25. My Dear, You're In For a Shock
Losing a parent was hard. Being the reason behind their death was worse.

* * *

Though I wanted to avoid talking to Ashar, his face was irking me too much.

He was sitting on the sofa in our room finishing last minute things from work on his laptop. I approached near the table and stood with my arms criss crossed. He looked up and started to say something, but I raised my hand to tell him to hold it in.

"I know how important your sisters are for you," I told him. "They're your responsibility, and you want what is the best for them. In fact, you jumped into this contract with me for them. I get it. I come from a wealthy background without any siblings. So, maybe I don't understand you."

"Ano—"

"I'm not finished," I cut him off. "I'm not looking for an apology or explanation. You have the right to give your sister permission or deny her. I don't care. All I'm saying is that if we're going to be in love and be civil to each other, don't bring up the 'rich girl' excuse for everything. I don't call you a serf. You don't bring up my background. Clear?"

He nodded.

I didn't wait to make any more conversation with him. I didn't want to hear any other harsh things from him tonight. My eyes felt heavy forcing me to change and go to bed before nine.

Ashar left the room with his laptop in his hands. He thought I was asleep and turned the light off on his way. Though I appreciated the gesture, his behavior brought me sorrow deep down. Did he seriously believe I was too rich to understand him? Was being human not enough to understand someone's feelings?

Was I getting attached to him?

No bloody way.

Sleep made me forget everything and I thanked the heavens for that.

* * *

The following morning when I woke up, Ashar had already gone to work.

I stayed under the warm covers not wanting to greet the cold air waiting to hug me. It didn't last long because my phone started ringing.

"Hello?" I said groggily.

"Were you sleeping?" asked my sweet cousin.

"No, Jhanvi," I said after a yawn. "Why are you calling me so early?"

"Didn't you ask me to do a background check on your husband?" she asked.

I quickly sat up. "Did you find anything?"

"Sweetheart, you're in for a shock," she said in a lowered voice. "Let's meet up, so I can tell you everything in detail."

"Why don't you come over?" I suggested. "Ashar's at work and his sisters are at school. You can meet grandma too."

"Grandma's with you?"

"Yeah, I quit my job, so I have time," I explained. "I brought her here and spend most of my day with her."

Jhanvi confirmed she was heading over before hanging up.

I got up to clean up when I noticed a solid white plate with a two inch border of cream floral design belonging to my mom's china set. One eclair sat horizontally pushed towards the top of the plate. Underneath it, someone had written "sorry" in neat cursive using chocolate syrup.

I had to chuckle at Ashar's apology.

I wondered how he had gotten that plate. He ought to have snuck into the kitchen and grabbed the prettiest plate. My mother would kill him with her bare hands for styling her precious and antique china set with chocolate.

It did make my day a little better. He knew my favorite food, and he made an effort to amend things.

I wondered what kind of secrets Jhanvi had found.

* * *

My cousin ate breakfast with grandmother and me. She spent some time with her first before asking me to take her to a room where no one would disturb us. I ended up taking her to the study and lighting up the fireplace.

"Annie, you won't believe it," she said as soon as we sat down on the sofa chairs in front of the fireplace. She took out a navy blue folder from her handbag and handed it to me. "I didn't ask dad but his secretary. Dad might have said no. Boy, am I glad I got this."

"Do I have to read through it or you'll tell me and save us the time?" I asked stressed by her suspense.

"Annie, did you know Ashar was in jail?" she asked.

I narrowed my eyes at her and shook my head in astonishment. What could Ashar go to jail for? Fighting with someone because someone dropped soup on his friend's hand?

"Ashar was charged with vehicular homicide in an accident," she explained further. "Two women were killed. Binita Virk and Luna Kozak. Your husband was sentenced for twenty four months of jail time and two hundred hours of community service."

My jaw dropped at her words. I couldn't grasp a single word she was saying. Instead, I opened up the folder to read through the pages to verify her facts. There was a picture of young Ashar on the first page. He was seventeen at the time he was charged.

"The two women killed were in the car with him at the time of the accident?" I asked aloud as I read the whole story.

"Yes," she nodded. "He was trying to merge into the highway traffic and almost merged right into a truck. I don't know how a truck can be in your blind spot. He must've been distracted. In his statements, he said he swerved to the side to avoid a collision with the truck. Instead, he ran into the wall on the side of the highway. The impact killed both of the women with him as per the autopsy."

My heart fell a little at Ashar's background. This man had written a "sorry" with chocolate syrup. He had fought with me over me burning his friend's hand. He argued with me for being rich. He protected his sisters like anything.

He was responsible for two deaths?

You don't know the blood he has on his hands.

Was that why Sunny hated Ashar? Ashar hated him  for knowing his background? Why didn't Sunny bring up Ashar's past if he hated him?

"This is insane," I murmured in disbelief.

I skimmed through the pages over and over again. Ashar had actually gone to jail. I would've never believed this without proof.

"I got more," Jhanvi said leaning closer. "Binita Virk was his mom. Luna Kozak went to the same high school as him, but she was two years ahead. I don't know much about her. Maybe she was a girlfriend?"

I shook my head slowly. "He mentioned he was engaged to someone once. She left him for some reason he didn't tell me. I doubt Luna Kozak or whoever was his girlfriend."

Also, no wonder he had told me to not ask anything about his parents.

Hayat Murtaza.

That was the girl he mentioned he was engaged to.

Maybe I could try to get in touch with her. Why did she leave him? Where was she on the timeline?

"Oh well," Jhanvi said with a sigh. "He could've been giving the girl a ride. It didn't go down well though."

I glanced through the pages again and again. In one section, it had his personal information where his mother's name was mentioned as Binita Virk. His father was Bahadur Singh Virk. The oddest thing was when it came to the siblings part. It mentioned one brother and one sister.

Arsalan Virk
Aara Virk

Why was Rosie not on the list?

"Who is Arsalan Virk?" I wondered aloud.

"Who?"

I showed her the names on the paper. She frowned at the name.

"No idea," she said. "I can try to do a background search on that name. Give me time."

"So," I said closing the file, "Ashar killed his mother and an unknown woman in the car. He has a mystery brother Arsalan Virk who we don't know anything about. We don't know where his dad is either. Nowhere on his file does it mention Rosie is his sister."

"Your husband's got a lot of secrets," she agreed.

"I still find this hard to believe," I told her. "Ashar? Ashar Virk? One accident screwed over his whole life."

I remembered how I had hurt Ashar when we first met and I damaged his car. He sent me to jail. I wondered if I put him through any trauma during that experience. I had done it on purpose. He accidentally became the reason behind two people's deaths.

"Are you feeling bad for him?" Jhanvi tapped me.

"Should I feel thrilled he killed his mother?" I sighed, staring at the fireplace instead of her.

"You like him, Annie?" she asked.

I immediately turned to her. "No. I mean, I don't hate him. I have known him for almost two months now. He's not a bad person. He's disciplined. He takes care of his sisters well. He has his flaws. But this . . . I wonder what he went through during that time."

Losing a parent was hard. Being the reason behind their death was worse. Then, being sent to jail when you were barely an adult was even more horrible.

She placed her hand on my shoulder.

I didn't know why but my father's death popped up in my head. Tears slipped out without any warning. Jhanvi held my hand.

"I'm okay," I assured her as I wiped my tears quickly. "I just remembered papa."

She stood up and held me close to her almost like a big sister I never had.

Jhanvi and I then had the hardest conversation about our respective losses. I poured my heart out about my papa. She also shed tears and explained one of the biggest reasons why she couldn't make it home on time after papa's death. She still hadn't recovered from the loss of her mother. My aunt had become a victim of lung cancer which didn't leave her till after her breath left. Two years later, Jhanvi's favorite uncle passed away. She needed to turn her emotions off to handle it.

Her emotional unavailability separated her from me.

But now, we decided to mend our relationship for our own sakes. We needed to provide solid family support to each other.

I didn't know whether I should thank Ashar for bringing Jhanvi close to me. Had he not pushed me to meet her, I would've ignored her for the rest of my life. Also because of her, I found out his secret.

Jhanvi left before Ashar was supposed to be back. She forgot to take the file with her. When I attempted to take it to my room, I heard voices of Ashar and his sisters. I hid the file behind the giant painting of a flower vase on the fireplace mantel. I decided to grab the file later.

As soon as I stepped out of the study, I ran into Ashar. I almost jumped out of my skin from surprise.

"You okay?" he asked frowning.

I nodded. "I'm gonna grab a snack."

I quickly scurried away towards the kitchen. He went upstairs to the room to change.

"I'm home," Rosie said as she came running past me.

I chuckled at her excitement. As I entered the dining room, Aara grabbed me by the arm and quickly dragged me to the farthest corner of the room.

"What the . . . ?" I trailed off.

Her eyes scanned the room like a hawk before offering me the softest look.

"My dear sister-in-law, I need your help," she said quietly.

"With what?"

"Please help me sneak out to the Christmas ball."

Oh boy.

* * *

A/N

Happy New Year!!!

New Year old me haha

How are you guys in this pandemic?

I hope you liked the chapter. Let me know how you feel about the story. I don't know if anyone is still interested in reading it.

I finally got a job so I will have time to write rather than study.

Pretty please vote and/or comments so I know people exist who want to read more. I really appreciate it. It gives me more motivation.

—K-K-Kiran