Divulging Remorse ✔

Chapter 18

"What was he thinking?" Sarah strode in, clutching a jewellery box and a heap of clothes. Dumping it on the sofa, she sank in too; facing Riya who was sprawled over the bed on her tummy.

She brushed some strands of hair away from her face and eyed her mother wretchedly, "How am I supposed to know what goes on in his sh*tty brain?" She muttered, lazily wearing a frown.

She had been lying there, motionless for about an hour; ever since her dance fiasco. A while ago, how her spirit had elevated, happiness had flowed within and around her, as wild as a fire pixie in an inferno. She had thought that nothing could go wrong that night, no one could stop her from being on top of the world while she danced, but have cards ever played in her favour when Moutasim was around? 

If Shahraz hadn't stepped in, he would have had killed that photographer with his bare hands, amidst so many people around him. He was fearless, anyone could tell, but the rage had come unleashed, without any thought of consequence. He had smacked the man right in the jaw, and the blow was so hard that he had stumbled back, his face hitting the hard ground, along with the camera apparatus he was operating.

To the guy's ill-fated, no one had understood what made Moutasim's brain nerve to go wacky. He was rushed to a clinic, with the photography crew leaving with a loud, unpleasant quarrel with Agha Jaan and the bride's father. Shahraz and Wisam had squeezed Moutasim out of the scene as it had gone way out of control already while Riya had followed behind to demand an explanation.

Explanation?

That was one thing Moutasim couldn't do. He had shoved her out of the room and banged the door in her face, so loud that its handle had rattled for a good whole minute.

The world revolves around him, doesn't it? She gave up every ounce of her energy for suppressing and holding back the urge to split the door in half and tear his head in six. Instead, she had just turned around and left. Maybe, she was getting used to the madness. His madness. A kind of a realisation that not a single pore on her body would ever want to catch on, but her heart beats were an echo.

She had to feel the faint ones, yet.

Then, from nowhere comes Moutasim marching in, dragging her to her feet, he shrieks, "How dare you? Speak up, Riya!"

He grabs her by her arms and shakes her until it sinks in as to what's going on, "What did- I I...uh?" She grunts, puzzled.

Before Moutasim could jolt her any further, Sarah lightly nudged her, "Don't sleep without changing, Riya."

With a click, her eyes were wide open. She saw her mother placing some jewels back in the jewellery box neatly and in the dimmed room, her eyes caught one of the gems glinting. Something triggered. She touched her ears and found that one of her earrings were missing! She wanted to sit up with a jerk, but her head felt heavy, pushing away everything off her mind, she shut her eyes tight.

Exhaling sharply, she started to detect the telltale signs that her brain was waking up from a short nap. There were some vestiges of a dream, turning in nonsensical ways, grasping to remain a little longer.

She heard a door creak open, then Arshiya's soft voice calling out to their mother. Some whisperings and the door shut again with the lights completely out.

So was she, perhaps abstractedly trying to resonate the illusion she had been in, a few minutes earlier. Moutasim was now haunting her even in dreams!  How else could the girl get more screwed?

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

"I want no intruders, the next two days are very crucial," he ordered to someone on the phone and let in a sharp breath.