"We are going to the mall close to Dania's house, they have pretty dresses there." Zaina decided as we stepped out of my house.

"Sure, is Dania joining us when she finishes work?" I asked.

"I think she is, I'll text her and ask." Raina said and pulled out her phone. All three of us stopped at the driveway and waited for their brother to pick us up.

The day had passed surprisingly fast. I had spent a morning with my family and my mother had made us a very heavy breakfast. After breakfast, both me and my father had left for work.

My father had insisted on dropping me off but I refused since I loved walking. I had taken a peaceful walk to work without anyone disturbing me on the way.

Nothing special had happened at work across from some preparations for fashion week. Which had made me realized I should talk to my parents about it.

I had arrived home an hour ago and found Raina and Zaina at my house waiting for me. We had prepared lunch for us and ate together before Zaina suggested we should go for shopping. It was a common friend's wedding in the upcoming weeks, they wanted to buy attires for the celebration.

I remember I had been so exited for the wedding when I had heard about it months ago.

However, recently it had completely left my mind. I had totally forgotten about it.

The strong sunlight hit my face and I relaxed my face, trying to enjoy the warmth.

Raina and Zaina had talked to their brother who had promised he would drop us off at the mall. He had informed he would pick us up in five minutes but from the looks of it, he would be late....like alway.

"Where is he?" Zaina mused in annoyance as she tried calling him but didn't get to him.

Both the sisters were busy on their phone when I noticed the front door of the house across opened. My eyes moved around the neighborhood worriedly but relief swept over me when no one was around.

Walid didn't want anyone to know he stayed in that house but I knew deep down it wouldn't take long before someone noticed him.

Our neighborhood was a lively place, across from when it turned dark. That's when everyone disappeared into the comfort of their home.

I doubted Walid would be able to hide from people here. Sooner or later, someone would knock on his door and invite him over. That was just how the people in my neighborhood were like.

My eyes moved back to the house only to see Walid moving towards his car. He was dressed in a pair of black formal trousers and a button up shirt. His hair was styled neatly to the side and a pair of dark sunglasses covered his eyes from me.

A man was walking ahead of him, most probably to cover him from someones eye, as they hastily made their way to the car.

Once they reached the car, Walid pulled open the door to get in but stopped abruptly. His head tilted towards us and my breath hitched.

Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I could feel his burning gaze on me. Only the mere thought itself made my cheeks burn and tingle.

I stared back at him and last nights memories flashed in my mind. I felt my face heat up more and I could almost hear my heart beating loudly.

Suddenly, a car screeched in front of me, making my attention drift away from Walid. "Finally, what took you so long?" Zaina asked her brother who had his window rolled down with music blasting in the car.

"I'm here now, stop complaining." Her brother, Yusuf, said and Zaina responded by mimicking him in a ugly way before moving to get in the car.

"Jasmin, you should sit in the front or the psycho will chase us if you ruin his car seat again." Zaina suggested just when I was about to join Raina in the backseat.

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about last time. Get in the front, now!" Yusuf ordered, looking at me sternly.

Yusuf was like a brother to me and he also considered me his sister. He had always been a mischievous and adventurous guy who had forced us to some crazy things as we grew up.

"But it's-"

"Hurry up Jasmin. Get in." Zaina stressed before I could protest and I noticed she had already made herself comfortable in the backseat.

I hastily got in the front seat and closed the door after me. "I don't have travel sickness. That was just one time because we went for a very long drive and I had been sick for days before that drive but you guys don't want to listen to me." I protested as I crossed my arms in annoyance.

"Whatever, can't risk it. I've just washed my car." Yusuf cleared and I sent him a glare before buckling my seatbelt.

As if a realization hit me, my eyes hastily moved to Walid's car when Yusuf reversed the car to turn around.

I couldn't see anything because of the tinted windows but the car hadn't moved from the place.

"Look at your future husband, I know you will end up with him one day." Yusuf pulled on my shoulder to get my attention and I turned to him only to see him laughing as he stared at something ahead of us.

I looked in front of me confused and scowled when my eyes landed on the old man from the neighborhood close to ours. All my friends always joked about me and the elderly man named Tommy because he always stared and winked at me whenever he saw me.

No one took Tommy seriously because of his age and the Alzheimers he was suffering from, but he could be very uncomfortable at times.

"Shut up." I muttered and slapped the back of his neck while all of them just laughed as the car moved out of our driveway and started moving towards our destination.

I leaned back in the seat and my thoughts wandered back to my so called husband again. I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to block his thoughts from my mind.

I had noticed that task was impossible for me nowadays. I could never block Walid out of my mind.

How much I tried.....it just never worked.

~

"This will look great on you." I said as I picked out one of the dresses Zaina held out for me.

"I was thinking the same." She said with a smile before leaving to try the dress.

"Jasmin, how is this one?" Raina appeared from behind as she held up a beige colored dress. I looked at the dress for a moment before shaking my head.

"The dress is beautiful but the color is not it. Try to look for a darker color it will suit your hair." I suggested and she thought about it for a moment before nodding in excitement.

"You're right, what would I do without you!" She gave me a kiss on the cheek before rushing away.

"Jasmin, did you not find anything you like?" Dania asked as she walked out of the dressing room, with a baby blue dress in her hands.

"I can't seem to find anything." I let out tiredly. She narrowed her eyes at me.

She and everyone else knew that I hated shopping. It was just too tiring and such a headache.

"You probably looked at two dresses then gave up." Dania shook her head. "I'm stuck on this one and the navy blue one. What do you think?"

"I like the navy one better." I said and she nodded before putting the dress on the couch beside me.

"Go and look for a dress, now!" She scolded.

"Okay! I will." I defended and stood up, making her shake her head in disbelief at me.

"I can't deal with your nonchalant habits. But on the bright side, you look good in anything. You would even look good in the dress my grandmother took her last breath in trust me." She said and walked away.

"Dania!" I hissed but she was already out of my sight. I couldn't help but chuckle before walking out of the dressing room.

I started once again looking through the stack of dresses. I was very confused, not knowing which one to choose.

"Can I help you?" Startled, I turned around to see the middle aged woman, working at the shop, stand a bit away from me. She smiled brightly at me as she moved closer.

"Uh, I'm looking for a dress." I said honestly.

"Oh. If you wish, I would love to help you choose a dress." She offered and I nodded.

"Thank you. If you want to." I said.

"Of course. Follow me." She lead me to the other side of the store and stopped beside a few dresses. She pulled out one of the dresses and held it up for me to see.

"Your friends mentioned you're looking for a dress to wear for a wedding. This dress is simple yet elegant. It would look great on your figure and the color will suit your eyes and hair so much." She spoke so tenderly and my eyes moved to the dress.

A smile appeared on my lips as I examined the dress. It was a red silk dress and she was right. It was simple yet elegant.

"It's beautiful. I'll take it." I said and grabbed the dress when she held it out for me.

"Won't you try it on?" She asked, sounding a bit shocked.

"No, it'll fit me.....it's my size." I said after checking the size.

"Yeah but you, I-um never mind. I'm glad I could help you out." She smiled and I thanked her before meeting the girls in the dressing room.

All of them had chosen their dresses and we were ready to leave. Once we had paid for the dresses, we left the store.

"Finally, I had thought about buying a dress for so long." Zaina said tiredly.

"Yeah. I can't wait for the wedding." Raina added, sounding exited.

"Same. But I can't believe you didn't try on your dress. The dress looks great but how did you not even try it on? You are so weird." Dania cut in, looking at me.

"But it's my size. I'm sure it'll fit." I stated stubbornly and all of them shook their head at me.

A sudden impact made me stumble back and I almost dropped the bags from my hands. I looked up only to be surprised to see Isak in front of me with a young girl.

"You are deaf that I know, but you've become blind too. Don't you look in front of you when you walk?" The girl scolded Isak as she gave me a sorry look. Isak just glared at her, not noticing me.

"Can you keep your mouth shut for a minute shortie? If I hear one more word from you I will tuck you in that dustbin." Isak warned and the girl's eyes widened dramatically.

"You will tuck me in the dustbin? I dare you to try it. I will tuck your whole existence in there." She shoot back at him.

"Do it please, at least I won't have to deal with you." He pleaded and I looked between them confused.

"You think I'm here because I want to. Ma forced me to come with you or else I despise to even look at you." She huffed and I wondered if she was a relative of Walid since I remembered I had heard Walid mention someone called Ma before while he was talking on the phone.

"Now now don't lie. You just want a reason to stare at this handsome face. You could've said no to her but you didn't. Now shut up and follow me." With that, he left without turning to look at me.

"How can you leave without saying sorry. Hey! I can't believe him." She mused the last part as she turned to me. "I'm so sorry. Please don't mind him." She hastily said and slowly walked away from me.

I just sent her a smile instead and turned back to the girls.

They were all staring behind me awestruck. I looked at them confused and snapped my fingers in front of them to get their attention. "What happened?" I asked confused.

They came back to their sense and turned to me. "Damn.....he was hot. If only he could bump into me I would be the luckiest girl on this planet." Zaina said dreamingly before walking away.

"Well, he was handsome." Dania sighed and followed Zaina.

I tuned to Raina and waited for her. "No comments." She shrugged before leaving me alone.

"All of you are crazy." I shouted after them before shaking my head and just as I was about to follow them someone called out my name from behind. I swung around only to see Isak stand there.

He looked around and seemed to be confused to see me alone. "Uh, hi." I said as I smiled at him when he stopped in front of me.

"I didn't notice you here." Isak said and I shrugged.

"You were busy bickering with that girl, you didn't even notice you almost knocked me to the ground." I replied.

"Yeah yeah whatever." He chuckled as he put his phone in his pocket. "Sorry, I didn't know it was you. If I had known I would've definitely knocked you to the ground." He added which made me glare at him.

"I'm sure you would." I nodded and looked behind him but didn't see the girl he was with anywhere.

"Are you here with Walid?" He asked suddenly. I quickly shook my head.

"No, why would I be with him?" I asked.

"I figured maybe after last night you grew a soft spot for him and decided to go on a shopping spree with him." He shrugged and his words made me furrow my eyebrows in confusion until a realization hit me.

"L-last night.....what do you mean..?" I asked nervously. Did he know what happened last night? Did he see me and Walid in my backyard...?

"Yes, last night after he looked for your bracelet like a mad man. Tell me Jasmin, is that bracelet worth millions or is it a treasure made of a dinosaurs teeth?" He asked, making my confusion grow more. "At least that's what I doubted after seeing Walid go went under water to look for it." He added.

I felt my cheeks heat up and my hands tremble in nervousness at his words. "Walid was the one who found it?" I asked dumbfounded. So he had gone back to look for my bracelet after finding out it was from my sister...?

"No, his grandma woke up from the dead and found it then gave it to him to return it to you." Isak said sarcastically.

I stared at him and couldn't help but laugh. I didn't know if I reacted that way because of his silly sarcasm or because of the unknown joy I got after finding out Walid was the one who looked for my bracelet.

"How did he know it was there?" I asked curiously.

"We looked for it in the beach house first. When we couldn't find it, he remembered that you guys had visited that place. So he looked there and found it." He explained.

He hadn't only found my bracelet but he had looked under the bridge where I had jumped in the water to look for him. That explained his damp clothes and hair.....

I shook my head but couldn't stop myself from smiling.

"I got this bracelet from my sister as a gift so it's more than special to me." I confirmed as my fingers pressed around my wrist, feeling the comfort of the material around it.

"Your sister? I didn't know you have a sister." He said sounding confused. I stopped myself from gulping as my smile dropped uncertainly.

"She is no more." I said, holding myself strong as I spoke.

I cleared my throat and looked around for my friends only to not find them anywhere in sight. It was good to be honest. They would just get suspicious if they later found out Isak was Walid's friend and they saw me talking to him now.

"I didn't know, I'm sorry." He spoke as he nervously fiddled with the car keys in his hands.

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, who is that girl you were with? Your girlfriend?" I asked, this time I was the one teasing him. His expressions dropped to a disgusted one and I looked at him suspiciously.

"Don't ever say that again. I would rather date a man than her." He cleared, his words making me laugh.

"You are being silly." I confirmed and he nodded.

"That I am. But she is Walid's cousin." He finally eased my suspicious and I couldn't help but feel nervous all of a sudden.

"Anyway, I had forgotten my wallet at the store that is why I came back. I'll leave you to enjoy your time without me, which I know will be devastating because you won't see my handsome face. But you have to control your emotions." Before I could raise my hand to hit him, he rushed away while laughing.

Shaking my head, I watched as he disappeared into a store before I finally found the courage to move to the direction of where I had last seen my friends.

The new information I got from Isak regarding Walid and my bracelet was circling in my mind and I couldn't stop smiling as I walked away.

~

I opened the door to our terrace and stepped in before soundlessly closing the door after me.

My eyes roamed around the dark terrace as I walked ahead. I put my hands on the railing and looked up at the shining stars.

Letting out a breath in relief, I closed my eyes and let the light wind hit my face.

Today had been a very strange day for me. I had strange thoughts ever since I came home from the mall.

The thoughts were obviously consisting of Walid and his actions. I was thinking about all the evil things he had done to me. All the rude comments and all the disrespect.

On the other hand, I couldn't stop thinking about all the good things he had done for me. How he had indirectly looked after me.

The memories of our time at the beach house wouldn't stop leaving my mind....

The memory of how he had taken a seat at the beach away from me when I visited it just to make sure I was safe. But even then he had been sarcastic with me, hiding the real reason to why he was sitting there.

He had even forced me to go out with him in my sleep wear just so I could have food when he found out I hadn't eaten anything. He had then asked me if I wanted to visit a river and it was the most beautiful river I had ever seen.

He had treated the wounds on my feet in the mall. Also, the same day, he had let me sleep on his lap for so many hours without waking me up.

He had saved me from those men at the unknown place I had walked to. I still remembered the fury in his eyes and how mad he had been about the fact that some men tried to misbehave with me.

The memories of when he had caught me walking around the entrance of the beach house appeared in my mind. I had told him I wasn't feeling good and needed fresh air.

At that time, he had banned me from going out after everything that had happened. Even then, he had said he had some work to do and I could follow him outside.

However, not even once had he looked through his phone to contact the woman named Linda. To know if she was still coming or not. He had just used it as an excuse to take me out....

That was the time I had lost my bracelet at the place we visited and last night Walid had gone back to the beach house most probably too look for it. And when he couldn't find it, he went to that place....

Even then he hadn't told me he was the one who found it. Instead, he tormented me by saying he went for a swim with that woman. Not that I cared about him swimming with other women.....

He had done so much for me indirectly which made me happy and mad at the same time.

Happy because of the fact that he actually did have a heart and cared about others. Sad because he didn't want to show it.

I'm sure he would love harassing me all day long instead of saying something nice to me. That's just the kind of person he was.

His personality was like no one else's. I had never met someone like him. He was hard to understand....but I believed I was making progress in understanding him.

My eyes opened when I heard some voices. I looked at the house across only to furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

The lights to the room at the second floor was turned on and a few men were scattered around.

Looking around, I couldn't spot Walid anywhere but it seemed like something was wrong.

With a feeling of worry, I hastily made my way to the staircase. I opened the small gate and stepped downstairs to our front yard.

I made my way to the house across and tried to see if anyone was around but the three big cars hid the entrance from my view.

Just as I circled around one of the cars and went towards the front yard, the front door opened with such a impact it made me almost take a few steps back in fear.

Three men dressed in black stepped out and hurried towards the cars behind me with worried expressions as they whispered among themselves.

One of them noticed me and stopped in his tracks. He stared at me with a shocked expression and the other two noticed as their eyes followed his gaze.

Soon enough, all of them were staring at me with wide eyes. "That's her...." One of them finally said and my breath hitched.

Before I could react in any way, someone blocked them from my view.

I looked up at Walid's back only to notice he seemed tensed. Even though I couldn't see his face, I could feel his tension.

"Leave. Now." Walid said with so much hatred and venom it almost made me tremble in fear.

I couldn't see any of the men since Walid had blocked my view but I could hear their footsteps. The closer they got, the more Walid turned around. I couldn't do anything else than follow Walid's direction as he turned around to hide me from their view.

I heard the car door open and an engine turning on before their car speed away.

Finally Walid turned around and I took a step back since he was standing too close. "Who were th-"

"Are you dumb?" He cut me off icily. "Who the f*ck told you to come here?"

His words made me want to disappear into thin air. He was more than mad...

I gathered my courage and spoke up."I just wanted to check if everything was alright." I clarified and he ran a hand through his hair as he paced back and forth.

"If you saw the people in the house, if you noticed something was wrong why did you come here? Can you get more stupid?" He let out angrily.

I felt my eyes prickle with tears but I held them back. How could he be so rude to me? I just wanted to see if everything was alright.

"You have no right to speak to me that way. I'm sorry for wanting to check if everything was alright. Also, from the looks of it, those people knew me. They were talking about me so I have every right to find out what the hell they meant." I shoot back, anger taking over me.

I tried hard to keep my voice low because I didn't want anyone to notice me here at this time of the night.

He stopped pacing and glared at me. His stare wanted me to dig my own grave but I held my guard and moved to walk away. I couldn't stand looking at him and hearing his rude comments for one more second.

Suddenly, his hand gripped my wrist and he pushed me back. "What are you doing? Let me go!" I let out as I tried to wiggle free from his grip.

Walid ignored my words and pulled me with him inside the house. We crossed the small hallway and entered the living room. He finally let go of my hand and I stumbled back.

"Don't touch me." I warned, glaring at him. I could feel my heart beating faster than before and my anger for him growing more by each passing second.

"I won't. I don't want to touch your dirty hand that you put on other men." He said with disgust.

I looked at him confused. "Have you gone mad? What are you talking about?" I asked, the little bit of patience left inside of me fading quickly.

"I'm the one who's gone mad? I can't stand a bit too close to you because apparently you have a problem with it, but you have no problem in getting in another man's car and touching him?"

I stared at him in shock and confusion until I realized what or who he was talking about as the flashbacks of me joining Yusuf in the car appeared in my mind.

I was lost for words as I stared at him. How could he think so much about such a small matter? Yusuf was like a brother to me and whatever happened between me and him in the car was an innocent joke.

"You're insane. Yusuf is my friends brother. We all grew up together. He's like my brother. I can't believe you have such cheap mind!" I spat in anger.

His eyes turned darker at the mention of Yusuf and he stepped closer to me. "You see him as a brother, but he isn't your brother." He confirmed with a death stare.

"So what? Even if I touched him and he did the same, so what? You don't have any right to control me. I'm the one who decides the limits for the people in my life." I said with determination, trying to make him understand he couldn't control me or my actions towards others.

I backed away when he came even closer but regretted it when I stumbled back on the couch. I shrieked when Walid pulled me up forcefully and pushed me against the wall.

"Who said you can decide anything?" His voice was as cold as ice. "Huh?" He raised his eyebrow dangerously.

"The question is, who said I ever cared about the words coming out of your mouth? You can force me to anything, you can get to me physically, but you'll never get to my soul. That's one thing you'll never have control over, and I know that it's killing you." I smiled in satisfaction, knowing the hatred was clear in my eyes.

He had rubbed it on my face hundred times that he had other girlfriends and that he would meet other women but he still had the audacity to think he had the right to be mad over a childhood friend of mine?

Walid let go of me suddenly and took a step back. He stood in front of me and just stared at me with empty eyes. Even though his frame was relaxed, I could see his chest moving quicker than usual.

"Did you take a shower, or is his disgusting touch still on you?" He asked suddenly, purposely crossing all the limits.

I stopped myself from looking at him in shock, not expecting him to fall lower than he already had.

"No I didn't. His touch won't disappear from me, what are you gonna do about it?" I held my guard as I spoke.

The man in front of me was a self obsessed brat. Here I had thought, minutes before, about all the times he had showed how much he cared about me...

"You sure you wanna find out?" He asked, stepping closer and taking hold of my arms. "I hear this ringing sound in my ear, when I see you with another f*cker." He spoke slowly. "I usually hear that sound when I've had a hard day, and things around me just seem to piss me off more than I already am. I see the ringing as my own self warning me, informing me that it's the last straw. Now, my mind can't get rid of the image of that f*cker trying to touch what's mine, trying to take you away."

I had a hard time breathing, listening to his words. He was talking so slowly and dangerously, making me feel a tad bit scared.

"No one's-"

"Shhh, shhh, silence....silence." He interrupted me. "I'm hearing the ringing sound in my ear again. Which leads me to tell you not to test me. But sadly, you already did."

I tried to wiggle free from him but his grip only tightened. "Let me go." I warned.

I didn't want anything else than leave the damned house and go back to the comfort of my home.

He took a step back but not before taking my hand and pulling me with him.

"Where are you taking me? Leave my hand. What are you doing?" I let out as he led me to a bathroom close by.

He pulled me inside a big glass shower and stopped under the shower. Before I could react, I felt the water pour down my head and I hissed in surprise.

"Have you gone mad? Stop it." I pleaded as I tried to move out of the shower but he held my wrist firmly as he pushed me back.

"Go ahead." He ordered as he let go of me and slid the glass door shut.

He stopped a distance away from me, the water not hitting him anymore. I noticed only his hair and shirt were wet while me on the other hand was soaking from top to toe.

I shivered and shook my head, not moving from the running water. "I won't." I managed to say, knowing exactly what he wanted me to do.

"I can wait all night." He replied back.

I gritted my teeth in anger and stopped myself from lunging at him. I wanted to rip him into pieces because I knew I had lost against him. It was nothing new, I was used to defeat in front of him but it just reminded me of how vulnerable and helpless I was when it came to him.

I looked down at my feet and felt tears together with water run down my face. "I did shower earlier, now let me go." I said, barely hearing my own voice.

"I'm waiting." He said mercilessly, making me slump in defeat.

I waited for a moment before deciding to let him know he had won.

My hands slowly raised to my arm but stopped midway when he spoke up. "Here." I looked up at him and felt my hands shake in anger when I saw him holding out shower gel for me.

Not having any more energy to deal with him, I held out my hand as he emptied some gel in my palm.

I stared at my hand for a moment before moving ahead with the task. I rubbed the gel over my bare elbow slowly.

My hand stopped suddenly and I looked up at him. Walid was staring at me emotionlessly. It was like, he was a completely different person. I couldn't get to him through his eyes.

I gulped and went back to rub my arms with the gel as water dripped on it, making the foam disappear slowly.

I did the same with my hands and once I was finished, I washed away the soap and turned around. I turned the shower off and a pin drop silence fell upon us.

My back was towards him and I found it hard to breath. I wanted to cuss him and slap him but the only thing that happened was the tears emerging from my eyes.

I tried to stop crying but it felt like an impossible task. He had showed me what kind of person he was. He had showed me a side I never wanted to see again. He had made me realize how worthless I actually was...

It was 1 in the morning. I had come here because of my worry for him. I had noticed something was wrong and wanted to make sure he was alright. Instead of treating me like a normal human being, he had disrespected me in a way no one had before.

Just over the fact that I innocently touched someone of the opposite gender and him touching me back. Just because of that small incident he thought that Yusuf was there to take me away from him...

Walid had reacted in a way which was unacceptable. He had made me wash away another man's touch which didn't even exist...

My hands raised to my wet hair and I patted it in place before turning around. I walked towards the glass doors without looking at him.

"Move." I let out, my voice weak as the damned tears wouldn't stop streaming down my cheeks.

"Don't cry." My anger grew at his words but I let out a deep breath and controlled myself.

"I said move. It's late I have to go home." I said icily and wiped my tears, still not looking up at him.

When he refused to move, I gathered all my strength and pushed him to the side. He noticed not to mess with me right now and stepped aside.

I slid open the door before storming out of the bathroom. I almost slipped because of my shoes being wet but I managed to keep my balance and compose myself.

Without looking back, I hurried out of the house and made my way towards my terrace.

I felt the tears form in my eyes again but I held them back as I furiously made my way up the stairs.

I didn't even care to close the gate of the stairs after me as I hurried inside and walked to my room.

"I will never forgive him. I will never forgive him." I repeated again and again as I walked over to my bed and slumped on it.

My fingers clasped around the pillow harshly and I wanted to scream out in pain and furry.

I was breathing harshly and it felt like I couldn't breath as my breath hitched repeatedly. Soon enough, my emotions took over and I burst out crying.

He was ruining me...