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Ambreen wasn’t fazed by this accusation. “I know how to do my job, Dina. Arshad slipped me a little extra to keep tabs on you and Lucky too. Hania needed to bring the drama if she wanted the reality TV show to go ahead. I did what I had to do.”

Hania stood up, face flushed. “I never asked you to do this. You work for me, not Arshad. How could you do this to my sister?”

“I thought you could use it. A bit of backstage drama to keep things interesting. No offense, but your wedding was Brown girl basic,” Ambreen said.

Her sister gasped in outrage. “How dare you! You’re fired.”

Ambreen shrugged. “Whatever. You were never going to sell your show, Hania. You’re not that interesting. That’s why I accepted a new job, with your friends. They want to launch a desi girl Big Brother on YouTube. See you all at the airport.” She walked out.

Dina turned off the projector, her fingers trembling, before turning to face her family. She should have known better than to trust Arshad. He had taken every opportunity to embarrass and trip her up this entire wedding, and she kept letting him. Any grace she had for him stopped now.

“Is this true, Dina? Did you end your marriage with your husband to be with . . . with . . . a contractor?” her mother asked.

Dina inhaled sharply. “First of all, Lucky owns his own business. He takes care of his family. He has sacrificed for the people he loves, and he’s taken care of me too. More than anyone in my family has done recently. But make no mistake—Lucky has behaved like an absolute gentleman. Unlike my actual husband.” She shot Arshad a venomous glance before turning back to face her family. “Arshad and I separated eighteen months ago, after I kicked him out for cheating on me. We officially divorced six months ago.”

Arshad’s voice was chiding, patronizing, and she wanted to claw his face. “Really, Dina, this is beneath you. We don’t have to do this. Yes, our marriage is over, but we can have an amicable breakup. Let’s just split our assets fifty-fifty and avoid a long, drawn-out public battle. I’m sure that’s the last thing your parents—or Samir’s parents—would want. I would hate to drag the Haq family—or Crescent Construction, for that matter—through the mud. You know how much our community loves to gossip. Log kya kahenge?” he mocked.

Azeez put his arm out, stopping him. “Arshad, why are you doing this? You know Dina has a prenup. If you are already divorced, what is the point of this public tamasha, this spectacle?”

Arshad shrugged. “Men with broken hearts do crazy things.” He looked straight at Dina as he spoke, and she recognized the threat in his words. He would embarrass her publicly unless he got what he wanted. “Pay me what I’m owed,” he said. The or else was implied.

Still Azeez wouldn’t let it go, and it broke Dina’s heart to see her father struggle with Arshad’s betrayal. “We could have talked this over, beta,” he said to his former son-in-law. “I always saw you as my son, as much a part of Haq Law as Dina, perhaps even more so. We could have figured something out. Even if the marriage between you and Dina dissolved, you could have still remained an integral part of Haq Law.”

For the first time since she’d walked into the restaurant, Dina saw a flash of vulnerability across her ex-husband’s face. The barest flicker of remorse, of guilt, before it was wiped clean. “It’s too late now, Dad . . . Azeez,” he amended.

Aliyah joined Dina and squeezed her hand, reminding her that she had power in this confrontation too. “Dad, you put your faith in someone who didn’t deserve it,” she said now. “Arshad has been hiding something from you. He planned to leave Haq Law and to take clients with him, along with the new business in London and now in Chicago.”

Instantly, her father was on his feet, eyes blazing, any grief at losing Arshad gone. “What is the meaning of this? I’ll sue! You won’t get any of my clients or any of my business! I will destroy your career!”

“There’s more,” Dina said. “Aliyah took a look at the financials. We suspect Arshad has been skimming off the top for a few years now, funneling client funds into his own pockets. She spotted a few financial irregularities already.”

Azeez grew still at these words, and his face went curiously blank, every hint of earlier anger gone. He exchanged a long look with Arshad, until the silence lengthened and grew uncomfortable. Then her father turned to Aliyah, a strained smile on his face.

“Thank you for your help in this manner, Aliyah. Even the hint of misappropriation of client funds would ruin Haq Law, so I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We will, of course, look into this matter seriously. When I return to Toronto, my first call will be to our head of accounting. You can leave this matter with me.”

Dina and Aliyah exchanged a baffled look. “But, Dad, she’s offered to look at our books as a favor, and if there’s been some misuse of funds, Batool must already have realized, or been involved in covering it all up,” she said, referring to their head of accounting.

Azeez didn’t look at his daughter. “You will leave this with me,” he said coldly, and Aliyah nodded her acquiescence.

Arshad coughed loudly, returning the attention of the group back to him. “Never let it be said that I outstayed my welcome. Yahya Uncle, Rabia Aunty, it was truly a pleasure. Samir—good luck. I hope you make out better than I did. And, Lucky . . .” He looked at his former friend, the ghost of regret flashing across his face. “I wish things had turned out differently.”

Lucky looked from him to Dina, then shook his head. “I think things turned out the way they were always meant to. Now do everyone a favor and leave.”

For once, Arshad did as he was told. The silence in his wake was broken only by Dina’s hurried footsteps, running after her ex-husband.

Chapter Thirty-Five

She caught up with Arshad in the parking lot. He was staring down at his phone, ordering an Uber.

“It was my father who was embezzling funds, wasn’t it?” she said. “You may be my villain origin story, but you’re not a thief. Why did you cover for him?” she demanded. She hated that her voice shook, but she forced herself to face him anyway.

Arshad sighed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dina. Shouldn’t you be breaking out the nonalcoholic bubbly? You won. I’m out of your life.”

“You found out what my father was doing. That’s why he kept you so close. You knew too much.”

Her ex-husband smirked. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

“But . . . why?” Dina asked. “I don’t understand.”