Turmoils- A Muslim Love Story

Chapter 24

Recap

Ayan and Fatima leave for their honeymoon. Ayesha wants to confess her feelings to her husband but stops when she sees Zara. The couple goes to Zara's parents' anniversary, where, much to Ayesha's surprise, her birth father recognizes her. Zara and Farhan are shocked after they learn the truth.
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At times like these, the younger me would've fled in a matter of seconds. When I was little, my fight-or-flight system was always flight. I'd hide behind my father or my mother. After she left, my Dad was almost never around before he brought back his first wife.

In a way, I could understand everything Zareena did. I was the daughter of the woman who married my father while he already had a family. But she didn't need to be this cruel to me.

Not only was she cruel, but she was vile and evil too.

Zara stared at us, her brown eyes blazing with fury and shock. But my eyes were glued to Farhan. He was looking at me but I couldn't tell what it was.

Was he shocked? Was he horrified? Was he disgusted? Or was he concerned?

"How dare you?!" Zara screamed, marching over to me and grabbing me by the shoulders. Her grip was hot, tight and unpleasant.

"How can you talk that way to my Daddy?! Who the hell are you? Who do you think you are?!" She screamed into my face, shaking me.

"No one!" I shouted. "Your father has only one child and that is you. I'm nothing to him. He killed the daughter he's been talking about long back!"

I shoved her hands off me but she lost her balance.

She fell backwards but pulled at my bandaged hand before landing on the ground. She let out a pained cry. Pain seared through my hand and blood appeared on the fresh white bandage that I had wrapped around my palm. I bit my bottom lip so as to not wail like a baby, just like my step sister.

Unfortunately, my silence didn't attract anyone.

"Are you okay my darling?" Mr. Aswad cried, bending down to help his daughter.

"Daddy!" She cried, grabbing his arms. "Why is she calling herself your daughter? How can she be when I'm your princess?"

She was a pathetic sobbing mess by now, hiccuping as large drops of tears fell down her eyes. Was she having a sort of mild panic attack? Not sure. I rolled my eyes.

What a pissy pants.

"Of course you are my love! You are the loveliest child I could have ever asked for!" Her father rocked her back and forth.

His words hit me like a ton of bricks.

I couldn't believe I came here all these years later to be rejected once more. And that too so brutally.

Mr. Aswad turned to look at me, his eyes slightly wide as they fell over my bleeding hand. But I didn't care.

That man was a nobody to me anyway.

"Farhan don't ask me dear. You should ask Zara yourself, don't you see how upset she is?" Zareena said as Farhan stepped forward.

My heart broke.

Right at that moment, in complete silence, my heart was shredded into a million pieces.

Farhan looked at me, his eyes wide. Like a kid who was just caught stealing candy.

I looked at Zareena, who had that vile smirk still plastered to her face. "I know how much you love my daughter."

I couldn't stand this anymore. Then again, this was good for me. He wouldn't say he hated me to my face. I couldn't bear to hear that anyway.