Written In The Stars

Tearing Our Family Apart

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Faiz

I almost expected my stepmother to be my age, for some reason.

I headed downstairs, followed closely by Rumi and Hareem. 

"Why did you bring her here?" Mamma was asking, sounding angry. "Our children are here!" 

"As far as I remember, this is still my house, Gul." Dad sounded annoyed. "And they are my kids as well. I wanted her to meet them." 

We headed into the drawing room, and saw my parents and a woman standing there. My parents were glaring at each other, while the woman looked uncomfortable. She was in her late forties and wore a pink and black sari, with her hair in a neat bun. Dania was standing just behind Mamma, clutching her arm protectively. 

Dad turned to look at us as we came in. "There you three are!" He turned to face the woman. "Neha, these are Faiz, Hareem and Rumaisa. You've met Dania, and you'll meet Rida and Sumaira later. Everyone, this is Neha Jamshed, my wife." 

His nerve!

"Ma Sha Allah." Neha smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"I wish we could say the same." Dani muttered.

"Dania!" Dad glared at her. "Do not be rude." 

"Why are you here, Dad?" I asked, wearily. "What do you want?" 

"I wanted to introduce Neha to my kids. Is that such a bad thing?" Dad asked, before tossing a pitiful glance towards Mamma.

That really p***ed me off. How dare he treat Mamma that way? 

Mamma really knows me well because she turned to glare at me to keep my mouth shut. She knew that if I spoke up, there would be a massive argument. Dad and I often clashed, as I was the only son and he naturally took out all his anger on me. I didn't care, as long as he didn't mistreat my mother and sisters. 

"I can understand that you're all very upset." Neha spoke up. The way she spoke, her expressions and her body language, all of it showed that she was educated and came from a good background. However, I cannot forget the fact that she was Dad's second wife, and Mamma wasn't even aware about her existence until recently. "I have no intention of taking your father away from you." 

"But you intend to keep him away from Mamma." Dania pointed out.

"Get out of this room, Dania Jamshed!" Dad yelled at her.

Dani didn't leave. She glared at him hatefully instead.

"Look at her!" Dad accused Mamma. "This is how you've raised your kids. You've wasted years on them but you haven't taught them any manners."

"Jamshed." Neha put a calming hand on his arm.

"Why didn't you help her out in raising us then?" I asked, quietly. "Why were you basically an absentee father, throwing money at us to compensate for not spending enough time with us?" 

"Faiz, don't test my patience." Dad turned on me now. "It takes a lot of effort to run a chain of globally renowned hotels."

"Well, it takes even more effort to raise six kids." I shot back. "You had managers, staff and everyone to help you out. Mamma didn't even have her husband."

"Faiz, khuda ke liye, chup kar jao!" Mamma begged me.

*"Faiz, for God's sake, shut up!"