Marrying The Billionaire Was Never Her Dream | Book 1

Chapter 22

Zarah's POV

Runaria was beautiful.

It exceeded my expectations. The streets we passed by were filled with people of different ages, sizes and beliefs. The tall buildings that filled the place made a beautiful contrast with the trees and traditional houses that filled some areas.

Modern met traditional which made it unique and beautiful.

I noticed something different with the people of Runaria or Runarians as they were called; most of them wore some kind of traditional clothes that looked amazing. I had never seen something like that in all my years of existence. Though some of them wore modern clothes.

Runaria was unique yet mesmerizing.

Zoya's excited voice brought me back to reality. "Look, Aunty Rarah, we're here."

She was pointing at a huge mansion. Okay, this had to be a castle of some sort. It was too big to be called a mansion. It had those pillars you see on top of castles.

It was nothing like I had seen before. The extremely huge gate was opened as our convoy entered. Three cars including Momma's were in-front of ours while another three including Maryam's were behind us. Leaving ours in the middle.

There was a long road leading up to the main building. Tall trees filled the path covering empty fields of grass that I couldn't wait to explore.

We finally reached the main structure after passing another gate; a smaller one. The place took my breath away leaving my mouth hanging.

"Close your mouth before a fly enters," Ayyan said, a lingering smile on his face. My mind flickered back to one of our first conversations. I smiled back. The same nerves that I had back then were present, but this time was different. After all, I had my husband with me.

The castle/mansion was made of stones of some sort. Or were they bricks? I had no idea. They looked old and ancient, though. Surprisingly, they added to the beauty of the place.

One thing was clear though, their family was not one you would like to mess with. Apart from the guards that were spread throughout the place, the mansion itself screamed money, elegance and most importantly power.

The cars stopped and the driver immediately got out of his seat to open the door for Ayyan. What surprised me was how Ayyan came to my side to open the door for me.

Shocked, I stepped out of the car placing my hand into Ayyan's outstretched one. Lacing our fingers, we followed the rest into the huge chambers awaiting us.

My eyes darted from one place to another trying to get used to the new environment. The stupid nerves increased as we entered a corridor which lead us to a series of rooms before we reached our final destination.

Papi's room.

Two armed guards stood on either side of the double oak door. You could find guards throughout the place but that was the only room with two guards outside it. Interesting.

Dad was the first person to enter followed by Momma, Aysha, Ayyan and then me. I was hesitant at first, but Ayyan reassured me by giving me a much needed smile. Maryam and her cute family didn't follow us, they took another route. Where to? I didn't know and I never bothered to ask.

Papi was a much older but wiser version of Ayyan's dad. He was seated in a reclining chair reading a book in one corner of the room. The room was by far the biggest and most elegant room I had ever laid my eyes on.

Long shelves full of books were placed in the same corner where Papi was seated along with the recliner and a coffee table. A huge canopy bed stood in the middle of the room with two bedside drawers on each side supporting two lamps respectively. There was also a TV and a balcony. Three other doors leading to God knows where, were part of the extravagant room.

Elegant, I thought.

A sudden jolt of electricity made me tore my eyes from the room to the man standing beside me, now holding my waist. I raised an eyebrow but he just smirked at me. I couldn't deny the fact that butterflies were fluttering in my already knotted stomach.

Ayyan.

The wise man neither acknowledged us nor did he stop reading his book. After a minute or so, he stood up from his chair, removed his glasses, kept them on the table with the book and gestured us to follow him to one of the mysterious doors I glanced at earlier.

Papi was a man of few words. I mentally noted that.

We followed him into what appeared to be a living room. Woah, it was amazing. Ayyan and I sat on one of the love seats, Momma sat with Dad and Aysha sat alone on a one-sitter, while Papi sat in the middle.

"How have you been, Mohammad, Hafsah?" He directed his question at Ayyan's parents.

"Fine, Alhamdulillah. We should be the ones asking about your health." Dad shook hands with Papi and they did this weird embrace. Papi kissed Momma's hand. A true gentleman.

"I'm fine too. Won't you guys hug your favorite grandpa?" Aysha stood up first and rushed to where he was giving him a hug. He kissed both of her cheeks whispering something in her ear, making her smile.

Strict yet playful. I admired him already.

Ayyan squeezed my hand before going to his grandfather. I immediately missed the warmth of his hand. They embraced each other, the older man patting the much younger guy on his back.

"You guys are so cute," Aysha said, making them separate. Ayyan came back to where he was sitting before, beside me. Interlacing our fingers as soon as he sat down, he got comfortable.

"And you must be Zarah, Ayyan's wife." I nodded my head carefully, afraid of my voice. Ayyan nudged me and I understood that I needed to go to where he was sitting. I held out my hand and he gave it a kiss. I blushed while he smiled.

"You guys should go and rest. I'm sure you're jet-lagged."

"You have no idea." Aysha stifled a yawn.

"Before I forget, dinner will be served in two hours. Come to the grand dining room. Everyone will be present." What did he mean by everyone? Guess we'd find out soon.

Leaving Papi's too-big-to-be-called-a-room, we split up. Ayyan told me that everyone had his own chamber/quarters. Nodding at the maids and guards that bowed their heads, while we were on our way, I looked around the place excitedly. Ayyan just ignored them. No surprise there.

I had to ask Ayyan again if it was ours alone, because it was too big for the two of us. Ayyan took me to the master bedroom. It was huge and similar to the one back home. I took my bath first dressing in a cute long summer dress.

It was a mint satin gown that hugged my waist but had a flowy bottom. I paired it with a white hijab, white sandals and diamond earrings. Wearing a necklace that had the letter Z on it, I also wore my watch and a bracelet that Muna gave me. I applied light make-up which consisted of foundation, mascara, eyeliner and lip-gloss. I wanted to look good today. I was having dinner with the whole family for the first time.

Ayyan should be a model. He wore a body fitting polo t-shirt hugging his perfectly sculpted body and muscles. It's blue in color complimenting his orbs. He paired it with dark jeans. Grabbing his phone and strapping his apple watch, we left the room and headed for the grand dining room.

"We're late. Everyone must be waiting for us," He glanced at his watch before continuing, "It was your fault, you hogged the bathroom. What were you doing there anyways?"

I just glared at him. He grabbed my waist sending a tingling feeling giving me a heart-melting smile. I instantly forgave him giving him a warm smile.

"We're here. Don't feel nervous." Ayyan stopped in front of a door.

"Let's do this." I said, making sure that Ayyan's hand was interlaced with mine. He opened the door for me like a perfect gentleman. I turned around giggling. He came in too. It was then that I turned around and met at least 20 pairs of eyes on us.

Uh-oh.