"let the trials bring out the hidden fighter in you. not the devil - sulaymaan"

Sulaaymaan felt like he could loose his nerve if he didn't turn away from her after saying those words .

He was honest and in that moment , he had lost his temper for a while .

"Please be careful . If you feel like you can't continue , let me know alright ?"

She weakly nodded and her eyes looked at him questioningly . Before she could ask whatever it was that was conflicting his thoughts , he turned around and left her baffled .

Fifteen minutes later , the man Aasiq had clapped his hands together and an encouraging smile from him lifted her mood a little .

"We might as well get started now ."

Faaris waved at Afra and she nodded curtly .

Within a span of a minute , he had jogged to side across from her , a purse smile on her lips .

He moved closer and leaned across her ear .

"We will be carrying those instruments around . There's a high chance of being able to restore many more bugs . And the other equipments , are for further analysis in case we find something else too ."

As he moved away , her eyes fell upon Aasiq having a hushed conversation with Sulaaymaan whose face had lined with worry . She figured they probably were discussing what Faaris had just told her too .

"So , you haven't contacted anyone for weeks now at home , have you ?"

There was a scolding tone in his voice as his eyes searched hers for an answer . When she stood silently , and sighed instead , holding a hand against her abdomen , his eyes flickered to her hand and back to her face .

"What's wrong ?"

She gulped and felt her insides burst into a turmoil . Faaris continue to stare at her and she sighed defeatedly .

"I..... gashed myself with....a knife ."

She peaked glances at him through her lashes and held her head down .

His face flickered to her abdomen and rested there for a few seconds .

"You....what ?"

Afra pressed her eyes shut and prepared herself to hear it from him . Faaris may have been quite the sarcastic and soft hearted man , but if anyone ever behaved carelessly , he wouldn't stand still .

She squinted her eyes open and noticed everyone turned in their direction .

"You....Afra , do you realize what you've done ? How can you be so careless ? You are not a six year old to have plunged a knife into your abdomen . Heck , even Mahreen can handle knives better than you !"

His voice had risen and she did not dare to meet his vision .

She held her breath and wriggled her fingers , hoping to have him rattled by someone else . It was hard enough to deal with everything all alone and in that situation , she could nearly feel her tears blur her vision .

About five agonizing minutes later , he spoke up again . This time his voice was soft and composed .

"How bad is the injury ? Did you get checked by a doctor ? You must've lost a lot of blood , correct ?"

"I am alright Alhumdulillah . Yes I was checked up by a doctor and was given about ten to twelve stitches . I'm on antibiotics at the moment and I'm doing well . Alhumdulillah ala kulli haal ."

She spoke , the ghost of a smile on her face . It had seem to get that because he had tolerated the news well , all was back to normal .

    But when Faaris crossed his arms tightly across his chest , his eyes widening peculiarly , her smile faltered back to a frown .

She threw her arms up in the air , rolling her eyes . Trying everything in her power to not burst into another fit .

"Faaris , shouldn't we just leave this drama for some other time ? There's something more important that must be looked into ."

The dynamic had shifted slightly between them . Faaris now shook his head , muttering a few words of how she was to have a babysitter by her side and scurried past her .

She watched his back until he got involved in a light conversation with one another guy .

Aasiq loudly cleared his throat , motioning everyone to get closer to him .

"Miss Afra — as I'm presuming is your good name — will have Faaris and Younus by your side . And of course the rest of the guards will be following along . But you're the major target , and we can't risk it if anything during our survey attacks you out of the blue ."

His voice was so slow that Afra had to strain her ears . When even then , she had missed out the last part she looked at Faaris and shrugged helplessly . He blinked his eyes and held a hand reassuringly as Aasiq continued .

"Please do know that we need to stay alert at all times . This is a large mansion and there's plenty of space too for a person and maybe even a weapon to hide anywhere ."

She nodded as everyone else did and backed up .

Aasiq then took ahold of two instruments and motioned the other men on the ground to take up each an instrument . Sulaaymaan was asked to accompany him and show around the place while Faaris and Younus — a man with a comforting smile — slid by either of her sides .

"He needs you to stay alert at all times . You are already injured ."

Faaris instructed her and Younus nodded curtly .

"Even if someone does attack you , it could be fatal to your life since you're already dealing with a severe gash ."

She snuck a glance at him and saw him pull out a gun from a holster across his waist .

This is going to be difficult .

"Faaris ? Psst ."

She whispered , trying to not alert Younus . She only wanted to let it out to him .

"Faaris ?"

He abruptly turned around and peered at her .

"What is it ?"

She sucked in a deep breath and when she found her voice , she spoke with uncertainty .

"Am I going to die ? I haven't said my goodbyes to anyone yet ."

Her gaze fell at the gun Younus held before she turned around with a nervous sigh .

Everyone around started to chuckle lightly and the atmosphere seemed to lighten up fairly . She pursed her lips embarrassingly since she had ended up speaking louder than necessary to get through Faaris .

"No Miss Afra , we're going to protect you with our lives . For now , in shaa Allah , you'll have time to prepare for your farewell ."

Aasiq remarked from over his shoulder and a small smile tugged on the corners of her lips .

There were so many people trying to protect her .

She peered over her shoulder and made out five men in addition to the other six to her front and the two on her sides .

"About thirteen people are guarding me !"

Afra squeaked a little and clasped her hands together. Of course she was distraught and her gash felt like it was ostructing each move of hers , but the smiles and enthusiasm from all the people around her ignited hope in her heart .

Younus chuckled and looked over at Faaris who winked at him .

"Can we , like , maybe take a selfie ? I could be famous for being the crowd stopper ."

Everyone stopped promptly and turned over to give her a look .

"What ?! You guys could get famous for protecting a Cinderella ."

When they didn't react , she groaned and crossed her feet .

"Alright , alright ! Fine . You'll get your Cinderellas y'know . Who would not love that ?! I mean you all are such fine looking gentlemen and a little publicity wouldn't hurt ."

She gazed at everyone and couldn't help but smile widely at how they all either froze or blinked the awkwardness away .

"I guess the real Afra is back ! Our job is about to take a turn for the worse you guys ."

Afra glared at Faaris and rolled her eyes . When she turned back around to get going , her eyes landed on Younus whose ivory cheeks were stained with a dark crimson red .

"Oh my god , Younus is blushing !"

She squealed so loudly that Aasiq whirled around from his position and hurled a gun out in front of him .

When the words finally seeped into his head , he cleared his throat nervously and focused on everyone's expression before slowly retreating back and lowing his gun back into the holster .

"Younus is blushing you guys ! Does that mean you've already got someone who is there for you ?"

Younus lowered his head and turned about the other side , as Afra nearly pounced on him from each corner as he tried to pry away .

"Okay okay , Miss Afra , let's do this ."

Afra and Younus looked up at Aasiq about five minutes later .

"We will tease and mock him and how about we do that with everyone else ? But for now , we need to move along ."

She scrunched her nose , side glancing at Younus who had his head ducked down while some of the other men were nudging their elbows into his ribs and looked back at Aasiq .

"Fine. "

She muttered with a groan and held a hand against her abdomen .

"Okay , boys , back to your positions ."

Aasiq snapped his fingers and everyone immediately shuffled to their initial spots , the smiles long faded from their lips and their bodies erect .

Her eyes skimmed across the people who were standing in front of her and her gaze stopped on Sulaaymaan's back .

Her eyes narrowed hard as she tried to make out a red gash that was slightly showing off through his thoub . He didn't put on a vest most certainly since she could make out his bare back .

A thin — almost like a jagged line — ran along the left side of his back . It hadn't come to her notice earlier but now that she had seen it , she had decided to not let it slide .

She was going to confront him .

Sulaaymaan smiled from ear to ear when she kept wiggling her brows at Younus .

He realized that she had started to relax and warm up . The incidents were difficult to get over which was obvious , but she had seemed to forget those for a while .

And he was thankful for that .

"Sir , let's start from over this Hallway ."

Aasiq pointed towards the hallway leading to the kitchen and he nodded , stretching a hand .

"Yes please ."

As they walked further into the hallway , Aasiq instructed them all to come to a halt into almost the middle .

All the men dispersed into different directions with the equipment and Faaris and Younus stuck on either sides of them .

He was sandwiched with Afra and while checking up on his bandaged arm that was stained with blood , he felt Afra slip a little to the other side , creating more space between them .

And before he could try to step aside to let her relax , someone's shout paralyzed him .

"Sir !"

Sulaaymaan jolted his head up , finding another man walk towards him in hurried strides .

He cupped his palms on Sulaaymaan's ear and whispered .

"Sir , we found about two other instruments stuck behind those wall lamps . The equipment has detected only about these two in this hallway , so we are going to assume that is it ."

Sulaaymaan bit his lip , feeling goosebumps line over his arms . If there were two just in that hallway , it frightened him to think how many more could be placed in the whole mansion .

He gulped and faced the man with a shaky smile .

"Okay.....thank you ."

He nodded curtly and jogged back to his position . About ten minutes later , they had moved into the kitchen .

As per the discussion , they were left alone with Faaris and Younus again while the group searched the area .

Sulaaymaan held his breath , his eyes following the movements of the people . He could not believe that his house , the very place he had tried to sought solace in , had been so closely kept a watch on .

He kept taking in deep breaths , licking his dry lips as every second passed by .

A hand brushed against his and rested over his forearm .

"Are you alright Sulaaymaan ?"

He turned to face Afra and when her eyes met his , he broke into a large smile in hopes of reducing whatever was causing her fret .

However she kept looking at him and his smile disappeared . It was already difficult for him to crack a large smile to subdue her panic , but she didn't seem to acknowledge that .

"Sometimes it's okay to not smile for the sake of others Sulaaymaan . Be selfish for once and show your resentment ."

Sulaaymaan stood awestruck , lost for words . And then like the sun that peaks off from the fading clouds , her smile illuminated his downfall . Of course he didn't see her , but only her eyes .

And he found a true smile in them .

Had it not been for that , he would have become deaf by his heart beat pounding in his ears .

"But then again Sulaaymaan ." She turned back to stare into the space , crossing her arms across her abdomen ."What you or what I am going through is nothing . Our trails are barely a quarter of what the others have been put to test with . I don't know about you but my heart cries for the Ummah suffering in this world ."

Sulaaymaan watched her intently , her eyes so serene and peaceful that he felt like he was surrounded by nothing but her .

Her eyes were his Jannah on earth .

Tears brimmed and fell softly as he continued to watch her .

"I have seen pregnant women being stampede in Rohingya . I have heard the cries of a mother who had to watch her months old infant being killed . I saw a little girl who kept calling out to her father . I have seen the children of Syria loosing their voices by the impact of witnessing their parents being massacred . I have seen the people of Gaza praying in the open grounds while the bombs struck buildings and befell over their families ." She sniffed and ducked her head , brushing her tears with the lad of her thumb .

"And yet , I or anybody else haven't seen enough . We could watch or be alerted only about what was shown to us . So many other stories have been buried with the sisters and brothers . No one would ever be able to hear their struggles and cries and screams anymore ."

Sulaaymaan gulped , feeling his heart squeeze with ache . His family — and Afra — meant the world to him and he could not even bear to imagine them going through ordeals like those .

"That's not really it Sulaaymaan ! There are people , just normal people dying of hunger and thirst while another part of the world wastes food . When you ponder over how much they lack of what we have been blessed with , you might as well end up crying endlessly to your lord over how beseechlees you've been ."

Sulaaymaan's mouth started to dry . There was so much he had what others could only dream of .

"Sulaaymaan....in life you might have to go through various other struggles . Because this life is nothing but a test . A race . A trial . My point being , just don't loose hope . A believer never looses faith in the will of his Lord ."

She turned to give him another smile and all he could manage to do was gulp and shift his gaze .

"I.... thank — "

"Sir !"

They both turned to face Aasiq jogging towards them .

His brows were pinched together but when he spotted Afra , he smiled cutely .

"Hi Miss Afra ."

Afra chuckled softly , blinking .

"Hi there Mr. Aasiq ."

With a curt nod , he leaned closer to Sulaaymaan and whispered urgently into his ear .

She watched in horror as Sulaaymaan hands instantly cupped his agape mouth .

Five minutes later , Aasiq moved back again bowing a little at Afra and retreating back to his job .

Afra's head snapped to Sulaaymaan .

"What did he say ?"

He bit his lip , sucking in air .

"About ten cameras and five PD's ."

Her jaw dropped . Thankfully her niqaab concealed that , but even then the panic was real .

He remained silent , his Adam's apple bobbing up and down every few minutes . She could see him tap his feet impatiently and alternatively clench and unclench his palms .

After about fifteen more minutes , they had packed up and were towards the other hallway . By this time , Sulaaymaan could not function properly . All of his thoughts and notions were buzzing with the recent revelations .

If his family was kept under such a close watch , how come he had been so blind ?

They moved along rather briskly , having found nothing but two CCTV's masked within the portraits that had been hung in the other hallway .

They worked for hours together , the whole time Sulaaymaan unable to focus on the mission at hand . There was a reason all those cameras and PDS were hidden . Maybe it could hold clues that could make things easier for them .

Or perhaps , he could catch sight of that threatener running about the whole mansion .

They continued on the first floor , extracting about twelve of those cameras and fifteen PDS . They pulled out about ten PDS from his room , alongside a few CCTV's hidden in the frame of the door , under his PC and secured into a nail that held the calendar .

Once his room was done , he practically ran off to Afra's . He couldn't wait to figure out what were the secrets that were hidden in her room .

"Sulaaymaan , I'm sort of afraid to face whatever is in my room ."

She hesitated a couple of more seconds , and Sulaaymaan sighed .

"Miss Afra , it's necessary to know what your room has in store for us . But if you feel like you cannot handle it , that be it then ! I'll just move along with them while you can wait with these boys here ?"

Afra nodded , mumbling a thank you .

He smiled and moved along , while Faaris and Younus stayed back .

Faaris rested his elbow against the wall and crossed his feet .

"So , how've you been doing Afra ? Did you throw your phone away or ate it ?"

Afra snickered , giving him a bored look .

"Can you not let me slide once ? I'm already worried sick here ."

He kept his face straight and broke into loud laughter a few seconds later .

"I just chose to live my life and BREATHE ."

Faaris shot her a crooked smirk .

"Yeah , I know right . What a nice way to live by destroying the peace of mind of your family . So proud of you ."

She rolled her eyes and heard him clap his hands with a sarcastic remark .

She gave up and turned to him with a sigh .

"It's hard enough to remember them . I don't think I can control myself if I end up talking to them . Besides , I think I need to try to deal independently with my struggles without involving my entire clan ."

Faaris changed his position , thrusting his hands into his pockets . After staring at her for another few seconds , he shrugged with a toothy grin .

"I'm just glad you're finally going to let go of Inaya . FINALLY ! I can have her all to myself ."

His laughter boomed loudly and Afra couldn't help but crack into giggles .

"You're so mean you Idiot !"

She grimaced and he pouted .

"Love you too lil sis ."

« Assalaamualaikum Princesses ❤ .

First off , I apologize deeply for such a delay . I'm so so sorry . ❤ .

Things have been stressful lately and it's difficult to cope up . But then again , Alhumdulillah ala kulli haal . ❤ .

If any of you are going through trials and tough times , remember that ALLAH is watching you and he is the teacher . He is aware of the pain but he wants you to have the fruit of it . He thinks you deserve it . So stay strong and patient . Show him that you're worth it . ❤ .

Jazak'ALLAHU QAIRAN KATHEERAN for all the Endless support . ❤ . I cannot express my gratitude in words . So I remember to include all you lovely ladies in my prayers .

In Shaa ALLAH , I'll see you all soon . I love you ALLLLLLLLLLL a LOTTTTTTTT . ❤❤ .

Lots and lots of love ,
Me ;) »