Chapter 50
Two Months Later
Even after a couple of months have passed, I still can’t believe Arif slipped through our fingers.
He was always one step ahead of us. Looking back, I should’ve been more vigilant.
The moment Adeela told me about her mother’s suspicions, that Eiza and the former counselor might have been having an affair, I ordered his arrest. But apparently, the guards had relaxed their watch on him since the scorpion incident, and the bastard managed to escape.
There’s now an international manhunt for him, but so far, no results.
It was a shock to discover that, on top of everything else, my half-sister Nalini is actually my sister-in-law.
My father showed more strength than I ever imagined he possessed. Beyond the public humiliation of being betrayed, he also discovered that the daughter he raised all those years wasn’t even his by blood.
That, however, wasn’t the true issue. Nalini not being his biological daughter doesn’t matter. Adeela and I have already talked about adopting a child or two in the future. A child is a child, regardless of biology.
What’s deplorable is the deceit. The years of being lied to.
Father decided not to punish his ex-wife for adultery. It would serve no purpose anyway, since Eiza will spend the rest of her life behind bars.
Arif and Naim’s mother toyed with people’s lives and emotions, caring for no one they hurt as long as they got what they wanted.
Later that night, I read the final interrogation report and my stepmother’s written confession.
She detailed their plan to induce a miscarriage in my wife, explaining that the idea came from Arif—which I had already suspected. But that doesn’t make her any less guilty.
As a kind of bonus, Eiza confessed to the scorpion incident. She said she’d placed it in Daisy’s room herself and, when asked why, gave no real answer, only that she’d done it at her lover’s request.
Evil in its purest form.
That’s what comes from the unholy union of Eiza and Arif, two monsters disguised as human beings, taking it upon themselves to decide who should live and who should die. Only sheer luck kept them from succeeding.
Father told me he wanted to speak to her privately before she was taken to prison, perhaps to try to understand how she could be capable of something so vile.
The betrayal was painful enough to discover, of course.
But there’s a chasm between infidelity and attempted murder—or two attempts, since I can’t forget that Daisy barely escaped as well.
He said he ended the conversation certain that Eiza was hollow inside. Incapable of feeling. Even when he gave her an out, asking if Naim’s disappearance had been what drove her to risk losing everything, she showed no emotion.
Again, she claimed she’d done it all at Arif’s request. Apparently, he was the only person she ever truly cared for, and even then, she didn’t hesitate to sell him out when her own neck was on the line.
Disgust doesn’t even begin to describe what I feel for her and her partner in crime.
Erasing those two stains from the face of the earth has become my life’s mission.
There’s nowhere Arif can hide.
I won’t stop until I find him and make him face justice.
Months later
At the hospital — The day of the birth
“Love cannot be bought or sold.”
(Arab Proverb)
I was born a billionaire.
For as long as I can remember, there hasn’t been a single moment in my life when I wanted something and couldn’t have it.
It’s easy to grow accustomed to wealth, and maybe that’s why you stop valuing it.
Jewels, cars, planes, helicopters, vacations, the best homes and apartments across the world . . . Whatever money could buy, I could have with the snap of a finger.
Privilege became routine. A given.
Luxury never held much allure for me. I never thought deeply about what wealth really meant. Having money was simply a part of who I was.
But today, as I watch my wife holding our little prince in her arms, I realize that before Adeela came into my life, I had nothing.
“He’s beautiful, Kaled.” She’s crying, and I feel my own eyes burn.
I thought I was good with words, but I can’t find any that can capture what I’m feeling.
I’m overflowing. Love, tenderness, and a fear so deep it threatens to undo me.
Unlike when my mother died, I know this time I would never recover if anything happened to them.
Once you’ve touched paradise, you can’t survive again among mere mortals.
“I can’t lose you.”
She stops playing with our Tajj and looks at me. “You won’t lose us, my sheikh. We’re a family now.”
I move closer to the bed. “Would you have stayed with me if he hadn’t been born?”
She reaches out her hand. “How could I not, Kaled? Ya rouhi[44], habibi[45]. You are my soul. I’m not good with words—being shy and introverted isn’t exactly the best combination—but never doubt my love for you. With you, and now with our little prince, I own the world.”
Hours later
Still at the hospital
“Ricco?[46]“ I try not to show my surprise when I see one of my friends standing beside me as I watch my son through the nursery glass.
Of course, I expected them all to come, but for him in particular, I know how painful it must be to witness my happiness today.
“Congratulations on your son,” he says, stepping closer. “Have you chosen a name?”
“Thanks, brother. Yes. Tajj.”
“What does it mean?”
I smile before answering. “Authority.”
“Fitting for a prince.”
I nod. “How are you?” I ask.
“Surviving. But I didn’t come here to talk about me; I came to give you some advice, if you’ll allow it.
No amount of time with your child is ever too much.
Work commitments mean nothing compared to the blessing of being a father.
” He hugs me and hands me the blue teddy bear he’s holding. “I should go.”
“You’re not waiting for the others?”
“Not today. It was you and your prince I wanted to see,” he says, then turns and walks away.