LOGINShare
XXXVIII: The Ex
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56She could feel stares burn into her back as they ascended the stairs, making her feel nervous. She had no idea why Aslan insisted that she followed him to the office on that particular day.
"Mr.Sadek," the security guard sharply greeted, swinging the polished glass doors open for them, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Najmah. "Mrs. Sadek."
"Thank you, Salim," Aslan smiled at him.
Their appearance in the lobby was enough to initiate a change in the atmosphere of the building as the employees stared curiously at Najmah. Some have caught a glimpse of her on the magazine as the mysterious wife of their COO while some were seeing her for the first time. They all thought he was going to end up with Afet Orhan with the way she was practically throwing herself at him, but how he ended u
Related chapters
Flawed Hearts XXXIX: Dirty Secrets
"You are moving out?" Afet questioned, crossing her arms over her chest."Yes we are," Aslan nodded shuffling through the files on his desk. "I don't see how it concerns you.""Your well being concerns me, Aslan," she dropped her arms as a look of hurt flashed across her face. "I lo-I am your friend.""Were," he corrected, shaking his head. "You were my friend. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to finish. Najmah and I would be traveling tomorrow.""Is she more important to you than the relationship we shared Aslan?""We are married Afet," he uttered, watching Najmah from the window as she picked and sniffed flowers from the garden. "She is my wife.""Not to the Turkish law," Afet smirked, crossing her legs as she sat comfortably on the sofa. "You don't have certificates to prove that.""According to the shari'ah we are married," he gritted his teeth, te
Flawed Hearts XL: The Calm Before The Storm
He felt her finger brush his hand as she steered from her sleep, groaning in the process. He jerked his head up and fixed his gaze on her face as her eyes flickered open.Najmah let out a shaky breath, her hand slowly moving towards her forehead as she felt immense pain from that portion of her face."Hey," she whispered when her gaze found his. "How long was I out?""Three hours," he replied, adjusting the pillow for her so she could have a more comfortable sitting position before pressing a button by the side of her bed to alert the nurse that she was awake."How are you feeling now?" he questioned after a moment of silence."Like I was hit by a truck," she uttered, attempting to smile but it ended up as a grimace."Najmah!" Lale burst through the door. "You gave us such a scare. How are you feeling?""Alhamdulillah.""Anne and Baba have
Flawed Hearts XLI: Don't Let Me Go
Thick silence descended upon them like a curtain, blanketing the atmosphere with its eerie presence. Najmah pushed off the door frame and advanced towards him with hesitant steps, her mind muddled with the events of the last few hours, unable to comprehend what he had just uttered."What did you say?" she came to stand beside him, raising a hand to cradle his face but he inched away from her, leaving her hand hanging in the air."I want you to leave Najmah," he enunciated, looking at anywhere but her."What do you mean leave? Leave the room? Leave the house? Leave Istanbul?""Istanbul.""What? Aslan, what is going on?
Flawed Hearts XLII: Homecoming
The flight back home wasn't as terrible as she thought it would be. She slept throughout the flight as the exhaustion of the last hours had finally caught up to her.The ride to Janbulo was quite as she stared into the scenery; the busy streets of Kano, the hawkers at the roadside and the traffic jam that never seized to exist since the renovations for the roads have begun. Oh, how she missed her home.Occasionally, Umar's gaze would flick to Najmah through the rearview mirror before going back to the road. He was anxious to get home so he would inquire about her return.He had wanted to grill her for answers when she had phoned him to pick her up at the airport but she had disconnected the call before he could get a word out and when he had tried calling back, she had switched off her cell. And now, as he was driving towards their parent’s house, he couldn't help but wonder what had got her so shaken up. Could
Flawed Hearts XLIII: Mama Knows Best
Kano, NigeriaNajmah lay numbly at her side, curled into a ball as she stared unblinkingly at the swishing curtains of her room. She was paralyzed with hurt, hurt that she had given him her all and now, she was left with nothing.The second time they had kissed, he asked her to trust him; that he would never hurt her. Who would have thought that they were just empty promises. And for what? Just to have her high on his affection and leave her dry? What could she have done to deserve such treatment from him? He should have let her be, he should have divorced her when the time of their agreement had elapsed. But no, he didn't. He decided to toil with her emotions just to let her go in the end.Everything he told her was a lie, and she found it hard to believe that she was so stupid to think that it was all true. She hated herself for wishing that he had followed her, that he had a good reason for doing what he did, but what c
Flawed Hearts XLIV: Shattered
Shattered ⚠ Proceed with caution •••Lale pushed through the door of the apartment and walked in, the click of her heels echoing through the quiet building."Aslan? brother are you in here?" she called out, advancing through the abandoned building. The last time she had been in there was when she was five and yet, she still felt uneasy being in there. Her memories in the apartment were something she had locked somewhere in the back of her mind with no access to them, but as she walked further in, the memories came back to her in a rush. Her head began to spin as a wave of nausea hit her, making her knees grow week.Lale halted -mid-step,contemplating whether to go in or not. Her memories in the house were gruesome and little as she was, she promised not to return there, but now, she had broken her promise all because of her brother's reckless decision to let go of the only person who was ab
Flawed Hearts XLV:Mending Ties
Lale's hand faltered as she struggled to sketch in the book she was holding, guilt gnawing at her conscious. She tore the paper and curled it into a ball, throwing it into the other piles of her messed up sketches. That had been her state ever since her talk with her brother.Could she have been too harsh on him? It was his fault anyway, he was the one who had made the stupid mistake of letting Najmah go, and she was only doing what a responsible sister would have done. Lale knew that telling him he was the same as the man who had fathered them was rather too harsh. In her defense, he was so stubborn and perhaps that was the only thing that could break through his charade of nonchalance.Sighing, she dropped her pencil and leaned her head on the headboard mulling over their conversation. She only hoped he would forgive her for what she had said. Lale picked up her vibrating phone from the nightstand, a smile gracing her lips before morphin
Flawed Hearts XLVI: Finding Peace
Aslan tapped his foot gently on the ceramic floor, looking down on the visitor's badge pinned to his shirt. His face was calm and collected, a varying degree from the turmoil raging within his heart and mind as he gazed around the visitor's lodge in the precinct before looking down at his watch.Lale was the opposite of calm, she could feel the four walls of the lodge closing in on her with each passing second yet she couldn't bring herself to leave. She had to be there for her brother and mostly for herself. She needed to know the reason why they were brought up the way they were; she needed closure in other to move on with her life.Her eyes wandered around the lodge till they settled on a little girl sitting on her father's lap, playing with his beard. A look of forlorn flashed across her face as she got transported back to the time when she was just the same age as the girl."Baba Baba," she called out joyfully, ho
Latest chapter
Flawed Hearts Epilogue
•Te Quero Pa' Mi ?An hour later, Najmah found herself alone in an office again. What she had to wait for, she had no idea. The room was dimmed, illuminated only by an overhead lamp.She closed her eyes and vowed to never forget what that moment felt like. The heart flutters, the joy, the happiness, she was definitely going to remember every second of it.Najmah was right on the edge, standing on a thrilling and amazing precipice of happiness, where thoughts of a flawless and perfect evening that would lead to a happy union flickered through her mind.She felt like Dorothy, gazing down at Emerald city for the first time, like Wendy rising up in the air after tasting her first pinch of pixie dust, like Cinderella, stepping out of her carriage to meet her prince charming.That feeling, she would cherish and savor every moment of it, and when she found herself alone, she would remember
Flawed Hearts LVII: The Runaway Bride
There are moments in life that define us, there are also moments that divide us into two different beings; who we were before an incident and who we are after.Whether happy moments or sad moments, they change our lives forever either for good or for bad or for worse.The same could be said for Najmah Haroun as she stared at herself in the full-length mirror, reminiscing over the past couple of weeks.Her life had changed for good the morning after her reconciliation with her husband. It was a whirlwind of family gatherings, dress fittings, cake tasting, event preparations and much more.If it came down to her, she would rather skip the festivities, sign the marriage certificate and just take off to Puerto Rico.Lale would probably kill her; she thought smiling. The fashion diva would not miss a chance to party and if Najmah were to deny her that, only Lord knew what would happen to
Flawed Hearts LVI: A Story To Tell
"Do you plan on staying in bed for the whole day?" Aslan questioned, twirling a strand of her hair with his finger."Mm-hmm," she nodded, inhaling his musky oudh scent. "I like it better here where I am.""As much as I'd like to stay here with you," he chuckled, untangling their legs. "At some point, we're going to have to get out of bed so why not do it now?""I'm not going anywhere," she pouted, wrapping her arms around his torso. "Neither are you.""Sevgilim," he kissed the corner of her lips, taking her hand into his. "I'd like very much to stay in bed with you, but we need to eat, I'll just order for room service and then I'll come back to you okay?""Fine but-"The shrill ringing of her phone interrupted her and she groaned, silencing it without checking who the caller was."Aren't you picking up?" Aslan's brows furrowed as he got down from the bed.
Flawed Hearts LV: Sailing Ships
He lifted his head which he had burrowed into her hair and gazed at Lale who had barged into the room unannounced."Are you going to explain to me what's going on here? I was outside waiting for you, and here you are cuddled with the enemy," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "We've missed our flight.""Lale," he called out in a hushed tone, pressing a finger to his lips. "I will meet you in the living room okay? I don't want her to wake up."She made a sign of not complying but seeing the look on his face, she turned around and left the room, banging the door loudly for effects.Najmah shifted in her sleep, burying her face in his neck. He sighed, not wanting to leave the bed even for a second but knowing Lale, she would burst right through the door again and wake Najmah up.Slowly but reluctantly, he slid his arms from under her then set her head on the pillow before liv
Flawed Hearts LIV: Only You
Najmah stood at the entrance of Bristol Palace Hotel taking deep breaths before ambling in, heading straight towards the receptionist, scrolling through her phone for a picture of Aslan."Hi," she smiled at the lady, showing the phone screen to her. "I was hoping you would help me with something, my husband's been staying here for a month now, and I don't know his room number.""Why don't you call him? There are lots of guests who...""Listen, lady," Najmah smiled sardonically, locking her phone screen. "This is really urgent, and I don't have any more time to waste, okay? So you're gonna check your computer right now and look up his room number or so help me God, I will cause a scene here.""I'm sorry ma'am, but I can't give out guest's information, it's against the hotel's policy.""Hotel policy? You either give me the information I asked, or I swear to God, I'm gonna scream so loud that
Flawed Hearts LIII: Resolutions
Najmah blinked, staring at the door of her room expectantly. She had no idea what she was expecting but deep down, Najmah knew it wasn't a what but a who but after how she treated him, he wouldn't be bursting through that door not then not ever.Was she foolish to take such a decision after coming to terms with her feelings for him? It was getting hard for her to make a decision.I hate you.I love you.I want you.I need you.I can't stand you.You complete me.She was still indecisive and direction-less without him. The night she had pushed him away, she had slept peacefully. The second night, she had a nervous breakdown and couldn't sleep. The third night was worse. Her indecisiveness had taken a toll on her, and she couldn't stop thinking about all the memories they had shared
Flawed Hearts LII: She's Come Undone
Najmah tiptoed across the living room, hiding a package behind her back as she surveyed the area. Just as she placed her foot on the staircase, cheering victoriously for slipping in and out of the house undetected, she heard her mother call her."Waye ne ya zo ganinki?" (Who came to see you?) Hajiya Salma questioned crossly, folding her arms over her chest. Najmah swore in her head before turning around to face her mother.Hajiya Salma looked rather displeased as she stared at her youngest who looked more annoyed than guilty at being caught."Fahad ne," (It was Fahad.) she replied, sucking in a breath."Fahad?" Hajiya Salma gasped. "Najmah are you in your right senses? How dare he come to see you? You refuse to give your husband a listening ear yet you have the time to talk to your ex? Has he no shame? He dares to come to my house to speak to you knowing that you're still married?""
Flawed Hearts LI: Dark Reality
Walking around the hospital hallways, Najmah felt a bit nostalgic as memories of the last six years of her life in there came rushing back. She had just came out of her therapist's office, where she had terminated her therapy sessions for good.She knew it was a bit reckless on her part and a risk concerning her emotional instability, but it was a necessary risk she had to take. While her sessions had helped improve her condition, she knew that the fate of her recovery laid in her hands. She was able to fall in love with Aslan, that was a definite progress.While she thought she might no longer need her therapist, she had asked the woman to write a new prescription for her just in case of emergencies.Terminating her therapy sessions was a long time coming, and she could now address other issues with a clear mind now that it was off the plate.She had made up her mind to give him a second chance, after all
Flawed Hearts L: Liar Liar
Aslan scrubbed a hand over his face after his Zuhr prayer, wiping away the tears on his face. He had cried his woes to Allah during his sujood and after his salah, he felt better.Since childhood, Anne had always thought them to put trust in Allah whenever they made du'a and to have faith that things would work out well and so he did, every day and every night for the last three months she had been away from him.He could still feel the pain, the agony and turmoil raging within him like wildfire; nothing he had done was able to calm the fire, and he knew that only she had the ability to do so and yet, she kept on denying both of them the solace they needed. And now, she was willing to give it to someone other than him; she was willing to find it somewhere else.He knew that she could be a handful sometimes when he annoyed her or when he said something that triggered her emotions but the look she gave him when he kissed her
