Naina (Al-Ameen Family #4)

Truth

Short chapter but next update will be up soon. Enjoy!

I pulled Armaan into my apartment and secured the door shut as much as I could with the two measly locks. I asked him to sit down on the couch. He still seemed to be in shock, so I grabbed him a glass of water while giving Namrata a call.

I told her not to come so we don't draw the attention of any lingering mafia men. It took some lies that I wanted to be alone and needed to rest, that I was fine otherwise and I asked her to just focus on the cleanup. She didn't seem to buy my excuses so I know we didn't have much time.

He hadn't touched the water. I sat down on the coffee table across from him, unpacking my gear from me. His eyes went wide seeing the gun and that seemed to bring him back. He stood up suddenly, stumbling backwards, tripping on the edge of my rug.

I reached out to help him but he flinched back. It hurt watching him do that. Not even a month ago, his fingers itched to take hold of mine and today he was moving away from me like I was seeping poison.

"Armaan please just sit, I know you have questions, I will tell you everything," I tried to keep my voice calm and composed but I knew he could hear the desperation behind my words.

"Who are you?" he spat back at me, keeping the sofa between us.

"I'm still Naina. The same Naina you know-"

"NO!" his voice reverberated in my empty apartment. "You're not her. You're-you're- I don't who or what you are. But you are not her." He was shaking his head, trying to make sense of everything. "What are you doing in Nazeeha's building? What did you do to that man?!"

"I am an intelligence agent, currently working for RAW. Well, working with RAW and MI6. Please just sit down Armaan, I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you," I could feel my eyes stinging with tears but I fought them back.

"Why should I trust anything you say? All you've done is lie since the day we met," he grimaced, running his hand through his more aggressively than he should have.

"I am not lying. I have kept things from you yes, but I had to. But everything I did tell you, it was all true Armaan. Khuda ke liye, please bhet jao. Kasam se mujhe sirf tumhe sab sach bataana hai. (Please for the sake of God just sit down. I only want to tell you the truth)" I said earnestly.

He hesitated but seemed to believe me. He didn't sit but he did stop pacing around agitatedly and waited for me to continue.

"I've been an agent for years. Since I was 17. That girl you met at the masjid on the border, that was me. I am working on a case about the Italian mafia, and it's all tied up with your family."

"Nazeeha's research" he whispered to himself mostly but I nodded.

"Not just hers, this ties back to Safiyana and everything that happened to her. It's all really long and complicated but there is black money being funnelled through some parts of your family's business-"

"Excuse me!" he roars again.

"Armaan just hear me out-"

"Are you trying to accuse my family of working with the Italian mafia? Are you out of your fucking mind Naina!" he shoved my couch forward, almost hitting my knees. I stood up and walked around to stand in front of him, but kept enough distance to not anger him further.

"I know your family has nothing to do with this, but there is proof of something happening in Dubai," I did my best to keep my voice completely, just like I was trained. It's hard to keep a hold on my emotions when the person in front of me was... well I don't know what Armaan was to me. But even without a label, I know I would do everything to protect him.

"I can't believe this," he turned around, both hands tugging at his hair. "This is just what I needed to hear honestly," he turned around, pointing an angry finger at me. "You need to stay the hell away from my family or else."

"Or else what Armaan?" I walked closer to him, swatting his finger away. "I am trying to keep them safe. I have been putting my everything in making sure I get to the bottom of this so nothing happens to them. You can choose not to believe me but I have a lot of love for your family Armaan."

"Keep them safe? Naina, you've been using us to get this job done, I fail to see how you've done anything for us," his voice dripped with venom.

"Armaan, I didn't know who you all were during Sanam's wedding. And don't forget, you were the one who came over to talk to me, not the way around," I pointed out.

"You're right actually. What an idiot I was," he scoffed.

"Armaan," I sighed tiredly. "I care for you. I always have. I don't know how this became such a mess but if I could go back and change things, I swear I would."

"Oh save it," he walked around me, towards the door.

I grabbed one of my tracking chips, helpfully left on the coffee table by Namrata with some other stuff and ran after him, grabbing his arm and holding him in place. He wasn't going to stay and listen, so this was my only chance to say what I had to. At least he stopped, even if he did have one hand on the door handle.

"Fine Armaan. Leave. I don't blame you. But you saw what happened today. Find a reason to get Nazeeha out of here. It's the only way to keep her safe. And please... don't tell anyone about what you say here today," while he was distracted by my words, I stuck the tracking chip to the inside of his jacket pocket. "We both could be in a lot of danger Armaan. Leave London, and make sure your family stays out of London for some time."

He scoffed, looking at me with the most bitter smile I could imagine.

"You don't need to worry about that," he rolled his eyes. "I don't think I'll be wasting another breath on you ever again."

I waited until the door slammed shut before I let the tears fall. He knew the truth about me but still did not want to stay. Our story is finally completed, even if it wasn't a happy ending.

----

It was good Armaan left. Namrata showed up not 10 minutes after. I told her what happened and she agreed we would need to put some extra security measures around Nazeeha.

Lucky for us, Armaan seemed to have followed through on my request. I "conveniently" ran into Nazeeha on campus a week later and she told me her family was planning her and Ali's wedding, so she'd been leaving within days to go to Dubai where they'd be having their wedding in two months. Apparently Ali was still in India, finishing up his work, so she was asking to come to Dubai earlier to help do everything for the wedding.

"Are you excited?" I asked her, swirling my coffee which was still too hot to drink.

"Honestly, yes. We had such a hard time coming to terms with this long distance, and Ali was really unsure about me working on this project. But Liam has everything he needs, so now I am just working on the paper. No more prison visits, which Ali is very happy about," she let out a small laugh.

"That's good to hear," I nodded, feeling immense relief.

"Yeah, but honestly I owe it all to my brother-in-law Armaan. He and Ali are in India together and Armaan has really helped mediate the stress between us. He must have said the right thing to Ali because Ali asked the parents to have the wedding as soon as possible so he could move with me here to London."

"I'm really happy for you Nazeeha," I placed my hand over hers. "You and Ali are just perfect together, Mashallah. I will pray for your happiness."

"Thank you Laila. I actually wanted to give you this," she pulled an invitation card out of her purse. "If you are able to make it, I'd love to have you attend the wedding."

"Oh that is so kind Nazeeha," I took the card warmly, genuinely smiling at the gesture. "I will do my best to see if I can come."

"Yes, you must. Now, I will get going. I have to get packing," she walked around the table and gave me a side hug. "See you soon Laila."

If only I could come Nazeeha. If only....