\u00cen seara aceea, c\u00e2nd am ajuns acas\u0103, am scos din po\u0219et\u0103 reportofonul minuscul ascuns \u00eentre batiste. L-am conectat la laptop \u0219i am ascultat din nou. Vocea lui Tariq r\u0103suna clar, batjocoritoare, sigur\u0103 pe ea. De fiecare dat\u0103 c\u00e2nd \u00eemi spunea \u201ehabibti\u201d, \u00eemi venea s\u0103 r\u00e2d. Dragostea lui nu fusese niciodat\u0103 pentru mine, ci pentru ce credea c\u0103 poate ob\u021bine.<\/p>\n
M-am a\u0219ezat la birou \u0219i am deschis dosarul pe care \u00eel preg\u0103tisem \u00eempreun\u0103 cu tata. Erau acolo contractele false, tranzac\u021biile \u00een lei c\u0103tre firme paravan \u0219i semn\u0103tura lui Tariq, pus\u0103 cu at\u00e2ta \u00eencredere pe fiecare \u201eh\u00e2rtie cu datorie\u201d. \u00cel aveam exact unde voiam.<\/p>\n
A doua zi diminea\u021b\u0103, m-am \u00eembr\u0103cat simplu \u2014 o rochie bej, pantofi comozi, f\u0103r\u0103 bijuterii. Nu mai era nevoie de artificii. Am cobor\u00e2t \u00een holul hotelului unde st\u0103team provizoriu \u0219i l-am g\u0103sit acolo, a\u0219tept\u00e2ndu-m\u0103. Z\u00e2mbea.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Iubito, am crezut c\u0103 te-ai sup\u0103rat asear\u0103, zise el, \u00eentinz\u00e2ndu-mi un trandafir ro\u0219u. Mama a fost pu\u021bin\u2026 tradi\u021bional\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Nu, deloc, am r\u0103spuns calm. Din contr\u0103, m-a ajutat s\u0103 \u00een\u021beleg multe lucruri.<\/p>\n
L-am privit direct \u00een ochi \u0219i i-am v\u0103zut clipa exact\u0103 \u00een care siguran\u021ba i s-a cl\u0103tinat. Nu era obi\u0219nuit ca eu s\u0103 vorbesc a\u0219a. Am ie\u0219it \u00eempreun\u0103, iar soarele dimine\u021bii \u00eemi lumina chipul, dar \u00een mintea mea deja f\u0103ceam urm\u0103toarea mi\u0219care.<\/p>\n
La pr\u00e2nz, aveam \u00eent\u00e2lnire cu Leila. M\u0103 invitase la ceai, probabil s\u0103-mi \u201eexplice regulile casei\u201d. C\u00e2nd am ajuns, m-a \u00eent\u00e2mpinat cu z\u00e2mbetul acela fals \u0219i cu o rochie de m\u0103tase impecabil\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Draga mea, sper c\u0103 nu te-ai sim\u021bit prost asear\u0103, spuse ea, turn\u00e2nd ceaiul cu mi\u0219c\u0103ri lente.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Deloc, doamn\u0103 Leila. Ba chiar am apreciat sinceritatea familiei dumneavoastr\u0103, am r\u0103spuns \u00een arab\u0103 perfect\u0103.<\/p>\n
Cana i-a tremurat u\u0219or. S-a uitat la mine ca \u0219i cum a\u0219 fi pronun\u021bat o vraj\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Vorbe\u0219ti\u2026 arab\u0103?<\/p>\n
\u2014 De opt ani, da. Dar mi-am zis c\u0103 e mai interesant s\u0103 aflu ce crede\u021bi cu adev\u0103rat despre mine.<\/p>\n
T\u0103cerea care a urmat a fost una dintre cele mai dulci momente din via\u021ba mea. \u00cen sf\u00e2r\u0219it, masca se fisurase.<\/p>\n
Dup\u0103-amiaza am primit un mesaj de la James: \u201eAvem confirmarea. Tariq a transferat banii \u00een contul firmei fantom\u0103. Totul e \u00eenregistrat.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mi-am l\u0103sat capul pe spate \u0219i am \u00eenchis ochii. Era gata. Toate mesele, toate r\u00e2setele, toate privirile dispre\u021buitoare \u2014 \u00ee\u0219i aveau rostul acum.<\/p>\n
Seara, \u00een timp ce familia se adunase din nou la restaurant, am intrat \u021bin\u00e2nd capul sus. Tariq s-a ridicat s\u0103 m\u0103 \u00eent\u00e2mpine, dar \u00eenainte s\u0103 poat\u0103 spune ceva, doi b\u0103rba\u021bi \u00een costume negre au p\u0103\u0219it \u00een\u0103untru. Unul dintre ei s-a apropiat de el.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Domnul Tariq Almanzor? Sunte\u021bi acuzat de fraud\u0103 \u0219i sp\u0103lare de bani. V\u0103 rug\u0103m s\u0103 ne urma\u021bi.<\/p>\n
R\u0103mas f\u0103r\u0103 cuvinte, Tariq m-a privit lung. Eu doar i-am z\u00e2mbit.<\/p>\n
\u2014 \u021ai-am spus c\u0103 ai ales o femeie inteligent\u0103, i-am \u0219optit. Doar c\u0103 ai uitat c\u00e2t de mult.<\/p>\n
Familia s-a ridicat \u00een picioare, \u0219ocat\u0103. Leila, palid\u0103, abia mai respira. Iar eu am plecat calm, f\u0103r\u0103 s\u0103 m\u0103 uit \u00eenapoi.<\/p>\n
C\u00e2nd am ajuns afar\u0103, aerul rece mi-a umplut pl\u0103m\u00e2nii. M\u0103 sim\u021beam liber\u0103 pentru prima dat\u0103 dup\u0103 mult timp.<\/p>\n
Mi-am aprins o \u021bigar\u0103 \u0219i am privit cerul deasupra Bucure\u0219tiului. \u00cen sf\u00e2r\u0219it, capcana se \u00eenchisese. \u0218i de data asta, mielul fusese lupul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00cen seara aceea, c\u00e2nd am ajuns acas\u0103, am scos din po\u0219et\u0103 reportofonul minuscul ascuns \u00eentre batiste. L-am conectat la laptop \u0219i am ascultat din nou. Vocea lui Tariq r\u0103suna clar, batjocoritoare, sigur\u0103 pe ea. De fiecare dat\u0103 c\u00e2nd \u00eemi spunea \u201ehabibti\u201d, \u00eemi venea s\u0103 r\u00e2d. Dragostea lui nu fusese niciodat\u0103 pentru mine, ci pentru ce […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11746,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-povesti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11745"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11747,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11745\/revisions\/11747"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}