Dashtan woke up first and looked ready for the office while Rakia was still getting dressed in the wardrobe room. As Dashtan came out of the room and headed towards the kitchen, he found Dalilah preparing breakfast. The woman turned her head when she saw Dashtan from the tail of her eyes. “Hi, come here, let’s have breakfast together,” invited Dalilah, who tried to look friendly and cheerful. Dashtan exhaled loudly. He stared at the two cups of coffee sitting on the granite countertop and stared at the toast with scrambled eggs. As Dashtan approached the table, Rakia came and also closed the table. The woman stared at the breakfast spread on the table. Dalilah looked at Rakia with a nervous gesture; to her, the woman was like a ruthless despot. “Did you make it?” asked Rakia in a curious tone while looking at Dalilah. The woman nodded nervously; Rakia snorted and then passed from the table to the cabinet to make her breakfast. She took the oatmeal from the top cabinet and picked up
That afternoon, after Rakia brought the noon news and went to the downstairs cafeteria, she was surprised to find Dashtan waiting for her there. The man gave Rakia a look that signaled her to come over and sit with him at the table. Rakia sighed and complied with the man's request."Why are you still here?" asked Rakia as she sat down in the chair opposite Dashtan."I was waiting for you, let's eat together." Dashtan expressed his wish and then called the servers to order. Rakia ordered as well when the man ordered food."Why didn't you refuse the interview? You should have kept your distance from the media." Rakia let out her thoughts. In the middle of an unfavorable situation like this, the man proudly appeared in public. He let people pry into his private life. Dashtan sighed at Rakia's rant."I thought you wanted to host the show, so I just accepted." It was an honest answer. The woman in front of her rolled her eyes."The people out there will talk about you, you may think you ha
Dashtan won the lunch. Rakia frowned at the man, not expecting to lose the bet when she was so sure she would win. But her certainty of victory faded when she saw the menu, which mainly consisted of spicy food. She didn't like spicy food because it was terrible for her stomach. Dashtan smiled with a triumphant aura that annoyed Rakia a little. "Stop that stupid smile; now, quickly tell me your request," Rakia said harshly. Dashtan chuckled with a happy heart because he had successfully teased his wife. He knew that Rakia didn't like spicy food. "Do you remember my total request? I've already used it once, so there are five more to go." The man reminded, and Rakia could only sigh in resignation. Dashtan made a thoughtful face, then snapped his fingers after he had found what he wanted. "This time I will make two demands at once," he said, and Rakia frowned. "First, you must accept the new position I will give you at DS, as Program Manager, and second, you must be willing to carry m
When Rakia arrived home, she was greeted by Dalilah and Dashtan's emotional conversation. She could only walk by without intending to see them arguing; her curiosity about anything was low. She just went straight to her room and changed. After seeing her father, she suddenly changed her mood and didn't want to think about anything. Dahstan came and surprised her while she was getting dressed. "Hi, is something wrong Habibti?" He stood in front of his wardrobe across from Rakia's. "No, I'm just tired," Rakia replied as she closed the closet door, walked away from her husband to the dressing table, and sat down. It was seven in the evening. "I'm going out with Dalilah; she said she would buy something at the supermarket," Dashtan told her, and Rakia nodded. But the man found her gesture strange. He put both hands on Rakia's shoulders and looked at her through the mirror. "Do you need something? I'll buy it for you." Rakia, combing her hair, stopped immediately and looked at her hus
Two days she was passed with her mind on the disturbing speculation. Rakia went to the doctor for a checkup and got permission to leave early on the pretext that she was going to the hospital to see her father. It wasn't a complete lie, but she had another purpose. When she arrived in Oregon, she immediately went to the gynecologist's office after checking in for today's exam. "Do you remember the last time you had your period?" the doctor asked as he prepared to check Rakia's blood pressure with a cuff. "A month ago, and I think it's the end of this month," Rakia said her guess. The doctor gave her a pregnancy test kit and told her to go to the bathroom in the room. With her heart pounding, Rakia went to the toilet and used the test kit correctly. Not daring to look at the result after using it, she handed it to the doctor. Rakia looked at the doctor with a sense of apprehension, her heart pounding now audible in her ears. The doctor smiled, picked up the test kit, and showed it t
A week after her doctor's appointment and the news that she was pregnant, Rakia did her best to look normal. However, she had to work hard to hide her morning sickness, not only in the morning but also in the afternoon. She went back to the same doctor and complained about the morning sickness that came every day. "Could you prescribe something to reduce it? It's kind of annoying and it ruins my mood at work." As Rakia poured out her heart, the doctor smiled. "Hang in there, the morning sickness will stop after the second month. Eat something sweet after morning sickness, like dates. It's better than other sweets because it doesn't risk raising your blood sugar." Rakia just nodded as she listened to all the advice the doctor had to say. "If you like milk, it can also be a solution for morning sickness. There are some pregnancy milk products that have the effect of reducing morning sickness." Rakia nodded and was about to go to the supermarket to buy the pregnancy milk. Fortunatel
"Habibti... Wake up." Dashtan said as he woke his wife, who was still fast asleep. It was the first time he had seen his wife wake up later than usual. Rakia just squirmed and mumbled something incoherent. Dashtan smiled at the woman's childish behavior. "Hey, wake up, do you want me to eat breakfast alone?" Rakia's hearing seemed to have fully recovered, even if sleepiness still gripped her. She clucked, then laboriously lifted her eyelids. She saw Dashtan's figure only in faint shadows. "Five minutes," Rakia said in a typical sleepy tone. Dashtan smiled again. Rakia exhaled loudly through her nose, then struggled to shake off her drowsiness and open her eyes fully. "I want to take a pass today," Rakia said, which made Dashtan frown. "Why are you sick?" The man immediately checked his wife's forehead, face, and neck. Rakia shook her head weakly, then said, "I'm just... Lazy." "Lazy? You're not usually like this." It was the first time Dashtan had heard the woman make such a rid
Rakia smiled as she sent her approval letter to the office where Liam would receive it. Ever since she had married Dashtan, her relationship with him had been very distant, and she thought Dashtan had warned her not to interact with him too much. Still, she liked his outgoing personality and responsiveness, except for how he found her too pushy. Rakia thought Liam was the kind of man who was very honest about his feelings. She picked up the signal of his feelings for her, but unfortunately, she was already interested in Dashtan. Rakia's cell phone rang with Liam's name on it. Rakia picked it up. "Yes, hello.""Hi, are you okay? I was surprised to get your permission letter, is Dashtan with you?" Rakia smiled at the man's onslaught of worried questions. "To be honest... I'm not feeling well, but don't worry, I just need to rest, Dashtan is in the office, I told him earlier not to worry." Rakia smiled even though Liam couldn't see it. Liam could be heard to sigh. "I think... You're
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