Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Dashtan helped Rakia move the woman’s belongings to his room. Rakia was arranging her clothes in Dashtan’s wardrobe which happened to be empty and unused by the man. When Dashtan had finished carrying all of Rakia’s belongings to his room, he approached the woman at his side of the room which was a special place to store his clothes. He sat on the floor leaning against his other closed wardrobe near Rakia’s.

“You don’t want to get a new wardrobe?” Dashtan tried to make conversation.

“No, what for?” Rakia answered at once without looking at Dashtan, she was busy with her clothes.

“It might not be enough for your stuff.”

Rakia shrugged, she was actually reluctant to chat with the man. Especially after the incident this afternoon. To her Dashtan was starting to feel a little stranger.

“No need, anyway if this closet is not enough I can store my other stuff in my apartment. I’ll most likely move there too.”

Dashtan snorted at Rakia’s words. He rolled his eyes and clucked then reprimanded, “Rakia... I just want you to hear my explanation.” Rakia stepped back slightly to look at her clothes that had been neatly arranged in the closet, she smiled contentedly then closed the closet door and leaned against it facing Dashtan who was in front of her.

“What have you done,huh? That you had to break your promise to me? Please... Make me understand.” Rakia lowered her ego a little to think openly and rationally by giving Dahstan a chance to explain. The man exhaled loudly through his nose after taking in a deep breath of air. He folded his knees and placed his arms that he had straightened forward on his knees.

“Dalilah asked my father for help with her company going bankrupt to buy her shares with a deal, Dalilah gave me her full political backing to occupy a parliamentary seat. Some of the companies that have bought her shares come from quite influential companies, so my father needs their support for me. And Dalilah will fulfill that if I marry her.”

Rakia was silent as she stared at the man with her flat gaze. However, a bit of sympathy was present in her for the man. However, she saw Dashtan as a man who was required to inherit his stepfather even though he currently owned a large and well-known company, he was required to do so, but still she could not accept the man’s marriage to Dalilah.

“If only at that time I had helped Dalilah immediately without thinking about the guarantee, surely she wouldn’t have gone to my father and planned this devious plan. Especially after she was honest with me, she was in debt due to Steven’s experiments in making medicines but, failed and only left a huge debt to a number of donors who wanted compensation.”

Dashtan raised his gaze and looked at Rakia who had been staring at him with her mind half empty.

“So please, don’t hate me,” he said again.

“But you can’t forbid me from staying with you,” Rakia retorted quickly.

“The agreement between us is still in effect, and the few points we haven’t broken still stand. And we should start practicing the agreement as it should be.” Rakia said that with a scratched heart, but she didn’t want Dashtan to just take advantage of her sympathy and end up accepting his marriage to Dalilah.

“Can’t we just make our marriage work naturally? Just the way it is? My marriage to Dalilah is also by agreement and covenant but I want it to stay that way, unlike you.” Dashtan looked at Rakia with sincerity in his eyes. Rakia could catch that and it touched her, but she didn’t want to believe and accept it right away.

Rakia closed her eyes as she looked up. She couldn’t decide anything yet, suddenly she started to waver a little.

“Let me put it this way first, you said you would divorce me in three months, even though it wasn’t my father who finished the excavation, but you still got what was promised to you, that means the divorce offer is still valid.” Rakia opened her eyes then sighed loudly.

“I’m going to bed, I have a meeting tomorrow.” She quickly went to the bed and lay there on one side. Dashtan followed her to the bed and slept on the empty side a few minutes later. He looked over at Rakia who was sleeping on his back, then took the initiative to hug the woman.

“I don’t want a divorce,” Dashtan said, which made Rakia open her eyes for a moment. She let him hold her.

“Why? It might be the best for us.” Rakia said in a sleepy tone, but she still wanted to chat.

“Because I feel like I need you in my life. Dalilah has already come into my life but she only broke my heart, and now she’s come again trying to make amends with me. I know she’s trying to do that, even though I forgive her but I can’t accept her back.”

Hearing that, Rakia thought of herself. About how she might be able to forgive Benjamin but would never be able to accept him back into her life.

“But you broke your promise,” said Rakia as her eyes began to well up with tears. Dashtan tightened his hug.

“I know, I’m sorry, Habibti,” Dahstan said sincerely and it made Rakia upset. She didn’t want him to apologize because she knew it would shake her heart. She started crying and Dashtan felt even more guilty hearing her sobbing.

“Please, hold on... It’s not you I’m letting go of but Dalilah.”

Rakia shook her head, then said, “Don’t make another promise. I can’t decide anything for now, let me digest all this and breathe while thinking things through. I need time, maybe even distance,” Rakia said.

“No, I can’t let you stay away from me. I’ll let you think about all this and my confession but please, don’t stay away from me let alone hate me.” Dashtan buried his face in the pile of Rakia’s hair which had a refreshing fragrance. He absorbed the scent and kissed it deeply. Rakia tried to stop her crying, she turned towards Dashtan and hid her face in the crook of the man’s neck. She hated the man’s confession and apology.

“You fool!” taunted Rakia between her tears, Dashtan let the woman say whatever she wanted to say.

“You stupid man. You shouldn’t have apologized, you shouldn’t have admitted that you needed me, because it only made me miserable.” She squeezed the man’s t-shirt at the bottom.

“You shouldn’t have said anything. I should have let us not admit anything that way I would have had an easier time making a decision.” After saying that she somehow felt a little relieved, as if her inner burden was half lifted. Her crying stopped although it still left small, one-by-one sobs.

“Get some sleep, you’ll look terrible at the meeting if you don’t get enough sleep and choose to cry all night.” Dashtan said that while closing his eyes. He hugged Rakia like his favorite thing. At the sound of the man’s soft snoring, Rakia who had not slept looked up slowly to gaze at Dashtan’s peacefully sleeping face.

“Perhaps... I’ve started to love you and hate you at the same time,” Rakia said then kissed the man’s forehead and followed Dashtan into dreamland.