it."
Mehreen's eyes widen at this.
"Am I making a big deal of it?" she whispers.
"Me?"
She takes a step forward.
"I don't recognize you even though I'm your wife. When I go out with you, you call me 'acquaintance'. And today—I saw with my own eyes you laughing holding someone else's hand!"
Tears now flow from her eyes.
"Do you ever laugh like this with me?"
Rashed remains silent.
This silence seems to pierce Mehreen's heart like a knife.
"Answer me!" she says in a trembling voice.
Rashed suddenly says—
"Everything is not that easy!"
Mehreen stops.
She has heard this many times.
But today she can't stay silent anymore.
"So what's the hard part?" she asks.
"Tell me. I want to know."
Rashed remains silent for a moment.
Then she slowly says—
"My family… society… everything is involved here."
"And me?" Mehreen asks.
"Where am I?"
Rashed doesn't have the answer to this question.
He just says—
"You won't understand."
Mehreen shakes her head.
"No, I understand," she says.
"I understand what I am in your life."
Her voice breaks.
"I'm just a hidden truth."
Hearing this, Rashed looks up.
For the first time, a little discomfort appears in his eyes.
But Mehreen doesn't stop.
"You told me before we got married—everything would be fine if I went abroad," she says.
"But today I understand—you never wanted to bring me forward."
Rashed suddenly gets angry.
"You misunderstood!"
"Then tell me the truth!" Mehreen shouts.
The people around her start to stare.
But now Mehreen doesn't care.
There's only one question in her eyes—
The truth.
Rashed falls silent now.
Her face hardens.
After a while, she slowly says—
"There are some truths… that are not the time to tell now."
Hearing this, Mehreen froze.
Everything inside her seemed to collapse.
"So when?" she asked slowly.
Rashed didn't answer.
This silence ended everything.
Mehreen slowly backed away.
Tears were in her eyes, but a strange calm expression appeared on her face.
"Today I understood one thing," she said.
Rashed looked at her.
"You are not afraid of losing me," Mehreen said.
Rashed was startled by this.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Mehreen stared at him for a moment.
Then she said slowly—
"I can't live like this anymore."
The words hung in the air.
This time, there was real fear in Rashed's eyes.
"Mehrin…" he stepped forward.
But Mehreen stepped back.
"No," he said.
"You won't come after me this time."
A moment of silence.
Then he turned around.
Starts to walk away.
But a storm is brewing inside him.
He knows—this decision will change everything in his life.
Rashed's voice comes from behind—
"Mehrin, if you leave… everything will fall apart!"
Mehrin stops.
He stands for a few seconds.
Then he slowly turns his head and says—
"Everything has already fallen apart."
Then he starts walking again.
And at that moment—
Rashed realizes that he might really be losing Mehrin.
But the question still remains—
Will he be able to stop Mehrin?
Or will everything really end this time?