LET ME HATE YOU

Caught

"Why didn't you call me when you were going through so much?"

"I don't know, Mehwish. I honestly don't know what was happening to me back then. I thought I could handle it. I thought that girl would reject the marriage, and I didn't have to break Ma's heart. I just..." he trailed off, rubbing his face with his palms.

"Amaan, you have always been the kindest and most caring person. You didn't want to disrespect Ma, and I can bet you didn't want our parents to worry about you anymore. But how could you trust a complete stranger or underestimate her?" Mehwish's concern seemed a little too practiced.

She did love Amaan dearly, but his worldview constantly irritated her. While she wanted him to have the best of everything, he refused to judge people based on what they could offer him. When she wanted him to have a beautiful and sophisticated wife, he fell for an ordinary girl. He even raised his voice at her once to defend Raina when Mehwish had advised him against the marriage.

From that day on, Mehwish decided never to interfere in his life again, and she suspected their earlier fight was why Amaan hadn't turned to her for help. But now that he had a second chance, with Raina gone, she wouldn't let him make the same mistake.

This time, she was determined to make her brother marry a girl worthy of his family name, even if she had to break his marriage again.

"Raina. She believed her," Amaan said, looking utterly lost. Mehwish had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

Raina, as always, she sneered inwardly.

"And she is trying to take the place of the same person who believed her. Not only in this house but in Kabir's life as well. I will never let her use him, just as she has used his mother."

Use him?

Mehwish sat up straighter, absorbing the new piece of information. She had seen Asmaira with Kabir that afternoon, and they had seemed quite close. But Amaan's words suggested he was being kept in the dark.

Oblivious to his sister's thoughts, Amaan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. The memory of the woman he loved flashed before him.

"Amaan," Mehwish placed her palm over his, continuing, "If Raina trusted her, if Ma likes her, maybe... she is good for Kabir."

The words tasted like ash, but she had to maintain the facade for her plan to work.

"I'm sure Ma has thought it through, and I can see why. Kabir was so happy with her. For a moment, I thought Asmaira was Kabir's mother and not Rai-"

"What?" Amaan's eyes snapped open.

"She is good-" Amaan cut her off, "Did you say you saw her with Kabir?"

She avoided his gaze, withdrew her hand, and quickly changed the subject. "I heard you rejoined the office. Must be refreshing after...."

But Amaan's mind was fixated on her earlier words: I thought Asmaira was Kabir's mother.

Mehwish's voice became a distant buzz, replaced by the throb of his own rising rage. The pieces of the puzzle suddenly clicked into place, making the situation terrifyingly clear.

First, he was forced to return to the office. For a month, he was buried under meaningless work, which kept him from seeing what Asmaira was up to. By keeping him busy at the office, manipulating things from the shadows, she had successfully attached herself to his son. To Raina's son. The very woman Asmaira had wished a miserable life upon.

While he spent every second of his life in turmoil, weighed down by too many emotions to handle, she was smoothly paving her way into his son's heart. He was held responsible for shattering people's dreams, and she was living the dream for which she had entered the Hashmi mansion.