Callous

Chapter 21/Guilty

Haya's POV

A thousand emotions are currently clogging my throat. Emotions I long buried somewhere deep inside me. Every memory of Aarib that I locked away somewhere in my heart comes crashing down all at once, making my head feel dizzy—literally—I sway a little on my feet.

"Woah, you okay?" he begins to move in my direction but I hold up a hand, halting him. He stops, but his expression hardens while his lips press together in discontent. "Don't do this," he growls—he's angry with me?

"Are you for real?" I scoff, clutching an arm to my waist. "You're sick. Utterly crazy. You should try seeing a doctor. Goodbye." I turn around but his words stop me from moving further. I think I also stop breathing.

"I'm sorry. I know what I did is something you would never forgive me for—but I had no other option. I was in a very, very bad situation and I couldn't pull you in it with me."

I snap my eyes shut.

"But I am asking you, Haya. Give me another chance. Please. These past months have been the worst time of my life yet, and I would be a liar to say I didn't spend each and every day thinking about you. You're always on my mind—"

I spin around, unable to contain my emotions tamed. It's the look in his eyes that unleashes my temper. He's hopeful. Hopeful that I will come back to him? How dare he even consider that now after he left me with monsters to hurt me emotionally. How dare he even talk to me like that.

"What could be such a big matter, huh? We were going to get married—I thought you said my life was in danger? So, you lied to me as well? Just because you wanted to get me," I snort, the pieces of the puzzle fitting into place now.

His ocean blue eyes wash with guilt. "I didn't lie that your life was in danger. It was, until my brother gave me an option that would keep you safe, and you wouldn't even have to marry me." He licks his lips. "And isn't that what you wanted? You told me that day in school that you didn't want to marry just yet—and especially not to me. I figured the deal that my brother offered would keep you happy. I shook hands on it."

We were still standing in the middle of the curb and people were eyeing us curiously as they pass us.

"So, did that deal say you had to leave?"

"Yes," he mumbles with a defeated sigh. "Yes, I had to leave."

"Is that all it said? What did it say about me? Why did Feroze think I was no longer a threat?"

Aarib seems to weigh his answer, pondering over it. "There's something I kept from you."

My heart goes into overdrive. "What?" I found myself asking.

"Feroze. . .he said if I handed over Areesha to him, he'd let you live peacefully." His eyes turn grim. "Areesha is my sister."

The blood drains from my face. "You—you have a sister?"

"Yes. She's fifteen. My mom didn't just run away with me. She took my sister as well. But we didn't keep her with us. Years back mom gave her to a family in los Angeles. We wanted to keep her somewhere away from us, somewhere my father couldn't find her. Mom cut her hair, even dyed it when she was just six. And since then she's been living with this other family."

I don't know what to say. Not only did he keep such a big secret from me, he also gave his sister away for me. That thought makes me sick.

"Why would you do that? Do you realize what you've done? You gave away your sister to a monster—"

"Feroze would never hurt her," he clarifies.

"Then why did your mom run away with the two of you? She wanted to "