Part 3
Aahil and Sanam's house (Ibrahim Mansion) - Present Day
Seher got out of the car and almost ran into the hall where Sanam was waiting for her.
"API..." She yelled as she hugged Sanam. In her haste to hug her she almost made Sanam fall.
"Careful Seher" said the ever cautious Aahil. Sanam was laughing as she hugged her sister back.
"Seher...I missed you"!
"Love you Api..."!
Aahil watched on indulgently as his wife and sister in law greeted each other. The love between the sisters was obvious. They had this connection. "Twin telepathy" is what Seher called it. Despite not having grown up together, they still had a connection that went deeper than simply a sibling bond. I guess sharing the same uterus for 9 months would do that to you! Sometimes Aahil envied their closeness. Despite having two sisters, he never had that sort of connection with them. Rehan had always been closer to him than Nazia and Shazia, and now even they had a certain distance between them. Rehan had spent the past nearly 3 years in Mumbai. So of course he had been physically separated from him. They had met every few months due to work of course. He had either gone to Mumbai, or Rehan had come to Bhopal. But since the night they found out what Tanveer had done, and the fact that she was Rehan's biological Mother, their relationship had never been the same. He felt Rehan held back from him, more than he himself did.
He held no grudge against Rehan, coz he knew why he had kept Tanveer's confidence. She WAS his Mother after all. Even he had found it hard to totally hate her, even after knowing how she ruined his life. He had loved her for so long; just turning it into hate had been hard. He had been devastated. Hurt. He had been trying to cope with the reality of what he found out. That it was Tanveer who killed his Father, not him. But even still, when they got the call to say she had been shot while trying to escape jail, he had felt a twinge. When she died two days later in the hospital, he had felt pain. He had been depressed for days, trying to cope with his feelings. If not for Sanam, he didn't know how he would have lived through those nightmare weeks. Rehan had lost his Mother too. They had both suffered. That is why he could never hate Rehan. In a strange way, they were actually brothers. They had had the same Mother after all. He didn't even remember his biological Mother. Tanveer was the only Mother he ever knew. Today, when he thought of her, he didn't feel that terrible pain he had felt at the start. It was sort of a dull pain that just lingered. He had made peace with his feelings for Tanveer. But had Rehan done the same? He didn't know. He had tried to discuss the topic with him a few times, but he had shut it down. Now it was an unspoken closed topic between them.
"Api...you look amazing. I mean you're not fat at all"!
"Thanks Seher", said Sanam sarcastically.
"No I mean it in a good way. I know we see each other on FaceTime, but I still thought you know, that you might look a bit different in person? But no! You have like this full on cliched pregnancy glow! Look at your tummy. It's so cute. It's not that big at all!"
"I am only 5 months Seher. Wait a few more months and I will look like a balloon I am sure"!
"The cutest and hottest balloon ever"! said Aahil smiling.
"Aww...Jeej...look at you all buttering up Api"!
"I'm not buttering. My wife is gorgeous, and she always will be"!
"I agree she is gorgeous. After all, she looks exactly like me"!
"Sali Sahiba...ever the humble one"!
"Hey if you got it, flaunt it! That's what I always say"!
Sanam shook her head and smiled.
After Seher had freshened up, she and Sanam had a chat in her room. It was so good to be back in India. Sanam asked her what her plans were. Did she intent to stay for good?
"I have not decided Api. I will of course stay till you have the baby, and spend some time with the baby. I also have to think of what I want to do with my time. I know we have money. But being a 'lady of leisure' is not my thing! I know you have so much work. Your charities and the two restaurants and all. Maybe I can help you?"
"Yes sure. But I think Aahil wanted you to get involved in this Hotel project we have going. Once you have a bit of a break of course!"
"Of course I will help Jeej. But I also want to do something for the orphanage here. You know I used to love the kids there"!
"Yes. Rehan is still very involved with them. Even from Mumbai he used to send cheques and I know every time he is here, he goes there to visit"!
"OK", said Seher non-committaly.
Sanam saw the look on her face as soon as Rehan's name was mentioned and the way her expression became closed. Sanam knew that even now, Seher was not over what had happened with the whole Rehan / Tanveer chapter. They never talked about it, coz a few times she tried to bring it up, Seher had shut her down. She knew Seher just didn't want to talk about it. She was not one to push someone into doing something they didn't want to. She respected her sister's need to stay mum about the issue. Personally she didn't think it was a good idea. But you can't force someone to do something they were not ready for. So she stayed away from that topic.
However, Sanam could not quite shake the feeling there was a bit more to this topic than Seher was letting on. She knew Seher had hung out with Rehan a bit during that time. Maybe she took it hard that he had hidden the fact that he was Tanveer's son from them? Even she had taken it very hard. He had been her friend for so long and she had trusted him and really cared about him. But a part of her had understood why he had done it. So had Aahil. Aahil to this day struggled with the Tanveer chapter. He hated what she had done, but he had had tears in his eyes when he found out she had died. His nightmares had got worse during those weeks directly after Tanveer's death, and he had practically had a strangle hold on Sanam every time he went to bed those days. All night she would hold on to him. It had been a terrible time. She had cried for her parents, and him for his lost childhood. His abusive father, his mother he could not remember and his step mother who betrayed him. How different today felt from that time. They had all come a long way. Now she and Aahil were having their own child, and she prayed every day that their child would never have to face what they had.
After chatting about everyone in London and Dubai and everything that Seher had been up to, Sanam was feeling tired. She excused herself from Seher.
"I better go now Seher. I'm feeling tired"!
"Make sure you rest when you get to your room Api...no fooling around with Jeej"!
"Seher...tum bhi na..."
"You know it's true Api. If you could resist Jeej, you won't be in the state you're in now!"
"Teri toh..." said Sanam, throwing a cushion at Seher from the couch in the room as she was heading to the door!
"The truth hurts Api... Have fun!', said Seher, laughing as Sanam left the room. She heard Sanam also laughing as she closed the door behind her.
Maybe it was the time difference, but Seher was still feeling very much awake. She walked over to the window of her room and looked outside. She saw the Moon. It was full. What a beautiful night? She remembered another night like this one, when she had been on the rooftop balcony of the house looking at the Moon. Her Badi Ammi had told her that her parents had loved to spend time on that balcony. That they had always had chats there and Abbu had drunk his bitter black coffee and Ammi her sweet creamy one. Badi Ammi had told her that they were so different, but so in love. She had taken a coffee to the rooftop and thought of her parents. She had thought of how they would have been out there and drinking their coffee and chatting. Then suddenly she had felt a presence. She had turned around and seen Rehan.
"Hi" he had said.
"Hi" she had said back, and then she had just gone on to look at the Moon.
"Beautiful night right"?
"Yes". Again Seher had not really said much. Rehan had taken that as a que that maybe he should leave."Look...I didn't mean to disturb you. I will leave you to it" he had said, turning to leave.
She had then stopped him, telling him that she had no intended to be rude. Despite herself, she had found herself confiding in him about why she was on the rooftop. He had that sort of face. He had a still and steady quality about him, which encouraged trust. She told him about her parents, and how they had always loved to spend time looking at the Moon and chatting as per her Badi Ammi. (she had had to take caution not to mention that the Balcony they used to stand on was the same one. No one knew what she and Sanam knew, that their parents used to own this house).
That had been the start of her friendship with Rehan. In the coming weeks she had confided more and more in him. She had shown him a side of herself she had kept well hidden. The emotional side. The side that thought of her parents and cried. How foolish she had been to trust him? The whole time he had been hiding the fact that he was that murderous Tanveer's son from everyone. Suddenly her thoughts were depressing her. She went back into the room and heard her phone beep. Zain had updated his Facebook. Some new photo from some party he was at. Seher checked the photo and laughed. She then saw he had written on her wall.
"Wish you were here Golden Girl'!". She smiled at the line. That was what Zain called her "Golden girl", coz he knew her name used to be Suneheri, as in "Golden"! Suddenly she wished she was there too. Zain always made her laugh. He was crazy. Even though Ayaan Chachu didn't particularly approve of Zain, she knew that he had actually been a lot like him when he was young. A party boy who liked to ride bikes. She found out from her aunt that her Mum and Ayaan Chachu had had a similar friendship that she had Zain shared. "Mona and Rabaart" is what they had called each other! Just like 'Golden girl' and 'Zany'. (This is what she called Zain). She was just looking through her Facebook when she saw some new photos on someone else's profile.
She had added Rehan to her Facebook years ago, when they were spending all that time together. After everything that happened, she had never contacted him in any way. But he had still been on her Facebook friend list and she had never bothered blocking him. After all, he was not a stranger. He was connected to her family. He was Haya's brother, and Aahil's adopted brother. So she had drawn the line at blocking him on Facebook. She almost never looked at his profile and stayed away from it. Maybe being back in India, tempted her to look again. Suddenly a photo she saw caught her attention.
There was a picture of Rehan with a girl. "Sonia and I at Oberoi" it said. The girl was wearing a short yellow strapless dress and had shoulder length wavy hair. She was pretty. Seher had to concede. Rehan had his arm around her and she was looking up at him smiling. There were a few photos taken at the same place. Then there were a few other pictures where they were wearing casual clothes. Looks like it was taken at a barbeque and then some at a beach. There were some other people in the pics too. But this Sonia chick seem to feature quite heavily in Rehan's pics. Maybe she was his girlfriend? Despite herself, Seher felt a sting, but she quickly suppressed it. "Why should I care"? She told herself. He can have ten girlfriends for all she cared. Wonder if this chick knew his Mother had been in jail for murder? 'Would wipe the smile off her face for sure"! she thought cattily. "That is not fair Seher. HE is not a killer, his mother was" she told herself. Yes he was not a killer, and no he should not have to pay for what Tanveer did. But she could still not help feeling rather bitter about the whole thing. It was time to go to bed. This whole topic was too depressing. With that she went and had a quick shower and went to bed.
Dining Room - Ibrahim Mansion
It had been 2 days since she had come back, and today was Friday. Everyone had come over for dinner. Haya, Faiz and their daughter Najma. Badi Ammi lived with both Sanam and also Haya periodically. At the moment, she was living with Haya because she wanted to spend time with little Najma. Faiz and Haya were back living at old Khan Villa. They had brought back the house from Munisa. Munisa and Shoiab had moved to Riyadh to live. That is where Shoiab worked anyway. Good riddance. They had offered them enough money to make sure they sold the house to them. Haya had wanted to bring up little Najma in the same house her Mother Najma had pretty much grown up. Aahil's sisters were living in the States at the moment with their Dad's sister. Shazia was studying and Nazia was getting treatment for her condition. After everything that happened, even they wanted to stay away from India for a while. Even though gossip had died down now, at the time of Tanveer's arrest, that is all anyone in Bhopal had talked about and the story spread all over the country too. Given the prominence of the Ibrahim family and the fact that Aahil's company was well known in business circles, tongues had been wagging everywhere. Seher didn't blame the girls for wanting to get away from it all. Even Aahil and Sanam had considered relocating overseas, but had decided that they were not going to let Tanveer run them out of their own country. She had done enough damage as it was.
The family where chatting and Aahil brought up the subject of Seher working for Ibrahim Holdings, (Aahil's company). He was talking about how they had a new Hotel project and that they wanted someone to handle the PR side of things. Seher being outgoing, and with her Business diploma, could really put her skills to good use. She had been excited hearing about it, and had agreed that she will be happy to be a part of it. Aahil had then told her that the project was originally handled by Neil Singh, one of their Senior Project Managers. But at the moment he was overseas. So now the project was being overseen by Rehan.
"Rehan"?
"Yeah. He is now back from Mumbai. He does spend a lot of time there still. But he is based here at the moment. So he is handling it"!
"So does that mean I will be reporting to Rehan"?
"Yes, Sali Sahiba. I know having 'a boss' of sorts is not your style, but that is how the hierarchy on a project works", said Aahil smiling. Sanam noticed that Seher had gone a bit pale when she found out she would be working with Rehan. Essentially for him. This news was not sitting well with Seher.
"Isn't there like another project I could work on Jeej"?
"Nothing this interesting Seher. I mean this is the most important one we have going, and at the moment most of the resources are on this one. Also, this is the one closest to home. I am sure you don't want to go out of town? Defeats the purpose of you coming back right?"
"Don't worry Seher. I am sure Bhaijaan wont be a mean boss" said Haya smiling at her.
"Oh God" thought Seher. "I have to remember that I can't be so obvious about my reluctance to spend time with Rehan in front of her". She really needed to watch what she said. She decided to not discuss it anymore. Maybe she will speak to Aahil privately later.
"Ya Allah... you really have a long life ahead of you Bhaijaan" said Faiz who had been standing away from the main dining area taking a call.
Everyone looked up and saw Rehan standing in the hallway. Seher's gaze followed the rest of the eyes at the table and looked at the man standing in the hallway. He was carrying an overnight bag and was wearing dark pants with a white sweater and a tan colored leather jacket. He had stubble still covering his face. His hair was shorter though, and he seemed to have a certain aura of confidence and authority around him. His eyes looked serious and he looked a bit darker than he had been when she last saw him. He looked even more handsome than before. 4 years ago, Rehan had a boyish charm. He had seemed young and sweet. But this guy didn't seem that way. In short, Rehan Imran Qureshi looked grown up. Yes she had seen some pictures of him. But that had not prepared her for the reality at all.
"Rehan"...said Aahil. "I thought you were coming home tomorrow"?
"The conference ended late afternoon. I caught the evening flight back Aahil bhai"!
"Have you had dinner Rehan"? asked Sanam.
"I had something at the airport in Mumbai Sanam. I am not hungry. Thanks".
"Airport food?" said Sanam with a shudder.
"Come and join us Bhaijaan, and tell us all about Mumbai and Soni..."
"Not now Haya...I am pretty tired. I think I will go to bed", said Rehan, cutting Haya off before she could complete the sentence.
"It's only 9.30 Bhaijaan" said Faiz. "Come and hang out with us"!
"Yeah and how rude are you Bhaijaan? Cant you see we have a guest of honour"? said Haya.
At that, for the first time since he walked in, Rehan looked over at Seher. Their eyes met and Rehan held her gaze for a second.
"Hello Seher".
"Rehan".
"How was your flight"? he asked politely.
"Good. Thanks", was all she said.
"Everyone, I really am tired. I don't think I will be very good company tonight. I better get going", he said. Turning to leave he turned around and addressed Haya.
"I will come over tomorrow Haya."
"Sure Bhaijaan".
"Goodnight" he said in the general direction of the crowd. But for a moment, his eyes lingered on Seher. It was so fleeting that no one noticed. But someone had. It was Aahil.
To be continued...
So folks that was part 3. Setting the stage for what is to come. Please do let me know how you are liking this! Will try and update again in the weekend.
Thanks
Mandy.
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