Chapter 36: Chapter 36

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" Maryam? Which maryam? " Kalthum blinked her eyes confused

" The same Maryam you know. The one working in the Dantata's house "

Kalthum moved forward to hit him but luckily Faisal quickly dragged her back " You're lying, aunty Maryam will never do that to me. She will never. I know you're only trying to cover up for Basma "

" Calm down kalthum. I think he is saying the truth " Faisal said to her.

She looked at Bashir with teary eyes " but why would she do that to me? I've never done anything to her Faisal. Why? "

Bashir stood from one foot to the other. He was already getting uncomfortable " I don't really know why she wanted that to happen. She only brought business for me and since I was in need of money I couldn't decline it "

Kalthum looked at him in disgust " aren't you ashamed of yourself? "

" Look, I said I was sorry"

Kalthum glared at him " Who is Maryam to you? "

" Maryam is my niece "

" What?? "

Bashir stood from one foot to the other " I think I should leave since you now know who did this to you "

" wait! "

He turned around " Yes"

Faisal walked towards him and before Bashir could understand what was going on, he got smacked in the face so hard that it was going to leave a mark.

" ouch " Bashir winced loudly as he held his face " why would you punch me like that? "

" That's for disrespecting my woman. Next time ,you'll think twice before doing this ever again. Get out of my face now "

He didn't need to be told twice, he scrambled away immediately.

Kalthum was speechless the whole time. Why would aunty maryam do that to her? She was always good to her, Kalthum really want to know why she did it but how will she ?especially now that she isn't working in the Dantata house again.

" Are you alright? " Faisal asked in concern.

She nodded " yes"

" So what now? "

She looked at him with her mind made up" I really need to face Aunty maryam. I want to know why she did this to me. I just don't understand why"

" Can I ask you a question Kalthum? "

She nodded " Go ahead "

" Why would you think it's your sister that sent him to snap those pics. I don't understand " he asked with a confused face. Why will her sister want to harm her?

She shrugged " There are somethings that a left unsaid . You don't know the real truth between my sister and i"

"What does that mean?"

Kalthum heaved a sigh " That will be a story for another time "

He nodded in understanding " ok then " he looked at her skeptically " so shall we now go to my house? "

" What??! "

Faisal looked at her confused " you said you want to confront maryam right? then I said let's go"

" yes ..yes I know what you said. How am I going to do that if she is at your house? Have you forgotten that I don't work there anymore? You drove me away, remember "

He was pained by her words " I'm sorry kalthum. Please let me make it up to you. I want to help find out the truth too"

She shook her head " why does it matter? It's not as if it's of any use to you. It's my problem and I'll deal with it my own way. The only thing I want from you is for you to leave me the hell alone "

" please Kalthum " he looked pained

" I'm serious Faisal about what I said earlier. I really want to move on with my life without you in it. I still have a long way to go and I just don't want any man problem to be a hinder in it right now "

" But I'm sorry, I'm truly sorry . Yes I made a mistake and I want to correct it all. Give me another chance please "

Kalthum shook her head " I can't "

" But why? "

" You've hurt me enough Faisal and I'm not in for another heartbreak. I just can't "

" I know you still love me kalthum the same way i love you too. We can make this work out between us" he tried holding her hand but she moved backwards

" Then why didn't you think about the love you had for me before you broke up with me. Why didn't you feel any remorse towards me that day. Are you sure your love for me is real? "

He nodded " it's real,It's totally real. I can't leave without you Kalthum. It'll kill me if I see you in someone else's arms. Please don't  do this to me. If you want time, I'll give you all the whole time in the world to think things through "

" I can't. I'm sorry " she turned around to leave

Faisal quickly grabbed her arms " Don't do this please. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't love me anymore then I can finally let you go"

Kalthum's eyes were set on the ground. She couldn't look him in the eyes.

" you see, you can't even do that ."

" leave my arm Faisal " she glared at him " let me go. Just leave me alone. "

" Kalthum please " he held her face

" Just stop it, stop making it look as if I'm the wicked person here Faisal. You keep saying you've changed but truly have you really changed? "

" of course I'm a changed person, believe me "

" What if I said the incident at the hotel was true ,would  you still want to be with me? "

Hearing this, he released his hold on her " what? "

Kalthum shook her head then smiled " You see, you don't love me enough Faisal. Your action now says it. "

" No wait Kalthum, that's not what I meant. What you said actually came as a surprise to me "

She folded her arms " so answer the question then. Will you be willing to be with me if I told you that the incident at the hotel was real? Will you be with me Faisal, if I told you that I truly slept with Bashir ?"

" I... I.. I

She chuckled softly " This is why I said we can't be together anymore Faisal. What if in the future we have a fight, won't you use this to insult me?Will you be able to forget that I slept with Bashir? "

" But...but ..

" No but Faisal.This can't work anymore . We can't be together " she gave him one last look then left him standing alone confused.

***

" God you scared me when I saw your message Kalthum.What happened ?" Habib asked as he drove his car. He received a message from Kalthum when he was about to sleep, telling him to come over to the hospital to pick her up.

Habib thought something bad had happened to her. He quickly put on his clothes then drove down to the hospital only to see her standing at the hospital gate waiting for him.

Kalthum heaved a sigh " I met Faisal" she said instead.

He looked at her with wide eyes " what did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Please tell me so I can teach him a lesson he will never forget "

" Eyes on the road habib. I'm not ready to die " she shouted in fear. He almost hit a bike man.

" Oops sorry "

She shook her head at him with her hand on her chest " let's just get home and I'll tell you "

" OK, good idea"

They finally entered Kalthum's street. He parked the car at the front of their gate.

" so tell me "

She exhaled loudly " He asked for forgiveness "

" First,tell me why you're at the hospital by this time of the night? "

She checked the time on her phone screen " it's just 8pm ya Habib "

" yeah and it's late for a young lady like you to be roaming outside by this time "

She scratched the bridge of her nose slightly " Why are you sounding like my father? "

" That's because I'm your father " he joked

She giggled " you're not serious. "

" so tell me everything "

" Well... We received a call from Umm Rasheed telling us that Basma was sick and my mom and I had to rush to the hospital "

Habib's ears perked up at this " hope she is feeling better now "

Kalthum nodded " yeah. She has typhoid and is already on treatment "

He released a breath " Thank God "

Kalthum gave him a skeptical look. The way he breathe out sound as if he cares alot for Basma. She hope it isn't what she is thinking? She decide not to think too much about it.

" Where is your mom now? " he asked

" She is going to spend the night with Basma at the hospital. This is why i called you cos I don't know who else to call. I needed a ride home and also an escape from Faisal "

He nodded in understanding " so what does he want?"

She fiddles with her nails " he apologized and also want to be with me again "

" and what was your reply?"

" No of course " she said like it was something he should know too

" Why No? "

She gave habib a confused look " Why you asking me that when you already know why? "

Habib shrugged " I want to hear it from your mouth. So tell me why?"

She looked at habib boldly and said " because I don't love him? "

Habib smiled softly " why did you say it like a question Kalthum. This shows that you aren't sure of what you feel for Faisal. You're still confused Kalthum. You still love Faisal "

" I don't " she insisted but her eyes said otherwise

" yes you do "

" But I don't want to "

" That's up to you Kalthum. That's a decision you yourself can make. It's best you decide whether you want to be with him or not "

" I don't want to be with him. I don't need him in my life and I made him understood that " she pressed on

" Only time will tell if he grab or not. What if he comes to you tomorrow with tears in his eyes begging you to accept him back, will you do that Kalthum? Will you accept him back? "

She hesitated for a second " No of course "

He shook his head " You're still not sure "

She rubbed her face " How can I forget him

Ya habib. I can't pretend anymore that I don't feel anything whenever he is close. He still makes my heart beat ya habib. How can I forget him "

" I'll say it one more time Kalthum,that's up to you . No one can make that decision for you , it's all left for you" he adviced

" That's the thing ya Habib. Whenever he is close to me, I want him out of my life but anytime he isn't near I begin to think about him and i hate myself for that. I really need to work on myself"

Habib chuckled " Don't fight yourself too hard about it. Only time will tell if you'll end up with my brother or not but the advice  I'll give to you is that you should also go out there ,find yourself, avoid any relationship for now, concentrate on your studies, don't rush things. You're still young Kalthum and you have alot to learn, don't let my dumbass of a brother be a hinder to you. Don't let him be the reason why you'll regret in the future. What will be will always be "

She nodded " This really mean alot to me. Thank you"

He smirked " That's why I'm always here for you. "

She grinned widely " and I can't exchange you with anything in this world "

" Same here "

" Before I forget, there is something you should know "

" what is it? " he asked

" Faisal and I saw Bashir earlier and he confessed to us. He told us who sent him to take those photos "

" Really? Who is it ?"

" It's Maryam "

" Who is Maryam?" he asked confused

" The same maryam you normally see me with in the kitchen. The one working in your house "

" What??!" his eyes were wide open " How is that even possible? "

She shrugged " I don't even know. I'm also confused. I really need to confront her, I want to know the whole truth. "

" and here we thought it was your sister Basma and my mom"

"  But something tells me that maryam isn't the only one involved. Just because she is the person that sent Bashir doesn't mean she wasn't ordered by someone to do it. Why would she waste an amount of money just to see me suffer? Someone else must be involved too"

" Do you think she was taking orders from my mom"

" I really don't know ya habib. But I'm suspecting something like that " she shrugged

" what do you think we should do now? "

" We need to find a way to get Maryam out of the house so I can talk to her without anyone around. If I was to go to your house, do you think your mom will allow me to talk to anybody?I don't want any drama. It's best I confront her outside the house "

He nodded in understanding " Maybe I should tell Umm Rasheed about this. She is the only one that can help. Umm rasheed can help send her to the supermarket tomorrow then I'll contact you to tell you about it so that you can follow her"

" yeah that'll be a good idea"

" just wait for my call tomorrow "

She nodded " Alright thanks alot "

" You're always welcome "

A thought came to her mind " I've been thinking " she began

" About? " he stared at her confused

" you"

" What about me?" he asked with a brow raised.

" Well it's about your love life "

He wiggled his brow at her " are you planning to dump my brother for me "

She looked at him in disgust " First off, I'm not with your brother and secondly, how can I date my brother, ewww"

" Hey, I was only joking. You don't need to make me look like a bad guy " he scowled playfully.

Kalthum smiled " I knew you were"

Habib turned serious " so what do you want to know about my love life? "

" Well, firstly I really want to apologize for always taking advantage of you "

He raised a brow " in what way if I may ask? "

" I always bring my problems to you without even thinking whether you're busy . For Example, like what is happening now. I just called you and here you are helping me out with my problems "

He chuckled " is that why you are feeling guilty? "

She fiddles with her nails " yes "

" Then you better stop feeling guilty because I love helping you out in any possible way I can"

" Aw, thanks "

" You're always welcome "

" Back to the important topic" she clasped her hands

" Which is? "

" Your love life. Have you met someone I should know about? " she faced him hoping his reply will be yes.

Habib shook his head slightly then smile " why do you want to know? "

" please tell me. I really want to know my in-law " she was excited to know

He heaved a sigh " yes and no "

She looked at him quizzically " what do you mean by Yes and No? "

" Well, yes I've found someone I really like and No I haven't told her what I feel about her. " he shrugged

" Oh......why haven't you told her then ?"

He rubbed his hand " she has some problems right now and I don't want to add more to it "

She raised a brow at him playfully " I hope you're not talking about me?"

He laughed " Subhanallah, No!.. She is someone else I promise "

Kalthum giggled " better "

" Well now that you know I have someone, am i free to go home? I'm feeling sleepy" he asked as he rubbed his eyes

She gasped " so I'm boring to you? "

" No! I didn't mean it that way. I just have this meeting as early as possible tomorrow and I want to wake up early that is it " he explained

" OK then.... One last question before you go "

He groaned " What is it? "

" is she someone I know? " she wiggled her brows

The question caught him by surprise " what?? "

" You heard what I said so answer "

" I... I... Oh look at that, I've a message " he quickly brought his phone out of his pocket and pretends to read a message " it's from my friend, it says he is outside my house. I need to be on my way now kalthum "

She knew it was a lie but she doesn't want to press " OK "

" Alright, Good night "

She got out of the car. Before she could close the door she said " oh, don't worry I'll make sure to greet Basma for you, I'm sure you'll want me to do that right? " She  closed the door then wink at him before going into her compound with a satisfied smile on her face.

Her hunch was right after all .