What had he done?
With the adrenaline wearing off Qais's hazy mind became more clear. He remembered her trembling form with more clarity.
Fuck Fuck Fuck.
He remembered her past. The trauma her uncle had put her through. Her fear of him wasn't an exaggerated response, it was a traumatized reaction. She had been terrified of him! She thought he would hit her or something. The mere thought made him revolt.
What have I done?
He hadn't been able to control himself. She was the last person he wanted to probe into his past. It was beyond dangerous. And seeing her with all those old letters, those damn letters. It flipped something in him. He was outraged.
He has to fix this. But how? She wouldn't even want to see his face right now! It would just drive her into a full blown panic attack!
The door knocked. Qais grumbled a permission, before proceeding to pour himself a glass of liquor; a cigarette alone won't calm his restless mind.
"Sir, Pasha has sent today's reports." Khalid his third-in-command reported on Pasha's behalf.
Unlike Pasha, black suited and professional, who stayed beside the lord 24/7, Khalid dressed more informally in a dark jacket and jeans was only ever required to come in front when Pasha was absent. He had wavy hair tipping the top of his collars, and a much easy-going demeanor.
"Should I read it aloud?" Khalid, not well-versed in the art of Qais's mood unlike Pasha, asked hesitantly upon his silence as he gulped downhis alcohol absent-mindedly.
"Just tell me what it says." Qais gestured in dismissively, trying to distract his mind from Layla. The guilt was crawling at him.
"Jaffar refused to meet him. Pasha says it might take longer than expected."
"Khalid, have you ever fallen in love?" Qais questioned curiously all of a sudden.
Khalid was taken aback.
Qais had never felt the need to inquire Pasha because he already knew everything about the stone-hearted stoic. He had better luck discovering aliens in his backyard than love story from Pasha. But he figured Khalid was a more normal human than Pasha.
"Well??" Qais raised his eye emphatically.
"Uh... a few times, sir."
"Few. What are you? A fish?" He scowled.
Khalid pursed his lips, abashed.
Toning down his cynicism, Qais's curiosity resurfaced as he realized in a way Khalid had more expertise with love than him, "Well, what happened then?"
"It just never worked out. I guess I was too good for them..." Khalid sighed longingly.
The penstand came hurling at him.
"Ow..." He held his eye.
"You're more full of yourself than I am." Qais was in disbelief.
Khalid opened his mouth in offence.
"Just get out."
"Yes, sir. Better, sir."
Qais cursed to himself. He's employed a fucking priest and a shrewd. One belongs to the stone age and the other to the streets. Not one decent person around.
He took all his frustration out on the liquor bottles.
♛
The leaves rustled in the dense forest, dark combat boots crunching the dirt underneath.
YOU ARE READING
QAIS
Romance"She was his mirage, a dream he could only chase. He was her living hell, a nightmare she could not escape." Layla Mustafa is the only girl in her family allowed to go to university. Belonging to a strict patriarchal background, Layla, the shy and s...
