𝐄𝐱 𝐖𝐢𝐟𝐞'𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞

4. The Rejected Elimony

I thought heaven can't help me now
Nothing lasts forever, but this is gonna take me down
He's so tall and handsome as hell
He's so bad but he does it so well
I can see the end as it begins

While Tahera was chatting the night away with Aaban, Taahir was out looking for her.

He had been searching for 2 hours but it was to no avail. He only realized how ludicrous he was acting when Rosa called.

"Taahir, are you in bed?" it was Rosa's habit to call him every night.

Honestly, Taahit didn't have many conversational topics in common with her and he had no interest in listening to her recap her daily life so the nightly calls rarely went beyond the perfunctory hello and good night.

"I'm still up, is there anything you want to discuss?" Taahir asked half-heartedly.

"How is Tahseen? He didn't look so well during dinner." Rosa asked cautiously. She knew Tahseen was averse to her presence but for the sake of preserving her image, she had to pretend she didn't notice.

"He's fine. He's sleeping now."

Rosa said with a smile in her voice, "That's good to know. It's late. Taahir, do retire to bed soon."

"Okay."

"Good night," Rosa concluded warmly.

Taahir kept his phone, stopped his car by the roadside, and lit a cigarette.

As throngs of cars rushed him by, he chuckled to himself. So what if Tahera had disappeared, why was it his responsibility to find her? She was a grown woman, she could find her way home.

Taahir turned his car back home but as a safety measure, ordered some men to investigate Tahera's present situation. At least that way he would know she was still alive and finally have an idea what had happened to her in the past few years.

He was interested to find out how a woman with such a sizeable amount of alimony could end up in her state.

***

Early the next morning, Taahir received updates on Tahera for the past three years. After the divorce, she was taken in by her uncle.

Through family connections, he understood her uncle had a son and the three of them had been keeping each other afloat. Their life took a turn for the worse when Rahim Hussain was diagnosed with kidney disease.

To earn money, Tahera had to take on multiple odd jobs. Cleaner, dishwasher, waitress... She spent her times doing all sorts of menial labor.

However, she was bullied and isolated at every single workplace due to her reticence and reluctance to socialize. This meant that none of her work lasted longer than a month.

Three years of bouncing from one harsh working environment to another had taken a toll on her.

Taahir was still surprised when he thought back to their encounter yesterday. It seemed like she had aged tremendously since their divorce.

He could barely recognize her anymore. If not for their chance encounter yesterday, he wouldn't have known how much pain and cruelty she had endured...

Nevertheless, there was one thing that puzzled him. Why hadn't she used her alimony ?

He knew Tahera wasn't a spender but even if she was, it was impossible to burn through the amount he'd given in a short period of time.

Taahir leaned back in his chair with a serious expression. It would appear that there were some details that were hidden from his knowledge...

When Taahir stepped into the dining room, his whole family was already seated, having their breakfast.