All is Fair

Chapter 23

House of Cards

Sanaa had Rasheed drive them all the way to his house. Fortunately for him, his parents were out with his sister. Sanaa had him take out the piece of paper that held their previous deal. She tore it up and carefully put the pieces in the trash can. Then she took a notebook of his, lying on the table. She sat on his bed with a pen in hand.
She wrote a new deal on a fresh page. Once she was done, she handed it over to him. Rasheed stood staring at the words, as quiet as the calm before a storm.

The new deal stated that Rasheed could not interfere or come between Feroz and Ameena. If he did, Sanaa, Feroz or Suraj would be at liberty to go to Ameena with the truth about Rasheed.

"You do realise this no longer frightens me." He said, flipping the paper at Sanaa.

"Well, I think you are pretending like you don't care. Once Ameena finds out..."

Rasheed held a finger to her lips. "Listen to me. I've been up all night the past month thinking nothing but, 'Once Ameena finds out...'. Honestly, at this point of time in my life, I just don't care anymore. I'm a monster, an abomination, either way you look at me. And I've come to terms with that. I have no one to care for me and I think I should stop caring about her too. Caring for someone, wanting them to be happy, is such a burden. It has been weighing me down for so long. Now no more." There were almost invisible tears in his eyes.

Sanaa was taken aback. She had hit him where it hurt. And she wasn't sure how to respond to it. She could see that he felt shattered from the inside out. His barriers had slipped down for a moment. And she could see what his hatred masked - a deep, unending abyss of pain and guilt. She wanted to hold his hand and assure him that everything would be okay. But what right did she have to do that? And why would he deserve it?

Sanaa took the paper in her hands. "At least I'll be free of you." She said, the thought involuntarily slipping out of her mouth.

Rasheed turned away sharply, the pain stabbing his heart. 'At least I'll be free of him', a different voice echoed in his ears. He clenched his hands.

"Sanaa, you can leave now." He said quietly. "You want to be free of me, leave. Forget the deal and go."

She narrowed her eyes at his back. Was he really telling her to go? Did he suddenly have a change of heart? She walked towards the door, something stopping her. Why was he letting her go?

She paused at the doorway and turned around. She saw the fury in his face. And she knew something was going to go horribly wrong. "Why do you want me to go?" She asked, risking his wrath.

"You wanted to go." He stated, his face pulled back into neutrality.

"Yea, I get that I want to go. Why are you letting me?"

"So, you don't want to go?"

She groaned in exasperation. Was he playing dumb? "Rasheed, when have our wants and statements ever matched?"

"When they involve your sister, maybe?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. So he had cared for Chotti. "I can leave now and you'll not trouble her?"

"Why should I not?" He challenged Sanaa.

"So, you plan to come between her and Feroz again?"

"Why should I not?" He asked, genuinely putting forth the question.

"Basic human decency, Rasheed. That's why."

"basic human decency has never been a part of my life. Let me tell you what has always been a part of my life instead. Jealousy, lies and betrayal. I'm simply doing people a favour, showing them how ugly things can get. They are all basing their love on the concept of a fairytale, when in reality, are people really that nice? Is love all that magical? Are those butterflies in your tummy or just a flutter of nervousness? Is that what love feels like or is that actually a boost of adrenaline?"

Sanaa stood staring at Rasheed, speechless. She couldn't argue with him on his last few points.

Rasheed continued, "Logically, people fall in 'love' and base their eternity on the illusion of happiness. One small argument, one little misunderstanding, one tiny crack on their illusion, and their house of cards goes up in flames. I'm only helping them speed up the process. What is bound to happen in 5 or 10 years, I'm making it happen in a matter of days. If their love was really that strong and true, don't you think they would rather sit down and work through their problems together? Instead of taking the crack as an excuse to leave everything behind and run? What about the ones they leave behind in their mess? What about them?" He had raised his voice towards the end. He seemed all worked up.

Sanaa was speechless. These were all her reasons, her logic, coming out so confidently through Rasheed.

"Well," she held up her head. "You can try and come in between Ameena and Feroz. And you know what, I'm sure they'll prove you wrong. Feroz is not the type to leave a mess behind and run."

Rasheed smirked at her words. The expression sent a chill down her spine. He said, "You're right, in a way. Feroz is an adamant arse. But, what about your sister? She's the type to run from her problems. She's the type to believe blindly in fairytales. And when reality hits, when the problems arise, she'll leave him because their love isn't perfect, the way she thinks love should be."

Sanaa's stomach knotted up in fear. He was right. Her little sister knew how to fight. She fought well. Unfortunately, she didn't know what to fight for.

"So, excuse me but I have a house of cards to light up and burn." Rasheed said as he held the door open for Sanaa.

Once she was out of his house, her phone rang. It was Feroz. She walked down the street as she picked up his call.

"Hello?"

"Didi," his voice sounded strained. "You have to talk to Ameena. Tell her the truth. I can't hide this from her anymore. Your secret is taking its toll on our relationship." His voice broke.

Sanaa felt dizzy. "What happened?" She asked, fearing the worst.

"She saw us at the restaurant the other day. And she got the wrong idea. And I couldn't tell her the truth. About what we talked about. I tried to lie to her. I..." he trailed off. "I... we broke up again."

Sanaa fisted her hand. She had to get her sister under control.

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