The morning sunbeams crept through the curtains, casting a soft light on Hadeel's face as she lay in a deep, secure sleep for the first time in weeks. Akram's arm was still wrapped possessively around her waist, as if he feared opening his eyes only to find her a mere phantom.
Akram opened his eyes slowly, gazing at Hadeel, who looked like an angel in her stillness. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead and whispered to himself: "Thank God you're back... I won't let anything tear us apart again."
But at that exact moment, the room's silence was shattered by the vibration of his phone on the nightstand. Akram tried to ignore it, but the vibration was persistent. He reached out and grabbed the phone, finding "Hanadi's" name on the screen, followed by a text:
"Akram... my father's condition suddenly worsened, and he's asking to see you. He says he wants to be reassured about the promise you made him before he dies. Please answer me."
Akram felt as if ice had been poured into his veins. His features froze as Hadeel began to stir, opening her eyes with a warm smile.
Hadeel, in a soft voice:
— "Good morning, my love... did you sleep well?"
Akram panicked but didn't hide the phone this time. He looked at her with anxiety and said in a broken voice:
— "Hadeel... I have to leave immediately. Hanadi's father's condition has deteriorated severely; he's taking his last breaths, and I have to rush to the hospital."
Hadeel froze, her smile fading into a chilling coldness as she asked:
— "Now, Akram? At this very moment? And why must you be the one to rush to him?"
Akram, quickly getting out of bed and dressing in confusion:
— "The man is dying, Hadeel. He entrusted me, and he considers me like a son... please, it's not the time for questions. It's a matter of life or death."
Hadeel watched him from the bed, her eyes gleaming with sharp intelligence and a new secret resolve: she would not let him go alone this time, and she would not allow Hanadi to isolate him in his moment of weakness
Akram paused while tying his shoes, looking at Hadeel who stood before him with an unusual cold firmness. She said in a calm but commanding voice:
— "You will go, Akram... but on one condition: I'm coming with you. I won't leave you alone in these circumstances; the duty you owe is a duty I owe as well."
Akram hesitated, fearing a clash between her and Hanadi at the hospital, but he saw an unyielding resolve in her eyes. He realized that refusing would open doors of doubt that would never close. He nodded in agreement:
— "Fine, Hadeel. Get dressed quickly... there's no time."
2. Betrayal in Absence: Majed's Intrusion
As soon as Akram's car pulled away, Majed emerged from a street corner. He pulled out the duplicate key Hanadi had skillfully made after stealing the original from Akram's coat the night before.
Majed climbed the stairs with a cold heart. He inserted the key, and the lock turned with terrifying smoothness. He entered and closed the door quietly, like a "ghost" violating the sanctity of the home.
He bypassed the living room and headed straight for the bedroom. He pulled out a microscopic camera, nearly invisible to the naked eye, and found a strategic spot—hidden behind a picture frame facing the bed.
Checking the angle on his phone, he whispered with a demonic smirk:
— "Now, Hadeel... every moment between you and him will be under my watch. I will shatter you with what I capture."
Hanadi stood in the pale hospital corridor, her eyes swollen from feigned exhaustion, anxiously awaiting Akram's arrival. She had convinced herself that last night was the final nail in the coffin of his marriage to Hadeel, certain that Hadeel had left with her suitcase, never to return.
Suddenly, the corridor door swung open, and Hanadi's gaze froze.
Akram didn't enter alone as she expected. He walked in holding Hadeel, who was clinging to his arm with utter love and harmony—as if last night hadn't been a night of separation, but a night of renewed vows. Hadeel's face was radiant with a strange calm, and Akram's gaze toward her overflowed with protection and care in front of everyone.
Silence reigned for seconds, and Hanadi felt the ground give way beneath her. The shock wasn't just in Hadeel's return, but in that blatant, provocative intimacy that made anyone seeing them certain they were at the height of marital bliss.
Hanadi took a step back, a sudden chill coursing through her limbs. Her vision began to blur, and the hospital walls seemed to spin as she watched her "enemy" stand triumphantly in the place she thought she had seized. Hanadi swayed from the dizziness, nearly collapsing if not for leaning against the wall, whispering to herself in horrific disbelief: "How? She was leaving with her suitcase... how did she come back with this much power?"
Hadeel's eyes locked onto Hanadi with a gaze full of defiance, her grip on Akram's arm tightening with every step they took toward her. Each movement was a calculated display of possession and harmony, fueling a fire of pure rage in Hanadi's soul. Unable to bear the sight of their rekindled intimacy, Hanadi recoiled and rushed toward the bathroom.
Inside, her hands trembling with malice, she pulled out her phone and sent a WhatsApp message to Majed. The words were sharp and desperate:
"Majed, I want a scandal—something with a deafening impact, and I want it as soon as possible. I want Akram to feel disgusted just looking at her face. Do you understand me? Tear them apart, destroy this marriage at any cost... even if the price is my own body, which I will give to you. Just ruin them!"
Majed smirked maliciously as he read Hanadi's words, his eyes gleaming with an excessive lust that made his features look even more depraved. He tossed the phone onto the sofa next to him and laughed softly to himself, imagining the situation; the "prize" he had always dreamed of was now being offered to him on a silver platter. And for what? For something he already enjoyed: destroying Akram and Hadeel's lives.
He ran his tongue over his lips, thinking about the details of Hanadi's body, which had always caught his eye with its boldness. He whispered to himself with a hiss full of desire:
— "You lucky devil, Majed... the stakes just got much higher. Hanadi's body is fire, and this opportunity is not to be missed. I'm ready to burn the whole world down just for the moment I finally get my hands on her. Hadeel and Akram's time is over; now, the real game is for pure pleasure."
The adrenaline coursing through Majed's veins made him start plotting the "scandal" Hanadi requested with even greater malice. He wasn't just seeking revenge anymore; he was working toward a "night" he had wanted for a long time. He decided he wouldn't waste a single second before executing the plan that would lead him to Hanadi and satisfy his grudge against Akram at the same time.