iman | hakim ziyech

.9

please pray if you haven't already :)

long chapter, so please leave comments <3

—

the bastard went to prison, with more than a ton of rocks being thrown at him from other people in the town. the girls at the school were particularly happy to have gotten rid of him, and for once again in a long time iman felt proud that at least with what happened, there was a better outcome for everyone else.

hakim was far too pleased to watch fahed's beaten face be escorted into the police station where he knew the police were going to use more force. normally he would be against it, but knowing just how many lives he possibly ruined aside from the certain amount, he felt smug. he sent the video to achraf, who was more than happy about the outcome.

and then came the difficult part.

saying goodbye to her mother who flew with the pair to spain as they had planned many months ago was harder than she ever expected. even leaving the house she had called home for her entire life took longer than she imagined.

she walked around the tree that grew along the exterior of the house with lemons hanging from it, and took time trying to get a photographed image in her mind of every little detail of her mothers house. the bloody wall that her and manal looked over all the time, and the view it gave of her mentioned friends house across the field no one else had managed to develop the past 20 or so years.

she even took her obligatory walk to the well that belonged to her father, and made a weak attempt to not cry. she walked to her fathers grave with hakim, who was weirdly apprehensive about the whole setting. he didn't know who they were paying respects to until he managed to make out the name written on what remained of the little tombstone.

hamid abbas. or more like حميد عبّاس.

at first, he felt slightly proud that with his broken arabic knowledge he could read what was written, and then he felt the pang in his heart, remembering his own deceased father. his mind wandered back to that day when he found iman unconscious and someone had the audacity to bring up her father to shame her further. he watched quietly as his wife sat down beside the grave, and joined her hands to make a prayer. he unknowingly followed suite, just imagining what kind of struggle a single child and a widowed mother like iman's would have faced in the aftermath.

she wiped her face, before clutching at the sand on the grave, and hakim placed his hand on her shoulder to gently remind her that they had to go. they hadn't told aunt laila where they were headed to, and she was excited that her daughter was finally going somewhere with her husband without being forced out of the house. he didn't want to disappoint her so he desperately needed to cheer his wife up before they went home again.

they went to an ice cream parlour where iman ordered after watching her husband struggle to read the menu. she had smiled at his pathetic attempt, but hakim had done it knowingly in order to get her to laugh. he felt like revealing his little plan to her when she kept taunting his arabic but the smile on her face after the sadness that emanated off hers an hour prior felt precious.

they had gone to madrid for a grand total of three days and while they celebrated a part two of manal and achraf's wedding, she couldn't stop feeling the stares of the other women present at the segregated function. she almost shrunk in her seat hearing the rapidly spanish speaking women peeked at her in disbelief of her entire situation until manal had come to her rescue. it was clear they had switched the language so she wouldn't understand.

'you don't look happy to be here.' while iman was wallowing in self pity looking at the still very much in love couple, she didn't want her friend to think she was upset to be celebrating her happiness.

'i'd be a lot happier if people stopped looking at me like i grew a second head.' she half smiled while manal chuckled at her friends problem. she hoisted her friend up from her seat and started walking around with her, as if parading her best friend.

'if it wasn't for you, i don't think this would have ever happened.' she motioned at her and achraf, and this entire grand event in general, indirectly claiming her to be the one who pushed them together.

'it it wasn't for me, you guys would have been a lot happier on your wedding day.' manal rolled her eyes at her friends reasoning.

'you, iman abbas, are really going to let what these random women who you won't see again get to your head? he can't be that bad of a husband!' she sounded taunting, and iman cracked a smile in response. she was referring to if it was her marriage that had anything to do with her glum change of personality ever since the incident.

'he's not.' she clarified honestly. manal cocked her head to the side in question, asking her to elaborate.

'he's not bad. i just think i'm too angry.' iman sighed.

'i think it happened for a reason.' manal offered an explanation, but waited for her friend to finish what she had to say.

she looked at manal and blinked, 'i am a big believer in everything happening for a reason too. it's just that i feel i have become an imposition on him.'

meanwhile, she didn't want to be that person that became obsessed with her partners feelings towards others but this was absolutely driving her mad. but of course, she couldn't let him know that or else he'll figure out that she had been prying.

obviously, she realised that she had been meaner than she wanted to be. any time the poor guy asked her, 'do you need anything?', her answer would be a curt 'no'. or when the guy at the security looked up from fussing about with her moroccan passport to ask her what her relation to the man who patiently stood next to her was, she'd begrudgingly reply 'my husband,' like it was the biggest burden on her.

it was little things and while she knew hakim wasn't particularly fond of the cold behaviour she exhibited, he wasn't any less entertained either. which obviously annoyed her more.

when she was putting her luggage above their quite expensive seats in the business lounge. she always assumed he would have his own plane from how stupidly rich he is. when he tried not laugh at her insistence on not asking for his help. he almost had to snatch the bag out of her hand and put it in with far too much ease and she sighed in defeat.

'only one time.'

'sure, sure.' he said smiling triumphantly. iman looked away. he was far too good looking for someone like her, especially when he smiled. she wasn't insecure or self conscious about her appearance. she looked 'normal' and was on the rounder side, and some would consider her pretty, but not an extraordinary beauty.

she knew that people had one over her if they ever tried to pick out who the better looking half was.

meanwhile hakim had different thoughts. spain and the netherlands weren't that far away for anyone to be dozing off on the flight, but he was surprised when he shook her hand to ask her if she wanted to have anything the air hostess was offering and she was sleeping.

she was conventional in the sense that she looked like any other north african girl. from what he saw, her hair was dark brown, long and straight, her almond eyes were brown in colour, and she was an average height. but she had tiny freckles that he only noticed sitting beside her, and a small nose piercing with a glint of gold nestled into it. her eyes lashes were long, resting on her face.

a far cry from the dutch girls that he saw in school and in day to day life, and from reem. reem had light brown hair and striking green eyes, a person that stood out more than often.

he thought about what iman had asked him that day, and he didn't know why he didn't feel comfortable being honest with her. maybe it stemmed from the fact that he had no reason to be considering her when he was already married.

reem didn't know that, she was still expecting a proposal from his family. he bit his lip, knowing he was probably going to go down as a liar in her eyes, and while he cared about what she thought of him but right now he had greater priorities.

and that was getting used to iman abbas.

—

wrote this alllll in one go. please comment and vote!

love you all,

mwah x