After the truth

~24~

"Moul?" She whispered shakily, her eyes glazed over with tears. Do not cry! Do not let that tear drop! Marwa folded her hands in fist. It was so tight, she could feel her nails dig into the palm of her hands.

"as salamuʿalaykum wa rahmatu llahi wa barakatuh." She greeted, flattening her palms over the dress she had on. She watched as her father struggled to respond to her greeting of peace. Her eyes went shut and she shook her head. Nothing has changed.

"How did you know where I worked?" There was a frown line on her forehead. She wasn't pleased to see him.

"Marwa my dearest." Her father called out, moving closer to her with outstretched hands. He was a head taller than her, a sign that old age was descending on him because last she remembered he was a tall man. Even her brothers had his height. She stepped away from his touch.

"How did you find me?" She gritted, walking towards the exit. She didn't want her private life to be publicized at the office.

"I've always kept tabs on you. I had to make sure you were alright." Her father's voice was shaky and he sounded sincere but instead of pacifying, it provoked her.

Marwa whipped her head so fast, she almost had a whiplash. Her eyes went wide and her heart hammered within its cage.

"You kicked me out!" She yelled in anger. "You disowned me remember."

She was grateful for the slightly empty floor. She hurried outside, suddenly feeling hot and very embarrassed for the few people that had witnessed her outburst.

"I regret doing that." Hamza ran after her. He held onto her hands, stopping her from going further.

"Leave me alone." Marwa grunted, struggling to pull her hands out of his tight hold.

"Listen to me my dearest. Just listen." He begged, holding on tighter to her wrist.

"No! I don't want to listen. Father, leave me alone, please. I've stayed away from you as you wanted."

"I said listen to what I have to say!" He gritted, tugging hard on her arm. His eyes was blazing with anger.

Thats the father I recognize.

Suddenly, a body barrels into hamza pushing his body away from Marwa but no major harm was done to him. It showed the man's sheer strength and Marwa wondered if he had ever laid hands on her mother.

"Who the fuck are you?! The lady said No. Is that so fucking hard to understand?"

Marwa turned towards Aaron. He was angry. She had never seen him that mad before. He came over to her and grabbed her hands, searching. She could see red lines around her wrist and she didn't know when tears rolled from her eyes onto Aaron's fingers.

"Let's go." He tugged her towards his car, leaving her glaring father.

Once in the safety of the car, away from her father, Marwa bursted into tears. Her sobs wracked her whole body and she felt defeated. She heard Aaron order the driver to drive them but she had no idea where. Warmth engulfed her and she knew she was in Aaron's embrace. It felt so good to be in his arms, in the safety of his embrace but she knew how wrong it was. So she cried more but did not pull away.

She was so tired. Of everything. Of life.

**********
Marwa felt utterly ashamed of her behavior. She silently followed Aaron from behind as they ascended the stairs into a wide gated house. His shoulders were still tensed and it looked like he was ready to pounce on whoever that came around them.

The house was magnificent, but growing up in a sophisticated home and leaving said home to raise a child at a young age made her immune to the glitters of socialites homes. She almost stumbled when she found herself watching how strong Aaron looked. What was wrong with her?! She felt so frustrated with herself and her weird feelings.

A lady opened the door and upon seeing Aaron, her eyes lit up and she flung herself onto him. Marwa felt jealous. Jealous? What? She blinked rapidly, almost scoffing at the thought. She couldn't be. For what reason?

"Maddy! When did you come?" Aaron's voice was softer now.

"I told ummi to drop me off." The young lady grinned. Finally, Maddy noticed Marwa.

"No way! You brought a lady home!" She gasped, covering her face with her palms. "Did you make her cry? Her eyes are red."

Marwa quickly waved her hands every which way. She felt so embarrassed she turned away, wanting to flee. Aaron pulled her back by her dress sleeves, a mischievous smile on his face.

"I'm sorry I made you cry." He said instead.

"He didn't make me cry at all. He- he saved me." Marwa stuttered.

"Ooh, Haruni superman." Maddy grinned. "Nice to see you. You must be somewhat special seeing you here."

"Stop that." Aaron said, pushing Maddy out of the way.

"I'm Mardiyah a.k.a Maddy. Aaron's favorite sister. You?"

"I'm Marwa. No a.k.as." Marwa grinned at the girl. She looked young. "I never knew Aaron had a sister."

"We're milk siblings." Maddy replied, walking beside Marwa.

"Makes sense." She smiled.

"What would you like to eat Marwa?" Aaron asked.

They were at the kitchen now. It was so huge and had bar stools lined at the other side of the large kitchen island. Marwa slid on a stool with Mardiyah beside her.

"Anything will suffice."

She watched Aaron make avocado toast with sprinkles of mozzarella and it felt like the most amazing thing to watch. She caught Mardiyah glancing at her from time to time and she had to remind herself not to oogle the girl's brother. Later on, after demolishing a toast she stole from Aaron's plate, Maddy decided to leave the two to watch her reality show.

Marwa kept her eyes on the half toast laying on the pristine, white plate. She could feel Aaron staring at her and it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Is there anything on my face?" She asked, letting out a loud sigh, as she made eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry." Aaron apologized. "I'm sorry for holding your hands the other time and for embracing you. I couldn't bear to see you like that and I hated seeing that man hurt you or touch you." He mumbled out the last part. "I'm sorry for staring so much and making you feel uncomfortable. You're just so beautiful." He whispered, shutting his eyes tight.

"Pretend I didn't say anything. I'm truly sorry though."

Marwa was speechless. Aaron called me beautiful. Why is my heart pounding this much?

"Who was that man though?" Aaron asked. Marwa could see his knuckles turn white as he held his glass of water tightly.

"My father." Her response was quiet, almost timid.

"Shit! I can't believe I hit my father-in-law." Aaron groaned, then paused. "Sorry, I can't believe I hit your father." He began panicking. What was wrong with him?

Marwa bursted out laughing. He was adorable, looking all nervous. She couldn't deny the feelings she felt for him but it made her question if it was real or because she had been lonely for years now.

"Thank you for helping me." Marwa smiled.

"Anytime." Aaron smiled back.

"I'd take my leave now. And you should definitely quit cussing. A pretty mouth and foul words? Oh my." Marwa rose from her seat, a ghost of a smile on her face. She stared at the man before her, wishing she didn't have to leave.He was grinning widely. She stopped him from walking her to the door and instead sent a wave his way. On her way out, Mardiyah collected her number saying she wanted to keep in touch and Marwa could not have been more happier.

Aaron watched from the tall window as Marwa got into the car. He had called his driver to drop her off at home, she didn't need to return to work.

"I love you Marwa." He whispered, testing how it felt to say it out.

His phone dinged alerting him to a new message.

Unknown number

Your worst nightmare has just begun!