Negina | ✔️

Chapter thirty-four: "Tell me!"

If you feel your sinking I will jump right over into colds cold water for you
-Justin Bieber
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{~Negina~}

I stare at my brother in complete horror, tears already spilling down my eyes. "D-dead? How?" I manage to whisper before dropping my head on the table with a thump and starting to cry. After a few moments of waiting for his answer I raise my head, "tell me!"

"They, they had a business trip in Australia and they wouldn't leave Sarah with Lema and me. They took her with them. They took their airplane, the engine failed causing the airplane to crash and kill all three of them including the pilot and everyone one board." Naser says, I could hear his voice breaking. His head was in his head and I can see that he's trying hard not to break down in front of me.

But his presence didn't bother me, I was already bawling me eyes out. It's some day that I find out on, on my daughters birthday. I cry for a few more minutes, childhood memories and arguments with my parents playing and replaying in my mind. But then it hit me. A very clear memory hit me. My mother always used to say "Somewhere there's a celebration, somewhere there's a mourning" and only now I realize what she meant by that.

All my life my mother always looked at the bright hints in life, always repeating that quote to her kids and her husband. She said this especially when things would be bad, when my father didn't sign a contract with an important company. Or when things weren't the best in school with her kids. My mother was never upset, always a smile on her face. But no one could tell, weather this smile was real or fake.

Naser looks up to me, his eyes bloodshot red. I look at him with the same eyes and before I know it he's hugging me and I'm hugging him back. We stayed in this hug for a long time, I'm not exactly sure how long. We break the hug when Naser continues to speak.

"Khalid, he lost his job. He got suppressed and his company got shut down. He's lost everything, even fame." Naser sighs, understandingly. But he doesn't understand, he's never lost anything in life. Oh... never mind.

"I know." I chew on my bottom lip, "it was Arsen who had all of the company papers. He kidnapped Khalid, a long time ago when Saiid was only a toddler. Arsen wanted to kill him. I promised Arsen that I'd stay with him and not run away, if he let Khalid go."

"Ya Allah, that kafir!" (*Kafir- an insulting term for a non-muslim*) Naser growls, his eyes showing no mercy for Arsen.

"I just don't understand one thing," I say, thinking out loud. "Why didn't his parents do anything?"

"Oh Negina, his parents... they disowned him." Naser says, quietly. I stare at my brother in confusion. "What? Why?"

"Jasmine got pregnant and he told his dad. He was against it, and told Khalid to either get married or to never come back to his houses. Khalid being the stubborn guy he is, didn't get married. He left." Naser says, staring down the table. "What happened after he let Khalid go?"

"I got pregnant with Arezo, and I told him. He didn't want a thing to do with his daughter he offered as much money as I pleased. And I told his that I want to be the owner of Khalid's company." I say, somewhat afraid of Naser's reaction towards this new statement of mine.

I was right, he did react roughly, "What?! Did he force himself on you?" I kept my head low, in shame. "Negina bloody tell me!" He asks angrily.

"Keep it down, you'll wake Arezo up." I whisper, afraid of my own brother. He kneels down in front for the chair that I'm sitting on and looks up into my eyes. "Please Negina, please tell me. Did he force himself on you." He says holding my hands tightly in his.

A single tear leaves my eye, "It was my fault. I told him that I'd do anything if only he let go of Khalid. Arsen took that seriously and he took advantage of it." I say calmly, in an attempt to calm Naser down too.

"It's still not the right thing to do. We have to do something." Naser sighs.

"Please just drop it, what's happened already happened." I plead, looking up into my brothers eyes. And he doesn't go any further, knowing that I feel uncomfortable on this topic.

"Negina. You need to tell Khalid that you have the papers, it's the right thing to do." Naser says standing up and sitting on the chair next to me.

"I'd love too, walah." (Promise) I say exhaling a breath, "But I cant. I don't know where Khalid is, how to give him the papers. I don't think you know that either."

"That is where I come in, my dearest sister," Naser smirks crossing his arms. I raise my eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?" I ask.

He smiles at me, "here's the plan." He says leaving in to tell me. I wait patiently as Naser gets his thoughts together.

"I've done the math, and if my calculations are correct. Khalid's child and our Saiid, are the same age. Saiid is going into junior year, right?" Naser asks. I know my head. "Yeah."

He smiles, proudly. "Perfect. So we could easily find out the child and his or her address, just by doing a little bit of hacking into the school system."

I chuckle, "nice plan. Only, not you or I can hack. Especially into the school system."

I guess I underestimated his plan.

"Wrong again sissy, I've got a very good wife that is applying for the principles assistant, right at Rivermark High School." He boasts.

I raise my eyebrow, "wife? Since when are you married?" I ask, curiously.

"I've been married to Lema for three years now." Naser smiles at me. I couldn't believe my ears. My best friend and brother, married? Is that even possible. I mean it's been a long time since the last time I've seen them both. At least fifteen years for sure.

This made me realize, life has gone by so fast. And it's been so crazy. So many ups and downs, yet here I am next to my brother, for the first time in fifteen years. Again. After all of that Mafia stuff. I'm here, alive and happy.

Somewhere there's a celebration, somewhere there's a mourning.

Authors Note-
So I decided to use Negina's Point Of View, you guys like it or not?