"isn't it beautiful how much life and soul my heart has found in yours? - derek"

Afra couldn't take the challenges posed to her anymore. Whether Waasay was the person or not, she did not know. Burning in her heart was only one thing that was ruining her peace.

He was surely the man !

She had been served with a slice of the double layered red velvet cake in a small platter. Inaya had suggested she join her cousins and spend some time with them since they were leaving soon.

Afra didn't like that one bit. However she figured it was best to just let them be since she was too worried to be able to sit in a place.

Keeping her eyes absently on the plate while poking into the cake, she wondered why — if Waasay was the threatener — was he doing this.

Unable to shrug those thoughts off, she flung her plate on the nearest table and hurried over the hallway leading to the kitchen.

She had heard quite some noises — excluding the boisterous excitement in the hall — from that area though she couldn't perceive why.

Carrying her gown had proven to be a very powerful task. Yet she knew she couldn't stop now. Not when they were a step behind in putting the last piece of the puzzle together.

Stopping at the kitchen doors that were partially left open, she peeked in to look at all of Aasiq's team. They were huddled close together, discussing some private topics in a quiet tone.

Not having the will to stand back and overhear, she threw the doors open and walked in.

Their faces were painted with unexplainable doubt and stress and the aura around them did justice to the same.

"Oh Miss Afra."

Aasiq sighed and shook his head.

She frowned and skimmed her eyes through all of them.

"Why are you guys so worried? Your faces look pale."

She commented, urging for an explanation.

After gazing at everyone for approval, he straightened his back and faced Afra.

"Waasay is not the real one ma'am. He is just a puppet. I...." He paused, eyeing a man beside him,"...... Idrees heard him speak...to.... Er....the one we're trying to hunt down."

Afra shifted her gaze to the man Idrees — shorter with thick beard — and nodded her head at him.

Feeling exhausted — too pressurised — she turned around and pinched her temples. A minute of keeping her eyes closed made her feel more confident and ready.

She turned around and everyone focused their attention at her.

"Can I know what you heard Mr Idrees ?"

He nodded.

"Ma'am, I was a few steps behind him so I could hear everything clearly. He kept begging to....um...not be killed. It took me a moment to conclude that he wasn't lying about the dog bite remark."

Afra nearly collapsed. She looked at him in surprise.

"I see....— "

Her voice softened and she thoughtfully began to say her assumptions aloud.

"We now have this anonymous main guy who's been hiding behind Waasay. Which leads us to the belief that this cousin may or may not be wilfully involved in this master game — "

Idrees interrupted, holding up a finger.

"That was not it. This man seemed to have been threatening Waasay to carry out all the tasks. All the accidents that were caused were carried out by Waasay but it was on the behalf of this master gamer."

Afra held a finger to her chin.

"That leaves us with the fact that Waasay is just involved to create ruckus for us."

Aasiq nodded, crossing his arms.

"As a matter of concern ma'am, I do have a theory."

Everyone snapped their gazes at him and Afra moved a little closer.

"This master planner can be someone close enough to Sulaaymaan to have an idea of the whereabouts of this mansion?"

Afra's eyes shot open.

"You mean the guards? Sulaaymaan —"

Aasiq waved a hand and quitened her down.

"I meant his family."

Sulaaymaan had sat down on the edge of his bed, bent over his knees and nervously tapping his feet on the ground.

The Ceremony had finished an hour earlier and Sulaaymaan had helped Afra walk upto their room. There were about thirty five stairs that led up to the first floor. Perhaps the whole hustle and bustle of the evening had exhausted her to the point that she kept swinging forcefully on her feet.

He had to support her with his arms and lead her up the stairs. It would had been much more comfortable for her had she let him carry her.

Now — being seated for the last thirty minutes on the bed — he was panicking and wondering if she was alright inside.

What if she had collapsed?

Blowing quick breaths out of his mouth, he walked up and down the room in agitation. Every minute or so, he'd feel like she called out to him and rush forward.

The door clicked and he snapped his neck. As the door creaked wide enough for a face to peek through, he relaxed in his place.

"Er, Sulaaymaan?"

"Yes Miss Afra? Are you alright?"

He walked up close, finding her face down and not meet his eyes.

"Yeah yes, I'm fine Alhumdulillah. However....um....can you help me a little?"

Sulaaymaan nodded.

"Of course I will."

She smiled a little.

"Thank you. So, hm, can you help me with the zipper?"

Sulaaymaan blinked. He cleared his throat and nodded hesitantly.

"Sure."

She opened the door wide and dragged her dress out as it rested widely across the floor.

Before he could even compliment her on how beautiful she looked, she had turned around, pulling her hair to a side.

He hurried up and held on to the zip that rested a little below the nape of he neck. Mostly as to why she couldn't get it undone. As he pulled it down, the back of the dress fell to the sides, exposing a little of her shoulders.

Not wanting to make her feel more uncomfortable, he shut his eyes.

"You can go and get changed."

"Thank you."

She mumbled and hastily walked to the bathroom and shut the door.

When it felt like she was gone, he turned around and released his breath. Trudging over to the balcony doors, he swung open the doors and walked into the warm summer night. It was humid: the proof of it found over the railing laden with beads of water.

Pursing his lips together, he drew in the lightness of the air that surrounded him. Resting his arms over the railing and leaning over, he relaxed a little. The events lately had changed him pretty much devastated. Nothing was working out and the threatener was making him go insane.

"Hey."

He stood up straight, abruptly turning around. His eyes fell over Afra who was dressed up in some pyjamas and a scarf carelessly positioned over her head.

"Hi."

She gave him a tight smile and slowly stood by his side, her head low. For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Each one occupied with their own thoughts.

However Sulaaymaan could see that Afra was not as usual. She was happily enjoying the tree and smiling down upon the cats that stretched over the grass.

The air today was comfortable and had a soothing relief. It wasn't just the time and the place that mattered. To him, the company posed a lot of cruciality.

He carefully looked at her, smiling and waving her arms around a cat whose eyes were widened at her.

"You like cats?"

He asked and she briefly turned to him before returning to her original position and smiled.

"I love animals in general. But specifically, I adore cats."

He smiled at her, but she barely even noticed it.

A few more minutes she kept calling out to the cat and giggling at the noises it made. Sulaaymaan watched as she slumped in disappointment when the cat curled into a ball and fell asleep.

She turned to him with a large grin and he instantly smiled back.

"By the way, just letting you know, you're an amazing example to the youth today. Very impressive and Ma Shaa Allah."

"Thank you very much, but it's nothing to be complimented on."

She shook her head.

"I suppose I can say that we don't find people like you anymore Sulaaymaan."

He turned to her and she nodded with a softness. Contrary to her reaction, Sulaaymaan hardly could understand how gently she was letting her voice come out.

"I'll be honest with you, I never expected to be the wife of a man as you."

His mouth fell open and she giggled lightly.

"But tell me one thing. If I were to fall in love with you, would you end up changing one day?"

She looked at him sincerely and turned around to face the sky.

"Somebody told that it doesn't take much long for a friend to become an enemy."

Sulaaymaan gazed at how enchantingly the moon emphasised her politeness and innocence.

If any other man looked at her, they'd not come to terms with how Sulaaymaan had described her.

No she didn't have the best hair. It was pretty wavy and fell over her shoulders in dry curls.

Her eyes were blue ; magnificent and majestic. Yet they were just as that and nothing more.

Her lips were pale. Sometimes they were a little filled with life.

Her face was ordinary. The one that you might find passing down the street. But hers just was meant to be extraordinary to him.

Pure and filled with simplicity, dedication and commitment.

"Miss Afra — "

She frowned, turning to face him fully.

"Hey, I've been noticing this for quite a while. Don't call me that. Why the formality?"

He bit the inside of his cheeks.

"The women of Islam need to be treated as Queens."

Afra smiled and blinked her eyes at him.

"That's very kind of you. However I'd suggest you try to do that in a different manner. Like maybe give me a little assistance when I'm tired or help me around with the chores."

Sulaaymaan blankly looked at her but when she smiled openly at him, he couldn't resist his.

"Mis....no, I mean, A...Af...Afra?"

"That's more like it!"

She patted his shoulder and turned around, fumbling in her pocket, pulling out something tiny, unwrapping it and popping it in her mouth.

She hurriedly did so with another and extended it right in front of his eyes, showcasing her tongue that held a small chocolate piece.

"My dad got these from Jeddah. These are legit the best ones I've ever tasted. They're called rock chocolate."

She eyed the one in her palm and reached out for it. Turning back around, she left him to look deeply at the small piece of rock like looking candy. He popped it into his mouth and smiled as it melted instantly.

"It's delicious. Jazak'Allahu Qairan Katheeran."

"Wa Antum fa Jazak'Allahu Qairan Katheeran."

He turned to stand just as her and tapped his fingers against the metal of the railing.

"Can I say you something?"

She didn't look at him but nodded.

"Haven't you ever wondered about my father? Or why he wasn't ever in this house? Or which girl I talked about always?"

By now she had stopped savouring the chocolate and had faced him with a worried frown.

"I.... didn't want to come off as intrusive. It's none of my business after all."

He sighed.

It was something she needed to know. Enough information was kept from her and he didn't have the capability of handling it anymore. Whether or not it would be a wise decision he didn't know.

He did wrong and it had to be corrected.

Now or never.

"I.....was seventeen until when things were smooth and life was like a fantasy."

He began, facing the garden absently while feeling her gaze scrutinise him from a corner.

"It was a disaster once it happened. My father wasn't quite the family man and was often abusive and alcoholic. But mama never let that affect me too much as a child. And the Triplets were just too young. One day we received news that he had killed my mother's brother, Yousuf."

She gasped.

"Khaltu Yousuf had lost his wife when his daughter Yusra was born. It was two years before my birth, which meant that Yusra my cousin was two years younger. However somehow that didn't keep us from being together all the time."

He smiled painfully, the nostalgic memories that had stolen his smile playing through his head like a movie.

"Yusra — during that time — had gone away for a Field trip to the hill station of Abha. And the day she returned we had a burial commenced. The shock was so intense and sharp that she never ever smiled the same way."

He took a glimpse at her and gave her a smile as a tear slipped across his cheek.

"We had Yusra stay with us while my father's case was being dealt with. It was a given that he'd escape it yet we had this hope that it would not be the case. He returned and harsher than ever."

He shut his eyes, taking a few moments longer to gather his courage.

"She was found dead in her tub, stab wounds over her stomach."

Afra mumbled a few words, her mouth open and tears flowing down her face.

"And a day later, my father himself was found hanging down the ceiling with a suicide note. Everything had occured very quickly and left us all in a blur. That was where my downfall began."

She stretched a hand out and rested it over his chest.

"I lost my sanity at one point. Nightmares clung to me like the dark sky that lay unmovable. Hauntings of their deaths had a horrifying impact on my teen years. Yusra's beautiful smile, my uncle's naughty pranks and my father's body with bulging eye sockets."

His voice had raised, his lips quivering with the unshed pain.

"A few years later — five to be exact — I received messages from an anonymous number claiming that they knew of what had happened to me. Things started from there and it ended up with this threatener willing to go to lengths to break me."

"How, then, can you think that I'm amazing? How can you say that, I won't be a monster like my father? How is not possible that I might end up hurting people who I love? What is the guarantee that I am even worth being wherever I am today?"

He collapsed to the floor, sobbing while facing the ground.

Afra got down to the floor instantly, wrapping her arms around him and patting his hair down as he cried.

"Because you're a different person. You decide who or how you want to be Sulaaymaan. Your parents, never have and never will determine who you are as a human. You become what you choose to be. And right now, you're the most amazing man I've ever been with."

« Assalaamualaikum Princesses ❤

How are you all doing?

I hope this chapter was worth it.

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Can't thank you all enough for your never ending support and love.

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Much much love,
Me ;) »