Chapter 40

-------------Los Angeles, California.

--------------------------Olyster Residence(4:00pm)

I really couldn't believe the anger in me made me hit a woman. It was so wrong. A part of me wanted to rush to her and protect her from Mother but she had to pay for lying to us. I really wanted to believe her explanations, I really wanted to, but I couldn't. I couldn't get the idea of she sleeping with another man out of my head. I loved her too much, I needed to find it in my heart to forget about her.

I heard Grandpa’s car drive into the mansion. They were here. I really didn't mean for our argument to cause Faryah's grandfather a heart attack. I didn't know what I was going to do if she lost him. I walked out of my room and found GrandPa and Sophia walking into the living room. Mother and Brandon were still there. " How is he?" Mother asked as she got up from the couch. I knew she felt guilty as well. " Oh so you care now?" Sophia asked with a little sob. " She explained herself, but all you did was hit her, you know deep down inside that Faryah won't do such a thing, but your son, your stupid selfish son" Sophia cried as she took a deep breath before continuing. " He's the one that slept with someone, a married man that claimed to love his wife, he slept with another stupid woman and you chose not to believe that, you chose to believe the lies and ignore the truth" She snapped again with tears in her eyes. She was beginning to make me feel guilty. Very guilty.

I couldn't have slept with Pamela, when I woke up she was in the kitchen, all dressed up and eating breakfast, I saw a pillow and sheets on her couch, meaning she slept there. I didn't do anything with her. " You, Mother, you are the cause of GrandPa Musa's death, all of you, Khalid, Zainab and Brandon. You are the not the people that raised me, you are murderers, have it at the back of your mind that you killed him, you killed an innocent man, and you see Faryah, she was broken enough, and you broke her more" she added with tears in her eyes. A part of me really felt like running after my wife, but the video always came to my mind and I get more angry.

" You know she's carrying your grandchild, your child Khalid, she is three weeks pregnant, so don't you dare say that it's not your child, you threw your child away and grandchild, and you threw a sister away, you threw a daughter away" She said as she rushed up the stairs. " Sophia" Mother called. I looked at GrandPa, his eyes were swollen and red. He had been crying. A lot. " GrandPa" I called as I walked towards. " I am very much disappointed in all of you, most especially you Khalid" GrandPa whispered as he walked towards his study. " GrandPa" I called as I followed him. " Stay away from me" He said as he closed the door in my face. What just happened. My icon detests me because of Faryah. She ruined my life and took my child away from me. She ruined everything in one day. She ruined it all.

------------------Los Angeles, California

----------------------------- Firdaus's new apartment.( 5:00pm )

I still couldn't come to accept that we just buried GrandPa. I insisted we went back to Indonesia to bury him but Ummi turned me down.

We lost him.

Because he saw me being maltreated by my very own husband.

I let him down.

I did.

I disappointed him.

But there was no one to blame. It was Allah's will. He wanted all this to happen. He didn't even get the opportunity to see his grandchild but Allah knows best. Every soul shall really taste death. We were all getting closer to our graves as each day passed by.

Firdaus bought an apartment she planned on staying alone in while Ummi and GrandPa were supposed to be with me in the mansion. It was sad that the people that were always so nice to you, were the ones that were going to end up hurting you badly. They were like family to me but they decided to believe a stupid video instead of listening to the truth I was telling them. And to think the man I loved with my body and soul, abused me, he beat me up.

I couldn't think of what I was supposed to do at this point. I needed to start afresh and take care of my child. Even though she or he wasn't going to grow up with its father, I was still around and I was going to love my child. Very much.

" Faryah" Firdaus called as she sat beside me on the couch. There was nothing much in the apartment. Just a couple of chairs, couches, tables and shelves. " Hey" I answered softly. " Grandpa's gone now" she said as she held my hand. " And it's partly my fault, I am trying not to blame myself but in reality it is my fault" I said with a small sob. " If he hadn't seen me in that situation, he would still be with us by now, I miss him so much Firdaus" I cried as she placed my head on her shoulder. " Faryah, come on, you don't need to blame yourself for what happened, it was meant to happen, okay, you'll be sober now but I know you'll be fine, you need a change of environment" Firdaus said as she patted my hair. I really did. " I hope so" I answered as I let the tears fall from my eyes. I never thought she was going to ever be this nice to me. I knew it, deep down inside, she really cared for all of us.

" Girls" Ummi called as she walked to where we sitting. " Ummi" We answered as she sat beside me. " We're alone now, no male protection" She said with a small laugh but deep down, she was hurting, more than we were. " We really shouldn't have buried him here, he didn't have a proper Janazzah Ummi, it's not fair to him, we were the only ones that were there and you know it's not proper for women to attend burials, come on Ummi" I nagged as I cried a little, raising my head from Firdaus's shoulder. " It's what your grandfather wanted, he said, anywhere he dies, we should bury him there, and I know it's not the right way but Allah understands our situation Faryah, okay, don't think about it okay, what's done is done" she had a point though. I had accept it, crying wasn't going to solve anything. " We only have each other now, I know you loved Khalid so much Faryah, and I honestly don't know what happened, but you see, we believe you and I know you will never ever do what they're accusing you of, even though it might hurt, Allah knows best. You know, if you hadn't met them, you will still be mute, and you won't remember where you truly come from, but Alhamdulillah, and they helped you finish your studies, Alhamdulillah too, don't hate them, find it in your heart to forgive them, everybody makes mistakes, and if they are willing to accept their wrong doings, fine, Alhamdulillah for them" Firdaus said as she caressed my hand. " Firdaus is right Faryah, we need to move on, you need to move on, Khalid might come back, but right now, you need time away from all of them okay, and I also think you should file a divorce, it's part of moving on" My heart was shattered into tiny pieces and the idea of me divorcing Khalid made the shattered pieces condition worse. I loved him so much that I didn't want to. I honestly didn't want to, I really didn't. " It's going to be hard Ummi, you can't blame me, I love him so much, I can't bring myself to do that, I can't, Ummi I can't" I cried out loud. " You have to, even though not now, you're eventually going to have to divorce him, It's best for my niece, or nephew, okay, we don't want you to stay hurt, Faryah you are a very strong woman and I know you can do this, you can" Firdaus said as she patted my shoulder. " We'll always be with you Faryah, okay, we love you and we're going to guide too, we're with you" Ummi said and I nodded. I had to accept it.

" I bought a house in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, and we have a flight tomorrow afternoon, it is what you need, and hopefully with this trip, you'll regain your strength and move on with your child, it doesn't mean you should close your heart to love, you should, but you have to be careful" Firdaus added as I cleaned my eyes. Malaysia. That's where I come from. " I'm going there for a two year modelling project, I wanted to go alone, but the situation changed and we all have to go together, you'll hopefully find your family there too Faryah" Firdaus said with a small smile. " Insha’Allah, and Raihanna might be there, so it won't be boring" I said as I dried my eyes and took a deep breath. " If Khalid truly loves you, he'll come back and ask for your forgiveness, it might take a while, but he might. He was fooled, when i first met Khalid, I knew he was a nice man, that is why I was glad that you two ended up falling in love with each other. He was fooled, mainly because he cares for you a lot, he acted out of jealousy and a late explanation from you, Zainab acted on impulse, she didn't think about what she was going to end up doing, she just acted up at once, you can't blame her, she was only looking out for her son" Ummi said as I let out my breath and Firdaus patted my back. " But I saw him in bed with someone else, Pamela, she seduced him and he fell right into her trap, basket" I said slowly. " He has to sort all those out himself, you should move on for now, since you understand things better, okay, I'll call Sophia up and ask if she can help us bring your things, and I'll order us some take outs, there has to be something like that here right?" Firdaus asked and I nodded. " I'll order a full dinner set for us, for now, we need rest, showers and maybe sleep" Firdaus said and I smiled a little. " I'll go into the shower first" I said and they nodded. " You can wear my clothes when you're done okay?" Firdaus said and I nodded. " I have some clean towels too, and my hair dryer is here, and lotion, you might need them" Ummi said and I nodded. It was a two bedroom apartment. " I'll use the room on the right" I said as I got up from the couch. " Sure, we'll eat dinner in the balcony, the breeze here at night has to be cool" Firdaus said and I smiled at her. She was right. " Good, I'll go ahead, call Sophia please" I said as I watched them nod. " Get the towels from my bag, I'll set the lotions and hair dryer in your room when you're done" Ummi said. " And the clothes too" Firdaus added and I smiled at them before finally opening Ummi's suitcase and taking out a green towel and a bar of soap from her bag. I was all set for the water.

The room was quite large, not as large as that in the mansion. There was a clean bed with sheets, I guess Firdaus had this prepared. I walked to the bathroom and took off my clothes and got into the shower.

A lot happened just in one day. I found out I was pregnant, I caught Khalid with another woman, I was abused, maltreated and framed. Allah was going to get me through all of this safely. Going to Malaysia and filing a divorce was the best thing to do right now. It really was. We needed time apart from each other. He didn't trust me enough, I wasn't going to forget all the happy moments we shared, I was grateful for all of them, all of them, and thankful, and they made me who I am today. I had to accept reality and thank Allah for letting me see who they truly were, I was glad Sophia and GrandPa Julius stood by me at least. They helped me. Alhamdulillah. I needed to prioritise my child and hopefully find a means of taking care of him. I could do it, I knew I could. With Allah, everything is possible.

------------------------ Olyster Residence. (7:00pm)

I sat alone in my room looking at the sales of our new textile. It was a hit. The grand launch was a hit, I was supposed to be excited, but I wasn't focused enough. My thoughts were surrounded by Faryah's graceful smile and voice. I really couldn't bring myself to stop thinking about her and all what I watched. I didn't know what to decide on, it was either I forgave her and let things slide, but I wasn't going to trust her fully, I was going to doubt her actions and motives and that was going to worsen our relationship or I let her go. I couldn't bring myself to do any of those. They were both going to hurt me.

" Sophia, No, no, I won't let you leave" That was mom yelling from downstairs. I quickly got up from my seat and rushed out of my room. Sophia was pulling two suitcases out of her room. One was Faryah's. " Where do you think you're going?" I asked as I rushed towards her. " Don't stop me, I need time away from all of you" she snapped as she struggled with the bags. " what is wrong with you?" Mother snapped, almost crying. " oh nothing, I don't want to live with murderers I guess" She answered as she walked down the stairs. " you're not going anywhere" Mother said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. " Tssk, Mother, I am old enough to decide for myself and do what I want, just leave me alone, I really hope and pray you can correct your wrong doings" She answered as she walked towards the door. " Sophia" Brandon called from upstairs making her pause. " We can sort things out, just stay" he added as he came down from the stairs. " We can, but not now, I need time away from all of you right now please, don't make this hard" she answered and Brandon nodded. " Okay then, We're still here for you when you need us" He said as he walked over to her and gave her a hug. " You're letting her go?, what kind of a parent are you?" Mother snapped. " Zainab please, don't make this harder than it already is, it is what she wants, let her have it" Brandon said as he let go of her. He had done a lot of thinking and was obviously right. " But that's not what is good for her" Mother answered back. They really didn't need to argue right now. " And you know what's good for her?, Zainab please, she is mature enough to make decisions, make mistakes and learn from them. You don't need to be a control freak" Yeah, they were going to argue. " Control freak?, Me!...." Mother started but Sophia cut them off. " There's no need to argue, we all need to think about ourselves and our lives right now, we need to really think about what we really want in this life, I want to do that, away from all of you" Sophia said as she stared directly at me. " Go on Sophia, but be safe" I said as I gave her a small smile. She sent me a death glare as she slowly turned to leave. " I really hope you think straight Khalid, and make the right choices" She said as she turned. I really hoped so too. I really hoped so.

" You shouldn't have let her leave" Mother started as Brandon walked up the stairs after Sophia drove out of the mansion. " Zainab please, stop it" he answered with his back turned to her. " You guys shouldn't argue about this, we're suffering enough already and...." I was cut off by a loud gunshot that came from the study. GrandPa.

I quickly ran to the study and slid the door open and found grandpa lifeless on the floor, in his own pool of blood and with a gun in his hand. This wasn't happening. We didn't know he was this depressed. Oh lord No. " GrandPa" I yelled as I knelt beside him. " Dad" Brandon yelled as he came to my side. " GrandPa No" I cried as looked at the hole in his forehead. He killed himself. No, this wasn't happening. My idol. No, No, I couldn't take this. "GrandPa" I screamed louder as I pulled him closer to me. " Dad, No, I can't believe this, Call an ambulance" Brandon called.

Why was all this happening to me?. I have already suffered enough. This wasn't fair. Not even a bit.