by Holly Rayner
“Exactly. Which is why—”
A knock on the door interrupted him. Ali and Alyssa glanced at each other, and Ali gestured for her to make the choice.
“Who is it?” Alyssa called.
More banging on the door. “Mama!”
Alyssa gasped in pleasure and tears sprang to her eyes. The door opened, and Kinsley entered carrying a wiggling Rashid.
“Ma!” Rashid said, pushing his hands against Kinsley’s shoulders.
“Hold on, Rashid,” Kinsley said. “You can’t just jump on her.”
But Alyssa reached her arms out, and Rashid nearly flew into them. Drawing him up close, she buried her face in his hair and breathed in deeply. The familiar scent of her little boy made a sob climb into her throat. Looking up from Rashid, she found Kinsley teary-eyed as well. Even Ali blinked fast.
“Oh my gosh, you’re okay,” Kinsley sniffled. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Yeah.” Alyssa, arms still around Rashid, nodded.
“And the babies?” Kinsley went to the bassinet and peeked in at them.
“They’re okay, too.”
“We’re waiting for a few test results,” Ali pointed out.
“But they’re fine,” Alyssa added, shooting him a look.
Ali gave one nod and averted his gaze, meaning he would let her win—for the moment.
“Rashid,” Ali said, “do you want to see the babies?”
Rashid made a noise of annoyance and wiggled closer to Alyssa, who kissed the top of his head.
“I think he just wants his mom right now,” Kinsley commented.
“That’s fine with me,” Alyssa said.
“Gosh, they’re so tiny.” Kinsley pressed her hand to her heart. “Did you pick names yet?”
Ali and Alyssa looked at each other. They’d written a list of potential names months ago, but amid all the excitement of the last few hours, they hadn’t once discussed naming the girls.
“What do you think?” Ali asked. “American or Baqari?”
Alyssa looked at the twins, and right away, she knew what their names should be. “Zada means ‘lucky one,’” she said, remembering that from hours spent looking up name meanings. “And Grace means ‘God’s favor.’”
Ali blinked slowly. “Beautiful.”
“I love it,” Kinsley cooed.
Baby number two—the one Dr. Malouf had resuscitated—started crying. Alyssa put her hand on the baby soothingly and she quieted down. “She’s Zada. Our lucky one.” She looked to Ali for confirmation.
Again, he blinked slowly and nodded.
“One American name,” Kinsley said. “And one Baqari name.”
There was another knock on the door, and Dr. Latifi entered. Alyssa’s heart jumped. After everything she’d been through the last couple days, finally seeing her doctor felt like an amazing gift.
Dr. Latifi’s eyes were sorrowful. “Alyssa…I am so, so sorry about what happened.”
Alyssa sat up straighter. “It’s not your fault.”
“I am sorry, nonetheless.”
Alyssa shrugged a shoulder. “All’s well that ends well, right? Everyone is here and safe.” She studied Dr. Latifi’s face. “Right?”
Dr. Latifi slipped her hands into the pockets of her white coat and smiled. “Yes. The tests have all returned. The twins are in optimal health.”
The tension Alyssa hadn’t known she’d held onto left her on an exhale. “Thank God.”
“Due to quick action,” Dr. Latifi added. “If the second baby hadn’t been given medical attention immediately, the outcome might have been very different.”
Alyssa and Ali caught gazes. They both understood what that meant. If Dr. Malouf had not been there, or if she’d given birth at home before medics could arrive, Alyssa knew there would have been a great chance she wouldn’t have been able to revive the baby.
Grace started crying, then, and Alyssa picked her up. Stirred by her sister’s complaints, Zada joined in, whimpering.
“Sounds like feeding time,” Dr. Latifi commented.
“Kinsley,” Ali said. “Will you take Rashid to the cafeteria for a snack? You should see my parents down there shortly, and then you can bring them up here.”
“Let’s go, Rashid.” Kinsley extended a hand.
“Uh-uh,” Rashid protested from Alyssa’s side.
“You’ll see Mama soon. Want to see if they have ice cream?”
Rashid made a noise of excitement and crawled to the side of the bed, and Kinsley scooped him up and carried him out. Alyssa proceeded to feed the babies, Dr. Latifi hovering close by and observing to make sure latching went well.
With the girls sated, they quickly fell back to sleep. Dr. Latifi wished the parents congratulations and left the room. Once again, it was Ali and Alyssa.
She looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Ali said.
She dramatically raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
Ali smirked. “Yes.”
Alyssa waited.
“All right,” Ali conceded. “Perhaps I do not know every thought on your mind. I do know you think I should let Zahid off the hook for saving Zada.”
“It’s more than that. He made a mistake.”
“Kidnapping is quite the mistake, yes,” Ali said icily.
“I actually wasn’t referring to that. I was talking about dating your ex.”
“Oh.”
“Granted, it wasn’t that big of a mistake. You didn’t want to marry her, and Malouf was pretty serious about her. He thought she might marry him.”
Ali lifted his chin. “He told you all of this?”
“There wasn’t much else to do in an empty house.”
Alyssa paused to give him a chance to respond. His silence told her she was having an impact on him.
“And I know you feel like you made a mistake as well, by pulling the funding. You overreacted.”
Ali’s nostrils flared, and his shoulders drew back.
“It’s okay,” Alyssa said, before he could get too upset. “I know it was years ago, and you’re a different person now. Everyone makes mistakes. You can see his side of it, though, right? He never had any plans to hurt me. He only wanted to get back the money he lost on that venture. You know, he was homeless after he paid off his debts.”
Ali’s face fell. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah.”
A thoughtful silence descended on the room. Ali’s attention drifted to Zada. Her little belly and chest rose and fell with rhythmic breaths.
“He called the hospital as soon as I went into labor,” Alyssa said gently. “Even though he knew driving me here pretty much guaranteed that he’d be arrested and sent to jail.”
Ali sighed. “He did, did he?”
Emotion welled in Alyssa’s chest. She forgave Dr. Malouf for what he had done, but she couldn’t ask her husband to do the same. That choice was up to Ali.
“It is hard,” Ali said slowly, “to stay mad at a man who would put his own freedom on the line for my family.” His dark brown eyes settled onto Alyssa’s face. “As much as I would like to.”
Alyssa’s chin trembled. She wanted to cry and shout and throw her arms around her husband’s neck.
Ali scooted closer to Alyssa and took both her hands in his. “I would be lucky to have half the heart you do, my love.”
“But you do,” Alyssa whispered. “You just hide it behind your tough exterior.”
Face down, Ali chuckled. “I suppose I do.”
“What now?” Alyssa asked.
He looked up. “I will forgive and let this go. We do have to go to court, though. You will have to testify and ask the judge to dismiss the case. He probably won’t, but, at the least, perhaps he will give Zahid a reduced sentence.”
Alyssa nodded. If Dr. Malouf could escape years in jail for his mistake, that was good enough for her.
“Thank you,” she said.
Ali cupped her face. “Tha
nk you. You never let me be half decent, you know? You’re always pushing me to be the best version of myself.”
“That kind of makes it sound like a bad thing.”
“Trust me,” Ali said. “It’s not bad. Not at all.”
Alyssa smiled, and he pressed his lips to hers in a loving, cherishing kiss.
Chapter 16
Alyssa
Two Weeks Later
“And then, the door was busted down,” Alyssa finished.
The judge nodded. Had Alyssa’s story had any effect on him? It was hard to say. Alyssa licked her lips, painfully aware of how dry they had become.
“Thank you, Mrs. bin Talid. You may sit.”
Alyssa left the stand, only briefly glancing in Dr. Malouf’s direction. This pre-trial, two weeks after the twins’ birth, marked the first time she had seen him. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. All she really knew was that she didn’t want him to serve years for what had happened.
As soon as she took her seat next to Ali, he squeezed her hand and gave her an encouraging look. He’d already given his testimony, painting Zahid Malouf in an even more positive light than Alyssa had expected, but she’d noticed that he, too, found it hard to look at the man.
Nothing was ever simple. That was for sure. So rarely did you absolutely hate or love a person.
The judge was quiet for a moment, and then he folded his hands and spoke in Arabic. Alyssa caught about a third of it. Something about a reduced sentence. Probation.
She looked to Ali, and he leaned close to whisper in her ear.
“He said that if Zahid pleads guilty to a charge lesser than kidnapping, one which is yet to be determined, he can get off with probation.” Ali paused. “This way, he might still manage to salvage his career.”
Alyssa’s heart flipped. Past Ali, she caught sight of Dr. Malouf. His eyes were watery. “Thank you,” he mouthed at Alyssa.
She nodded, glad that a whole room separated them. As grateful as she was for him saving Zada, she wasn’t sure how she would react when standing only a few feet from him. Looking at him, even from a distance, brought back a rush of the fear she’d felt while she’d been held captive. She forgave him, but that didn’t make everything easy.
The judge dismissed the pre-trial, and Alyssa and Ali emerged from the courthouse into the midday light. Their new bodyguard trailed behind them, keeping a distance that was both comfortable and wary.
Having a bodyguard hadn’t proved as annoying as Alyssa had thought it would be. Rami and his team were all very nice, and in addition to a bodyguard trailing Alyssa, there was one on Kinsley at all times. That way, the kids were always protected.
The only person who didn’t like the new security system so much was Kinsley’s beau. Apparently, it was kind of hard to get into romantic scooter rides when there was another man driving right behind you.
Hands clasped, Ali and Alyssa walked down the block, passing shops on their left and stands selling flowers and hats on their right.
“You did wonderfully,” Ali said.
“So did you.” She smiled. “Thank you.”
He stopped walking and turned her slightly so they faced each other. “I wanted to do it.”
Alyssa searched his eyes and found earnestness there. “I know,” she whispered.
“After thinking about it a great deal, I realized that there is no point in holding onto anger, and I did have a part in everything that happened.”
Alyssa stepped closer to him. “Don’t be so hard on yourself—”
“I’m not.” Ali gave her a half-smile. “I’m merely being honest. Come.” He tugged her hand slightly. “I’m ravenous.”
Kinsley and the new nanny they’d just hired, Bahia, sat outside of the cafe with the strollers in the shade. Zada slept, while Bahia held Grace on her lap and Rashid banged two plastic cups together. Their bodyguard sat at a nearby table drinking coffee and reading a newspaper.
“How did it go?” Kinsley asked.
Alyssa sat down with a relaxed sigh. “They’re going to give him a reduced sentence.” Because no one reacted, she added, “It’s what I wanted.”
“Good,” Kinsley said.
Zada cried and popped her eyes open.
“Feeding time?” Ali asked.
Kinsley frowned. “No. They just ate. She always wants to be on the move. It’s crazy.”
Alyssa laughed. “She is Ali’s daughter.”
Kinsley stood. “I’ll walk the twins up and down the block.”
As soon as Rashid saw Kinsley buckling the twins into their double stroller, he started fussing.
Bahia nodded. “We’ll go too, Rashid. Come to Bahia.”
Their bodyguard caught sight of them making a move and went to follow them down the block. Alyssa watched the little procession of two nannies, three babies, and one big, brawny man who looked like he was running late for boot camp drills.
“Quite a household we’ve accumulated,” she commented.
Ali didn’t smile. “You’re disappointed?”
Alyssa looked him in the eye. “There isn’t one thing about my life that I would change.”
“Sheikh bin Talid,” someone said.
Alyssa looked over to find an older woman dressed all in black. She bent from her waist, despite the fact that she looked too poor of health to be bowing so low. Ali’s eyebrows flew up, and he leaned forward in his seat.
The woman gestured for him to stay seated and launched into an impassioned speech in Arabic. She spoke too fast for Alyssa to understand, so Alyssa watched Ali’s face for clues.
His face softened, and then, a rare blush came over his cheeks. He bowed his head and told the woman she was welcome.
With another deep bow, she left, hobbling down the street.
Alyssa looked to Ali. Whatever had just happened, it had had some kind of intense effect on him. His face was angled down, and Alyssa could tell he was lost in thought.
“What was that about?” Alyssa asked.
“That was Zahid’s mother.”
“Really?” Alyssa turned in her chair, but the old woman had vanished around the street corner. “She wasn’t at the pre-trial.” She remembered this, because only the select few people involved in the case had been allowed into the courtroom. “How did she know we would be here?”
“Perhaps she stood outside of the courthouse and waited for us.” Ali stared, eyes unfocused, in the direction she had gone in.
“What did she say?” Alyssa breathed.
He turned to her. “She wanted to thank me in person.”
Alyssa smiled and reached for Ali’s hand. “I would do the same.”
He flipped his palm over and laced his fingers with hers. Out of the corner of her eye, Alyssa saw a waitress approach. She must have sensed the intimate moment, though, because she backed off and went back inside.
“It wasn’t all about the pre-trial,” Ali said.
Alyssa tilted her head in confusion.
“She wished to thank me for the pension I gave her,” Ali explained, “as well as for the sums I distributed to the employees who were laid off when the clinics closed.”
Alyssa swore her eyebrows jumped so high they disappeared under her hair. “Wait. What? When did this happen?”
“I had the checks sent out a few days ago.”
Alyssa gawked at him. “Ali. I…wow.”
“I planned on telling you. I only wanted to keep it to myself for a short while.”
She understood. Ali was that way. A move so generous came straight from his heart, and talking about it meant he opened up a door to that most tender side of himself. So many people knew Ali as a lion, but Alyssa had seen the kitten that lived inside.
She lifted his hand and kissed his knuckles. “I get it.”
Ali’s gaze softened as he looked into her eyes. “Good,” he murmured.
“What about Zahid?” she asked tentatively.
He looked down. “I…wish to keep things as they are. To end th
em.”
Alyssa nodded. “I’m sure he’s happy about what you did for his mother.”
“Good.” Ali raised his face and looked down the street. “A rare quiet moment.”
“I know,” Alyssa said on a laugh. “Just us and our bodyguard. How romantic.”
He narrowed his eyes playfully. “You do know I will never let down my guard again?”
“I wouldn’t expect anything else from you. But we can stop here, right? I don’t want a whole group of people following us around.”
“We’re good for now,” he said. “But when we travel or attend public events, the need for security will heighten.”
“When we travel?” She smirked. “Are there air pirates that I should know about? Are they going to board our private jet and whisk us away?”
Ali’s lips tightened. “I’m glad you find this amusing.”
“Okay, okay. I’m done.” Standing, Alyssa went around the table. Ali’s arm met her halfway, and he pulled her into his lap. She hung her hands around his neck and dipped her face to his. “It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do this.”
“You could have—”
“Without causing you pain.”
He conceded with a nod. “The twins plus you were a bit…”
“Finally, you admit it!”
Ali smiled and brushed a stray hair from her face.
“I’m proud of you,” Alyssa whispered. “I knew you’d do the right thing. And not just because I wanted you to.”
“You’re saying you knew the move I would make before I did?”
“I’m saying…that I always have faith in you. That’s all.”
Ali cupped her face. “That means more to me than you will ever know.”
Alyssa looked over his shoulder. “Nannies, babies and bodyguard are heading back.” She stood and went to her seat. “And I’m starving. Let’s order.”
The rest of the group retook their spots, and bright, happy chatter filled the cafe’s sidewalk. Rashid giggled, and the twins cooed. All around them, Baqar was alive with beautiful sounds, colors, scents, and emotions.
For Alyssa, it was the perfect home. It was the perfect life.
The End
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