My Emir ✅

Chapter 45- Preparations

 

    Sultan's stay in the hospital had to be lengthened to four days instead of three, and before being discharged, Dr. Khalid emphasized greatly the need for him to be monitored at all times. His workload and trips had to be reduced too. The family was consistent in curbing the news of the accident at the industry from him. Luckily, it wasn't huge enough and didn't cause any significant loss to the corporation.
   The extended picture of the family that wasn't allowed to visit him at the hospital due to the implementation of privacy was open to visit him the day after he was discharged, and they came in their numbers. The house was occupied with people, who didn't seem ready to leave anytime soon.
   Mariya's parents had visited, and they left not long ago. Even Eskander parents were there with them. It was easy to have all their friends over, as it was a Saturday. However, the reality of the situation was retained within the immediate family. As it was, they were trying to avoid the uproar that would follow the news of Sultan's health status when it reached the public.
    It was evident that the past few days were nothing but gloomy for the family, knowing that a beloved figure of the family could leave them at any given time. Sultan, on the other hand, wasn't keen on seeing them that gloomy. He kept insisting that they quit mourning him already.
He appeared to keep his spirits high, and they all knew it was a blatant façade that masked private despair. Aisha was a fair witness to that. He said it was a golden opportunity for him to die in a good state of heart. He once mentioned going to Makkah for a pilgrimage, that would presumably be his last one.
     Aisha reprimanded him when she shouldn't. However, her reason was comprehensible. Nana had died the day after she finalized her decision to go to Makkah. She didn't want a repeat of such an event. Something in her knew it was inevitable– in fact, everything in her knew it was inevitable, and that, her effort was only subtle. After ample convincing, she reluctantly gave in to the idea.

    Sultan sat with Aisha in the family lounge at his house, while the rest were downstairs. He sat on a comfy sofa while his feet were propped up on a small coffee table. He had a duvet draped over his lower body, while he scrolled through the morning news on his iPad mini. Mama Aisha sat against the sofa, with her head resting on his lap. This was one of the peaceful moments they would never trade for anything. Thirty-seven years of marriage and counting. They had to fight for their love to get where they are now, and it was all worth it.

   Sultan frowned when he heard a sniffle, and he was sure that it was from his wife. He set his iPad aside and threw his feet off the coffee table, to face her properly. Truly to his thoughts, she was indeed crying. She had failed to do it secretively, just like the prior days. He cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him.
  " Shatu," his gaze on her softened. He knew that words wouldn't be enough to console her at the moment, so he wrapped his arms around her. His heart melted at the way she melted into his arms. " I'm sorry. I am very sorry." That apology was for the days she would have to spend without him. He let her cry, while he whispered coaxing words into her ears. It took a while for her to calm down.     
     Someone who was silently watching them prayed that her relationship with her husband would be the same when they got old and grey. 

    Sultan swivelled his head to the arched entrance of the lounge when he took note of Mariya's presence. Mariya immediately looked away, having been caught red-handed. She wiped her tears with the back of her left hand, while the other hand supported a tray. She was at ease that her father-in-law didn't prod on it. Instead, he called her name and asked her to come in.

   Immediately, Mama Aisha turned to her with a practiced smile. She took notice of the tray in Mariya's hand that was laden with a bowl of chicken soup. " Ah, you really didn't have to." She got on her feet. " You could have asked any of the helps to do so." She took the tray from Mariya and gently placed it on the coffee table in front of Sultan.