I knew it!

Jamal says nothing for sometime, before Patricia provokes.

“Yeah, you do know him. So, what's his name?”

“Patricia, it'd be better if we don't talk about it, because everytime I think of it, I feel like going there.” Mrs. Mehdi, says.

“Then, mom that'd be great. That's the only means, we can know exactly who is behind this. Like, I can't just believe Myla was drugged for nothing. Keeping aside the contract.”

Myla remembers Bianca's words, and that of Brehilda and Tiffy, then says.

“Is Mr. Carlos one of these people?”

“Mr. Carlos is an old business friend. Who told you about him?”

“His wife, Bianca. They were at your party, that night.”

Jamal looks at his mom, who is already staring back.

“No, they weren't. I didn't invite them. Besides, Bianca is my formal secretary.”

Myla's eyes bulges out. “What? How is that possible? She introduced herself amongst the business wives, as Mr. Carlos' wife.”

Jamal sighs, heavily and rest his chin against the back of his crossed hands.

“Myla, what makes you think he is one of those people?” Mrs. Mehdi, questions.

“Bianca told me—that he deals with drugs. And that, she knows someone who ordered it to the party. She seemed so confident and certain of what she was saying.”

“Mr. Carlos, was my very good friend, until I discovered he dealt with drugs. That could ruin my business, so I cut ties with him. Till this very date, we don't chat.”

Mrs. Mehdi looks at her son. “Why will Bianca lie?”

“They have an affair. She's using this pretext to threaten his image. Maybe, she needs something from him.”

“So, he is one of them?” Patricia persist.

Jamal sighs. He didn't want his wife to know he knows the man who almost ruined her baby's life.

“Yes,”

Myla brings her gaze to Jamal. “I knew it!”

He sighs, and Mrs. Mehdi looks confused for a bit.

“That's why you didn't want me to go there! You knew all these time. Tell us, did you do something to him in the past?”

“Myla, we're not going to have this talk on the table. Finish your food, and take your medications, first, please.”

“No, I will not! You've put me into so much. The pregnancy, my career, what else? My life?”

Jamal shuts his eyes, and Mrs. Mehdi gestures to Patricia, so that they could leave the couples alone.

Patricia frowns and sluggishly wakes up, while her mom waists for he.

She holds her daughter's arm, and forces her to move away.

“I trusted you. I knew you had nothing to do with what happened to me, and accepted my wrongs, when all along you knew who did that to me.”

“But you didn't even think of telling me. Rather, you choosed to make me drop out of the movie industry, because you wanted me home as a house wife. And not just that, but you got me pregnant from the start.”

He opens his eyes. “Myla you're overthinking. I found out later. I didn't know Mr. Carlos was the mastermind of your misfortune. But, you can't put all the blame on me! Jessie was the one who drugged you. Wasn't she your friend?

“She was my friend. But, I was careful around her.”

“By inviting her to your house? How careful is that?!”

“Oh, so now you want to talk about the footages? Go ahead. Tell me who stole the house plan?”

“You're so pathetic. You should answer that question, because you have been letting strangers into this house!”

“What about you? Didn't you let Gabriella into our house?”

He shakes his head, disappointedly and she chuckles, “Your case is even worse. She's not just a stranger, but your e x. The first woman to win your heart. The one you still communicate with. What can you say about that?”

“If you're thinking I've been with just Gabriella, and Latif, then you will surely run mad.”

“You want the truth? Well, here's the truth.”

“The women you were talking to at the party, I've had sex with all of them, excluding your friends. I've also known Jessie before you met her, and we had an affair for a short while. Even with my present, and formal secretaries. But, all these were before I met you.”

Myla's breath isn't fluctuating as before. She wants to disappear, right away. How could he just say this, like it means nothing to him?

“I've been a spoiled, wealthy and dangerous business man. I made sure to have a one night stand with every woman I came across and they loved me for that. I gave them money, fame, jobs. You can name it.”

“My hands are stained with blood of those who worked for me. Because, I was merciless, and loved revenge. No one dared to disobey me. You don't do what I say, and you're dead. The worst of it, is if you betray me. I wouldn't spear you.”

“I've been in and out of hell. I would have been dead by now, if not for—you. When you came into my life, everything changed. Like you brought some sort of light into my life. I couldn't believe people like you still exist out there, because I was a mess in my own world.”

“I expected you to fall on my command and charms like most of the women I came across did. But, you were so innocent. Fragile, and blameless. You treated me with respect, but you treated yourself with more. That made me respect you, as I knew you as someone different.”

“Yes, I tried to change before we met, but it was so hard for me to. So, I decided to seek from different religion. Maybe, at last I could find salvation from there, so I thought.

“And, I found it through Christ. I found peace. Something I couldn't find in my culture, since they preach an eye for an eye, yet, there has never been any sort of solution from that, but brutality.”

“Trust me, I was still dangling on it, then. Until I knew about...the holy spirit, which I acknowledge came into my life when we first met. I've never cared about anyone. But, I help you that day, and it's something very abnormal for someone like me to have done.”

“I returned home, and thought about it all night. How could I have done that to a total stranger? I wanted to know more about you, so I asked my sister to invite you for dinner.”

Myla baths her lashes as if it'll make her understand better what he's saying.

“Truthfully, I didn't understand why you choosed to get towards people like us, or even accepted my sister's invite. I knew you must've been up to something. I thought you were pretending all along, but when I came to know you, that idiology was uprooted from my mind.”

Myla is trying so hard to hold back her tears, but they fail her drastically.

“That's why I did everything to make you mine. I knew what I'd loose if you were gone. I try to avoid you from interacting with others like me, whom I knew so well. The movie industry is generally not what you think it is. It's not just about the entertainment. It's dangerous.”

“I paid my way in, when I knew you accepted to go there. I wasn't eligible as an actor, but my money gave me access. I did that to protect you. I expected that after the movie, you won't go back there, after everything Dr. Ed tried to do to you. But, I swear I wouldn't have let you into the production in the first place, if I knew Mr. Carlos was part of its fabricates.”

Myla shuts her eyes, and a river of tears stain her cheeks.

“I can't believe this.”

“Myla,” he touches her and she shifts away.

“Now, I get why you have so many enemies out there! You kept the truth from me! We almost lost our child! What are you?”

Myla's voice breaks as she mutters every word. He says nothing but stares at his wife, helplessly.

“Tell me, what are you really? To keep such a thing from me! Oh, God!”

“I didn't want you to know this! Because, you'd see me as a monster! I don't want you to hate me, Myla, please. I won't bare it if you do.”

“I'm sorry, Jamal, I can't. I don't know if I can see you the same. It's just to much! To much!”

She stands and walks away, sobbing loudly.

To be continued...