"Why are you taking a simple statement I said yesterday to be so dramatic?" Zara queried Saliha, who was expecting Zara to give her an answer about what she told her.
"And why are you so reluctant to tell me the truth?"
"Listen. I meant what I said—It was only a simple friendship. We met only a few times to get to know each other, and he didn't even show interest in me—its still you,"
Saliha's mood changed. The fact that Aabid showed interest in her and not Zara thrilled her to the bones. How true was this?
Afterall, it was said he first saw her at the airport and proceeded with such a huge move. This one—she believed it since it was Chief Yusuf Loharani that uttered that himself. But this, she wondered how true Zara's words were.
"Are you in support of this? Is he a good person?" Saliha pathetically asked, looking directly into Zara's eyes. Zara looked down, as if reluctant to speak. However, she gave a curt nod and a grin and looked away to her phone.
"Yes. You two will match. He doesn't seem that bad," Zara said. "Not that there's something I know of, I mean,"
Saliha was allowed to settle down and think about what her dad had said to her the day before. He spoke firmly about her and Aabid, and she realized that he had been unaware of the swap all along. He was furious when he discovered the truth. Anxiety cleaved her heart when she remembered he additionally mentioned that President Jalaludeen himself was going to land in Turkey within 3 days. This meant it was finalised and that things would move in a hurry now. She went shopping that morning for makeup and outfits to boost her confidence before meeting with Aabid to finalize the marriage.
-
Lee calmly addressed President Jalaludeen and gave him the most recent information regarding the purchase of those shares.
"What do you mean you were unable to get them?" Jalaludeen inquired, his mood revolving into an unpleasant one.
"Sir, we were unable to figure out who it was since it was online."
"Can you not trace the address or system?"
"Sir, the address said it was done in this company. As for the system, anybody may have used any device to log in since it's commercial operations,"
"Very well." He said with disappointment. Although Jalaludeen announced to abandon the investigation, the loss pained him a great deal.
His personal smartphone called almost an hour later, and he quickly picked it up. Ma'Haleema was there. She phoned in regards to Aabid's arranged date.
"They want to swap the girls?"
[Yes, that is how it looked to be. They wanted to match the other girl, 'Zara' with your son,]
Jalaludeen scoffed. "Chief Yusuf did not tell me anything about this switch." He wondered why Chief Yusuf would keep such an important detail from him, especially since it could affect the outcome of their plan. Jalaludeen decided to confront him about it as soon as possible.
[Perhaps he forgot to?]
"No, I think this is unknown to him. I would consider this woman's talk. As far as we, the men, are concerned, it's Aabid and his daughter, Saliha."
[We are supposed to be on any decision they come to,]
"The man has said nothing to me about this switch." We talk later," and with that, Jalaludeen disconnected the call.
"Glory be to God—this life is full of complications, I swear," he mumbled to himself and stood up to join a meeting on the 3rd floor.
-
"So you're trying to tell me that her relative may have seen you drunk?!" Roared Farhan, completely disappointed by what Aabid was narrating to him. "This is insane, Bidman! What is wrong with you?"
"Chill… I want it that way,"
"Why would you even want it that way? Why? It's a disgrace. The family now knows. In the first place why would you organize a party at the same venue the relative is at? What if she bumps into you like that?"
"What makes you think they'll know?"
The waitress brought them some delectable frozen treats, which distracted Aabid from the story he was telling. The young man continued, "She's not speaking up—that I'm aware of. Zara has a strange personality, especially towards Saliha,"
"Okay. Let's pray she did not hear rumours about your drunken state. Let's hope she didn't hear a thing and therefore no one knows,"
"And even if there are rumours, they cancel the wedding—no one should let their child marry someone like me… I want the rumours to be spiced up such that they would fear to be acquainted with me,"
"You're mad," Farhan frowned and quit scooping the ice-cream. Aabid shrugged as a response and swallowed the dessert, hoping to forget about yester night.
-
The following day, Aabid was informed about this 'arranged lunch' by Aydin (his secretary). It was going to be just him and Saliha. He felt neutral about it, as he knew there weren't two ways to it.
Around 1 pm, he parked at the basement of the popular 5 star restaurant, and lazily strolled to the reservation. Thirty minutes later, Saliha appeared, dressed in a simple black abaya, smiling as she approached.
"Salaam," she greeted, and the waiter pushed a chair backwards for her to sit.
"Wassa'laam" Aabid replied, looking away. His phone vibrated and he realised it was his father, president Jalaludeen himself texting.
[Bu akşam yemeğini mahvetme. İşleri doğru yap yoksa telafi etmek zorunda kalacaksın.
DON'T YOU DARE MESS THIS DATE UP. I HAVE WARNED YOU. DON'T SPOIL MY BUSINESS MATTERS. DO THEM RIGHT,]
He sulked for about 5 seconds and quickly maintained a good composure.
"We finally meet again. I have been very busy, Saliha,"
"Yes- I understand. It's really okay, Agabey,"
Agabey is a word the Turks use for 'brother'. He looked away, after hearing the word. He asked about her work and they moved on to speak about random things. Throughout the conversation, she had only sipped water twice and refused to eat the meal.
"Um… if you don't mind me asking," She gathered the courage to inquire about Zara's unusual action. She was curious as to how far their bond had progressed. "I hope my relative didn't… cause you so much inconvenience?"
Aabid looked up from his plate and eyed at Saliha's hazel orbs. She lowered her gaze after realising she had stared at him far too long probably up to 30 seconds straight.
"Not at all…" he simply stated and led the spoonful of the mushroom risotto meal into his mouth. He understood her curiosity towards what exactly the relationship between him and Zara was and why it drastically ended.
"Did I talk to you in the airport?" she suddenly asked after having another sip.
He looked up, slightly confused. "I don't quite get you…"
"I mean when we first met… when- when you first saw me at the airport."
That never happened. What is she talking about? He asked himself quietly.
"I was wondering if we actually interacted before…" she continued, "I would have never guessed we would be here, agabey—ma sha Allah," she blushed, looking down at her purse while Aabid stared intently at her. He understood that was what she had been fed with—the airport lie.
"Ah—yes… I get you now…" he quickly cleaned his mouth and responded to her question, "Actually, no… we didn't even talk. You were way too busy doing something else," he gave a gentle smile and kept the fork.
Now it was his turn to ask a very important question that rang in his head. "Your relative. Did she tell you I wasn't able to get back to her about the book launching?"
"No…"
" I thought she was annoyed by the fact that I couldn't make it,"
"Oh—no. Not at all. She seemed alright,"
"Ah I see," he thought of another way to enquiry about her, "Is she your twin?"
"No. She's an aunt, I'd say…"
"Your mom's sister?"
"Yes—"
"Ah…" he nodded—that he understood.
"Like Um… sh-"
He cut in, knowing she would be uncomfortable to talk about it. "I know what you mean, no need to talk about it—I don't want to change your mood,"
She went quiet, impressed he already knew that her 'mom' was not her birth mother and that he didn't want to make her feel bad by talking about it.
"However I'm sure she's like a twin to you. You two talk about a lot of things, don't you?"
"Well, yes. Sometimes," she grinned broadly, their eyes meeting.
Now he was sure she knew nothing about what had happened. He quietly said in his head, 'you are unaware of what is going on, young lady—a part of me pities you… however I also have a life to live. What would be of you when you find out the real truth?'
That was his ploy. To give this damsel that sat in front of him, shyly conversing and looking at him respectfully:—a chance to withdraw. That could have been the best opportunity to step-back; if only she had known. If only she knew of what was going on.