Chapter 50 *FINALE*

I'm actually sad that this story is going to end but it's at the perfect time to end and there are more stories to come. This will be by far, my most favourite story I've ever wrote since it was truly my first. I hope you enjoy this last chapter. )':

This is dedicated to the graduates of class of 2012, whether you graduated from university or high school, you still have a bright future ahead of you! I wish all of you the best, our future shining stars of Kuwait. :'D

BTW: I changed my username from _KuwaitBlog to vieblogue (life blog in French). x

My new story: http://v-ie.blogspot.com/2012/05/masque-chapter-1.html?showComment=1338126118551#c781011864656970081

-

I clutched tightly onto my graduation hat, my nerves on high alert. My graduation robe was covering my short chiffon dress that reached a bit over my knees. It hugged my body and felt smooth against my skin as I waited impatiently for my name to be called out. Lulu was sitting next to me, her hand tightly clasped in mine.

"Shoug Al-X." My name blared out of the speakers, the voice sending excited chills down my spine.

"Shoug, yalla, dourich!" Lulu's eyes were teary, her hands trying to push me off of my chair. I quickly placed my graduation hat back onto my mahogany curled and hair sprayed hair. I stood up quickly, hurrying to the front where there were respectable people, waiting for me to grab my university diploma.

My hands were shaking, I was trying my best not to trip over the carpet with my Louboutin heels.

"Mabrouk 7bebty." The woman, in her suit and polished heels whispered as she handed me my diploma.

"Allah yibarik feech, thank you." I uttered the words shyly as I had to give each of them a hand shake.

I turned around, to look for S3ood in the crowd, sitting with his robe on. I found him far off, sitting next to Rakan, he had a huge smile on his face as he stared back at me.

"Smile for the camera!" A photographer called out, his Nikon camera's flash blinding my perfectly winged eyes.

It's been exactly two years. I'm finally 20. That sounds weird to say, I can't believe it. I actually graduated. I couldn't believe it when I graduated from high school and now, I still can't believe that I graduated from university.

I'm not a girl anymore, I'm a woman now, with a future ahead of her. S3ood and I have been engaged for these two years, I can still remember every detail of his proposal on my 18th birthday. And till today, my eyes tear up as I remember the day and how the emotions of happiness had filled up my inner self.

My parents hadn't known about S3ood's and I's relationship. M7md had suspicions of it but he let it go once I reminded him of his and Shaikha's relationship before they ever got married. My parents had agreed to let me become engaged at 18 if S3ood would marry me at the age of 20, where I'd be more mature and capable of becoming a wife.

S3ood was able to speak to me on the phone that day on my birthday whenever my parents weren't around in order to keep our relationship a secret. That genius.

I couldn't argue with my parent's plan, it was too perfect. I was able to live my teenage years, knowing I would have a future with S3ood and that nothing was able to take it away from me.

"Shoug, yalla bser3a! Your wedding is in a few hours." Lulu waved her hands in front of my face, bringing me back to reality.

"What?" I was dazed.

"Shfeech neseitay, 3rsich b3ad chem sa3a! We can't stay for the graduation dinner, yalla." Lulu grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the enormous ballroom that was filled with chandeliers and newly university graduated students.

"CLASS OF 2012!" The crowd cheered, I took off my graduation hat, throwing it up to the air, watching it fly with the other people's graduation hats, before Lulu had forced me out of the ballroom.

Fajer, Hawra'a and Shaikha were waiting outside of the ballroom.

"My baby!" Shaikha called out, pulling me in for a rib cracking hug. "You graduated."

"And you're pregnant." I laughed, poking her belly that was 4 months along.

My family approached me from behind. M7md, Khalid, Mom, Dad, Lisa-Anne and Reem with her daughter Danya were standing behind me. Narjis was still in the USA and couldn't come to my graduation.

I took turns to hug each member of the family. Mom had tears in her eyes as she hugged me as tight as she could.

"Ekberet benty." Dad said in a proud voice, I pressed my lips onto the top of his forehead, kissing it softly.

"Bas ana lal7een bentik, your youngest." I looked up at him, trying not to tear up myself.

"HEY, I am your second mama, no forget that!" Lisa-Anne pouted, crossing her arms over her formal dress. I laughed, causing my tears to stream down my face, probably ruining my eyeliner.

"Waii, entow filim drama. El bent 3ndeha 3rs b3ad 3 sa3at, lazem etrou7!" M7md cut in, trying to push me off towards my friends. Reem's little daughter ran up to my legs, hugging them.

"7bebty Danya." I leaned down to hug Reem's daughter, my niece. Her light hair was curled, her almond eyes that she got from her mom looking up at me with innocence.

"Khalti, enti 3arousa?" Danya muttered, Reem watching her daughter and laughing.

"Eee khaltich 3arousa, yalla Danouya lazem etrou7 Khalti Shoug." Reem gently pulled Danya off of the ground, picking her up, careful not to damage her daughter's little velvet dress.

"Yalla yal 3rousa." Lulu grabbed me by my hand, ushering me towards the limo.

"Bye Khalti!" Danya called out, her voice bringing joy to my heart before I closed the limo door, shutting out the view of my beloved siblings.

Lulu, Fajer, Hawra'a and Shaikha were sitting next to me, their faces still fresh with excitement from the graduation ceremony.

"We're coming now, did you bring the dress?" Lulu was speaking into her blackberry while her gorgeous long curls were framing her angular face. Her tone was serious, she looked like a wedding planner.

"Shawaga's getting married." Fajer sing-songed.

"Shoug and S3ood sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g." Hawra'a began to sing, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"First comes love." Fajer continued and I dug my face into my hands, embarrassed.

"Second comes marriage, which is happening right now." Shaikha sang as she started to do a little dance.

"And then comes a baby in a baby carriage." Lulu continued after she ended her call.

"Et7asesouny we're in kinder garden again." I laughed, blushing.

"Aww, Shoug you're blushing!" The girls pointed out.

"Chub, okay?" I laughed harder. "Turn up the volume." I yelled out to the limo driver, letting the music drown out our voices.

-

"Shoug, suck in your stomach." Lulu called out behind me as she was trying to zip the dress. We were back in my room, there were hordes of dresses over my bed, messing up my room. The girls were crowding my room, doing their make up before we had to leave the house.

"Kela minich gilteely akhith a dress that's not my size." I sucked in my stomach which let Lulu zip up the smooth dress.

"Shfeech? Lazem takhtheen shay '9ayij, it's your wedding! I couldn't let you buy the other dress, it was hanging off of your body, it didn't show off any of your curves." Lulu rolled her eyes.

"S3ood's mom will see me and-" I stopped midway once I turned around to look at myself in the mirror.

That girl in the mirror didn't look anything like me. She had long caramel-like hair that was curled up into an up do, a few tendrils of hair were let down. Her hair framed her cheek bones, bringing more attention to her beautiful wide eyes that were surrounded with curled eyelashes. Her dress fit perfectly against her body, as if it was a glove.

The dress had sparkling beads added to the fabric so in the light, you could catch glimpses of sparkles. I turned around and nearly gasped, the girls watched me as I stared at my back, the dress was backless and had crystals on the corners, enhancing my tanned skin. My lips were plastered in a shade of pale lipstick since my eyes were covered with smoked dark eyeshadow, framing the shape of my eyes.

I felt beautiful.

(Shoug's dress + hair: http://www.google.com.kw/imgres?start=159&um=1&hl=en&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1439&bih=650&tbm=isch&tbnid=pyJUakoJ7nhWOM:&imgrefurl=http://pinterest.com/karenbarry/wedding-dresses/&docid=WCbJ-UHwbjO_HM&imgurl=http://media-cache5.pinterest.com/upload/56506170294360760_oFGdJ1Tg_b.jpg&w=192&h=192&ei=iqi_T-W3HeOl0AXT9anMCg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=335&sig=111069961481065753768&page=6&tbnh=153&tbnw=153&ndsp=38&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:159,i:163&tx=83&ty=16 )

"Mashallah.." Fajer breathed.

Lisa-Anne ran into the room and joined the staring contest.

"Aww Shougi, you look soo cayoute!" Lisa-Anne rested a hand over her heart she stared at me. I gave her a small kiss over her cheek whilst I was smiling.

"Not done yet!" Lulu grabbed the diamond necklace my mom wore on her wedding day, wrapping it around my bare neck. Fajer added the diamond earrings to my ears whilst Hawra'a wrapped the diamond bracelet around my wrist.

"Okay, yalla yalla!" Lulu commanded. The girls each wore a a different multicolor dress that complimented their beautiful figures.

I followed Lulu and the girls out of the room, walked slowly downstairs as in not to ruin the dress and climbed back into the limo. Shaikha wouldn't stop staring at me in the car.

"Shaikha, shfeech etkhezeen? Did my hair get ruined?" I quickly reached for my hair, checking if anything was out of place.

"La2.." Shaikha's voice quivered, her bright eyes tearing up. The other girls were staring at me too, their eyes getting a bit teary.

"Ohoo! Al7een tabchoun?" My eyes were becoming teary too, I laughed at myself. The girls laughed too, their tears spilling over.

"Teghayertay Shoug." Shaikha spoke up as she dabbed her eyes, I did the same, careful to not ruin my make up.

"I hope that's a good thing." I giggled nervously.

"You're truly a woman now." Shaikha said, her smile widening.

-

The ballroom was filled with women. S3ood's mother was sitting in one of the tables in front of the seat I had to sit on. I was overwhelmed with the amount of eyes staring down at me and my dress, inspecting every little part of me. I greeted every person that came in, smiling and thanking them for the kind words. Even Basma, an old high school friend, was able to take a flight to Kuwait to be able to be present at my wedding.

 Reem was holding onto little Danya, I couldn't help but smile at Danya's adorable little peach dress.

I desperately missed S3ood, I had to wait till it was time for him to come and I was growing impatient.

"Mama, wein khalti?" Danya asked Reem, I could hear their conversation since they were sitting nearby.

"Kahya 7abeebty, shiftay el 3arousa? Hathee Khalti Shoug." Reem held onto Danya, bringing her up to me.

"La Mama, hathee cinderella." Danya looked confused, her eyes lighting up when she was placed onto my lap.

"Ana mu cinderella baby girl." I laughed, kissing Danya's soft cheeks.

"Khalti Shoug? Hathee entay?" Danya's grey eyes widened in shock as she heard the nickname I always tended to call her.

"Eee 7bebty, 3yal mnu?" I said. Reem laughed along as she watched us.

"Banat, lebsow e7jabkom!" I heard my mother yell out. The girls quickly covered up their over baring bodies, not showing a shed of skin.

My heart began to race. S3ood was about to enter.

Lulu hurried over to me, she had a 3abaya over her dress and a lipstick in her hand.

"Lifesaver." I breathed out in relief as Lulu applied more lipstick over my lips and perfecting my make up.

"Yalla, your husband's coming." Lulu winked at me before leaving my side. I nervously waited and watched the large doors in front of me being opened.

I could have sworn my heart skipped a beat once I saw S3ood. His face was cleanly shaven, his eyes sparkling and he was wearing a dishdasha, looking handsome. His muscular shoulders were clear and obvious, even under his clothes.

S3ood's eyes met mine and his smile widened. He mouthed "Wow" and didn't tear his eyes off of me. His father was right behind him, with Rakan, Saleh and his brother Wahab.

S3ood greeted everyone but he did it in a hurry, he nearly ran up to my side to sit right next to me. I had my eyes down on the ground, suddenly too shy to look at him. Before S3ood sat right next to me, he planted a kiss over my forehead, causing me to blush like hell.

"Shoug?" S3ood asked once he was seated right besides me, his thigh up against mine.

"Mmm?" I noticed more eyes were on us now, watching our every move. S3ood scooted closer to me so he could whisper into my ear.

"Do you know how beautiful you look right now? You're always beautiful but wow, just.. wow Shoug." S3ood's breathing became a bit heavier and I felt it up against my skin. My cheeks blushed in response.

"Thank you." I shyly said, turning around to finally meet his eyes. "You don't look too bad yourself."

"I look sexy, no?" S3ood teased, giving me a wink. I laughed and my nerves melted away. S3ood had an effect to make me feel comfortable, even in the most awkwardest and shyest situations.

"Yes, very sexy." I laughed again.

"I love you. I've loved you from the first day I saw you and I'll love you till my last breathing day. Only death can steal my love away." S3ood sneaked his fingers closer to mine, his fingers intertwined with mine. The gaps in between my fingers fit perfectly with his.

"And I'll love you today, tomorrow and till our days are over. I'll even love you better if we end up in heaven together." I wasn't shy anymore. It didn't feel like a hundred eyes were watching us, it felt like S3ood and I were the only two people in the whole entire room.

S3ood's eyes kept roaming around over my dress and skin, even when people were speaking to him, S3ood kept his eyes on me, never taking them off of me, even if it was for just a millisecond. I felt loved.

Our wedding cake was tall, it had two flavors, red velvet and vanilla. The cake had numerous red roses that surrounded the cake, giving it a taste of my favorite colour.  (the cake: http://www.cakecreationsbyamy.net/images/Wedding%20Red%20Roses.jpg)

S3ood had his hand over mine as we cut the cake with the large steel knife. While my eyes were on Lulu and Rakan being extra cozy to each other, S3ood grabbed a handful of cake and pressed it up against my right cheek.

"Aaah!" I was caught by surprise. The crowd laughed and I laughed a long.

"You little devil." I grabbed a bigger handful of cake, stuffing it up against his cheek when he was too busy laughing with the crowd.

"Heey!" S3ood called out, he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me up against him. S3ood leaned over, my face covering his as he pressed his lips against my cake covered cheek, eating some of the icing off of my cheek. I blushed beat red, I smacked his shoulder and he chuckled in response, enjoying how shy I was.

He didn't take his arm off of my waist, his arm felt warm against the cool material of my wedding dress and it made me feel safe.

"Shrayich ne6la3 al7een?" S3ood whispered into my ear.

"Didn't they say we'd leave in an hour?" I whispered back once the people were busy eating up their red velvet and vanilla cake.

"Rules were made to be broken galbi." S3ood had a devilish smile on his face. He grabbed my hand and pulled me along to the back of the ballroom. There was an exit door at the back and we took the door to leave.

I blew a kiss to the girls who caught us trying to escape, they laughed at us and Lulu gave me a wink from far as she was sitting close to Rakan, their hands clasped in each other's under the chairs.

"Wein benrou7?" I asked S3ood. We were supposed to travel to the Maldives tomorrow morning for the honeymoon.

"Bitshoufeen." S3ood had a cardigan in his hand, he wrapped it over my bare shoulders, his hands warming up my skin.

He guided me to a Ferrari Enzo yellow sports car. (car: http://automotiveengines1.com/ferrari-enzo-yellow-sport-car/ferrari_enzo_yellow_soprt_-car/)

I gasped once I noticed S3ood unlocking the car.

"S3ood, hathee sayartik?" My mouth was hanging open.

"Maybe." S3ood grinned, opening the passenger car for me. I climbed into the soft material of the car, letting S3ood close the door besides me.

S3ood hurried over to the driver's seat and started up the engine. The Ferrari made a rumbling sound that excited me.

I noticed the girls running out of the ballroom to watch S3ood and I. Lulu waved from far while Rakan was standing next to her. Shaikha and M7md were laughing at Hawra'a, who was being shy around her crush Ali. Fajer kept shouting "DEEROW BALKOM!"

S3ood pressed hard on the break before driving out of the parking space. We were on the road now,  S3ood was driving slow and I was growing impatient.

"S3ood, asra3!" I nagged.

"Asra3? Ma etkhafeen?" S3ood asked, his tone playful.

"Why would I be scared when I'm with you?" I looked at him, acting confident. S3ood pressed on the pedal, causing the car to go over the speed limit. The rush of adrenaline slithered into my veins, my heart felt like it was about to slide up my throat.

I ended up screaming as S3ood was speeding, I quickly shut my eyes, feeling the excitement and fear. I felt the car slow down and stop. The next thing I felt were a pair of lips over mine.

My cheeks reddened as I become shocked, S3ood's lips were pressed up against mine, the softness of them calming my nerves. I opened my eyes once I couldn't feel S3ood's lips anymore, I found that S3ood had parked near a tree and his face was inches away from mine.

"I was waiting too long for that." S3ood's breath tickled my lips.

"I was too." I whispered back shyly. S3ood pressed his lips back onto mine again, silencing me. I felt his smile against mine once more before he pulled away from my lips. The kiss was addictive, it felt too good.

"Ha 7ubi, asra3?" S3ood's cheeks were red too and I couldn't help but laugh as he started the car again.

"Asra3!" I clutched tightly onto his hand, squeezing his masculine fingers as he pressed down onto the pedal. S3ood gave me one last dimpled smile, his eyes full of love before he forced the car to go faster.

And then, the road swallowed us up, the bright car speeding towards our new future.


-

SUMMARY:


After a year, Shoug had opened her own art gallery. S3ood was working for his father's company and both of them had a little boy called Yousef. Rakan and Lulu had gotten engaged on Shoug's wedding night. Rakan and Lulu are now married. Shaikha had her baby with M7md, the little girl's name is Mais. Reem got pregnant again, she's expecting another baby girl. Fajer became a petrol engineer and had a crush on her fellow employee Bader. Khalid married his cousin Ghazal and has a son. Ali finally confessed to Hawra'a that he loved her and were planning to get engaged. Faisal was still in prison. No one heard about Nour and Jaber for years, they practically disappeared. Lisa-Anne is still living, she's in her 60's and still her wild self.