Chapter 28: How Innocent

Opening the text she had sent him, Shehryaar passed the phone to her without a word, then sat back in his chair, watching her with his dark, unblinking eyes. Sheharzaad’s eyes scanned the screen, her chest tightening as each word sank in.

"What?" she whispered to herself as she felt her heart constricting inside her. The message was clear. She could feel her stomach churning as she pieced things together. Because of this message, he thought she was a promiscuous woman, a woman who would spend a night with a man in exchange for cash. That's why he asked her to spend a night with him. That is why he made such an outrageous proposition.

The realization stung her. "That's fake. I swear. Somebody is trying to frame me. I swear," her voice cracked, growing more frantic with each word as she desperately hoped he would believe her. But, alas, she was mistaken.

Shehryaar's lips curled slightly; he leaned back further in his chair. “Framed, huh?” His voice was soft, almost a murmur, yet laced with unmistakable cynicism. His eyes were laced with disbelief, or rather, a desire not to believe.

"How long have you been working here?"

"Three weeks," she whispered.

“Three weeks…” he repeated. "And in three weeks, somebody is already at your back, trying to frame you?"

Sheharzaad opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. What could she say to that? She looked away. How could someone have such a strong enmity with her, that too within just three weeks? Why would someone want to frame her? She was new to this company. She didn't know anybody, so how could someone already be trapping her?

"Any apparent enemy?" he asked, arching his brow.

"No," she shook her head as her face flushed with frustration and embarrassment. She knew how this sounded, but it was the truth.

"Now, why should I believe you?" he countered, his voice cold. "What proof do you have to prove your innocence?"

She clenched her fists, her face tight with frustration. "I don't have any proof to prove my innocence, but trust me. I don't lie. It's not me. I still remember my phone was lost that day. I couldn't find it. Somebody must have sent this using my phone, pretending to be me. Somebody is trying to frame me," she ranted, desperately hoping that something would make him believe her, while he silently listened to her. "And if this really is the case, then I would have never cried, asking for your help that day. I would have accepted what Rafay had given me."

Shehryaar said nothing for a while, but his dark, intense gaze did not leave Sheharzaad for even a moment. He had been pondering over it for a while, and that was keeping him from believing all the evidence piled up against her. But the question again arose: who? Who was behind her if she really wasn't the culprit? Who would try to frame her when it had just been three weeks since she joined the company?

"Why should I believe that you didn't put up an act that day out of fear of getting caught?" he stated one of the assumptions that had been running in his mind.

Sheharzaad’s mouth went dry, her chin wobbled as she tried to gather her thoughts. "I have no answer to that. I would never do that. If I'd really sent Rafay this text, then I would have agreed to your...your proposition the first chance I got," her voice was barely a whisper, as she silently pleaded with him to believe her.

He studied her, his lips twitching into a faint, mocking smile. "Again, I would say it can also be an act of piety," he murmured softly. "I know," his voice grew low as he whispered more to himself, "how you women do that. I know how talented you all are in putting up an act," his eyes suddenly holding that distant look, recalling someone.

That clicked with her. Hard. This isn’t about me, she thought. He’s talking about someone else.

"Women? Us women?" she repeated, her voice a mix of hurt and indignation.

"I can say the same thing to you. I have seen many men too who act pious all the way, but one chance—getting just one single chance—they don't hesitate to mar a woman's chastity. If there are evil women, then there are evil men too, Mr. Shehryaar. Don't look at the world from just one side of the coin."

He looked at her, seemingly caught off guard by her words. Slowly, he nodded, as though he were agreeing to her point.

"If there are evil men, then there are evil women too," he repeated her statement and paused as if drowning in deep thought, "but I remain unconvinced. And I will remain unconvinced until I meet one who would be the same inside as outside."

"I don't know...I don't know what's in your brain and how you think, but what do you want from me? I never called Rafay. And I...I'm being framed. Otherwise, why would the CCTV footage have been sabotaged?"

"Three weeks and being framed already," he muttered. He had already decided not to reach a conclusion until he got his hands on the person who sent him this note. Once that person was in his captivity, then he would decide who the real culprit was.

Yet he knew if it were some other woman than Sheharzaad herself, then he wouldn't have taken seconds before declaring her the person responsible. Her case was different to him. Again, he didn't know why. He hoped it was just a mere attraction of his toward her that wouldn't last long.

"Fine. I believe you for now," he stated after a moment of silence.

"Really?" she asked, as if in disbelief.

"Yes, for now, until I complete my investigation. You're off the hook."

"Is it because of this text you considered me a...call girl? Now you trust me, it means you will grant me a loan without...without me having to accept that offer?"

At her statement, he smirked.

How innocent.