Chapter 77 B

"Is he going to cry, Mammi?" She asked sweetly and when Na'im turned to look at her, she knew she couldn't control her laugher.
"Saima," he warned and looked at Maryam that was just staring at them with a soft smile as if she didn't even bother running off with some strange women all in the name of a wedding luncheon. She didn't need a wedding whatever it was they called it. He had been married for almost a year now and was living fine with his wife, can't they just let them live that way?
"I'm leaving, Saima, make sure to come back to the chamber along with her, okay?" Mammi was out of their sight in a moment and Na'im left to his room.
Maryam looked at Saima as if she was asking her if it was right that she followed him and she nodded her head, smiled before she got to her feet. "I'll be in the garden, Yarima. Just call me when y'all are done and I'll have her delivered as ordered. Bye!" She called out to the retreating back of Maryam and decided to go to the garden where she was sure she would meet the triplets. It had been so long since they met just to chat away and she had missed them. They would be leaving in a short time, so it was good to have some little amazing moments with them.
Maryam knocked on the door of his room and when he didn't answer, she knew he was just sulking. She walked into the room with tentative steps and found him walking to the bed as if he was going to take a nap and while thinking of what to do best to make him calm down from his anger, Maryam went from behind and hugged him. He knew she was the one, for he didn't have to hear her speak or see her face to know it if she was anywhere within his reach.
"What are you doing, Hoor?" He had asked after they had stayed like that for a few minutes and Maryam rested her head on his broad back.
"I'm hugging you for comfort, you look distressed." He chuckled at her aim of being smart enough to make him not angry anymore at her.
He turned and wrapped his hands around her as well, smiling at the way she looked so innocent towards him. "I'm just sad that they'll take you away from me, that's all."
"But she didn't say forever, did she? It was just for the days before the luncheon, right? And why do we need that? I hate being in the crowd, Yarima." She had never called him with his royal name and now that the name had slipped off her mouth, he chuckled lightly and pinched her nose.
"That name sounds good on your lips. Should we tell them that you're going to panic in the luncheon, then? So they'll have to cancel it?" He was just so desperate for a way out and he would be damned if he wasn't going to find any.
She chuckled and shook her head, "You've already given her the impression that you don't want me there, anything from you will just serve as another excuse of you not wanting me there, they wouldn't believe you. I'll be fine."
Na'im pulled her closer to him, "But I won't, Hoor."
She smiled when she looked back into his eyes, "We have our phones, we can always communicate. Come on, you're a soldier, they shouldn't see you at your weakest, Captain." He chuckled at that and nozzled his nose on top of hers.
"I have the best girl as a wife." He kissed her forehead, giving away a souvenir of smiles that made her swooned in his presence. "And she happens to love my forehead kisses. Lets get you packed, Hoor." And he helped her packed everything she would need. Amidst hugs, whines, pouts and kisses that melted their hearts and brimmed the love in their hearts.
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Na'im was sure something had happened even though it wasn't bad. Maybe they all had gotten so busy with the preparations that they forgot their phones somewhere else and it had been taking a toll on him. He had went to Mammi's chamber twice, with the hope that he'd see her but it seemed like Maryam wasn't even there anymore and Mammi was always smiling at him in a way that showed him she knew exactly what he came looking for, just that he wasn't going to find it.
"Yarima!" Adeel screamed and that brought Na'im back to the world he should be, where there was horses, royalty, love, family and life. Not a world that only Maryam lived, alongside himself. "You're slacking behind!" They said in unison and he smiled when he noticed that his horse wasn't even running, just taking those majestic walks of a horse.
They were having their last horse ride as the triplets were going back to school tomorrow. It was such an emotional thing to know that even though they had wished to be there for his wedding, they wouldn't. Not that the wife hadn't been there all along and from the snippets they gave him which they all got from Saima-The traitor that no longer even picked his call-Maryam was doing fine and undergoing one hell of a beauteous therapy that she wasn't allowed to see anyone, not even her phone.
Which made Na'im wondered if he had told them that he needed her skin to undergo any sort of therapy. She was fine the way he saw her and loved her and would forever do that, if only they would let him and his wife live in peace. "I'm coming, boys!" He yelled back at them and prompted his horse for a run.
For the time he had been back in the palace, his horse riding skills had escalated. They had taught him mostly what he needed to know and were so respectful while doing that. He would forever treasure the moments they had shared with these boys, they meant a great deal in his life. He was glad of the family he had in them, of the immense love and loyalty they showed him and would forever be grateful.
They rode deeper into the forest and sometimes, when he slackened behind while his head was buried with the thoughts of his wife, he heard their laughing voices as they urged him to ride faster. It got to the point that they had to guess what he was thinking about and damn it, they guessed it perfectly. They had told him that they didn't know where Saima and Maryam were now, she wasn't taking their calls either. But Mammi knew, just that she wasn't going to tell them.
"Should we go and have lunch with Alan Gubro? As per the last day we'll spend in shehuri?" Areef suggested and they turned to look at him, all of them exhausted from the ride and they were panting for breath, slightly.
"You're making it sound as if you guys are never coming back," Na'im replied with a chuckle, "Nevertheless, it's a good idea. He'd be glad to see his boys. We should have ridden with him."
"And he might even be free, had it been we suggested it to him. Next time, it will be a tournament and gifts will be given, that's when we've graduated and come back." They all smiled at Adeel but nodded their heads in an agreeable way.
"It's such a sad thing that you aren't escorting us to Lagos, Yarima. It would have been a great adventure. We would hang out before our flight takes off." Amjad said as he walked beside him and Na'im stared at their hopeful eyes.
"Y'all know that I'm not just a prince, I'm also a soldier and my country comes first in everything. The day your flight will take off back to Canada is the day I'm having one of the biggest operations of my life. I have to get prepared and have the best rest I could before then. But I promise, I'll come to your graduation, that's a promise and insha Allah I'll fulfill it."
Adeel, who was like the baby eyed amongst them stared at him with a mournful expression before he took him into a hug, "You shouldn't be hurt in that so called operation, Yarima. We'll be devastated if you're hurt again, it isn't easy seeing you on a hospital bed, sometimes not even knowing who's there."
Na'im smiled as his heart tightened with emotions before he hugged him back, "I won't. I'll stay alive, healthy and happy..."
"With your wife." They ended his sentence and all of them broke into a series laughter. And he wondered, how long it had been since he laughed this way with someone else before Maryam came into his life. It was good having them.
"A group hug then," he said amidst laughter and felt how they clung to him lovingly.
"I should've been in this hug if it weren't outside," Alan Gubro began and when they turned to look at him, taking a stroll around his chamber, they all shot him a grin before they began to walk towards him, "But the King always does what he wants, right? A hug it is then." He said when they approached and their laughters got muffled into his body while he tried to wrap his whole hands around them but his boys weren't boys anymore, he couldn't hug them all at once and have them fill there in his hands. He smiled and felt the happiness that seeped so well into his heart.
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It was very hard to say goodbye to the triplets and when he dropped them off at the airport, they both were so emotional that Na'im had to bade them a quick goodbye because he didn't want them to see how touching it was to his heart. They promised to call immediately after their flight landed in Lagos and will do the same when they went back to Canada.
On his way to the barrack, still planning how to attack the den Big Boss used to keep the young girls, very close to the Chad border before the rich Arab men came and bought them at a very expensive price. He heard his phone shrilling and just when he thought it was Hafiz, he saw Maryam's number and she was panting for breath.
His heart lost a beat as he wondered what was wrong with her but she was laughing, giddy, excited and so happy that she couldn't even breath. He heaved a sigh out of relief and decided to just be there, silent, as he listened to her laugh at whatever it was that made her so happy, it's contagious.
"Noory, are you there?!" She asked excitedly, and he could hear her feet thumping on the floor, which emanated that she was jumping up and down.
"I'm here, Hoor, what is it? You seem so excited and happy without me." He was smiling even though his voice sounded a bit whiny and unlike before that she would be bothered by how his voice sounded and would try to explain to him that she wasn't as happy as she seemed, Maryam laughed and giggled happily, which made him thought of what happened to make her this exhilarated.
"Listen, don't fret, okay? I'm sick." But how the hell did she sounded so excited about being sick? How could she have so much energy and laughter if she were as sick as she asked him not to fret.
"But you sound okay to me, Hoor. Please, tell me exactly what had happened."
She smiled and he could hear her trying to calm herself down before she spoke in a breath, "I was sick yesterday and they took me to the hospital today, we're even still in the hospital but I just can't wait until I can see you. Guess what, Captain!" She squealed and even though he didn't know what got her this excited, Na'im laughed along with her.
"Hoor, will you please just tell me what it is? I'm dying to hear it here."
"The doctor said I'm pregnant! We're having a baby!!!" Woah, he had to look ahead for the fear of having another accident, because, his heart had stopped working for the time being and he wasn't sure if what he heard was true or just his illusions.