Hey guys, I type this as I eat a large sized chocolate cake, all alone!! Because you may encounter some sweetness in the chapter ahead. After all, its the big 5️⃣5️⃣, and we're so close to ending, contrary to what some wicked pelzons tink🙄😏. Taink you in advance for reading and voting.

"Hello."

I stepped into the foyer and Adeel turned, and I watched with a satisfactory smirk as his jaw dropped. That was the intention. To be totally wowed.

"Ya Allah, red is a bomb on you." I smiled and walked to him, he is in a white shirt and tailored grey trousers.

"You look amazing too." He smiles and holds out his hand for me. I take it and we walk the short distance to the car idling on the driveway. I slide into the right part of the back seat and shift for him to sit next to me.

"So, where are we going?" I ask and he groans.

"Why can't you just sit back, rest and wait for it? Is that too much, Mrs Hassan?" I smile and literally lean back in my seat.

I watch the signs as we drive and it's nowhere near anywhere I know, so I'll just have to rely on him.

"We're here." He packs at the valet point and I step out before him. He frowns and I know I'll receive a lecture for that later.

He steps out of the car and hands the valet service guy the key, the young man is so giddy.

"What's wrong with him?" I ask in puzzlement.

"The car is the newest Bentley." My jaw dropped open. I've been used to seeing Adeel with Bentleys that I truthfully didn't notice he got a new one.

We walk in and get seated in less than a minute. Once we settle into our seats. A server comes.

"Good Evening Lady and Gentleman. Welcome to Leonard's." I greet him back and watch as he hands out menus and places a basket of piping hot wafer thin bread in front of us, with glasses of lemonade.

"You'll have those first and as you order, your meals will come in their courses." I nod and open the menu, and begin to flip through.

"Ma'am and Sir, I'll return in a few minutes to take your order." The waiter walks away, his starched trousers making me silently giggle in my seat.

Over the menu, Adeel's hand streches to me with a broken piece of hot bread. I try to take it from him but he frowns.

"Why did you offer it?" I ask with furrowed brows.

"Well, you were supposed to take it with your mouth." I look at him in complete amazement.

"Ya Allah, Adeel, what fragrance of shamelessness do you bathe with?" He shrugs, further incensing me.

"Have some shame. We're in public." He nods, chews the bread, breaks another and offers it to me the same way, as though I hadn't scolded him.

I blow out an exasperated air. "Just let's eat. Okay?" He nods and pushes the bread through my lips.

I chew carefully and look around us. No one was watching. I'd have died of mortification.

We both pick seafood spaghetti and white grape juice, spilling coffee cake for dessert.

I watch as our steaming pasta is brought over, just after we finish eating the bread.

The waiter sets my pasta in front of me. I thank him and pick through my cutlery. As I take the first bite, Adeel's leg touches mine and I look up.

"What?" I ask with a questioning glance, I fork another helping of spaghetti into my mouth. The seafood used to make the pasta is sufficiently seasoned and well done.

"What do you think? I just wanted you to know that you have a chunk of my heart. And that you have nothing to fear from now and even the next. That I'm proud of the woman you're becoming." My firm hold on my fork fails and my fork falls to my plate with a loud tinkling sound. That's all I hear, the words that Adeel have spoken are resonating in my head.

I look up back to him and he's eating like he didn't just say something so big. I put down my head and try to finish my good food. Nothing else matters now.

(***)

"What did you say in reply?"

I wash another dish, Maama went on a cook club meeting in central London. She'd have a fit if she saw me doing this.

"I didn't say anything Umm Fawad, I just put my head down and ate. I didn't know what to say in reply, I clearly have some feelings for him but walahi, I can't bring myself to say it." I hear her sigh. Her signature sigh when she's about to tell me my life's history.

"I'm not going to insult you Affy, you have every right to be close mouthed, considering what you experienced. But, Fisabillahi, Adeel loves you. It's evident." It's my turn to sigh. She laughs when she hears it.

"Where did he take you to sef?" I smile at the beautiful interior of the restaurant he took me to.

"Leonard's." She screams, really loud.

"Ya Allah, Umm Fawad." I look round the kitchen to see the Adeel standing there, watching me. He's leaning on the door which means he's been there long. Ya Allah. Umm Fawad is still talking excitedly about the restaurant.

I reach out and end the call. I put the phone in my back pocket and continue to rinse the dish I'd washed.

"Hey?" I call with a questioning lilt.

"Hi." He walks to my side and stands close to me.

"Come upstairs when you're done. And unlike some people I know, I don't talk about issues like this publicly, we'll discuss like adults in private." He walks away and I can clearly swear that all I saw while he talked was the Simpsons family cartooning on his shirt. I didn't really see him.

***********

Meanwhile, please y'all go and read Letting Go. I promise you it's not a waste of time, you will genuinely enjoy it.

Love y'all. My exams about to begin btw😣😣.

Bye.

TheOmoope