Chapter 44

• Rakia gulped as Dashtan said his confession. She wanted to interrupt, but on the other hand, she tried to listen to the man's explanation.
• "She was two weeks pregnant, but not my child. She forced me to take responsibility after she carelessly joined a party with her classmates back in college in America. On an island for three days. I had forbidden her to go but Dalilah is a party girl and stubborn, so I had no choice and let her go." Dashtan continued his story. Rakia now felt half empty. She was grateful for not interrupting earlier.
• "Two weeks later, she confessed that she was pregnant and forced me to marry her and take responsibility because she had no idea who impregnated her. I refused to do so, and she threatened to kill herself, so I told her just to terminate the pregnancy." Dashtan took a deep breath; Rakia did too. For some reason, all her muscles suddenly tensed up as she listened to the man's story.