Since their conversation about Dalilah three days ago, Dashtan and Rakia have been busy with their jobs. Not that Dashtan had ignored Dalilah's request for help; he was still thinking of the best way to help the woman without making Rakia like a lion awakened from her deep sleep. However, just as he was immersed in the financial documents of Dalilah's company that he examined that afternoon in his busy office, the woman once again came to see him. "Sir, we have a visitor for you, Mrs. Dalilah." The secretary informed him when through the door the woman opened after first knocking. Dashtan sighed harshly momentarily, then permitted his guest to see him. As Dalilah entered, Dashtan was still going through the financial statements of the woman's company. Sitting on one of the couches in the centre of the room, Dalilah waited for Dashtan's attention to be drawn to her. "I talked to your wife about the guarantee I told you about last time," Dalilah said, opening the conversation between
Rakia helped Mrs. Hunt in the kitchen that morning and woke up early, as was her habit. Since she was starting to miss work today, she planned to pack her bags. Dashtan urged her to take an early leave before departing to Dubai tomorrow. Rakia saw Dashtan struggling with his tie in the living room. She approached the man after handing over the task of making breakfast to Mrs. Hunt. "Let me help you," Rakia said as she took over Dashtan's hand, who seemed busy putting on his tie. Rakia smiled at her neat work after thenecktie was perfectly and neatly attached. "Where's your suit? Let me get it for you, go have breakfast," Rakia said again. "In my room, I'll wait in the kitchen." Dashtan quickly pecked Rakia on the forehead before heading to the kitchen. After picking up Dashtan's coat, she followed him into the kitchen, placing his jacket on the arm of the sofa in the living room. "Don't forget to pack for our departure tomorrow." Dashtan reminded Rakia of their departure tomorrow
The sound of the room door opening distracted the two people who were drunk with mutual attraction to each other. Rakia and Dashtan suddenly turned their heads and found Dalilah standing near the closed room door with a surprised face. “What are you doing here?” Dashtan asked flatly. His gaze instantly changed when he looked at Dalilah, sharp and cold. Rakia, who felt awkward, looked down for a moment and swallowed. She was now nervous when she felt Dashtan’s aura that changed instantly to become unfriendly. “Sorry, I just wanted to-““You want to discuss it again?” Dashtan cut in quickly. Rakia frowned and raised her gaze to stare at Dahstan. “Then, if you’ll excuse me,” said Dalilah, who quickly turned and left the room. Dashtan sighed and then clucked. “She comes here often?” asked Rakia, looking down. Dashtan shifted his gaze to the woman; he immediately hugged her. “A few days ago, she came here, it seems she tried to persuade my family,” Dashtan said, making Rakia worried.
Rakia stared blankly at the floor of her room as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her conversation with Dashtan a few moments ago had made her even more insecure about her feelings for the man. On the other hand, she didn't want to fall too deeply into this marriage because, eventually, they would part ways. But for some reason, when Dashtan asked for a separation on such short notice, she felt offended, as if he didn't want her in his life any longer. Tears quickly gathered in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks before she could stop them. Honestly, what she feared was that she couldn't stop herself from falling in love with Dashtan. She didn't want that in the end; her heart would be in this marriage, while Dashtan gave her nothing and quickly let go of their togetherness. Rakia wiped her tears quickly and turned her thoughts towards the suitcase she had placed in front of her wardrobe in an open state. "I'd better pack," she thought as she stepped towards the suitcase and quickl
Her hungry stomach woke Rakia from her deep sleep. She was confused to find herself on a bed and in a room. She remembered that she had fallen asleep in her seat while the plane was taking off. She observed the room she was in; it was neat and minimalist but cosy. She gently rubbed the sheets of the bed she was sleeping on, soft and smooth. Currently, the lighting in the room comes from a sizable bed lamp that stands in the corner of the room. The atmosphere was dim and perfect for a good night’s sleep, but she couldn’t tolerate her rumbling stomach. Rakia got out of bed slowly, put on her flat shoes, then walked towards the door and opened it slowly. She was surprised she was still on the plane when she saw Thalia preparing food on a wheeled iron tray. “Ah, good afternoon, Mrs. Dashtan, did you sleep well?” asked Thalia with a smile on her face, a friendly smile that fit her appearance perfectly. Rakia smiled and tried not to be awkward. “Um, cozy room, where’s Dashtan?” Rakia loo
Dashtan stared at Rakia with a surprised look, then looked down as he exhaled loudly through his sharp nose. He folded his lips into his mouth as he thought, but he couldn't think of an appropriate response to Rakia's question. Meanwhile, Rakia stared at Dashtan, waiting for the man's reaction to her question. "I... Don't want you to get hurt for expecting so much from me." Dashtan sighed in relief. At least he didn't look helpless in front of a woman. He did not want to let anyone see his weak side; he was still unable and entirely at peace with himself. He was too afraid to make a real commitment to a woman. Rakia swallowed all the disappointment she got from that statement. But she couldn't force anything on Dashtan. "As you said, I wouldn't expect much; maybe that's better," Rakia said and smiled, trying to brace herself. She finished her ice cream while Dashtan finished his juice. After that, Dashtan stood up and excused himself to bed. Rakia just nodded; her face looked sad af
Dashtan exited the room after getting dressed while Rakia performed the bath ritual. Initially, he wanted to wait for her to finish, but his mother entered his room while he was lying on the bed checking his cell phone. A knock on the door from her mother interrupted her. "Where's Rakia?" Mahira looked at her son while occasionally darting into the room as Dashtan stood in the doorway of the room he had half-opened. "Taking a bath, why, Mom?" Dashtan looked at the woman curiously. "Do you want to rest?" Mahira asked again. "I was planning to take Rakia for an afternoon walk." Her son divulged the plan. The mother nodded. "We're having dinner at the Golden Fork tonight. Your father's friend has invited you," she informed; Dashtan frowned. "Who?" Because he didn't want to accept a dinner invitation that he didn't know the source of. Many people surrounded his father, and few were sycophants. “Mr. Zulfikar from Talka industries. You must know him," Mahira replied. Dashtan thought
An emerald green satin kaftan Mahira gave to Rakia for her to wear to the Golden Fork tonight. Tiny jewels formed a sizable prism in the centre. She rarely wore such elegant clothes, as time was not favourable for Rakia to wear such garments. When she did wear it, it fit her body like it was made for her. She looked so graceful, covered and elegant, a very different appearance from Rakia, the journalist. This time, it was like she was seeing herself on the other side, Rakia, the wife of a Dubai conglomerate. Rakia chuckled amusedly at the nickname in her mind. She continued to apply makeup to her face. She wore accessories on several body parts, like earrings, bracelets and wedding rings. She curled her hair in a style she had briefly studied on the internet. She didn't want to look unprepossessing at this dinner, now that she had entered and become part of the life of a Dashtan from a high social strata family. She didn't want to look disappointing or embarrassing. Initially, Mahira
Four months later.Rakia was surprised when Dashtan hugged her from behind. Her belly now looked bloated. She had just turned off the stove after the fried rice was finished. Dashtan kissed her earlobe, and it caused a slight sting that thrilled Rakia. “Are you done?” asked Dashtan in a highly sensual tone. “Why? You want to fuck me again?” guessed Rakia, which made her husband chuckle. Rakia rolled her eyes. “We should do other things besides bed activities. Eat, walk, work, the world is big and beautiful and there are many things we can do.” It wasn’t that Rakia didn’t want to, but they had done it repeatedly last night. Dashtan, who had just come from Dubai and left for three days, immediately asked for her nightly allotment. “I’m away for three days, I’m a man, there’s a lot of temptation in Dubai,” Dashtan admitted. Rakia turned her body to face the man. She draped both arms around her husband’s neck. “Where did you go while in Dubai? Did Razak take you to a place wh
Dashtan opened the door to the room he used as a reading room and found Rakia sitting on a comfortable sofa reading a book. The woman's attention was distracted by Dashtan in the doorway, who smiled and greeted her. "Hi, feeling better?" asked Dashtan as he approached Rakia and squatted in front of the woman. Rakia nodded with a gentle smile. "But the doctor still doesn't want me to go to work, are you home yet?" It was Rakia's turn to ask; it wasn't even lunchtime, and Dashtan was already home. "I want to take you somewhere." Dashtan said, which made Rakia frown. She then guessed. "Not fancy gifts again," Rakia said; she didn't really like the way Dashtan gave her gifts. It was always expensive stuff, not that she wasn't happy, but she still had to get used to using things bought with piles of money. Dashtan chuckled. A month had passed after all the problems between them and Dalilah were resolved. Dashtan divorced the woman, and Dalilah had to go to jail for the crime of att
Staring at the footage Dashtan was watching on Rakia’s tablet in his workspace, Dashtan checked all the footage Rakia had managed to get from the surveillance cameras the woman had installed in Dalilah’s room. It was only a matter of waiting for the woman’s arrest warrant from the police so that the police could freely search all her belongings. Dashtan transferred all the footage to a small flash drive, and tomorrow, he will submit the data to the police station as additional evidence. After checking all the data, Dashtan went from his office to his bedroom; he met Dalilah, crossing the living room. “Hi, what’s going on? I heard someone came in and Rakia-““Enough of the pleasantries, as of this moment I am no longer your husband.”The words were so quick but heard in Dalilah’s ears that she could only be surprised with widened eyes for a split second. Her lips seemed to move to say something, but Dalilah was just silent; Dashtan immediately walked away after saying that. Dalilah co
Dashtan arrived home and dashed into the house, which was currently quite crowded due to the arrival of the police and medics. Without caring about his surroundings, he immediately entered and looked for the figure that was the heart of his heart. When he saw Rakia being treated by the medics on the sofa in the living room, he could only stand still with his eyes filled with tears. He slowly approached the couch, distracted by the man’s arrival. “Hi...,” Rakia greeted softly with a hoarse voice.“Sorry, sir, she needs to be taken to the hospital immediately; the bullet is still inside and must be removed immediately to speed up healing.” Dashtan immediately nodded to the medic’s words. He lifted Rakia’s body, carried her to the ambulance, and followed a few minutes later after finishing his business with the police who arrested the perpetrator. Dashtan, with his murderous gaze, looked at the perpetrator, who two police officers now flanked with his hands cuffed behind his back. He re
A week after Rakia regained consciousness, the woman asked to go home because she didn’t feel at home in the hospital. But that didn’t mean she was free from medical treatment. She still had to keep resting and using IVs to support her recovery. The wound she sustained on her shoulder had not completely dried up, leaving her with pain Rakia could not tolerate. As a result, Dashtan hired a doctor who would come every three days to monitor and check on Rakia’s condition—and also asked the gynecologist, whom Rakia consulted and checked herself, to go to the house to check on the woman’s womb. Dashtan became super protective, which bothered Rakia, but she tried to understand. She asked Pedro to do it, but Pedro was a heart specialist with a busy schedule every day, so he couldn’t make it. “Don’t forget to eat and take your medicine; I’ll be home by lunchtime. Call me quickly if anything happens or you need anything.” Dashtan babbled at length, and it made Rakia roll her eyes because her
On a bright and cloudy Monday morning, Dashtan tried to go to the office and finish some work that had been neglected. Whether he wanted to or not, whether he liked it or not, as the CEO of a multinational company, he had a lot of work to do. Dashtan looked at his appearance in the mirror, which was not wearing a tie perfectly. He remembered the figure of Rakia, who always put on his link every morning. But the woman was still on the verge of life and death. He let out a rough breath and decided not to wear a tie that day. He removed it from his neck and threw it on the bed. He went to the wardrobe room to get a slim-fit suit and put it on, after which he left his room. He called his secretary to order breakfast. “Sir, today there will be a visitor from the police who wants to see you.” The secretary told him when he had just arrived and sat in his chair. He had forgotten about it because his mind had been in turmoil for the past few days. “Yes, let me know when they arrive.” Dasht
Dashtan's words were able to increase the panic and fear Dalilah felt. The woman stared at Dashtan with both eyes perfectly rounded. "W-what do you mean? That person must be lying. I don't know who that person is." Dalilah threw up her defense, to which Dashtan responded with a sarcastic smile. He lowered his raised hand, holding the cell phone to his side, and said, "I'm giving you a choice. Confess now, then I'll divorce you and not take the matter to the law, but if you still want to persist with your lies, you'll lose everything and end up in jail." Dalilah stared at Dashtan with a look full of fear. Her brain was busy thinking of defenses she should say to make him believe her. "Ash, I couldn't possibly do something like that. I am pregnant, so the doctor said, "This is your child; we will live happily." Dalilah was still trying to devise a defense that already sounded disgusting to Dashtan's ears. The man turned around and waved his hand behind him for Dalilah to stop saying
Dashtan returned to the hospital after talking to Razak. Doctor Pedro met him just as he arrived at the door of the ICU; he had just come out of the room to check on Rakia. “Do you want to look after her tonight?” Doctor Pedro looked at his son-in-law with a sympathetic gaze. The look on Dashtan’s face couldn’t hide the anxiety that was engulfing him. Dashtan nodded. “You can sleep in my room, because the ICU doesn’t allow anyone in there except the patient.” Doctor Pedro informed, and once again, Dashtan nodded. “Come on, let’s go to the cafeteria for coffee,” Doctor Pedro invited, which Dashtan agreed to. He needed a conversation partner to distract him from worrying about Rakia’s condition. “I told Adeline about Rakia, she’ll be here tomorrow morning to see her. I know it’s worrying but that woman has been through a lot as a journalist. Rakia is a strong woman.” Pedro smiled as his mind recalled Rakia’s vigorous and unyielding figure. As a stepfather, he knew more or less what
The medical team arrived along with the police, while the fire department arrived not long after. Liam immediately lifted Rakia's body onto a gurney with the help of a medical team and was then taken to the ambulance. The firefighters immediately put out the fire that was still raging and engulfed Rakia's car. Liam stayed for a while to watch the extinguishing process and answer questions from two police officers who had come to the scene. Several DS and other television station reporters covered the events at the location and tried to get information. This time, Liam became the journalist's target for information. The medical team had taken Rakia's body to a nearby hospital earlier. Dashtan came to DS shortly after the ambulance carrying Rakia's body left. "Where is Rakia?" Dashtan asked Liam with a panicked look on his face. "The ambulance just left for the hospital," Liam replied, and Dashtan immediately went to his car and followed the ambulance. Before he started the engine, h