Page 61 of Diluted Truths
“How?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“Ophelia had some questions about a case a monthish ago and I recommended William to help,” Sarah responded.
Fai turned to his wife, betrayal written across his face.
“A month? This has been going on for a month!” he yelled as he stood so fast his chair fell backward.
He was growing angry, a level of anger I wasn’t comfortable with. A level of anger that reminded me of my father, of myself. I stood with him, raising my hand placatingly.
“Calm the fuck down, Fai.”
He turned his attention from Sarah to me. “Do not speak to me like that in my house!”
“Don’t raise your voice at your wife like that again and I won’t,” I responded, now trying to control my own anger. I refused to let him break me, but goddamn it, there was never a scenario where a man needs to yell at a woman like that.
Fai scoffed. “Yeah, like I would be the one to hurt her.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
He rounded the table so we were toe to toe. “You know exactly what I mean. I know who you are, who you come from.”
I was even more confused. I had never hurt a person in my life who didn’t deserve it. I refused. I had seen the damage it caused on myself, my sister and my mother. Damage that would never go away. I turned to Sarah, who had stood up at some point, but she looked just as confused as I did.
“Take a step back, Faizal,” Sarah interjected, trying to calm down her husband.
Fai ignored his wife as he continued inching closer to me. “I’m not the one to be scared of. He is. Aren’t you, Will? You could hurt Jackie just how your father beat your mother.”
I staggered back as if I had been slapped.
How could he know?
So few did. My family did, Jackie and Sarah.
Sarah.
I turned to my friend's pale face. She must have told him. That was the only explanation. I told her that in confidence.
“How could you?” I felt broken beyond belief.
Sarah rushed towards me, placing herself between Fai and I. “I didn’t, I promise.” She turned to her husband. “How did you know?”
He scoffed. “Like it matters. He isn’t good enough for Jackie, that’s what matters.”
“You don’t think I know that?” I responded, defeated. “I know she deserves more, deserves better. Jackie deserves fucking everything.”
He looked at me for a moment, almost confused. It wasn’t long before he snapped back into his anger. “I won’t allow it.”
This time I scoffed. “You can’t control her choices.”
He didn’t have an answer. He knew he couldn’t. She trusted him, respected him, and looked up to him, but she was like a fucking fire. No one could control her.
“I’ll make her see,” he finally stated as he turned towards the front door.
“Faizal, what are you doing?” Sarah asked as she rushed to her husband.
He turned just as he opened the front door. “Fixing your mistake, Sarah.”
With that he left, the door slamming behind him. I also knew that in the next hour I would probably lose Jackie. He was going to make her choose. Me or him. That was an ultimatum I wouldn’t win.
