All is Fair

Chapter 21

After surviving a week of exams Sanaa lay on her bed, relieved. The whole fiasco at the restaurant had made Ameena respect her sister all the more. Sanaa was once again the cool, iconic role model in her little sister's eyes. It made Sanaa feel good about herself and boosted her self-confidence.

'If only she knew!' the thought kept coming back, dragging down her self-confidence to the lowest depths of guilt.

Rasheed had not bothered to call her for over a week now. It was a good thing, in a way. Sanaa was sure Rasheed wouldn't be able to toy with her sister anymore.

'She is safe with Feroz.' she thought, with a smile.

She had hardly thought of the boy when a message came from him. She read the text, puzzled. Feroz wanted to meet her at some restaurant on Monday.

It was a usual Monday evening at the restaurant. The lunch crowd had died down. And only two tables were occupied. Feroz sat talking with Suraj in one. The latter had taken a break from work.

"Try to be patient with her." He said, trying to calm down Feroz's nerves.

He was clenching and unclenching his hands. "Yeah, okay. I just don't get it."

"Maybe she genuinely likes Rasheed?"

Feroz gave him a look of disgust. "Who would genuinely like Rasheed! I mean, after knowing everything about him?"

Suraj shrugged. "Must be the whole 'bad boy' vibe. Or maybe she's just trying to 'fix a broken man' or something."

Feroz groaned and massaged his forehead. "The more we talk about this, the weirder it gets." He complained.

"Okay, listen. I have to rush now. Just be patient with her." Suraj left with these parting words of comfort. Not that they comforted Feroz in any way.

A few minutes later, Sanaa came clad in her burqa and niqab. After a few minutes of chit-chat, she sat looking at him curiously. The last time he had asked to meet her, he had revealed the strangest things about her sister's boyfriend. She couldn't help the momentary panic that coursed through her. What was it about Rasheed this time?

Feroz noticed the shift in her posture. "Do you want something to eat or to drink?" He asked, gesturing to the menu card.

"No, I'll have some water. That's enough for me."

Feroz tried repeating Suraj's words of comfort in his head. 'Be patient with her.'

Once she had her water, Feroz spoke. "Didi, we need to talk. About Rasheed."

"I figured as much. What is it about him this time?"

"I heard he was… that you two are… a couple?"

Sanaa was horrified. The momentary panic was back. She fell silent.

"Apparently, all the boys knew. They kept this from me because of everything that has already happened."

"Does Ameena know?"

"No. Why would I tell her? I wanted to talk to you about this first. To understand what is going on here."

Sanaa sat back in her chair. "There is nothing to understand here. You know what they are saying."

Feroz was confused. "Wait. Are you saying it's all true?"

She held back her tears. "Yes."

Feroz was flabbergasted. "But why?"

Sanaa could tell him. She could trust him. But Rasheed's conditions floated around in her head. 'No telling the truth about us to anyone.' She shrugged in reply to Feroz's question.

He took a full minute to calm himself down. "Di, I'm not the sort to pick fights. But I swear, if Rasheed has been forcing you or anything like that, I won't think twice before fighting him."

Sanaa fisted her hands to stop the tremors. "Don't." She said, her voice hoarse. If Feroz picked a fight with Rasheed, she could only imagine the things he would say to her.

"So he is forcing you." noted Feroz.

When Sanaa looked up, he noticed the tears in her eyes.

"See, I can't." She licked her dry lips.

"You can't what? Talk about this?"

She looked away. People had started coming into the restaurant. Feroz got up and sat down beside Sanaa.

She sat straight, regally, her eyes on her clasped hands. He faced her.

"We'll keep this between us." He said.

"But I'm not supposed to talk about it." She protested.

Feroz sighed. "Didi, let me make this simple for you. You've been with Rasheed for four months now. He has forced you to go out with him. And you can't just share this sort of a thing with anyone. So, all that you've been holding in, let it out. Consider me a therapist of sorts and tell me all the things you've been wanting to tell someone. I'll keep it confidential. Ameena won't know. I promise."

She finally dared to look at him. Her shoulders relaxed. He was like a younger brother to her. And like he said, voicing out her problems would help with finding a solution. The best thing was, she could trust him. She nodded her head. And began her story.

Almost an hour later, Sanaa sat back in her chair. She felt lighter, now that her burden had been relieved. The guilt was freed from her shoulders and she could breathe a little easily. Feroz was right. Their back and forth discussion had cleared her mind. And Feroz was right. Her deal with Rasheed no longer held any weight.

Neither she nor Feroz noticed Ameena entering the restaurant behind them. She had come to see Suraj. She stood staring at the sight of her sister with her boyfriend. They were sitting side by side and there was this closeness in their posture. Tears pricked Ameena's eyes, as her heart broke. She couldn't believe that her sister was with her boyfriend, in a restaurant filled with couples.

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