Chapter 38- The Ex

Najmah adjusted the strap of her bag as they walked by the pavement of Sadek Holdings, her right hand held by Aslan.

She could feel stares burn into her back as they ascended the stairs, making her feel nervous. She had no idea why Aslan insisted that she followed him to the office on that particular day.

"Mr.Sadek," the security guard sharply greeted, swinging the polished glass doors open for them, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Najmah. "Mrs. Sadek."

"Thank you, Salim," Aslan smiled at him.

Their appearance in the lobby was enough to initiate a change in the atmosphere of the building as the employees stared curiously at Najmah. Some have caught a glimpse of her on the magazine as the mysterious wife of their COO while some were seeing her for the first time. They all thought he was going to end up with Afet Orhan with the way she was practically throwing herself at him, but how he ended up with the African was somewhat a mystery to them.

"Good morning, Mr.Sadek," the receptionist greeted. She eyed Najmah nervously, fiddling with the pen she was holding.

"Mrs.Sadek," she nodded curtly at her.

Najmah replied her with a tight-lipped smile, her eyes wandering around the environment.

They walked towards the awaiting elevator and Aslan hit the button for the top floor, tapping his foot patiently as he counts down the seconds to the levels of the skyscraper. Finally, the doors slid open and they stepped out of the elevator.

"Merhaba," his secretary greeted, flashing them a smile. "Good morning, sir, ma'am."

"Merhaba," Najmah waved at her, returning her smile. Aslan replied before releasing Najmah's hand.

"That's my office over there," he pointed at a large oak door with his name sprawled elegantly on a gold plaque. "You can wait for me in there, I just need to drop these files at Baba's office and then we'll be on our way."

"Alright," she nodded, pushing the doors open. She flopped down on the sofa, taking out her phone and earbuds to kill time.

As she powered on her phone, she received a message notification from a new number. Thinking that it might be Lale since the number was from Istanbul, she tapped the icon to view it.

Meet me at the diner across the building you're in right now,we need to talk habibti. Meet me there or I'll come to you,it's your choice.

Najmah didn't wait to be told twice, she swung open the door and walked towards the elevator with quick steps. Throughout her descent to the last floor, Najmah kept thinking about what she was going to do.

Was it wise of her to meet her ex when her husband was just a street away from them? What if he came out and started looking for her or worse, what if he saw her together with Fahad? What would she tell him?

She couldn't risk Fahad coming for her, so she had to meet him to get it over and done with. She just hoped she walked out of their encounter unscathed. She knew Fahad must be enraged to find out that she got married and that to a foreigner but it wasn't really her fault, right? So why did she suddenly feel guilty and anxious about meeting him?

{••}

As she stepped into the diner, his unruly hair was the first thing that caught her attention. She took calculative steps towards him, conscious of the rapid beating of her heart.

His head snapped up and his gaze locked with hers. His lips stretched into a smile as he assessed her; she hadn't changed for the seven months that he hadn't seen her except for the glow of happiness that she was emitting as she came to stand across from him.

His smile morphed into a frown before vanishing alltogether, remembering the reason why they were there; she betrayed him, she married another while he was locked away. What happened to the love they shared? What happened to their always and forever? Why hadn't she wait till he cleared his name and got back to her?

"I knew you'd bring yourself to me," he smirked, leaning back into his chair. "After all, we are made for each other."

"Fahad," she warned, gripping the chair for support. "I'm here, what do you want?"

"Sit," he gestured at the empty chair she was gripping. "We have lots to talk about. I ordered a cup of coffee for you. Still light, low milk and lots of sugar?"

Najmah nodded, not trusting her voice to speak. She sat down, placing her head in her palms. 'What am I doing here? I should be waiting for Aslan in his office.'

"I don't have much time," Najmah spoke when a waiter dropped a cup of coffee in front of her. "Aslan must be wondering where I went."

Fahad hummed, in response, sipping his cup of coffee slowly. He dropped the cup after three sips, watching her closely as she squirmed uncomfortably in her seat.

"Why didn't you wait for me?" he fired at her calmly, balling his fists under the table.

"I..." she gulped, trying to find the right words to say. "It happened in a rush. One minute you weren't there and the next, I was married to Aslan."

"Was our relationship a joke to you Najmah? Was I a joke to you?"

"Fahad you have to understand, I had no idea what was going on. I only knew about it after the knots had been tied."

"You should've waited for me," he shook his head.

"I had no idea, okay? I didn't even know you were...were..." she gulped, her eyes momentarily settling on his face.

"Were what?" he chuckled humorlessly. "Arrested?"

"You are a drug dealer," she shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "You lied to me. I thought you loved me, how could you lie to me?"

"You think I lied to you?"

She averted her gaze, using her hand to wipe away her tears. Damn Fahad for making her cry! How could she reduce herself to a mass of pitiful puddle in front of him?

"Tell me that you loved me and that's why you agreed to marry me," he prodded, unclenching his fists.

"You can't say that or can you?" he shook his head, laughing at the irony of their situation. "You never loved me and sitting here, I just realised what a fool I was to have pushed through with the wedding knowing that you didn't have feelings for me.You are a liar Najmah, a big fat liar, a hypocrite and a manipulator. You manipulated me into thinking that you loved me yet the moment I got arrested for a crime I didn't even commit, you ran off and married a Turk. Was it for the money? Did you accept my proposal because I was rich?"

"Is that how low you think of me?" Najmah gasped, wiping at her tears furiously. "You think I said yes to you because you had money? Fahad I never asked for a dime from you! Damn you and your money. If anything, I am glad I did not marry such a pathetic person like you. How dare you judge me?"

"Does he know that you are incapable of human feelings? That you're just pretending? That you're the world's biggest pretender and hypocrite when it comes to the matters of the heart? That your heart is as cold as ice?"

"There's no need to twist the knife any further Fahad," Najmah stood up, glaring at him. "He does know and he accepts me with all of my flaws, but I guess that is something you are still incapable of doing. If you did accept me as a whole, you wouldn't be here hauling insults at me. Have a nice life Fahad, I really wish you the best there is in life."

Before walking out of the diner, Najmah made a stop at the restroom and washed her face before applying powder to cover up the evidence of her breakdown. She didn't want Aslan to know that she had cried. He would get worried and then begin to ask questions, questions she wouldn't be able to answer.

{••}

"I apologize for keeping you waiting,sevgilim, we had an emergency meeting, and I couldn't get out of it on time," Aslan spoke, pecking her cheeks.

"It's okay," she shook her head. "Are you done?"

"All done," he nodded. "Let's go."

He took her hand in his and together, they stepped into the elevator and out unto the sidewalk of the building. As they stepped into their car, Najmah thought she saw Fahad smiling painfully at her, but maybe her mind was playing tricks on her because when she looked again, he was gone.

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