"But why only now? Why didn't you come a year ago?" Hidayah asked Nazreen.
"Because for the past year, I was posted to Country I and only returned last night. Anyway, I have already informed them about our marriage, so I was given a year off. So this year, I'm all yours…" Nazreen replied with a cheery tone.
"You're nuts!"
"It's okay… At least I'm nuts for my wife…" He chuckled.
Not wanting to continue with the useless exchanges, she stood up and walked away. But, also not wanting to go back to the hall and meet up with the rest of the family, she decided to go back to her room.
Meanwhile, Nazreen walked back to the hall to mingle with the family. He had already met with Loh Liwei, Kamari and Hidayat earlier that day and arranged for his luggage to be brought over from the hotel.
Loh Liwei had insisted for him to stay with them instead of wasting money on staying at the hotel unnecessarily.
That evening, the house was full of laughter and smiles but with the exception of a sole person.
After the rest of the family had left for the night, Nazreen slowly walked towards Hidayah's room. Arriving on the 5th floor, he proceeds to Hidayah's door. He then knocked on the door softly. "Assalamualaikum…" he greeted the closed door, hoping for the owner to open. He knocked on the door again several times. However, he did not hear any response. He tried to open the door. Luckily, it was not locked. He slowly pushed the door inwards and looked around in the room. The room was dark. Only the bed-side lamp lit the room.
On the bed, he could see the silhouette of a woman comfortably sleeping. He walked softly towards the bed and stopped by her side. Looking down on her, he could see beads of perspiration covering her forehead. Her walnuty brows furrowed and her closed eyes moving restlessly. Her breathing shallow and fast. As if she was scared…
He sat by her side and leaned forward, kissing her on her forehead in between her wrinkling brows. He then whispered into her ears, "oh Allah, I seek refuge in You from Satan and bad dreams'' in Arabic, hoping that her dreams will be pleasant.
Hidayah's breathing slowly slowed down and deeper. Her brows also slowly easing up. Seeing that his wife feeling calmer, he slowly made his way out of the room and back to his room on the third floor.
The next morning, when the family had gathered for breakfast, Hidayah did not join them. In fact, to avoid seeing Nazreen, she had left the house after her morning prayers straight for her office.
Not only that, but she had also left the house without her assigned driver. Firstly, she did not want to wake the man so early in the morning and wait for him. Secondly, she wanted to take a long drive to work. She even drove to Erika's place to fetch her. When Hidayah arrived unannounced, Erika was still in bed. As she had access to Erika's place, she let herself in. She even joined the woman in bed to continue her sleep ???? since she was still officially on hospitalisation leave. Imagine the shock Erika had when she woke up later that day ????.