177 - Mahjub Al-Makki

Mahjub Al-Makki

I walked along the deck of the yacht with my mother, who was leaning on my arm, talking about how happy she was to see me with Hope, saying we made a beautiful couple, and, modestly speaking, they were right. We do look great together…

Even while talking with my mother, who was already eager to organize our entire wedding celebration. Making it clear that it would be the most talked-about week in the entire Middle East, thinking about all the guests that would need to be invited, not leaving out any world leader. 

As a crown prince, I am sure many celebrities are eager to attend such a grand event as my wedding. I am confident that my mother and aunt will do everything according to our traditions.

As soon as we entered the dining room, I smiled when I saw who was there. To my surprise, our entire family was here. 

I felt the hand of my father Hassan on my shoulder and, on the other side, my father Bruno. 

“Happy birthday, kid!” he said, and I smiled at everyone there.

I saw my uncle Alex approaching with his wife, and from their huge smiles, I could see that everyone was happy to see me among my parents.

“Hi, Uncle Alex!” I moved away from my parents and went towards my uncles. 

I passed by Gaia and Arthur, who were trying to manage Sofia, who, at thirteen, was just like all of Athena’s twins.

“Happy birthday, prince!” my uncle said as he hugged me.

I returned the hug and approached Aunt Bonnie, who seemed ageless, still as beautiful as when I met her at fourteen. Everyone was there, all my relatives, and even Hope's parents were arriving, looking at the celebration among us all.

I left my uncle, who walked towards my parents, surely to chat with them about the gossip regarding what happened between me and them. I truly didn’t mind knowing that my life was a topic of gossip among the family. For some reason, it made me happy.

I looked towards my fiancée, who was heading towards her parents, and with a warm smile, Mrs. De Luca called me.

“Excuse me, I’m going to see what my mother-in-law needs!” I said to my cousins, who surrounded me.

I approached them, passing by all the people who love me and, in a way, supported me during difficult times with my parents. They listened to me, tirelessly asking me to be patient and calm, assuring me that everything would be resolved.

Standing before my in-laws, I saw my mother-in-law make a slight bow and pull something out of her bag. Mr. Mattia extended his hand towards me and looked at me with respect, something I greatly value coming from my fiancée's father.

“I said I would give you something at the right moment, and looking at Hope’s smile…” I passed my hand around my woman’s waist and placed her by my side. “I know that you two have finally understood each other.”

I looked at Hope's smiling face, her hair tied up and wearing sunglasses to shield her eyes from the brightness of the beautiful day we were having. I turned my attention back to my mother-in-law, Alessa, and nodded. I felt Hope's hand around my waist, a sensation of possessiveness that was palpable at that moment. 

Only a blind person wouldn't notice how deeply connected we were. If I could, I would take her to our cabin right then and there, only leaving when it was time to go home.

“Then take this!” Alessa, Hope’s mother, handed me a small velvet pouch.

I looked suspiciously at my future mother-in-law, who was smiling at me. I removed the arm that was hugging Hope and took the pouch, feeling its light weight and the friction of its contents. Hope leaned in to see what was inside.

“The day Hope to hit you and then left, remember we found you crouching, looking for the stones?” I looked at her and smiled.

I nodded and opened the velvet pouch. I noticed my parents had come closer to see what was happening, and as I poured the contents into my hand, I felt immense joy and tears formed in my eyes.

“Your parents took you away to avoid further harassment. We also didn’t want the press all over it, so I asked one of our security guards to search for what was missing. He brought back these ten rubies.” My smile grew even wider.

I closed my hand around the stones and held them close to my heart. I took a step towards my mother-in-law and hugged her with all the respect I had for her. I sighed and smiled, looking again at the stones in my hand. My mother-in-law had no idea how important this was to me and how much I had cried for not having my complete masbaha in my possession.

"Thank you, my mother-in-law, you have no idea how much this means to me," I said gratefully and showed the stones to my parents.

"Give them to me, I'll keep them safe," Hope requested, and I handed everything to her. 

I watched my fiancée as she carefully placed all the little stones back into the velvet pouch and went to store them somewhere unknown to me. I tried to refocus on my in-laws, but my eyes were fixed on my ballerina, who had stopped for a moment next to Zara and was chatting with her.

“Well, since we’re all here, why don’t we sit over there and discuss what to do about this adventure our children have stirred up!” my mother said, smiling.

My mother was looking at Vanessa, who rolled her eyes, seemingly wanting to strangle her son for doing everything behind their backs.

We moved to the living room, filled with many cushions, sofas, and a large table with a buffet prepared for our breakfast. My mother began organizing the table with our family and friends.

I saw Guilherme trying to justify himself a bit farther from everyone, even though he was receiving some reprimands from his father, which drew a few laughs from everyone. He looked happy, holding hands with my friend who was beside him.

“They make a lovely couple!” I heard Hope’s voice.

I looked at my woman by my side, holding a date in her hand and bringing it to her mouth. I smiled, anticipating that soon we would be organizing the weddings of those who had, in a way, kept us whole and believing in love.

I believe that right after our wedding, it will be Guilherme and Pietra’s turn.

“Yes, just like us!” I took her hand and kissed it.

“So what are we going to do, after all, you are engaged?” my mother said to Hope.

“Gui proposed just out of irritation and jealousy when he discovered Pietra was with another man, but our relationship was never serious!” I noticed my mother looking at my mother-in-law.

“I always knew my daughter still loved the prince, and this engagement idea caught Mattia and me by surprise!” My mother-in-law shrugged and started laughing.

“Undoing this is simple. I don’t care about the political aspect; my princess’s happiness comes first,” Mattia said, raising his tea cup. “I love this tea; I need to order a new stock.”

“Come to the palace. I’m sure my father will love to say goodbye to you…” I looked at my father and saw the sadness in his eyes.

“How is my jida?” I asked, noticing how everyone fell silent and looked at my parents.

“Salim is tired and has asked the family to come home. He is showing that he’s ready. We will return home today; we want to be by his side,” Babi Hassan said sadly.

“I’ll go with you!” I said, feeling a tightness in my chest.

“We’ll come too,” Mattia said, pulling his phone from his pocket.

“Well, I guess we’re all going then!” Matheus said, looking at Alice, who was holding Achilles.

We finished our breakfast amidst many phone calls and cancellations of political, business, or even mafia-related appointments.

With everything organized, we watched all the women arranging what we needed for the trip to the airport.

My parents managed to arrange all the private jets to take us to Sudan. It would be a very short trip of just over an hour, which would be great for Matheus’s twins, who were still not used to all this commotion.

"Thank you for taking care of my Oompa Loompa!" I looked at Guilherme, not understanding.

“What?” I asked, confused.

I started laughing, and he joined in. After all, the nickname was ridiculous, and my parents were laughing behind me after hearing it.

“She’s short, looks like the character from the chocolate factory, and after our first date, not counting the accident, she told me I owed her chocolate!” He laughed, trying to explain the nickname.

I shook my head and saw when he took his hand out of his pocket and extended it towards me. I noticed the ring that had been on Hope's hand was now in his.

“I want her to have it, not for the reason it was given to your fiancée, but out of gratitude to my friend!” he said.

I knew how important their friendship was, just as Pietra's friendship was important to me, and how grateful I was to Allah for bringing them together in this way.

“You give it to my wife. I know how important it is,” I said, bowing my head and seeing him breathe a sigh of relief.