Chapter 97

Dalia led Amrah to her room before she came downstairs to the kitchen and set a tray of food and refreshments for her. She entered her room excitedly approaching Amrah with it. Amrah raised her head, looking at her. If she wasn't wrong, dalia had lost weight. She definitely had something bothering her, Amrah thought. Even the last time she saw her, she looked almost unhappy. "Dalia," she called out. Dalia kept the tray on the centre table before joining Amrah on the bed. "Is there something bothering you? You know you can trust me, right?" Dalia stared into Amrah's eyes, determined not to look away first. She was certain that Amrah knew she was trying to hide something, but still she was determined to fool Amrah. She contorted her lips into an awkward, toothy smile, her cheeks were not so compressing. She could feel their reluctance to be modded falsely. When Amrah finally averted her gaze, her smile fell lifeless, allowing her face to return to its usual melancholic look. "It's just having a co wife that's way older than you, nothing biggie." Dalia puts on a fake smile to hide her pain from Amrah or anyone. The reason she does that was so she doesn't worry them, however the pain was becoming to unbearable. It hurts now. To even fake a smile. Amrah lifted her brow, then sent a quick distrustful look over her face. "So you allow her to maltreat you?" Dalia sighed already feeling defeated but she dared not tell Amrah the truth. "Amrah, stop giving me that look. I told you, I'm fine, we're fine. I promise if there was actually anything I would've told you." Amrah shrugged off her shoulders and rise to her feet. "Whatever it is, when the right time comes, we will know the truth. I'm going to pray asr first before eating." She slipped out of her hijab before walking towards the bathroom. Dalia looked at her retreating back till she entered the bathroom. "Phew, that was close," she murmured, placing her hand on her chest to steady her heartbeat. ** The next day, dalia was in the kitchen together with Amrah as they prepared breakfast when amira barged in. She looked at Amrah before she swiftly turned her head away. They were never in good terms whenever Amrah visited dalia. Amrah always stood for her cousin no matter what. It irritated amira that she couldn't fight back and she has to call karima to fight back for her because Amrah knew more ways to hurt her than she knows. "I thought I told you to cut some fruits for me." She stood by the door, arms akimbo. She could feel Amrah's daggers on her but she tried to ignore. "Wait are you really going to allow this woman to toy you around? Just because she's pregnant or whatever she is?" Amrah spoke, glaring at amira. Dalia gave her a pleading eyes as she shook her head. Amira glared at her before she hissed and averted her gaze away from the both of them. "Don't allow me to come downstairs again, you know the next person I'll send and you wouldn't want to be on his bad side even though you already are." She turned on her heels and walked away. Amrah couldn't help but laugh. "I have never seen someone look so ugly with baby bump like your co wife." She threw her head back laughing, almost falling off the stool. Dalia suppressed a smile and shook her head. "Okay, I kind of agree with you. Whenever she's talking to me I try so hard not to stare at her swollen nose, so big...." Amrah laughed heartily, not only because of what dalia had said, but because Dalia was finally smiling about something. "When's her due date even? She ought to have given birth by now because she looks like an elephant swallowed another elephant." Dalia bite her lips to push back her laughter. "Amrah that's enough. And I don't know when is her expected date of birth but probably soon." She continued cutting the fruits amira asked for while they conversed more. Stepping out of the kitchen, she met him in the living room watching news. She sighed, averting her gaze from him and walked up stairs to amira's room. On her way back to the kitchen, he stopped her. She slowly turned her head to his direction. "Come." He gestured her to move closer. "Why is it that when my wife asks you to do something you don't do it at the right time till you get her worked up?" He asked the question, eyes fixed on his phone. The more she hears his voice, the more she wanted to strangle him. She opened her mouth to speak up but closed it. He raised his head to look at her and raised a brow. "Why don't you get up and do it yourself if you don't want her to get worked up." She walked away majestically without a back glance. He smirked, staring at her retreating back. He wasn't astonished with her retort, it gives him joy whenever he annoyed and made her jealous. But, deep in his heart, he missed her. He did feel joy without her, after what she did to him. How did he manage to fight his feelings for her for almost a year now? He felt relieved staying away from her yet there was a feeling beneath it all that says he's missing her.