"Then why did you say that I couldn't go? Are we a family now?"
Arsia's pair of round black eyes stared straight at Salim as she asked her question just like a prosecutor. Both her face and her voice showed disregard. Displaced the anger that was shown earlier.
Instead of being offended Salim felt consoled by it. Arsia for sure had a very interesting personality. The question that Arsia had just asked sounded very bold and challenging to Salim's ears. Salim had to lower his face just to giggle because of it.
Unlike Salim, Behram was raging to hear Arsia's impudence. Behram didn't know what was on Salim's mind and what he felt about Arsia so Behram considered his master's silence as a form of Salim's generosity towards Arsia's rude manner.
"You shameless girl! How dare you say something low like that to an Ottoman Prince!" Behram shouted in a trembling voice as his breath was too short for his anger.
Arsia turned towards Behram. Without hesitation, she snorted at Behram and causing him to shudder in horror at her attitude.
"I've been living here for almost four years but I never see any madmen hanging around," with resentment Arsia replied to Behram's words just now.
After, Arsia grumbled to herself, "No wonder Yıldıray ran away from here. No one wants to live with any madmen. I'm the only one who's unlucky to have to deal with them."
Thanks to that rude girl named Arsia, Behram was doing something that he never thought he would do now. He tightened his body to the cupboard and attempted to climb it. In his old age, Behram without hesitation would do it as long as he could catch Arsia.
"Come here! How dare you insult our master!" Behram exclaimed with his flailing hands. He tried to grab Arsia's leg which was closest to him.
Above the cupboard, Arsia, who was already afraid of height, became frightened. "AARRGHHH!!! Go away you old squid! How dare you touch me!" she screamed. She was hysterical.
As the most serene person in that place, Salim had to mediate the conflict between the two immediately. Salim had to take Behram. He tried to pull his servant away from the cupboard. But Behram didn't give up.
"Let me go, My Lord! Let me give that rude girl a lesson!" Behram said while still gripping the sides of the cupboard.
"Behram, calm yourself please!" Salim exclaimed in a chaotic atmosphere.
Behram disobeyed his master. The more Salim tried to pull him, the stronger his grip on the cupboard became. Finally, the cupboard began to shift from its place and lost its balance.
Sensing the cupboard beginning to shake, Behram released himself in surprise. Salim was no less surprised than his servant. Within seconds the cupboard started to leaning. That thing was headed for its downfall, it was going to collapse.
As the cupboard went down, Arsia's screeching voice fulfilled the house. Her eyes were closed and her hands gripped the side of the cupboard tightly. Her body swooped down along with the cupboard that was about to hit the floor.
'I'm coming here to study and it seems like I will return home as 'the late'!', Arsia mourned herself.
A crashing sound was heard so loud around the house then. Followed by a breaking sound from the main door.
"Don't move!"
***
Arsia thought she would end up in the afterlife. But the reality brought her to the police station along with Salim and Behram, for sure.
Her face was filled with shame and anger. Through the tail of her eyes, she looked at Salim who was sitting right beside her. Her pair of black eyes cast a murderous gaze as Salim looked back at her.
Finding the demon-possessed Arsia, Salim quickly took his gaze from her and cast his gaze forward. Salim's face looked very awkward.
Next, Arsia turned to look at Behram. That old man -- the cause of all this chaos -- sat to Salim's left. Realizing Arsia's anger at him, Behram didn't dare to look at her at all.
"It's all because of you! If it wasn't for you guys I wouldn't have to be in the police station like this!" Arsia hissed out her anger at those two.
Behram, who had hidden behind Salim, turned his head. Irritated, he replied to Arsia with the same hiss, "Do you think this place suits us?"
"Of course! With no doubt!" Arsia replied.
"You ungrateful girl!" Behram barked. "You'd be dead if you hadn't been saved by My--" Behram stalled.
Salim immediately turned to Behram and glared at him when he heard Behram was about to address him as My Lord in public. Through the look of his eyes, Salim warned his servant.
'It's enough with Arsia assumed us as madmen. Don't make other people think the same!', that was how Behram interpreted Salim's meaningful gaze.
Behram nodded his head at Salim
as a sign that he understood him and then he returned to his position, leaving behind his quarrel with Arsia.
Deep in his heart, Behram felt guilty towards Salim. However, he did contribute to all the chaos that happened that day. Behram finally realized that he was too emotional while dealing with Arsia.
'I should have been more in control. Arsia is just an imprudent little girl who needs guidance', Behram regretted.
"You're insane! What saved?! It was you who would kill me!" Arsia nagged. But she didn't want to argue with Behram any longer.
Arsia pulled herself. Then she leaned her back against the back of the chair. Both of her arms were bent in front of her chest and her lips crumpled.
Before the cupboard completely collapsed, Salim had caught Arsia in his sling swiftly. Although in the end, Salim had to stagger because he lost his balance and they fell onto the carpet. Both fell with Arsia's position above Salim's body. She crashed Salim's body and landed on the man's broad chest. That was what Behram meant by Salim was saved Arsia.
The situation was so strange that it left the two speechless for a while. Salim and Arsia looked at each other without knowing what to do. Plus both of Salim's arms were tightly curled around her waist and locked Arsia in for a while.
Like it wasn't enough, the house was suddenly raided. Several people in uniform entered. Arsia couldn't remember how many of them because her mind was blank at that moment. But one of them must have been a woman. One of them yelled, "Don't move!"
Police.
So now there were truly fixed to each other. Salim and Arsia were forced to stay in their position without knowing why the police were there at such a late time.
That was how they ended up there, at the police station.
"Have you guys finished discussing?" asked the police that had been sitting in front of them since then. He looked so bored waiting for them.
"Yes, Officer. Go ahead, " Salim replied before Behram and Arsia. He worried that if the two were allowed to speak out then another fight would arise.
'That's enough', Salim thought.
The policeman watched them in turn before starting to speak. "We have received reports from people around about the commotion that occurred in your home," he explained.
"I'm not making any commotion, Officer. It's not my house anyway," Arsia denied.
"They heard a woman screaming," the policeman replied in a low voice. Then he turned to Salim and Behram. "Is there any woman among you besides her?"
Salim and Behram shook their heads quickly.
"We're real men, Sir," in a steady voice Salim added.
"B-but how could my voice reach them, Sir? The house is quite far from other buildings," Arsia defended herself.
"Then, are there other women?"
"N-no, Sir..." Arsia replied stammered.
"All right," the policeman said and began to type something on his computer.
'You're a dead girl! Will my name be on the report?!', Arsia panicked. She needed to do something.
Arsia leaned her body towards the policeman. "Sorry, Sir... Do you really have to write the report?"
Without looking at her the policeman replied, "Of course." After that, he stopped typing and turned to Arsia, "Your name?"
"B-but, Sir... That house is his," Arsia's forefinger quickly drifted towards Salim. Arsia and Salim stared at each other for a second. Arsia could see how Salim's pupils widened. He seemed opposed but Arsia didn't care.
'Because of you, I have to live all of this! And my name still has to be recorded in the police report? Oh, what luck!', Arsia growled inwardly.
"You don't have to engage me in all of this. Don't you, Sir?" Arsia sulked.
Still, with no expression, the police paid attention to them. Then he looked at Arsia, and said, "There is a suspicion about you doing transaction here."
"T-transaction? W-what transaction, Sir?" Arsia asked. Confusion seized her. She didn't understand what the policeman meant by it.
"Procuring," the police answered.
Arsia's lower jaw dropped when she heard that. She didn't understand how all of this happened to her. She was taken to the police station because she was considered disturbing the public peace and now there was a suspicion that she was procuring. How could that be?
"B-but I am here as a student, Sir. Let alone procuring, I even never abused my student residence permit to work," Arsia explained.
"But our officers found you in 'such a' position."
"That was a misunderstanding, Sir," Arsia answered desperately.
Then, Arsia turned to Salim asking for help. She wished him to explain their situation earlier. But that man and Behram were looking in their dictionary instead.
"What are you doing?" Arsia asked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing by now.
Salim pulled himself from the dictionary and turned to Arsia. "Looking for the meaning of procuring," he answered honestly.
Arsia covered her face with both of her hands. She was really desperate now. Neither Salim nor Behram could be counted on to help her. Those men didn't even seem to listen to the explanation from the police.
'What kind of person who doesn't know what procuring is?', Arsia lamented.
"Your name, Miss?" the police asked again.
Arsia lowered her hand. With a pitiful face said, "But I really didn't do it, Sir."
"Similar cases didn't happen once or twice. Strangers come here and abuse their residence permits to commit unlawful acts. If the allegation is proven true, you can be deported," said the police.
Hearing this, Arsia wanted to cry right then. 'If I get deported because of this problem, how should I explain it to my family? Also, my friends will be gossiping about me...', Arsia thought sadly.
Arsia knew she couldn't just sit still. She had to do something to save herself from this horrible accusation. She didn't want to end up as a disgrace to the family.
"Sir--"
But as Arsia opened her mouth, she had to accept the next surprise of her life.
"We're getting married, Sir. This lady is my fiance."