Forgiveness.

Chapter 20 - The Old Man

The Old Man

'I promise to you, I would take care of you as long as you reach out to me,' were Rafan's words just before the day they were about to get married, and those were the exact same words that kept on repeating in his head when he was waiting for her to speak.

Jeena was ogling at the floor, trying to comprehend how a simple mistake let her secret out in the open. It took her some hard time to hide when she needed someone close to her; so she would not cry about her fears.

"Jeena, I have never thought you would lie about something so big. How could you!" Murat was barely hanging with concern and worry.

Rafan could only stare at her manikin state while he felt paralyzed. He wanted to know what was going on, yet he feared what if he could not handle it? Rafan has already lost so much he cannot watch her die too. Even the mere thought killed his existence on the very spot.

"I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer." As if a mere whisper came out of her mouth. Murat stopped pacing around like a mad man, and Rafan closed his eyes as if something broke inside of him.

"When?" It was Rafan, but Jeena never glanced up at him, neither did he open his eyes.

"Six years ago... the day we were supposed to get married." Rafan's fist was covering his mouth as his eyes turned red. He was close to shedding some tears, but he held them back.

"And, do you have it now?" Rafan asked, but Murat knew she did not because the medications they saw are used after the thyroid gland is removed. Yet Murat did not say anything as he waited for her to explain herself.

"No." Rafan could finally feel that he could suck some air in his lungs.

"Why the hell did you not tell me this? I was in Turkey, wasn't I?" Murat was trying his best to sound as if he was not angry over her immature behavior when he was.

"You just came back from Palestine with a wife and her family. Trying to help them out to settle back then in a new country. Do you think I could be that selfish?" Jeena sounded as if she was offended by him. Murat actually felt bad after listening to her.

"I would have figured something out," Murat spoke, defeated.

"I have always figured it out for myself, and that is what I did." If Murat was not feeling bad already, now he felt worse. The guilt was showing off his face as her words registered to him.

"What about me?" The guy who was watching the siblings argue for a few minutes had it. Rafan wanted to know why she did this to him. Why leave when he had promised to be there with her and for her, even when she did not.

As if she realized his presence again, her mouth went dry. She gulped to form a word, but her mind refused to answer back. She was staring at his dark hair tied in a high bun as his head hung low and his fingers clasped together.

"What? You do not know why you left me?" By now, he was not even trying to hide the anger he felt.

"I... I was, I..." Her stuttering indicated that Murat should give them space because he did not want to witness their personal fight.

"I am coming." He did not even try to be discreet about it and ran to Zeynep's room, where she was peacefully playing with her toys probably, without the knowledge that hell was about to burn downstairs.

"Tell me, what excuse have you stored for me?" Rafan wanted to shake her up to get an answer, but he restrained himself.

"I had some symptoms that I really noticed the next day we got our nikkah. I had them before I even came to Pakistan, but I ignored them." She thought starting from the beginning might put things into perspective for him, and maybe, just maybe, he could see what she did and why she did it.