Chapter 42: chapter 40: storm

"good eradicates the bad. in the most non violent way - sulaymaan ."

Afra watched him sit back in silence , after all that he had said . It did almost make sense to her .

Almost .

He had witnessed the deaths of so many people he loved . They were killed either while fighting for his life or protecting him . They cherished him truly and wished for him to live his life well . They probably thought that he deserved to enjoy life as much as they had during the time they lived . And perhaps that's how they all became so selfless .

But that still required endless love and strong determination .

"Who's the one behind all this ? How did I end up being his target ? I don't think he had any reason to hold me as a bait ." Afra asked as he returned his gaze back upon her .

"As far as the one who's the mastermind is concerned , like I've already mentioned , I don't know . The only suspect we had all the evidence against had been murdered himself . The police investigated this case for over two years before sealing it close . A few months after that , it all started again when a mysterious person started threatening me with my whereabouts and personal details that I'm sure nobody except myself would be conscious of . Naturally I ignored , deeming it to be the work of some prankster , but when things got way ahead than I had expected them to , I knew that whoever it was had no intention of just playing sickening jokes ."

He paused and saw her listening to him with genuine interest .

"It started to occur more often and at much more regular intervals . It terrified me and I made sure to distance myself from everyone I could possibly stand as harmful to . And that's when — "

"Was this the reason why you started to ignore the triplets and not play with them ?" Afra asked , subconsciously twirling the ends of her scarf around her finger .

Sulaaymaan looked at her in confusion .

"What do you mean ?"

Afra sighed sitting upright . "I am not trying to intrude in your personal familial life , incase you're getting to that . It so happened that the girls told me about how lonely they have been and that it was nice to have me — someone who could give them some time and play — around them ."

Sulaaymaan scowled .

"They told you that ?" He slowly asked .

Afra felt his voice was crestfallen and sad . The girls missed their brother and he missed them just as much . Having to protect a family wasn't easy with the way things were progressing in his case . She could feel the burden he was under .

"I miss them a lot . My baby sisters ." He sadly smiled .

A moment of awkward silence passed between them . She stared at him a bit more before she cleared her throat loudly .

"Um , you still didn't say how I came into picture ?"

Sulaaymaan clasped his hands together and looked up at her . He felt nervous .

"Oh yeah , Er , like I said it is always searching for ways to get to me ." He shifted uneasily . "I had collided into your friend at the park that day . I — "

"It was you we met in the park ?!" She exclaimed .

Sulaaymaan winced at her harsh tone . The impression that she had probably gained from their first meeting wasn't very pleasant . Though Sulaaymaan could argue that he had been very stressed and not in his usual self , he decided against it knowing that it was least of his concern at the moment . It could wait for later .

"Yes , it was me . I thought you would have figured that out ?"

She waved a hand towards him .

"Inaya kept on telling me that you looked familiar to her that day you had come to pick me up . I didn't give much thought to it , but my girl was right after all ."

Afra regarded him curiously , and the longer she stared at him the more uncomfortable it got . Until she eventually turned her head .

"Is there anything else I must know ?"

"There is a lot more to the story than what you've heard . I need you to know that , you will be cleared on that later on . I refrained from telling you the whole situation just because you're already badly shaken up and matters could get worse ."

"What sort of situation ."

It was not a question but rather a request for more information .

"Unfortunately , I won't divulge the whole matter right now Miss Afra . However , I'm going to cut right to the chase now that you have an insight of what is to be looked out for ."

Afra shifted slightly on her bed , her eyes boring into his .

"I understand you will be perturbed with what I'm going to say next . But know that , it's all for your own good ."

"We need to get married ."

Afra was prepared to hear him speak . For the last hour , all he had been telling was coming off to her as a serious confession anyway . What he held next in line didn't matter that much until she heard him .

"We need to get married ."

His voice was soft , yet she could feel the force behind it . It was as if he was was not comfortable with even letting the words out .

"What ?!" She exclaimed , her hands flying to her face .

"Are you crazy ?!"

She heard him sigh a little forcefully , before he glanced at her sympathetically .

"Afra , I'm very very sorry , but this is how things will have to go ."

He pleaded as her eyes — that had been welcoming and friendly — shot furious glares at him .

"Mr Sulaaymaan , you're crazy !"

She shouted in his direction , grabbing her phone , throwing the blanket off , pushing her feet into her slippers and stomping off to the door .

Sulaaymaan scrambled to his feet and albeit a little hesitantly , he grabbed her wrist and hurled her back in front of him .

"Please Afra . You don't get it ."

Afra jerked her hand away and laughed in disbelief , her laugh so dry that he felt his heart tremble .

"I don't get it ?" She paused , taking a step closer and jabbing a finger at him . "You don't get it ! I should've taken my gut feeling seriously . You're totally crazy . You're a mad man ! How in the world did you even think I'd believe your lies . You're pathetic !"

She fired , her breathing heavy and ragged .

Sulaaymaan sighed and grabbed her wrist again , preventing her from walking away . "Yes , I'm crazy . A madman . A psycho . Heck , I'm even a pathetic jerk ! An insane Prince who is doing anything in his power to protect someone . A Prince who can't live with the death of another person ." He shouted , making Afra shudder with the change in his behaviour.

When Afra remained looking at him through widened eyes , he frustratedly ran a hand through his hair .

"You don't freaking understand ! Ya ALLAH ! You don't know how big of a trouble you've got yourself into , Miss Afra . This guy has never let anyone he's captured live till now ."

Afra watched him let go of her wrist and walk with a palm at his forehead .

"Trust me , I would have never suggested something as serious as that had I not grasped the urgency of the situation !"

Afra shivered , hearing his voice grow louder and louder every time .

"You have to get married to me Miss Afra . I can't let you die like her . And like all the others he'd killed . The guilt with her being gone is gruelling enough . I can't live if something happens to you !"

He came near Afra , sighed loudly with a few tears that fell down his cheeks .

"I couldn't protect her . But I can't repeat the same mistake again . Please , I beg of you ."

He dropped to his knees watching he gasp and stumble back a few steps .

"Please , please , marry me ."

Afra staggered back a couple of footsteps , seeing him stand back up and extend an arm towards her cautiously . She flinched and showed him a hand which did actually make him stop in his tracks as he was trying to advance towards her . When she could manage to look up at him , his eyes held deep regret and immense sadness . Yet , in that moment , all she could visualise was her life being tossed around like a play ball .

"Don't !"

He dropped his hand back again and curled his palm .

She clenched her abaya tight against her body as the events of the last few days played across her eyes . Her life , her family , cousins , fun and studies had all become a part of her memories . Nothing would ever go back to normal .

"I'm only trying to help ."

He had softly murmured as Afra snapped her head up at him and glared .

"You begging me to marry you isn't exactly help ."

She retorted back , resting a palm at her forehead . A very disturbing silence followed and while it seemed to have been suffocating her , she still could feel herself calm down a little . Almost enough to be able to continue the discussion .

"What is the guarantee that you can take care of me after we're married ?"

He looked at her a little startled . She could not blame him though since her tone had been subtler and calm .

He thought deeply and Afra started to grow nervous by the moment .

"One thing for sure would be that he can't try to...— " he paused and swallowed hard . "He won't be able to touch you ."

Afra shuddered and instinctively wrapped her arms over her stomach . Sulaaymaan could easily catch her looking troubled and edgy . Not wanting to further worsen her state , he stepped back .

"I — I will just get going ."

He gazed at her waiting for a response but when she didn't speak up , he had bowed slightly , turned around and was about to clutch the door's handle when her voice echoed .

"How do you think I should break this news to my parents ?"

Sulaaymaan stopped , releasing his hold on the handle and slowly turning around to look at her .

Indeed , she looked worried . And his doubts were confirmed when she gave a low whimper and sniffed quietly .

He clutched the side of his thoub and averted his gaze , silently listening to her cry . She had gone through much — not to mention the damn guy had shaken her out of her wits — and he could feel a familiar pain flow through his heart . The tears she cried pricked his soul . The tears he was the reason behind .

"Er , can I handle that part ? If you do allow me , I will talk to them ."

Sulaaymaan proposed the idea , taking a step closer . She rubbed her nose a little and looked up at him with teary eyes .

"Wh...what will you say ."

It was not a question . She had demanded to know his plans .

"I , um , I'm going to just tell them the truth . That is the only thing that would suffice as a good enough reason for the step we're going to take ."

Afra gazed at him , almost like peering into his soul . He shifted a little , clearing his throat loudly .

"You think , my parents in their right minds would believe you , even when I — the victim of a frightful incident — can't be convinced by ?"

She was smart . Sulaaymaan almost , almost forgot that she was quite misleading as a woman . Cheerful and naughty at times but she also knew where to control her behaviour .

Sulaaymaan cleared his throat awkwardly , fiddling with his fingers .

"I don't see what else we can try doing . No lie would ever keep their minds at rest . Besides , lying would only complicate the situation , which we should highly refrain from doing ."

Afra sighed loudly , feeling her head get dizzy . Clutching the side of her head , she tried to stand erect on her feet .

"Woah , are you alright ?"

Sulaaymaan dashed forward , holding her shoulders .

"I just have never been more better ."

« Assalaamualaikum ! ❤ .

You guys are so awesome ! Just know that you're all amazing and gorgeous princesses . JAZAK'ALLAH for all your time and support. I can't emphasize that point enough .

I've had TWO silent readers who came up and commented ! ❤ .

You guys make me TOOOO happy . My mom stares at me when I smile from ear to ear . She gives me the "what-are-you-upto" look . She doubts me ! Duh !

Anyhoo , you girls know what ?! I'm deciding on writing a book solely for Inaya and Faaris and Gabriel and Hafsa ! Since we can't accommodate all of their cute scenes in here .

What's say ? ❤ .

Now , I love you guys a lot ! It's insane that I have readers like you.

P.S. Why do you like this book ? Is it different from the others you've gone through so far ?

P.P.S. what's your favourite colour ? ❤