After the storm

8. Unwanted encounter

"Babe, I'm here. Come downstairs," Aria's voice echoed urgently through the house. Inaya, still in her room, hastened to join her friend. The last encounter with William flashed in her mind, recalling his meticulous arrangements at East Gate Villa — a sanctuary of comfort complete with maids, cooks, attentive staffs and a whole shebang.

Most of those were women Inaya didn’t have to wear a hijab while she was in the villa all the time. If Inaya excluded the lonelinesses, everything would have been splendid.

" William outdid it. He made you a princess. If I didn’t know that virgin monk enough, I would have thought he was in love with you", Aria teased with a playful laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous. William has always been generous. He'd do the same for you," Inaya responded with a smile.

"He better," Aria quipped back.

"Shall we? We're running late."

"Where are we headed, anyway?" Aria inquired as they made their way outside.

"Shopping. I need some new clothes," Aria explained matter-of-factly.

"Why now?" Aria questioned curiously.

"Well, I've crossed my first trimester and soon my weight will increase. I need to prepare maternal clothing ", Inaya replied with a hint of excitement.

"Got it. But why the hell is Lucas coming with us?" Aria frowned, puzzled.

"He is?" Inaya looked equally surprised.

"Well, he's in the car", Aria shrugged.

Inaya shook her head slightly. Lucas always seemed to operate on his own enigmatic wave, making his presence unpredictable.

"Assalamualaikum, Inaya," Lucas greeted warmly as they settled into the car.
Inaya returned the greeting with a smile.

"How have you been? I heard you've resumed at your clinic," Lucas continued, showing his knack for swiftly gathering news.

"I returned last week. It was getting dull at home," Inaya admitted.

"I'm sure it is. I can imagine," Lucas nodded in understanding as he started the car, while Aria tuned the radio.

"I haven't seen William in ages," Aria remarked, breaking the quiet moment.

Inaya joined, "Me neither. Where is he?"

"Well he's busy with preparations," Lucas replied vaguely, his eyes focused on the road.

"What preparations?" Inaya chimmed in, intrigued.

Lucas shrugged casually. "Can't say for sure."

The journey continued with mindless conversations lingering in the air, the road ahead winding through the cityscape, carrying them towards their destination with a sense of anticipation.
The car pulled up at 'WISH', a charitable institution supported by Walton Welfare, where Inaya graciously donated her old clothes and contributed funds. Aria and Lucas accompanied her, their spirits high as they participated in the act of generosity before heading off to the shopping mall.

Amidst laughter and chatter in the women's boutique, Lucas excused himself to attend to personal errands. It was then that an ominous presence crept upon them — not just one, but two women whose faces bore scorn and malice.

"You seem awfully cheerful for someone whose husband tossed her aside like trash," Jenny's grating voice pierced the air, Inaya's happy eyes showed irritation. Standing beside her, Hannah, Abraham's sister, smirked in approval at the provocation, drawing a frosty glare from Inaya.

"You talk too much for someone who wrecked a home," Aria shot back, her tone sharp with disdain.

"Who talked to you? I was talking to her, not you," Jenny retorted, her anger palpable. She had no fondness for Aria, and well, the feelings were mutual.

Inaya, unfazed by Jenny's presence, continued browsing through the racks. Jenny wasn’t fond of the ignorance at the very least. And the mere fact that Inaya wasn’t even affected visibly irked Jenny.

"Why are you acting so high and mighty?" Jenny persisted, her voice dripping with venom.

....

"Can you even afford to shop here without Abraham's money?"

....

"Or have you moved on to seducing another wealthy man?"

Inaya halted in her tracks, her patience stretched thin. She turned slowly to face Jenny, her gaze icy and voice chillingly low. "I didn't quite catch that. Could you repeat yourself?" Her words were sharper than any dagger Jenny had wielded.

But Jenny was someone who didn’t know when to stop. "Oh, Now you are talking. Why? Did I disclose something that was supposed to be secret?"

"I would suggest you to not talk actually. Whores like you, who got pregnant after seducing a married man shouldn’t talk big", Aria spat.

Aria wasn’t calm like Inaya. So It was impossible for her to not spit venom matching Jenny's equally.

Jenny's face contorted in rage. "Don't you dare lecture me," she spat back, her words escalating in malice, " Don’t be so cocky. I know what Inaya does too. I know where she resides nowadays and how William spoils her. Don't tell me, she got to enjoy William's riches for free, just admit that she used her slutty body to warm his bed as payment. Women like-"

The resounding slap cut through the tense atmosphere like a thunderclap, silencing Jenny mid-sentence. Inaya, typically calm and forgiving, had reached her limit. Jenny staggered back, clutching her cheek, while Hannah, stunned by the sudden escalation, rushed to comfort her.

"You're insane! How could you hit a pregnant woman? You're heartless!" Hannah shrieked, drawing attention from other shoppers who began to murmur and record the scene on their phones.

"She deserved it," Inaya stated calmly, her voice cutting through the escalating chaos.

"You're a monster! Trying to hurt my brother's unborn child just because he divorced you? Have some shame!" Hannah continued, her accusations growing louder, drawing a crowd around them.

Lucas, noticing the commotion from a distance, hurried over to assess the situation. He signaled urgently to Aria, who whispered something to Inaya. Without further ado, they began to exit the shop. But before leaving, Inaya fixed a cold, steady gaze on Hannah and uttered calmly, yet with a chilling undertone that hushed the entire room, "Are you absolutely certain it's your brother's baby?"

The question hung heavily in the air, freezing the crowd with its implications. Jenny stood frozen,clutching her cheek, her face drained of color, as Inaya and Aria swiftly departed from the tense and tumultuous scene.