When Stars are Hidden

Chapter 45

"You know you have to tell her the truth, right?" Herbert insisted.

Tawfiq raked his hair. He wasn't willing to tell her yet only for it to scare her away.
She knew Naima and it definitely would scare her away from him.

"I will tell her, eventually. Just not now. They all get scared away by the mere thought." Tawfiq argued.

Robert was just listening to the two men argue back and forth. He wasn't going to waste time and energy to try and talk Tawfiq out of what the latter had already decided on.

Tawfiq was stubborn. He was stubborn from the day he was born. And he knew it since the days he used to spend a few vacations at their home.
If you really knew Tawfiq, well, you'd know you could never get him to listen to you unless he wanted to.

"I sincerely hope you know what you are doing. I do pray things will not get out of hand. For God's sake, she is your wife. Find somewhere in the thick head of yours to tell her the fricking truth. She isn't like her, Tawfiq. Not everyone is like her. You have no reason to believe she'll leave you." Tawfiq glared at him. He didn't want to ever talk about her.

Why would they even bring it up?
It was a long time ago and he had moved on.

"I apologize for being upfront but it is the truth and you know it. If you actually married her then you know that she is a stayer. You wouldn't have if you had your doubts." Herbert exhaled and placed a hand on Tawfiq's shoulder.

"She seems amazing. Don't lose her because of something like a secret."

Tawfiq eyes snapped open abruptly as he gasped loudly and sucked in a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Naima's face was of full concern as she paused the movie she was watching on Tawfiq's laptop.

They were on their flight to the Maldives and Tawfiq had fallen asleep.

"I'm fine." Tawfiq muttered as he turned his attention to Naima who still had a concerned look on her face.

"You are sweating." Naima noticed as she took a tissue to wipe his forehead that was glistening with sweat.

"Just a little dream." Tawfiq mumbled under his breath.

Naima smiled sadly.

"If you want to talk about it, I'm always here. I know how it feels." Naima admitted.

"I know and Thank you. " He glanced at his wrist watch. "Why don't you go off to bed? We have about 2 hours till we land and you look exhausted."
Tawfiq suggested.

"Are you planning on letting me sleep so you can go to the beach alone?" Naima jokingly questioned with a look of shock.

"Why would I bring you all the way here, just to let you sleep and let me enjoy the beach alone? That's like having a car but walking from Wyoming to Ohio. Now go on and get some rest." Tawfiq acted serious.

"Yes, dad." Naima rolled her eyes at him as she unbuckled her seatbelt and placed the laptop on Tawfiq's lap.

"Are you rolling your eyes at me?" Tawfiq questioned with a chuckle

"I don't know. Did I? Or didn't I?" Naima shrugged casually as she made her way to the plane's bedroom.

The plane had become a second home to them since they were on it almost half the time.
The good news was that, Naima's fear of planes had gone.
The bad news was the jetlag which was just so annoying to deal with.