Chapter Twenty Five – Calm before the storm

“Of course! And we can have a beach party on the second day. Its going to be amazing with our barefoot in the sand. Can’t wait to have it babe. Love you so much!”

From the recording, Raphael heard a voice that he quickly concluded was Alaya’s. But somewhere in the back of his head, there was a suspicion. A suspicion about something being wrong.

Raphael looked at the half smile that Layaan gave him before he walked away. Raphael stayed on the spot, thinking for a while and then headed for the elevator.

He had walked out of the hospital that day without looking back. He thought of going back over and over to figure out what exactly was up with Layaan and Alaya. Alaya had clearly told him that she was not happy with her marriage to Layaan. But the recording that he heard told him otherwise. How could that be? Was Layaan trying to show that Alaya loves him though it isn’t true? The curiousness made Raphael call Liam just the next day.

“I’m good Liam Alhamdhulillah! Are you….still at the hospital?” Raphael asked on the phone while sitting at his desk that afternoon.

“No I’m not. I just dropped my wife aka Alaya’s sister with her. I’m headed to go to a mall to buy some stuff they need. Anything the matter?”

“No….I just wanted to know if Layaan was there. Is he?”

“He was a while ago. But went somewhere saying that he had some business to handle. Is he your friend? He is one caring fiancé I must say. Hehe….remember I told you about the kind of spouse I aspire to be? He is pretty much that way. He doesn’t leave Alaya’s side as much as he could. Perhaps that’s the reason why Alaya is softening towards him too. My wife said Alaya didn’t like him in the beginning. But she said Alaya has started to talk about him even to her since this morning. Saying she is grateful for all that he has done and would like to give him a chance in marriage. Isn’t that amazing? What a show of character does!” Raphael listened as Liam spoke. He sighed as his fist clenched on the table. He disconnected the phone and put it upside down on the table.

****

Just from the window of Raphael’s cabin, Layaan was seen getting off from a Mercedes that had stopped near the building. He officially wore a black suit and white shirt. One would expect him to go into the tall building but quite strangely, he told his driver to go. As the car went by, he looked at both sides of the street and ran across the street. As he reached the pavement on the other side, he took out his phone and dialed a number.

“Hey babe, where are you?” he said, speaking to the receiver from the other side.

“Near the hotel I told you about.” a woman’s voice was heard from the speaker.

“I’m there too.” Layaan said, looking at the name of the hotel that was about 10 steps away from him.

“I see you.” the woman said and that was the moment Layaan’s eye caught her. As soon as it did, a smile appeared on his lips. He disconnected the phone along with the woman who stood a few steps away from him. The woman had an oval shaped face with a light complexion. Her straightened black hair flowed freely behind her and her eye wings made her face look captivating. She looked pleasant with a brown long sleeved top and black pencil skirt.

“Laana!” Layaan said the name and Laana smiled. She walked slowly towards him doing her catwalk. As soon as she reached him, Layaan hugged her tight with a smile.

“I missed you.” Layaan said.

“Me too.” she said.

*2 days later*

Alaya’s POV

Alaya tightened her eyelids as she was about to wake up from her sleep. As she was awake and she opened her eyes narrowly she heard and saw Asma who was speaking on the phone.

“I’m sorry dad…but I’ve been insisting her to talk to you for the past two days, she wouldn’t agree to. She says that she is too embarrassed to face you, after what she has done.” Alaya heard Asma speaking. She looked at the ceiling as without any shock as though this wasn’t new for her. And it wasn’t. Asma has been saying that to their dad since the day she was brought to the hospital. And she has been giving the same answer from day one. As Asma had said, she doesn’t want to talk to her mom or dad. What would she say to them anyway? How could she face them after acting so cowardly? She could take their scolding to get back to them. But even then, she would live her whole life in guilt for having them go through so much pain. She could imagine how both her parents must have cried for her while she was away. Why didn’t that appear to her then? When she thought of taking this gigantic step in her life? Hadn’t she thought of anyone else? Was she that self-obsessed?

Alaya’s chest felt tight with guilt as she thought about those questions. Just then, she heard Asma asking about mom. After hearing the answer, she just said to give her medicine on time and clicked the phone. Even Alaya worried about her mom. In the past two days, it was only their dad who tried to keep in touch. Asma told her about how mom went completely silent when she heard from the police that she could not be in New York. But what she heard about the medicine just now was news to her.

“Why is mom taking medicine?” Alaya asked, as Asma was about to say something about what dad said as she sat on the chair near the bed. Alaya wanted to know the answer to her question more than she wanted to hear what Asma was about to say. So she looked at her, expecting an answer.

“It’s just her high blood pressure that comes with headaches now. Doctors tell her to relax and take rest as much as possible but she isn’t able to. Seems like she doesn’t stop worrying about you even for a second.” Asma said. Alaya felt tears in her eyes as she listened to that. There she was, dreaming of a man who would care for her and love her like no one else in the world. Who would be hurt when she would be around. Who would do anything to have her back if he lost her. When she dreamt of that kind of love, little had she known that she already had it so close to her. She was refusing to see it, in hope of living an unreal fantasy.

Asma put her hand on Alaya’s as she saw her sister’s face getting saddened. Alaya looked at her when she felt the hand.

“Talk to her Alaya. That would make you feel so much better In Sha Allah. Often the hurt grows because of the words unsaid. Don’t do that to yourself. Neither to mom.” Asma said. Alaya could not say anything to that as she felt a lump in her throat. After a moment of silence, Asma spoke again.

“Life is too short to hold grudges Alaya. What could mom say to you at most? I’m sure what she wants right now is just to hear your voice. Only you can make this right, Alaya. We all make mistakes but that’s not an excuse to distance ourselves from our loved ones. Tell me this…if she died today, without hearing from you, how would you feel?” Asma asked. Alaya gave a sudden look at Asma as her heart filled with fear because of those words.

“Shall I call her?” Asma asked. Alaya nodded, with a tear falling from the corner of her eye. Alaya’s heart began to race, as she saw Asma dialing the number. After a few rings, Asma spoke.

“Salaam mom. It’s me Asma. Alaya wants to talk to you.” Asma said. Alaya got up from the bed and sat upright. Alaya looked at Asma to get any clue of whether or not she heard a word. She was saddened when Asma shook her head with a sad face.

“Here mom. Speak to Alaya.” Asma said and handed the phone over to Alaya. Alaya took the phone and put it on her ear with a shaky hand.

“H…hello…” she brought herself to say. She held her breath as she waited for a response from her mother. But a minute and a half went by in complete silence. Alaya even looked at the screen of the phone thinking that it was disconnected. But it wasn’t. Her mom just wasn’t saying anything. As she was about to give up all hope of hearing from her mom, with a pain in her chest, she heard her voice.

“Alaya…” she heard the trembling voice of her mother. It brought absolute shivers down her spine as she remembered Asma saying that her mother hadn’t spoken a word for almost a month. How then, did she bring herself to say Alaya’s name? The answer to that question touched Alaya to the very core. She’d never felt this kind of a love. And she couldn’t believe that she’d left it to fulfill her own ego.

“M..mom I…” she was going to apologize. But she broke down and tears began to pour down her cheeks. She cried even more when she heard her mom crying. Alaya hated herself even for that. How could she even apologize? Does she even deserve to be forgiven? A mom like hers doesn’t deserve a daughter like her. She wanted to apologize for being such a disappointment. But before she could….

“How are you my darling?! We were so worried about you here. Did you eat something? You aren’t sick or anything, are you my dear?” Alaya heard her mom asking. The love she heard in her mom’s voice, even after what she did made Alaya feel a heavy burden.

“No..mom I’m just fine. I’m sorry mama…I’m just…so very sorry. I’m going to come back to you as soon as I can I promise.” Alaya managed to say through her tears.

“What are you saying my dear? No need to be sorry. It was us who forced you to take that action….I was traumatized all these days thinking of how you felt towards us. Never thought you’d even want to talk to us. I wouldn’t, if I were you, now that I think about it.” Waleeda said. Her words paused Alaya’s crying because of how it shocked her. She never thought her mom would think this way.

“You may not know Alaya, but I too was quite like you when I was young. I wanted to seek freedom just like you do right now. The only difference is I never got to do it because my fear was bigger. I’m kind of proud that you were brave enough to decide living all on your own. But I would have been happier if you shared your hopes with us before. If you took such a decision after taking advice from us and others, you would have been the perfect daughter I always dreamt of.” Waleeda said and Alaya could not believe her ears as she realized that she misunderstood her mom big time. She wasn’t able to say a single word.

“After thinking about you in the past few weeks, I’ve made up my mind Alaya. I for one, will not ask or force you to come back. If you have taken a step towards something, fulfill it to the very end. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m allowing you to stay where you are. And from what I’ve heard from your dad, you are pleased with Layaan now as well. Layaan decided to marry you in Boston itself. When you do we don’t need to worry about your safety either.” Waleeda said, all in a calm voice. Alaya could not believe what she was hearing. Her mother had been harsh with her every once in a while. Little did she know that her mother understood her to this level. At once she agreed with what her mom said. She would marry Layaan, a little more pleased than before since now he is a bit tolerable with his charming character towards her. Alaya agreed that she would still be seeking the life of ‘freedom’ that she dreamt of though she was married to a guy like Layaan. Positive vibes filled her heart as she thought of how perfectly everything has fallen into place in her life. Little had she known, that this was just the calm before the storm.