Chapter 26
Reshma
Reshma winced as she felt the blade slice through her flesh.
Blood poured out straight away and she had to run to the bathroom, still managing to get droplets of blood onto the floor and her dress.
She winced as she held her hand under the cold tap until she saw someone turn it off and hold her injured hand in a towel, pressing hard on her cut.
Haniya.
Rather than look sympathetic, her cousin glared at her. ‘Where on earth is your brain, woman? You actually just cut your hand with the scissors instead of the sticky tape. What’s going on? You’ve been distracted since you got here.’
‘Nothing. I’m fine.’ She tried to tug her hand out of Haniya’s hold, but Haniya didn’t budge and Reshma rolled her eyes. ‘Let me see the damage.’
‘No. You need to keep pressure on it for longer. You cut the fleshy part between your fingers. I don’t even know how we’re going to get a plaster on that.’
‘Reshma? Niya?’ Uncle Jawad stood in the bathroom doorway and regarded the pair of them and Reshma felt her lower lip tremble, so she clamped it between her teeth.
She would not cry. She would not give into the emotions swamping her right now, even if it felt like they were crippling her.
Her uncle stepped forward and took over from Haniya. He pressed the towel firmly around her hand, and after a few minutes, he peeled it back to assess the wound.
She should have been paying better attention to the task at hand, but her mind had been so firmly on Zafar and what had happened since last night at the restaurant, she hadn’t realised what she was doing until it had been too late.
He had mentioned going back to London while he’d been on the phone.
As soon as possible. And not once had he said anything about speaking to her or about her going back with him.
He’d been so focused on his work and whatever problem they were facing that it was as though anything else had ceased to exist once he had a laptop in front of him.
He’d relegated her to the place where she’d been since they’d got married, resurrecting her pain and insecurities, except this time it was so much worse because it came after she’d told him she loved him.
She’d been in a dreamlike state for the last week and last night she’d woken up.
Ibrahim’s phone call had served as a timely alarm for her, bursting her happy little bubble.
The irony wasn’t lost on her. She had just told Zafar how she felt and then his phone had rung and it was as though she’d never said those words, had never opened herself up to him.
Now she could see that what she and Zafar had shared since being here had been too good to be true, because a leopard never really changed its spots, did it?
Zafar was a workaholic, with nothing but the preservation of his grandfather’s legacy on his mind and as soon as that came under threat, everything else fell to the wayside, including her.
His work would always be his priority, over and above her.
Because if that hadn’t been the case, he wouldn’t have spoken about leaving, without any thought to anything – or anyone – else.
He still hadn’t said anything to her. Granted, he’d been asleep when she’d woken up, but she had told Daadi where she was and he’d not come to see her or called her or even messaged her.
Daadi had joined them, telling her that Zafar was up and ready to start work when Khalil had come to pick her up.
It was almost like he’d forgotten about her and that hurt.
‘Ow.’ She winced as Uncle Jawad wiped at the gash on her hand.
‘I’m sorry, pet. The cut seems to be pretty deep, but I don’t think you’ll need stitches. Let me bandage it up for you.’
Her uncle dressed her cut and since she was out of action with helping with gift wrapping anymore and the hair and make-up artists had arrived, Reshma got on with getting ready for the reception while her mind ran riot with thoughts of her fledgling relationship with Zafar being doomed before they’d even got back to London.
So much for her carrying their good momentum forward.
The romance of their destination, the wedding atmosphere and their close proximity had made her lower her guard while blinding her to reality.
Had they been in London, things would probably have stayed as they had been.
Back there, things had always been categorically clear to her, but out here she’d chosen to believe the unbelievable.
Time and place had inhibited her ability to see the wood for the trees and the feelings she’d thought she’d felt had been circumstantial. Not real.
But was she jumping the gun?
Yes, she’d heard what she’d heard, but she’d not heard anything after that. Surely if Zafar had planned to leave today, Daadi would have told her that he’d been packing his bags, but she hadn’t. Did that mean he hadn’t left?
Her mind felt like it was on a rollercoaster which was going through one loop after another, showing no signs of slowing down.
The hair stylist and make-up artist both finished with her and Reshma got into the dark blue suit Auntie Bilqis had given her. She was adding the finishing touches when she realised that she’d left her bag of accessories at her villa.
‘Niya, I’ve left some things back at the villa, I’m just going to see if Sho or Khalil can go and grab them for me.’
‘Mmhmm,’ Haniya mumbled through lips pressed together as the make-up artist started doing her make-up.
Reshma made her way through the villa, trying to spot one of her cousins. Uncle Jawad was watching TV, so she asked him where they were and he told her they’d both gone to get some last-minute bits and pieces for Auntie Ruqayyah.
‘Did you need something?’
‘Yeah, I left my bag of accessories at the villa. I’m just going to go and grab it.’
‘I can go?’
‘No, it’s fine. Won’t take me long.’ She was feeling restless anyway, maybe some fresh air would do her good. She would also get to see if Zafar was getting ready for the reception or to go to the airport, though she didn’t know what she’d say to him.
She knew she probably looked very strange walking around the complex dressed up like she was, but she needed to clear her head. She took the long way back, walking almost the entire perimeter of the complex before finding herself back on the path towards her villa.
The best thing for her to do would be to speak to Zafar. There was no sense working herself up into a tizzy without having all the information. It could well amount to nothing. And if not … well, at least she’d know for sure then.
She was about twenty metres away when she saw Zafar pull the front door of the villa closed, dragging his small suitcase behind him. He made his way purposefully towards the gate and got into a car. The engine started up and before she could take a step in his direction, the car moved off.
He’d gone. He’d left her.
Without so much as a goodbye. Without looking back even once.
Reshma felt the breath she had taken lodge in her chest and when the edges of her vision went hazy, she pulled in a shuddering breath.
He’d left her. He’d gone.
She had thought she’d felt pain when she’d found out that he’d come here under duress, but that was nothing compared to the pain now unfurling in her chest and spreading its poisonous tentacles throughout her body until she felt it in every single cell, in every fibre of her being.
She staggered a few steps towards a low wall on the side of the path and lowered herself onto it, careless of the fact that it might dirty her clothes.
He’d left her. He’d gone.
She shouldn’t have let him suck her into a false sense of security.
When she’d found out the truth behind his arrival, she should have stuck to her guns and kept her distance from him.
But she hadn’t and now she was paying the price for it.
He’d proved, beyond all doubt, that she was not, and never would be, his priority.
She didn’t know how long she sat there for.
It couldn’t have been that long because no one had come across her while she’d been sitting there in a daze as her reality crashed over her with each breath she took and she was very grateful for that.
She wasn’t sure what she might have said or how she would have explained why she was sitting there like that, short of the fact that Zafar had left.
Slowly, Reshma got up and, on leaden legs, she went back to her aunt’s villa.
Uncle Jawad was standing outside on the phone and when he saw her, he frowned.
She walked past him and into the villa, which was a hive of activity.
Her aunts were running to and fro and she spotted Daadi sitting in the garden through the patio door with Uncle Imtiaz’s mother.
Reshma lowered herself onto the sofa, her head pounding and her hair feeling too tightly arranged. She reached up to see if she could loosen some pins, only to find the mass of it was in loose waves and not in an updo. The only pins in her hair were the ones holding her maang tikka in place.
‘What do you think?’ She looked up and found Haniya standing in front of her, showing off her hair and make-up.
Reshma tried but couldn’t muster a smile for her.
Haniya was instantly on high alert. ‘What is it? What’s happened? I thought you went to grab your things.’
‘I did. That is, I went to go and get my things, but on the way there I saw Zafar leaving with his suitcase. He’s gone,’ she said numbly.
‘What?! Did he say anything?’
Reshma shook her head. ‘No. I heard him on the phone yesterday. Ibrahim called him to tell him about a problem at work and then later I heard Zafar saying he needed to get back to London as soon as possible. So, he’s gone.’
‘Without saying anything to you or anyone else? Just gone?’
Reshma nodded as Haniya shook her head.
‘I find that hard to believe.’
‘It’s not that complicated, Niya. He’s focusing on what’s important to him and I need to focus on what’s important to me.’ Impatience laced her voice.