The Scars They Hide

Chapter Forty - Surprise!

Chapter Forty - Surprise!

For all her worrying, the day went quite well and May had so much fun with everyone lavishing attention on her that it was an effort to go home that night. Jaafar, however, insisted, saying they would be there bright and early the next morning if May's schedule allowed.

This made them chuckle but everyone understood. You could try as much as you wanted but sometimes, the children had their own ideas.

"Try your best, son, please. We have a surprise for you and it would be nice if you were here early for it." Jaafar's father had a gleam in his eye and it looked almost odd on the otherwise stoic man.

Jaafar rolled his eyes. "The last time you had a surprise for me, you bought Ummie and I tickets to that other weird show that for some reason you thought we'd like."

"I did like the pottery expo, Jaafar!"

He gave his mother a look but she smiled back innocently. His family was hilarious and she loved it.

"Okay, we'll try but I think we should settle it for around ten o' clock. Lutfiyah still hasn't recovered from the jetlag and she was already sick when we left."

Aqeelah gave her a concerned look but Lutfiyah shook her head. She just needed some time and she would be okay. The long day had exhausted her and she felt like she could just sleep for days but otherwise it hadn't been so bad.

They said their goodbyes, Jaafar's parents smothering May in kisses, his mother saying that she truly felt like the granddaughter she had been waiting for. The twins rolled their eyes good naturedly, knowing their mother was hinting at them getting married.

May conked out five minutes into the drive and Jaafar, throwing her a gorgeous smile, asked, "So? How was it?"

Lutfiyah sighed. "Everyone was great. I had so much fun, your mum is such a great cook and it was really nice having the twins there. It made things so much easier and more comfortable for me. Your sisters are really amazing, babe."

He grinned and nodded. "Well, they love you which is why they came to support you and they love you because you are amazing."

She laughed. "Flatterer. I'm glad to know after a year of marriage you can still be such a sweetheart."

He gave an expression of mock horror. "Don't tell my business associates. It would ruin me."

But she saw the pink tinge on his cheeks and smiled. Then her smile faltered. "I don't know if it was just me or what but..."

He frowned at her. "What?"

She thought back to the moment then shrugged. "I don't know. At one point, I saw Ummie staring at May a little weirdly. Not in a bad way but like, she was looking really intently then she kind of shook her head. But then after that, she kept throwing weird glances at her."

Jaafar looked at her, eyebrows scrunched. "No, I didn't notice. Maybe she was thinking of something? You know when you get caught in a daydream and you realise you've been staring for too long?"

She nodded and shrugged, taking the excuse and letting the incident go.

On entering the hotel, May was woken up and in her grumpy, moaning state, given a bath and then put to bed. Lutfiyah barely managed to do the same, reading her salaah before she too slid into bed.

Jaafar walked in with a tray, two glasses of juice and a plate of dessert on it. "Ummie said that you barely ate anything in the evening and phoned to tell me to give you dessert and some juice." He sat down carefully, placing the tray in the space between them.