Page 64 of Seventeen Years Ago

I got up and retrieved the letter from my bedroom. When I handed it to her, she slowly opened it and read it silently. When she folded it and handed it back to me, she said, “Your poor brother was in so much pain. I wish he was as strong as you are and let someone be there for him.”

Aiza never ceased to amaze me. She read what I had and came up with the same answer. A sad, broken man who was alone because he was afraid of being anything else.

“Do you want to hear the rest?” She nodded. “Okay. But I don’t know how any of this is going to help my brother.”

“Steven, maybe this is about helping you. Now tell me where you got the letter,” she said.

We spent the next two hours going through every detail. The information Bennett had given me, including his threat, was the hardest for me to admit.

“Now you know everything that I do,” I said.

“We need to go back to Tabiq. We need to locate your niece,” she stated.

“You did hear me, right? Bennett knows that I was there seventeen years ago. He’s not going to let this go. He will search for the woman who was brought to my room and won’t stop until he finds her,” I warned her.

“Then I say let’s tell him. Let's tell all of Tabiq. The lie has gone on long enough. It’s time for us to stop hiding in the shadows of shame and speak up. Yes, it will be painful for many, but also healing for others. I am not afraid of what they will say. You did nothing to hurt me. And you have only shown me kindness and love, even seventeen years ago.”

“Aiza, you can’t be serious.”

“I am. Bennett will search. He will find someone who remembers. I believe the power lies in the truth. Let’s give it to him. Together,” she said, taking my hand in hers. “For me, for you, and for your brother.”

I shook my head, but I knew she was right. This was going to haunt us and hinder our love from growing. We needed to face this head-on. Face it together.Face it as husband and wife.

“I will do this but only if you agree to one thing,” I said.

“Please, not another promise,” she sighed.

I smiled. “In a way, it is.”

“Fine. What is it this time?”

“Will you promise to love me till death do us part? For sickness and health? Will you marry me, Aiza?”

She blinked. “You’re proposing to me?”

“I don’t have a ring, but I will by morning. And yes, I am proposing to you. I love you and I don’t want to spend any more time apart.”

“Steven, I love you too, but my grandmother won’t leave Tabiq. She needs me. I can’t just leave her,” she said.

“And I wouldn’t want you to. We will find a way to make this all work, as long as we are working at it together. So, is that a yes? Will you marry me?” I asked again.

“That is a yes,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing me.

I pulled back and said, “Thought this was going to wait till after I shower.”

“Steven, just be quiet and kiss me already,” she ordered.

I was more than happy to oblige.

Aiza was right. Talking to her brought me out of the dark hole I was in. I just hoped that I was not bringing her into one with me by agreeing to go back to Tabiq and face Bennett.

I’ll never forgive myself if the truth hurts her more than us living the lie.

For tonight, I was going to soak in the fact that she loves me. For tonight, it was just us, and the rest of the world could wait. But damn it, I don’t want a long engagement because not touching her was going to be pure hell.

CHAPTER24

Aiza

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