Father of the Bride

Chapter 13- Caught

Amirah pulled her woolly hat over her eyes to cover the gross reality before her. This time her dad couldn't talk his way out of it. Half dressed, with love bites stamped on his neck, it was proof he was sleeping with the woman standing in the lounge. Khizar quickly stepped in front of Mahnoor, hiding her behind his tall frame. He snatched the vest jacket and slipped it on. "Amirah. It's not what you think." He extended his arm trying to approach her.

With dread, Amirah opened her eyes. The vest jacket covered his chest, but the red marks on his neck were clear. Amirah turned away. "You can do what you like dad! It's your place."
Quickly, Amirah turned ready to leave the apartment when Mahnoor called out to her.
"Amirah, don't go."
Amirah froze. A familiar voice.
Auntie Mahnoor?!

She spun round to find Ayaaz's mum dressed in her father's black shirt. Her long tousled glossy hair revealed the story of last night.
"Auntie?" Amirah's voice was laden with accusation. She couldn't recognise auntie Mahnoor. She looked so different. So young.
What was she doing here? What a stupid question! It was obvious. Standing in nothing but her father's shirt, she was obviously sleeping with her dad.
Has dad seduced her? What will Ayaaz say? What are they playing at? They're old. Old people don't do this. Ugh!

Amirah couldn't look at the couple, she turned away ready to make a dash for the exit. The pregnancy kit was under her armpit and any minute it could fall to the floor.
"It's none of my business. You can do what you want." Amirah hung her head.
"It's now what you think." Mahnoor stepped forward. "We're married." Mahnoor flashed her diamond ring hoping to appease to Amirah. But instead, Amirah was devastated by the news.
"Married? When?" Amirah looked at the large red sapphire stone.
"Yesterday."
"Yesterday was Friday!" Amirah couldn't fathom how so much could happen in a short space of time.
"Who else knows? Why don't I know? When did you get married? How long has this been going on?" Question ricocheted out like bullets.
"Amirah, why don't you sit down and we can talk about it." Khizar stepped towards her.
"No!" Amirah flinched. "You don't care about me! Why are you telling me now? How could you dad! And auntie, I thought I meant something to you." Amirah's eyes slanted with disappointment. She didn't want to hear anything. They'd hidden their relationship. She ran and made a dash for her bedroom. Slamming the door, she quickly searched for the key and locked the door.
How could he? She leaned against the door and fell to the floor.

Mahoor raked her fingers through her hair in worry. If this was Amirah's reaction, how would Ayaaz react? Worry coursed her body. "I need to talk to her!"
"Hey-" Khizar held her and cupped her face. "It's okay. Don't worry." He assured her holding her gaze. "I'll talk to her."
"What must she be thinking? Me standing like this?" She pulled his shirt.
"We haven't done anything wrong." He held her hands. "Have a shower and get changed and I'll talk her round."
"What if she tells Ayaaz? I can't deal with it. He'll go mad." Mahnoor pulled her hands back and panicked.
"Calm down Mahnoor. We will deal with this one step at a time. I'll talk to Amirah. When Ayaaz returns we will face him together." Mahnoor sighed and settled into Khizar's reassuring embrace. He was right; there was no point worrying about something that hadn't happen. She tightened her hold around his arms as he kissed her forehead.
"Everything will be okay." He tried to reassure her, but deep down he didn't believe his own words.

Later that morning, Khizar's attempts to lure Amirah out of her bedroom failed. She refused to talk to her dad or Mahnoor and stayed in her bedroom. So Khizar, left her and gave her some space. Amirah was deeply disappointed with her auntie Mahnoor. Now that her engagement was broken with Ayaaz, auntie Mahnoor didn't care about her. She didn't have the decency to tell her she was marrying her dad. She moved on. Amirah was left in the apartment dealing with the most daunting task of all; the pregnancy test.