The sun made a hasty retreat and the night eagerly took over, painting the canvas of the sky with dark colours. The lazy light of the moon and the silent twinkling of the stars, although painting a beautiful picture, weren't enough to banish the dread from Aamir's chest.

Dread caused by a single phone call.

He knew he was all alone at the office. His secretary had reminded him an hour ago before leaving herself that he could go home and that everyone else had already left. Yet he remained. He'd much rather do this here, in his office, than at home where thanks to Fariha's arrogant supremacist behavior, Mayra had received yet another setback.

Khalid had called him in immediately after, told him of everything that had transpired especially Faiza's comment. That made him even more determined to stick around here. There was no place else he'd rather be in this moment, for he was merely minutes away from finding out the truth.

Truth that would clear everything up, help Mayra and him heal and finally start afresh. Truth that was being brought by Zaheer, as he called him up and informed himme that he was coming. That was the dreadful phone call.

It was necessary to uncover the truth, he knew it. For unless the whole of the murky past was cleared it was forever going to remain as a wedge between them.

He leaned back in his chair as shut his eyes. It was so unfair. So unfair that everyone around the world had normal weddings, had normal married lives filled with love and passion, care and understanding, occasional bickering and fighting, and then making up with love. It was so unfair that Aamir had been cheated of it all, that Mayra had been denied all that she had every right to expect.

He was tired of living in the past and feeling guilty all the time. He knew it was quite selfish of him and that he should continue to feel guilty for Mayra's suffering but he just wanted the sadness to be over.

He had gotten through paralysis and survived, Mayra had gotten through a near-death experience and survived, surely there was a sign in the sequence of those occurrences that showed that they were meant to be together. That they were meant to find their "happily ever after".

He hated feeling so out of control. He was a CEO, he was the man in-charge, he was the one who held all the strings and had complete control of his life. His professional life, he amended in his head, because his personal life had never been under his control. He had been manipulated and cheated into believing the false charges levelled against Mayra and into hating her.

But he had control over one thing for which there was no excuse - his behavior towards her. He should've known better, he should've been more open to the possibilities. More importantly, he shouldn't have been so quick to judge, he shouldn't have been so determined to view her in the light he did.

What did that leave her with? What could such horrible accusations and daily routines of insult and humiliation leave her with?

Considering from Mayra's perspective, through the eyes of a sheltered and extremely modest young girl who didn't have any friends except the one friend who she considered her sister, and who went on to deceive her, a girl who was so shy and was such an introvert, a girl who could do all the work and claim no credit, who was so nice that it more often than not worked to her own disadvantage, what did the two years leave her with?

He slammed his fist on the table and rose, walked over to glass wall that provided a magnificent view of the beautiful sunset.

It left her with him, Aamir the Monster, Aamir the Abuser, Aamir the Beast. It left her with no confidence and no sense of self-belief. She dressed up everyday and made sure she looked clean and presentable, not nice or beautiful, because she had accepted that the one man she would dress up for would never find her beautiful. She looked at herself in the mirror but like normal women she didn't care if she looked pretty, all she cared for was if her hair was completely tucked away lest her husband scream at her. She kept his room near and clean, his things in order, his files in place, because it was his room, and she never tried to add her own little feminine touches to it because she knew what the outcome would be if Aamir walked in from work and found a pink comforter on the bed, or frilly cushion covers or flowery curtains.

A knock sounded on the door and Aamir replied without turning, "it's pointless to knock Zaheer. There's just you and me here."

The lawyer, adept at reading postures and body language day in and day out guessed instantly that his friend was very stressed. He walked in and made himself comfortable on Aamir's couch and said, "do you have any coffee?"

Aamir turned his head slightly in the his direction and smiled, "I should've known, call a lawyer even for a chat and he'd want his bloody coffee."

Zaheer scoffed, "you're as big a coffee addict as I am, you pretentious jerk! You drink twice as much as I do."

After a moment's hesitation, Zaheer added, "but trust me, you're going to need it when I tell you what I've found out."

Aamir cleared his face of all emotion and walked over to his sofa and sat down. A part of him was dying to know the truth, a part of him was dreading it. Torn between the conflicting emotions he nodded towards his friend and urged him to start.

"I have confirmed reports that a man named Jaffar Qasim is trying to get in touch with your cousin Faizah Irfan. He has been doing so via phone calls - forty-seven to be precise - that are made either in the afternoons or at night. She answers his calls sometimes and other times she doesn't but either way their conversations don't last more than a few seconds. The maximum they've spoken is for one minute and thirty six seconds.

"There has been no communication via text messages, emails or other modes of communication and they haven't met each other so far. I haven't been able to gather exact information as to the reason of the calls but with the other information I have we can make a guess."

He paused and looked at Aamir only to find his face emotionless, but his eyes were blazing with fury. "What else have you managed to find out?"

Zaheer looked at him and knowing what his reaction was going to be said, "Jaffar was behind your car accident that led to your paralysis."

"What!?"

Aamir sprang up in fury, red-faced and his hands in tight fists.

"Its true. I tracked his bank account payments and found out that the amount of two and a half lakh rupees were withdrawn from his account, one day before your accident and one day after, totally amounting to five lakh. I had my investigators track down the car that smashed into your car and subsequently the driver and he confessed, only after my investigators promised that he wouldn't be handed over to the police, that he was hired to seriously injure you - not to kill you - and that two payments of two and a half lakhs were made to him, as an advance and then as a final payment."

"THAT BASTARD!" Aamir roared and punched a wall.

"Aamir sit down please. There's more and it's not good."

Aamir turned to look at him incredulously and asked, "there's more? What the hell do you mean there's more?"

"The driver said that while you were not to be killed and only injured, Jaffar did want someone killed."

"Who?" Aamir asked, though he knew he could guess the answer.

"Mayra."

Aamir stared at him, shocked into silence and Zaheer continued, "the driver confessed all the details. He said that Jaffar had given specific directions that you would be returning from America that day after signing the deal with Mark International, which by the way means that the bastard's been tracking your activities for quite a long time. Anyway, the driver was told to wait outside of the airport complex and hit your car a little later after you left the airport to return home. Apparently the assumption was made that Mayra would naturally go to receive you and the car accident would be well placed with your arrival being late at night and all. But Mayra never went to pick you up, and you got caught in that accident."

"Mayra and I had had a huge.. uh.. situation regarding that Mark International project and she was very upset with me, which is why she didn't come. Thank God, she didn't!"

"Yes, but you got caught and this was around the same time when Jaffar was seen loitering around your house and I remember vaguely that you had told me that you suspected Mayra was planning something behind your back. Well that turns out to be untrue because she couldn't have planned her own death as she was the primary target. So all your fears of her wanting to elope with that asshole are unfounded and also your asking for divorce is also, in light of this information, baseless."

Zaheer let the information sink in, watching quietly as Aamir sunk into his chair and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. It was a lot to take in and he knew it. But the big blow was yet to come.

Zaheer hated the knowledge that his best friend had been an abusive husband and he hated seeing Mayra all scared and quiet and fearful every time he saw her at Aamir's house or at some party. Now he knew that Aamir had been feeling guilty and regretted his actions. He only wanted then to find their happiness and for everything to be sorted.

But it was far from sorted.

"There's.. umm.. more."

Furious, Aamir retorted, "What the hell is 'more'?"

"Aamir," Zaheer started with extreme care of how he chose his words. "After your accident and that you were admitted to the hospital, Mayra was always by your side. You said that this is what your family told you. Is that correct?"

Aamir was confused. "Yeah, why?"

Zaheer knew he had to just say it. "Aamir, what happened then and what'd happening now, seems to me, is directly connected."

"What do you mean?"

"Look. So far all the information I have reported had everything to do with three individuals. Mayra, Jaffar and you. But there is a fourth person involved."

"Faizah." Aamir whispered.

"Yes, Faizah. You must remember Aamir this is the same girl who wanted to marry you for the longest time and saw Mayra as the woman who stole her man. Obviously she was jealous and she tried to make yout life miserable, she has accepted that herself."

"Are you implying... Faizah.. my accident? No way!" Aamir denied wholeheartedly. He knew his family. They couldn't stoop so low.

"The evidence is here Aamir. It's right in front of you and you have to face it."

Zaheer produced photos of Faizah and Jaffar. He had their phone records from earlier when they had conversations that lasted hours. Aamir felt his heart stop. He felt the blood drain from his face. His family couldn't do this to him. Surely there was another explanation. There had to be! This was too painful. Too harsh.

"They met, ironically, in your wedding. How - I don't know. But what I do know is that since then they had become quite acquainted with one another and both have very legitimate motives for planning that accident. Both wanted to seek their revenge from Mayra. Jaffar because of Sameera, Mayra's friend, and Faizah because of you."

Aamir picked up a photo of Jaffar and Faizah. "I.. I can't believe it!"

"I know it's hard but it's the truth Aamir. You'll have to face it. But actually that's not the worst part. There's -"

"DON'T YOU BLOODY TELL ME THERE'S MORE!"

Zaheer stared at his friend, sitting on the sofa opposite him, in shock and rage. "There's more and it's very important. Please calm down. You have act appropriately when I disclose this information. Please!"

"Fine!" Aamir said, exasperated. "Just say it all and be done with it!"

"Okay. Here it is. After your accident, Mayra was supposed to be in the hospital with you continuously. But she was not. There were times when she had left the hospital and come home. But two times, once three days after your accident and the other time, six days after your accident, she went to a suburban cafe where she met two people in secret. Faizah and Jaffar."

Zaheer breathed deeply and sighed and looked Aamir who was so pale by now, he looked like a ghost.

Finally, Zaheer just said it. "Mayra did not plan that accident, but she knew who was behind it, and she did nothing."

****