Chapter 3 - FIRST ENCOUNTER

OMNISCIENT

It was nighttime, Crown Prince Zafeer had just come back from the East wing, where the mosque was situated, and then headed to his chamber in the North wing with the palace guards trailing behind. Even though the place was far, he took the trouble of trekking to and fro because he was craving a walk to figure out what was happening to him.

Those dreamy coffee-brown eyes were so fascinating, he knew there must be a story behind them. He felt connected to them in some way, not that he could comprehend.

He entered his chamber, it was like a mansion on its own. The villa was so gigantic and looked new, it was built the way he ordered before he came back to Nigeria. The exterior was made of glass and solid cement screed, it was painted in different shades of grey.

When he entered the main house, he was impressed by the exquisite taste of his mother. She made sure everything was designed to his liking. In the living room, there was a set of black and golden royal settees, a golden royal console, and a showglass that was lighted up, showcasing different types of traditional incense wood which made him roll his eyes, his mother loved those scents.

He sat down and was about to switch on the 77-inch OLED LG television when a palace guard came and knelt in front of him.

"Your Highness, the messenger wants to meet you," The guard said with his head cascaded down.

"Let him in," Zafeer replied and rose from his supine position just as the said person came and bowed then handed him a file.

"Your highness, this is all the information I could gather about the girl, as you ordered earlier,"

"Leave then," Zafeer excused him and started reading the contents of the file.

"Marwa Kabeer Hassan, second year in student in the therapeutics department, works as a part-time waitress in a restaurant—" He was busy studying the file when something caught his attention.

"She hates royalty and the royals?" He muttered to himself, not knowing that someone heard him.

"Who hates us?" Junaid questioned with a cute frown.

"No one, just thinking of how to deal with the girl that a car in the convoy hit earlier," He answered and folded the file.

"You are hiding something from me, dear brother, I know you better," Junaid grinned mischievously.

"You don't know me," Zafeer defended himself.

"Okay, I don't know you but at least let me help you," Junaid dropped the stack of files in his hand and manoeuvred to where his best friend was sitting.

"I don't need your help," A grumpy Zafeer muttered.

"I know you don't need my help but let me see it," Junaid sighed. Zafeer rolled his eyes before giving him the file containing information about Marwa, including her pictures.

"She is so beautiful and hot," He nonchalantly grinned.

"Did you read well or were you just looking at her pictures?" Zafeer asked.

"Let me read, Crown Prince Zafeer," Junaid dramatically saluted before he read.

"Woah! This girl is unique and rare, Dude," Junaid gasped.

"She is not normal. How can a mentally unstable person be a therapist?" Zafeer rolled his eyes.

"You are the one that is abnormal here. How can you judge a person without getting to know who he or she truly is? I know for a fact that this girl will knock some sense into your head," Junaid argued and Zafeer glared at him but said nothing, he was in deep thought, he knew Junaid was right but his arrogance will not let him admit it.

"I want to exert my revenge on her but you are talking as if I want her to like me," He muttered.

"It all starts with the need to avenge," Junaid grinned widely.

"Shut the fuck up," He thundered.

"I do not like poor, rude people who take themselves very important when they are anything but that. She threw away the compensation, I need to teach her a lesson," Zafeer ranted, feeling the anger surge through his veins.

"You need to teach her a lesson, right?" His cousin-brother asked.

"You know I hate repeating myself," He sighed.

"Fine, have it your way then. If you are done planning your vengeance, you can take a look at your property papers," Junaid whisper-yelled and scurried out of the living room, allowing Zafeer to dwell in his thoughts.

Junaid does not know why he is angry, it was so weird because he felt like Zafeer was trying to hurt something he tried so hard to protect, and it didn't make sense.

Zafeer leaned back on the settee and then read Marwa's file over and over again, trying hard not to be bewitched by her dazzling beauty. He kept reminding himself that he just wanted to teach the girl a lesson and nothing more. An idea popped its way into his mind, it was very creepy and something in him kept telling him not to do it but Zafeer, being a headstrong person, must achieve his goal.

Tomorrow, he'd start executing his vengeance plan. He would make the tough girl fall for him and he would break her heart, that way, she would stop being fierce and narcissistic. Zafeer smiled maliciously because the next day, he was going to start chasing Marwa.

*

"Shuks, tell Hamma Fawzan that I can't wait to meet him later, right now, I have one more class," Marwa grinned and hugged her best friend.

Fawzan Omar Hassan is Shukrah's elder brother. He is a pilot, mostly flying private jets. There was a time when he asked Marwa out but the girl rejected him, she told him that she was not the relationship type and he respected that even though he never stopped loving her, up until now. Marwa made sure to have a sibling kind of relationship with him so that he wouldn't say she was leading him on.

Presently, Marwa and Shukra were on the school premises, the driver came to get Shukra who was done with her classes for that day. Her brother came back for a one-month holiday and she was more than happy to finally have him back home.

"Yeah, sure. I'll tell him," Shukra retorted with a smile.

"Okay bye, see ya," She waved and gave Shukra one last hug before turning around and walking away.

*

"Junaid, I am in the university but I cannot find her," Zafeer resisted the urge to shout.

Yesterday, he lied to Junaid that he wanted to approach her and shoot his shot, the said guy grinned widely and started advising him on the dos and don'ts which were the things Zafeer wanted to know. No, he won't be going there as the crown prince but rather, as a kind, moderately rich man who is gentle without arrogance which is very hard for him to hide.

"Look, you have to calm down and look around," Junaid advised.

"I think I found her," Zafeer happily muttered.

It bruised his ego to be the one driving by himself but he had to do it for his plan to work. He still wondered why he was doing so much for a girl whom he did not know from Adam.

"Okay, good. Remember everything I told you, be a gentleman and impress her, no arrogance Brother, no arrogance," Junaid reminded him once more before ending the call.

Zafeer exhaled deeply and drove towards Marwa who looked like she was matching rather than walking. Her face was set in a deep frown when he passed her and parked, she looked like someone annoyed her to the core which earned a light laugh from him. Wait, what? Crown Prince Zafeer Ibn Harith Baghdad laughed for the first time after fifteen years. What the hell is that girl doing to him?

Marwa was hyperventilating at the sight of the luxurious car in front of her, it aroused her curiosity when the driver stopped. She slowed her pace and continued walking, wanting to see the owner but the windows had tinted glasses.

Just as she passed the car, she heard the door creak open which made her halt. Before she could continue walking, she felt a presence behind her back and the expensive cologne of whoever that person was hit her nostrils, she inhaled it, immediately bewitched by how pleasant the scent was.

"Hey," The deep voice uttered. The fluent British-Arabian accent and the way it sounded like it was coming from a very powerful person made Marwa freeze, goosebumps all over her body.

When she managed to turn around, both of them galvanized. Marwa had never in her life seen an adonis as handsome as the person standing in front of her, he didn't even look like he came from the earth, and to top it all, the black kaftan he was wearing contrasted his very fair skin, making her at a loss for words which was very unlike Marwa Kabeer Hassan.

Zafeer thought that the pictures didn't do justice to her beauty, he had to keep himself focused at all costs but his heart was thumping wildly against his rib cage. Even though he was way taller than her, the chemistry between them was undoubtedly very intense. Both of them felt like they knew each other somewhere but none of them could recall because they knew it was not true.

"H-hey," She stuttered, the first time it ever happened to her. The next thing he said made Marwa come back to her senses and that way, she was ready to deal with him just like she did with other guys. Yes, he was no exception.

"I like you and I would like to be your friend," The Crown Prince mustered up the courage to say that which made her laugh out loud in a very unladylike way, she is the tomboy, after all.

"I love you and I would love to be your girlfriend," She replied sarcastically.

Zafeer stood there mouth agape, he could not believe what he just heard. Even though he didn't meet many girls in his life, this one is indeed the most ferocious of them all and he is here to teach her a lesson. He really underestimated Marwa Kabeer Hassan.

"What?" He questioned with a stunned expression, the royal blood in him would never allow him to raise his voice, never.

"Hell yes. Just because you are driving a 2021 Aston Martin Lagonda which is probably not even yours does not give you the right to talk to me like that. Mr. Whosoever you are, this is not the way to ask a woman to be your friend, and guess what? You are messing with the wrong lady, wait, do you even know who you are talking to?" She ranted all in one breath. All the while, Zafeer kept watching the movement of her reddish-pink lips with an amused expression.

"I am talking to Marwa Kabeer Hassan. The girl is usually called tomboy, female hooligan, or poor because she works part-time as a waitress in a restaurant about thirty-minutes walk away from where she lives. Marwa is an ambitious person who wants to become a successful therapist, she is also narcissistic and fierce. She hates royalty and everything related to the royals. Are you convinced that I know you now?" Zafeer nonchalantly talked even though it hurt him to say the 'royals' part.

Now, it was Marwa's turn to be alarmed. She wondered if this person was a human being and not a jinn who kept stalking her without her knowing. First, he looked too handsome to be a human being, and now, he just confirmed her suspicion.

"Who are you? A jinn or human and why are you stalking me?" She narrowed her eyes into slits.

"The name is Murad Shakur, a human being just like you. I am not stalking you, it is just that I happened to know you a little bit," Zafeer calmly retorted.

"Look, Mujib Shakur or whatever you call yourself, don't you dare let me see you again or I promise I will be your worst nightmare. Marwa Kabeer Hassan does not make empty threats, trust me," She pointed a finger at him then hit his chest and angrily matched away, leaving him in a state of galvanization.

First, she dared to point a finger at the crown prince and even hit his chest, someone who could make her life a living hell with just a snap of his fingers. Marwa was in for it because the guy's ego was bruised deeply and she must no doubt pay. Zafeer has dealt with challenges all his life and he always comes out victorious, this will not be an exception.

Marwa 1, Zafeer 0.

He wanted to turn and walk away when he noticed a folded piece of paper, he gently picked it up and opened it. When he finished reading, a smirk appeared on his lips, he knows exactly how to start dealing with her.

*

"How did it go?" Junaid questioned just as Zafeer barged inside his living room.

"I want to kill her, I will kill the girl. She dared to lay her filthy hands on me, who the hell does she think she is? Doesn't she know that she is playing with fire?" Zafeer was resented even though he didn't raise his voice.

"Why is it bothering you when you said you don't like her? I am interested in knowing," Junaid smiled happily, ignoring his best friend's harangue.

"You know what? I think I will just kill both of you together. Junaid Haroon Baghdad, you are the worst person to talk to about that useless girl. I need the gym now more than ever, go and deal with your miserable life," Zafeer angrily uttered before ambling out of the room, he had never felt so much hatred as the one he was feeling for that girl who dared to raise a finger at him.

"I always knew there is a girl who can knock some sense into you Zafeer, and it seems to me like Marwa is the best candidate for that," Junaid whispered to himself.