39~Give us a chance #3
Abdul called softly.
Silence.
He waited.
Receiving no response, he quietly closed the door again.
Only then did Hanan exhale the breath she had been holding.
She immediately sat upright. "Why did I run?"
She grabbed the glass of water beside her bed and emptied it in one gulp.
"I shouldn't have run..."
Her thoughts drifted back to everything she overheard.
"He wanted to see me..."
She laughed bitterly.
"For what?"
"To tell me once again to go ahead and marry Faruk?"
"To remind me that we're not destined to be together?"
She scoffed.
"And Abdul..."
A small frown crossed her face.
"That blockhead."
"How dare he call me stubborn?"
"And he actually told Najib to forget me."
She shook her head in disbelief.
"I seriously can't understand those two."
She folded her arms.
"One moment he tells me to marry another man... the next he's saying he can't bear watching me marry someone else."
She laughed bitterly.
"What wonderful lies he tells."
Just then... Footsteps echoed outside her room.
She quickly lay back down and shut her eyes again.
The doorknob slowly turned.
The door opened.
Someone entered.
Slow footsteps drew closer to the bed.
Then...
His familiar cologne filled her room.
Najib.
Every muscle in her body tensed.
She wanted to open her eyes.
She wanted to stop pretending to be asleep.
She wanted to tell him everything.
But before she could... She felt him gently lift her hand.
Something cool slid onto her finger.
A ring.
"I'm supposed to be waiting at the airport right now..." His voice came out as nothing more than a whisper.
"But here I am... unable to stop looking at you."
"I just wanted to leave this with you before I go."
He carefully adjusted the ring.
"It fits perfectly."
A faint smile escaped him.
"I'm glad."
He lowered his head and softly kissed her ring finger.
"The moment I saw this ring, I knew it was made for you." He let out a quiet chuckle, glancing at the matching ring on his own finger. "It reminded me so much of your beauty... your strength... your charisma. I didn't even think twice before buying it."
His thumb gently traced the engraved word on her ring.
"I even had Habibti carved into it."
A small smile appeared on his lips before it slowly faded.
"I've kept this ring with me for so long..."
His voice broke.
Hanan heard him draw in a shaky breath, as though he were fighting back tears.
"Because I believed that one day..."
He stopped, swallowing hard before continuing.
"I believed that one day I would gather the courage to ask you to marry me again."
A tear escaped his eye.
"But... last night..."
"You shattered that dream."
He lowered his head, unable to stop the tears from falling.
"Habibti, don't you still realize that I'm incapable of loving anyone else aside you?"
"Don't you still realize that my life feels empty without you."
His voice trembled with every word.
"There isn't another woman occupying my heart other than you."
"Please, Habibti..."
"Give me one chance."
"Just one."
"Let me spend the rest of my life proving that I'm worthy of being your husband again."
"You asked me to love you as though my life depended on it..."
A faint, broken smile touched his lips.
"I finally understand what you meant."
"Because now... my life truly feels incomplete without you."
"So please..."
"Trust me one last time."
He looked at her sleeping face, his eyes overflowing with regret.
"It's funny..."
"I was so certain that once I cleared up every misunderstanding between us... I would win you back."
"I truly believed we would get our second chance."
He laughed bitterly.
"But maybe... your heart still remembers how much I hurt it."
"And if that's the case... I won't force you to forgive me."
"If you still hate me... I won't force you to love me again."
His gaze dropped to his ring on her finger.
"I only wish... you weren't marrying someone else."
"I only wish... you would choose us one more time."
"I only wish... you would accept my feelings and love me again."
Silence filled the room.
Finally, he nodded to himself.
"But it's fine."
"I won't force you to choose me."
"I'll respect whatever decision you've made."
"I only pray... that whatever decision you make... wherever life takes you... you will find the happiness I couldn't give you."
He slowly lifted her hand.
With trembling lips, he kissed the ring resting on her finger.
"This ring means nothing if it isn't on the finger of the woman who owns it...."
"So, I'm leaving it with you."
A faint smile spread across his tear stained face.
"Goodbye and take care, Habibti."
He stood up and quietly walked out of the room.
By the time Hanan gathered the courage to quit her fake sleep... He was already gone.
"Najib!"
She gasped, sitting upright.
Her trembling fingers immediately reached for the lamp beside her bed.
The room bright with light.
Her eyes fell on the ring sitting perfectly on her finger.
Her breath caught.
"It..."
She stared at it in disbelief.
"It was for me..."
It was the very same ring she found in Najib's room few days ago.
The ring she found in his room during the funeral.
"So... He actually bought it for me all along?"
Tears blurred her vision.
And when she saw the inscription on it, her tears spilled out.
Habibti.
Before she realize, she was out of bed running downstairs without thinking.
But she was too late.
She rushed outside just in time to see the lights of his car disappearing into the distance.
"He... He left."
A quiet chuckle came from behind her.
"Is that tears?"
She turned.
Abdul stood there with his arms folded.
He walked over and gently wiped a tear from her cheek before shaking his head with an amused smile.
He touched her wet cheeks and chuckle. "So you've finally come back to your senses? You've finally stopped lying to yourself."
She glared at him through her teary eyes.
"But unfortunately... he's already on his way to the airport."
"He left because you chose to pretend to be asleep instead of telling him how you truly feel."
He sighed. "What a stubborn coward."
Fresh tears rolled down her face.
"Why are you being so cruel to me?"
She whispered.
Abdul's expression softened for the first time.
"Because... it's the only language you seem to understand."
She broke down completely.
"So... what do I do now?"
"He's gone."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out his car keys and placed them in her trembling hand.
"Then stop crying."
"Go after him."
"Bring him back before it's too late."
A smile broke through her tears.
She threw her arms around him.
"Thank you... Thank you, Abdul."
"I promise I'll return your car in one piece."
Without wasting another second, she ran toward the car.
The engine roared to life.
As she sped into the night, gripping the steering wheel tightly, one desperate prayer escaped her lips.
"Don't board that plane, Najib..."
"Please..."
"Just wait for me."
"Give me enough time to reach you."
A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.
Abdul frowned.
"But she just left..."
He walked to the front door and opened it.
His expression changed instantly.
"Faruk."
Faruk offered an awkward smile.
"Sorry for coming this late."
"Can I see Hanan?"
"At this hour?" Abdul replied flatly.
"She's asleep."
Faruk nodded. "I thought maybe... I could at least see her for a minute."
"No. Good night." Abdul started closing the door.
Then guilt stopped him.
"Faruk."
Faruk immediately turned around.
"Yes?"
Abdul took a slow breath.
"Hanan isn't here."
Faruk frowned.
"She... went after Najib."
The words struck like a hammer in Fatuk's ears.
"She went to tell him she still loves him."
"She went to tell him that she doesn't want to marry anyone except him."
"She went to fight for the only man who truly owns her heart."
Abdul lowered his eyes.
"So... Please."
"I hope you understand."
"And... please let her go."
Faruk stood frozen.
The redness and tears slowly spreading through his eyes said more than words ever could.
Abdul swallowed the guilt rising inside him.
"I'm sorry."
"But please... Don't come back."
"Good night."
The door closed.
Walking to the window, Abdul watched Faruk drive away into the night.
A heavy sigh escaped him.
"Sorry, man... But I can't watch my sister destroy her life again."
.
.
.
***