Divulging Remorse ✔

Chapter 4

"We're 'backing for the 'bedding... om nom." Glug. Riya had the mouthful of her favourite blintzes while slurped juice. She was out brunching with Zayn on a late Sunday noon, at the Sass Café, one of the most elite dine outs in Dubai. The food was her one weakness for which she could kill, the other one being Zayn.

"What?" Zayn asked her puzzled. It irked him when Riya spoke with food in her mouth.

Swallowing, she replied, "I said we're packing for the wedding in Swat."

"Oh, who's getting married?"

"Don't you remember? I told you, my cousin, Aleesha is getting married this summer. Uh.. you always forget what I tell you." She furrowed her eyebrows at him, taking another bite.

"Hmmm," It was all Zayn replied, and toyed the food on his plate with a fork.

"Why aren't you eating Zayn? Oh, I get it... you're goi-g to biss be." She remarked with her mouth filled yet again, giving out a sheepish smile, and continued to hunt her food down, eyeing the chicken with her dark brown orbs.

Riya loved food, love was an understatement. She always ate like no one's watching. Dipping fingers in soups to fetch out the chunky stuff and popping in her mouth, sucking mango pits right out of its skin, gulping drinks straight from their container, all which went conning to her own modern social graces. But, she didn't give a damn.

Though she met Zayn after a week long, it was becoming hard for her to resist the delicious food set out in front of her. So, instead of her usual non-stop ranting, Zayn was glad that the meal had her pre-occupied, or else she would have gone deep down asking him of his low appetite, and why he wasn't talking much or what had he done every single day the past week and so on. Meat pastrami, mushroom quiche, potato hash on baked egg muffins, fried chicken thighs with cheesy grits, blueberry blintzes, fizzy grape juice in an elegant glass, and a fruit terrine dessert to top it all off. 

Life can't get any better than this. Riya thought while digging her spoon into the delicious dessert.

For some more minutes, Riya gobbled her food quietly without a word. Just when Zayn started to feel her long abnormal silence, she spoke up. Some more Swat blabbering, he thought crossly, sighing he scrolled down some notifications on his phone.

"Hey, did you hear my cousin had been taken in by police last night?" She asked him, not sure of herself, whether she was asking, or informing him.

His ears perked up at the word 'arrested'. "Your cousin...?" He put his phone back on the table in an instant and looked at her sceptically. The shock was evident all over his expression. His crystal cut blue eyes turned an icy shade.

Riya nodded, "Moutasim, Aunty Kashmala's son. Did I tell you about him? Uh, why would you remember even if I have? Anyway, you've never met him, because he doesn't come over to our place anymore. I don't know why he's... just weird. His family has been really upset for him, and his mom has depression issues. Now, he's suspected for gang defilement.

Can you believe that?! Someone from my family, err... I mean I don't give a sh*t about him, but he's a relative after all, and everyone knows that he hasn't been in good company since the last year, but suspected of gang rape?! That's just too much to take. But you know Zayn, I was thinking about it, no matter how much of a jerk Moutasim could be, he can never do what he's being suspected of. I mean, yeah I don't know him anymore as I did in my childhood, but something inside of me says he's being wrongly framed.

What do you think?"

Before Zayn could say anything, his phone rang. He took the call, "I'll be there in ten minutes." He barked into the phone.

"Riya, I gotta go, it's an emergency at work."

"But Zayn...! I'm..." He was out of earshot and rushed out of the cafe like a bullet.

"I hope he'd be fine." Mumbling out, confused, she gathered her purse, phone, and car keys, dropped the bill and exited towards her car parked down the road.

----------------------------------------------------

On her way back home, she stopped at a departmental store to buy some travelling essentials. They had a flight in three days, and she was all fired up to attend her cousin's wedding. This was probably the first time she was attending a family wedding of a closed one back in Swat. In the other weddings, she was either too young, or they were extended, family. Aleesha was closest of her cousins; her uncle's only daughter on her dad's side. Being far away from each other didn't matter, they chatted every now and then, and the best part was, Riya and Aleesha's minds clicked well.

She was waiting at the cash counter for her turn when Ammar waved at her from the other cashier, getting his stuff billed. She waved back and moved forward in line.

When she got out of the store, Ammar was waiting for her at the gate, "Hi, Riya! What's up?"

"Hey, nothing much. Just getting ready for the flight." She smiled and gestured at the shopping bags in her left hand.

They started walking towards the parking lot when he asked, "I see. So, when do you guys leave?"

"On Wednesday night. You guys planning to go?" She asked him casually. When Ammar stopped in his tracks, then she realised what she'd asked. His face turned stony, his eyes rock hard, staring at her.

"Umm, I didn't mean to Ammar. I'm sorry for what happened with Moutasim. You guys must be so shocked. I wanted to call Aunty, but..."

He didn't let Riya finish her sentence, "No, Riya. Why are you being sorry? You just do what you to do best." He retorted back at her sharply.

Her forehead creased in bewilderment, "What do you mean?" She asked him in a low tone.

"Make a fool out of everyone, what else?" Ammar snapped back, leaving a frozen Riya behind. He got into his Jaguar F-Pace, wheeled its reverse with a screech and drove out of the parking lot and hit the main road; smoke billowing behind his car, covering Riya's motionless figure in his rearview mirror.