Forced To Marry The Heartless Badboy ✔︎

04| Searching...and...Finding

Yasmine's POV 

When I arrived at my aunt's house, I could hear the Asr Adhan loud and clear coming from the clock in the living room that was way too close to the kitchen area.

The kitchen countertop was filled with all kind of food in aunt's china dishware, which didn't get out except when it is a vast occasion.

"Khalti, Khalti!" Eyad screamed as soon as we entered the house.

"In here." She answered in delight as I sow her scampered around in the tiny kitchen, arranging everything.

"They are coming soon, go get ready!" My aunt ordered.

"What?!" I yelled without thinking, but I wasn't the only one. My three brothers fell silent and turned to stare, at me.

No, no, no! Of all of the boys in the world, I had to marry that one! What the hell was my aunt thinking?!

A smile that clearly said that this was expected appeared on my aunt's face. "Yasmine. We haven't settled anything yet; this will be a meeting. Please go get ready before they arrive."

"Well it settles it for me, I hate him already, Omar and his friends locked me in the locker for praying today, so I don't approve," Mazen whispered before I took him and my brothers' hands and guided them upstairs.

"Come on. We are leaving." I whispered as I locked the door to my room when I gathered all three of my brothers.

"Where ?" Zaher, my eleven-year-old brother, asked in shock.

"To our guardian," Mazen suggests.

"Since we don't have any other person and since Baba and Mama have pointed her then we should check her out." I added, "Inshallah she isn't as my aunt insinuates."

Mazen signed, "Khalti decided to marry you off without your consent or input. I don't think she will be worse."

*********

By the time we got to Santa Barbra, California, we were utterly tired, but as soon as we reached the neighbourhood, we were too astounded to be anything else.

This isn't the typical crack-head area I was expecting my ruthless guardian to live in it. I knew that Santa Barbra was a pretty nice area, to begin with, but I was still anticipating for something more... dangerous-looking?

For a while, we were standing in front of a substantial Italian villa with panoramic ocean views and green plants surrounding all the houses! It was minutes away from the bus stop, downtown and the beach. It had architecturally impressive stone, and ironwork is present throughout the villa and the grounds.

We had to climb the hill to get to it as many small hills separated each house. I glance down at the yellow paper I ripped out of my aunt's note earlier. I stared at almost a thousand times to make sure I didn't misread it.

Montecito, Santa Barbra, California; I got it right. Hmm.... Maybe this isn't the right "Madeline Hillington." Perhaps I should've double-checked on the internet or something... I don't know exactly why, but I wanted to be wrong. To think that this woman was "almost normal" was my last inclination. It had never crossed my mind, and deep down, I understood correctly why.

"Mazen WAIT!" I warned as I sow him carrying my six-year-old brother Eyad and going toward the door as he banged on it.

"No, I am tired, and we need to get this over with." He shouted as he continued banging the door, but obviously, the loud noise of the music blasting from inside the mansion could make anyone deaf, so I doubted anyone heard his smacks.

This is where the guardian my father, a well respected Sheikh, has assigned us to live? I ask myself as I turn my attention to my brother Zaher who was hugging the beautiful greyish car in the driveway that was filled with multiple vehicles.

I rolled my eyes; he was obsessed with cars but at least someone's home. It would suck to have to sit outside all day, especially in this ridiculous heat even though it was night now.

Alright... We came for one thing and one thing only.

Well, two things. Ask the guardian who didn't ask about us for years to take us in temporality until I turn eighteen and to get rid of the marriage.

With that in mind, I walk over toward my brother, who stood beside the door and knocked more than ten times loudly. That's when I realized that there was a doorbell and Mazen felt stupid.

"Really, Mazen? Really?" I whisper. I pressed the buzzer and was surprised that it worked. If no one heard the knocking, someone would definitely apprehend the bell.

Eyad rings it, just for fun and smile at me and I smile back.

That's when I hear someone unlatching the locks from the other side. I immediately straighten my posture, grab Eyad and take the smile off of my face when I see the door swing wide open.

"You don't look like Uber eat driver?"

"Uh..." is all I can muster out. "This has got to be the wrong house," I mumble as I step back a few inches, almost tripping on the porch-steps, to glance at the number on the house again. The girl reeked from booze, and she seemed to be youthful, I would say she was my age, but that would be impossible.

"Hey," she says again weaving her hands to get any of our attention as if we hadn't heard her.

"Are you Madeline Hillington?" Mazen asked in worry.

She nodded her features, looking at him in confusion, seemingly drunk.

Khalti was right, is all I managed to think at that moment. This woman didn't seem capable of raising anyone. She would have sold the mosque and wasted our money. Did my parents not care for us to point her as guardian? Why didn't they appoint Khalti instead! How could the guardian be that loose not even to know who we are?

It is better that way, "Wrong house, sorry!" I said before Mazen opened his mouth as she immediately growled and slammed the door.

"What are you doing?" Mazen, my fourteen-year-old brother, shouted.

"I won't let Eyad, Zaher and you be raised in that environment and if this means I will marry that..." I looked at Eyad and held myself from swearing in front of him. "Omar, I will."

"You don't have too," Mazen stated. "Khalti is afraid from the guardian, and the guardian didn't even know who we are, so why does she want you to marry him? Once we tell her, it will ease her mind, and she will forget all about it."