Chapter 7: "Glimmer of Hope"

Zalma interactions😏! Have fun, and don't forget to post your reactions as your read so I can join in too!😁

April, 2018

Salma's chest tightened. She felt her emotions become unruly by simply hearing his voice. She knew even if she wanted to, she would not be able to face him. It would bring back so many horrible memories; frustrations that she wanted to overcome, nightmares that she wanted to forget.

Zayn's heart sank at the solid silence. Judging by how she was picking on the corner of the couch, he had a feeling she was trying to hold herself together.

"Is there any way I can make it up to you?" Zayn asked desperately. "Anything I can do to earn your forgiveness?"

Salma could not help the shaky laugh that escaped her lips, cutting Zayn off.

"Do you think you deserve to be forgiven," she asked quietly, "if I have to teach you how to earn it?"

Zayn felt his ribcage congest uncomfortably.

"When you wronged me," Salma continued, "did you ask me how to do it or did you just come up with it yourself?"

Zayn looked away ashamed and defeated. When he heard her sniffing he wished he was man enough to know how to heal what he had broken. Salma took in a calming breath.

"We're even," she said, her tone bland and disinterested. "Once the court sentenced you, there isn't much making up to do. You've done your part."

Zayn scoffed.

"You cannot look me in the eye and you call it being even?" he said bitterly. "You hate me. You hate my very existence. You hate the fact that you'd ever crossed paths with me. You can't even –"

Zayn broke up, feeling his frustrations pile on. He ran a hand through his hair. Perhaps this was his punishment that she had chosen for him. To always be around as a glaring reminder of what he had lost, what he could have had. To always be within reach; beautiful, tempting but never to be had. To have her name next to his on a paper, but never to be his.

Salma swallowed the lump in her throat, miserable at how the conversation was going. She had wanted to give the relation an honest chance, but if this was how it was going to be every time they were alone. . .

Her heart clenched with agony. This is not what a sincere attempt at a new beginning looked like. They were just regurgitating old grievances. Knowing her approach was betraying her aim; she fought against the invisible binds and forced her feet to move. She turned around to face him.

Zayn looked up at her, his eyes pained, defeated, confused and pleading, all at the same time. He hated to see the tears swimming in hers.

"My heart is not into it, but I'm fairly confident what I'm doing is right," Salma said.

"How is this right?" Zayn asked, sounding pained. "How can this work when you don't even want it?!"

"Not everything that we want is right and vice versa," Salma muttered. "This is right by my Deen, by my family, and –" She took in a shaky breath. "And by you."

Zayn searched her face. It was clear that he was struggling to understand her at all.

"What about you?" he asked.

"If it works for my Creator and my family, it works for me," Salma replied. "So far as you are concerned . . . that's up to you, I guess."

"What does that even mean?"

Salma looked away, trying to summon the courage to say the right thing. The thing that would help her move on. Help them move on.

"You once told me you're not known to quit," Salma reminded him, before turning to look him in the eye. "More than once, actually."

Zayn looked away, ashamed. Every time he had said that to her, it was after she had stood her ground against his obnoxious behavior. It had almost been a threat, that the harassment would continue.

"Don't ask me how you can earn my trust," Salma said. There was a shift in Zayn's eyes. The dejected look in them gave way to mix of shock and sudden realization, as if something had clicked in his mind.

"Show me why I should place it in you."

***

December 4, 2020.

Salma zipped her bag close. Shouldering it, she took a moment to collect herself as everyone else filed out of the lecture hall. She massaged her temples. The past few days has been mentally exhausting. After the Nikkah was over, Salma had been numb. She was dreading the realization to suddenly break over her and hit her like a tornado but, somehow, her mind had been inert to it. It was just empty and emotionless and she had trouble making sense of the void. Perhaps she had gotten stronger? That inadvertently she had learned to be immune to things that did not really matter in the grand scheme of things? Or maybe she was just so tired that her brains had pushed 'freaking out over an unwanted relation' down the priority list.

Salma sighed, getting up. Whatever it was, she thought to herself as she walked out of the lecture hall, she was grateful that she was in control.

At the door, her instincts kicked in, scanning the area before allowing her to step into the corridor. She was trying to avoid trigger points. And perhaps that is the real reason why the calm before the storm was lasting so long. She had had time to prepare herself. Her mind had built a cocoon around itself. The last time her composure was broken was due to Zayn. Salma identified him as a trigger, and she was doing all she could to not cross paths with him at the moment.

The other trigger? Sarah.

Salma figured Sarah was the only other person in whose company the floodgates might not hold.

As she neared the corner, Salma stepped behind two clerks walking ahead of her. She checked the area near professor R.K's office before relaxing her pace. This was one of the places that Zayn had been frequenting and she could not risk it.

"Hey!"

A friendly feminine voice, followed by a book attached to a small hand and a slender arm, stopped her in her tracks. Salma backed away a little, blinking.

A book attached to a small hand and a slender arm? What the hell, Salma!

She turned to the owner of the 'book attached to a small hand and a slender arm' in question.

"Louisa!" Salma exclaimed, smiling. She was surprised to see the girl with wavy blond hair and hazel eyes, and also, that she had stopped Salma to say 'hi'.

"So you don't recognize me until I wave it in your face?" The younger girl narrowed her eyes and placed a hand on her hip.

"Well, in my defense, one, you've cut your hair," Salma said, eyeing her neatly trimmed hair, resting just below her earlobes, "and two, I wasn't expecting you around."

"Yeah, I got a new trim." Louisa fixed the tie of her half-bunch.

"What are you doing here?" Salma asked the girl still fixing her hair. "Got admission admission in Animal Sciences?"

Louisa scoffed, dropping her hands.

"Somebody wishes," she grumbled. "And I'm here to meet that someone."

Salma pursed her lips, confused, but before Louisa could clarify, Professor R.K. stepped out of his office.

"And we're still grumbling about it, are we, Lou? Despite the fact that I am the one who's wishes aren't being granted," he complained.

"Dad, it's my life," Louisa whined. "I get to choose!"

Salma's eyes did a double-take.

Wait, what? Dad?

Salma was still frozen in shock when Professor R.K. noticed her there. He and Louisa started at the same time.

"Salma, meet my Dad."

"Ms. Rahman, may I help you?"

An awkward silence followed, before they both said in unison, what Salma had been too shocked to verbalize.

"You know each other?!"

"I . . . er, yes." Salma looked between the two.

"Why didn't you tell me you know my dad?" Louisa cried.

"Because I didn't know you knew your dad."

As the father-daughter duo blinked at her in an exactly identical manner, did Salma finally catch up with the stupidity she had just uttered. She quickly covered it with a sheepish smile, to which they chuckled.

"I'm his student," Salma replied.

"My absolute best." Professor R.K. smiled fondly.

"Just great." Louisa's face fell, making Salma laugh.

"Lou, I have a meeting," Professor R.K told his daughter.

"But dad --!"

"I'm so sorry kiddo! I just got a call." Professor R. K cut her complains. "I'll be free in an hour and then we'll leave."

"And what am I suppose to do in that hour?" Louisa pouted.

"I'll call someone to entertain you." He chuckled, as he locked his office.

"No need." Louisa grumbled before turning to Salma with a pleading face. "Can I stick to you?"

"Sure." Salma shrugged. Since she was avoiding Sarah, she did not really have much to do anyway.

"Great! Maybe she can talk you into studying marine biology." Professor R.K. turned to them with a big smile. He glanced at Salma and muttered with feigned secrecy. "Tell her how great the subject is!"

Salma laughed as Louisa rolled her eyes. Salma found their easy and frank relationship adorable.

"I'll make it up to you, I promise." Professor R.K. kissed his daughter as she wrinkled her nose. He rushed away. "Have fun!"

Louisa shook her head at her father's receding figure. The two girls fell in step.

Salma stopped herself from asking the girl how she had been doing. Their previous meeting had all been in a place where one of them had been very vulnerable. Last she had seen Louisa, Salma had been bawling her eyes out and it was embarrassing to remember that Louisa had been the one to rescue her from Zayn after he had declared his love to her. Before that, both the time Salma had met her, it was in Sarah's room and Louisa had been in a horrible state.

"So, how's Sarah?" Louisa asked, pulling Salma out of her miserable thoughts. Perhaps the both of them had been thinking of the same thing.

"She's doing well," Salma replied. Hoping to steer the conversation away from anything embarrassing, Salma asked, "How do you happen to know so many people I know?"

"Well, your professor is my father," Louisa replied.

"Shocker!" Salma gasped.

Both of them laugh.

"Sarah was my gym instructor," Louisa continued. "I've kind of known Zayn a long time now, as dad's best friend's son that is, but Zayn and I properly met at Sarah's. He also happens to be a rival of my first sponsor, Derek Hilton." Louisa grimaced and shuddered as she said the name.

Salma looked confused.

"What?" Louisa asked. "You don't know him?"

"Who?"

"Derek Hilton."

Salma shook her head.

"How can you not know that pig?!" Lousia cried in disbelief. "He's Zayn's enemy number one. All of Zayn's friends know him because that's how he gets at Zayn. By hurting his friends!"

Salma did not know what to say to that, except that Louisa's energy kind of reminded her of Jason.

"Man, you're one lucky gal to have evaded that pig's schemes." Louisa clapped Salma on the back, a bit too enthusiastically. It made Salma realize that although they might share the same energy, Jason was gentler.

Lucky was she? To be fighting with greater pigs, Salma thought to herself.

"I'm not one of Zayn's friends so I don't get what comes with it." Salma shrugged.

That might change, her head reminded her. Salma shooed that thought away, religiously checking the perimeter for a certain dark-haired man as they stepped into the sunny grounds. She dreaded running into him, unprepared, worried how Zayn would have interpreted her words of him not giving up on her.

"How's this Derek his enemy?" Salma asked, just to steer her thoughts away from her nikkah to Zayn.

"Oh, um." Louisa thought for a while. "Zayn runs a small company. It's basically his Grandpa's but anyways, and Derek's father also runs a company and they're like rivals in business."

"I see," Salma replied, amused.

She bit back a smile at the creative way Louisa had kept Zayn's dual life a secret. She wondered what must have happened between Zayn and Louisa's sponsor to turn a business rivalry into enmity.

"Fancy a bite?" Louisa jerked her head in the direction of the cafe. Salma nodded as the girl started chatting again.

"I am headed for a Sports major, much to my dad's disappointment." She laughed. "I want to learn sculling. My father wants wants me to go for 'Marine Biology' as my major. I love wildlife but I love sculling more."

"Professor R.K. is the most understanding person I've ever met." Salma smiled. "I'm sure he'll turn around."

"He's alright." Louisa shrugged. "He's just scared I think."

"Scared?" Salma echoed.

"He's heard some pretty horrible stories from the Sports Industry," Louisa replied. "I mean, things get dirty wherever money is involved. He witnessed some horrid things happening firsthand, and I suppose he wanted me to avoid all that, but then it just ended up happening to me anyway."

Salma was not sure if it would be right to ask what happened. She had a feeling it was nothing pretty.

"So Professor R.K. is even more scared now?"

Louisa shook her head solemnly.

"He doesn't even know."

"What?!" Salma exclaimed.

"Yeah. You know my dad and Zayn's grandpa are friends, right?" Louisa began. "So Zayn's grandpa is a huge deal. He coaches one of the teams in MLS. One day, we went to watch an award show and he won the 'Best Managers' category. After the show we joined them in their celebrations. I met Hilton at the party. Long story short, during the night, Derek found out about my interests and encourage me. He had already won me over and then he said his sports company would sponsor me. Zayn found us chit-chatting and tried to intervene. Later, he warned me against Derek but I thought he was only doing that to push me towards a major that my father wanted. I told him to butt out of my business."

Salma's stomach churned as she realized where this was headed.

"Slowly what he warned me against started happening," she said quietly. "Derek started preying on me and then I got trapped in his endless cycle of blackmails. It started getting out of control. I literally became his sex slave and he could do whatever he wanted. Until one day, I just snapped. I screamed at him, telling him I wouldn't rest until I bring him down. I got really scared. I thought he would get me killed," she continued. "That is when I started taking kick-boxing classes and met Sarah. She's such a wonderful person and a good listener. She seemed like the least likely person to do anything that would cause me, my family or my reputation any harm. Also, she was not someone Derek would suspect to have known. So I off-loaded to her and told her everything."

Salma just watched the girl, too shocked and sickened by her ordeal to speak.

"Zayn saw me at Sarah's dorm once. I wasn't at my best at the time and he straight out panicked. He was convinced it was Derek long before I could open my mouth to deny it. He handled it all. Now Zayn's my sponsor on paper, but Derek pays all my expanses when I'm touring for tournaments. I make sure the bills are big enough to give him ulcers when he has to sign the cheques." She laughed.

Salma smiled politely but she was still puzzled by her.

"You didn't press charges?" Salma asked.

Louisa's face fell as she kicked a pebble out of the way.

"No," she mumbled. "Zayn and Sarah tried to convince me but I don't want to. Dad doesn't know. I don't want him getting upset. Secondly, it was consensual. He abused me mentally, played mind games you know. Besides, I have the sword now so I'm going to hold it to his throat for as long as I can. He's agreed to pay my college tuition and my residence, so far." She turned to Salma with a big grin on her face. "I maybe young, but I can be just as petty, toxic and manipulative. I'll drag him to court someday when I am stronger than him. You see, when I become the best athlete there is, and win a couple of gold medals, I'll have a fan base, that's when my case will have the proper attention and support. Whether the courts rules in my favor or his, wouldn't matter. The people would chew him out. I hope people will throw rotten eggs at him. Also . . ."

Salma shook her head in amusement as Louisa kept talking about her future plans and how she would take her revenge on Derek. Salma had to give it to her. She was strong to come out of something so vile and still carry on like she still had one hell of a fight left in her. Salma wished she could keep her spark alive like that.

"Why is it always so crowded?" Louisa complained. Salma shook back to the present to see they had already reach the cafe. And it was full.

"No empty tables?" Salma asked, tiptoeing to see over the heads of the students.

"Nope."

"Salma!"

Salma turned around to see Jason hurrying towards her, a coffee in his hand.

"Hi!" Salma smiled.

"It's crowded here," he said, smiling at the two. "Do the ladies need some gentlemanly service?" He glanced at Louisa.

"Oh, this is --"

"I know." He took a sip of his coffee. "Professor R.K.'s daughter, right?"

"It's Louisa!" she emphasized her name.

"You know her?" Salma frowned at Jason

"No, just saw her." Jason replied, taking another sip. "With professor R.K. And." Jason turned to Louisa. "I had no idea you've been Louisa, so thank you for telling me. I'm Jason."

"Pleasure, but I think I'll stick to you being Mr. Professor R.K's student." She smiled at him sarcastically.

Salma and Jason burst out laughing.

"Anyways," Salma began, "Do we go inside or --"

Salma cut off as someone zoomed past Jason, almost knocking him into her. Next thing Salma knew, the soles of Louisa's sneakers drifted in and out of her line of vision. Salma quickly stepped back, surprised to see the younger kicking and squealing over a guy's shoulder.

"Got you!" said person shouted. "It's going to be a kidnap!"

Salma's heart set to an overdrive as the voice and the accent registered in her mind. She stared at him blankly, frozen in place.

"Put me down!"

"Nope!" He laughed.

"Harris, you ass!" she screamed. "Put me down!"

"In your dreams." Zayn chortled, turning around. "We're leaving!"

"Salma, help!" Louisa screamed, just as Zayn's eyes rested on her.

He blinked, halting all movements. Louisa pushed herself off his back, got off balance and almost slipped. Zayn caught her just in time and set her down gently. Louisa grabbed his throat in retaliation.

"You're going to die at my hands, Harris, do you hear me!"

Zayn looked away from Salma, trying to gather his wits at having run into her unexpectedly. He smiled at Louisa.

"Yes champ," he muttered. "I heard you."

Louisa smiled in satisfaction, grabbing his arm that was still draped around her waist. She turned around to face Salma.

"Thank you for scaring my sponsor into . . ." she trailed off, finally catching upon the tension between the two. "What?" She looked to and fro between Zayn and Salma. "Y'all are still fighting?"

Salma and Zayn looked away, trying to think of a good enough response.

"That's not what's happening here." Jason surprisingly chuckled. "Salma is a Muslim. They don't bother with men."

Salma tried to hold her features together at Jason's lame attempt to rescue her. In an apparently casual move, she switched positions, facing Jason completely so she could turned her back to Zayn.

Louisa smiled at Jason,

"Right? And what of you?"

Jason blinked. Salma studied him from the corner of her eye, looking forward to his potentially amusing reply.

"I, uh . . . I am her junior so." He scratched his neck awkwardly, avoiding Louisa's shrewd gaze.

Salma held back a chuckle. He really had to make it awkward for himself.

"He's my student in a way." Salma intervened for him.

"Yes!" Jason quickly agreed with the snap of his fingers. "Just that!"

"That makes aboslutely no sense!" Louisa replied. "Zayn, is he -- wait, where'd he go?"

Salma whipped around to see no one behind her. She realized now would be a good time to book her butt out of another encounter.

"Anyway," Salma said. "I have somewhere to be. I got to go."

"But what about your coffee?!" Louisa shouted as Salma rushed away.

"I'll skip it, thanks!" Salma yelled over her shoulder. Waving at the two, she hurried off in the opposite direction, until she heard a very distinct voice above all others.

"Bee, wait!"

Author's Note:

Ooooohh! That was nasty 🤣 Another Dun, dun dunnnnn 🤭

Salma didn't say 'No!' (sorry to disappoint), she said much wiser things 😌. Girl's growing up lol 😁

Anyways, a few days ago, I was told that when I update, it's usually past x6th date instead of x5th. So which time zones do y'all live in. Drop a comment so I can see if a specific time can be chosen at my end.

Other than that, vote, comment and share! Also, check out my Patreon page if you wish to support my creative journey. You get early access chapters and exclusive content to read. All pledges, big or small) mean the world to me. So thank you ❤️

Lots of Love

J.