A Cinderella for the sheikh

CHAPTER THIRTY- SEVEN

SOPHIA'S POV:

Jamal and two others waited for me at the helicopter pad.  They were to come with me to the Board of Directors meeting.  I knew A little about business. I had attended lots of meeting before as Kiara Houssam. But still I was nervous.  This fight I was fighting was for the one I loved.  Ashars worst fear was his empire falling into wrong hands. He cared about his employees and their families more than he cared for himself.  He was afraid that if the power of the Abdullah empire and Arab Emirates fell into wrong hands millions of people would suffer.  Such was the influence of the Abdullah's.  There one wrong step and The world history would change.  More dictators and oppressors would be born if their wealth fell into wrong hands.

I never knew people like Ashar had existed.  I grew up in A place where there was only oppression and selfishness. This is how I thought the world was until I met Ashar.  When I met Ashlar I kept thinking it was A facade.  I thought he would drop the act soon.  He too would be like others.  He too would have some unknown greed.  Who else would marry A woman just because she wanted to save her empire.  The man changed my views little by little.  Maybe it was his mother's upbringing. She brought her son up to treat people with kindness and taught him values that so many people lacked.  As days passed by I realised there couldn't be A more genuine person than him in this world.  When I saw him fighting for justice,fighting for his family, his friends,employees and for even those people he did not know....  I fell in love.  I fell in love with the person he was from within and not only for his looks or wealth.  I fell in love because he was an outstanding human being. 

The journey passed in silence.  Everyone was looking out for me.  They were afraid that the news that I was going to attend the meeting had leaked.  That now we had proof had leaked.  If so,they would want me dead.  All the power my uncle held would be snatched away from him.  But somehow even after all minute details news from us was being leaked.  There was no other way Ashar would be in hospital now other wise.  

All Ashars friends were worried about him, there was dead silence in the air. 

" You know Jamal? " David looked at Jamal.  His eyes clouded with unknown emotions. 

"There was a time in school, My father  suddenly passed away.  It left our family in pieces. We had no place to go.  Unknown to us, my father had been in debt. Our house had been snatched away. My brother had no job. My mother was hospitalised because of shock.  We literally were pushed to the edge.  We had no money to pay the hospital bills.  No food to eat and no shelter over our heads. I stopped going to school.  I did odd jobs to pay for my mother's medicine and so did my brother.  One week passed. We were somehow scraping but we didn't know when we would shatter.  We didn't have enough money to pay the hospital bills and the hospital threatened to abandon my mom.  And out of no where Ashar appeared.  He had gone to the school office to know I had left school.  He had gone to my place where he knew that the bank had taken over.  He had asked our neighbours and found out our situation.  He just stood in front of me as I was visiting my mother.  He just stood there. 

"Did you think of me as A friend even?"

I broke down... I weeped.  I literally fell on the floor weeping like A child.  Ashar sat next to me till I calmed down.  Once I was calm he took me to the cafeteria and brought me lunch.  It was the first proper meal I had that week.  All I could do was weep.  I was so tired.  As I ate lunch he disappeared.  When I went back to my mother's room I saw Ashar sitting on the chair next to her. There were doctors rushing in and out of the room giving my mom the best treatment.  He not only paid my mother's hospital fee, He opened A centre at the age of 18. Anyone who could not afford treatment he would pay for them with the money he earned at his father's company.  He had started helping his father at that age.  He paid the mortgage on my house. Got me back into school and even got my brother A job at his father's office. 

That is the kind if person he is.  There are many people out there living A peaceful life thanks to him. He has been helping people anyway he could.  There has never been A person who needed his help and he turned away.  People always got more from him than he expected.  There are lots of people weeping out their hearing his news.That is the kind of person he is"

Tears fell down their eyes.  Jamal smiled. 

" During training I got shot on my shoulder accidentally.  He stayed up all night tending to my needs."

They looked at each other and laughed. 

"He will be alright,wont he" David asked Jamal. 

"He will be.  God takes care of good people.  He will be fine."

Hearing them talk made me feel even more overwhelmed.  This is the kind of person he was.  This was the kind of person my Ashar was. And this person was lying on the bed fighting life and death because of people who only wanted power.  I wouldn't give it to them. There was no way I would give it to them.  I would protect it till the end.  Even if my life was in danger I would still protect it.  What ever it took.  I would snatch it away from my uncles hands.  People like my uncle couldn't be trusted with power.  They were people like them and they were people like Ashar who changed the world and the hearts of people in small ways"

The helicopter finally landed on the island the meeting was being held on.  I was nervous.  But I had to do this.