Hazek's POV
A few days passed but still, I couldn't get the thought of 'King' out of my head. I was in the masjid, chatted with him for a few minutes, and only rushed to fetch a glass of water when I found him disappeared. The man who had been there claimed that I was sitting alone, he never saw me sitting with an old man.
"Hey let's go grab lunch," Mahir says, coming next to me from the class as we stand outside in the corridor.
"Y-yeah, let's go," I answer, moving along with him.
"Would you quit thinking about that old man of yours?"
"I swear it was my second time meeting him but he disappeared just like the first time."
"The man whom you asked about his whereabouts must have slipped through his vision when he left. Don't dwell on it so much."
"That's the only thing I'm hoping for."
We heard a scream as soon as we entered the cafeteria and our heads whipped towards the sound of origin.
A girl had fallen on the ground from the line to buy lunch. As we neared the scene my eyes shot up in surprise. It was Rafia and behind her stood a guy who looked just as surprised as I was.
"Don't come close to me! Stay away!" She yelled with her eyes closed and her hands wrapped around her body.
"But I didn't do anything. I just took the line." The guy explains.
"I'll be back," I muttered to Mahir and shot towards where the guy was standing. As soon as I reached him, I pulled the guy along with me while Rafia's friends rushed to her aid and pulled her off of the ground.
"Dude seriously, she's overreacting. I didn't do anything." The guy tries to explain to me as soon as we reach a corner.
"I know man. Don't take it to heart. The girl needs help. Just pretend nothing happened today."
"If she is sick she must be in the hospital why come to university!?" The guy raises his voice and I clutch hard onto his shoulder, pressing it to keep it low for his own good.
"Don't make it harder for yourself. Don't let a word out and walk away if you really want to stay in one piece." He looked back and forth between me and Mahir before walking away while mumbling the word 'blackmailer'.
"I'd tell him whose the blackmailer here." Mahir was about to go after the guy but I stopped him by grabbing his hand.
"Don't waste your breath on him." I shook my head and he exhaled a breath of frustration. "I'll go check up on her." Mahir nods and stands at a distance while I walk towards Rafia and her friends.
"Are… You okay?" I ask Rafia while both of her friends sit on either side of her.
"I'm alright." She speaks after finishing her water from the bottle. "Thanks. My friends told me that you… You took care of the situation."
"I couldn't have left you after knowing what you went th-" I suddenly bit my words but her expression told me that I had already done the damage. She looked shocked, yet terrified. I clear my throat. "Don't worry. I'll not let a soul know." I was about to turn away.
"W-wait." She called and I stopped. "Can you guys wait for me?" She asks her friends. "I'll be alright, don't worry." She waves off their concern written on their faces and they move to stand at a distance from us.
"What is it, Rafia?" I ask.
"I saw your video on the internet. I'm sorry she did it with you too."
"I'm not worried about it anymore. People will eventually forget about it, nothing stays forever."
"I wish I could say the same." She averts her eyes and looks at the ground while fidgeting with her fingers.
"I'm sorry… Sana confessed to me her dirty deeds… What she did to you."
"Of course, so much Sana-like." She rolled her eyes as if expecting it already. "But she doesn't know what actually happened that day. I escaped the room she put me in with the guy."
"What actually happened? Why did she do that to you? I want to know what triggered her to be on your bad side?"
"She thought it was easy to snatch my husband from me. A few manipulations could break our bond; this was where she was wrong. So she picked the part where every man is touchy. She conveyed that I was cheating on him and she set that plan very marvelously so no one would doubt her."
With a shaky breath, she continues.
"First she made me seem alone with one of her male friends at the restaurant while she promised to be there on time. I thought I had coincidentally met her male friend but she set that up so I agreed for a little chat with him as I waited for her to arrive. Ya Allah! If only I had avoided talking to that namehram." A tear trickled down her eye. "She told Yahya, my ex-husband and he saw me with that guy in the restaurant that day."
"To confirm all his doubts she wanted Yahya to see us coming out of one room. And so she put forth that plan a few days later. She called me from an unknown number, telling me she was out of battery and that she had planned a surprise party for our mutual friend, When I went to that apartment, it was empty and dark. Later I heard a door lock clicking and suddenly her same male friend appeared in front of me. I fought with that guy for God knows how long. My clothes got tattered in the process, he had intended to r*pe me but I had somehow escaped that apartment only to be seen together in front of Yahya. The memory of that guy keeps haunting me to this day which is why I can't be around any guy if not with my trusted people around."
She cried her eyes out while hiding her face behind her hands and I couldn't bring myself to utter anything to her comfort.
"Her own desires trigger her. If she wants something, she's going to have it no matter the price. I am still paying the price to trust her."
A second later her friends arrive to provide her with all the comfort she needs. At Least now I know that I can't help Aisha change her mind unless she sees it herself. Or can I try one last time?
Aisha's POV
These past few days have been like a miracle, a dream to me. Being with David is the most beautiful thing that happened to me. He has been taking me to places, we eat, we sit at the beach, we meet people, we dance, everything that I have done these recent days I couldn't have imagined doing it ever if I was the old Aisha, confined in the boundaries of her home to university and that was it, stuck in a never-ending cycle.
"Hey! Earth to Aisha?" Sana pulls me out of my reverie.
"Sorry. I was just-"
"No need to elaborate. I know who has consumed your mind lately."
"If you know then why bother?" I stick my tongue out at her.
"Say… I was wondering if you could…"
"Say it already Sana, Why are you hesitating?" I urge her to continue.
"Alright if you say so. I want to collaborate with the ABC brand. You think David could pull some strings for me?"
"Sure, he's already a fan of yours." I wave my hand in the air.
"Really?"
"Yeah since he got to know you were the reason who introduced me to Tiktok and pushed me to accept him."
"So he can recognize true gems after all." She winks at me and I roll my eyes.
'Ring! Ring!'
"He's calling me! I got to go now!"
"Wait, you're meeting David again?"
"Who else I'd like to see otherwise?" With a wink, I march to the university gates outside only to encounter a person who's at the least of my priorities.
"Aisha." Hazek appears in front of me. "Don't go."
"You know I'm not going to listen to you?" I arch up an eyebrow while crossing my hands against my chest.
"I know. Can't I even make you a request?" He pleads.
"I'm going to break off this engagement soon. Don't worry you won't be able to even make requests out of me."
"Do that if it makes you happy. But know that if a guy wants your body before making any future commitments… Know that he was never sincere with you. You were never part of his future to begin with." He moves out of my way but I stay frozen.
"Aisha?" I heard a familiar voice. It was David standing in front of me by the gates with his face covered in a black mask and goggles.
He closes the distance between us, takes my hand in his, and pulls me along with him outside, never really noticing Hazek's presence who watched us leaving the premises without a word of protest.