"You don't have to talk," he spoke softly and moved towards her completely. His hands were itching to touch her frail shoulders and tell her it'll be fine. She would be fine. But he couldn't, and for this, he couldn't wait to tell her the secrets of his heart. He knew it was against the laws of his work, but it's not like he was going to have an illegal affair with her. He wanted her to be his to wife, to love, and to make love to.
She smiled ruefully and closed her eyes, just in, a nurse came in and did all the necessary check ups. She looked up at him and smiled, "She's very strong. Alhamdulillah." She beamed and Aashif smiled back at her.
He brought the chair beside her and sat down, he folded his hands on his chest and muttered, "You've never for once told me," softly as though he was talking to a girl at night. Under the confines of the winds, and the stars guarding them against all odds.
"I'm sorry..." she let the words trailed off and later closed her eyes to relish in her breathe.
"It's fine, you should've told me. I wouldn't have allowed you to take that ice. It's what triggered the pain, right? I heard you got into a temporary stroke. Everything would be fine, Khayr insha Allah. But I hope it's not because of the ice? I means if it is, I can't forgive myself for that." He palmed his face exasperatedly and peeked through the holes of his eyes to see the look on her face. She was admiringly looking at him, and it soothe his heart and gave him more courage to go on with his mission. The mission of owning her. Making her his Halal.
She shook her head sideways, faintly. "It's not, something came up at home. But I guess the ice made it even worse. You shouldn't blame yourself please, I'd be fine. I'm strong after all." She smiled affirmatively at him and looked at the nightstand beside her phone, there she saw her phone laying peacefully. She knew it was Sadeeq that brought it for her.
She knew Abbu and Daada might be in the airport or in the plane already. She just felt like she wanted to send Daada a text so he would calm down his nerves. Even though he was not here with her, she knew she was in his every thought.
"Would you please help me with my phone?" She gave him her best puppy eyes and smiled apologetically. She knew she wasn't supposed to be having this relationship with her lecturer, but the worst thing is that, she didn't see him as her lecturer anymore. She saw him as someone different in her heart. Completely different.
"For sure." He nodded his head took the phone into his hands. He tried giving her the phone when she smiled again and spoke "Thank you, Prince. But if you'd check my notifications, tell me all of them and I'd love it if you help me text my Dad first. I saved his number as 'Old Daada'." She smiled widely this time, knowing the memory behind the name on Daada's contact. They had a fight when she looked at him and started laughing. He asked her why? And she said he was just days to his grave, that he was an old man but unfortunately had her as his only daughter. He's stocked with her for the rest of his life.
Daada wanted to protest when she said she can never let her kids live a lonely life without siblings, that's why she's going to give birth to tons of kids. And what he said made her cried that night and she got an ice cream date without begging for it. She loved Daada, she really do.
She told him the password and he went directly into her messaging app. He saw how she saved his name, and that squeezed his heart. He wasn't the lovey dovey type that he gave much attention of something as feasible as emoji, but he felt this one. He entered Daada's messages and read the ones unread for her before she told him what he should write to Daada. From the way she laughed, smiled and the choice of her words in the text, Aashif knew that she was so close to her father without her even voicing it out.
"Now, my notifications!" She spoke excitedly. She had always loved it when she woke up in the morning and get to read tons of messages from friends and family. And on days she got a few number of them, she felt sad and unloved.
"A number saved as 'Marwa Maama!' Sent you something: Assalamu Alaikum, Ihsan. How have you been? I'm busy I was too busy to call you on that day. But as I promised, my baby was delivered yesterday at night, she's a very beautiful baby. You need to come and see her. Here's my address..." Before Aashif could finish reading out the address, Ihsan let out a faint and sick squeal. She was so excited about the new born baby. She had always had random thoughts about Marwa, the lady she bumped into in Aspire park. She was so happy that she didn't forget about her promise.
She made him reply with a hearty congratulatory message and later on apologized she couldn't come because she was seriously sick and had a temporary stroke, but she would love to see the baby's picture as an appetizer for her lunch since she had already had her breakfast.
Later it was Qamar's threat about leaving at the festival day without a trace of her when she came back to show her Habibi the only friend she had. And then about how much she had to tell her about this pregnancy, it was sooo sooo overwhelming. She blushed. Now Aashif would think she's one kind of a crazy woman that's obsessed with everything preggy and baby.
They chatted it was after noon, she had a nap twice and still woke up to his face. Sometimes staring at her with a thoughtful expression, while at some point he was into a heated conversation in his phone. It was time for her lunch, the nurse brought in her lunch but Aashif offered to give it to her himself, she didn't bulge.
Amidst feeding her, chatting laconically, and Ihsan's sick voice laughing at what he said; the door slightly creaked ajar and Sadeeq walked in, holding a basket of food. Before they could yank off their eyes on his now angry-but-I'm-trying-to-hold-it-in-face, they saw a lady behind him, holding her bag with but today, she had a hijab wrapped around her brown hair. Seeing the tips of her hair clearly today, Ihsan knew she dyed it brown, it was originally pitch black. But what made her? What a disgusting choice of dying.
With halting steps, Sadeeq walked into the room and dropped the basket on a table and Noor made an entrance with a cold face and slightly shaking body. Today she confirmed her suspicions. Unapologetically, she fixed her eyes on Aashif and he had his eyes fixed on her too. While the same question was written all over their faces: 'Where the hell did you know him/her?!'
Sadeeq cleared his voice and walked towards Aashif, he silently collected the bowl from him and Aashif didn't hesitate before he handed the bowl to him and walked out of the room in a blink of an eye with Noor following his steps in a rush. They needed to talk, an urgent talk would suffice.
Before she can close the door behind her, they heard Aashif's angry voice yelling at her "ماذا بحق الجحيم تفعلون هنا؟ (what the hell are you doing here?)" if not because he was angry, and yelling and talking casually to someone Ihsan had hated all her life, she would've speared a minute and admired how Arabic language sounded so juicy on his lips.
Noor replied, with her usual smudgy attitude attached. "كما ينبغي لك يا أمير جودي كله (I should ask you that, the whole goody prince!)" And Ihsan tasted, venom, anger and what felt like pain in her words. Even though she wasn't understanding everything they said, she knew it was an argument or rather; a fight. A very heated one for that.
He scoffed and rubbed his palms together before he covered his face all in an attempt to tame down his anger. How he so much despised seeing her face. "نورا، استرجع حواسك إلى عقلك، قلت أنا لا أحب، ليس في البحرين ، مع فتاة مثلك (Noora, Get your senses back into your brain, I said I don't do love, not in Bahrain, not with a girl like you!)" He fired back as watched with satisfaction as her face went all red before tears started spilling out of her eyes socket.
She wiped at her tears with so much anger, why couldn't she control herself when it comes to him? He's none other than a prince in Bahrain, and she had seen a thousand of Arab princes. Some were there for her, to make her love them, but it's only him. She had to prove him wrong, she's not into him. He should get that. No Love In Bahrain. Not with him either.
"هل ستتوقف عن الاتصال بي بهذا الاسم؟ وللمرة الأخيرة ، أنا لا أحبك! أنا لا أحب سواء, ليس في البحرين! (Will you stop calling me that name? And for the last time, I don't love you! I don't do love either, not in Bahrain." Ihsan heard and understood that, all of their last sentences before he rushed to the door and closed it. What was she to feel?