Adventures of Sinbad and Layla

Sinbad's Son? (Part III)

Sinbad soon returned to his bedroom and found Esra was still sleeping. He had never been so careless before, especially when it came down to his daughter. He saw Layla was on the balcony and went to join her.

"Layla..." he called quietly as he stood beside her. "I'm sorry."
She sighed but didn't look at him. "I'm sure you are. But you've become lost, Sin. That woman has put a spell on you."
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Because it's true!" She finally turned to face him. "I know you would never agree to her staying here, let alone agree to marry her." She held his face and looked deep into his eyes as if she was searching for something. "You said I wasn't right in the head. You would never even think like that about me. I need to take you away from here. Only for a little while."

Deep down, Sinbad knew she was speaking sense. But there was something that was tying him down. Something that kept moving his mind back to Aisha.

"No, I can't leave," he said with a shake of his head. "How can I leave when Aisha and my son are here?"
She breathed out deeply. "Very well. You've left me with no other choice."

She moved away from him and returned to inside the room. Confused, he followed her in and watched in horror as she pulled out a bag from the wardrobe. It was the bag she used to carry her belongings whenever she visited Estia for a few days.

He pointed to the bag. "W-w-what inside that bag?"
"Some of my things. I'm going away and I don't know when I'll be back." She sighed deeply. "I want you to take care of Esra while I'm gone."
He shook his head and rushed over to her. "You can't leave." He held her shoulders. "Where are you going? To Estia?"
She could see the desperation in his eyes. "I'm not going to tell you. If you want me to come back, then that's down to you."
"What do I have to do?" he asked in a panic.
"That's something you're gonna have to figure out on your own, Sin."

It just hit him hard that she was truly leaving and he couldn't let that happen. He tried to take the bag away from her but she wasn't letting go.

"Just stay, okay?" he said calmly but really he was freaking out on the inside. "We'll make it so that we can all live together peacefully."
She smiled sadly. "Wrong." She moved his hand away before going to the bed. She kissed Esra's cheek before returning to him. "I hope you figure it out soon. Not for me, but for Esra."

Tiptoeing, she placed a kiss on his cheek before leaving the room. He stood there completely dumbstruck. It felt like some terrible nightmare. His wife had left him and it was all because of Aisha. Esra suddenly began crying, waking up from her nap.

The most horrible flashback suddenly entered his mind. It was the day Esra was born. Layla died and the newborn baby Esra burst into tears just like she was currently.

He couldn't lose her again. He rushed over to Esra and lifted her up in his arms. Usually she would calm down in his hold quite quickly, however, this time she showed no signs of calming her cries.

"Don't worry, princess, I'm not going to lose your mother again," he spoke softly to her.

Esra quietened down a little but she was still very upset. Holding her close to him, he rushed out of the room to search for Layla. Every guard and maid he passed by had told him that Layla had already left. He then searched the lower levels of the palace but there was no sign of her. Eventually, he found one of his generals.

"Spartos!" he called.
He stopped walking and turned to him. "Lord Sin, how can I help you?"
Sinbad was visibly panicked. "Have you seen Layla?"
"Oh... She left just a few moments ago," Spartos told him. "She flew off in her Djinn Equip but she didn't say where she was going."
Sinbad placed his hand over Esra's ears before cursing. "Damn! I'm not going to lose her for some other woman."