Deceptive Glitters ✅

Chapter 67: Some Cousins

Hello my loves, pretending it's still Friday.

Happy reading.

••••••••

Fahad started at the box by the side of the door inside his home office.

He told Khadijah it was just work probably and said he'll check it after lunch, she nodded but he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. He didn't want her bothered with the baggage that came with him, it was his to bear alone.

Maybe Shaheed was right after all, it was wrong of him to bring her into his mess.

He'd tried to ignore it but seeing as he couldn't focus on work, he would say he was doing a pretty unsuccessful job so he stood up and picked it up, his heart racing.

Everything had gone quiet after the wedding, he'd been on edge—paranoid even, the first month after the wedding. There was no news on his cousin and HSM had also gone MIA which meant it was the calm before the storm, he'd waited for the storm, he'd been ready but it was all good and now, when they were finally finding balance, he started receiving special packages, note the sarcasm.

He opened the box and looked inside, only an envelope was inside, he huffed out a breath through his mouth and pulled it out. He looked over it but there was no initials or anything.

'FIB' it didn't take a rocket science to find out it was his cousin. Fahad Ibrahim Barkindo, for whatever reason his uncle named the psychopath after him, yeah, just to rile his father up. That side of thier family were toxic.

He poured the contents on the table he had emptied. Photos? But photos of who? He asked himself.

A folded paper fell at last and he picked it up. He unfolded it and was met with perfect cursive handwriting, whoever had written it had the time to sit and do that.

His eyes moved over the words, just two lines that made his blood boil. When he got his hands on that bloody fool he shared a family name with, he was going to regret not thinking before choosing who to mess with.

I believe cousin's should stay in touch, so with that in mind, here's a late wedding gift from me, to know you're in my thoughts, always.

Love
FIB X HSM

A feeling he wouldn't say he has felt in a long time was crawling up his throat. He couldn't remember when last he'd felt like that, he didn't like fear, the fear of things spiraling our of his control, or the fear of his family being hurt.

It was the latter that made his blood run cold, as for the former, things have never really been in his control and looking back at his history, he'd gotten used to that. Allah azza wa jalla control's everything so he let Him, besides what could his mortal self do except pray.

He did that, he prayed a lot to the all hearing and all seeing.

Now, the fear of his family being hurt, that he couldn't stop and even when he prayed, he only calmed for a bit. His cousin had been the instigator of that paranoia.

Huda had gone missing when she was seven, he guess he shouldn't call it 'gone missing' since his psychotic cousin had kidnapped her from school under the guise of picking her up.