Affianced By Force

CHAPTER NINE - A New Beginning

Faisal stood there looking at Umamah. The raw fear and yet, hope in her eyes was his undoing. He didn't doubt her. He had never doubted Umamah's purity. She might have been a spoilt kid from the beginning, but she always drew the lines. It was one of the things that made him proud of her over the years she spent at the University of York. She stayed away from him, and wasn't really practicing, but she didn't indulge in night clubs and parties like her mates.

While they busied themselves with that, she spent the time improving her results.

No, he didn't doubt her. What then was the problem? Simple! Him.

Last night had been the scariest night of his life. When he had found that her phone had been turned off, it had been as though everything was crashing around him. It was not the worry of a protective guardian. It had been more.

When she had called and he heard her poorly disguised voice, he had lost it. It wasn't just because she was an Amanah in his care. It was more than that.

Then, Allah had been so merciful. He guided them to the hidden entrance of the Creek and he had found her, just in time.

For hours, he sat watching over her in fear that she might not recover from whatever trauma she might have experienced in there, and Allah knew how much he prayed that she would not remember the incident.

But when she finally came to, her first words had been "Abdul, please. Get to him. He is injured and he is hidden behind the bushes at the creek." She had been so worried that even when Faisal had told her that the Police already found him, it had not calmed her down. She had been in and out of consciousness, hallucinating about her beloved Abdulhameed being injured and asking why he had come here when he knew he was ill. She could see the boy's feelings and pains. Why couldn't she see his?

It was not a good experience to have witnessed. For the first time in years, she was not just passive about someone. She showed fear, care and worry... and it wasn't for him. How he wished it was. But it wasn't, and probably never will.

But he had been ready to put all that behind and just move on. He was a businessman. An old successful businessman. Facing Challenges head on was what he did. Not some love sick, love struck kid.

But even as he cautioned himself about her, he knew she had gotten under his skin, right where he swore no one would ever get. Somehow, she had become his strength, and right now, his weakness.

Now, as he stared at her tear-filled eyes, he wanted nothing more than to run away and hide. He was Faisal Abdurrahman and he did not know where the fear to confront his challenges sprung from. That wasn't him.

He believed her, and that the problem. If Umamah was innocent and the guy is the one that still loved her, didn't that mean he could still sway her a bit? Didn't that mean it was all him overreacting? How could he face her then?

But he couldn't run away. He had attempted to, but Umamah Sulaym will not allow it.

"I... believe you." He wasn't sure that was his voice, but he came out with it.

Relief, then something else crossed her expression.

"Then, look at me. Tell me that while looking into my eyes."

He did, and this time, his voice was clearer. "I believe you."

Relief, and only relief flooded her expression. Her next words made him wish she wasn't so innocent. "Then, your words were only because you were jealous?"

Her innocent question said two things. She knew too much and it made him more vulnerable to her. He nodded.

"I am done with him." She reassured. "Everything ended years ago. At the time, I still had feelings for him, but not anymore."