Chapter Thirty Four – Change of heart
“Something worse, that will destroy them both once and for all.” Layaan said with his teeth gritted and Raphael’s eyes grew wide, as he sensed a signal of danger.
Layaan let out a sigh and lightened his expression with a smile.
“Anyway we are taking this aren’t we? Let’s head to the counter…” Layaan put his arm around Laana’s waist as they both turned to go. Raphael narrowed his eyes and with first thought, he was going to leave. He would have, if it was only about his marriage to Laana. But when he remembered Alaya’s face, he could not bring himself to move. Realizing that he wasn’t the only one being cheated, Raphael began to walk towards them with a fierce face. He reached them just as they were about to reach the counter.
“Laana!” Raphael called out and the couple in front of him was startled. As they both looked at him, their eyes widened and they moved a bit further apart.
“What do you happen to be doing here, sweetheart?” Raphael asked a serious question, and added the last word to see what happens to them. As he predicted, Laana crossed her eyebrows and Layaan had a disturbed expression.
“Well I…”
“She came here with me on the request of her father, to select new brand of jewelry that we could have an agreement with. As you know my father happens to be friends with all of your shareholders…” Layaan explained with a smile before Laana said something nervously. Raphael gave them a glare. He wanted to scream out his frustration at them in front of the whole crowd. But he just nodded.
“Is that so….why thank you so much for accompanying my wife here. Now may I take her with me?” Raphael said with a smile though his anger was clear in his eyes and in the tone of his voice. Layaan and Laana exchanged looks before Laana began to walk out with Raphael.
With the shock he was in, Raphael forgot that he had gone to buy medicine for his father. Or his subconscious mind told him that he had a bigger issue to handle before anything else. And hence he geared up his car as soon as Laana got in and raced up even in the crowded street.
“What are you doing? Raphael!” Laana shouted out as Raphael merely missed a man crossing the street. But Raphael didn’t listen or look at Laana even as she told him to slow down. At one point, Laana gave up and preferred to stay silent in her panic.
He only stopped when they reached their house in the quiet neighbourhood of Boston. When Raphael parked the car, he got out and opened the front door giving Laana another shock. Without saying a single word, Raphael held her hand and walked into the house and faced her when Laana forcibly got her hand free.
“You know I could get you sued for this don’t you? My father won’t be happy to hear about this!”
“Huh! And you think your father would be happy to hear about you having an affair with another man?”
“Don’t fool yourself if you are thinking that he will believe you over my words!”
“I’m not fooling myself….But it was quite a show that I got to see today. I’m sure I’ll get to see many more episodes in the future and collect enough evidence against you.”
“You cant….You won’t!”
“I can and I will! So don’t be seen with that man ever again!” Raphael warned and turned the other way to leave.
“All this time you didn’t question me about what I did. We both know that we don’t love each other. This isn’t about me is it? Its more about her….You are upset because I am having an affair with her husband.” Laana questioned, trying to sound empathetic in an attempt to make Raphael weak. Raphael closed his eyes as he realized how true those words. He felt a sense of guilt within him just as Laana had planned. But the guilt didn’t get a hold of him. Because he knew he did his best.
“That may be true Laana. We don’t love each other. And I did not love you even from the start. But I told you honestly about my feelings from the very beginning. And I did everything I could for this relationship even against my will. But what did you do in return? You cheated on me behind my back. You never were honest with me in any conversation that we had. You separated me from my father and kept him in a deserted house and now I am sure you did so by planning with my enemy. What wrong did I ever do to you to deserve this? Did I do anything less as your husband?” Raphael asked, genuinely wanting to know. Laana tried to keep a firm face as she heard it. But she couldn’t as she remembered everything Raphael had done for her. How honest he was since the beginning of their marriage. How kind he was when she got sick even though he didn’t love her. How caring he was of her even when she began to go out late at night to see Layaan. It hadn’t occurred to her before. But now that he said it, it was compelling for her to think about.
As Laana was thinking, Raphael then again turned his back towards her. She fiercely told herself not to get soft just because of a few moments. She cant get weak. Now especially when they were just a few days away from getting what they wanted.
Laana was startled when her phone began to ring as she stood where she was. When she looked at the screen, it was Layaan. She picked up the call.
“Hello love, what happened at home? Did he seem like he would ruin our plan?” Layaan asked. But that wasn’t the question Laana was hoping for as she was thinking of a caring man. She thought Layaan would ask her whether she was okay since she was taken away in a rush. When Laana heard Layaan repeatedly calling her, Laana answered.
“Layaan, I don’t think I would be able to go on our date tonight. Feeling a bit low…” Laana said as she looked at Raphael walking up the spiral stairs. Layaan blurted out in her ears something that wasn’t clear to her. But for some reason, she did not care at that moment. She disconnected the call, as she tried to make sense whether she was going through a change of heart or not.
