Duplus

Chapter 5

The veil fell down, revealing Amaani's face. The interrogator raised an eyebrow, his gaze not leaving her face. This made her feel very uncomfortable. She didn't like the way he carefully took in her every feature. To her sharp shaped nose to her full lips. His expressions didn't change and it really didn't look like he was staring at her for his own pleasure or something.

But Amaani hated it still. 

"Happy now?" she grumbled. The man shook out of his thoughts and blinked twice. He looked back at the victim's sister and shot her looks that had some sort of hidden meanings. They were literally having a full fledged conversation with their eyes. But Amaani was too busy feeling scared and angry that she didn't notice. She had completely forgotten about what she was actually there for. 

Sumayyah's death, the man taking her away to that interrogation site and Amaani being asked about meeting the guy somewhere. She didn't even know what he was talking about. And it was certain he had been caught up in some misunderstanding. She would never leave the house without her niqab, let alone meet a non mehrem without covering herself up.

"I'm surprised you're still trying to hide your actions. Everything is in front of you. Clear and— wait." He stopped. 

He looked straight into her eyes and she, taken aback by his bold move, quickly looked away. "Why are your left eyelashes white? Your left brow as well. It wasn't like this before." He questioned, showing some emotion for the first time, confusion. Amaani frowned at him, pinning back her niqab. 

"It has always been like this. I was caught in an acidic explosion. It turned my left eyebrow and a little patch of my hair white." She answered, touching her left eye. The man fell silent. 

"I…" he looked at the sister again. A moment of sharp silence fell over them. The girl nodded at him, whispering something in his ear, leaning down to his level. They were busy in their conversation and it gave Amaani some time to calm down. She looked around again and the room finally felt more spacious to her. At least now she felt like she wouldn't die out of suffocation. Her eyes then trailed to the two people in the room beside her. 

She looked between them as they quietly whispered to each other. Then it hit her. 

It was like they were old acquaintances. Even though they had just met each other, they were discussing some matter without any hesitation. Sumayya's sister was supposed to be there to make her case stronger. To get justice for her sister's death but there she was. Taking part in some matter that she was not a part of nor did she know anything about. Well, it was supposed to be that way. 

It was weird. Very weird. How both of them talked casually. She then felt that she had to say something. More like, get some answers. 

"Ummmm… are you two done?" she finally broke the silence, folding her arms over her chest in a challenging way. The sister and broad shoulders snapped their heads towards her. Amaani kept on looking at them, intensely. Sumayya's sister straightened herself and cleared her throat. 

Broad shoulders also turned towards Amaani, entwining his fingers together and placing his hands on the table. "Well, it seems…" he trailed off as if the words weren't coming out of his mouth. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth again to speak. "It seems that we might have made a mistake. The girl that came to meet me on Monday did not have this white patch of hair that you do. Obviously, you can't be the same person." 

A smile of relief broke out on Amaani's face. "And even though the resemblance between you two is almost frightening, I can't hold you here for interrogation as this doesn't prove anything." he continued. Amaani's smile widened and her eyes shone. "Alhamdulillah" she whispered to herself. "But." broad shoulders pulled her back to Earth.