On a new morning, Tala stepped out of her room in her simple yet elegant style, with a touch of makeup to hide the traces of tears. Her steps were steady, and her eyes carried something of a feigned strength. Rahaf stood stunned, as did her father Issam, as if they could not believe what they were seeing.
Rahaf hurried to ask: "Tala, are you okay? What happened to you these past two days? You worried us."
Tala answered with astonishing composure: "I was feeling very tired and had a strong headache, that's all. There's no need to worry."
There wasn't a single tremor in her voice, which made Rahaf and Issam feel that the matter was deeper than she said, but they found nothing that would push them to press her further, so they preferred silence over argument.
Rahaf left for work with a feeling of concern in her heart, while Tala headed toward her university after a brief absence.
Meanwhile, Rima moved lightly in the kitchen, preparing breakfast quietly for her first day at work. Her features were much better than yesterday, and her eyes had a new sparkle. She sat for a few moments in thought, before her mind pulled her back to what happened yesterday…
Flashback…
Rima left the company building after her job interview, satisfaction painting her features. But as soon as she took a few steps, her eyes fell on a familiar car parked in front of the building. The door opened, and Marwan stepped out quickly, his features tense. Before she could process the scene, he grabbed her hand tightly and pulled her into the car, slamming the door shut before speeding off recklessly.
She shouted at him in anger: "How dare you act in such a barbaric way? Let me go immediately!"
But he ignored her completely, his eyes fixed on the road, until he stopped the car in a place she knew very well… the spot where they used to meet in the past. He turned toward her, his eyes blazing with fury, and said: "When you decided to end our relationship, I was surprised. Now I understand… You left me because you were cheating on me, weren't you? And you even went to work at his company to get closer to him!"
The words nearly ignited her anger, but Rima kept her composure and replied coldly: "I am not obliged to justify anything to you. We broke up, and it's over. You have no place in my life anymore."
She opened the car door quickly and left without looking back, leaving Marwan seething with rage behind her.
Back to the present…
A faint smile formed on Rima's face as she remembered the scene, then she quietly finished preparing breakfast.
Elsewhere in the building, Karma sat in her room rubbing her hands anxiously, unable to bear the waiting any longer. Her confusion pushed her to head to Anas's office, where he usually was. She entered and found it empty, but her eyes fell on some papers on his desk. She immediately remembered the time she had caught him hiding papers as soon as he saw her, so she approached them cautiously.
But before she could touch the paper, the door suddenly swung open. Anas stood there, his eyes sparking with anger. He advanced toward her quickly, grabbed her arm firmly, and his voice rose in a tone she had never heard from him before: "Don't you ever come here again! And don't you dare go through my papers again!"
Karma trembled from the sharpness of his tone, for she had never seen him this irate in all their marriage. But between fear and shock, she realized that whatever was in those papers was no ordinary matter.
Meanwhile, in Rayan's office, Rima entered after knocking lightly and said in a professional tone: "You have an important meeting at two o'clock, it will end at three, then you have a break from three to four, after which there's a meeting with SkyBuild Company's competing clients, and it cannot be postponed."
Rayan sighed and said calmly: "I'll attend two consecutive meetings? That will be exhausting."
Rima smiled and said: "Mr. Yazan can attend the second meeting instead of you."
Rayan agreed immediately, and Rima left the office with confident steps.
A little later, Yazan entered Rayan's office and sat lightly on the chair opposite him, saying: "What are you going to do about the meetings you have?"
Rayan replied: "You'll attend one instead of me."
Yazan's eyes widened in shock, and he half-rose from his seat, saying, "Me?! I've never done that before, I might say something wrong."
Rayan reassured him with a few words until he agreed, then Yazan left nervously. In the hallway, he bumped into Rahaf, who was heading to her office, and she almost fell, but he caught her before she hit the ground. She became extremely flustered and quickly stepped away, while he walked toward his office even more tense. Rahaf sat at her desk, an involuntary smile creeping onto her face as she recalled his touch.
Later, Karma entered Anas's office after knocking this time, and he said with a smile: "I'm honestly amazed you knocked… it's a miracle."
She said quietly: "First, I'm sorry for what happened this morning. Second, I still don't know what you're going to do about the matter I talked to you about a few days ago."
Anas contemplated her calmness for a moment, then said in a reassuring tone: "I haven't forgotten, my love… I've planned everything I'm going to do."
He said his last words with his eyes fixed on nothing, a mysterious look she didn't understand, but she smiled automatically, for she was used to Anas's plans always carrying a hint of madness.
To be continued…