The last chapter of Marrying The Billionaire Was Never Her Dream. I'm gonna cry, lol.
Enjoy.
Zarah's POV
Not much has changed since Aysha's death a month ago.
I won't say I was the one that suffered most because of her death, but I was one of the few people that had taken long to overcome it. Alongside her parents, siblings, Rukayya and Harris.
The latter had shown up right after the broadcast demanding to see her... one last time. We certainly weren't cruel enough to not let him see the girl he loved before they took her to her grave.
Needless to say, that brought a fresh wave of tears.
I sincerely hoped he would move on and find someone else. But it was his choice if he didn't, and I wished him all the best no matter what his decision was.
Ayyan entered the room as I sat up on the bed.
"How are you feeling?" he said, sitting down beside me and giving me a much-needed hug and a lingering kiss on the forehead.
"Like the baby should come out sooner than planned."
I groaned, and Ayyan laughed.
It wasn't a completely pleasant feeling having a baby grow inside of you. It was nice sometimes, but when you're constantly puking, and no longer have control over your emotions, you tend to remember how it felt like not to have a baby growing inside you.
"Six more months, and you'll be holding him/her," Ayyan said, stifling a laugh.
I punched him lightly on the shoulder, muttering, "Jackass."
The time it had taken for us to get back to normal—or whatever normal was—was painfully long, and filled with days spent in either mourning, tears or self-blame.
We had finally come to terms with the harsh trust: Aysha was gone and we needed to move on with our lives. She would've wanted that.
I climbed down from the bed. I needed to stop lazying around and get myself ready. Rukayya, Maryam, Yusrah and I were going baby shopping. The first of many, according to Yusrah.
She had successfully given birth to Hussain around the same time Aysha died. How she even had the energy to go baby shopping was beyond me.
"Shouldn't you be working or something?" I looked at Ayyan, who was sprawled on the bed as he lazily went through his phone.
He gave me a wink. "Have you forgotten that I'm the boss?"
I snorted. "Some boss you are."
Before I could say another word, Ayyan had left the bed and was inches away from my face. "Then you certainly wouldn't mind me showing you," his hot breath blew on my lips, making me shiver slightly.
"Why don't I show you instead?" I didn't let him respond before I reached up and pressed my lips to his.
The kiss was slow and left me all breathless. My hands quickly found a way to his neck as I tried to push him closer. He seemed to get the hint as he grabbed the small of my back with his hands and squeezed. I moaned, and he gained entrance into my mouth.
The kiss lasted a couple more seconds until I pulled away, flustered. It was everything I needed and more. It had conveyed every emotion that I had been feeling for the past weeks. All the hurt, the anger, the grief, the loss and the blame.
And I felt his too.
The way it quickly turned into a connection between our souls was almost frightening, yet particularly satisfying.
"If you don't stop staring at me like that, you'll not be the only person taking that bath," his voice was hoarse as he traced my bottom lip with his pinky.
"Like what?" I asked purposefully, licking my lips and his pinky.
"Fuck it," he said before crashing his lips on mine and stepping into the bathroom. Pulling away in the midst of the frenzy, he closed the door.
It was going to be one long bath, that I could tell.
And I was right.
We had spent way too much time that we both came out to dozens of missed calls and voice mails. Though that didn't mean I wouldn't do the same thing if presented with a similar opportunity.
"Shit," I heard Ayyan mutter.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I forgot about my meeting with the rest of the council," he said as he abandoned the towel showing off his Greek God-like structure for a pair of suit pants.
"Damn," I whispered under my breath
"Like what you see?" He looked at me suggestively as he grabbed a clean shirt and put it on. Slowly putting on the buttons.
I no longer had a doubt that the pregnancy was making me hornier than usual, and a lot bolder than I was.
"Of course," I said as I struggled to put on a dress that had once fitted me perfectly. The bump was showing and that meant I didn't fit into most of my clothes, which was another thing we needed to sort out when we went shopping.
I ignored Ayyan and his perfectly sculpted body and threw on a free gown, grateful that Aysha had forced me to buy it.
"I have arranged for security with Jack," Ayyan said, struggling to put on his tie.
I adjusted my white hijab and went to help him. "We're fine going out on our own," I said.
Ayyan snorted. "Do you remember what happened the last time you left without security?"
I did remember everything, even if I didn't want to. I remembered every detail, every emotion and every word everyone had spoken as if it were yesterday.
Rukayya got kidnapped, I nearly got my baby killed, and Aysha, she was killed all because of my mistake. Because I was too eager to find out what was happening. Because I was too damn curious for my own good.
Grief was a concept I was still trying to understand. One moment I was at peace—forgiven myself for everything—and the next, I was blaming myself. One thing was sure though, I never wanted to cross ways with it again.
"That was what I thought," Ayyan said, seeing as I had sunken into pits of thoughts again.
I didn't have the energy to argue with him about guards anymore. The weight of having one person's death on me was enough to last me a lifetime.
"Take care of yourself and the baby." Ayyan kissed me on the cheeks, and rubbed my belly in a soothing, electrifying way. "Call me if anything happens."
"I will."
"I love you," he said, giving me a peck.
"And I love you."
I grabbed my phone and purse, and we parted ways.
The three of them were waiting for me by the grand entrance. I tried to hide the frown that covered my face once I realized that Aysha would never be part of this group again. She would never join us for shopping or girls' day out or anything for that matter.
It was just the four of us now.
"Where've you been?" Yusrah asked, giving me a hug.
"I got caught up. Where's Hussain?" I asked.
"With his grandparents. I couldn't have him on a girls' day out."
We all laughed. Yusrah amongst us was the least person affected. She knew Aysha, but not as close as we did, and so had gotten over it easily.
"Hey you," I said to Rukayya as I hugged her next.
She hugged me back. Rukayya and I had grown considerably close. We became each other's rock and support. Although I hated being pitied, I couldn't help but pity her. She had lost a cousin and a fiancée at the same time.
Only God knew how she wasn't depressed and had moved on with her life.
"Hello, Zarah," she said, "and my little baby." She smiled. I looked at her clearly. Her eyes had lost their shine, and her smile wasn't as big as it were. Heck, it didn't even reach her eyes.
She was pretending, like all of us.
I faked a smile and pulled Maryam into a hug.
"Where's Zoya?" I demanded.
"Hello to you, too." She chuckled. "And she's with her paternal grandparents."
Maryam was the strongest amongst us all. She had lost not one but two sisters to the same man. I could only imagine how much hatred she had for him.
If Ayyan hadn't killed him, I would've killed him myself.
Not for the pain he caused me, but for the pain he caused to the people I loved.
"Are you ready to go shopping?" Rukayya asked, grinning at me.
I entered one of the many cars, the thought of how that should've been Aysha's line haunting me for the entire trip.
***
The punishment for treason was extremely brutal in every country, and Runaria did not disappoint.
Maria got life imprisonment, which was a lot better considering what she had done.
Luca Bristol (Khamis) got sentenced to death and was currently on death row. He was charged with impersonation, kidnapping of a royal family member and treason to the country.
He deserved what he got, and when we discussed it with Rukayya, she seemed relived he was going to suffer for what he had done.
David being a council member got sentenced to death by lethal injection. As I'm speaking now, he's gone. Dead.
I didn't even do so much as budge when Ayyan had told me he was dead. He deserved it, and way worse for what he had done.
And Allah was my witness, I would never forgive any of them for what they did. I could never live with myself if I forgave them.
People change, and I guess I did.
I wasn't the Zarah I used to be. That Zarah believed in people, she believed everyone had a good in him; and she believed nothing would happen to those she loved.
But this Zarah knew that while happy endings might be true, not everyone deserved them, and even those that did deserve them, often didn't get them.
***
I still can't believe I'm done writing the last chapter of mtbwnhd. We have been through so much, and I want to thank each and every single one of you for the love and support you have shown me and this book.
It has been a long journey. 3 years of joy, laughter and tears. Thank you for being with me throughout.
Watch out for the epilogue.
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~R.