Chapter 30

Rameen

It had been a week since Waleed left, I had tried calling him many times but it would just go to voicemail. He didn't even read my text messages, it was as if he had blocked me completely. Whatever I heard about him was through Dada.

Dada had told me that he was in Chicago and Dada was thinking he was gone because of some business. Waleed had invested in a hotel chain in the US, and everyone thought he had gone to the US for that purpose.

Jeena had left the same night, Waleed went to the US, and that was the last I saw her, and I wanted it to remain like that for my whole life, I had no interest in seeing the woman who tried to steal my husband from me ever again.

If I could only share with anyone what was going on between us, my parents knew that he was in the US and mom was insisting I come and stay at their place while he was gone.

I couldn't make up my mind to go and stay there, I was hoping that he might come back one day and if he would not find me home, he might imagine all sorts of things, and I didn't want any more misunderstandings between us.

I missed him, I missed him so much that it hurt, I didn't even realize how addicted I was to him. He was like a drug to me, and now when he was not here, I was unable to function properly. I was going to work daily, I even went to his office in the evening to make sure that everything was running smoothly in his absence, I didn't want anyone to think there was something wrong between us.

It was the first weekend after he left, I had just finished my breakfast and was feeding Grey in the living room when Ali walked in.

Shit.

I had forgotten that he came back from the US last night, and I didn't even call him. I had to stay in Waleed's office a little late because of some problems with a client, by the time I had sorted it out it was nearly midnight, I came home and just stumbled to bed, without having dinner.

When I woke up in the morning, I for the first time realized how lonely I was in this house, at least going to work kept my mind off many things, but today being the weekend I had to stay in the house. Thank God, the cook had come today, it saved me from making breakfast, otherwise, in absence of Waleed, I would just have to eat cereals.

"Mia, I can't believe this, you didn't come to the airport to receive me, and you did not even bother calling," Ali boomed as soon as he saw me.

I kept my head low trying to keep my tears from flowing out of my eyes, seeing Ali my best friend and confidante after so many months, and in these difficult times in my life had made me lose control, and before I realized I was a sobbing mess. I was trying to act strong since the last week and I think I was reached my limit today.

"Hey, Mia, what happened sweety?" Ali asked, his voice full of concern for me.

"He left me, he left me and went to the US," I said between sobs.

Ali let me cry my eyes out and when I was tired of crying and no more tears left my eyes, he poured me a glass of water, which I drank in a single gulp.

"Now tell me, what happened?" He asked in a gentle voice.

I placed my head on his shoulder and narrated the whole thing to him beginning from Jeena's arrival to Red's death and to the day Waleed left.

"I am going to kill that fucker, Riyaan," He fisted his hands.

I shot up a look at his face, he was barely controlling his anger, his usually soft features looked as if carved in stone. His brown eyes filled the rage.

"Lee, relax, I am not concerned about that asshole, what worries me is Waleed, he is not answering my texts, my calls go to voicemail. I have no idea how I am going to contact him," I replied sighing.

"Mia, pack your bag, you are leaving with me now, there is no way I am leaving you here alone in this condition," He said determinedly.

"Lee, what if he comes back," I asked him caught up in an inner turmoil.

"I don't care if he returns, he knows our address, and if he wants to find you. Listen to me let him rot alone for some time, he will come back to his senses," He said pulling me from the couch and towards the staircase.

He made me pack my clothes, not listening once, to any reason that I told him. I accompanied him unwilling to our house, everyone was glad that I had come to stay there.

Mom hugged me and patted my back saying, " I am so happy you came to live with us, Mia, your Dad, and I missed you a lot."

It felt a little different at the start but as the days went by, I came back into the routine. This time I made use of my time in the evenings, seriously trying to learn cooking. And I was glad that I had learned to cook a few of Waleed's favorite dishes.

I hate to cook, but still, I wanted to do it for Waleed. I didn't want anyone to think that I was incapable of keeping him happy. I had made a resolution that I will try to become a good wife, like my mom and my aunt.

I tried hard to change myself, I watched my mom and aunt as they went around the house taking care of everything and everyone and I started making notes in my mind to follow them in my house.

Nearly four weeks passed and there was still no contact from Waleed, and it panicked me. I had thought that his anger would subside in a week or two but it had been nearly four weeks and there was no sign of him.

I left him text messages and voice mail, in the hope that he will respond eventually.

Ali was trying hard to cheer me up, he was the only one who knew what was going on, apart from Rania, Sheema, Asjad, and Saad. I too tried to focus on reforming myself rather than thinking and worrying about Waleed and our marriage.

I was hurting from inside, it had been so long since I heard or seen him, and I was missing him very much. I tried hard not to think about him and not to miss him, but I was failing miserably. The few months I had lived with him were the best months of my life.

I was missing his smiles, his teasing, his concern, the way his grey eyes sparkled whenever they looked at me. I missed the way he touched me, the way he kissed me, and the way he made love to me. I missed waking up to his warm body, I missed sleeping in his arms at night, I missed the way he bathed me, the way he made me snuggle close to him when we slept. I missed his breakfast every morning, God, I was going crazy thinking about him.

I was mad at him, to be mad at me, I wanted to fight him and argue with him, till I drove him crazy that he lost his control and would want me like never before.

"Ohhh Waleed, what have you done to me?" I thought with helplessness.

And finally the text I was waiting for came, it was short and to the point.

Waleed: I will be home tonight, if you could come over, we need to talk.

I felt such relief reading that text that I can't even describe. I packed my bag immediately and left for my home, informing everyone that Waleed was coming back.

It was still afternoon but I wanted to surprise him by cooking dinner for him. I had another surprise for him and I was sure after finding it out he would be overwhelmed with joy.

Waleed

Nearly four weeks had passed since I came to Chicago, I had made myself busy here with the meetings with different investors who were interested in investing in my business.

I had done a little research into prospects that looked good for investment in the US. I was planning to expand my business, and I had started acting on my plan two years ago when I had invested in a hotel chain in the US.

I didn't limit it there, over two years I had successfully invested in restaurants, real estate, and a clothing line.

At least these last weeks I was busy and was fortunate enough to make some good deals, Mia still occupied my mind most of the time, it was nearly impossible for me to not think about her.

It was like she possessed me, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn't keep my mind off her. My anger was slowly subsiding and I had started thinking from different angles now.

I had been foolish to not trust Mia and listen to what she had wanted to say, but I had been so furious finding her in the arms of that man I hated the most that I had lost all control and at least I was sensible to leave from there without doing anything stupid which I would have regretted my whole life.

I was not oblivious to what Mis was doing, I had her followed by a private detective who gave me a report regarding every small thing she would do in a day. I was impressed by the efficiency of the detective.

I even had her cell hacked to install spyware in it, through which I got every information about what she was doing. I could listen to her conversations through the microphone or watch her with the camera on her cell phone.

Whenever I saw her sad my heart stirred in my chest, I wanted to remove the sadness from her life and make her smile again. But I was waiting, I wanted to make sure that she was not involved with Riyaan, and that she had been loyal to me.

By the time four weeks passed, I became restless, my body ached for her, I wanted to touch her to love her, to feel her walls around me, it had been so long that I was inside her, the last time had been at the beach house before all this drama had unfolded.

When I could bear no more I booked a ticket home for tonight and boarded the flight, there was no use sitting here, we needed to have a heart to heart, to know where we stood, and to decide what we were going to do with our marriage if either of us was not willing to go ahead with it.

I texted her from London, when I boarded the flight after a halt, that I would be home tonight and I wanted to talk to her. I knew she was at her parent's home so I asked her to come over to our home.

I was nervous as to what she was going to decide if she wanted to stay with me or if she wanted to be with Riyaan. But one small part of me was excited to be able to see her again in flesh after nearly a month.

When I entered my house and was passing through the living room, I was shocked to find Mia asleep on one of the couches. I walked toward her and was beside her within seconds like she was some magnet and she was pulling me.

I looked at her, she looked pale, the color in her cheeks was lost, there were bags under her eyes, which exhibited the lack of sleep. She even had dark circles around her eyes. I looked at her with a sad smile on my face.

Had my absence affected her so much? I felt a little guilty to have made her go through so much. I traced my finger on her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, which had fallen on her face.

She opened her eyes and looked at me stunned as if she was trying to believe that I was there and that it was not just a dream. She then raised her hand and touched my face, and when she felt my warmth, she sat up with a jolt.

"Waleed," She murmured in her sleepy voice.

I felt like someone was tugging at my heart, I wanted to turn away from her, storm out of this place again, but I didn't do any such thing. I just kept looking in her beautiful amber eyes, resisting the urge to pull her in my arms and suck the air out of her lungs, kissing.

"You must be hungry, I will set the table, why don't you freshen up in the meantime," she stood up smiling at me.

I just nodded in reply and she went to the kitchen, to arrange the table for dinner. I was tempted to do as she had instructed me, but instead, I went to the kitchen after her.

I saw her heating the food in the dishes one by one in the microwave and arranging it on the kitchen counter. She placed two plates on it and turned and was startled to find me standing in the kitchen.

"Ohh God, you gave me a scare, I thought you would be in the shower," Mia exclaimed as she tried to calm her breathing.

I kept looking at her, without speaking a word, I knew she was getting anxious by my constant starting and silence.

"I hope you are hungry, you might not believe this, but I have cooked the dinner tonight," she was trying to divert my attention towards the food.

I stayed silent and kept staring at her and noticed the way she shifted uncomfortably on the spot she was standing.

"I haven't eaten, I was waiting for you. I thought we could eat together, it's been a month since we had dinner together," she rubbed her palms on the fabric of her sweat pants.

I walked up to her and halted a few inches away from her, my shoes touching her flip-flops. I felt her breath hitch, I was glad to know that my proximity still affected her in the same way as before.

"Waleed I have something to tell you," she spoke with her head bowed down and her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Waleed I am pregnant," Mia raised her head and looked into my eyes.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, did she just tell me she was pregnant? Was she pregnant with my child? Or was it someone else who was the father, and Mia wanted to be with him.

What if Mia wanted to end this marriage?What if she realized she didn't love me and she didn't want me anymore. What will I do if she decides to leave me? There were so many questions in my mind, but I didn't know where to find the answer. I decided to ask her.

"Who is the father?" I asked in a cold voice, without any emotion or expression on my face.

I didn't have any idea at the time, how my words were going to shake the foundation of our marriage.

Please don't forget to like, comment, share, and leave a review.

Follow

Instagram:  @alizajabri02

Facebook: Aliza Jabri Books

Inkitt: Aliza Jabri

Wattpadd: Aliza Jabri