Blood and Betrayal

Yusuf stormed into his father's study.

"Khalid needs to leave."

His father looked up from a glass of whisky, face unreadable. "Why? Because Zainab sees him? Or because you're afraid she might?"

Yusuf's jaw clenched. "She's my wife."

"She was. You let her go."

That cut deeper than any blade.

---

Meanwhile… Zainab and Amira

Zainab tucked Amira into bed. The little girl smiled sleepily.

"Mama… will Papa stay with us now?"

Zainab brushed her hair back. "I don't know, baby. But we'll be okay no matter what."

She stepped outside to get some air—and found Khalid waiting by the gate.

He handed her a small envelope.

"What's this?"

He looked her in the eyes. "A secret Yusuf has kept from you. For years."

---

Inside the envelope was a hospital form. A birth certificate. From before their marriage.

Zainab's hands trembled.

A child. A girl. Registered under Yusuf's name.

A name she didn't recognize.

Tears welled in her eyes—not because of betrayal…

But because he never told her.

---

That night, Yusuf came to see her. She didn't shout. She didn't cry.

She simply handed him the paper.

He looked at it… and his face paled.

"You weren't supposed to know like this," he whispered.

"I wasn't supposed to know at all?" she snapped. "You made me feel like I was your first… your only."

"I didn't even know she was mine until a year ago," he said. "Lana kept her hidden. I was waiting for the right time."

Zainab stared at him, cold.

"You waited too long."

---

Alone Again

Khalid came by later that evening. She didn't let him in.

But she opened the door just wide enough to say:

"Don't come between us again. You might be the truth—but Yusuf is still my heart."

---

While they fought and faltered…

Someone else moved in the shadows.

Lana.

Watching from afar.

And beside her, a little girl with Yusuf's eyes.

"Time to take back what's mine," Lana whispered.