Maryam was overwhelmed at the sight of her favorite boss. They all thought she was dead. She saw sudais sitting beside his older cousin on the carpet and wondered whether or not he had seen the love of his life. She bent down and kept the tray right in front of sudais. she wanted to tell him what she saw but she didn't want to cause another trouble by bringing up the issue. Sudais noticed her hands shaking as she kept the tray and raised an eyebrow at her in question.
she ignored the look he gave her as she heard zaynerb call out the name of the man who had her heart. She stood up and her eyes met with his. Thousands of emotions ran across his calm face, he averted his gaze to get rid of them.
"Afaan , come sit here" zaynerb said to him, pointing at the spot beside her.
Maryam left the place as soon as she could. "what's the point." she said to herself.
what's the point of loving someone you can never have. She was close to crying but she didn't let the tears fall and disappeared to the kitchen. She looked around for farida but she was nowhere to be found, she walked closer to her partner and asked her if she saw the direction Farida went and the woman pointed at the door.
Maryam wondered why she would suddenly disappear without doing what she went there to do. She decided to check the backyard and saw farida sitting on a flowerbed.
"Goodness, I thought you left." She said to Farida who seemed to be lost in thoughts.
"Sorry, I came out to get some fresh air" farida replied and stood up. Maryam rushed toward her and swiftly pulled inside the kitchen without any warning.
"What are you doing..." Farida started but Maryam shushed her.
"Hey don't shout. Its your mother in law. She's right outside." Maryam whispered, Farida furrowed her eyebrows as she was as confused as a lizard. At first she couldn't believe that she heard Maryam right.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up." Maryam said as soon as she realized what came out of her mouth.
"My husband's mother is here?" Farida asked her, her head started to spin and she lost her balance but Maryam grabbed her by the back before she could fall. She didn't remember to take her medicine because she was too focused on finding the chef.
They gained some attentions from the other chefs but they soon returned to their work.
"Are you okay?" Maryam asked after making her sit on the stool.
"Yes, but I need to see her. I want to see her" Farida said, grabbing the counter as she attempted to stand up.
"No, no. You can't go. Trust me. You don't want to ruin this night for everyone, including yourself." Maryam said to her.
"Besides, you need to rest. You're not feeling well." Maryam added with concern.
Farida shook her head to object and got herself a sharp headache.
"Okay, give me your number. I'll Call you tomorrow. There's a lot you should know before facing her." Maryam said. Farida spelled out her number to Maryam.
She decided to listen to Maryam when her head started pounding. It was as if she was going to lose her mind. The feelings of going crazy was familiar to her. She felt like she's once been in that state before.
"I think I should have a nap. Do you have any sleeping pills?" Farida asked.
Maryam was grateful that sudais gave her a room to stay for a few days in his house. He was still so generous, even after the drama that took place two years ago.
She grabbed farida by the back and took her to her room quickly before someone could see them. Farida slept off as soon as her back rested on the bed. She didn't need any sleeping pills after all.
Maryam made sure that she covered farida with a blanket and went out, she shut the door behind her.
Turning around to leave, she came face to face with Aysha sagir, sudais's mother. She was startled by the woman in front of her, Aysha had her hands on her waist. She looked like she was going to kill someone.
"You are stubborn aren't you?" Aysha said to Maryam. The appearance of Aysha sagir screams elegance, she was wearing a white abaya with golden touches. Her head wrapped with a white shayla. Aysha had always been a woman of luxury. She was from one of the richest families in Dubai and she's very intimidating. Especially to those people who do not fit in her picture frame.
Maryam was getting impatient with her, Aysha never failed to accuse her whenever she got the chance. she sighed and replied "I'm just here to do my work"
"And staying here?. I wonder what you're trying to do." Aysha said.
Maryam walked pass Aysha to avoid another drama but her hand was held and she felt herself being yanked to the floor by Aysha.
"There is exactly where you belong, right on the floor." Aysha said to Maryam.
Maryam winced as she lifted herself from the floor. She had twisted one of her ankles and it was hurting so badly but Aysha didn't give a damn about it.
"I want you to stay away from my son, you low life." Aysha hissed and left Maryam with tears.
"Perhaps you are right. I shouldn't be here, but I need don't have a place to stay in London" Maryam said to Aysha's retreating back silently. The decent hotels in London were expensive and she had to save money.
She couldn't say no to sudais's offer because of the huge favor he did for her. He paid for her mother's operation without telling anyone about it. Besides, she needed to accept the contract as it paid a huge amount that could cover all of her expenses for some months.
"You can stay at my place for as long as you want." Farida said out of nowhere, startling the younger woman. Maryam turned around and saw Farida by the door, She heard everything and felt sorry for Maryam.
"I thought you were asleep" Maryam said.
"I was but, I'm not a sound sleeper. I heard her yelling" farida said.
"Don't mind her, you should go back to sleep. I'll come back soon." Maryam said.
Farida nodded and went back inside the room. Maryam went back to the kitchen, thinking about what farida said. Maybe she could stay with them for only two days and leave as soon as possible.
***
In the crowdy and noisy living room, sudais and his older cousin hamdan ate together in the same plate and talked about business.
Afaan at with his younger sister nazmeera. All the others at together except zaynerb. She didn't want to eat with anyone else but Afaan, and Afaan insisted on eating with his sister. She was his joy giver, they get along really well. Besides, eating with zaynerb would be a nightmare.
Aysha walked in furiously, stealing everyone's attention.
"What is wrong aysha?" Adil sagir asked his wife. She was happy before going outside but she returned furious.
"Oh its nothing dear, its just that you can't trust the helps these days." Aysha said, sitting right next to her husband.
Another tray of lasagna was brought, but not by Maryam. It was another girl. Aysha smirked, knowing that she had intimidated the poor girls and Afaan looked at his mother after seeing that someone else brought the food that Maryam should have brought. He caught his mother's smirk but didn't say anything. Challenging her at that time would only cause drama. But he knew that his suspicions were right. His mother had said some awful things to Maryam. How could she. Even after he'd agreed to never speak to Maryam again, his mother still tortured the girl. He just hoped she wouldn't go ahead with what she had in mind before he agreed to marry zaynerb. No more lives should be ruined because of his family.
***
Slowly and steadily, her eyes opened. She had slept for two three hours in a foreign room. She got up and went to the bathroom to wash her face. After that, she realized that Maryam wasn't back from the kitchen. She patted her pants pockets and realized that she had left her phone in the car, she wanted to check the time. She looked around for a clock and spotted one on the wall, in between two windows. It was past eleven.
"Oh my goodness!" She shrieked. Her parents would be worried sick. They must had called her several times.
She wrapped her shayla around her hair and dashed out of the room. She stood by the door and tried to figure out the way to the kitchen. Her eyes were drowsy when she was taken inside, she didn't see the path which they passed through.
She suddenly remembered that she saw Maryam facing the left side the other time. She thought that it was the way to the kitchen, not knowing that at that time, Maryam was staring at Aysha's retreating back and aysha was heading to the living room.
If she followed that part, she could get herself in trouble but if only she knew.
She went ahead and followed her heart, it told her to go left and she did. But the way to the kitchen was right.
She continued to go forward until she spotted a big brown door. She used her brain and thought of peeping to check before dashing in because she may end up getting caught. The first thing she saw was an elderly man sitting on a carpet. That time she knew she made the right decision by not dashing in.
She was about to close the door when she spotted someone approaching and got scared. She could go back to where she came from but she could get caught because it was far from the door. She saw a staircase beside her and climbed on it as it was her only hope. The twisted the first door she saw but it was locked, so she went to the second one. Lucky for her it was open and there was nobody in the study room. She closed the door behind her after getting in and tried to find a place to hide.
She his under the desk in the study room and soon, the door was opened.
She heard the heavy footsteps sudais that was there to pick up a file to show his older cousin.
She waited silently under the desk until she heard the footsteps disappear and the door shut closed.
She got out from under the desk and sighed in relief.
Then something caught her eyes. It had to catch her eyes because it wasn't little.
She parted her lips. "What the hell?" She said to herself.
It was a picture of her on the wall.
Sudais had the picture he ripped out of the locket maximized and hung on his study room wall.
She walked closer to get a better look at the picture, she was sure it was herself. Her hair, eyes. It couldn't be a lookalike. It was her.
Her eyes teared up as realization downed on her.
Sudais's family was her deceased husband's family.
She covered her opened mouth with her palm and her knees weaken. Her knees hit the floor as tears began to flow.
Suddenly, the door opened. She was beyond shocked!
***