Chapter 70_ Dark Side

“What the hell was that?” Al-Hakim asked, when they had gone down from the car, and Arya could see beads of sweat forming on Evelyn’s head.

“It’s... It's just a minor hiccup in an otherwise perfect system,” Evelyn answered, and Arya snickered.

"Like a stroke is a hiccup in an otherwise long and happy life?” Arya equated, and Al-Hakim nodded.

"I couldn't have said it better myself. It's quite an offense to be invited to test a faulty system.” Al-Hakim said, his words almost turning Evelyn to stone, as she clearly tried to hold back her tears.

‘Did I take it too far? After all, I could have easily been the one in her place. No! Arya, it's silly to feel bad for a deceiving arsonist.’ Arya mused silently, as she delivered the last blow to Evelyn with her next words, “To be honest, the problem is not the suspension. It's about trust. If things aren't perfect, a client should know it beforehand. A partial test is like cheating.”

Al-Hakim nodded in agreement to her words, “I agree. The test was arranged in a misleading way. I didn't think I had to tell you, Miss Evelyn, but I don't do business with people I don't trust.” He said, and Evelyn murdered Arya with her eyes before melting in front of Al-Hakim.

“Mr. Al-Hakim, I can assure you that misleading you is far from what we were trying to accomplish. We were just very enthusiastic about the first results and wanted to share our best with you,” Evelyn said, trying to placate Al-Hakim.

“Unfortunately, I’m interested in the whole thing, not just the best part,” Al-Hakim said, and Arya thought silently, ‘That’s for setting our garage on fire, bitch!’

“I will be right back," Evelyn said, as she walked straight to the garage where Piston was talking to a couple of mechanics, and Arya was left alone with Al-Hakim.

“Thanks for accompanying me to the test drive. Testing a different kind of ground was a good maneuver,” Al-Hakim said, and Arya flashed him a smile.

"You are welcome, Mr. Al-Hakim." Arya glanced over at Al-Hakim’s shoulder toward Evelyn. She was screaming her head off, and blazing daggers at Piston.

“How did your friend know how to fuck the test up?” Evelyn asked, with clenched teeth as she glared at Piston. Arya could make out Evelyn’s words but couldn't hear what Piston had said to her, but she could tell he looked beaten.

“What? You are fucking fired!” Evelyn yelled, and Arya’s eyes dimmed sadly, feeling somewhat sorry for Piston.

‘I'm sorry, Piston, but I have a new life on the line as well. Business is business even when it gets ugly.’ Arya mused silently, and was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Al-Hakim speak to her.

“But you should really pay attention to not lose yourself in the competition,” He said, and Arya forced a smile on her face.

"You have nothing to worry about, Mr. Al-Hakim." She answered.

"I really hope so. I saw this business eat, chew, and spit out many good souls like yours.” He said, and Arya furrowed her brows.

"But there is something I don't understand, Mr. Al-Hakim. If you're so concerned about my soul, why did you bring me along? Why not Marco, or someone else?” Arya asked,

“Because I deeply liked you,” Al-Hakim replied, and Arya widened her eyes at him. ‘What? Is he making a move on me?’

“Look, Mr. Al-Hakim. I'm afraid you have got this a little —-”

“I hope I didn't say anything that could have been misunderstood. I meant to say that you are like the daughter I always wished for,” He clarified, and Arya sighed, a relief escaping her lips.

“Oh. That's actually very sweet, but I still don't understand.” She replied, and Al-Hakim’s face turned serious.

"I think you haven't found your path yet. You haven't fully decided what's important and what isn't. I'm trying to help you out — to put you in front of the kind of choices that will shape who you are.” He explained, and Arya's eyes blinked with unshed tears.

“It's been a while since someone worried about me in this way.” Arya confessed, and Al-Hakim nodded reassuringly at her.

"Just promise me, once you make a decision, stop thinking about it and accept the consequences. Can you promise me that?” Al-Hakim said with hopeful eyes.

“Of course." Arya nodded, a lone tear slipping from her eyes.

“Go and rest, my child. It's been a long day." Al-Hakim said, and Arya nodded gratefully at him.


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When Arya got to the hotel’s parking lot, it was way past dinner already. With a sigh and a tumble of emotions, she got out of the car and started walking towards the hotel’s entrance. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks when she couldn't help but shake off the feeling that someone else's steps were echoing behind her. She got cold chills, and a strange feeling of déjà vu.

“What the —-” She yelped when a dark, tall figure emerged out of nowhere and gruffly said, “We need to talk."

“Aaah!”

“Hey, there's no need to scream. It's me,” Piston said, and stepped into the light, and at that moment, Arya couldn't help but think that maybe ruining his new career wasn't such a good move.

She instinctively took a step back and was on her guard. “Look, Piston, if you're here looking for trouble —”

“No, Arya. Will you calm down for a moment?” Piston said, and took a step back, lifting his hands placatingly. “I'm sorry if I scared you, but that wasn't my intention.”

"Oh, alright,” Arya said, and slowly relaxed as she asked, “What are you doing here?"

Piston looked at her and sighed. "Actually, I’m here to tell you how much I’m disappointed in you. You used the information I gave you to get an edge on the competition, and thanks to that, I lost my dream job.”

Arya bit her lip, guilt brewing at the pit of her stomach. "But how did Evelyn know that —"

“Only me, Evelyn, and her engineers knew about the problem. It was easy to do the math. But you know what really makes me sad? To see a nice person like you becoming a corporate shark who doesn't care about other people.” He said, and Arya fell into deep thought.

‘Is Piston right? Am I changing into a horrible person? Maybe he's right after all. I cared only about that damn car.’

She looked up at Piston, feeling somewhat ashamed, and said softly, “Piston, I don't even know what to say. I can't believe you lost your dream job because of me, and I'm really sorry about it.”

"You know what? I can't even be mad about it. And it's not because I didn't care. I'm just too happy to see there's still hope in you.” He said, and Arya gave him a funny look.

"I'm not sure I deserve to be praised. Your job —"

"I can always find another one. But it's not that easy to get a new soul after you've lost yours to the dark side. Trust me, I know.” Piston said, cutting Arya off. He turned his back to her and walked away.

“Piston, where are you going?” Arya asked worriedly.

"I don't know. I guess I'll have to improvise. And by the way, my name's Rick. See you, Arya,” he said, without turning to look at her, and Arya watched his retreating figure disappear into the distance, feeling intense emotions swirling within her than before as she pondered over what Al-Hakim had said to her earlier, and now Piston.