Chapter 85: Foreboding

He gasped when he woke up, feeling terrified because he knew exactly what the dream meant. It was like his entire body system was sending him a signal about what was going to happen to him, to them, and he had to be ready because he had no other way of running away from that. He was crying when he woke up and she wasn't on the bed with him, terrified that maybe his dream would become a reality.
He shouldn't forget her, he can't forget her, that was what his shaking heart kept uttering to him. He didn't know what else to do, but if he had forgotten about her like those other ex-fiancées of his, why had he never felt pain because of them? Why was it that he was feeling the ache of what he had done, what his brain and nervous system did and he can't seem to forget them? That someone he had first forgotten about in his life.
The bathroom door got opened and she trudged out of it with a lazy smile while she uttered, "I had to wake up early because I want to make sure everything is set. Come on, I've set the bathtub for you, get in and shower." She was smiling but when she saw the tears on his face and the terrified expression there, her smile vanished and she walked faster until she stood right beside him. "What's wrong, Captain? Did someone die?" That was the only thing that would make Na'im cry as badly as he was and he was staring at her with so much longing and fear in his eyes. The first person that crossed her mind was either Alan Gubro or Mammi, or maybe Hafiz, they were the only people which she was sure their death would beat him as much as it did now.
Na'im pulled her roughly to his body and he broke into tears, "Hoor," he said with such relief no one would ever understand but him. "I haven't forgotten you," he muttered with a voice muffled with her chest as she brushed her fingers lovingly into his hair, wondering what had gotten wrong.
"Are you sick, Captain? We can talk to Alan Gubro and maybe, the flight will be rescheduled." She pulled him away from her body and stared right into his eyes. The fear she had seen there a few minutes ago had vanished and he was looking a bit relaxed as she wiped the tears on his cheeks. "I told you, a Captain shouldn't be caught crying, didn't I?"
He chuckled at how stern she sounded before he nodded his head at her, "Yes, Ammi. But this Captain is leaving behind his pregnant wife and baby, he's already missing them." There was no way he was going to tell her what he was trying to hide from her forever. She shouldn't know that any given time, he might forget her and it would take forever to remember her again. Maybe he would never be able to remember her and she had to live with the pain of him forgetting her for the rest of her life. And Na'im knew, if he forgot about her then that only simply meant that he was bound to forget his baby too, that thought alone brimmed tears into his eyes but he quickly stifled them back because he didn't want to leave her worried.
He stood up and placed his hands on her shoulders, smiling lovingly down at her. "Can I please have the pleasure of bathing along with my wife?" She scrunched up her face and he knew exactly what she was going to say. "I know, the baby will feel shy if we saw her naked, right? I promise, I'd close my eyes." She placed both palms on his eyes to show her that he really meant it when he said he was going to close his eyes and Maryam threw her head back and laughed.
"I wasn't even about to say that." She turned, holding his wrist as they walked into the bathroom together. It was such a sensual moment for the both of them as Na'im took his time, threading each moment with hope that one of those moments would be the one that might be able to trigger his memory if it turned out that he had indeed forgotten about her.
They came out together and he helped her got ready before he did that too and he allowed Maryam to feed him breakfast, while she kept smiling at him as lovingly as she had never acted towards him. "I thought you'd be sad that I'll be leaving for a week, Hoor?" He asked and she nodded her head. He knew whatever was going to come out of her lips was going to be the truth and nothing would be left hidden in her mind.
"I'm going to miss you, quite alright. But I feel the triplets want you there on their big day too, Captain. And I, too, will have the chance to stay at the apartment with Intisar and catch up with her on the things we've lost. She's still unable to tell me the story about her how she had lived a whole year in hostage, maybe she can tell me that in that week."
He chuckled at her choice of words, "So you're just telling me that even though you're sad I'm leaving, you're still glad that I am because then, you'd have a chance to spend some time with Intisar." She took her time before she shyly nodded her head.
There was a call from Hafiz, who was taking him to the airport and they would have to wait for Alan Gubro's entourage there. He told him that he would be in the palace in five minutes and Na'im stood up. "We should get my bags out of the room, Hoor. Hafiz will be here any time from now." There was a knock before Maryam was able to stand up due to the bump and Na'im helped her on her feet before he kissed her forehead.
"Promise me that you're going to take care of yourself please, okay?" She smiled while she nodded her head at him. The knock came again and he was about to get the door when she held his wrist and pulled him back.
"Lower your height," she said, irritated a bit at her added weight and the weight of the baby which caused her not being able to lift her feet.
"Why? I have to go and get the door," he said and aimed for the door when she whined and pulled his wrist back. This might be the last chance of privacy she'd get with him.
"Come on, just do it, please. I can't lift my feet to meet up your height, Captain." He chuckled at how irritated she looked at both him and the bump before he lowered his face to her and she smiled at him. "That's more like it. I love you, Na'im. Miss me everyday you're going to spend there, okay?" Then she planted a kiss on his mouth, longer than how her 'I love you' kisses had ever felt and he stared into her eyes, feeling as emotions raged in him.
"I love you more, Hoor. And you don't have to ask me to miss you, I'm already doing that." He had to place her back on the sofa before he was able to get the door and Saima appeared with tears smudged face and he laughed a bit before he placed his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into the living room.
"What's wrong with you? Who dares make the princess cry?" He asked as he helped her sat on the sofa and when she looked up at him, she broke into tears.
"It's Alan Gubro..." Her lips trembled as she spoke and both Na'im and Maryam broke into a peal of laughter.
"The King himself. What did he do so bad to have you crying this bad, Saima?" He asked with a soft voice as he brought the water to her and walked into the room to get his luggages.
"I begged him to escort you guys to Lagos but he outwardly declined. There's something I want to buy in Lagos and I've missed the beach." She palmed her face when she heard the sound of their laughters once again as she stood to leave, her tears intensifying, "It's like no one cares about me in this palace. I'm leaving, then, and I'm not even escorting you the airport." She took two steps, "Bye, then! I hope your flight gets delayed." With her tears strained face, Saima walked to the door and she yanked it open just when Hafiz was about to knock and they ended up staring at each other longingly.
It had been two months since the last day she had seen him in the barrack and she felt the way her heart lost a beat. She didn't know which step to take, forward or backward? If it was forward, he had to take a step back to give her way to walk past him and even by doing that, Saima knew she had to brush past him and what she hated at the moment was to get a touch from him. And if it was backward, that meant she had to give way for him and he'd also brush against her.
So, they just stood there staring at each other as anger brewed in her eyes. She wanted to punch him in his chest and when she had wanted her hand to do what her brain had told her to, she heard Na'im's voice beside her, "You're already here, Lieutenant? I guess we better be going then." Hafiz took a step back as he walked back to his car and she was left there with a hand slightly lifted hand and her eyes brewed with so much anger.
She was forced to sit in the front seat by Na'im who claimed that he needed to spend as much time as he could with his wife before they were separated. The silence was killing her and she wished she had something to do. So when she found an aux in his car, she plugged it into her phone and went through her favorite playlist, mimicking the songs as silently as she could while she tilted her head sideways.
She was aware of how he stole glances her way but she had it in mind whatever he wanted to discuss with her wouldn't be entertained. She wanted to make sure that he felt how it felt to be ignored and she was no longer willing to be even the friends he thought they were.
They arrived at the airport and Na'im helped Maryam out of the car and she was about to hop out of the car when she heard him turned the lock and quickly turned to look at him, "What do you mean by this?" She had fury in her eyes and he seemed so relaxed that she wanted to punch him in the guts.
He was facing her fully with a look of longing in his eyes, before he managed to speak, "I've missed you, Princess." He said, with a soft voice and she heard the sincerity in his voice. But she wasn't going to let him sway her with his fake emotions and later tell her that he just thought they were friends.
"Open the door for me, I'm not interested in hearing anything from you, Soldier." She had to bit her lower lip because she disliked calling him with Soldier, doing that would only mean that she was still regarding him as who she had, two months ago.
She was able to stop the flow of her tears every night before she fell asleep and that uncontrollable urge to call him every night whenever she woke up and the emptiness she felt because she had missed him. And she would be damned if she let him bring back all those feelings, if all he would say at the end was they were just friends and he was ignoring her because he didn't want to fall in love with her.