WHEN STARS ALIGN

~CHAPTER THIRTEEN~

Third person's POV.

Ashraf exited the meeting room, his mind a whirlwind of data points and strategic decisions. The conference had stretched an hour and thirty minutes, longer than he anticipated, leaving him with a slight headache. As he walked briskly down the corridor towards his office, his secretary, Junaid, followed closely behind, his tablet in hand.

Ashraf's fingers worked quickly to loosen his tie, the constriction around his neck finally easing as he undid the first two buttons of his crisp white shirt. The hallway was quiet, the soft hum of the air conditioning, the only sound accompanying their heavy footsteps.

"Your schedule for the rest of the week includes a follow-up meeting with the chinese investors at 10 AM tomorrow, a lunch with the board members on Monday, and a site visit on wednesday another on thursday and the last one for this month on friday," Junaid rattled off, his eyes glued to the screen.

When they reached Ashraf's office door, he stopped abruptly, turning to give Junaid his usual blank look. His expression was always neutral in the office, a mask of professionalism that neither smiled nor frowned.

"Cancel all meetings and everything for next week. Maybe even the one after," Ashraf said, his tone leaving no room for debates.

Junaid's eyes widened slightly. "Sir, there is a meeting tomorrow we can not afford to miss. The chinese investors—"

Ashraf's piercing gaze cut him off mid-sentence. He said nothing, but the message was clear. Junaid swallowed hard and nodded. "Understood, sir. I'll speak with them and reschedule the meeting."

At that moment Ashraf couldn't care less if the meeting would be held or not. One investing company, especially one that needs him and not the other way round, wouldn't impact his wealth, and any loss would be so negligible he would not even notice.

Just as Ashraf was about to enter his office, he paused, his hands on the door and gave Junaid a once-over. Reaching into his blazer pocket, he pulled out an off-white card and handed it to him.

"I'm getting married tomorrow. Come if you can," he said simply before pushing the large door, stepping into his office and closing the door behind him.

Junaid stood there, stunned. He recognised the card; he had seen it on instagram a few weeks prior, but he dismissed it as just another attention-seeking post in a sea of social media noise. But now, holding the card his boss had personally handed to him, he knew it was real. He felt a surge of pride, marking himself lucky. He was sure he was the only one in the office to receive such a personal invitation or any invitation to the wedding at all. There was going to a small gathering after the fatiha which was invite only and his card had a plus one. His coworkers would undoubtedly beg and plead to be his guest, but he had already decided he would take his wife. Still, he could not resist the thought of rubbing it in his coworker's faces that the CEO considered him important enough for a personal invitation, especially those ladies in the marketing department that always throw themselves at Ashraf.

Inside his office, Ashraf found his father, Alhaji Suleiman Abbas, seated on the leather couch, engrossed in his iPad. The elder Abbas looked up as Ashraf entered, his face lighting up with a warm, if reserved smile.

Ashraf wasn't surprised by his father's presence; he had been informed of his arrival. He dropped his blazer on his desk and approached the resting area where his father was.

He squatted down respectfully to greet the elder man. "Ina wuni, Baba," Ashraf said, his voice laced with deference.

"Lafiya, Ashraf," his father replied, setting the iPad aside. "Sit down, we need to talk."

Ashraf settled himself on the couch facing his father. The room was spacious, with large windows that offered a panoramic view of the city skyline. The evening sunlight streamed in, casting a warm glow over the elegant furniture and tasteful decor.

"I'm you're surprised at how i came here out of the blue," Alhaji Suleiman began, his tone serious. "But it's important and it concerns Zara'u, the woman you're set to marry tomorrow."

Ashraf's brows furrowed at the mention of Zara. "What is it about Zara?" he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

The elder Abbas sighed deeply. "Her father, whom she hates and thinks is dead, is alive, well, healthy and very wealthy, unlike before. And he is after Zara and Ummu Salma whom she refers to as Umma. Then there is Muhammad Alim Jega, the man that has been competing with us in the business and political industry for the past decade."

"What's Alim's business with Zara?" Ashraf asked, leaning forward.

"We all know Muhammad Alim is no saint and Zara has something on him. Something that can implicate him for life but she's been quiet which means she is onto him too. She may not show it, but she is more...how do i put it? Sophisticated? Just know there's more to her than the eye meets and I mean way more than all our eyes meet." Alhaji Suleiman said and leaned back on the couch making Ashraf look at him in a puzzled manner.

"And her past marriage? Muhammad Alim orchestrated it, in hopes of keeping her quiet for the time being. Now that he has heard about the two of you getting married, he's even more furious." Alhaji Suleiman added.

Ashraf was bewildered, he could not even utter a word as he tried to process all that his father was saying.

"I'm telling all this because I do not want you to be surprised when some things happen in the future, because there are a lot of obstacles on the way. I want you to protect this girl with everything in you because she was an amana given to me, your mother, and the woman she thinks is her mother, Umma even before she could call her own name."

Ashraf had to sink back into the couch to process that new revelation. Umma was not Zara's real mother and she doesn't even know it. "Does she know Umma isn't her biological mother? Does she know about Muhammad Alim? About her father being alive and is looking for her?" Ashraf asked in one breath. He might not be showing it, but he was panicking.

"That's the thing about her, we don't know what she knows. We just know that she knows a lot more than we do and is hiding it away from us. Zara is in great danger hence the marriage between you two. We are the only ones who can keep her safe." Alhaji Suleiman explained, his voice steady and calm.

Ashraf was shocked beyond words. He had a multitude of questions swirling in his mind but he kept silent, because he doubts he could get the answers he wants from his father. Only Zara herself could answer the questions he had. "I understand, Baba." he said, whilst nodding his head.

Alhaji Suleiman nodded approvingly and stood. "Good. I'll take my leave now. Allah is with you." With that, he walked out leaving Ashraf in silence.

Ashraf didn't Zara that much. Heck, he doesn't even know at all so why was it bothering him so much that she was in so much danger? Maybe it's because they'd be married, right? But it still should not be affecting him so much, right?

He gathered himself and went to sit on his chair. He gulped down the bottle of water that was on the desk and heaved a long sigh. He was lost in his thoughts when the door opened with Junaid rushing in.

"Sir, there is someone here to see you. I told him you were not seeing anyone today but he was persistent and threatened to beat me up. He kept on saying rubbish like he was your brother and I know you don't have a brother and—" Junaid was rambling.

Ashraf stopped paying attention to Junaid when he saw the figure that walked through his door. His usual blank face contorted into a deep frown, his eyes turning red almost immediately. "What are you doing here?"

"Well hello to you too, brother." 

~*~

Hello again. 

I said I was going to come back after a month or two, I lied then but now, I am serious. na tafi kenan. no me no you no my water with you.

So Ashraf has a brother huh? I didn't know that. This is life changing information oo. 

Toh bari in tafi. If you love God, vote, comment and share, it goes a long way.

with love and wickedness, Minaarfo🎀