43~ I thought I lost you
"What about Faruk?" She asked, her voice trembling. "Did you find him?"
Najib nodded.
"Yes. He's been arrested, and I'll make sure he faces the consequences of what he did."
"And that gave you the right to jump into the water?!" She snapped, tears welling in her eyes. "What were you thinking?"
"I'm sorry."
"I thought..." Her voice broke. "I thought I lost you."
"You didn't, Habibti." He gently cupped her face. "I'm here."
"Did you even think about me?" She whispered. "About us? Or were you so determined to catch him that you forgot what losing you would do to me?"
"I wasn't thinking straight." Najib sighed.
"No, you weren't." She wiped her tears with trembling fingers. "Do you know what it felt like watching you risk your life by jumping into that water? I couldn't breathe... I thought my heart stopped at a point."
"I'm sorry, Habibti."
"I've already lived through the pain of losing you once, Najib. I can't survive that again. Please... don't ever make me go through that pain again."
He lowered his gaze, guilt washing over him.
"I never wanted to scare you, I swear... You know I love you so much."
"I know." She nodded. "I know how much you love me. You don't have to keep telling me that."
She placed his hand against her chest.
"But you need to understand something too."
"When you're hurt... I'm hurt too."
"When your life is in danger... mine feels like it is too."
"If you die... I won't survive, Wallahi..
So please, stay alive for me."
His thumb brushed away another tear.
"Don't say your life ends with mine, Habibti."
"But that's how it feels." She looked into his eyes. "I don't want a future without you in it anymore."
He leaned closer, pressing a gentle kiss to the tears on her cheeks.
"You know how much I hate these tears."
She nodded.
"I'm not going anywhere." His forehead rested against hers. "Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever."
"We'll face everything together."
"Promise me, Najib."
"I promise."
She finally smiled through her tears before wrapping her arms around him again, holding him as though letting go would make him disappear.
Nanny Ann rushed Hanan to the hospital the moment she collapsed in her arms.
The doctor assured her it wasn't a physical injury.
"It's an anxiety attack." He explained gently. "The trauma overwhelmed her body. She fainted from the shock. She'll need to remain under observation for a while."
Even after hearing that, Nanny Ann couldn't stop crying.
She sat beside Hanan's bed, watching the unconscious girl whose face remained tense even in her sleep.
Her brows were tightly knitted.
Her breathing came in uneven.
Even unconscious, she looked frightened... as though she were still trapped inside Faruk's car.
Nanny Ann gently held her hand, rubbing the back of it with trembling fingers.
"Hanan, dear..." She whispered through tears. "You're safe now. Nobody is going to hurt you anymore."
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Another hour.
Yet Hanan never opened her eyes.
Nanny Ann had called Abdul countless times.
She called Najib even more.
Neither answered.
She knew why.
Najib had jumped into the lagoon after Faruk.
"Hanan..." She sobbed quietly.
"I know you're scared. I know you think something happened to Najib."
She brushed a strand of hair away from Hanan's forehead.
"But he's alive, dear... he has to be."
"So please..."
"Open your eyes."
A few hours earlier...
Najib was on his way to the airport with Mr Charles.
He had barely spoken throughout the drive, but there was a smile on his face that refused to disappear.
Mr Charles noticed it.
"You seem unusually happy today, sir."
Najib laughed softly.
"I am."
He looked out of the window before speaking again.
"I'll only be away for a week."
"When I return....I'm going to ask Habiba to marry me."
Mr Charles turned toward him with a wide smile.
"Again?"
Najib nodded.
"On her birthday."
"I want October 8th to become the happiest day of her life."
"And I've decided."
"This time... I'm never letting her go again."
Mr Charles chuckled. "Congratulations, sir."
"Thank you."
"I'll start looking for the perfect venue immediately." Mr Charles smiled.
"Keep it a secret. I want everything to surprise her."
"You have my word, sir."
Before Mr Charles could say another word, Najib's phone vibrated again.
Uncle.
The call had already come in several times.
Najib sighed.
"He must still be angry about Faruk's wedding being called off."
He declined it again.
A second later...
Mr Charles's phone rang.
He frowned. "It's your uncle."
Najib's smile slowly disappeared. "Answer it."
Mr Charles placed the call on speaker.
The voice that came through wasn't angry.
It was terrified.
"Mr Charles... is Najib with you?"
"Yes, sir."
"Put him on the phone immediately!"
Najib's expression hardened.
"Uncle... what's wrong?"
"Najib..." His uncle's voice trembled.
"Faruk has taken my gun."
Najib froze.
"He said he's going after Habiba."
"I've been trying to reach you."
"You have to stop him."
"He wants to force her to marry him
tonight."
For a split second... Najib completely lost control of the steering wheel.
"Sir!"
Mr Charles grabbed it just in time, swerving the car safely onto the roadside before it crashed.
Najib's breathing became heavy.
"What did you just say?"
"He kidnapped her?"
"I'm afraid he was already on his way when I called."
"He isn't answering any of my calls anymore."
Najib ended the call without another word.
The warmth that had filled his face moments ago vanished completely.
Only fury remained.
He slammed the accelerator.
The tyres screeched violently against the road as the car shot forward.
"Habibti..."
He gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned pale.
"Please be safe."
Within thirty minutes, they reached Abdul's house.
Najib didn't bother knocking.
He burst through the front door.
"Habiba!"
"Where is she?"
"Where's Habiba?!"
His frantic voice echoed through the house.
Nanny Ann looked at him with tear filled eyes.
"He took her..."
Najib stopped breathing.
"Faruk kidnapped her."
"Shit!"
He spun around and sprinted back outside straight back into his car.
Nanny Ann hurried after him, taking the passenger seat.
"He has taken her to his house!" Najib growled as he started the engine.
"I know him."
"If he lays another finger on her..."
His jaw clenched.
"I swear I'll bury him alive myself."
The car tore through the streets at a terrifying speed.
Nanny Ann clutched her seatbelt with shaking hands, too frightened for life and too scared to ask him to slow down.
Just then, her phone rang.
"It's the police."
Najib snatched it from her.
"Where are they?"
"They're on the Lekki Ikoyi Bridge."
Before the officer could say another word...
Najib had already pushed harder on the accelerator.
The moment they arrived at the scene, Najib's heart nearly stopped.
"Habiba!"
His voice echoed through the crowd.
Hanan looked up. The instant she saw him, every ounce of strength she had left disappeared.
"Najib..."
She ran straight into his arms, breaking down.
"He kidnapped me..." She sobbed. "He... he tried to kill me, he wants us dead."
Najib held her tightly, one hand cradling the back of her head as she trembled against him.
"It's okay." His voice was low but shaking with fury. "I'm here now."
He looked over her shoulder.
The bruises on her wrists.
The blood on her lip.
The terror in her eyes.
Something inside him snapped.
He gently handed her to Nanny Ann before striding toward Abdul.
"Where is he?"
"He jumped into the water."
Najib didn't hesitate.
Before anyone could stop him, he sprinted toward the edge of the bridge.
"Najib!"
Abdul shouted.
Hanan gasped.
Too late.
He dove into the water.
The rescue boats had already begun searching beneath the bridge, their flashlights flashing through the dark water.
Najib ignored them.
His only thought was Faruk.
He swam deeper, scanning every direction until movement caught his eye.
Faruk.
Alive.
Swimming toward the shore.
Faruk glanced back.
The moment their eyes met, hatred flashed across his face.
"So you came back..."
He grabbed a sharp rock from the riverbank.
"I'll finish you this time."
Before Najib could react, Faruk lunged towards him.
The rock crashed against Najib's head.
Pain exploded through his skull.
Before he could recover, Faruk shoved his head into the water.
Najib struggled violently.
His lungs burned as he gasped for air.
Every attempt to breathe was only drowning him.
Faruk pressed his neck harder into the water.
"Die!"
Darkness began blurring Najib's vision.
Then instinct took over.
His hand shot upward, catching Faruk's wrist.
With all the strength left in him...
Crack.
Faruk screamed.
Najib twisted his fingers so hard that his bone cracked and his grip loosened.
Both men glared, gasping for air.
Faruk barely caught his breath before Najib's fist crashed into his jaw.
Blood sprayed across the water.
"You touched her!"
Another punch.
"You kidnapped her!"
Another.
"You scared her!"
Another.
"You hurt her and made her cry!"
Faruk laughed through his broken mouth.
"She's still mine! You're just an asshole who broke her heart and killed his own child and you're trying to do that again."
That sentence was enough to provoke Najib even more.
Najib exploded.
He grabbed Faruk by the throat and forced his head beneath the water.
Again.
Again.
And again.
Faruk kicked wildly, choking and coughing every time his head was pulled out.
Finally his body went limp.
Rescue officers rushed in, dragging both men onto one of the boats.
The moment they reached land, Najib broke free from the officers.
He threw himself at Faruk again.
His fists rained down on Faruk's face relentlessly.
One.
Two.
Three.
Blood covered Faruk's entire face.
His nose broke.
His lips split open.
His cheeks were bruised and swollen.
"Najib!"