Twice Upon Qadr - A Shot At Love **EDITING**

Chapter 59

Houssam nodded. 

“Point taken.”

“Secondly, the way you came together was also not exactly the best way. Granted none of us could have controlled what Layla said, though in retrospect Ilham and I shouldn’t have been talking in front of her. But still. Houssam, you shouldn’t have found out from her.” He turned towards Hana. “You should have stepped up to the plate.”

“Hey!” Hana protested. “He was semi engaged to my best friend at the time! It’s not like I could have said anything!”

“You had years to say something! And that’s another thing. Houssam, your affections transferred pretty quickly from Kalthoum to Hana. No wonder you were both apprehensive.”

Houssam eyed his friend suspiciously. 

“Since when are you a shrink?”

“Be quiet. I’m trying to help!” Hisham exclaimed. “Now, I know you have been fighting a lot lately. It seems you can’t have a conversation without it ending in an argument.”

“That’s not true.” Houssam grumbled, and when Hisham raised an eyebrow skeptically, he sighed. “Fine. Maybe it’s kind of true.”

“Hana?” Hisham asked. 

“It’s really true.” She said quietly, and her brother nodded. 

“Before we get to that, can we explore why you both feel so insecure with this relationship?”

“Aw come on!” Houssam groaned. “We don’t need this Hisham! This isn’t Oprah!”

“Because he can be immature sometimes, and it scares me.” Hana piped up, and Houssam glared at her. 

“What?”

Hana nodded. 

“Yes. Sometimes I feel like I’m dealing with Dawud or Mohammad.”

“You’re comparing me to a child!?” Houssam demanded with a glower.  

“Sometimes you act like it!”

“Okay, this is good. Houssam, what makes you feel uncertain?”

“When she tells me she likes me, then gets engaged to someone else when I’m gone!”

Hana groaned. 

“You see! That is a perfect example! His automatic response was to act all childish and bring up something that I explained! For heaven’s sake we just went to the funeral yesterday!” she exclaimed throwing up her hands in exasperation. 

“I understand why you did it! It’s just the fact that you didn’t tell me that bothers me.”

“Oh my God Houssam! I am not doing this again!” she exclaimed. 

“And that just proves your first instinct is to argue.” Hisham said with a smile. “Houssam, why are you really feeling insecure?”

“Well,” he said running a hand through his tousled locks, “I’m scared that she is going to realize she can do better than me.”

Hana looked at him in astonishment.

“What?”

He nodded. 

“Yeah. I mean look at everything that you’ve been through. You were injured in a car crash because of the paparazzi, you’ve had horrible things written about you and all because you were connected to me. If you marry me, our lives will forever be in the public eye, and I’m worried that you will come to your senses and not want to be with me.”