Ties

~Chapter 33

This chapter gave me a really hard time; I had to rewrite it so many times.

THIRD PERSON'S POV.

A smile was permanently etched on Jannah's face as she expertly manoeuvred her way to her home.

Home. She whispered, the words sounding foreign to her. The joy that came with those words was gone as quickly as it came. Realisation dawned on her. She was about to ruin that home.

She didn't let it fully ruin her mood, though. She decided to do this, so there was no turning back. Like Khalil said, sometimes you have to do the wrong thing for the right reasons. She was going to be selfish at all costs. If things were going to end, she might as well enjoy it while it lasts.

The gateman hurriedly slid the gates open at the sight of Jannah. Pulling up into the compound, she parked the Rover beside Khalil's G80.

After getting out of the car, she took out Hamdaan, who was securely strapped in his baby carrier. 

"Okay baby, we've got this!" She said to an oblivious Hamdaan.

With a smile on her face and determination in her mind, she proceeded into the house.

TWO WEEKS LATER.

Khalil's sleeping figure stirred in his sleep. Rays of light lingering on his face, causing him to groan. "Babe, please close the curtains."

When he got no response, he got up from the bed, now fully awake. Worry was etched on his face. She was always in the room when he woke up. "Firdaus?" He called out yet again.

Seeing no sign of her in the restroom, he walked towards the door, leaving the room to search for her elsewhere. But something caught his eye before he got to the door. It was an envelope in the bedside drawer. Out of curiosity, he instinctively walked towards the drawer, picking up the mysterious envelope on it.

When he brought the paper out, a ring fell out of it. He grouched and picked it up. It was the promise ring he gave Jannah. His earlier worry had now increased tenfold.

She promised never to take it off, so why? He wondered.

Opening up the paper, he found a letter addressed to him. It read.

"Dearest Khalil,

By the time you get this, I won't be here. I'm really very sorry, Khalil, but I can't be your wife anymore. I won't be able to live with you anymore.

The days we've spent together have been one of the most amazing ones I've had. Yes, we've had our ups and downs, but every relationship is bound to go through that.

You've shown me love Khalil, you've given me a family. I never really had that. And I thank you so much for that.

I wish I could stay with you. I wish we could raise Hamdaan together. But sometimes we don't always get the things we want. I wish I could be selfish enough to stay with you, but some things are just above us.

I'm really sorry cariño, I really am. I know I've wronged you. Maybe someday, just maybe, you'll be able to forgive me. Tell the family to forgive me too.

Here's your ring back. Keeping it would only increase my burden.

I guess our story was meant to be incomplete...

~Yours
~NFJ "

Khalil reread the letter over and over again, hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would all be a dream. But it was all real, too real, even. And it hurt so damn much.

The continuous ringing of his phone jolted him back to reality. Turning to look at it, he found his heart dropping at the sight of the caller's ID. It was his brother, Jalal. Jalal never calls unless it's very urgent.