36~Love me. #3
"You enabled her to mistreat me so many times..."
"You gave her the guts to harm our child!"
Her tears flowed freely now.
"You have no idea how much I loved you."
"I never knew what love was until the very night of our wedding reception, the night I met you on that balcony."
"But the man I loved wasn't the cruel Najib, it was the kind, sweet man who told me not to hurt myself..."
"I loved you without conditions, Najib."
"I loved every part of you... Even the parts that I didn't understand, the parts that constantly hurt me."
"My heart broke over and over again while loving you... And every single time... My heart somehow stitched itself back together just so it could love you again."
She let out a painful laugh.
"I was pathetic."
"But you never saw that."
"You never valued my feelings."
"To you... I was just an extra maid."
"A fling."
"A sex tool."
"A worthless rag you could use and throw away whenever you please."
The last words barely left her lips before her voice dissolved into a broken sob.
For the first time since their confrontation began... She stopped trying to be strong, she broke down completely.
"No..." His voice cracked.
"Habibti... Wallahi, I never meant to hurt you this. Please... just listen to me."
"No!"
She pointed a warning finger at him.
"You listen to me."
Her voice wasn't loud.
It was trembling.
Painfully calm.
"You still see me as the same eighteen years old Habiba, don't you?"
"The foolish girl who would do anything just to earn one glance from her husband."
"The girl who kept convincing herself that if she loved you a little more... sacrificed a little more... endured a little longer... you would finally love her back."
A bitter smile crossed her lips.
"How foolishly pathetic I was."
She laughed softly through her tears.
"It wasn't until we lost our baby that I finally opened my eyes."
"I finally saw how much of myself I had buried just to sustain you."
"I abandoned my pride."
"My dignity."
"My self worth."
"I kept shrinking myself so you could love me in return."
She shook her head.
"And do you know what hurts the most?"
"Even after all that... I was still never enough for you... I could never even be enough since you never truly accepted me as your wife."
Silence settled between them.
She looked straight into his eyes.
"So don't stand here asking for another chance."
"I'm not that girl anymore."
"I know my worth now."
"And I refuse to lose myself trying to earn love from someone who never knew how to give it."
"So please..."
Her voice broke.
"Don't ask me for something you don't deserve."
The last of her strength crumbled.
She buried her face in her trembling hands and cried.
Not the quiet tears she has been holding back all evening...
But the cries of someone finally releasing years of pain.
Najib stood frozen.
Every tear that escaped her eyes felt like another reminder of the man he used to be.
For the first time, he truly understood that this wasn't simply about asking for forgiveness.
He had shattered someone who had once loved him with her entire heart.
His own eyes blurred with tears.
He reached for her, then stopped halfway.
He had no right to touch her.
Not after everything.
But when her sobs slowly quieted, he gathered the little courage he had left and gently took her hand.
She didn't pull away.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Habibti..."
"Wallahi..."
"I'll spend the rest of my life making up for what I did."
"I don't expect you to forgive me today."
"I don't even expect you to trust me."
"But tell me..."
His thumb trembled against her hand.
"Teach me."
"How do you want to be loved?"
"How do you want to be cared for?"
"How do you want to be respected?"
"Whatever your answer is... I'll do it."
"I'll become that man."
"I swear."
"I promise."
Hanan slowly lifted her head.
Her lashes were soaked with tears.
Her cheeks were wet with tears.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, steadying her breathing, before opening them again.
Through the blur of tears...
She looked directly into his eyes.
And in a voice heavy with heartbreak, she whispered...
"Love me the way I loved you."
Her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"Love me desperately."
"Love me as though choosing me is never a burden."
"Love me as though I'm the air your lungs need to breathe."
"Love me as though losing me would leave a part of you empty."
"Love me as though you can't imagine a life without me."
She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Love me so much that losing me would break you the way losing you broke me."
"Just love me this much."
Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Is that really too much to ask?"
Silence filled the room.
Najib stared at her, his own eyes shimmering with tears.
Without a word, he stepped closer.
Slowly, Carefully.
As though afraid she would disappear if he moved too quickly.
He lifted his hands and gently cupped her face.
His thumbs brushed away the tears wetting her cheeks.
"I'm sorry." He whispered.
"So, so sorry."
He rested his forehead against hers for a brief moment before placing a soft kiss on her forehead.
"I can't change the man I was."
"But I promise you... I'll spend every day becoming the man you deserve from the very beginning."
"I'll earn your trust."
"I'll earn your respect."
"And one day..."
His voice faltered.
"I'll earn your love again."
Hanan closed her eyes.
His words settled heavily in her heart.
She hated how much she wanted to believe him.
When she finally opened her eyes again, she met a gaze filled with a yearning she had never seen in him before.
"Habibti..." He whispered.
Slowly, his gaze flickered to her lips before returning to her eyes.
"Can I...?"
Before she could answer...
The hotel room door burst open.
"Hanan?!"
Both of them turned sharply.
Faruk stood frozen at the entrance.
His eyes moved from Najib... To Hanan... And back again.
Disbelief slowly turned to pain.
A bitter laugh escaped him as his gaze swept over Hanan.
"So... This is where you are?"
He clapped once.
"I can't believe this."
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
.
.
.
***
A/N