Chapter Twenty Four – Suspicion

“Hello Layaan. Is it true that Alaya is with you now?” Liam asked. Raphael looked at Liam expecting him to give a sigh of relief. But…

“What?!!” Liam shouted out and Raphael came to a halt. His heart stopped as he waited to hear what Liam would say further.

“Where is she right now? At the hospital? Which one? Ok….we are on our way!” Liam said and disconnected the phone.

“What did he say?” Raphael hurriedly said as the woman near Liam was about to ask something in that same line.

“Alaya met with an accident. She is at the hospital right now along with Layaan. We’ve got to go…let’s go Asma.” Liam said and turned his back to Raphael along with that woman. Raphael looked at them as they went while having hard time breathing. He could not believe what he just heard. He remembered how he left Alaya on the street just a short while ago. She should have got on the car that he saw behind his car. What could have happened?

Raphael came into action as soon as that question popped in his head. At once, he went climbed back up the stairs, got his keys and hopped into his car starting it with a roar.

Within half an hour or so, he parked in the parking zone of a hospital few kilometers away from his house. He rushed through the hospital, eyeing to see Liam and his wife who must have reached there before him. But when he couldn’t find them, he got Alaya’s information from the reception. He was surprised at first to know that Alaya was in a private room. But when he remembered who she was with, he sighed the thoughts away as he walked towards the elevator to get to the private rooms’ floor. Within a few minutes, he was rushing towards the room 403 with his heart racing in his chest. He was having horrible thoughts with the words ‘Alaya met with an accident’ ringing in his head. He dearly hoped nothing as bad would happen to Alaya but he was barely containing his worry.

So much so that he reached the door of the room 403 and did stop because of the consequences he’d face. But the hesitation did not last long and he opened the door due to not having the patience even to knock. As soon as he opened it, everyone in the room looked at him. There was Liam and his wife who were on the other side of the bed, facing Raphael. But then there was a man sitting on the chair near the bed, who had to turn to look at him. It was none other than Layaan, with a face pretending to get all surprised. Raphael struggled to see Alaya’s face from the spot he stood but wasn’t able to because Layaan was blocking the view. As Raphael looked at him, his hand caught Raphael’s eyes. Alaya’s hand was on top of his.

“Raphael, what are you doing here?” Liam asked.

“Um…..I..I just came by to see if everything was ok.” Raphael said, still eyeing on Alaya’s bed, hoping he’d see her face.

“Really? I wouldn’t have bothered coming. You could have called me, Raphael.” Liam said.

“That’s right. I wouldn’t come to a hospital in the middle of the night to see what happened to someone who didn’t mean much to me.” Layaan said. And it was clear that he played on words to hurt Raphael. It worked too. Raphael looked away, thinking of how much he just worried about Alaya. And just how much she meant for him.

“Eh….i guess Raphael’s bit of a softie, hehe….what do you think Liam? Anyway Alaya is fine now as you can see. Just some injuries here and there as you see.” Layaan said and moved away, to show Raphael. When he saw Alaya, he could not help but take a step forward because of a heart that wanted to care for its love so badly. But he could not do anything except stand there and look at that innocent face. Her hand was fractured and Raphael could see scratches near her right forehead and cheeks. Her hijab was on and that was an excuse for Raphael to keep staring at Alaya as she kept her eyes closed.

“Hehe…she’s taking a rest now. She wouldn’t sleep a blink at night before talking to me. We had a long conversation about our wedding before she dozed off. I’ve not been able to move from here because of this hand.” Layaan said, as though to ensure everyone saw it. Raphael looked at his hand that was kept on bed. Alaya’s hand was on his and now that he looked carefully, it seemed that Alaya must have held that hand before she slept. The thought that Alaya found comfort by talking to someone and holding the hands of someone other than his, hurt Raphael to the point where he could no longer stay there. He turned his back to everyone and came out of the room.

Yet he did not have the heart to walk away from that room. He closed the door, took a few steps and then laid against the wall near the door. His mind began to bring back the visual of Alaya holding Layaan’s hand. His thoughts furiously began to imagine how Layaan and Alaya must have talked through the night, about their wedding. How he wished he could be in Layaan’s shoes. How lucky is Layaan to be in a position so close to Alaya.

Raphael blinked quickly to stop his tears from welling up. As he was about to walk away, he heard Layaan laughing out loud about something. As he was about to be depressed about that as well, he got curious about something. If he had left Alaya on the street, after he saw Layaan’s Mercedes besides him, how could have Alaya met with an accident. If she did meet with an accident, it should have been with Layaan. But Layaan doesn’t seem like he has a single scratch on his body.

Within a few seconds after Raphael began to think about it, the room’s door opened and Layaan came out.

“Hi!” Layaan said, with a bright smile.

“Hi!” Raphael said with a curious face.

“Gotta go to the shop to buy some munchies for my wife-to-be. Feels great to have a woman in your life doesn’t it? Tsk…how would you know anyway? You never had one. Haha!” Layaan said and was about to walk away.

“Where did this accident happen? How come nothing has happened to you? And I think I saw your car safe and sound in the parking zone here now that I try to remember.” Raphael said. Layaan turned around to face him.

“What are you trying to say?” Layaan said, with a face turned angry all of a sudden.

“I saw your car right behind mine a few hours ago when you called me and told me to let Alaya go. I only sent her so that she could be safe. What in the world did you do to her?!!!” Raphael kept taking steps and asked the last question with rage, grabbing Layaan’s sleeve.

“Whoa! Easy…..I guess somebody is getting way too jealous.” Layaan said, holding up both of his hands.

“Don’t try to change the subject and tell me what happened to her!” Raphael said, grabbing the sleeve further.

“You really think you would get to her by picking this fight don’t you? You cant be more wrong! You saw how she was holding my hand just now.” Layaan said with a sly smile and Raphael loosened his grip involuntarily.

“Do you really think she would want to be with someone like you anyway? You are on your way to becoming bankrupt and you know it. Girls don’t take it lightly you see?” Layaan said and this time, Raphael left his shirt, realizing his weaknesses in getting to Alaya.

“If you don’t believe me about what she talked about just now, listen to this.” Layaan said and took out his phone. Within a few touches, Raphael heard a recording.

“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..