Divulging Remorse ✔

Chapter 25

To see him standing there was quite unbelievable, shocked was an understatement, really. Her mind was set to reel, unable to cognize or work through the image of him being sent to her brain. She looked back at Moutasim who was now next in turn and was shuffling for change in his wallet.

To her back, there stood her husband and right in front of her, was the past, she now dreaded. She saw no future with Moutasim up until now, though painful, Zayn was after all the centre of her life just some days ago and she even had dreams of a fancy future with him.

For a moment, she forgot who those two beings were, how they were related to her, she forgot the times she spent with Zayn and the vows she gave to get married to Moutasim. All she saw were two men and herself being thrown from one to the other.

"Riya?"

His tone was rather mocking than of surprise, he eyed her from head to toe and she could tell he didn't take her covered self well.

With a tug, he pulled her scarf down and slipped off those thick-framed glasses, "Whose death are you mourning?"

Every nerve in her brain wanted to scream at him, Your death, Zayn! Instead, she kept mum, her stomach tightened and her throat clenched, she took a step backwards, pools of salty tears flooded her eyes. He touched her hand, but she flinched, jerking, she looked away, too fuddled to move further off from him.

There was no hint of affection, not even a drop of it, let alone guilt or embarrassment. What was she expecting from him? That he'd be sorry for toying her all this time or maybe she wanted to hear him say that she'd been trolled into her own marriage by her own father having him put against her. None of it mattered anymore, Zayn didn't matter nor did Moutasim or any other person on the planet. The one who should have mattered all this time, all her life was none, but her own self. That was the biggest blunder she had made; by killing her self-made standard and ego just to please that one person.

Riya was seeing him after a lot of weeks and those weeks were enough for the hell to lose break. When she decided to look up into those unmortified deathly hues of icy blue eyes, he was gone, again.

Her heart burst and the mechanism came unleashing, with hundreds of people passing by her, she was rooted to the spot. Suddenly, unmindful to where she stood in the middle of one of the world's busiest tourist points, she finally let down what she had been trying to hold back all this while. The sky twirled before her eyes, clouds threatened to pour. Was it a dream?

No, Zayn had been there for real, some seconds ago, he had touched her and tried to drown her into his eyes, as ever. A chill ran down her spine, amidst the crowds and children merrily running up and down the alleys, she felt like she was the only human standing on earth.

She looked up and silently pleaded through her tears. Why are You doing this to me? Why?

Somebody touched her arm from behind and she froze again.

"Here," Moutasim handed her a small paper bag and annoyingly pushed his wallet back inside his pocket. It irked him more when she didn't take it, "Should I feed you, now?"

She didn't budge nor met his gaze.

He rolled his eyes and switched off his phone which had been vibrating impatiently for a long time, "The other bagel ran out, what is it called?"

Then he saw it, her lips were quivering and her cheeks glistened.

"Goodness, gracious! How can you do this just for a bagel..."

He caught her glasses lying near her feet, her shawl was off her head and no, this wasn't about some damn food. His senses hyped up, so did his breath, he scanned the crowd all three-sixty about-turn at once, just in time to hear a thundering smash.