From Aliya to Hafiz

Thirty-four.

Hafiz.

It didn't take look long for Zane, that son of a bitch, to finish suturing up Aliya's wound. The one on her arm was pretty bad, requiring three layers of sutures but the one on her neck was surface level so he only disinfected and dressed it.

At some point during our conversation, the cops I brought with me took the fucker that caused all this and his brother out of the operating room. They were probably questioning the staff to get their statements.

When Zane finished dressing the neatly sewn wound, he asked me to pick her up and follow him. He led us to a private ward in shades of brown and a large window letting in streaks of the evening sun.

I laid her gently on the bed, caressing her cheek. At some point during the scuffle, her veil probably came off and was lost somewhere out there. The cap she wore was pulled back, showing a patch of hair. I helped her adjust it before sitting on the chair by the bed.

"Thank you," I whispered to Zane.

He sighed. "I'm just doing my job," he said. "Why is your wife so fucking reckless? Who knows what would've happened if you didn't bring the cops? How could she just break away like that?"

She was fucking stupid that way.

I squinted up at him. "Are you into her?"

He glared right back at me. "She's a married woman."

I looked back at her. "True, stay away from her," I said. "She's mine."

"From what I understand, you two don't seem to be on good terms."

I scoffed. "Every married couple have their differences. It doesn't mean we're going to get divorced."

He fell quiet for a moment before replying. "You're right. She's a good person, I don't have to tell you to treat her well. After all, she left her home for your sake."

His words jolted me back to my senses. What the heck was I doing going all caveman on him? The only reason I was with her was to ruin her, basically the opposite of what he was telling me to do.

I didn't reply, and he didn't say anything either. After observing Aliya for a few minutes, he excused himself, saying he had to go explain to the hospital management what happened.

When he left, I dialled Nikita. "I need you to handle something in the police station for me."

She didn't respond immediately, and only the faint sound of her breathing came through the receiver. "Are you finally in jail? It was bound to happen sooner or later."

"Put a sock in it," I rolled my eyes. "There was an accident in the hospital, the culprit was taken away by the police and I want you to go handle it. I'm watching Aliya, she was injured."

"How is she? Is it serious?" The worry seeped into her voice.

"She'll live," I said. "Just some sutures, no big deal."

"That's good, I'll handle everything with the police, take care of her."

"Get her a change of clothes, something casual and loose, and comfortable shoes."

"Got it."

I settled the phone on the bedside table and stared at her sleeping face. When I got the call from Zane, I was in a meeting with Raytheon. I almost hung up because I couldn't hear anything. I thought he had dialled me unaware.

But then I heard the racket and threats and Aliya's cry of pain.

I didn't know how I managed to call the police and followed them to the hospital. The most prominent feeling then was fear and panic, something I didn't want to delve into or decipher because I was more afraid of what I would find.