My Lifeline

chapter 66

KALEEM

It's almost 3 years now, but i still have the habit of painting just to get my thoughts together.
It's bothering me that Noor has been acting really weird lately, she's always angry at me even when i do nothing wrong, and being grumpy without reason, and she won't talk no matter how many thousand times i asked. so I'm now trying pretty hard to figure out what her problem is, What did I do wrong?, where have i gone wrong?!.

"Daddy!!!" Hidaya entered the painting room and ran to me excitedly. I put down the color palette and the brush I'm holding, then tried to remove my dirty apron as she hug my legs.

"Ohh princess you will ruin your clothes with paint"
I lift her up and planted a peck on her cheek as she returned to mine.

"Daddy i won the spelling Bee" she announced excitedly grinning her missing tooth.

My eyes widened in excitement "Really? You did?" She nodded happily. "I won the first prize"

"That's my superstar!" I threw her in the air then hold her when she almost fall down, she gasped "daddy zan fasa goshi(i will break my forehead)" holding her chest out of fear, and the sound of our laughter echoed in the room.

"I'm now a shining star right daddy?" She flap her long lashes.

I sometimes really feel like Noor is Hidaya's biological mother, because their attitude and behavior deeply resemble each other that one can easily tell if they are not in a good mood.

"Yeah, you are princess, now where's the present? Daddy wants to see it"

"It's with mommy, she holds it for me so that I won't get tired"

So Noor is inside this house but she couldn't even announced to me that she's back? What is freaking wrong with her?!

"Okay, Go and change princess. I will check out your prize with mommy, you then meet us at the dining table hmm?"

"Okay daddy, i will be right back" she ran out of the room as i followed her.
I saw her enter her Room before i went to Noor's bedroom that is adjacent to her's.
I didn't bother to knock and Just turned the door knob, and gave myself permission inside. To my surprise, Noor didn't even acknowledge my presence, she just sat there looking herself into the mirror, lost in thoughts!.

Many things has happened in the past 2 years, even though not so many things has changed.

Starting from the things that aren't the same anymore;
Hudah has repented after we saved her from getting involved in Hidaya's rape case. She apologized and changed her ways, and thankfully she's now married to some doctor from the hospital she worked with Aneel.

Aneel inaugurated his giant hospital he's been building for 5 years after Zahra has given birth to her first child Jannatul Firdaus, (Jannaht). and he's now enlisted among the young successful doctors in the city.

Hidaya is now 4, we have successfully gotten her adoption after the 6 months trial. Her mental health is now okay so we enrolled her in islamiyya and she's entering middle school next year. Our relationship is now in a perfect state, she's starting to forget her past but not her trauma, she's clingy and not free with men including her new uncles Habeeb and Aneel.

Whenever Habeeb comes to visit, she won't step out of her room until he left, however because Aneel is helping us with her condition medically, she will come out of her room when he's around but will clung unto me or Noor. Moreover she's free with Zahra, Lailah and every other lady.

Khaleel unfortunately, is still in coma and we're losing hope that he will someday wake up with each passing day, so our agreement with mother still remain intact, she won't accept me back until i divorce Noor and with Hidaya now in the middle, there's no way i can do that. Yet i still try my best to be the good son i can ever be to my parents, and I'm always at mother's service even when not requested.