The princess of bloom

52. A sudden change.

Still, your heart adorables❤️

It had been bothering her for days and she ignored it until it got worse. Zahra was in the bathroom alone coughing painfully as red blood followed. Her breathing was ragged and her vision blurred. She rubbed her chest, seeming to calm that severing pain in her heart. Several duas kept coming out of her mouth until the painful coughing stopped. 

Zahra washed her face and held her forehead for a while. Lately, the pain and attacks she was getting worse than before that it was hard for her to endure. She sighed and looked at her reflection in the mirror. 

Her fingers trembled as she rubbed her face. Her face was becoming paler by the day even her eyes were bulging a bit. She fearfully pulled her sleeves and her hands were slimmer with her veins showing. 

Zahra started laughing quietly before it turned into a cry. She slumped on the ground and clenched her hair, burying her head in her knees. 

Who was she kidding, enjoying this life and forgetting that she had a poison eating up her heart every single day? Her drugs aren't helping as the terminal day gets nearer. 

What if she had an attack before Fadilat, Her Anne, Firdaus, Melis, Hassan, or Abdul? Or even worse if she fainted. Wouldn't they find out about everything going on with her and that was the last thing that Zahra wanted to happen? 

It pained her even more, knowing that she had to decide between staying away from everyone to hide her disease. She would rather die alone than let them see her die. She had barely a month left. 

Zahra stopped sobbing and wiped her face with a decisive look in her eyes. No matter how reluctant she is to leave Abdul, she has to. Their marriage was originally a short contract, destined to end no matter what but she knew that with the affection that grew between them, it would be hard for Abdul to agree. She will just have to break it her way. He deserves more than this. 

Fadilat left for pilgrimage, which gave her a sense of relief. Everything will happen without having to worry about the woman she owed so much.

When Abdul came back, Zahra was in salat which made him smile. He went in and freshened up first, then sat down on the bedside. 

Zahra finished praying and stood up before heading to the wardrobe to keep her hijab. She didn't look back and headed to the bathroom. 

"Ameerah?" Abdul called out in surprise. She paused and turned to him with a quizzical look. 

"I just came back but you pretended like you didn't see me," He said bitterly, rather playfully.

"Oh. What am I supposed to do?" She asked nonchalantly.

Abdul was tongue-tied before walking up to her. "Is there something wrong Ameerah?" He asked concerned. 

"What will possibly happen?" She curled her lips. "You are a grown man, so don't expect me to always care for you. It's not my duty." She added and entered the bathroom. 

"What…" Abdul was bewildered. He was sure that they didn't fight and he hadn't offended her. Then why was she acting this way? Cold and repulsive. If he didn't see her praying now, he would have suspected it was a mood swing. He stopped those negative thoughts and decided to wait for her. 

Zahra came out in her pajamas and climbed the bed immediately. Abdul frowned and grasped her wrist. 

"If there's something wrong or I offended you, I'm sorry," He said calmly staring into her eyes. 

Zahra pulled her hand out and stated, "I have no idea why you are apologizing, so please don't disturb me. I'm tired and I need to rest." She hissed and adjusted her duvet. 

Abdul took his hand back and nodded. "You are right Ameerah. I did nothing wrong. Then why are you treating me this way today? Yesterday was different because we even played games together. What changed suddenly?" He asked in a low voice. 

"Nothing's changed okay?" She rolled her eyes. "If you have nothing else to say, I need to sleep." 

Abdul stayed quiet as she turned her head to sleep. He lay down and rubbed his forehead. He was now filled with confusion. Only if she told him what the problem was, he will do anything to make her smile again. 

The next morning was the same, and after he was done getting ready for work, he met Zahra in the living room, calmly reading a book. He sat down beside her and clasped his hands. 

"Can we talk now Ameerah?" He inquired calmly. 

Zahra frowned and looked at him. "I'm sure you see that I am busy. Why are you disturbing me?" She demanded. 

"Okay. If this is a prank, stop it because I don't like it. Why are you being rude?" He stated. 

"You are being rude Khaleef. Leave me alone." She returned. 

"How can you tell me to leave you alone? I'm your husband and the fact that you are treating me like air isn't right at all." He stated. 

Zahra suddenly chuckled sarcastically. "Well, that's where you are wrong. Last time I checked, I was just a wife in name. So quit that fantasy." 

Abdul furrowed his brows at the statement. "I thought we were over this Ameerah. Why will you bring it up again?" If there was one thing he was always afraid of, it was their contract marriage. He always dreaded such a day. 

Zahra breathed and said, "The contract still exists and you can't change that."

"It's just a piece of paper and can be torn at any time. This shouldn't be the reason to ruin our friendship right?" He said. 

"Friendship?" She scoffed and his phone rang before he answered. He sighed and picked up the call. Having heard, he looked at Zahra and tapped her shoulder. 

"I hope that when I am back, you will be calm to understand that conflict won't resolve this issue." He said and stood up to leave. Zahra didn't answer him and kept a cold expression as he left. 

Immediately, Zahra took in a deep breath and cupped her face. If she wasn't used to holding it back, she would've broken into tears now. This was harder than she thought. She hated his hurt expression. 

"Why do you have to make this harder Khaleef," she sniffed. 

Despite the new crisis that just appeared in his home, Abdul had to focus in the office but it couldn't the questions swimming in his head. When his mother traveled, he thought it would be time for him to bond more with Zahra and make their marriage stronger but this suddenly happened. 

And Zahra was always Zahra, it was hard to predict her thoughts most of the time. Why was she doing this?

What is Ameerah planning?