It was him wasn't it? She saw him didn't she? She saw Abdullah! She…. She saw him. She tried clearing her head. Maybe she was seeing things because she was tired from the impromptu surgery she just did. Why all of a sudden? Why now? After she had started to seek things out and her life was going just as she had planned six years ago he decided to show up and ruin it for her, again?
No, she just needs a very long and deep uninterrupted rest. All this is just in her imagination. She sighed as she eventually calmed down.
"Mummy?" Jenna called, plopping the candy she was taking in and out of her mouth.
"Yeah?" Kulthum answered, not looking at her. She was slightly angry at the little girl for pulling her little stunts back there.
"Did you happen to know that handsome uncle back there?"
"No I don't, and don't talk about it any longer. Do you understand?" She warned
"Yes mummy" the little looked up at her mother practically confused. She was expecting an earful from her but instead, she is just unusually quiet. "Mummy are you alright?" Jenna couldn't help but ask. Her curiosity always gets the best of her.
"Jenna, what did I say about going with strangers?" And here comes the mom she knows. She sighed. Kulthum was battling with mixed emotions, on one hand she was trying her best to assure herself that she didn't see Abdullah and on the other, she even saw him with her daughter and for once they actually looked like they knew each other and that scared the hell out of her. She wasn't angry at Jenna for going with a stranger though she was, she was just scared that he might take her away from her.
"I am sorry mummy, it won't happen again" Jenna apologized with a very long face. Now that she wasn't allowed to talk about that handsome uncle, she won't get to tell her mother what he told her even though she was dying to say so. Kulthum phoned Anisah and told her to come back to the car for she had seen Jenna and when she eventually did, they drove back home.
"Your highness, I have something to tell you. I saw his Royal highness together with General Mustapha back in the school" Anisah said when they got home and ushered the kids inside.
"Yeah I also saw them too, Abdullah was with Jenna the whole time" Kulthum sighed heavily.
"Are you alright, your highness?" Anisah asked, she looked at her skeptically.
"I am alright Anisah, you don't have to worry. Why don't you go take a rest? We all had a very long day" Kulthum said, laying down slowly on her bed and shutting her eyes to have a nap.
"Yes your highness, as you wish" Anisah bowed and left. On her way to her room, she recalled vividly the day his Royal highness ousted Kulthum from the palace. To her, that day would forever be a nightmare to her because she had never seen Abdullah act that way ever in her life.
As she left the palace, Anisah decided to leave with her but it was against the rule so she had only one option.
To create a reason for her to be banished from the kingdom.
"Your highness!" Anisah shouted for the first time since she started serving Kulthum. "You listen to me now, I will not leave you alone, especially not now when you need someone by your side. So the orders and authority you have over me means nothing to me right now. You can punish me afterwards but I am not leaving you no matter"
"Anisah…." Kulthum sighed. "Why are you not understanding? The more you stay around me the more trouble you would be getting yourself into. So please do me a favor and stay away from me. I don't want you to end up dead. You are practically committing treason here" Kulthum said, tears springing out of her eyes. She doesn't want to stay away from Anisah. She loves her with all her heart, but she wouldn't put her life at stake for her selfish reasons.
"Fine!" Anisah finally agreed. "If you are scared I will be risking my life to be with you, fine then, I will just prove your words correct and you have no rights to stop me. This is my life not yours!" Anisah responded angrily.
"Anisah please… don't" Kulthum shook her head dejectedly. "Please Anisah don't ruin your life because of me"
"I told you already, anywhere you go I will be there with you. I will lay my life for you and that is of no doubt. Anywhere you go, I go" and with that she left Kulthum standing in the middle of her bed chamber crying her eyes out. Few hours later, Anisah was also banished from the kingdom, not by the crowned prince but by the king himself.
"Anisah what have you done?" Kulthum questions as soon as Anisah walks into her bedroom, smiling like she's won the lottery.
"Anything to be with you" she smiled
"What did you do?" Kulthum asked again if.
"I was supposed to be beheaded.." she chuckled. "But the prince had some pity for me and pleaded to the king not to behead me but to banish me" she laughed.
"What did you do?" Kulthum asked again. This time around her heart was in her throat.
"I kissed prince Usman right in front of the king and owned up to my mistake" she laughed. "Crazy right? I know" Kulthum almost blacked out
"You did what?" Her eyes are as wide as saucers. The least punishment one could get for kissing a prince is 50 years in the dungeon or be banished from the kingdom entirely. If you are not lucky at all, you will be executed. Didn't she know that?
"Are you stupid Anisah?" Kulthum asked. "Don't you know you could have been executed or sent to the dungeon for fifty years?"
"I know, I guess I should count myself lucky right?" Anisah giggled. Kulthum exhaled in frustration wondering what she should do about Anisah. Before clearly she wasn't seeing the danger she had gotten herself into.
"Let's go right?" Anisah grabbed Kulthum's belongings and was about to walk out when the crowned prince came in wearing a heavy mask of anger and disgust on his face. "Your highness" she bowed and then left them alone. When Kulthum finally came out, her eyes were not only swollen but tired and red from all the cries.
"We should go Anisah, I don't want to spend another minute here"
"Sure your highness" Anisha said and took her to her mother's house.
After that day, Kulthum isolated herself and gradually, she started having morning sickness. She visited the hospital and after her results came through, she gasped and immediately collapsed to the ground.
She was pregnant?! No no no it can't be…'
She had cried. Anisah was with her throughout the day not leaving her sight. She hugged her, comforted her and made her comfortable in her home. As her first trimester arrived, Anisah's mother was there to assist till the day she was due. Anisah and her mother were the best thing to ever happen to her after she was banished from the palace by none other than her husband. As she gave birth to her twins, Anisah and her mother took real care of them just the way they will cater for their children and when they were weaned and she got back to work, Anisah and her mother will take care of them till she gets back home and takes over.
Eventually, Kulthum decided that it was time she took her leave because she had stayed longer than she intended to, but Anisah's mother refused. She had grown accustomed to her little twins that she wasn't willing to let them go anytime soon so Kulthum had no other option but to stay still she got recognition from the biggest hospital in New York to be a senior professor in the cardio thoracic department.
"I will miss you so much Kulthum," Anisah's mother said, wiping away her tears.
"I will always call you every day, mom. I have no words to use to thank you for your hospitality and generosity. I am forever in your debt. Thank you so much" Kulthum hugged her tightly. She also wasn't ready to leave this nice woman yet. She had been so kind to her. No wonder she always admires Anisah, she now knows where she got those traits she always adores from.
"I will appear in your dreams if you miss a day without talking to me, '' Anisah's mother said jovially. It was as if Kulthum was her daughter and not Anisah. They were very close to each other more than the mother- daughter relationship. Theirs was on a different level.
"I will miss you mom, I love you so much" Kulthum said, tears springing out of her eyes. She just sees her mother in this woman and due to that, she couldn't let her go"
"Oh Kulthum, you know I love you too right?" She hugged her.
"What about me?" Anisha finally chirped in feeling left out.
"You? Take care of her okay?" Anisah's mother said making a fake serious face
"Mom?" Anisah dragged the last part dramatically.
"I am just joking anee, come here" she dragged her into the ground hug. "Take care of yourselves okay?"
"Will do, trust me on that mom" Anisah smiled
"Grandma, what about me?" Five years old Jenna asked, seeing the scene unfolding right in front of her.
"Awnnn my baby, come here you two" she gave both the twins a big hug before she finally let them board the plane and now here they are, in Minnesota leaving a quiet peaceful life like never before.
Her ringing phone was what brought her back to reality, she sighed before she answered the call and headed to her room.
~~~~~~~~
Abdullah grew restless by the day, his mind occupied by her; he couldn't even pay attention to the presentation going on in the conference room. It's been a week since his encounter with her and each day, she kept on propping up in his mind robbing him of his sanity. The day he met her, he clearly saw the intense hatred in her eyes even though it was just for a few seconds.
"Sir?" Mary, his third assistant, called. Today they were in a meeting with only the heads of department and for what he was seeing, all was going well but they needed just a little more push to speed up their performance. "The meeting is over and you are all they are waiting for". She said, today she was the one in charge of all his meetings and appointments while the remaining two were just ... .dormant even though they were present. He addressed the people and headed out like he used to.
"That was….. quick" a man said confused
"Did you notice that he wasn't even paying attention to the meeting the whole time?" Another chirped in
"Yeah, he's always serious and pays too much attention to everything but today…? It was as if he wasn't even ready for the meeting" a lady said.
"Careful there, don't cross the line" Mary warned and walked out. She kept on hearing their murmurs as they gossip their time away instead of using it to do something practical. She shook her head and walked into Abdullah's office where she saw him talking with General and she knew it was not something they would like her to hear so she excused herself and went back to her chair. Few minutes later, she saw General walk out of the room with a straight face, not that he used to have any other facial expressions or something. In fact, she could swear that she had never seen him smile before since she started working in the office. But today, it felt like something was off with the both of them and for some reason, she was curious to find out what it was.
Hours later Mustapha came back bearing news and he couldn't wait to deliver them to the prince.
"What have you found out?" Abdullah asked as soon as Mustapha walked in.
"She works in the largest hospital in Rochester"
"Mayo clinic?" Abdullah asked and Mustapha nodded.
"Yes your royal highness, she is also a senior professor there and is not always available until she is needed" he continued.
"Okay, when is she going to be available then?" He asked, pressing the bridge between his brows.
"I went through her schedule given to me by her assistant and from what I understood, she will be available for the next two weeks and after that, she will take a long time before she comes to work again"
"Her assistant?" Abdullah teased, wiggling a single brow at him
"Your royal highness," Mustapha started. "Just because I spent my whole life in the palace doesn't necessarily mean that I lack my charms.'' Mustapha smiled, feeling quite embarrassed.
"Tell me how you approached her? Did you say, 'you, come over here and give me the schedule of miss Muhammad?' Or were you actually charming in your own way?" Abdullah couldn't help but laugh.
"Are you taunting me, your royal highness?" Mustapha asked, smiling uncontrollably.
"Maybe" Abdullah shrugged and instantly became serious again. Mustapha was already used to it so he adjusted immediately also.
"You know what to do right?" Abdullah asked, focusing his gaze back to his computer screen.
"Perfectly your royal highness" he smiled