Living Royalty

46. The start of a new beginning.

Samaah's P.O.V

Arif held my hand, and somehow, I felt like a whole zoo of animals had been unleashed in my stomach! It was so weird that I couldn't even remember getting married to him, and yet here he was, making me feel like a princess. And he was my prince, literally!

We entered the sports ground and it was the biggest sports ground I had ever seen. There were various signs and boards here and there. As soon as we entered, there was a big signboard reading "GOLF COURSE" with an arrow pointing towards a very large golf course. Wow! If just the golf course was so huge, how big was this entire place? I then noticed another signboard reading "FENCING CORNER". So that's where Asif goes to practice fencing! My eyes fell to some stables a little far away and a board read "HORSE-RIDING". This place was probably way over a hundred acres, because it had every single outdoor sport one could think of, except for games like football, cricket, rugby, basketball and all. Those were normally played at stadiums.

Arif then led me to a large area with a board reading "ARCHERY CORNER". There was a large board with a bull's eye painted on the center and next to the board was a large set of lockers. Arif walked to one of the lockers which I assumed was his and entered the combination of the lock, opening the locker and pulling out a bow and some arrows.

"I've taught you archery before but with your amnesia, you might not remember it," he told me.

"I don't remember learning it, but maybe I might still have the skill," I replied.

"But I'll still teach you. Ready to learn archery, Samaah?" Arif asked.

"Of course!" I replied.

"Great. So I'll start, and you watch. Then you come and try, alright?" He asked, and I nodded.

He picked up an arrow and held it against the bow. He aimed at the bull's eye by squinting one eye. He looked amazing, as always. His features were outlined under the night sky, and he looked picture-perfect, as if he were posing for a photo shoot. Then, he stretched the string on the bow as far back as he could, and released the arrow, and the arrow shot straight out, hitting the bull's eye neatly!

"How was it?" Arif asked, looking at me.

"Perfect!" I replied.

"You go now!" He said, handing me the bow and he picked up another arrow and handed it to me also.

"Okay," I said, kind of nervous, and took the bow and arrow from him. I stood where he was standing previously and imitated his posture when he was aiming. Copying his movements, I aimed. Somehow everything felt so familiar. As if I had done this before. Suddenly, flashes of me standing in a similar position with Arif close behind me filled my mind. Memories of practicing archery with Arif flooded in an empty space in my brain. With that, some emotions I had felt because his proximity all came back. Some feelings I didn't know I had all rushed back and I stood there, stunned and frozen, and the bow and arrow dropped to the ground from my hands.

"Samaah? Samaah!" Arif came right in front of me and held my shoulders.

That gesture reminded me of some other things. One evening, sitting on my bed with a wedding gown and a veil covering my face. Arif coming, holding my shoulders to turn me to face him and lifting up the veil, then leaving without saying a word. Another memory of when I turned around immediately, banging into Arif who was standing behind me, so close to me and him grabbing my shoulders to steady me.

"Samaah! Are you okay? Is everything alright? Samaah!" Arif said, his voice filled with worry and his handsome features laced with concern. My hand immediately shot up to my head and I forced out a nod. "Samaah! Please tell me you're okay!" Arif whispered, his hand cupping my cheek.

"Arif! Arif, I remember! I remember everything regarding our marriage! And after that also!" I said breathlessly.

The memories of that night of our wedding when Arif snapped at me, waking him up for Fajr every morning, three months that passed without him uttering a word to me, him finally coming and asking me to join him for archery, me attending a rugby match where he was playing, him telling me about his family and the fire in which he lost most of them, me asking him to join me for my graduation, me realising that I liked Arif a lot, me and Samiha discovering Meng Yan's ugly truth, me and Samiha trying to save our father, father-in-law and Arif and Asif, me and Samiha taking dad's car and lastly, me screaming out in horror before everything going blank. All of those memories rushed back, filling the void in my brain. Most importantly, some feelings and emotions rushed in my heart, and the attraction, concern, care and liking I had towards Arif after my amnesia all multiplied several times, all of a sudden.

"Y-you remember?" He asked.

"Yes! Yes I remember! And I remember our marriage! We hardly talked initially then when we did start talking, it was quite rare but I cherished those moments with you!" I said, breathing heavily.

"You cherished them?" Arif asked, looking touched.

"Yes! And I promised you I won't be disappointed when I remember our marriage! I remember we weren't like a normal couple, but Arif, since I've woken up from coma, you have given me every reason to not be disappointed with you! I'm not disappointed, Arif! I'm not!" I whispered the last parts.

Arif put his arms around me and I did the same.

"I'm sorry Samaah, for not treating you the way you deserved to be treated. I'm sorry for taking you for granted. And I'll keep my part of the promise for the rest of my life. From now on, I'll do anything and everything for you, and to keep you happy. I'll treasure you and make your life with me a pleasant and happy one. I promise you, Samaah!" He said, and bent down his head to rest his chin on my head.

"I never held anything against you, Arif! I've always forgiven you! But yes, since I woke up from coma, we have had a new beginning, and now that I remember everything, since I've woken up from coma, everything has happened for the better. We have the perfect relationship now! And I want it to stay this way! You've been a perfect husband and this is how I want you to be! You're no longer the arrogant guy I once married, you're now caring and concerned about me, you treat me like a princess, you have started working, and this is how I always want you to be!" I told him, my head against his chest.

"And this is how I will always be, In sha Allah!" Arif promised.

He then pulled away a little and kissed my forehead. He then looked into my eyes with an emotion so intense that it made my heart beat ten times faster.

"Samaah, I love you!" He whispered, still looking into my eyes. I felt a dozen emotions causing my heart to swell with happiness. My husband loved me!

"I love you too, Arif!" I whispered back.

He then cupped my cheek in his hand, bent his head and leaned in for the first time since we got married, and I closed my eyes, waiting in anticipation for what was to come next. It was something I knew I would cherish for the rest of my life. It was the start of a new beginning with Arif, my husband, my soul mate, my life partner.

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

So the chapter was short but I hope that all Ariaah fans enjoyed it! It was blissful writing this chapter and I had a smile on my face the whole time!

I love this chapter, and I hope that all my readers did too!

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