غير مألو - Unfamiliar

Chapter 9

Khalid drove the SUV , and Salman accompanied him in the passenger seat. They both kept throwing glances at each other and at the rear view mirror. The air inside the car became so thick and Zohal wondered if it could be cut using a knife. Even breathing became tedious.

Omar Fatih kept on looking, at the road ahead, while Zohal Wadi leaned onto the shutter and rested her head, observing the roads and houses passing by. Well, not much could be perceived in the pitch black surrounding, as the night had drawn and the moon was hidden beneath the cloudy sky. Nonetheless, she continued to gaze at the view passing by, as a means of distraction from her chaotic mind.

Meanwhile, Salman and Khalid regretted the idea of driving them to the villa. They wished Naveed was here, at least he'd be cracking some lame jokes. No, scratch that. They should have left the driving to Omar, himself. That would have been less tiresome.

But he couldn't really trust Omar. What with the show he put on earlier.

Half an hour later, because they were held back due to traffic, they reached the Fatih house.

The mansion that stood proudly before them could accommodate over 50 people. But what caught Zohal's eyes was not the majesticity of the abode, but the warm welcome it radiated.

Umaira who had rushed to the kitchen as soon as she had kept foot in the house, now sauntered towards her with a box full of sweets in her hand. Zohal stared at her wondering why after the heavy dinner they all had, she would even think of eating sweets.

"Betay, please, have some sweets. It's been a tradition in our family, to welcome a new member with sweets."

Umaira said in a gentle voice. She gazed at her daughter in law, with soft and gentle eyes, as if she knew what was going on inside Zohal's muddled mind. As if she knew how broken, chaotic, lost and nervous Zohal really was. She knew it all.

She picked up a piece of the sweet and fed the new daughter in law. Initially, Zohal was surprised, but then her earlier reservations towards the woman dissipated. Zohal, could easily perceive the motherly affection Umaira had. At least there was going to be one person in the family who she could trust.

Just then all hopes she had of surving this abode vanished, when harsh words reached her ears.

"What would she know about tradition?"

Zohal subtly turned her head to the side to see the person, only to meet Azan's tall frame.

When the words left his mouth, Zohal had felt mixed feelings. Shock, surprise, perplexion, disbelief and sadness, all these interlaced and came as a package, rendering her speechless. But what shook her the most was the venom that was dripping in his words. She bet, he was second in command, in the Hate Zohal Team, alongside his brother. Probably all of the brothers shared the feeling, except only one brother, who Zohal assumed to be Khalid Fatih.

"Betay, You should go up and rest. It's been a long day." Salim Fatih said, understanding the tension in the air.

"Come on, Zohal. Let's go."

Umaira got a hold of her arm and directed her upstairs. As she was escorted up, she couldn't help but wonder how she would live in the house, where the only people who seemed nice were her parents in law.

But before she went upto the stairs, she heard,

"Azan! In my room, Now!"

***

The room that she was taken to, had been the corner most one, in the long hallway. The room was a mix between green and cream. She noticed that the bed, the sofa to the side, and the small cocktail table that stood in the corner were all, new furnitures. The only thing that seemed to be quite old was the walk in closet, which was opposite the bathroom.