Her Hidden Lies

17: It Can't Get Worse.

"We'll let you two talk" Zainab tells Abdulrazaq and Khalil before dragging me to my room.
With the project going strong, they're always coming by and so are we.

She closes the door and looks at me expectantly.
I huff sitting on the couch "Faroukh is trying to sabotage the project".

She bursts out laughing.
She looked off, like unusually off.
I tilt my head looking at her "Zainab it's not funny. Do you know how much Ya Ahmed, Khalil and Abdulrazaq put into this project? Even Uncle Bashir too. Over 800million on the line so how the hell is it funny?"

"So? How do you feel?"
I huff again "Annoyed, Angry and scared"
"Intense" she says sarcastically.

The thing that bothered me more was how indifferent she looked after hearing about it, the fact that Khalil has more to lose than all of them combined.
"Zainab, are you okay?"

She nods "I am, I feel okay. Do I not look it?" She asks looking annoyed by my question.
"No you don't. You do know Khalil might be in some serious debt if it doesn't pull through, right?"

She groans "Now that's problematic, I don't want to go broke" she still didn't sound bothered.

She huffs "Well, that's too bad really. But what can I do about it? Feeling angry, annoyed and scared won't fix it. If it's bound to fail it will" she stands "I think I need to go, bye" she walks out leaving me completely stunned.
What is wrong with her?

A few moments later Abdulrazaq comes in.
"They just left"
I nod.
"So you heard our conversation with Khalil the other day?"

I nod looking at him worriedly "Yes. What are we going to do? What if he successfully sabotages it?"

He smiles "Don't worry about that. Faroukh really isn't a threat, at least not to me and he shouldn't to you too. I've handled him so there's really nothing to fret".

"Are you sure?" I ask worriedly.
He smiles "I am so I want to feel free and comfortable wherever and whenever. I'll protect you with everything I have"

I hug him.
"I don't doubt it"
"Exactly, your husband is a macho man"

I couldn't help but chuckle.

•

"There's something wrong with Zainab" Ya Ahmed says when I keep the tray of refreshments infront of him.

I sit next to Abdul.
"I don't understand, did she tell you something is wrong?"

She groans "Are you seriously asking me? You've not noticed anything different about her? Her behavior?"

Their visit a few days ago pops in my head.
"Well, I did. When I told her about Faroukh's plans to ruin the project she didn't seem bothered, she was completely indifferent about it".

Ya Ahmed huffs frustratedly "I tied talking to her but she keeps playing dumb. At this point I have no idea what to do"

I shake my head "Me neither, what about Khalil?"
Abdulrazaq sits up "He said she's been distant and it's like she's depressed. He's tried everything possible but she won't tell him what's bothering her so I don't know".

I stare blankly at my fingers "You know, when I told her that if the project isn't successful that Khalil would end up losing a lot, she didn't care. Zainab cares, a lot but I don't know. She's like a completely different person and it all started at a time"