After the truth

~23~

Aaron wiped his head fervently with the large, fluffy, white towel. He felt exhausted, even though he had left work early. He slumped on the large beanie chair in the corner of his room. The Adhan for Isha prayer went off but he remained on his spot. He had missed maghrib, along with the earlier prayers, asides fajr. He grabbed his laptop from the gray rug beneath his feet and decided to search up 'Zayn Abdullah Hussein.'

He typed his name so many times in the search box, expecting to see that perhaps he had recently gotten out of jail but there was nothing terrible about the dude. His picture was of him in a neat, well-pressed suit and his smile wide and almost mocking. He ran a business with his twin? Aaron was surprised. He never knew Marwa had this many family members. Not like you know anything about her! The voice in his head sounded like a scoff.

This dude played too much. It was like he had an idea that Aaron would search him up. Aaron ran his hands down his face and let out a sigh. For the first time in years, he felt disconnected from himself and probably the world around him. Something was missing and he had no idea what it was. His mind felt foggy.

Ding!

Unknown

Hello, little demon.
I hope you've been good, boy.

Aaron let out a very loud sigh. He couldn't catch a break even if he wanted.

Me

What do you want from me?

Unknown

Regard me as the one meting out
justice for the weak.

Me

I will report you to the police.
You'd regret trying shit like this with me.

Unknown

🤣🤣🤣 Let's see you try little bastard

Unknown

Send 250 million dollars to this account!
Xxx-356-Xxx
You only get 18hrs. The clock is ticking!
And don't try anything funny.

Aaron put off his phone and threw it across the room. He was livid! He wanted to know who it was that was currently blackmailing him. He wiped his hands over his head, pulling on his hair. He didn't know when tears began to drop down from his eyes. He was being punished and he had no idea what his crime was. Somehow, it was linked to Marwa and that alone made his heart hurt from the probability that he could have wronged her.

A knock on his door went off and without getting a response from him, it opened up to reveal his mum. Her face morphed into one of concern as she moved over to where he was bent over.

"Are you alright Harun?" She asked, carefully placing a hands over his back.

"I'm fine ummi." He muttered, flinching at her touch.

"Haruni, there's tears in your eyes, are you sure? Is it a headache?" She asked again, kneeling beside him.

"I'm fine, mother. Just go, please." He begged, almost gritting. For some weird reason, her presence irked him a lot. Maybe it was because she was hiding something from him. Something that kept his father away from him for seven years.

"Harun.."

"Get out!" He roared, pointing at his door. "What don't you understand mother? Leave me alone. I want to be alone. Leave me please." He begged, crying.

He couldn't believe he was raising his voice at his mother. It was his first time. Most especially, it blew his mind that a grown man like himself was crying this bad. He needed help!

**********
Marwa was distracted. She was at the work cafeteria on the first floor, sitting alone at the center table. Her fork touched every bits of vegetables, salmon and even the rice but not once did she take a bite of it.

She had received a message from an unknown number earlier that morning. It was suspicious but it spiked her curiosity. The person knew who had raped her. Now she wanted to know who Lisa father could be. It was nerve wracking thinking about the whole situation. She shut her eyes tight and focused on finishing up her food.

The first thing Marwa had done when it was bright, was to send her brother, Zayn the message she had received. He promised to get someone to work on it and trace the number. She was grateful for his presence in her life. What would she have done if he wasn't around?

She finished up her meal and headed for the office. She had some work to finish up and Camilla had invited her for a dinner at her home. She was so excited about it. She couldn't wait to see the lady. They got along so well and had similarities that made them comfortable around each other.

Mr Suleiman Chang had informed them at the department to create a work portfolio of designs for the new hotel being built along the airport road. Marwa had just started working on it and she was determined to be in charge of it. A message from the intern working at the ground floor reception area came for her. She had a visitor.

Marwa wondered who it could be. She hurriedly packed up the designs and rushed towards the elevator. When she got to the ground floor, her eyes scanned the whole area looking for familiar faces but none, did she find. She hurried over to the receptionist, Daniella, who was on duty that day.

"You said I had a visitor?"

"Marwa."

Even if she fell into coma or somehow her soul was crossing into the other realm, her ears and mind could never forget that voice. The one that passed fear across her heart and made her afraid to be less of a perfection.

Slowly, she turned and there before her was the man that disowned her when she needed his support the most.