*Dedicated to JaxonBlacc because I like you and think you're cool lol. Thank you for your readership, I appreciate it more than I can say <3*

*QUICK NOTICE! I have no idea who this is in the header image but it suits the chapter so I just went with it.*

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"Girls! Amani! Maya! Come here now!"

Oh sweat. I knew that tone. I instantly got a heart palpation and knew exactly why she was calling us. My palms started sweating like crazy and I was pretty sure I was hyperventilating.

I exited my room on unsteady legs and caught Maya's eye in the hall. Her eyes were opened all the way to the whites in nothing less than fear. Immediately after I discovered the article about me, Maya and BTS on the internet, I showed it to Maya who quite literally became dizzy upon reading the article. She'd clutched her head as she read the headline.

"Oh my goodness, my head. Tell me this isn't happening. Just tell me this is a joke." I had frowned apologetically at her. It unfortunately wasn't a joke.

" You sure you didn't write this on your blog as a joke to just trick me out?"

If only that was the case. I was definitely creative enough to do something like that but I wasn't the culprit. I had replied in the negative...this was as real as real could be. Maya gave me back my phone, the poor girl looking somehow defeated. The article was a terrible omen for us.

"Do you think she knows?" Maya asked me as I emerged into the hall.

"Habibty I don't think....I know for a fact she knows," I replied fatalistically. Maya let out a dismayed sound. Our lives were ended as we knew it.

We went downstairs to find Ummie in the living room sitting on the couch. My stomach dropped to see her holding a magazine in her lap with Maya and I on the cover standing with Bangtan in front of the mansion. The shot was devastatingly clear, condemning us with no hope of salvaging the situation. I chanced a look at my mom's face and was surprised and saddened to see instead of the anger I expected, mama looked sad. I shared a look with Maya who was also surprised and unsettled.

We halted halfway into the living room and waited for her to yell, cry, talk, one or all of the above. She didn't do any of that however. She just looked at us in calm disapproval, and I knew she was disappointed in us.

My eyes pricked at the edges. I couldn't handle the way she was looking at us, like she was so heartbroken because of us. I wanted to apologize...say anything to make the situation better, anything to erase the disappointment from the contours of her face. The truth was, there was nothing I could say...not now.

"I lost my job today," mama said calmly into the guilt heavy silence. Me and Maya gasped.

"When?" Maya asked, distressed by this revelation.

"Why?" I asked before I could stop the abysmal question from leaving my mouth. I winced at my stupidity.

Ummie opened the magazine to the page that had the article we saw on the internet and read the article to us in an almost robotic way.

"The Kpop group BTS can be seen in the front of Minyo Mansion in the company of two girls in hijab at around 3:30pm Wednesday. An inside source at Bighit Entertainment has revealed to Park Chen Wu of SM Entertainment that CEO Bang PD Nim hired a private English tutor who's both American and Muslim to teach the members of BTS basic English. Ms Emeena Leonardo is a mother of five, two of her children aged 23 and 18 are pictured here with the group, which the photographer has confirmed to be Amani and Maya Johansen via Park Chen Wu of SM Entertainment. 23 year old Amani is a travel and fashion blogger on her South Korea based website Muslimgirlvsworld.blog."

Ummie finished reading the passage and closed the magazine with a snap as if it offended her (and it probably did) and laid it on the table.

I was speechless. What in the world was I supposed to say to that? I was blown away by the amount of information these people had of us. I didn't know these people from a can of paint but they knew who I and my family were. Freaky was one way to put it, and yet it was an understatement to just how weird hearing all of my information laid out like that made me feel.

I found myself wondering if this was how celebrities felt when they discovered their business exposed in the tabloids. If so, I felt extremely bad for famous people. I had always wanted to  become famous, but this made me second guess exactly what it was that I was wishing for.

"So, this is why I lost my job. Because I went to work today to teach my students and was told that I had to be let go because my daughters and the boys violated the contract. When I told them that was impossible, my daughters couldn't have violated the contract because my girls are Muslim girls and have morals and knows what is expected of them, they showed me this."

The condemnation stung really deep. The moisture that had gathered in my eyes as she spoke spilled down my face and I wiped them away in embarrassment. Maya was rocking back and forth on her heels, chewing down on her lip. Her eyes were misty with unhappiness. Mama hadn't yelled, she hadn't shouted, she still didn't even seem angry, but her quiet displeasure was many times worse and we both felt absolutely terrible.

"Ummie I," I stuttered, "I'm so sorry. We weren't thinking, we were just..."

I faltered at the end. Yes, I was sorry, so sorry that I felt regret like a physical thing weighing down on me, but we'd messed up. No amount of sorry was going to get my mom's job back. Because of our selfishness, our entire family had to suffer. I felt so angry with myself for falling so far into my desires that I failed to see the bigger picture.

"We're really sorry mama. So, so, sorry. Please believe us that we didn't mean anything bad. I just..I just hope you will forgive us someday," Maya cried brokenly, holding her face in shame. I knew Maya would take it really hard, she hated to disappoint our mom more than anything.

Mama sighed long and heavy. "I just want you guys to do the right thing. Not because of me but because you know that God is watching you and you have to be accountable for the things you do. I do my best to teach all of you guys the principles our religion holds as important. The only thing I can do is encourage and advise but I want for my efforts to not be in vain. I want to see my children living by them. I expect goodness from you guys, that's all."

Mama was right. It wasn't about the job or the money or even her being mad at us (though we cared about that a lot), it was about God and doing the right thing in front of him. I still felt terrible for getting her fired and I hoped I could make it up to her somehow. Whatever it took to get Ummie happy with us again we would do it, and we vowed this to her. But also we had to seek God's forgiveness too, so that was the first thing I did immediately after we gave Ummie our promise and was dismissed.

God, forgive me of my disobedience and transgressions. It wasn't on purpose. But...I was wrong for pursing interaction with BTS against the wishes of my mother. So forgive me, and let mama find it in her heart to forgive us too.

It looked like our relationship with BTS was truly coming to an end. I feared this would happen some way or another. But, I wasn't ready for it to end so soon. Despite my remorse I felt an incredible sadness engulf me. I could never see them again, could never talk to them.

V would never text me and send me a bunch of random emojis anymore.

Jungkook would never tell me another one of his amazing stories.

Jimin would never tell me a joke and make me laugh, or just tell me something sweet to lift my mood whenever I felt down.

Suga would never smile at me.

My heart hurt at that. I put a hand to my chest to stem the ache that I felt. Suga...now it all made sense, why he called me that night and told me to come out, why he was somber. He had known what was coming and wanted to tell me, but didn't. I wasn't sure if I was upset that he didn't tell me so I could at least have had a clue or was glad he didn't mention it which allowed me to enjoy our outing. Either way, my heart felt shattered at the loss of their companionship.

As I wiped at the endless stream of tears that ran from my eyes, I tried to convince myself that this was for the best. My mind accepted this, but my heart could not and I cried even harder for hours to come.

Our time with BTS was over.

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A/N:

OMG WE'RE AT 1K READS WOOOH!!!!! Thank you so much you guys, I cannot express how grateful I am to everyone for reading and voting on my story <3 <3 <3 <3

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