Who had a happier life in Meggie in The Thorn Birds and Laila in A Thousand Splendid Suns?

The answer to this question is up to you, but it can be argued that, in the end, Laila had a happier life than Meggie because Laila is ultimately reunited with her former boyfriend, Tariq. There are many parallels between Meggie and Laila. Meggie has been in love with Ralph de Bricassart, a priest, since she was little, but she marries a man named Luke O'Neill, with whom she has a loveless marriage. She has a child with him and later a love child with Ralph, who violates his priestly vows to consummate his love with her. However, Meggie and Ralph never enjoy a life together, and Dane, their son, dies before Ralph realizes he is Dane's father.
Similar to Meggie, Laila marries a man she does not love, Rasheed, while she is pregnant with the child of Tariq, the man she loves. She endures a cruel and abusive marriage with Rasheed after the birth of her daughter, Aziza. She also has a son with Rasheed. Eventually, Tariq, who Laila thought was dead, resurfaces, and Rasheed's other wife, Mariam, kills Rasheed. Though Laila has struggled through a loveless marriage and has had to fake the paternity of her love child (as Meggie has), Laila has a happier ending than Meggie. In the end, Laila escapes with Tariq, and they raise her two older children and have another child together. Meggie never has the satisfaction of living as Ralph's wife, and Ralph never realizes that Dane is his son until it is too late. Therefore, it could be argued that Laila's life, while filled with the same types of struggles as Meggie's, is happier.