"she is not a one in a million kind of girl. she is the one in a lifetime kind of woman - faaris"
Sulaaymaan had to admit that Afra's act of pulling the rose sternly out of his grasp a few minutes after his offering to her had got him good .
Initially , he regretted even thinking that she would accept his small token of appreciation . Yet his heart had forced him into taking the risk and like they say , be a man . Truely enough , Afra did accept it but he could not miss the look in her eyes that were blank . Perhaps he had misinterpreted her action , because she seemed baffled yet not willing to accept it at the same time .
Standing in his room , he diligently waited for Haamid to come along with his guards . He had summoned an urgent meeting mostly because Basmah was away for a friend's party .
Sadly , he felt dejected to be doubting his fellow squad members who had been siding for years with him . But he could not shake off the words that fogged his head everytime he felt guilty for his actions .
People change .
"Okay , so Mr Haamid , let them all come in ." He spoke strictly into the Bluetooth , clasping his hands behind his back .
A moment later , the door to his room were swung open . Mr Haamid entered , bowing slightly once his eyes fell on Sulaaymaan .
"Assalaamualaikum sir ." He nodded his head rapidly , a habit exclusive to the man when he became extremely anxious .
"Walaikumusslaaam Mr Haamid ." Sulaaymaan curtly nodded , observing as Haamid directed the lined up men into the room . Sulaaymaan discreetly positioned his gaze over the men aligning themselves in an orderly manner .
All of them wore baggy loose attires with fake beards and variously diverse caps and hats . Their gazes were fixed ahead and Sulaaymaan walked across each one of them examining their overall appearance and attitude .
He was sure of the fact that someone was a traitor from among his guards and as much as that offended him , he tried to deal with it professionally .
For the last few nights , he had been receiving threats that alarmed him to an extent . Something that had forced him into questioning his most trusted men .
"Assalaamualaikum everyone ." He thickly greeted them all , getting an immediate group reply .
"I see some of you are not here now . Haamid told me they have gone out with mama ." Sulaaymaan walked across them , keeping an eye on them indifferently .
After a minute of silence , he let out an audible sigh while standing a foot away from them . With Mr Haamid standing a few feet behind him , nervously watching the meeting .
"I assume you've been notified of the meeting subject for today . It could be rather obnoxious to tell that you are not aware of the circumstances we are thriving in ." Sulaaymaan paused , squaring his shoulders while the guards stood erect as trees . "This last threat I had received ignited in me some suspicions regarding my team of guards and anyone associated with me . My stating the facts would not clear the questions as accurately as you all reading them would ." He stopped , fumbling for his phone and rapidly typing something on it . Once he had found what he was looking for , he briskly took steps closer to the man standing at his right and extended the phone .
The man , whose thick black hair swayed as his head nodded briskly , looked into Sulaaymaan's eyes momentarily . Sulaaymaan kept his gaze fixed and watched as the man's eyes quicky shifted to the phone as he respectfully took it from his hand . His eyes skimmed through the text .
"Read that text and we shall proceed gentlemen ." Sulaaymaan spoke slowly , as he surveyed the emotionless faces .
All these men were doing a good job at handling their emotions well and making sure to not display any such clue that could give them away . The more he scrutinized them closely , the more he became entangled with curiosity .
He was quite sure that there was someone who was behind all this . Either that person was away with Basmah or he was present here doing an excellent job at camouflaging his feelings .
"The text , my dear fellows , goes as such : Perhaps you misunderstood my ability to reach up to the pretty lady just because she was now escorted to your palace my man . Trust me , you've committed the most regrettable mistake of your life ." Sulaaymaan paused , looking from under his eyes at every soul listening with deep attention . "As you can probably make out , this man here sent this message to me a day before I had had a meeting with you all on bringing Miss Afra here ."
The men seemed rather dazzled and he could make out some uneasiness in their body languages .
He closed upon them , his voice dropping to a threateningly low whisper . "Just because I don't talk about my plans doesn't mean I don't have any ."
All their gazes landed at Sulaaymaan whose eyes held a look of challenge and danger .
After a few minutes of tensed silence , he moved back from his position abruptly , his back to the men .
"You may leave ." He commanded them , hearing their shoes click away till absolute stillness resided in his room .
Mr Haamid shut the door and quickly came to a halt beside Sulaaymaan .
"Sir , who do you think could be the man ?" Haamid's voice sounded desperate for an answer .
Sulaaymaan sighed loudly . All he could say was he did not find anything out of the ordinary in the batch of guards who had been there . To a certain level , he understood body language if not emotions and nobody showed anything suspicious .
"The next batch will have someone in store for us Mr Haamid ."
Afra had been pondering deeply over Sulaaymaan's words over the whole course of breakfast . Even now , she thought it was bizarre how his voice felt laden with emotions and his eyes seemed to sink deep into hers .
All in all , he had spoken those words with a lot of feelings underneath them and it came off as odd and eerie in a manner .
She smiled nervously , reminiscing the event of her being gifted an extravagant white rose . She felt her body twitch in a creeped out way , goosebumps dotting her skin when she travelled Sulaaymaan .
While being offered a rose was not something she was complaining about , she did not appreciate even in the least that she had been forced to accept the flower from him . Just so she could refrain from hurting his , maybe true intentions too much .
"What is wrong with him ?" She thought aloud . "Especially that look in his eyes everytime I am nearby ." She hissed , cringing severely .
"Oh Allah ! Please protect me . He's so creepy ."
She pushed her feet into her slippers and decided to go check out on Sulaaymaan's exciting sisters , the triplets . She had never had any small siblings or cousins . So the excitement was real . Further more , the trio was very funny and adorable and she wanted to spend some quality time with them .
As she passed the large living room , she found Kat jumping her way out of the kitchen , holding what felt like a packet of chips .
Kat could have missed Afra while dreamily humming had she not collided with Afra's legs . As soon the girl figured what had happened , her eyes fell upon Afra . For a minute , Afra felt like the girl had probably registered a great deal of shock to show no reaction but her thoughts stopped short , when a large smile slowly glowed on Kat's face .
"Ukhti !" She shrieked , hugging Afra's legs while she let out a light laugh .
"Hey there little girl !" Afra talked , bending down on her knees and holding Kat by her shoulders . "Can I spend some time with you girls ?"
Kat's mouth hung open with disbelief . "You want to play with us ?" She questioned , her voice suspicious .
Afra diverted her gaze , before nodding her head vigorously . "Yes . I figured we could have fun together ."
Kat's eyes widened and before Afra could prepare for it , the little girl threw her arms around Afra's neck and snuggled closer . "Thank you ." That was all Afra could make out of the several mumbled verses that she had spoken .
Once Kat's grip loosened around her neck , she held her shoulders and shook her gently . "I'd love to play with you girls . Why do you seem so shocked though sweetie ?"
Kat's face hung low , a few stray strands of her hair covering her small face . "Silk never plays with us anymore . And we don't have any friends . Everybody hates us ."
Afra almost let out a loud shriek ."Oh Allah ! That's horrible . Habibti , why is that ? Why doesn't Sulaay - I mean silk play with you anymore ?" Afra gently asked , the small tears dripping down her eyes paining her deeply .
Three girls not older than six had no friends and were lonely in the never ending mansion . How worser could the situation get !
Her head snapped up , a serious look on her face . "He stopped playing with us from like one , three , ten days ago ." She paused , unconvinced at her words . "No , from like these many days ." She spread her arms as widely as possible , content with her answer .
Afra let out a small laugh at how irresistibly adorable she was . To think that people could abandon young children like them felt disgusting .
"Aw , come here Habibti ." Afra pulled the little one close , snaking a hand around her waist and playing with her hair strands with her free hand . "From now , ukhti , will play with you all !"
"Yay ! Thank you !" Kat squealed , dropping a kiss on Afra's cheek .
Afra stood back up , motioned Kat to take her hand and the girl immediately slid her tiny one into Afra's .
"How far is your room ?" Afra casually asked , chuckling at how serious Kat looked all of a sudden .
"We'll be there in two minutes ." Kat enthusiastically replied , not looking at Afra .
*15 minutes later*
Afra did not know if they were circling around in the same paths or if they were lost or if Kat was playing a joke .
"Kat , Habibti , are we lost ?" Afra felt out of breath , but she managed to look at Kat a few steps ahead .
Kat only raised her hand up as an answer . "We're almost there ."
*30 minutes later*
Afra could not believe her eyes . They had been moving around endlessly and she only hoped it ended before she would end up fainting .
"Kat , I can't - " she yelped when Kat stopped and she almost tripped with the shock of witnessing one of the most astonishing things ever .
In front of her , were two of the largest double doors she had ever seen . Their light pink colour complimented the tone of the huge silver tiara that was attached to it . She squinted her eyes to make sure she was seeing things properly because the tiara was glistening with diamonds . On closer inspection , they probably were real she thought .
Kat gaze her hand a squeeze and Afra's head dropped to find her smiling brightly .
"Habibti , I am lost for words ." Afra whispered , smiling at the look before her . True she was shocked beyond belief a little while ago but that didn't stop her from not assessing the masterpiece . It was probably every girl's dream to have a door as exquisite as theirs .
"Let's go in !" Kat exclaimed tugging at her hand . Afra reluctantly had to move away so that Kat could open up the door . Much to her amazement , Kat knocked on the large doors three times after which they waited a couple of seconds .
"The password ." A muffled voice was heard from the other end of the door .
Afra had to stifle back her laugh at how the childish voice had tried mimicking a professional and strong one .
Kat hummed thoughtfully , tapping her foot . A minute later , she pulled her mouth closer to the door and screamed , "GHUSHDG" .
Afra laughed openly , knowing that Kat was hardly paying heed to her . In fact , she was thinking deeply .
"That's wrong ! We changed the password idiot !" The voice called out .
Kat huffed loudly , her brows furrowing . In the meanwhile , Afra decided it was best to examine the tiara a little closely knowing that the password session would take long enough .
She made out the thick silver outline of the tiara that had been stuck to the door . Embedded on that , were diamonds that blinded her with their intense luminosity . Afra found it a little unsettling to believe that they were all real . Albeit she was aware that there girls were princesses . To own crates of gold and jewels was not a huge deal for them .
But certainly , it had a huge impact on Afra regarding their status and position in the country .
"GAUTMSAPWUAD !" Kat exclaimed , jumping excitedly . Afra found it a little too amusing that their password happened to be jumbled up letters . What intrigued her massively was the way Kat had even pronounced it .
She laughed silently as the large doors were opened , lifting the curtains over what she thought was the most luxurious kids room . The layout was ridiculously large , making it look like the room hardly had an ending . The walls were covered in glittery pink paper and mini unicorns stuck over them .
To the farthest left side , Afra detected a door that she was assumed was the closet door . Adjacent to that door , another door was viewed which she again presumed was the washroom . Or it could have been vice versa . All in all , Afra was loving the room idea . She's always loved unicorns and they were the first and the last love of her life .
She had been carried away so much that it hardly clicked her that , the girls were enjoying her examining the room . Their faces were strained upwards as they kept staring at Afra with goofy grins . Except for the one with the shortest hair , Jazz she presumed .
When Afra did realise this , she instantly backed up and clapped her hands together to catch their attention . If not , their necks could have stiffened .
She gestured the girls to get settled down on the extremely plush and soft carpet that was laid out in their entire room . What amazed Afra , was just not the fuzziness but the unique holographic property of it to shine . One thing that had caught her attention right at the moment she had stepped foot in the castle , it was that the rooms were carpeted while the remaining portion of the mansion was laid down with exquisite beige coloured tiles .
"So , I'll ask a few things before we get started ." Afra cooed , stretching her legs out .
All of them eagerly nodded , prodding closer to Afra . "So , I know that I'm not a genuis . And neither can you girls change how you look ." She paused , taking a quick moment to scrutinize the girls . "Now it's pretty obvious the girl with the shortest messy bob cut is Jazz . So leaving her aside , we have you girls left ." Afra pointed at Dandelion and Kat , while Jazz gave them a bored look .
"So , I was wondering how would I know who is who ?" Afra asked , intently watching the two girls exchange confused glances .
Kat kept opening and closing her mouth , retreating back . Finally , Dandelion spoke up , her eyes twinkling .
"I have a gift for you !" She exclaimed , pushing her hand into her gown . Afra resisted the urge to roll her eyes while smiling .
"Thank you very much . But for now -" her sentence was left incomplete as Dandelion dangled from her hand , a pretty chain with some elegantly shining diamonds .
"This is your gift ."
« Assalaamualaikum .
Oh ALLAH !!! Guys , I am so so sorry for not updating for so long . My WiFi connection timed out and then my dad was out of the city and then I was dying without wattpad and then I got my net back a few hours ago .
I will update once more in Shaa ALLAH , soon enough . â¤â¤â¤ .
But I wanted to take a minute and apologize because I think it's necessary I apologize for having gone without notifying anyone . I hope my apology will be accepted because it's a sincere apology .
Anyhoo , thank you all so so so much for the votes that you are showering over me . We're almost there to gaining 1K votes !!!! â¤â¤â¤â¤ .