When Rakia arrived home in the afternoon she found an unpleasant sight. Dashtan and Dalilah were sitting together on the living room sofa in front of the television while the woman was in Dashtan’s arms. All the tiredness and fatigue Rakia felt due to the workload and pregnancy became worse when she saw her husband looking intimate with his other wife. Realizing Rakia’s arrival, Dashtan and Dalilah turned their attention to the woman. They unraveled their current positions and Dashtan said, “We need to talk.” Rakia nodded and followed Dashtan to their room. Rakia who followed the man did not wonder about what they were going to talk about. Rakia took off the shoes she was wearing by taking them off her feet one by one.
“Why did you spend that much money to the Oregon hospital in Benjamin’s name? Is he blackmailing you again?” Rakia was quite surprised by the question. She walked over to the bed and sat on its edge. Dashtan waited for the woman’s answer standing up, but she soon walked over to Rakia and sat beside her.
“Ben came here a few days ago and asked for my help with his daughter’s treatment.” Rakia replied as she stretched all her muscles. Dashtan frowned.
“Are you sure he’s not blackmailing you?” Dashtan looked at Rakia still with an unconvinced look.
“No... I personally went to the hospital where his daughter was admitted and paid for her surgery. His daughter had to undergo surgery to create an anal canal.” Rakia rose to her feet and took off the blazer she was wearing so that she was only wearing a sleeveless undershirt with a black high collar. She intended to go to the wardrobe room but Dashtan stopped her with another question.
“Why do you want to help him? Are you going to go back to him and leave me?”
Rakia let out a rough sigh. She was tired and needed to rest urgently and the sight of her husband making out with his other wife a few minutes ago had only made her more tired, and now her husband’s ridiculous question seemed to make her furious. Rakia snorted as she smiled with the corners of her lips turned up one side.
“Do you think I’m like you, who easily accepts the ex who broke my heart on a whim?! Even marry him and maybe forgive him?” The blazer she had been wearing was draped over one arm then she looked up at Dashtan from where she stood.
“If I wanted to leave you why would I make Ben the reason? There are many reasons that can make me leave you, Ash and maybe in the near future I will use one of them.” Rakia turned around and was about to leave but again Dashtan held her back with a question.
“For what reason?”
Rakia sighed until her shoulders dropped.
“I don’t need you in my life anymore because you already got what you wanted.”
Hearing that, Dashtan immediately got up from his seat with a frown on his forehead. He walked over to Rakia and stood right in front of the woman.
“What do you mean?” Dashtan was affected by Rakia’s words.
“Wasn’t it clear earlier? You accepted Dalilah’s child, right?! You’re starting to act like a good husband by giving her attention, giving her warmth by hugging her and touching her and maybe later you’ll also tell her what you told me the other day.” Rakia gave Dashtan a sardonic look and walked out of Dashtan’s presence towards the wardrobe room. Dashtan who thought for a moment began to catch the woman’s meaning, he immediately followed Rakia to the wardrobe room.
“That wasn’t what you think it was.”
“Then what? You’re fighting with her in a different way? In a more... Intimate?” asked Rakia who stared at Dashtan for a few seconds as she said the last word. She wept as she took off her underwear and material pants so that she was wearing only her underwear in front of the wardrobe whose door was open. Dashtan looked at the half-naked Rakia with a gulp. The sight of Rakia at this moment was able to make his desire flare up.
“If you want me to ask for a divorce immediately, just do the things you did with that woman more often. Within a week I’ll send you my divorce papers.” Rakia spoke as she dressed then closed the closet door with a slight slam. She was about to walk away but Dashtan grabbed her arm. Bringing her before the man who was now leaning against the closed closet door.
“Do you want a divorce from me?” The question took Rakia by surprise and she fell silent. Their eyes met in a not-so-pleasant atmosphere.
“If the circumstances are favorable for it to be done, I will. I will never be able to accept the presence of another woman in our marriage. If you find it difficult to decide immediately, I will not hesitate to decide first, and you must already know my decision.”
Having said that, Rakia quickly walked away leaving Dashtan frozen in place. She adjusted her hair in frustration and leaned her head back against the closed closet door. She realized that she was too late in handling all of this. Meanwhile, Rakia was busy in the kitchen making food. Being pregnant, she couldn’t stay away from food. She made a strawberry jam sandwich with two loaves stacked on top of each other then toasted it a little in the toaster, while waiting for the bread, she made milk.
The next second her morning sickness hit and she threw up in the sink. Again Dashtan caught her vomiting in the sink. L
“Did you go to the doctor?” asked Dashtan, Rakia nodded. She turned on the water faucet and washed her mouth then turned the thing off and moved towards the toast that had finished baking. She lifted the food with food tongs and placed it on a plate.
“What are you drinking this kind of milk for?” Dashtan’s question made Rakia stare wide-eyed at the bread currently in her hand, she had forgotten about the milk box she had taken out earlier. She hadn’t had time to clean everything up when the vomiting came.
“Rakia...” Dashtan called out, startling Rakia from her dreamy state. Rakia was about to go to the granite countertop but Dashtan stopped her first.
“I-it’s not my milk but Dalilah’s, she asked me to-“
“Look at me if you’re talking,” Dashtan cut in quickly which further cornered Rakia. Rakia swallowed, her hands began to sweat from nervousness, instead of following Dashtan’s words she just looked down deeper making Dashtan frown deeper. The impatient man immediately grabbed Rakia’s face and lifted her up.
“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Dashtan gave her an intimidating look. Rakia was surprised to find her husband looking at her like that.
“N-no. It’s Dalilah’s, really.” Rakia said with a slight stammer as she told her lie. Dalilah interrupted the two as the woman walked into the kitchen. Dashtan released Rakia’s face which she had trapped in both hands. Rakia immediately turned away and breathed a sigh of relief.
“Is that milk yours?” Dashtan asked as he looked at Dalilah. The woman frowned. Rakia was wide-eyed again.
“Milk? I don’t drink milk.” Dalilah’s answer made matters worse. Dashtan turned to the downcast Rakia. He took Rakia’s bread and tugged on the woman’s wrist, before moving on Dashtan placed Rakia’s bread on the granite table and dragged the woman to his workspace. Dashtan locked the door and dragged Rakia back to the center of the room.
“I await your explanation.” Dashtan took a standing position while leaning his butt against the edge of his desk. Rakia was silent and downcast.
“I have nothing to explain.” Rakia’s words made Dashtan even more upset. The man immediately went over to his desk, turned on his laptop and began to sink into it for a few seconds, the sound of a printer printing something out. Rakia peered at the man through her lashes and as Dashtan stood back up from his chair Rakia lowered her eyes to stare at the carpet of this room. She was like a child on trial to confess to a bad deed. Dashtan approached Rakia with a piece of paper.
“So this is the reason you’ve always asked for a divorce from me?” The question managed to make Rakia lift her face to look at Dashtan. The man’s face looked tense and implied suppressed emotions. Rakia frowned for a moment.
“What the-“
Dashtan held up the piece of paper he was currently holding.
“You deliberately asked for a divorce from me because you wanted to separate me from my child and then you would disappear with him, is that it?” Dashtan threw the paper at Rakia which Rakia caught with her heart in her throat. She read all the writing on the paper and found a gynecologist’s certificate which was the doctor she had been visiting lately.
“I should have done that after Dalilah’s confession that she was pregnant.” Rakia had no more reason to hide this, Dashtan had found his ace in the hole.
“Did you do it on purpose?” Dashtan’s tone sounded scary. But Rakia tried not to be affected.
“The situation changed quickly, and I couldn’t take the risk of telling you. Dalilah’s confession managed to make my status even weaker before my family and before you.”
Dashtan blew air from between his tightly clenched teeth. Both hands adjusted his hair as he turned away from Rakia. As he arrived in front of his desk Rakia was surprised by the man who knocked several items off the desk by throwing them hard, making a noise.
“Ash, I-“
“You don’t love me, Rakia... You’re a liar you liar, YOU LIAR!” Dashtan snapped on his last sentence which made Rakia startle. Both of the man’s hands clenched into fists then hit the table surface several times hard. His face conveyed a high level of frustration. Rakia approached Dashtan but the man stopped her movement by saying, “Leave me alone.”