Salam
Enjoy.
******************************************
"Your highness." Zayan bowed politely to Tawfiq and Karim.
Zaira was standing there awkwardly fidgeting. She hadn't seen him since he left home. He had changed considerably but he still looked the same to Zaira.
"Zayan. Congratulations." Tawfiq congratulated him for winning his court case.
"Thank you."
Zayan smiled politely.
He turned his gaze to Zaira and smiled fully.
"Zaira..."
Zaira run into his unexpecting arms.
"Zayan..." Zaira cried out as she held unto him tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Zaira. All this happened because of me. If I hadn't left home..."
"No...It's my fault. I shouldn't have run away from home. If I didn't you wouldn't have come here and gotten caught..."
"It's all in the past. Everything worked out fine, from what I can see. You're basically going to be the next Sheikha of this country."
"Hmmm."
Zayan pulled back and looked at her in a questioning manner.
She gave him a loop sided smile and shook her head.
She let him go after that.
"Zayan. It's good to see you again." Karim smiled at him.
He was the only living family of Zaira. They had to be comfortable with it each other.
"Your highness."
"Oh no. Just Karim." Karim insisted.
"But you're the crown prince."
"And you're my brother in law. You can call me Karim when we're not in public at least." Karim said.
Zayan only nodded.
"Why don't we go inside? The rest of the family can't wait to meet you." Tawfiq said to him.
"I really don't want to intrude. And I definitely don't deserve to be here. For what I did, I shouldn't even be allowed to step close to the gates. I only came with your people because I wanted to see Zaira before I left." Zayan smiled apologetically.
Zaira frowned.
"Left? Where are you going to? You just got out of jail...hell basically. And you're just going away? You can't just leave me again."
"I'm not leaving you. I know you're in good hands. I'm just going back home. Start off fresh. I'll be in touch, Zaira. Trust me." Zayan assured her.
"But you can stay here for the mean time and then we can... you can go back to Qatar later." Zaira pouted.
"He can stay here, right, Karim?" Zaira looked at Karim expectantly.
"Um...of course. He could stay here for the meantime if he wants. But I don't think you should force him to stay. He clearly doesn't feel comfortable here." Karim explained to Zaira.
"I know you want me to stay. I also wish I could stay but Karim's right. I won't feel comfortable staying here. I honestly just want to go back to Qatar and forget everything that happened since I stepped foot here. You have to understand me. This place may be your new home but my home is Qatar. I've hurt people here, Zaira. Whether intentional or not. My memories here are just memories of being hunted down by the police and military and being in jail. That's why I can't stay. You can visit anytime you want. All of you are welcome." Zayan turned his attention to Karim and Tawfiq.
"We will hold you up to it." Tawfiq replied.
Zaira just crossed her hands over her chest with a deep set frown.
"Zaira..." Zayan sighed.
"It's taken me years to finally find you, Zayan. What if you disappear again and this time I never find you?" Zaira muttered.
"I'm going back home, Zaira. Back to our house. I'm not disappearing. When I settle down I'll keep in touch all the time. I shouldn't have disappeared the first time without saying anything. I was just doing it to protect all of you from being targeted. And I'm sorry. But be assured that I won't go anywhere this time. You'll find me exactly where I said I will be." Zayan smiled at her.
She continued to frown.
"I remember telling you that you look like the grinch when you frown." Zayan chuckled.
Zaira heard Karim snicker behind her. She snapped her head to him and glared.
Karim stopped laughing instantly and looked at his feet.
"I don't look like the grinch."
"Then smile." Zayan grinned wildly which caused Zaira to raise the corners of her lips slightly.
"You're sure I can't change your mind about staying? They've got a sea and a zoo. Nice food too." Zaira tried again with puppy dog eyes.
"Zaira..." Zayan groaned jokingly.
"Fine. Fine."
Zaira wrapped her arms around Zayan again. It wasn't a goodbye. They'd be together like before soon enough. Not like before but close enough.
"I'm going to miss you." Zayan said quietly to her.
"We'll be together again soon." Zaira let out lowly to his hearing.
Zayan arched a brow in confusion but just like before, Zaira just shook her head and smiled.
They let each other go.
"I'm so grateful to you both. For helping me and looking after my sister. Thank you. She's all I've got left so I hope you'll still look after her the same way. I know she's a bit of a handful." Zayan said more to Karim than Tawfiq.
"With everything I've got." Karim assured him.
Zayan nodded.
Tawfiq gestured to one of the two men who had brought Zayan to the palace and said a few things to him quietly.
"They'll drop you off at the airport and get you on the next plane to Qatar." Tawfiq said after talking to the guard who bowed before moving to the car.
"I cannot say how grateful I am, your highness. For everything."
Zayan pursed his lips.
"There's no need." Tawfiq stated.
Everyone was quiet before Zaira spoke.
"Okay it's getting awkward now. Go away, Zayan." Zaira chuckled.
"You were just begging me to stay." Zayan arched a brow.
"Yeah, well times change." She shrugged and moved towards Karim who interlaced their hands together.
"See you all soon." Zayan said before walking to the car he had arrived in.
"You'll miss him, right?" Karim mumbled.
"I'll be fine." Zaira said as she watched the car drive away from them.
Zaira looked at hers and Karim's hand laced together.
We're both so lost.
So different.
So young.
Till we both understand who we are on our own,
This will never work.
No matter how far we are from each other.
If this is supposed to work out,
It will.
No matter what.
"Zaira?" Karim called out to her.
She looked up at him.
"What are you thinking about?"
She didn't realize they were alone now.
She smiled and raised their joined hands.
"Just how I want this to last forever."
Karim brought their joined hands closer to his lips and kissed the back of her palm.
"It will." Karim said surely.
**
"Is the car ready?" Tawfiq muttered lowly to Karim.
"Yes, dad. Yes. Yes it's ready. It's fixed and parked in the garage."
"Good."
"You do know that she probably knows that you're planning a surprise here and she already knows you got her a car. So there's no need for us to help you decorate the villa." Karim mumbled in annoyance.
He was tired of fixing balloons around already and putting flowers at the right places. Even the twins had given up and run off. Habiba and Daneen had left to supposedly look after Samia.
"Don't mind this one. I think this is very sweet of you." Zaira commented.
"You think she'll like it?" Tawfiq questioned.
"I haven't surprised her in ages. She won't see this coming." Tawfiq smiled.
"She definitely will love it."
Karim just rolled his eyes.
"There's nothing surprising about this. You both know it's your anniversary. So both of you know you've gotten each other gifts or something. This is all very unnecessary." Karim groaned.
"It wouldn't have been a bad surprise if my main gift wasn't displayed to her."
"She didn't see it."
"She knows it's a car and whose fault is that?" Tawfiq narrowed his gaze at Karim.
"Yeah, Karim. Whose fault is that? Party pooper." Zaira supported Tawfiq.
"You better pray..." Tawfiq's phone began to ring.
It was Naima.
She had gone out earlier so he knew she wasn't at home.
"Babe?" Tawfiq said into the phone.
"Your highness."
"Aziz?" Tawfiq frowned.
Did he go with Naima? Tawfiq wasn't aware. Aziz normally stayed in the palace at all times. He rarely even went places with Tawfiq unless Tawfiq wanted him to go with him. He was a security head who had to instruct the other guards. He couldn't be going around when he was needed.
"Where's Naima?" Tawfiq asked him quickly.
"Your...your highness... I need you to be calm..."
"Calm? What happened, Aziz?" Tawfiq frowned.
Karim frowned too. What was going on?
"Her highness was involved in a car accident..."
"What the fuck do you mean by car accident?! Where!? Where's she!?" Tawfiq growled into the phone.
He could feel his heart about to fall out his chest.
Accident?
How?
When?
"She's being prepped for surgery as we speak and the doctors need you to come over and sign some papers first."
Tawfiq couldn't speak. His eyes just held tears he couldn't allow to fall yet.
Karim and Zaira just looked helplessly at Tawfiq trying to understand what was happening.
"Your highness?" Aziz called out.
"Which hospital?" Tawfiq muttered lowly.
Why was this happening? Why?
Tawfiq just wanted to disappear and appear right at the hospital. He'd kill anyone who was involved in Naima getting hurt. Anyone.
"Sheikh Mohammed Hospital. You need to get here fast." Aziz said.
Tawfiq didn't even wait to listen to anything else. He ended the call and put the phone into his pocket as he walked quickly to the door out of the villa without a word.
Karim and Zaira frowned and run to catch up with him.
"Dad? What's going on? Who's in the hospital?" Karim asked for answers.
He placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Tawfiq turned to look at him.
He looked confused for a moment.
Somehow the idea hadn't settled in yet.
"Dad! What's going on?" Karim pushed for answers.
Tawfiq slowed down his pace to the garage.
"Your mother...accident... I... I have to get to the hospital... I don't know..." He couldn't even form a sentence.
Karim's face fell.
"What do you mean by accident? Tell me she's fine, dad! Mama's fine right!?" Karim shook him back to his senses.
"They're taking her in for surgery but I need to... I need to get there quickly..." Tawfiq picked a random key from the glass case before pressing the button to see which car it belonged to.
"Ya Allah! My God...She's fine...she has to be fine..." Karim kept muttering to himself.
Zaira kept looking between the two of them.
Clearly both of them weren't fit enough to drive. They'd just lead them to another accident.
Zaira snatched the keys from Tawfiq's hands.
"Zaira. Give it back." Tawfiq frowned.
"Both of you need to calm down and get in the car. I'll drive. You don't look like you know what's going on around you."
"I need to get there now!"
"You want to die before getting there? Because that's exactly what's going to happen, mister. So get in the car." Zaira ordered.
This time Tawfiq obeyed and sat in the front seat of the car with Karim at the back.
Zaira sighed before taking the driver's seat.
"Drive through any fucking speed limit and red lights, Zaira. Go straight to the Sheikh Mohammed hospital." Tawfiq ordered.
Zaira managed to put in the hospital name and select the quickest route on the in built GPS in the car.
God, let her be okay.
Zaira prayed silently.
**
Tawfiq and Karim jogged quickly into the hospital looking around frantically.
The hospital looked a bit empty. Except a few doctors and nurses moving around. There were no patients around too. Maybe it was because they had a VVIP on the premises.
Tawfiq was the first to spot Aziz.
Tawfiq was expecting him to look a bit tattered but he looked a bit too okay.
"Where's she!?" Tawfiq growled at him.
"Top floor." Aziz answered quickly.
He knew how Tawfiq could get so he had to answer quickly.
Tawfiq run up the stairs instead of the elevator with Karim close behind.
Zaira entered the hospital out of breath and what caught her attention was Aziz smiling.
She frowned.
She walked up to him quickly.
He quickly changed his expression.
"Why were you smiling, Aziz?" Zaira questioned.
"Sheikha Zaira... I wasn't..."
"Tell me why you were smiling, Aziz. And why the hospital looks so deserted. That's an order." Zaira mustered up her serious poker face.
Aziz sighed.
"It's a surprise by the Queen."
Zaira's eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock.
"Oh my God."
"How...when... This was a bit too much! She got us all scared!"
"Just you three. This was the only way. The king would have caught on any other way. I do believe it was a bit too much too. But I guess it worked." Aziz explained.
"I want to see their reaction." Zaira said and moved to the elevator to press on it.
Hopefully the elevator gets there quicker than them.
~
It did. It was a tall building. They could have just used the elevator. But they couldn't stand still.
The elevator door opened just as the door to the stairs opened abruptly.
"Surprise!" Naima, Habiba, Daneen and the twins screamed at Tawfiq who was gaping at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes.
Karim came behind him and frowned slightly.
What was all that?
Tawfiq walked towards Naima slowly. She had a huge smile on her face.
Naima walked halfway to meet him. She enveloped him in a hug. He didn't reciprocate.
"Happy anniversary, love." She whispered to him.
"You...accident...Aziz said...surgery..." Tawfiq was confused.
"I had to make Aziz lie to you to get here. You were surprised weren't you? I've never been able to surprise you before. You always catch on. So this time I had to take extreme measures in order for this to work. I had to rent a hospital for goodness sake." Naima giggled.
Tawfiq raked his hair and exhaled.
"I was so scared." He finally said after a while.
"I'm sorry. But I had to. It was the only way to catch you off guard."
"You gave us a heart attack, mama." Karim muttered.
He frowned when he noticed everyone else was there. Even Samia.
"Why wasn't I told about this? It seems even Samia knows." Karim frowned.
"You ruined your dad's surprise, Karim. I wasn't going to let you ruin mine." Naima rolled her eyes at him and took Tawfiq's hand in hers.
"I love you, babe but next time take it down a notch. If Zaira didn't drive, I'd have caused an actual accident before getting here.But..."Tawfiq said to her.
"But...." Naima urged him to continue with a weird smile.
"You got me. I'll hand it to you." Tawfiq let out reluctantly.
He wasn't one to be easily surprised. He'd catch on so simply without even trying. So for him to be surprised or in this instance shocked was a big deal.
"Hah! We did it!" Naima grinned and walked back to high five her kids.
"I couldn't have done it without you guys." Naima smiled at them.
"You should have seen the funny balloons Karim was putting up." Daneen laughed at his brother.
"In the villa?" Naima asked.
"You knew about the villa?" Tawfiq arched a brow.
"I had a hunch about it yesterday. And then the kids confirmed it today." Naima grinned.
"You got me. For the first time, you've got me good." Tawfiq chuckled.
"Happy Anniversary, baby girl." Tawfiq said lowly and kissed the side of her lips.
"God! We're right here! Keep this whole fiasco for your bedroom! Please!" Karim groaned.
Wait...where was Zaira?
He looked around and saw her standing in front of the closed elevator door.
He smiled at her and she smiled at him too. But it was different. Karim noticed it.
Her smile looked the same but her eyes had a different emotion to them.
Karim frowned slightly.
He walked towards her and cocked his head.
"Are you alright?" Karim asked with concern.
"Me? I'm alright. Why wouldn't I be? I'm just a little shell shocked but I'm definitely alright. Why would you think I'm not alright?" Zaira said quickly.
"It's just...you know what? Never mind." Karim let it go.
Just like how he made a mistake to not push Shamsiya for answers when she started acting differently. He didn't push Zaira for answers too. And that was another mistake he would end up realizing he made.
They both just watched their family talking and laughing with each other. The twins were already attacking the cupcakes and had a plate ready for their cake. It was beautiful. Serene and simple but still beautiful.
________________________________
Dun dun dun duuunnnn😪
So so so so
Any
COMMENTS ‼️
VCS❤️
CIA❤️☀️