Ayesha At Last(98)

Ayesha closed her eyes, trying to breathe. “Where are the pictures now?”

Hafsa shifted her gaze around the room. “He told me he was posting them on his website, unveiledhotties.com. He was going to auction them—me—off. Bastard.”

“Oh my God,” Ayesha said. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It was humiliating.”

Ayesha started to pace. “What are we going to do? We have to tell the police.”

Hafsa was shaking her head. “The website’s gone,” she said. “I checked it yesterday. There’s some letter he wrote about having a change of heart. All the pics of those other women are down too.”

“How? What happened?”

“Who cares? I’m getting married!”

Ayesha didn’t know what to say. “Congratulations?”

“Thank you,” Hafsa said demurely. “It’s at the end of July, so you have lots of time to buy a few dresses and get your eyebrows waxed. They’re, like, out of control.” She stood up. “I have to go. I need to talk to Nadya, my assistant. This wedding is going to be epic!”

Hafsa let herself out. Once she’d closed the door behind her, Idris peeked down from the railing.

“She always has to be first in everything.”

“She’s marrying Masood,” Ayesha said. “Masood! He was texting me only two weeks ago, offering to coach me in wrestling. What happened?”

“Maybe they bonded over their broken hearts,” Idris said. “Though Runaway Bride doesn’t exactly have a good track record.”

Ayesha picked up her tea, now cold, and took a sip. “Did you know about the pictures on Tarek’s website? Hafsa said he had a change of heart.” She punched in the URL on her phone and clicked on the “Open Letter to My Subscribers,” reading quickly.

“This doesn’t even sound like Tarek,” Ayesha said. “Actually, this sounds a bit like . . .” She looked at her brother, who had a half-guilty/half-coy expression on his face. “Idris,” she said sternly. “Tell me what happened, right now.”





Chapter Forty-Six

When Khalid contacted WomenFirst Design after his confrontation with Sheila, Vanessa and Lorraine tut-tutted through his story.

“I knew there was something wrong when that cow told us you quit. How soon can you start?”

He explained about his sister and the impending birth. Vanessa and Lorraine congratulated him. “Work from home for a while. We need you.”

Khalid was feeling happier than he had in weeks. He drove from the apartment he now shared with the sober-so-far Amir to his sister’s basement unit.

“I can’t get over your new look,” Zareena said when she opened the door. “Like a secret service agent. All you need is an earpiece and Ray Bans.” Khalid followed her down the hall into the main room. Zareena had decorated. There were pretty purple drapes on the window, photographs in frames on the coffee table and a vase with flowers on a shelf. “Don’t worry, I didn’t cook,” she added.

They split a frozen pizza and bagged salad while Khalid told Zareena about Livetech, and Tarek’s website.

“I’d like to think Tarek wasn’t always this horrible,” Zareena said. “At one point, he had excellent taste in women.”

Khalid hesitated. He wasn’t going to mention the confrontation he’d had with Tarek outside the mosque, but his sister deserved to know the full story. “He told me he did it all for you. He said he loved you, that Ammi pulled you two apart. He was trying to get his revenge or something.”

Zareena smiled, her hand on her stomach. “He can blame the past if he likes, but we never fit, not like you and Ayesha.”

“Ayesha hates me.”

Zareena laughed, a teasing sound. “If you told me she was indifferent, or she had moved on, I’d tell you to give up. I don’t think this is the end of the story for you. You should pray about it and wait for a sign. Isn’t that your thing?”

Khalid took a bite of his pizza. It was overcooked and tasted like particleboard. Next time he visited, he would pick up groceries and cook a few meals for his sister. His niece deserved the very best.

His phone rang and he made a face—it was his mother. “Assalamu Alaikum, Ammi,” he said.

His mother called several times a day. She still couldn’t believe he wasn’t starving and falling apart on his own.

“Khalid, you must come home immediately,” Farzana said. “We must plan your wedding.”

Khalid smiled. His mother was a lot easier to deal with now that he no longer lived with her. “No, thank you. I’m good.”

“I have just learned that Hafsa is getting married! On what was supposed to be your wedding day. It’s an outrage, not to mention totally tactless.”

Khalid was surprised. He hadn’t expected Hafsa to mourn their engagement, but two weeks seemed a little fast. “I’m happy she found someone,” he said.

“She had the cheek to send you an invitation but not me. I was going to be her mother-in-law!”

Zareena looked at him curiously. Everything okay? she mouthed.

“Hafsa invited me to her wedding?” Khalid said, shocked. His mind focused: Ayesha will be there.