Chapter 60

———————Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

————————————A week later, Saturday evening, 8:00pm.

I looked at myself in the full length mirror I had in my room and I appreciated how beautiful Allah made me.

Alhamdulillah for everything.

I was wearing a dark red Abayyah that was stoned in a beautiful design with black beads. I was wearing black heels and the abayah still covered my shoes. I looked really beautiful. I tied a black scarf around my head and applied zero makeup and I was all set for the event with my black Chanel handbag.

I looked beautiful MashaAllah.

Najmah was wearing the same dress I was wearing, matching outfits, we honestly looked so cute. She was with Khalifa in the living room. I was more than happy he created time to be with us for this event. To be a guest of honour wasn't easy. I had made sure I made my Salah and recited my Qur'an before getting ready.

" I'm ready" I said as I walked out of my room after switching the lights off and found Najmah hitting Khalifa's face. Khalifa looked pretty handsome himself.

Who was I kidding, he always looked super handsome.

He was wearing a suit, a black suit, so he could match with us and not ruin our colour combo. " Yayy, we can leave now, Najmah's bag is already in my car downstairs, we just need to turn off the lights and get downstairs" Khalifa said as he lifted himself and Najmah up swiftly from where they sat.

" Okay then let's go, I'm so excited really" I chirped as I walked to open the door for them and turn off the lights. " We all are, you look stunning by the way" Khalifa complimented and I blushed a bit. " You don't look so bad yourself"

" You know I always look good" he said and smirked at me as I closed my door and locked it. " I know"

" and you always look beautiful as well"

" aww, thank you"

" You're very much welcome" He answered as we got into the elevator.

" I should have gotten myself a dark red bow tie, to match with all what you're wearing" Khalifa said as we got out of the elevator in the parking area. " Don't worry, I'm sure all what we're wearing is perfectly fine together" I answered as we walked to his jeep. " Yeah sure" he answered as we got to his car and opened the doors for us and he buckled Najmah in the baby sitter he got for her again.

I was never going to stop admiring how thoughtful he was.

He buckled her up, started the car engine and we were already on our way to Al-Hussein Orphanage Home.

" I'm trying to see if I can work in our Malaysia branch instead of that in Dubai, what do you think?" He asked as he drove us smoothly on the road. " you want us to live in Malaysia instead, I was okay with the Dubai idea you know, the city of gold is definitely an amazing place to live in" I answered and looked at him. " Well yes, but If you don't want to stop working then we can live here"

" I haven't actually decided yet you know, I'm doing what I'm very good at and I really wouldn't want to leave it"

" I perfectly understand you honestly, but at the end of the day it's your decision to make alright, I'll support you either way" He said and I smiled widely at him. " Thank you so much" I chirped and patted his shoulder. " Can we get a snack on our way, I'm suddenly craving chips" I said and I instantly remembered how I craved for lemon cake when I was pregnant. " You didn't eat huh?"

" Yeah I didn't"

" You should eat more, don't you want to gain more weight before we get married?" I wish it were that easy.

"Khalifa you know I eat a lot, I'm just not meant to be close to chubby, or slim" I answered and sighed. "I love you the way you are" He said and quickly kissed my forehead.

" I love you too, never change alright?"

" In Sha’a Allah"

————————RuMa Hotels, Saturday evening, 8:00pm.

I sat patiently in the lobby of the hotel as I waited for Zarah to finish up and get down. The event was supposed to start by 8:30 and I really didn't want to be late. I needed to make a good impression, it was my first time here in their country and I needed to show them how punctual Americans were.

I continuously kept on looking at the elevator doors open and close each minute and I kept on longing for Zarah's arrival.

I told her to be ready by 8:00pm and it was already 5 minutes past 8.

I took my phone from my pocket and dialled her contact, she wasn't picking up. I was getting impatient. Where the hell was she?

Khalid

• You'd better get down now

Sent.

" I can already see how mad you are" I heard her nice voice call from beside me. She was standing a few centimetres away from me.

I couldn't believe the world paused a minute for me to take in how beautiful she looked.

Wow.

She was beautiful.

Very beautiful.

Extremely beautiful.

She didn't need to smile to make things worse for me. She was wearing a white long, long sleeved flay dress that hid all of her curves and she used a cream scarf stoned with white beads to cover her hair. She was wearing something very simple but she looked like an angel sent from above. Oh my God.

She was wearing makeup, not really heavy, something light and she looked amazing.

" You can stop drooling over me now Mr Olyster" I snapped out of the time pause and I got up from where I sat. " You honestly look very beautiful" I said and watched her blush. " It's all thanks to your mother, she got me everything I have on"

" except the face"

" are you flirting with me?" She asked and gave me a questioning look. " I'm not, I have a habit of appreciating beauty, you're a true beauty" I answered and watched her smile again. " Well thank you very much, you look handsome too" She answered and I smiled at her. " Yeah sure whatever, we're going to be late if we don't leave now, let's go" I said as I turned to walk out of the hotel.

" Thank you so much for bringing me with you" She said as we got into my car and I buckled my seatbelt. " It's fine, don't worry" I answered and started the engine. " I honestly really can't wait to see my juniors again, they'll be all grown up now, they were so small and cute and innocent before I left" she chirped as I drove out of the parking area.

" You know I owe you a lot Mr Olyster" She said again and I looked at her. I had no idea what she was talking about. " Your company's scholarship scheme helped me throughout my four years in college" oh. " Oh, you were lucky enough you know, you're skilled and very talented, that's why you got that full scholarship" I added and she nodded. " well yes and plus I prayed hard to Allah for it and I'm thankful he gave it to me" She answered with a smile. " Yeah, it's good" I answered and focused on the road as my mind raced to the last time I saw Faryah in her parents home.

Her real parents.

Her mother looked exactly like her, I remember clearly when I saw her drive into their house as I waited in the car for Mother. I had no plans of going in but when I saw her and Najmah go in, I had to follow them in too, cause I knew they were definitely going to have an argument.

I honestly thought that they were going to treat Mother the way we treated Faryah but no, Faryah made sure no one fought, she made sure there wasn't going to be any heated argument and she even made Mother feel so much better.

The fact that Faryah was undoubtedly extremely kind made my had waver in regret.

She was what someone needed to live a good and stress free life.

I treated her inappropriately and I lost her.

I wasn't going to just give up on her.

I was determined to try my utmost best to win her back because deep down inside, I knew Faryah still felt something for me and it could be rekindled back.

I needed to win my wife back and to do it I knew I needed prayers, sincere prayers.

I had made up my mind on converting to Islam. I really really wanted to know more and have more insight on how peaceful the religion was. I even went on YouTube to listen to sermons Faryah had recommended for me while we were still together.

The religion made sense to me than another other religion could, honestly.

" we're almost there, we'll just take the right turn and we're good, ohh I can't wait" Zarah said as I took a left turn. It was already 8:30pm. I couldn't say we were late, we were already there I guess. " You're over excited" I said and laughed a little as we got to the right turn. " I am honestly, I can't wait to see all of them, I'm more than excited to see this particular 3 year that was left alone at the front of the Orphanage home when I was there, I was 16 then, when they brought her, she didn't speak to anyone, she was so quiet and she always wanted to be alone, she reminded me of myself when I was little" She answered. " You were once quiet and reserved?, you?" I asked and she laughed a little. " I was, I always wanted to be on my own and do everything myself, that part of me caused me great harm"

" oh what happened?" I asked and she changed the topic. " we're here already" She said with a big smile and clap as I drove to the front of the Orphanage home. There were beautiful lights outside that made the name of the orphanage home look really bright and shiny.

Al-Hussein Orphanage Home.

I stopped in front of the gate, behind a Jeep. I watched as a chauffeur opened up the door for Zarah and I got down from the car after turning off the engine and giving him my keys to help me park the car. " It's been a long while honestly" Zarah said as she stood waiting for me as I walked to her. There was a very large blue gate that was wide open and the place was a bit crowded. "Let's go Najmah" I heard a man say from a distance and I turned to look at them.

They were here also.

Khalifa, Faryah and my daughter, portraying the happy family picture. I really didn't want my mood to be ruined this evening. " let's go, they're probably holding the party in Nur Hall, let's go" Zarah said as she happily pulled me away from where we stood and we walked into the Orphanage home.

It was pretty huge, very huge, we were welcomed by little kids, they looked like they were all 5, beautiful boys and girls greeted us as we walked to the hall.

" You won't see a lot cause it's already dark, you should see the Nur garden by this time, the night always highlights that beautiful garden, there are beautiful butterflies there, this place hasn't changed even in a bit honestly" I was beginning to wonder if she was joking about being quiet and reserved as a kid. Zarah talked a lot but I liked it, she didn't hide her feelings.

Her noise was very nice and entertaining.

" At the back you'll see the hostels for the boys and the girls, and there's also a library, a playground, a women's shelter, it's at the far back of the entire Orphanage, there's a swimming pool, a very big one, there're also several football pitches and basketball pitches, this place is comfortable honestly, they make sure they take care of anyone that comes here very very well you know and it's nice, I would actually give anything to come back and stay here, this place is always full of love, I'm sure you're going to love to see kid's performances and their drama, it'll be so cool and cute" She was using her hands to briefly show me around the place. This was the kind of noise I liked. She was entertaining.

" Good evening, oh my you're the famous Mr Olyster, welcome, I'll show you to your table" A lady in pink called immediately I walked into the event hall with Zarah by my side. We greeted her and followed her into the hall, it looked like they were about start." They always decorate this place like this every year, you're going to enjoy the food they serve also" Zarah said as she kept on smiling widely. The hall was decorated with balloons and hand made flowers and bangles. They allowed the children to do all the decorations." Malaysian meals are actually very delicious you know"

" They are, you haven't tried our finger foods, spring rolls and samosas"

" Here's your seat sir, you're welcome to Malaysia" The lady in pink chirped as she stopped us the near front of the hall on a round four seater table. " Thank you very much" I answered as I pulled a seat for Zarah before sitting down. " That girl is an orphan, well she's probably involved in most of the activities around the orphanage so she was given the post to welcome important people in, they usually read about the people they're expecting, they study their faces so they can identify them in the event"

" That's actually pretty impressive"

" Yeah, I did that once, it was fun seriously" she said and laughed a little as my eyes scanned through the hall and I found Faryah, Khalifa and Najmah being greeted by a lot of people.

She was wearing a dark red dress with black stones and she tied a black scarf around her head. She didn't wear any makeup, she just put on her pretty smile and she looked so amazing.

I was honestly getting annoyed by the way she and Khalifa were clinging to each other.

She was still married to me, it was unethical for her to be seen with other men when she was still married.

She looked so happy with the supposed family she had now, my daughter and her future husband. I could give anything to be with them right now. " your wife is here as well sir, she looks so beautiful" I heard Zarah say as I kept my eyes on Faryah. " yeah" I answered with a small smile.

I kept on looking at her and I know she felt my stare and finally looked my way. I wanted to make sure she knew I was here and I needed to her to know that what she was doing wasn't right.

" Assalamu Alaykum everyone, good evening everyone, please take your seats the program is about to start" A pretty young woman said as she stood on the stage. I had turned away from Faryah as I listened to what the young woman had to say. " I'm Uwailah Soysal and I'm honoured to host this event today" She added again as she smiled at the crowd. " I know the kids are backstage feeling so excited for their performances" The smile on her face made her smile.

" Here's your seat ma'am, please feel welcome" I heard the lady in pink say as she brought Faryah to our table. Oh wow.

How unexpected.

I smirked as I looked at the disappointed look on her face and that of her fiancé's. " Thank you very much" she answered as her fiancé pulled a seat for her to sit with Najmah. " Good evening" Zarah greeted as she smiled at them and Najmah. " Evening" They both answered her as they tried their best not to look my way. " oh my MashaAllah your daughter is so beautiful Ma'am, what's her name?" Zarah asked again and I looked at my daughter. Both she and Faryah were wearing matching outfits. " this cute little angel is Najmah" Faryah answered and tickled her.

" well good evening Khalid, I never expected to see you here" Khalifa called and I looked at his direction. I really wanted to be polite for Zarah's sake if not I would have already created a scene. Why did he even try talking to me as if we were once friends in the first place." Believe me I never expected to see you here too, but are you really supposed to be here?" I was ready to make them as uncomfortable as I could. " I accompanied Faryah here" the man was trying to be nice to me. I didn't need his niceness. " Oh I'm not sure you're supposed to be with someone else's..." I was cut off by Faryah. Gosh I wanted to hurt his feelings so bad.

" They're about to start" Faryah said nicely as the host walked back to the stage.

" Assalamu Alaykum, good evening again everyone. We're all glad that you could make it to another year to this event that is always memorable. Today marks 23 years of the existence of Al-Hussein Orphanage homes, we have indeed come a very long way with all of you present here today, we are always going to be grateful for the undying support you give to this Orphanage home to raise beautiful and handsome children in the world, Allah's way. We are thankful for your assistance to women who have been abused and maltreated in this world by rapists and all sorts of harmful factors, thank you all very much for attending this event this year again and I want you all, ladies and gentlemen to sit back, relax and enjoy the show alot of kids have put together to show you how thankful they are to have all of you" She said and the crowd applauded. She had a very heavy Malaysian accent.

" well we're going to be calling on Mrs Humayrah Hussein, the owner and founder of Al-Hussein Orphanage homes to come give us a welcoming prayer and a welcoming speech, please a round of applause for her as she gets on the stage" Another applause. I really hope I wasn't going to end up falling asleep in this event. I always disliked the introduction section of events, I was always eager to see the main thing, the main thing the audience came for.

I looked at how beautiful Faryah looked, smiling and enjoying the speeches as she played with Najmah's cheeks.

I badly wanted to see her by my side again, telling me she loves me so much cause she actually does.

Seeing her with another man right in front of me was enough to make me turn into a mad man but I had to control myself, there were a lot of people I had to respect here and I also had to respect my own self.

It was going to be hard to, but I knew I could do it.

I could tame my jealousy this time.

Hopefully.