Expectations and Reality

Chapter 47 | HIDDEN SCARS

Here is a long one. The most lengthiest of all.

Brace yourselves.

Life doesn't stop after losing someone, but it goes on without them differently.

Nizar Qabbani

☆☆☆

The snow smothered the city, winter was fast approaching and the surroundings had already lost their shapes. The white pieces of frozen water that fall from the sky coated the trees. But it wasn't the gloominess of the day that gave Lina that insistent prickly feeling at the back of her neck, it was the lack of response she received from her spouse for the last forty-five minutes.

After her call with Ommata, she made up her mind to visit her father that very morning. Due to Khaldun's absence, as he has pushed himself out of the house earlier on, Lina messaged him to inform him of her departure. Much to her dismay, he was yet to reply her message, which meant he was yet to acknowledge that. And that, gave her a prickly feeling that things might turn abysmal though she prays her thoughts never materialize.

All through her journey to her father's house, her thoughts lingered back to her ealier discussion with Ommata. True to Ommata's words, no one deserves to take her happiness away, not even her spouse. She has to stand and fight for herself... fight for them.

But Khaldun's earlier mood swing got her hopes fluttering their wings away. She wonders how things will ever get right between them when he has no confidence in himself, when he is yet to accept his fate... their fate.

Sometimes she wonders how Khaldun's teenage life was if he is this adamant and hard to understand even at adulthood. Though Suri gave her a glimpse, she knew those were only a little highlight from his past, she can feel it in her guts. She wonders how Wafa was able to survive all Khaldun's tantrums at teenage and yet bring him this close to her. But when she looks at his relationship with jus father, it's another polar to that of his with Wafa. They are never close. She wonders what might have befall between them that they are never too close, even though Khaldun went after almost all his father's characteristics.

"Lina, are you alright? You look befuddled."

Her father's words snapped her out of her thoughts. Her eyes wanders around her surrounding.

"Where's Ms Amrah?" She asked, disregarding his own question.

When she came into the house, she almost had a second thought of going back. She almost reversed, when a vein hit in her head and her senses got back to her. She needed to be over with this, she reminded herself.

Ms Rayn was the first she met coming out from the culinary, heavily smelling of spies. They hugged and greated. She had missed her, her warm embrace and all. After that she directed her to the backyard, where her father and Ms Amrah were. When she slide open the door go the backyard, she saw them. Their back was to her as they were sitting on the wooden chair facing the stream. His arm was lazily slumped over her shoulders. That sight stimulated the itching prick at the back of her neck. She had to surmount a great effort before she made her presence known to them.

"She's gone inside to help Ms Rayn with some chores."

She knew that was just her own way of giving them privacy and she really respected that, a lot.

The woman is too kind and generous, Lina have to admit that but what seems fishy to her is why she's against her union with her father. She's helped her, uncountable times. She's been with their late grandmother when no one was there. She's been through hell in her life, she deserves happiness, she deserves to be appreciated.