Chapter 67: "What She Wants"

First draft: November 2, 2021

Salma knocked on the kitchen door to announce her presence. The clicking of fingers striking against the the keyboard stopped, however, that was it. Salma rubbed her palms together, not sure if the pause in the activity inside meant she could enter, or –

"Are you seriously waiting for me to tell you enter, for you to enter?" her father called.

Salma sighed. So much for being polite, she thought in her head as walked in, feeling a knot tying up in her stomach. A chuckle by the counter surprised her. Salma turned to the source.

"Mum?" she said, surprised to see her mother casually leaning by the counter, a steaming mug in hand.

Her mother's eyebrows shot to the heavens in amusement. She shared a glance with her husband seated by the table. His laptop was opened in front of him.

"That be me?" Aliya smiled. "Anything unsettling about catching me in the kitchen."

"With me?" Her father widened his eyes. "Alone!"

Salma closed her eyes.

"Imagine that," her mother added, laughing.

"I'm just surprised you aren't in bed." Salma huffed.

"Right!" her father cried. "She's past her curfew. Sally, ground her, princess. Your mum has been --"

"Dad, stop!" Salma laughed in exhaustion. "I'm kind of really tense right now."

"And this isn't helping?"

"No."

"Alright, my bad." Her father sobered up. "So what bugs the princess?"

"You know something's bugging me?" Salma raised a brow.

"Yeah, you just told us." Her father laughed.

"And." Her mother put the mug down. "When you come sneaking down at this hour to find us instead of food, yes. We figured."

Salma curled her toes, not sure how to begin now that they were attentively listening, waiting for her to start.

"Sally?" her father said, concerned.

Salma took in a deep breath.

"I may have made a huge . . . mistake," Salma mumbled, chewing on her bottom lip.

Her parents shared another glance. Her father let out a short chuckle after a while.

"This is off to a great start," he muttered.

"What happened?" Aliya asked.

Salma fidgeted with her fingers, squirming under their gaze as she stood there. She felt like a defendant on a podium in front of the judge. Except, she was there to admit to a crime, not defend her innocence. She felt the knot in her stomach tighten.

"I may have told Zayn . . ." Salma forced the words out as her voice died down with each word. She glanced at her parents. Their steady eyes on her made her shiver. She swallowed and tried again. "I may have told him I'm the Guardian of the Zamarud."

"WHAT?!"

Salma flinched as the word slapped her eardrums, hard.

"Are you CRAZY?!" Her mother cried.

Salma flinched away from her, throwing a terrified glance her way. She was ashen-faced and wide-eyed.

"What on earth did you do?!" her mother cried.

Swallowing her panic that her mother's anxiety was triggering in her, Salma threw a look at her father's expressions. To her surprise, he betrayed no emotions. He was just eyeing with that dead-set, no-blink, blank stare. It gave her chills.

"When did this happen?" he asked calmly.

"Last night," Salma muttered.

She heard her mother sighing in frustration as she turned away from her and crossed her arms.

"Salma!" she whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Her father frowned.

"Last night?" he asked. "What – he was in the dark all this time?"

Salma and her mother snapped their eyes to the Green Coat.

"Huh?" Salma blinked.

"You didn't tell him when you decided not to file for the divorce?"

Salma looked at her mother in confusion. Was that a trick question? Her mother seemed just as confused. Salma shook her head.

"And how did he react to said revelation?" the Green Coat probed.

"He was . . ." Salma considered her words. "Shocked."

"Understandably so. And?"

"And . . ." Salma trailed off. What else happened? They hugged? "And, I don't know. He recovered fairly nicely. Asked if he was going to knighted or something."

"He wants to be knighted?" her parents asked in unison, her father with a chuckle, and mother, looking incredulous.

"I think he was joking," Salma said awkwardly.

"Wow!" her father whispered.

"Wow? That's all you have to say?" Aliya asked in disbelief. "She just told a foreigner she's the Guardian of the Zamarud!"

"Yes, I heard her say that."

"And you –"

"That's her choice to make, though I am of the opinion that she has trust issues if she's telling her other half things this late in the relationship --"

"Are you for real?!" Aliya snapped at her husband.

"Why, I believe I am," he replied in all innocence.

While her mother was reeling from the complete indifference her husband exhibited at the news, the Green Coat turned to Salma.

"What made you tell him now?"

Salma took in a deep breath and released it slowly.

"He's started taking the relationship thing seriously," Salma began. "I wanted to know if he could be trusted." She shrugged.

"He was not serious before?"

"I don't know," Salma replied. "I didn't care enough to find out."

"So, it's the other way around then," her father said. "You've started taking him seriously and would like to know if you're right to do so."

That made more sense.

"Yes, it could be like that too," Salma replied.

"And you could not think of a better way to test his trust?!" Aliya cried. She still looked deeply unimpressed that Salma had to let Zayn in on the secret.

"No," Salma mumbled, feeling a little dumb now.

She heard her mother let out an aggravated sound.

"That's alright," Atif intervened.

"How's that alright?" Salma's mother asked, sounding frustrated.

"Well, what's the worse he can do with this information?" the Green Coat asked. "Snitch on her? The Tor Guls already know."

"The FBI don't," her mother pointed out.

"Salma?" her father asked.

Salma looked up, surprised that her father was asking her for an explanation. Wasn't he doing it for her?

"I . . . I just thought." Salma looked at the two. Now both of them looked stern. As if she would be hearing it from her father if she admitted she had not thought so far about it, Salma blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "I just thought I'd be going into the Iron Box if this thing is outted to the public."

"The what?" Her father blinked.

"The Iron Box?" Salma replied uneasily, realizing she was stepping on a mine. "That code you have for me, basically living like a prisoner, under tight security, someplace far away. Remember when you said --"

"I do know what the Iron Box is," the Green Coat interrupted. "I'm just surprised how much you are putting on the line for him with absolutely no guarantees!"

Now, he sounded annoyed. Salma chewed on her inner cheek.

"I figured it won't be so bad if I get a few books I haven't read yet --"

"Salma this is not a joke!" her mother snapped, making her flinch. "You do not enjoy living like that! It's suffocating and overwhelming! It makes you paranoid."

"And this doesn't?" Salma asked, feeling her throat clog. "Supposedly living your life next to a person you can never trust and keep lying to? If he outs the secret, at least I know a friend from foe, and don't move in with him!"

Silence settled upon the kitchen.

"He's serious about it all . . . or pretends to be serious," Salma whispered. "I want to know. I want to know the man that claims to want to live his life with me, start a family . . . with me. I can't do any of that, if I can't trust him."

Her parents exchanged another look. They both appeared so tired. Her father turned to her, letting out a resigned sigh.

"I knew this was coming," he admitted. "Let's just hope he's loyal to you. He was bound to find out. In my opinion, it's better that he heard it from you than someone else. However, I would like my daughter to consider the consequences of her actions before jumping into action. Your actions affect a lot of people. You have to be careful."

"Yes, dad," Salma muttered.

First draft: October 28, 2021

Zayn hastily stepped back, his eyes doing a frantic once-over. Salma inhaled a huge breath.

"What happened?" he cried. "Bee, you okay?"

She held onto him with one hand, holding the other against her ribs, still breathing heavily.

"I . . . I couldn't breathe!" She heaved, looking at him crossly. "You can't squeeze me like that. My lungs were about to collapse."

Zayn's eyebrows shot to the heavens.

"What?"

"You squeeze me. Like this." Salma held up her hands, then pressed her fingers inwards around an imaginary object.

"No, I didn't," Zayn replied. "I wanted to, but like this-"

Snaking his arms around her waist, he picked her up and squeezed. Salma gasped as she felt her breath getting knocked out of her system.

"Zayn!" she protested.

He put her down, suppressing a laugh.

"But I didn't do it," he continued. "What you just did was . . . I don't know, break someone's neck."

Salma tried to catch her breath, her hand resting on her heart, and giving him a stare that said she was totally done with him.

"Yeah. . ." Salma said. "I just held my breath for fun. I like feeling like a dying fish!"

Zayn bit his lips to not burst out laughing. Much to Salma's annoyance, he found her sarcasm amusing.

"You're shameless!" Salma muttered, waving him off.

"Alright, I'm sorry. Come here." Zayn tried pulled her closer. Salma resisted.

"No!" She pushed away from him, holding him at an arm's length. "No, it was two times too many. You're going to stay two feet away from --"

"Come on!" Zayn laughed, collecting her against him, gently this time. "I didn't realize I was squeezing you. I thought I was only doing it in my head. I'm sorry."

"Yeah, whatever!" Salma grumbled into his chest. She felt too drained to keep up pretenses. "This isn't the first time either."

Salma stared at his shirt that was getting in her eyes, wondering if she should poke him in the ribs to see how he likes it?

Zayn frowned, then looked down at her.

"When did I squeeze you like that before?"

Salma inhaled deeply, then let it out slowly. She tried to rest her head in a more comfortable position. If he was there, she might as well use him as a pillar to lean on, till she rested her poor ribs.

Salma motioned with her fingers.

"First time was outside the hospital," she said. "Just after we met Scarlett."

"Oh yeah," Zayn said, remembering she had asked him to let go because she could not breathe. He frowned. Did he really hold her so hard against him that she had trouble breathing? Zayn didn't think so. Yes, he wanted to hold on to her tightly, but . . . "And I did it again?" His frown deepened.

"Yes!" Salma hissed. "The other night!"

Crap! he had forgotten that. He had thought she was kidding, using it as an excuse to push him away since her limits for his close proximity has been reached.

"You know, Bee, you can tell me when I'm crossing the optimum hug conditions." He massaged her back. "I didn't even know I was --"

"Trying to break my bones?" Salma provided.

Zayn paused.

"I was going to word it differently, but yeah," he conceded, giving her an embarrassed smile. "Trying to break your bones."

"I will." Salma replied, smiling. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he said, grinning. "Just out of interest, how are you so fragile that --"

"That is not true at all!" Salma protested, pressing her palm to his chest and pushing away from him. "You just have no sense of proportions --"

"Look, I'm just saying, I've never heard of someone complaining of getting their breaths squeezed out because someone hugged them too tight." He chuckled.

"Doesn't mean I can't." Salma jutted her chin out.

"Of course it doesn't, Your Highness!" Zayn agreed quickly. "I'll be careful from this point on."

"You don't call me that!" she whispered angrily, looking around in panic.

"Nobody is listening!" he whispered in her ear.

Salma was about to tell him it did not matter if someone was listening or not when he reached for her shoulder and draped his arm around her, turning her towards the café where Louisa was waiting for them with Jason.

Louisa felt unsafe sitting outside so they decided to meet at the café, provided that she managed to save them seats. Apparently, she had something important to discuss. The café was full to the brink and really noisy. By the looks of the cake left-overs, confetti and hats, a birthday party had been celebrated in the eatery, the guests of which were now sitting around a girl with a guitar, singing really upbeat songs. Salma and Zayn made their way to the back of the café, where Louisa and Jason were sitting across each other. Pleasantries were exchanged and they took their seats. Salma noted that Louisa had pulled her chair to sit next to the narrow strip of the wall between the two large windows. She also looked rather rough. Like she had been missing on her sleep, and having loads of crying sessions.

Poor thing!

"So, what is this about?" Zayn asked, sitting next to Jason, his voice rather dimmed by the loud singing in the background.

While Jason threw a look over his shoulders at party when they sang a chores loudly, Louisa pinned him with her fiery stare, her expressions stony. Salma figured she was waiting for him to turn his attention back on her.

"Jason." Louisa fixed him with a glare. "Take your shirt off."

"What?!" Salma and Jason cried together. Zayn's eyebrows shot skywards.

Louisa did not react to their sharp response. She kept her unblinking stare fixed on Jason who had gotten quite red in the face. He sneaked a few glances at Salma, looking embarrassed.

"Just so you know, it's a café not a strip club," Zayn told the junior, who was neither humored, nor averted her dead serious stare from Jason.

"Did you hear me?" Louisa said, raised a brow. "Take it off!"

Zayn and Salma exchanged a glance. Jason turned to them for help when Louisa's demanding eyes started to well up dangerously. Salma shook her head slightly, having no clue. Jason turned to Louisa.

"Lou," he began softly, reaching for her hand. "Is everything alrig--"

Salma cried in panic as Lousia lunged at the junior, across the table. A flash saw her hands grab Jason's olive shirt, and the next, buttons were ripped open, pulling it apart.

Salma gasped to see a still healing scar, burn red and raw against Jason's pale shoulder, as Louisa forced the shirt away from it.

"Lou!" Jason screamed a surprised cry, mixed with panic and humiliation. He stood up, breaking free from her vice like grip.

Zayn and Salma watched wide-eyed. The scar was long and wide, peeking underneath the strip of his tank-top, like a deep cut had been inflicted on him not too long ago.

"Dude, what did you do?" Zayn asked, aghast.

Jason breathed heavily. He took in their ashen faces and the bitter tears streaming down Louisa's face, surprised to realize the question was directed at him, not Louisa. Following their gazes, he turned to his exposed shoulder and paled, hastily pulling the shirt back to cover the healing scar.

"It's nothing," he said between heavy breaths, fooling no one. "I rammed into . . . Got into a fight –"

"Look at you," Louisa spat bitterly, jumping off the table. "You think you can lie your way through this?!"

Jason said nothing as he pressed his lips together. He seemed extremely angry with Louisa, but he did not want to express it. Instead, he focused on rebuttoning his shirt.

"I knew something was up when I just basically patted you on the shoulder and you got so hurt, your eyes teared up!"

"You're just assuming things," Jason replied crossly.

"You're still tryna lie your way out?!" Louisa raised her voice. "We just saw the scar!"

"It's not what you think it is!"

"You got into a fight, what else is there to think?!"

Jason tugged at his shirt angrily, dropping the attempt to fix it.

"You're just jumping conclusions –"

"I told you to not get involved!" She screamed and shoved him away.

Jason staggered on his feet and fell back on a few of the singing students behind him. Salma and Zayn jumped to their feet to help. The rowdy café suddenly became silent as Louisa stormed out. The students looked around cluelessly, trying to put two and two together.

"Dude, did she just dump your ass on my birthday?" a guy in a hat, asked.

Jason muttered a few apologies and took off after her.

"Go get her, son!" someone hollered after him. "If you can't win her back, push like she pushed you!"

Salma and Zayn sighed and slumped back as the students half laughed, half berated the idiot giving Jason relationship advice.

The two watched as Jason caught up with Louisa. The scene was so familiar, Salma and Zayn had to pretend the other was not there. They avoided each other's gaze as the tension became thicker in the air. Salma saw Louisa shrugging Jason off with a few colorful curses.

Okay, that was new, Salma figured. She had never cursed at Zayn.

"It was not because of you!" Salma heard Jason's muffled voice through the glass. "You know when I'm lying to you and it's not now!"

Louisa looked at him angrily. Disbelief clear in her eyes as tears ran down her face.

"I swear, it wasn't."

Salma could just barely make out the words, then the curly redhead said something else as he grabbed her shoulders. Probably trying to convince her, his injury was not because of Derek or his men. The two talked for a bit, with Louisa continuously searching his eyes, as if she was trying to catch a lie. Then, she let stopped pushing his hands away and sobbed her fears into his shirt as Jason held her to him.

"Makes you think, doesn't it?" Zayn broke the silence.

Salma looked at him out of the corner of her eye to see him watching the two juniors.

"I'm guessing you think Jason is right?"

"Not really." Zayn sighed. "I understand Louisa's fear."

Of course! Salma rolled her eyes.

"So you're going to judge Jason for pulling a page out of your book?" Salma snorted.

"I'm going to hold a less harsh view of you asking me to make such a humiliating promise."

"Thank God for Louisa," Salma sang. "Otherwise, you'd never be able to comprehend a perspective different than yours."

"Stop being so arrogant," Zayn argued. "It's not like you don't see a different perspective of me taking offense after seeing your lab-pet chasing after his girlfriend."

"As much as I understand Jason's concern for Louisa and his decision to help her, I still don't want you anywhere near it when we are in the thick of things. Louisa doesn't have an army of Green Coats fighting to protect her in Jason's stead. I do."

"So I'm not required."

"Not required to get hurt, bleed, be imprisoned or die, yes."

Salma saw the muscle in his jaw tick as he pursed his lips. He scoffed and then exhaled sharply, about to get up, getting offended again.

"Not before me anyway," Salma added, making him pause.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"You're not allowed to die or get hurt in any way, shape or form till I'm alive."

Zayn looked at her, not sure how to take her new order. He bowed his head after a while, taking her by surprise.

"Yes, your highness," he said, in all seriousness. "Your royal decree will be –"

"Stop!" Salma snapped. "I told you not to –"

"What?" Zayn blinked in mock innocence. "Are you not a Princess, heir to the Sthooriy throne?"

"No!" Salma whispered, grabbing his arm to shut him up.

Zayn looked around, smirking. He took a seat.

"Afraid that people would find out?"

"Afraid that you'll have an inquiry initiated against me if some jealous, bitter scumbag hears you call me that!" Salma whispered, leaning in. "This isn't a joke!"

"What isn't? That you're a Pri—"

Zayn's eyes widened when Salma clasped her hand over his lips. Zayn kissed her palm. Salma quickly withdrew her hand but Zayn grabbed it before she could pull it away.

"Now." Zayn pulled her towards himself. "You don't get to tell me what I do with my life, and I'll cooperate over the things affecting yours. Or –"

"Zayn –" Salma tried pulling away when he got her inches from his face.

"Or, I'll start dictating my terms and you wouldn't like it, Queen Tomato Bee." He suddenly leaned in to kiss her nose. Salma froze. Her eyes went wide and slightly crossed as she stared at her nose. Zayn smiled. "Do we have a deal?"

Salma swallowed, snapping out of it.

"No!" she snapped.

Zayn's shoulder's fell. He let her go and sank back in his chair.

"You're no fun," he grumbled.

"I want you --"

"I want you too!" He blew her a kiss.

Salma could not help her cheeks burning, and even obscured from his view by the veil, Salma knew he knew, and it made her even more flustered, making her forget what she was about to say.

Zayn gave her an exhausted smile.

"It goes both ways, Bee," he said. "You can't fight me on this one."

Author's

Zayn 1 - Salma 0. It's on! 😂

Kidding, but yeah, it's not like they can stay in that happy, giddy couple state for long lol😂.

I was supposed to be writing an update for Patreon but somehow, I couldn't get it out properly so I thought I'd post a quick one of Wattpad and get it out of the way ;) Hope you liked it.

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Drop by my Patreon account. We are three chapters from the end there! It's kinda sad T_T

Lots of Love

J.