Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Rakia stared blankly at the floor of her room as she sat on the edge of the bed. Her conversation with Dashtan a few moments ago had made her even more insecure about her own feelings for the man. On the other hand, she didn’t want to fall too deeply into this marriage, because eventually, they would part ways. But for some reason, when Dashtan asked for a separation on such short notice, she felt offended, as if he didn’t want her in his life any longer.

Tears quickly gathered in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks before she could stop them. Honestly, what she feared was that she couldn’t stop herself from falling in love with Dashtan. She just didn’t want that in the end, her heart would be in this marriage while Dashtan gave her nothing and easily let go of their togetherness. Rakia wiped her tears quickly and turned her thoughts towards the suitcase she had placed in front of her wardrobe in an open state.

“I’d better pack,” she thought to herself as she stepped towards the suitcase and quickly packed for tomorrow’s departure to Dubai.

**

For a moment, she thought that she was about to board a commercial airplane with Dashtan. However, she was confused when Dashtan drove and drove through the entrance to the airport.

“Where are we going? Didn’t we pass the airport already?” asked Rakia confused, she turned to look at Dashtan who was very neat and charming next to her. Heaven’s angels would gladly fight to be his lover.

“We went to my airplane hangar,” Dashtan said, which made Rakia’s eyes bulge.

“To your hangar? Do you have a airplane?” Rakia’s question sounded stupid and it made Dashtan smile proudly in his mind. He folded his lips for a moment and then nodded. Rakia could only be surprised in her seat at the moment, she waited with a pounding heart. As she entered the courtyard of a private hangar with an airplane parked gracefully in the center, Rakia couldn’t help but be amazed. She stared at the airplane in amazement as she got out of the car and stood not far from the iron bird. A ladder leading to the entrance of the airplane was visible there and a man was waiting at the bottom near the ladder. Two more people were loading their luggage into the plane’s trunk.

“What are you doing?” asked Dashtan, breaking Rakia’s reverie from her thoughts.

“I was... You’re so... Wealthy,” said Rakia who was going straight to the point of her current thoughts. Dashtan sighed loudly, he stood up as he put both hands in the pockets of his jeans. Staring at Rakia with all the thoughts he had, he wondered why Rakia seemed unhappy with his wealth.

“Do you like it?” Dashtan asked. Rakia turned to her with a confused face for a moment. Then, she quickly understood and smiled almost laughing.

“Not really, I’ve always been afraid of the kind of life you have, having lots of money and being able to buy anything without worrying about the price, having assets everywhere, being able to set foot anywhere. Everything about the wealthy,” Rakia said with a harsh sigh, her gaze rising to look at Dashtan.

“All women love to have a companion with a secure life, and so do I, but to adjust to wealth, I need time.” Rakia smiled. Dashtan smiled broadly then gave the woman a peck on the forehead.

“That’s a great mentality, and I’m glad to have a woman who doesn’t just see me for what I have right now.” Dashtan said then Rakia laughed and said, “Wait until I get used to it.”

Then they laughed together at those words. The people around the airplane were staring at them laughing because their laughter was quite loud in the quiet atmosphere. Those people, the ones who had worked with Dashtan knew more or less about the young conglomerate. This was the first time he had seen their master laughing afterwards with a woman who was his wife.

“What do you want to see in Dubai?” asked Dashtan as they walked with their arms around each other towards the airplane at a slow, deliberate pace. Rakia seemed to be thinking, she only knew the famous places there without knowing when she would be able to visit them, but now they were one step away from being in front of her.

“Dubai aquarium, miracle garden, burj khalifah,” Rakia said with excitement. Dashtan chuckled, he had visited all the places the woman mentioned over and over again, until he finally got bored himself.

“Well... get your legs ready, because I don’t want to carry you if you get too tired from walking later.”

They climbed the stairs one by one until they reached the airplane. Dashtan entered first followed by Rakia behind him. Once again, Rakia was amazed by the interior of the private jet. This was a sight she had often seen on television belonging to a wealthy businessman and now it was going to be her experience. Dashtan chose to sit in the seat facing the entrance on the right side while Rakia chose to sit on the sofa-like seat in front of Dashtan.

“This is amazing,” Rakia praised sincerely as her eyes scanned the entire cabin of the plane that she could see.

“Who designed this thing to be this amazing?” asked Rakia as her gaze returned to Dashtan.

“Me,” Dashtan replied shortly as he grabbed a business magazine and flipped through the pages. Rakia was again stunned.

“Really? Ow wow....” Rakia didn’t know what else to say and it brought up a new thought about her. About her being so different from Dashtan in terms of social strata. They were too far apart, even for Rakia a man like Dashtan could not exist in her life. Nervous, she felt a little dizzy and asked permission to go to the toilet.

“Where’s the toilet?” asked Rakia as her head searched the room. A flight attendant came up to them and introduced herself.

“Welcome, sir, ma’am. I am Thalia, the cabin crew who will accompany you on this trip, if you need anything please press the button on the arm of your seat to call me,” explained the flight attendant named Thalia.

“Can you take me to the toilet?” asked Rakia, to which Thalia nodded. She followed her. At the toilet, she was stunned again at how neat and comfortable the airplane’s toilet was. She washed her hands and then washed her face with water. After that, she breathed regularly to get rid of the nervousness and dizzy feeling she felt.

“Don’t think about it, Rakia... Be grateful for what you have right now.” Rakia recited that like a calming spell. She heard the announcement that the plane would soon take off. She quickly exited and returned to her seat. Dashtan already looked ready with her seatbelt on, the latest issue of a business magazine in her hand making her ignore Rakia for a moment. Rakia buckled up and checked if the seat was adjustable or not. It was, but she would do that later after the seat belt sign was turned off.

She chose to close her eyes as the plane left the runway and before she knew it she was asleep, feeling like she was on a big, comfortable swing. Dashtan briefly turned his attention to Rakia as he unbuckled his seatbelt and saw the woman sleeping in an uncomfortable position. He stood up and unbuckled Rakia’s seat belt and carried her body in front of him to the only room on the plane. He laid her down on the comfortable King-sized bed and looked at her for a moment.

“What will happen if we separate later? Will I be able to do it? Right now, I’m getting comfortable with having you in my life,” Dashtan said with his feelings mixed but more towards misery. He stood up and pulled the blanket and covered Rakia’s body up to her stomach then left the room back to his seat. He would catch up with Rakia later to sleep. Before that, he had to finish some work, he would wake Rakia up for lunch later.