ishq lost & found

30; New Plans

Staring at his screen, Saad tried to focus on his work. He had deadlines to meet, work to look over, and tons of meetings and phone calls waiting on him but all he could do is think about Salman.

He felt like his heart was being squeezed, the guilt was beginning to consume him. He knew this would happen, he knew he shouldn't have married Ranya but he gave in because he was weak. He always tried to be strong, to stick to what he thought was right, and to do what was the best for everyone except him. But he couldn't do that when it came to Ranya.

He realised he let himself slip, he stopped caring that it was wrong and began wanting something real out of this strange relationship they had. Now he was being reminded why he couldn't.

Grabbing his phone out of his pocket, he stared at the text again. It had been two hours since he had received it, and since then he hadn't accomplished much work wise or with devising a plan on how to deal with this. Was he just supposed to call Salman and say, "Yes. I married who would have been your wife."? Was he supposed to text him that? He had no clue. Putting it back, turning it off, he figured he'd try and get some work done which would hopefully inspire an answer.

Salman had been losing it since he sent that text, anger washing over him as he waited for a response. He knew it was true at this point, there was no denying it. At first he didn't want to, and he didn't. When Sana called he was almost sure it was a twisted joke, maybe Ranya put someone up to it. But after digging around he saw the pictures. The pictures of his should have been wife, marrying Saad. He had nearly broken his laptop in half.

Still, knowing the truth, he wanted to confront his brother. Then he wanted to talk to Ranya, but with her he knew he had to tread lightly. He couldn't get angry with her after he left her first. Regardless, he felt betrayed by two people he thought cared about him. He thought Ranya loved him, and he thought his brother was a better person than that.

Once he had those two hours to ponder, growing angrier each second that Saad wasted in responding, Salman figured it made sense to contact Sana. As much as he didn't want to call her, he knew he had to. He was continents away, with no other connections to keep him up to date on Saad and Ranyas marriage so far. He wanted to know everything she knew.

"Finally calmed down?" Sana answered, tapping her pen against the desk as she had grown tired of waiting. It had been a long day or so since that call, and Sana started to worry he didn't care.

"Do not speak to me like that- it's clear we want the same thing so if you want me to go along with whatever you have planned, you'd better change that attitude." Salman spat, hating Sana already. He might be weak in the moment, vulnerable and maybe even pathetic but he would never let a woman speak to him like that.

"Fine." Sana replied after taking a pause, taken aback by his sudden burst of confidence and the way he thought he could command her. "But you better watch how you talk to me. You need me more than I need you. If your ego is too fragile to handle someone that won't kiss the ground you walk on, then maybe this isn't going to work."

Gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw, he let out of a huff, surprised to come across such a brazen woman. In all his years with Ranya, she could get feisty, sometimes even a bit rude. But she was never a bitch. And finally having come across one was a surprise for Salman. "Whatever. Just tell me about what you've got planned."

Smiling, satisfied with what she had in store she began, "There's a lot you have to know, and a lot that I have to know before we can come up with something concrete."

-

Unbeknownst to Ranya what was going on with anyone but herself, she was having quite the day at work. Preoccupied dealing with her smart-board not working, she somehow found herself giving the new principal a tour of the school after classes had ended.