Chapter 46
46
We got home from the mehndi in the early hours of the morning, and everyone was exhausted.
Mum and Sana baji wouldn’t stop complaining about the pain their heels had left them in. Adil was gawking at Kiran as usual. Dad looked like he was ready to crash right there on the living-room sofa. I could barely keep my own eyes open.
The Qureshis had wanted to go straight home, but Mum had talked them into coming over for karak chai and chatter. A few cousins and family friends had also come to ours, so there were still some guests to entertain.
‘How do you think the event went?’ Mum asked everyone keenly.
‘Amazing,’ Aunty Rahima replied enthusiastically. ‘What fun we all had!’
‘It’s a night I’ll always remember,’ Sana baji chimed in, leaning her head against Azad bhai’s shoulder. ‘It was my dream mehndi. Thank you to everyone who helped make it a reality.’
These were the only people who seemed to have the energy to talk, because everyone else was either silently scrolling through their phone, drinking chai, or gradually dozing off.
‘We better start the preparations for the baraat and walima functions straight away,’ Mum said seriously. ‘Those events are much bigger and only one week away.’
‘There’s no way this event would’ve been successful without all of your contacts, suggestions and tailors, Aunty Fouzia,’ Sana baji said gently. ‘Thank you so much. I’m sorry if I was a bridezilla at times.’
‘And I’m sorry if I was a monster-in-law at times,’ Mum replied with a wink.
I smiled, enjoying the warm, happy mood my family was in.
‘So, Karim beta,’ Aunty Rahima said. ‘When is it going to be your turn, eh? Seeing your older brother’s wedding must have planted a little seed in your mind too.’
Mum cackled along with her and then raised her brows. ‘My older son let me choose his bride, and I’m sure my younger son will do the same when his time comes.’
‘Not a chance.’ I laughed. ‘If it’s OK with you all, I’m going to turn in for the night.’
I lugged myself up to my room, planning to call Zara as soon as my phone came on; I’d captured so much epic wedding content that the battery had died a while ago. Zara hadn’t said goodbye before leaving and I wanted to check in on her. I stuck the charger in my phone and got into bed, waiting for the phone to turn on.
The sound of my phone vibrating woke me. I checked my watch – it was nine in the morning. I picked up right away, preparing to apologize to Zara for disappearing.
I heard Abeo’s voice instead.
‘It’s Felicity,’ he said. ‘She had a serious car accident last night. Chloe told me.’
‘What?’ I squawked, shooting out of bed.
‘Late last night, Felicity’s parents told Chloe that Felicity’s in hospital. Chloe went to see her first thing this morning. She spoke to her about what happened, and Felicity said she noticed a black car with tinted windows following her and reckoned it was Mr Ex. She freaked out and drove faster and faster until she lost control and hit something – thank goodness it wasn’t another car or person. But her car flipped over, and she’s got multiple injuries. She could’ve died .’
Panic and guilt coursed through me. ‘How is she now?’
‘Last news I received from Chloe is that Felicity’s stable and doing well now. But it’ll take her a while to fully heal from the injuries.’
A strangled sound escaped my throat.
I’d known Felicity for as long as I could remember and, despite everything that had happened recently, I loved her deeply … I couldn’t bear to even imagine the horror of her dying while we weren’t on speaking terms …
‘Felicity’s OK, Karim,’ Abeo said gently, sensing my anguish. ‘But the rest of us have decided it’s time to put our foot down. We’re going to release a video explaining how Mr Ex is tormenting us. Shall I pick you up?’
‘Of course. When are the rest of us allowed to see Felicity?’
‘Her parents have asked for some space right now. Chloe has told Felicity to keep us posted about when the Wongs are happy for us to visit her. We should all go to see her together. This is bigger than any of our stupid disputes and power plays.’
‘I agree. The past is the past. I’m here for whatever Felicity and you guys need.’
After we hung up, it took me a while to calm myself, to get my breathing back to normal. The Exes were my family. Regardless of everything that had happened between us all, if they ever needed me, really needed me, I’d be there in a heartbeat. No questions asked.
When I’d stopped shaking, I picked up my phone again and looked through the calls and messages. I had nine missed calls from Zara and several anxious messages. I called her back. She answered straight away.
‘Where have you been?’ she immediately asked.
‘I’m so sorry. The event went on till the early hours! I was going to call you when I got back home but my battery was dead and I knocked out waiting for my phone to switch on.’
She took a deep breath, then said, ‘Did you see what’s been posted about us online?’
‘No, what’s been posted?’ I asked, panic pounding in my ears like the wail of a siren getting louder.
‘Mr Ex released photos of us kissing. They’re everywhere .’
It seemed my deal with Mr Ex no longer stood; instead of waiting for the exclusive wedding photos I’d promised in exchange for him leaving Zara’s identity anonymous, he’d released footage featuring her. It made sense; this was better gossip, and my family photos would eventually find their way to social media anyway.
I felt helpless, nauseous. There was no undoing it when something leaked on to the internet, which meant there was nothing I could do to help her now. If only I’d been able to protect her from all of this …
‘Or maybe you did know,’ she snapped, ‘but you didn’t care very much because it doesn’t affect you like it affects me.’
‘Zara! Are you serious?’
‘Yes, I am.’
I’d never heard such venom in her tone. It was unsettling.
‘I can’t believe you’d even say such a thing.’
She scoffed. ‘And I can’t believe you’d peacefully knock out after something like this was posted about us last night. It took you hours to get in touch with me.’
‘You know yesterday was a big family event for me,’ I replied defensively.
‘Maybe you should’ve just focused on your family instead of getting your hands on me.’
‘Yeah, maybe I should’ve.’ I instantly regretted saying that. ‘Look, Zara, I admit it was my mistake. I should’ve been more careful. I honestly thought we were alone. I’ve liked you for so long and it felt so right between us last night. I guess I got swept away in the moment.’
‘It was so right between us last night,’ she said quietly, her voice breaking a little. ‘But everything’s all wrong now.’
That hurt more than I wanted to admit.
She cleared her throat and continued, ‘I still can’t help but feel you don’t actually care. Maybe it’s even good for you in some ways – everyone can see you’re moving on.’
Her harsh tone pricked a nerve. ‘Why on earth would I want something like this to be out there? I certainly don’t need the extra clout or views, if that’s what you’re suggesting.’
‘Thank you for reminding me what a great big influencer you are,’ she said sarcastically. ‘Perhaps I should be pleased that people are even associating me with the incredible Karim Malik. What a privilege for lowly old me.’
‘That’s not what I meant,’ I replied irritably. ‘Are you just going to twist and misinterpret everything I say right now? If that’s the case, maybe we should just speak later.’
‘Are you not going to do anything about the situation?’ she practically shouted.
‘There really isn’t much we can do because it’s already out there,’ I replied, my voice also rising. ‘Stuff like this dies down naturally with time. It’s not even big enough that I need to put out a statement.’
She gasped, clearly offended.
‘Zara, there’s a lot going on right now,’ I said. ‘One of my best friends had a car accident last night. Felicity’s been dealing with blackmailing and real pressure online. The crash nearly took her life.’
Zara was silent for a while, and I thought perhaps she’d calmed down a bit. I hated this rift that was forming between us. I wanted things to go back to normal, but I could sense that would be difficult.
‘ Real , huh?’ Zara asked darkly. ‘Well, you should know that my parents have disowned me and kicked me out of the house because of the photos. I’m staying at my friend’s place. And on top of that, everyone on the internet is hell-bent on reminding me that I’m an ugly little nobody. How’s that for real ?’
My chest tightened. ‘I’m so sorry, Zara. I had no idea –’
‘How could you have known? You weren’t even there for me!’
‘What can I do?’ I begged.
‘Apparently nothing. Oh God, I’m really starting to see how your privilege makes you blind to all of this. This will never affect you because you’re a man, so you’ll never be labelled a shameless slut , and you’re wealthy, so you’ll never have to worry about shelter, and your family loves you unconditionally, so they’ll always forgive your every mistake.’
I let out a deep breath. ‘What do you need from me? I’m really trying here, Zara.’
‘ This is you trying? You know what? You’re exactly the entitled rich prick I thought you were the first time I saw you. I wish we’d never tried to share our worlds with each other. I wish I’d never kissed you. I wish I’d never even met you.’
Then she cut the call.