Fruit of Passion

Finding You

As Irfan Raza's distasteful comment echoed through the air, Arsalan noticed the tense situation. With empathy in his eyes, he recognized the need to diffuse the confrontation without causing a scene. Stepping closer, he spoke softly, his voice filled with genuine concern and a desire to help.

"Excuse me, sir," the he interjected respectfully, catching the middle-aged man's attention. "I couldn't help but notice the distress in your voice. Is everything alright here?"

"Of course!" Startled by the interruption, Irfan momentarily paused, his irritation momentarily diffusing.

Arsalan came to stand just in front of Fakhir to block his access to Irfan Raza while Alya stood just beside him. Wania stood about two step behind Alya and watched all this with concealed anger and frustration.

"I just think you need to sit down and have one of drinks that are being served. You just came from a lengthy travel, must be tired." Arsalan was speaking with so much sincerity that would put Wania's practiced empathy-voice to shame.

Then Arsalan turned towards Alya and with a soft smile, "Madam CEO! I believe you and I had a one-on-one due before I assume my office at the Ghani-Abbas. I have a few things lined up that I needed to discuss with you." with that Arsalan put a perfunctory hand on Alya's shoulder and urged her to move out of the room with him. But, before he left, he gave one side-eye to his uncle and said, "We'll talk later." and then with a nod to Wania he left the room taking Alya with him. Leaving a dumbfounded Irfan, a frustrated Fakhir and a hurt but relieved Wania to deal with the board meeting.

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Wania was grateful but annoyed too. She wanted to thank Arsalan for handling the situation so aptly, hell! she wanted to hug him when he rescued her mother and all of them from that embarrassment but, now back in her room alone and reflective, she felt like she failed her mother. It should have been her who rescued her and not Mr. Arsalan-Grumpy-Abbas who, by the way, turned out to be far better at Public Relations than she initially thought. And in this particular situation, even better than her.

Wania had a complex relationship with her father. Growing up, the absence of her father cast a dark shadow over her formative years. While not abusive, his indifference towards the family's needs left a void within her. The constant parade of women in his life served as a painful reminder of her father's neglect. Her young mind struggled to comprehend why she wasn't enough to keep him by her side. That still bothered her, even though she now knew that it was never about her or her mother. It was always him...he was the problem.

 These unresolved abandonment issues haunted her relationships. Fear of rejection and a deep-seated belief in her own unworthiness became her constant companions. That was the reason why she always seemed to be unable to react appropriately at times when it came to her father. That man had an ability to bring back all that childhood trauma and abandonment issues on to the surface in both her and as it seemed Alya too.

Wania felt an ache starting between her eyes and her head seemed heavy on her shoulders. She needed a moment for herself, she realized. Wania fished her earphones out of her bag. They were not the cordless ear pod, but the one with very stylized braided red and blue cords which were terribly tangled at this point. She struggled to detangle the cords for a few seconds then got frustrated, gave up and settled for one lower part of the cord that protruded out and pushed it into the headphone jack in her phone. She jammed the barely out of the the bundle ear pieces into her ears and started the music at full volume.

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Arsalan took Alya out of the boardroom and then pushed in one of the rooms on the floor that he found empty. He guided Alya on a leather chair and just stood there quietly letting her recover at her own pace. In several minutes she seemed to have come back to her normal self.