CHAPTER 15 - OUT IN THE OPEN

After six weeks of her marital bliss, Cyra started noticing Ahmed's few suspicious traits that she hadn't known before. He would occasionally disappear from their room and wander the streets, even when a car was at home. Cyra and her mother insisted he uses it at his will, but he often would not. Cyra's qualms grew stronger when one day, her load truck driver said he saw Ahmed using the telephone booth on his way. Cyra, impatiently waiting for him to return because it was already late at night, only became more irritable after the driver's statement. When she inquired Ahmed regarding the same on his return, he pretended to have been talking to his office and that the call was urgent.

'Ahmed, we have a telephone at home. You can use it whenever you want to. Why do you want to use the one on the roadside?'

'Oh ho, Cyra. I had to make a call that would go on for a few minutes. And you might get important calls at home regarding your businesses. I didn't want to cause any trouble with that.' But in truth, Ahmed did not want his parents or Aliza to have Cyra's residence number. They could call him back anytime, and his life would become miserable. He wanted to take this as far as possible until he confessed to either of them. He knew it was inevitable, but he was giving himself the time to be prepared and to face them both. But did Ahmed forget they still had his address in case of an emergency?

Cyra learned to adjust to Ahmed's unreasonable quirks because she loved him. But she was not so blind enough in love to let him go without an explanation. The next day, she got them both a pair of mobile phones and gifted one to Ahmed. He was astounded by Cyra's gift because he had always wanted one, and long ago, he also wanted to gift one to Aliza, whose face now is a distant memory to him. He had been avoiding going back home after his marriage to Cyra. He said he was allocated to a project that might take months to complete, so he wouldn't be coming home until he finished it. Everyone except Aliza took the news well.

Cyra gifted Ahmed in goodwill to make his job easier, but isn't she also clever? Apart from making his work easier, she knew she could monitor his calls when dialled through his mobile phone, and he would also be at home while calling. Ahmed also stayed overly cautious of not calling home around Cyra or his mother and not storing their number as that might give him away quickly. Ahmed moved into Cyra's room, and the portion where Ahmed stayed as a tenant became a full-time warehouse for Cyra's collection. With improvement in her mother's general condition, Cyra had less to worry about her and more about Ahmed and her business. She regretted being busier with her job and not being around him all the time as every wife should be. Her business demanded her full efforts. She had to look for designs, stitch them and finish the little details. She was not trying to be clingy to her husband because she could never be. She was raised to be independent, but given her mother's past, she wanted to ensure she did not suffer a similar fate. People were watching her and ready to criticise her at the slightest of her life's misery, and Cyra did not want that to happen ever.

Late at night after work, she found Ahmed sound asleep when she returned to her room. She changed into her pyjamas and admired his face in his peaceful sleep. She combed his hair with her fingers and patted his head gently. She noticed his phone lying beneath his pillow, and Cyra hated the habit of sleeping with the phone. She took it away from beneath and walked across the bed to place it on his desk. Just as she placed it down, the phone became brighter than ever and went off. She noticed that the phone was set at mute and there had been 14 missed calls from a landline number she didn't recognise. Her gut feeling tempted her to pick up his phone and dial back the number while her heart said to move on and rest peacefully. Cyra was saved from the disgrace of working things behind his back when the phone blinked again with the same number appearing on the screen.

After contemplating for some time, she finally picked it up.

'Hello, Ahmed. Assalamu alaikum. I wanted to talk about Aliza. Are you free now?'

'Hello, Walaikum Salam. Ahmed is asleep. May I know who is this and if I may ask, could you call later in case it’s not an emergency?'

'I am Ahmed's mother, Rabiya, speaking. Who is this I am speaking to, and what are you doing in my son's room late this time?'

Cyra's heart raced at the word mother because Ahmed had never mentioned his parents being alive. He had told them he had lost his family long ago and only has Cyra's family now. She felt a panging sensation in her stomach and thought her world was falling apart. She felt that if Ahmed could lie about his parents, what else had he lied about?

'I am sorry. I think you have called the wrong number.' Cyra cut the call immediately, hoping it was the truth. She switched off the mobile phone, placed it on the desk, and returned to Ahmed. She tried to wake him up, saying she wanted to speak with him.

'Arey, you always do this. We can speak tomorrow when I wake up. Sleep now, Aliza, for God's sake.' Cyra felt like a thunderbolt had struck her. Aliza? Who is Aliza now? She wondered. She sensed that something was amiss. She always thought she knew Ahmed well, but now she sees layers of him that she doesn't know existed. She held her eyes shut, hoping for sleep but struggled. Ahmed was in his peaceful world without any signs of remorse. After what felt like an eternity, Cyra fell asleep, hoping someone would tell her everything was a dream as the sun showed up.

To be continued…

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