Atonement

7.Encapsulator

Qalb Saleem retrieved the information he got from one of his private investigators. The cases have been getting more and more complicated that sometimes he wished he could just close his eyes and rewind back to the time when his father offered him a job.

Everything haven't been as it used to be;he rarely visit home again due the amount of time his job requires and he can't lie,staying away from his family have been so far worst than he could imagine.

Lately,the bond between him and Sultana has been energizing,he sees her smiles and she lets him take her out on a date;mostly with the bills been paid by her. One thing about her that irks him is the fact that she has an ego and finds it hard masking her disgusting expression,especially towards the male gender. Sometimes she looks at him that way whenever he tries to help her get up or make an attempt for a physical touch.

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After the breakdown she had when they arrived to the Mubarak Gamawa mansion;Sulatana figured there is nothing to shy away from or hide from Qalb because that was literally her worst.
The pain she felt after the sight of the one monster she wished could just die brought her to her knees,crying and shouting for help.
It's been a week since it happened but the memories were still vivid in her head. The sight of the man;her rapist, his voice, the dangling scent of his perfume that cause her to vomit the living cells out of her. She could still remember how he mercilessly tore her dress and raped her, penetrating into a nine year old is the most irritating thing she could ever think of was unfortunately a satisfaction to him.

She stood by her window facing the cloud,it's dark and windy and the earth was already scenting beautiful as the environment was already dense;petrichor.

She smiled mildly at the memory of Qalb holding her when she lost her balance a week back,hugging her into his arms protectively and took her to her room. By the time they reached, she was hyperventilating and the only thing she could think of was her pills,Molly. She scoured her pockets and drawers but couldn't find any. "Give me some ecstasy please. Don Allah Don Allah ka taimake ni." Her words revived in her memory. A part of her knew he would judge her, she closed her eyes,shamelessly grabbing his collar. Instead of a pair of judging eyes,she met beautiful kind ones staring back at her the moment she opened. "You are better than ecstasy,you're better Sultana." He repeated more than three times cupping her face into his large soft palms.
"Repeat after me; Lahaula wala kuwwata illah billah." Staring into his soft eyes with her raging ones,she followed the movement of his lips; not that she can remember her brain agreeing to it but her lips,body and time froze for a moment and all she could muster to do is repeat his words,slowly her senses started to vanish,her soul deciding to rest, to forget all the pain caused by her expectations,expectations of her parents protecting her. She found herself adjusting into his arms and for a moment,her senses vanished into oblivion.

She woke up six hours later not sure how and when she got on bed,adjusted inside her duvet. Disgustingly,she removed the duvet from her stinking body,putting her legs on the cold tiles. She winced because of the cold contact. It was already 4:00am when she checked the time so she quickly rushed into the bathroom and turned on the water,setting it to a slightly hot temperature. She brushed her teeth and undressed then stepped into the bathtub.
The comforting hot water made contact with her skin,romanticizing every fiber and cell in her body. She closed her eyes and moaned in satisfaction.
Suddenly memories of what happened the previous day came rushing back into her brain and the only thing she couldn't drown into the crevices of her bones was the time she hugged Qalb.

Annoyance and nervousness mixed together made her rushed to take her bath and ran out of the bathroom. She checked the time and it was already 5:30am. Appearing to her in her walk-in closet;in the nightwear's section was a short sleeved full length black silky gown so she quickly grabbed it and walked back to the room. She massaged herself in baby oil,her always to go skin oil and sprayed her signature perfume creed and topped it night oud. A note that went unnoticed by her fell from her bedside drawer. Curiously, she opened and it read.
Don't forget to say your prayers and please call me.
Qalb.
With a small smile,she put it down and went to perform ablution.