Just an Heir // A Silent Lover (prequel)

BONUS: Just an Heir Chapter Twenty-Five (Original)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE : Vulnerability (unedited)

Mall of the Emirates was a large mall, and was like the larger version of Bahrain City Center. Reaching the mall by car was easy for Michael and Kristine because of Michael's GPS (global positioning system). After parking, they quickly headed inside.

Kristine wasn't totally familiar with the mall, nor the country, and she just glanced at the people. There were some of the Arab men wearing some white ankle-length garment with long sleeves similar to a robe. Each man had scarf on their head and a black rope that seemed to hold the scarf in place. The women were wearing different colors of veils, some were wearing black ankle-length garment.

She turned to Michael, who was pushing the stroller where Harley was. "Their clothing's different, Michael. Do you know what are those clothing called?" she asked him curiously while walking.

"The white garment men are wearing is called thowb. The scarf's called ghutrah and the black rope thingy's iqal. Uhm... the women's black garment, if I can remember is called an abaya. In Saudi Arabia, all grown-up women are wearing that clothing," he turned his head to her and smirked before intertwining their hands together.

"Oh!" she got it. It must be Arabic terms, and no surprise Michael had knowledge of it. The guy was smart. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Ski Dubai," he told her when they were in front of the so-called Ski Dubai. She approached the glass and peeked from the outside. She could see the snows and the people playing wearing winter equipment and gloves. She looked at him, who was smiling. "What do you think?"

She grabbed his hands to the booth. "Go ahead and pay!" she began exclaiming yes when he approached the booth. "I'm so excited!" she let out a scream.

He laughed, "You sound like a five-year old kid, though you're twenty-five, you know. I'm waiting for someone, by the way."

"Who is it?" she asked him curiously.

"There she is," he sighed and turned to the left. She saw Rafa with Lyn and Penelope. What were they doing here? When Michael saw Rafa, they shook hands. Kristine approached Lyn and did cheek-to-cheek thingy and kissed Penelope on the cheek. She heard Michael say, "Thank you for your assistance."

"It's okay, we're just shopping." she heard Rafa chuckle. When she looked at Rafa, he was just wearing some white shirt underneath his brown leather jacket and jeans. Lyn was wearing a thick white hoodie and brown jeans. Penelope's outfit matched her mom's.

Since Lyn was carrying Penelope, Rafa was the one who got the stroller. Kristine was starting to get confused why he was holding the stroller's handle. "Enjoy with Michael, bye!" Rafa laughed as he wrapped his right arm around Lyn's waist and they walked away while Rafa was pushing the stroller Harley was in.

She looked at Michael, who already finished paying for the booth. He used his I am Michael van Alstine privilege for sure. The next thing she knew, he was grabbing her to somewhere with the shoes and clothes. When they finished collecting it with the appropriate sizes, they wore the blue gloves. As they entered the Ski Dubai, she turned to him. "Why did Rafa go off with Harley? Isn't she supposed to come with us?" she asked him, totally curious.

He frowned, "Harley's not allowed to go inside, since she's below three years old."

She sighed and rolled her eyes, but not towards him. "Too bad."

The moment they entered the large room, she read the room's temperature, -1 degrees. "Oh my Gosh! So cold!" she muttered. Her teeth began to chatter from so much cold. However, she could feel the snow at the bottom of her feet and it was quite hard to walk.