Flawed Hearts

Chapter XXIX: A Piece of My Heart

Droplets of water rolled down Najmah’s face, soaking the duvet covering her body. She frowned slightly, turning her face towards the other side of the bed.

She felt the water drop on her face again, and with a pout, her eyes lazily fluttered open, her gaze settling on Aslan who was hovering over her frame fresh from a shower. Pushing him away from her, she glared at his hair which was dripping wet.

"I'm sleeping," she mumbled rolling over to the other side, drawing the duvet over her head.

"Wake up Hun," he pried the duvet away from her grip. "It's past noon."

"So?" she questioned, her eyes still closed. "You know us unemployed people can sleep way past noon right? We got no responsibilities."

"You will soon enough," he muttered under his breath with a smirk.

He left the bed and went back into the bathroom to run a bath for her. Satisfied with the temperature of the water, he sauntered back into the room and grabbed her together with the duvet, making a beeline to the bathroom.

"What the hell Aslan?" she shrieked, sleep flying out of her eyes immediately. "Drop me down this instant!"

"With pleasure," he replied, dumping her into the bathtub then untangled the duvet away from her body, carefully dodging away from an assault.

"This is not how to treat a lady!" she shrieked, standing up from the tub. "Much less your wife!"

She pointed a wet hand at him, "You don't wake up a woman like this." She huffed, splashing the whole bathroom with water.

Aslan scurried away from the bathroom laughing, deciding to make breakfast for her; it'd at least appease her anger.

{••}

Najmah took a few controlling breaths, counting down from ten to one subconsciously. She pinched the bridge of her nose, snapping her eyes shut to help reign in her temper. She was way beyond furious with Aslan at the moment and the mere sight of the drenched duvet and her pj's made her even angrier.

Sighing, she took off her drenched clothes and dumped them into the hamper then proceeded into the bathtub. She took her bath then shrugged on her fluffy white robe.

A breakfast tray greeted her on the bed together with a card when she emerged from the bathroom. Picking up the card, she scanned its content before opening the casseroles.

'I apologize for waking you up in such a manner, but there's a place I want to show you.

Eat, get ready and wait for me,

I'll be back to pick you up by 3.'

-A

{••}

Najmah stood over her unzipped bags, pondering over what to wear. The weather was a little bit warm and she had no idea where Aslan was taking her.

Settling on a pair of red jeans and black silk blouse, she quickly donned them on then wrapped a veil around her head. Picking up a trench coat, she shrugged it on then slipped her legs into a pair of black suede boots. Checking herself in the mirror one last time, she grabbed her phone then zipped up her coat before stepping out of the room. Just on cue, her phone began to ring.

"I'm on my way out," she stated then hung up the call.

"Going out somewhere?" Lale materialised beside her, with an amused expression.

"Gosh!" she placed her hand on her racing chest, taking deep breaths. "Kill me would you?"

"Didn't mean to scare you." Lale threw her hands up in surrender. "For someone who loves horror movies, you have an affinity for getting scared easily."

"Whatever," Najmah rolled her eyes. "You Sadek siblings have an affinity for creeping up on people."

"I will take that as a compliment," Lale grinned, kissing her cheeks. "Safe trip."

"Thank you," Najmah mumbled, descending down the stairs.

She stepped out of the foyer and met Aslan propped on the hood of his black Aston Martin one-77, typing furiously on his phone. She rolled her eyes before heading towards him.

Glancing up from the screen of his phone, his gaze fell upon her lithe frame advancing towards him and momentarily, he was dazed. He forgot the bouts of his anger as he took in her appearance; dressed minimalistic yet elegant, Najmah was a sight to behold. Her face was free of any makeup safe for the layer of lip gloss coating her lips.

He smiled at her, sliding off the hood then opened the passenger's door for her. She slipped in without so much as a glance his way. He shook his head then closed the door before running towards the other side of the car.

{••}

"We've been driving for forever," Najmah murmured, tracing imaginary patterns on the window as she watched the scenery before her. The lush green surroundings were long behind them as they drove further and further away down the road.

"Okay, this is the part where you tell me that you're not a serial killer or a cultist or something, 'cause you know I don't see any sign of life around here," she gazed at him with a panicky expression.

Aslan chuckled, taking his eyes off the road for a moment to gaze at her before returning them back to the road. "You look pretty today by the way," he stated with a sly smile.

She narrowed her eyes at him then huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

The road curved one more time and Aslan parked the car in a secluded spot then alighted the vehicle the same time Najmah stepped out.

"What is this place?" she questioned, staring at the urban area.

"Come." He thrust out his hand towards her and with no further ado, she placed her hand in his. They walked around the neighborhood till they got to a rundown apartment and Aslan pushed the door open. He stuck his head then, tugging at Najmah's hand who was scanning the area with panicky eyes; ready to bolt out any instant. The people around the area were giving them weird glances, adding more creepiness to the environment.

"Aslan?" she called out, fishing out her phone from her coat's pocket, switching on her flashlight. The light was the only source of illumination in the otherwise dark apartment as they walked further in; Aslan with an indecipherable expression and she with an anxious expression.

"This is where I grew up," he stated, his tone impassive. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she digested what he said.

"I don't understand," she responded as he released her hand from his hold.

"Remember what I told you the day we first met?"  he questioned.

"I...,"

"I told you I wasn't the perfect guy for you and that we couldn't have the type of relationship our parents wanted well...I...uhm...wanted to shed more light on that matter."

Najmah swallowed a lump in her throat as she assessed the words he was saying. Was he going to divorce her then? Was he tired of her already? Was he going to give her the freedom she so desperately wanted a few months ago? Was he...

"I did some really terrible stuff I wasn't proud of when I was young. My father was...he wasn't exactly a role model. I had a lot of challenges while growing up, and I fell in with the wrong crowd. You see Najmah," he chuckled without mirth.

"You're not the only one with secrets. We all have some things that we hide from the world, things we aren't proud of and things we feel ashamed of. I told myself that I didn't deserve anybody's love and that I could go on living my life being cold and impassive to all around me until you came into my life Najmah," he called her name softly, bringing his hands to cup her chin. "You made me feel things I have never felt before. I kept denying it and the more I kept pushing you away from me, the more reasons I find to go back to you."

"Aslan...,"

"Shh," he placed a finger on her lips, shaking his head. "Let me finish. I want you Najmah and it scares me a lot that one day I'm going to wake up and find you gone just like everyone in my life. I don't deserve you not after everything that I've done. You are so pure and delicate, you deserve someone better than me, but I'm going to be selfish and ask you this because I can't see my life without you. I think I..."

The vibration in the pocket of his slacks stopped him from confessing what he had been denying and for once, he was grateful for the distraction. He stepped back from Najmah, taking out the phone to check who was calling.

He stepped out of the apartment and returned after a moment, slipping his phone back into his pocket then grabbed Najmah's hand and walked out of the apartment.

They walked in silence, neither uttering a word as they got into the car and drove back into town. Aslan kissed her forehead after he dropped her at home then sped off.

Still in shock about what transpired at the apartment and Aslan's revelation, Najmah trudged into the house weakly.

"Can you watch where you're going?" Afet scoffed, pushing past her.

"You've got your whole life to be a b***h can you please take today off? I'm not in the mood for your tantrums."

Afet's brows snapped together, assessing Najmah's expression. She bit her lip in confusion, glancing at the doorway waiting for Aslan to emerge from behind. Realisation dawned on her when she saw his car heading out of the house; the duo had a fight.

'Now is the time to start setting my plans into motion,' she thought, walking into the living room.

{••}

"Thank you for sharing today with me Aslan," she planted a kiss on his shoulder blade, resting her arm on his torso. "And I want you to know that come what may, I'll never leave you."

"Thank you," he murmured against her forehead, tightening his hold against her frame.

Aslan sighed as memories of his past flashed across his mind. He took a deep breath, willing the memories back into the box he kept them firmly locked in. Those memories if made known to her could rip her away from him in the blink of an eye. He only shared scraps of his life with her, what lay underneath was something he would never let her find out. He would not let her find out what kind of a man he was and what he did, he was going to treat her right and by doing so, he hoped to make up for the wrongs he did in the past.

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