Burn the truth (ENG)

| 51 |

Although today was not a day I was looking forward to.  This was probably one of the days I feared the most.  However, it was unavoidable.

"I have to win this. We have to win this," I grumbled to my lawyer as I walked back and forth.

He was sitting on a bench in the hallway, going through his papers.  Ramond, my lawyer, nodded absently.  "Don't worry, Miss Raheem."

I fiddled with nerves with my fingers.  "I can't lose my baby."

Today we had to go to court and the decision may have been made.

"Zara," muttered Faid and came to stand in front of me.  He held my shoulder.  "Breathe in and exhale."

Inhale and exhale.

Inhale and exhale.

"Faid, we have to win this."  I looked at him desperately with shining eyes.  "I can't lose my baby." Not again.

He stroked my hair and gave me a small smile.  "We will not lose the baby."

We will not lose the baby.

We won't lose the baby

I felt my hair stand on end when I saw Imran walking past with his lawyer.

We stared at each other for a few minutes, in trans, before his lawyer caught his eye.  He looked away from me and shook his head in response.

His lawyer wrote down some on his paper and put it in his folder.

I turned and let out a sigh.  This is not what I wished for.

I wanted a life with him where we would take care of the baby together.  Where I could trust him and we could build a future together.  Where we were happy and had no worries in us.

But in vain.

When I saw him, I remembered Lidia's words and began to wonder what had gone wrong.  What I had done wrong, because of being cheated.

My lawyer glanced at his watch and stood up.  "It's time."

Faid put his arm around me and led me into the hall.

~

Sitting in the wooden chair, at a table where Imran sat with his own lawyer just a few meters away.

I could convince myself that I will not lose the right to my baby today, but deep down I knew it was a false statement.

I felt like I was going to throw up from where I was sitting in the chair with my attorney on the right and Faid on the left.

I was allowed to have one supervisor with me.  I had originally considered taking Esma as she has been there for me since the beginning, but Esma had to work and I felt that Faid could offer me more moral support.

That and I needed someone to calm me down if my car broke down on our one and a half hour drive home from the court in Amsterdam.

My lawyer put his papers on the table and moved forward.

"Sir, I would like to ask Imran Tahir to come forward for some questions."

The male detective had twisted his fingers together as he nodded.  "Consent accepted."

Imran got up from his chair and walked over to the half cage.

My lawyer stood before Imran.  "Imran Tahir, is it correct that you and Zara Raheem's wedding took place on October 29, 2019?"