Chapter 54 - Only You

Najmah stood at the entrance of Bristol Palace Hotel taking deep breaths before ambling in, heading straight towards the receptionist, scrolling through her phone for a picture of Aslan.

"Hi," she smiled at the lady, showing the phone screen to her. "I was hoping you would help me with something, my husband's been staying here for a month now, and I don't know his room number."

"Why don't you call him? There are lots of guests who..."

"Listen, lady," Najmah smiled sardonically, locking her phone screen. "This is really urgent, and I don't have any more time to waste, okay? So you're gonna check your computer right now and look up his room number or so help me God, I will cause a scene here."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't give out guest's information, it's against the hotel's policy."

"Hotel policy? You either give me the information I asked, or I swear to God, I'm gonna scream so loud that-"

"Ma'am I'm sorry, but I can't help you," she cut Najmah off.

"Alright," Najmah took a step back, preparing to scream loudly when the lady stopped her.

"What are you doing? You're going to cause a scene."

"Oh yeah?" Najmah cocked her eyebrow.

"I'll give you what you want," she sighed in defeat. "What's his name?"

"Glad to see we speak the same language now," she clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Aslan Faik Sadek."

The lady nodded, typing on her keyboard. Seconds later, she said the room number to Najmah who wasted no time in beginning her hunt for her husband.

{••}

"What are you doing here?" Lale snickered, placing her hands on her hips. "Come to twist the knife even more? Haven't you done enough?"

"Lale I didn't come to speak to you okay? So if you may step away from the door and allow me to enter hmm?" Najmah responded calmly, her fingers itching to push Lale out of the way.

"No, you are going nowhere near my brother..."

"Lale," she sighed, closing her eyes and counting to ten before snapping them open. "I have really really bad anger issues, I'm frustrated and I'm sleep deprived, that is not a good combination. So you're gonna step out of my way like a good little girl and allow me entry otherwise there would be consequences. I came to see my husband, and I'm not asking."

Lale's eyes widened, staring at Najmah as if she had sprouted another head.

"Well, what's it gonna be?" Najmah cocked her eyebrow up. "You gonna step outta my way or you gonna wait for me to use force? Either way, I'm still getting in."

"Lale," Aslan called out from inside the suite. "Who is at the door?"

Lale huffed, opening the door wide open for Najmah to go in. "Who else but the queen of-"

"Enough," Najmah cut her off. "I've had enough of you okay? I don't know what your problem is but you're gonna stop disrespecting me. This is between your brother and I okay?"

"I used to respect you but not anymore, you don't deserve it."

Aslan came out of his room and found the duo in a glaring contest, each refusing to back down. He was confused as to what Najmah was doing there, but mayhap, she came to collect what he had refused to give her.

"Lale can you give us some privacy please?" he questioned, momentarily taking his gaze off Najmah.

"Whatever," she huffed, dragging Aslan's trolleys out of the suite. "I'll be waiting for you in the lobby, the taxi will be here any minute and remember, our flight leaves in an hour."

"I have no interest in staying in this country for another hour," she added, glaring at Najmah.

Najmah fiddled with her fingers, unsure of what to do. She refused to meet his gaze, knowing that the last time she had done so, all she had seen was an underlying hurt which she had caused him.

"Is there anything you want? You heard Lale, the taxi would be here any minute. I don't want to miss my flight."

"You are leaving?" she questioned, mustering up enough courage to look him in the eye.

"Yes," he nodded, his face stoic not giving anything away.

She kept mum, processing the information. Had she pushed him away too much? Was it late for them already?

"Without saying goodbye? You're going to leave me again?" her voice broke, her body shuddering with the shock of betrayal.

"I didn't leave Najmah, you left."

"After you asked me to," she threw her hands up. "I did what you told me to do."

"I came here for you, and you pushed me away, repeatedly. I'm tired, I'm done."

His tone was laced with hurt and pain, she wanted to take back everything she had said to him, every word and every action of hers that had resulted to this; she wanted to take it back.

"I don't know what to say, Aslan."

"Nothing left to be said," he shook his head then turned and walked out of the door.

{••}

Everything was happening in slow motion, she didn't wait, she didn't think, watching him walk away from her had knocked all senses out of her head and so, she ran after him, locking her arms around his torso, placing her head on his back. "No, don't leave."

He sucked in a breath, whirling around to face her. He kept her at arm's length, looking deeply into her eyes, looking for any sign of insincerity.

"Please don't leave me," she pleaded again.

Never had she ever thought she would throw herself at a man's feet and beg him to stay with her, but in that moment, she would do anything to get her husband back.

"I am so sorry about everything," she shook her head, entwining their fingers together.

"What do you want Najmah?" he extracted his hand from hers.

"I'm an idiot, okay? I was scared and I made a huge mistake. I wasn't used to having such strong feelings for anyone and it freaked me out. I love you, Aslan, I love you, I love you, I love you so much it hurts being away from you. I'm sorry I didn't say this sooner, I was just so scared. I was freaking scared and I was too stupid to see it."

"And Fahad? Don't you love him? Isn't he the right man for you? Isn't he the one you want to marry?" he taunted, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It was just a ruse, Aslan, I didn't mean any of it. I just...I wanted... Aslan, you are the only person I can be my true self around. Who not only isn’t intimidated by my illness but consistently encourages me to be strong, to accept my flaws and be the best that I can be. No one in my life has ever made me feel the way that you made me feel, only you."

His brows knitted together, his mouth set in a thin line as he raked his hand through his hair in frustration. He could see Najmah’s body trembling, but his heart was trembling more. Her words had shocked him, he had wanted to hear her admission since the day he had come to terms with his feelings for her, but he won't let her know how much her words had affected him.

"Do you mean it?" he cocked his eyebrow, fighting the urge to hug her tightly, squeeze her and reassure her of his undying love for her. He pocketed his hands and watched her closely.

"Every single word. When you asked me to leave, I was hurt because I knew that I was already in love with you and when you came for me, I was scared of getting hurt again. I was so afraid because I’ve never been in love before, not even when I was going to marry Fahad. Deep down, I knew I wasn’t really in love, not like I knew I was with you."

It was like he stopped breathing or maybe she did, but she didn't care, all she wanted was to be with him at that moment and for him to believe her.

"And I love you too," he said slowly, closing the distance between them.

It was small, the tiniest twitch on the corner of his mouth but she saw it. And then he gave her a smile,

his perfect, toe curling smile that did wonders to her heart.

"I’m sorry, if you can please forgive my stupid self and have me back as-"

He didn’t give her the chance to finish. Instead he kissed her passionately and she returned it with equal fervor. He broke the kiss then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

Her brow rose in question and he smiled coyly, joining her on the bed.

"You need to rest."

"But..."

"No buts," he placed his finger on her lips to shush her. "I'll be here when you wake up, I'm not going anywhere."

"Alright," she complied, snuggling further into his body. "Just don't leave, okay?"

"I have no intention of doing so," he kissed her forehead. "Now go to sleep."

She allowed her eyes to close, resting her head on his chest then drifted off to sleep peacefully.

{••}

He could feel her breathing even out as her head laid on his chest and for the first time in months, calm washed over him. He raked his hand through her hair and that simmering pain he felt for months receded, giving way to the tranquility he had sort after.

They had a lot of things to talk about, but for that moment, he would enjoy the fact that he got her back. It was the only thing that mattered, the rest they will sort out in time, step by step.

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