Late night update but eh.

Next updates gonna be super soon..

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Tell me what y'all think.

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Haya.

"So the truth now? Why did you cancel?"

She asked, not even bothering to say hello as she called him the moment she got to know that he wasn't coming to Maraaish anymore.

"Didn't I text you that something came up?" Hunain replied, hearing an unbelievable chuckle over the line.

Haya knew that was bullshit. He had called her, asked if it was okay to visit and now he was backing down?

"Yes, you did. But as your friend, I know better. Something happened and you are not telling me." She accused.

"Haya, let it go. It's nothing from your side." He assured, Haya already knew that.

She knew that Amir was way too nice to tell someone to not visit. He was very professional and hardly rude to people. The most rude he could be was remaining silent in the presence of the people he didn't really like.

"Hunain, tell me." She insisted, hearing a sigh over the line.

"You're literally so persistent." He grumbled, hoping that she would not ask anymore but this was Haya after all.

"I am. My answer?"

"Baba advised me not to go. He said that if Amir is even a little bit indifferent towards me, it'll potray the visit negatively." He explained.

"But didn't you try to-" She couldn't even finish her sentence because he was already cutting her off.

"I did. I tried to convince him that nothing of that sort would happen but he said he knew Amir. I didn't."

Haya rolled her eyes. What did that even mean? He knew Amir? She was the one who slept by his side every night, the one he woke up to every morning. If anything, she knew him better than most people.

"I know Amir. He would never have. He believes that every guest is a blessing." Haya replied, almost offended that someone would think about her man in a negative way.

"Yes but he's also a man. He's your husband and he saw me make out with you." Hunain said, as a matter of fact.

He couldn't blame Amir for disliking him anyway. Any man would feel that way after seeing what he saw.

"He saw the pictures. There is a difference." Haya replied, continuing.

"And didn't I just tell you that I know Amir?" She tried, rolling her eyes once again.

"Well, I can't go now anyway. It's very wrong to cancel and then uncancel." Haya knew that.

She was just quite excited for his visit and now that wouldn't be happening. She had friends in Maraaish but she didn't have real friends. She had Nadia, who was more of a work colleague but Haya counted her as a formal friend. She had her assistant but assistants were hardly friends with their bosses. She had Amir but he was her husband and her love. There was a difference.

"But I'll be representing Jordan at The Global civil thing that you keep talking about." He suddenly mentioned and Haya frowned.

"You don't even know it's name and you're gonna represent your country? Wow." She dryly commented, knowing how impassionate he actually was about such things.

"What about your brother?" Haya asked, wondering why the Crown Prince of Jordan wasn't attending the event instead of Hunain.

"There's some family drama going on. My father told him to stay back."

"I'm going to be there as well. Turns out, we might meet after all." Haya informed, hearing loud laughter over the phone line.

"A woman representing Maraaish?" Hunain asked, laughing once again.

She clicked her tongue in utter annoyance.

"Stop with the fucking laugh." She snapped, waiting for him to be done laughing.

After a few seconds, the man stopped.

"Are you sure, Haya? This is big." He asked. It truly was a surprise because it had never happened before.

"I know."

"Okay, if you say so. It's not disclosed yet though." He mentioned, knowing that he hadn't seen it anywhere.

If it was revealed that Princess Haya would be representing Maraaish at the Global Civil Initiative, the news would have gone viral by now.

"It's a surprise." Haya mumbled.

The truth was, she still had not talked to Amir. As far as she knew, they was contemplating between Amir and Adil. Since Amir was not sure about whether he would have time to attend or not, Prince Adil was kept as an option just in case.

Haya knew she would be able to convince Amir if she tried hard enough but every single night something would come up and she wouldn't be able to talk.

"I'll keep my mouth shut then." She heard Hunain mumble, as he heard Haya tell him that it was a surprise.

"You better." She warned with soft laugh, looking up as she heard commotion in her suite and knew that her husband was home.

"So I'll talk to you later then. Amir's home." She mentioned, ending the phone call

"Alright, see you."

@Haya : smile because you can ❤️

"Hi honey." Haya greeted, her heels clicking across the suite as she found her husband in the middle of the living room, his hands reaching out to loosen his tie.

Amir looked at his wife, smiling as he saw the gleam in her eyes and the glow she had. It truly seemed like she had noor on her face.

"Salam," He greeted back, finding her kiss both of his cheeks as she embraced him.

Amir repeated the act. His own hands fell back as Haya loosened his tie with her own hands and took it off, even unbuttoning his shirt from the top.

"You look happy." He mentioned, she looked at him and nodded.

"I am. I got so many things done at work today. It's exciting." She told him, putting her arms around his neck as his own reached out to hold her from the waist.

"I'm glad." He murmured, tilting his head to the side. It was seven already.

"We're invited to dinner tonight. I haven't seen mother in a week." Amir told her, seeing her gaze falter for a moment.

"It's okay if you don't want to go." He tried to put her at ease but Haya found herself shaking her head.

"Not at all. We're invited. I'll come with you." She told him, smiling again because his family was important to him and she wanted to spend time with them for his sake.

And, she also wanted to meet Suhoor and get some answers in her own way.

"Alright."

"Let me get ready and we'll leave in an hour." She decided, removing her arms so she could get dressed quick.

The Crown Prince didn't release his hold on her waist though. Instead, he kept one hand on her waist and another one to keep her face near to his.

He brought his lips down on her and didn't let go until they both were out of breath.

Haya laughed, breathing hard and looking at him with a surprised look on her face.

"What was that for?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

The Crown Prince shook his head and pecked her lips again.

"Just because I love you." He whispered, letting her go.

"Well, yes. It's always nice to visit family. I had a lovely time." She replied, smiling at Amir's step mother who had been conversating with Haya for a long time now.

"That's good. I know how hard it can be for girls after they get married."

She agreed that it was hard but it wasn't the living without family part that made it difficult for her. It was the part that going back home meant differently now. No matter how much she tried to change that reality, it couldn't change.

She simply chose to look at it in another way now. Instead of one home, she now had two.

"It can be but I've lived alone before so it isn't that hard." She murmured.

Amir was still in his mother's room, he had been there for almost half an hour now. Haya didn't know what they were talking about but she understood that he needed some time with the woman who had given birth to him. He was very attached with her and it made perfect sense that he wanted some privacy.

"I can't even imagine letting these girls out of my sight. Suhoor has been begging her father for a degree abroad but he would never." Haya raised an eye at Suhoor, almost impressed.

While Najma seemed okay with accepting whatever destiny she had ahead of her, Suhoor seemed like the one who would want to fight back.

"Really? Where Suhoor?" Haya questioned, noticing the nervous posture of the girl in front of her.

Suhoor was hardly nervous in front of Haya. It was easily detectable as to why she was acting in this manner.

"I'm not sure yet. I would check out some programs once I knew I'd be allowed to go there." She answered, swallowing.

"Why do you have to go? We'll bring the world's best teachers for you right here." Her mother argued, Haya shook her head.

While her parents had sent her away on purpose, Amir's family seemed quite keen to keep the daughters within the country's boundary.

"That's not the point." Suhoor remarked, Haya couldn't help but hum in agreement.

"It's actually very liberating. I really think you should go for it." She suggested the girl, who smiled and tucked a stand of her hair behind her ear.

"See, mother? Even Haya thinks so."

"Of course she does, my daughter. She is very different from our culture."

Haya was proud that she was different. She felt like it was a good thing for her.

"Did you need permission from your father like we do, Haya?" Najma was the one to ask the question this time..

Haya nodded, but she didn't remember the last time she had asked to seek approval for anything other than her plans of marriage.

"I would usually tell and hardly ask if I'm being honest."

She started off, knowing that she was talking about the King of a country and her own father.

"Out of respect, I would make sure he knew everything and he never really stopped me from going anywhere or doing something. Even now, he doesn't stop any of my brothers." She continued, smiling as she felt blessed to have an incredible father.

"My father has always been a firm believer in paving your own path. He has never interfered." She told the family, looking up at Amir who had arrived back along with her mother in law.

Her husband sat in front of her, while her mother in law took the seat on another sofa adjacent to Haya.

"But sometimes it's good that Parents interfere. They can stop their children from making mistakes." Amir mentioned, as he had overheard Haya's talk.

"What's life without some mistakes? How will we learn on our own and become adults then?" She shot back, questioning her husband.

Suhoor nodded and stared at Amir. She couldn't believe she was agreeing with Haya out of all the people..

"She's right, brother. Look at Adil, he never seeks permission from father. He just does something and everyone has to be okay with it." She elaborated, Amir shook his head.

"That's not true. Father just chooses not to say anything to him in public." He defended.

"We aren't public. We are family." She insisted.

Haya let out a small laugh and threw a playful glance at her husband.

"Men have very fragile egos, Suhoor. They can not handle being lectured in front of women." She said to her sister in law, with her gaze directed at her husband.

"Not everything is about men versus women."

Amir murmured, Haya laughed because he looked almost annoyed at the conversation.

She knew that such kind of conversations must have not taken place in his family before. She had probably inspired it along with Suhoor's constant remarks.

"Really? Is it not?" Haya enquired, Amir nodded.

"The point is that Adil gets an earful all the time. Father called him this evening too, told him to not cross any line."

He truly didn't think his father differentiated between his sons and daughters. He simply protected by the girls more because of how he thought. He had particular gender roles played out in his head and that's how he went on with them. Amir found nothing wrong with that sort of thinking.

His father was born in a different era. It was obvious that his thoughts would be different as well.

"He's still with Prince Illyas, right?" Haya heard her mother in law question and she observed the shift in Suhoor's gaze.

She seemed interested in the conversation.

"Yes, he is. They're negotiating another possible deal." Amir agreed, Haya hummed.

"Illyas is not going to leave until he gets what he wants. He's stubborn like that." She mentioned, eyes still at her sister in law.

"Like you?" Amir mouthed to her.

She rolled her eyes playfully at him, shaking her head.

"Adil told me that chances are highly unlikely."  Amir told his wife, who really didn't know what deal they were talking about.

She hadn't even talked to her brother in a week.

"Chances don't matter. Illyas is very stubborn. If he likes something, he wants it." She said out loud, hoping to get a reaction out of Suhoor.

"And the moment he gets it, he simply loses interest." She further said.

This time, Suhoor had lifted her gaze at her and Haya stared into her eyes, knowing that she was in contact with her brother and probably had feelings for him too.

"We also have to announce who we're sending for the Global Civil Initiative, father." Haya's ears perked up at Amir's sudden mention over dinner.

She didn't know why he had started to talk about work all of a sudden. He had told Haya that they hardly ever discussed work related matters on the family dinner table. Still, as the starters were just being served..Amir spoke up.

Haya stared at him and almost cursed her ownself in her head. She should have talked to him already. She couldn't possibly talk about it here, right in front of the King.

What if they decided on a name right here? It would get even more difficult for her to convince Amir.

"Yes, but let's not discuss such things over dinner."

The King tried to dismiss the matter but Amir didn't look like he was going to drop it. He picked a fork in his hand, looking up at his father.

"I know we don't discuss work during family time but I was wondering if we could send Haya."

Haya's eyes widened at the sudden remark. She stared at him in utter surprise. She hadn't even mentioned it to him yet. Had he really decided on his own?

"What?" The expression on his father's face clearly showed that he wasn't fond of the idea.

Haya looked around the table, finding everyone seem both surprised and unconvinced.

"I think it would make a good impact. And she has done this before."

Haya found a hand on her thigh. Her husband's touch. He squeezed the flesh, letting her know that he believed in her and he wanted her to do this.

"Yes, I have. I represented Buredaan twice." She spoke up, voice not wavering at all.

"Who gave this idea?" Her father in law asked back in return.

He probably thought Haya had convinced Amir. It was her plan to convince him because no woman had represented Maraaish on a global platform like this before. She didn't even understand how Amir had already thought of it. Maybe he read her more than she thought he did.

"Haya didn't say anything to me yet. But I have seen her at such forums and I know she can do wonders for us. I trust her."

This time, Haya was the one to squeeze his hand. She felt so warm and happy that she could have kissed him in that moment. God knows she wanted to. But she also knew that he wouldn't appreciate it.

For a few seconds, there was utter silence on the dinner table. The only sound that could be heard was the voice of cutlery.

"You know I don't focus on these matters, Amir. Do what you feel is best."

He finally decided, knowing that it was better to let Amir lead the way he had been leading for quite a while now.

Amir nodded.

"Thank you, father." He murmured, turning his head towards his wife.

"Haya, you'll represent Maraaish at the Global Civil Initiative. We will be sending a press release tomorrow." He announced.

"Perfect." Haya grinned, happier than before.

@AmirBinAbdullah : simple.

"How did you even know I wanted to be there?!" Haya exclaimed, not bothering to contain her excitement as she almost jumped on him once they were inside their car.

The Crown Prince laughed, holding his wife.

"Because I know you." He replied as a matter of fact, kissing her head and pulling her at his side.

"Seriously? I thought I'd have to coax you and convince you so bad." Haya mumbled, still surprised that her husband had done it all on his own

It mattered so much to her. He had decided on his own that she would represent his country at a global forum. She didn't have to fight for recognition.

"You didn't have to. It will be good for our image as well if a woman represents us this time." Amir stated.

Maraaish already had too much of a negative press when it came to women's rights. The only positive press they had got so far was the international interest towards Haya. Haya had always been a center point of interest in the middle east. Her marriage to Amir had made people take interest in how she would handle affairs in a country that had strict laws which she was against.

The basic conflict was the fact that positive press on an international level mostly resulted in negativity inside the country. He had to handle both in a diplomatic manner and Haya hated diplomacy.

"But Haya," Amir put his finger on her chin, making her look up at him.

"Modest approach. Nothing that would cause trouble." He reminded, she nodded.

"I know."

"Good,"

"Then it's all settled."

"While you're there, I'll be heading to Doha. I have to be a part of the ongoing negotations." He informed.

Haya nodded, kissing his chin.

"Hunain will be representing Jordan at the initiative." She told him something that he already knew.

"Yes, I know. Jordan sent out a Press release a few hours ago."

She frowned, a little confused.

"And yet you're okay with me going?" She enquired. 

"Yes. I trust you and I know that he's your friend. The more I try to pull you away, the more you'll be stubborn."

He answered, almost automatically. Haya let out a chuckle. What was with this change?

"So you have me all figured out now?" She questioned, he shook his head.

He didn't think it was easy to figure out a woman like her but he was trying. 

"I'm trying. I want to try because I thought about all the things you said the other night and I feel that it's me who has to try hard as well." He pronounced.

His words came out pure and truthful. Haya smiled.

"You're perfect anyway." She murmured, putting her head back on his shoulder.

"Thank you, baby."

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Thoughts?

Filler because there's supposed to be drama soon lol.