"I have been telling myself that my father would never betray me. I said it so proudly too." I paused, thinking of how many times doubts had appeared in my mind about my father but I had always pushed them back, thinking there was no way he would lie to me. "Walid told me my father doesn't have anything to do with us getting married. He lied, both of them lied looking straight into my eyes."

Ariana's hand squeezed mine and I looked up at her. I had spent the last couple hours in her room. We were seated facing each other and it felt like we had a therapy session because I kept going on and on expressing my thought and feelings while she listened.

"I knew about the contract. My father messed up in his younger days and had to give something valuable to Mikael's father. They decided on me, to give me away. I still didn't blame my father for that, he had to do it in order to protect the whole family. When the time arrived, my father backed out. He couldn't let Mikael take me with him. I knew all that." I recalled everything I had found out and it felt like my head was about to burst.

"But I never knew he asked Walid for help. He asked him to marry me, by force, and pretended he didn't come up with the whole idea? How could he stand in front of me and lie? I cried everyday and he didn't bother telling me. If only he had sat me down and told me everything. Did he think I wouldn't understand if he talked to me?" I asked Ariana, feeling devastated.

"I don't know what to say. Even I didn't know it was your father's idea." She said honestly.

"If he had told me about the situation, I would do as he saw fit in order to protect my family. Heck, I would go to Mikael. In order to stop the war and protect my family, I would sacrifice myself. I would go to Mikael without blinking...." I uttered, feeling my hatred for Mikael getting even stronger. If he hadn't existed, none of this would have happened.

Or if I hadn't existed...

"Maybe that's why your father had to do this, he knew you would hand yourself to Mikael to protect your family. That man is a monster Jasmin, no father would want his daughter to end up with him." Ariana's words rang in my ears.

"I had nightmares about him almost everyday after that day he shot Walid. I live in this constant fear that he's gonna take me away and kill me." I felt a shiver rush through my body and I wanted nothing else than to rush into Walid's arms and hide there forever.

Although, I couldn't. He had lied to me. It made me wonder how many other things he lied about.

He told me last night he needed me by his side, was it a lie? He tells me at least once a day that he's never letting me go, is he uttering lies? Will he toss me out of here when I'm not in 'danger' anymore?

"Walid and my father should've just told me. I wouldn't cry myself to sleep everyday. There was a burning fire inside me those weeks. All that could've been avoided if they had just told me. Didn't they even once think how much it would hurt me to find out my father knew and instead of telling the truth he pretended to show sympathy?" I took a deep breath and leaned back in the couch. I pulled up my legs and rested my arms around them.

"I know dear, I've always told you and I'll keep telling you, you didn't deserve what happened to you. Whoever's idea it was, you didn't deserve it. But the only thing your father and Walid want is to protect you. They used the wrong ways but they just want to protect you." I closed my eyes hearing her say those words.

Maybe I was being ungrateful. Instead of thanking them I was making a fuss. But they could protect me without lying to me and keeping me in the dark.

"I ruined Walid's life. He was happy without me and my father went and asked him to marry me...I feel like a burden on everyone. I hate myself so much." I cried out, feeling my chest tighten.

Ariana was quick on her feet and she sat beside me and wrapped her arms around me in seconds as I sobbed.

I heard her whisper soothing words but I couldn't make them out because of my mind being cloudy with thoughts.

How had my life changed so much in not even a year? Maybe I always had darkness surround me, I was just blind to see it...

~

The knocks on the door made me jolt and turn to it. I had been in Ariana's room, all day and it was evening now. Ariana was asleep beside me but I couldn't sleep.

Earlier, she had brought food for me here and we ate together. I didn't have any energy to go out and face people. Especially not Walid. He had asked for me a while ago and wanted me to pay him a visit in his study. He could keep on dreaming.

The banging made Ariana wake up in panic. "It's just the door." I quickly told her, seeing her panic. Poor girl was probably traumatized growing up in this family.

She let out a breath in relief and went to open the door. "Where's she?" I heard Walid's impatient voice, which made me quickly go under the covers and pretend to sleep.

"She's sleeping and she doesn't want to see you." Ariana saved the day.

"Ariana.." He spoke in warning and I almost heard him curse under his breath like he was losing his patience. "I need to talk to her." He finally said.

"Maybe tomorrow." I heard Ariana tell him.

I couldn't make out what I was hearing but it seemed like he was walking away or maybe Ariana pushed him out.

The door closed and locked again and there was banging on the door again. I removed the covers from my face and expected to see Ariana but my breath hitched when I saw the brat himself making his way towards me.

He had locked Ariana out of her own room?

I slowly sat up, my back leaning against the headboard and my knees touching my chest. My eyes roamed all over him.

His dark hair was messy, the almost curly bangs resting on his forehead. His dark eyes were narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. He was wearing black slacks and the same color button up shirt with half his buttons opened.

He stopped in front of me, making me look away. "Why do you not want to talk about it?" Walid asked, sitting down on the bed beside me.

I scooted away from him, my action making his eyes darken even more. "I'm so angry right now. The words coming out of my mouth will not do us any good." I admitted, looking at him.

The side of his lip lifted dangerously and a dark yet amused expression took over his face.

"Don't f*cking run away from me. Talk to me, tell me why you're angry. I have seen the result of you not telling me shit. You're gonna lay here and form all kind of stupid thoughts in your delusional mind and believe those thoughts." His words made me grit my teeth with anger.

He was hinting at the situation that occurred almost two months ago. When I had thought he had something to do with my dead sister because of finding her picture in his room.

"Well, you should also f*cking see the result of you not telling me shit." I let out, realizing a quick moment after that I swore in front of him for the first time.

"Stop swearing!" He warned dangerously.

"Don't tell me what to do." I demanded, my voice raised.

"Stop f*cking screaming!" He yelled as he stood up.

"I'm not screaming you are!" I yelled back, my hands shaking furiously from all the anger.

"Who's screaming now?"

I stood up on the bed and turned to him. "Get out of here!" I yelled, trying to intimidate him by standing taller on the bed but it wasn't working because he looked at me like I was an ant.

"Don't f*cking tell me what to do!"

"I said get out!"

"Stop acting like a child!"

"Which part of get out of here don't you understand?"

"Get down from the bed!"

"Don't f*cking give me orders!"

"I said do not f*cking swear!"

"Shut up!" I yelled back and stepped down from the bed.

I rushed to the door and quickened my pace when I saw his dark shadow by my side. Just when my hand reached to unlock the door, his body pressed against my back and he pulled me back harshly. He turned me around and held me by my elbows, making me face him.

"What did you say?" He asked, sounding honestly shocked upon seeing me behave like this and utter those words.

"Oh you want me to repeat myself? I said shut-" I was cut off by his lips pressed against mine. He held the back of my head as he pushed us even closer.

At first I was in shock and didn't react but for an odd reason I started kissing him back. I felt my heart beating faster and my face getting hotter. That was until I noticed what was going on and I started hitting on the side of his arms to make him stop.

He pulled back and I frowned up at him, pushing him back with all my force. He stumbled back since he wasn't ready for the impact but he straightened quickly.

"Don't touch me!" I tried to sound stern but my voice deceived me. "You know what, that's it, I'm leaving."

I turned around and unlocked the door. I forced it open and saw a fuming Ariana stand there with crossed arms. She gave me an apologetic look before scowling at Walid.

I gave her a reassuring look and walked past her to get to our room. Or his room from now on. Once inside, I went straight to the closet and pulled out the black suitcase put on Walid's side because that was the one I had quick access to. I couldn't be bothered looking for mine.

I heard heavy footsteps behind me but ignored him as I roughly packed my bag and put random clothes in it.

"Leaving? Where to?" I heard him ask, he sounded amused.

I glared at him as I zipped the bag. He was casually leaning against the doorframe. "Leaving you." I muttered.

"Leaving me?" He sounded even more amused now. As if that was not even an option to consider let alone choose.

I stood up and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm leaving you, this house and you."

"Where will you go?" His question angered me.

I couldn't even go back to my parents...

"None of your business." I spat, picking up the suitcase. I barely packed it full but it was still so heavy. Not to forget, the suitcase on its own was already heavier than usual. Was his suitcase also bulletproof?

I attempted to walk past him but his hand wrapped around my arm and he pulled me back. The suitcase dropped in front of me and I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

"Walid Aydin, do not mess with me right now." I warned.

"Jasmin Aydin, you are not going anywhere." My name with his surname rolling from his tongue did things to me but I held my guard.

"Why? You don't want me here. You were forced to force me to marry you." I tried not to break down at the thought.

"I told you, stop being delusional." He muttered, as if my words offended him.

"It's the truth, you lied to me. I asked you if my father was involved you denied it. How many more lies are you going to tell me?" I breathed out.

"It was information you didn't have to know. He was being a good father and only wanted your best." He tried to reason but I shook my head.

"You should've told me, he should have told me instead of pretending he didn't know." I felt the tears cloud my eyes but I held them back. "Why would he even ask you to marry me? Why did you even agree? Was there no other way?"

"Me marrying you would declare a war against Mikael but end the contract. You're my wife now. In our world, if he tries to lay his eyes on you he would sin." He explained, but I was still confused. "But, we were already in war with him, so it didn't matter. I won nevertheless."

His words left me frozen and still. A non amused chuckle left my lips as I subconsciously took a step back.

"You won? It's a game for you isn't it? You getting to marry me before Mikael. You did it to defeat Mikael. You went on with my father's plan just to win against Mikael." I almost mused, my voice barely hearable.

"Stop saying his name." He hissed, like I had committed a big sin. A long silence erupted until he finally spoke. "It was one of the reasons at first, but then...I just wanted to do it. I wanted to do everything in my power to protect you when I remembered who you were."

His words just kept making me confused. "Who I was?" I almost whispered, still shaken from him openly admitting he had saved me to defeat his enemy.

He took a deep sigh and scrunched his nose, as if whatever he was going to say wasn't something he was comfortable with.

"Two years ago, I payed my mother a visit and was leaving the cemetery when I accidentally bumped into you. You glared at me, like always, and walked past me. When I reached my car, you called out for me and returned something you thought I had dropped." He stopped and the side of his lips lifted as he thought about the memory.

"What was it?"

"A key." He replied.

I thought about his answer for a moment and tried to go back two years to remember that day. I had met Walid, talked to him and I didn't even remember?

That was until it hit me, the way he explained made me recall the memory like it had happened yesterday.

~~~
Sighing, I made my way to the entrance of the cemetery. I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't even notice the person in front of me until we bumped into each other.

Scowling, I straightened and glared up at him.

In front of me stood a tall man with dark shades covering his eyes. I couldn't make out his face properly.

I quickly walked past him but halted when I noticed a key on the ground in front of me. I bent down and picked it up.

Was it his?

I thought about it for a few seconds. The key was dusty and looked old but maybe it was his anyway. I debated but turned around in the end.

I struggled to keep up with his pace as he was already a good bit away from me. "Excuse me?" I called out. He stopped abruptly and turned around. "Is this yours?" I asked, holding the key in front of him.

He just shook his head. I nodded and was about to turn around when he suddenly snatched the key from my hand. I jumped with surprise at his reaction as I watched him try to look closely at the key through his sunglasses.

He straightened after a short moment and put the key in his pocket before proceeding to leave. "Thief." I muttered under my breath and walked away.

"What did you say?" His question made me halt and innerly curse at myself. Couldn't I ever keep my mouth shut.

"I said may you be blessed for the rest of your life." I forced a smile at him. I couldn't see his eyes but I felt him staring deeply into my soul.

I fixed the lose scarf around my head and waved goodbye to him while he watched me like I was the stupidest girl on this planet.
~~~

I came back to my sense when I saw Walid shift in front of me. He took a few steps and stopped when we were completely facing each other.

"The numbers on that key looked familiar. I later figured it was the key to an important box belonging to my mother. I just thought about you a lot from that day...a stranger handing me the key I had been looking for." For an unknown reason, my heart started racing at the information.

It felt like all of it was meant to be...

"Then I saw you that day at your house. I recognized you but I didn't know from where. I figured it out later and that's when your father asked for a meeting with me." He sighed, his eyes boring into mine.

I was shocked and stood still for a moment. I thought about everything he said and he seemed to tell the truth.

When we held eye contact that day at my house, he did look puzzled and he couldn't get his eyes of me. Like he was trying to figure something out. He also mentioned months ago that he had seen me two years ago somewhere.

Also, yesterday when we visited the cemetery his gaze got stuck on me when I put on the scarf over my head. He probably got flashbacks since that's how I looked when we first met.

It's strange how I didn't recognize Walid the same way he recognized me. Maybe because he was wearing sunglasses? Or maybe he only remembered me because of the key since it was important to him.

For me that meeting was meaningless of course I wouldn't remember. He was just a stranger I met, I couldn't remember every stranger on the streets. Not to forget, outside the cemetery...

"We met outside the cemetery, how romantic." My thoughts slipped out my mouth. "What did the key led to?" I asked curiously.

"I can't tell you now." He muttered, I saw something flash in his eyes...a hint of sadness, before it was gone just as quick.

"How was my father involved in the...things." I didn't know how to put it. I didn't know what to call the people around me. Criminals? Gangsters? Businessmen? I was clueless yet deep down I knew the Aydins did not consist of normal businessmen.

Firstly, they founded this abandoned town. Walid's great great grandfather took over this town years ago and built it up. They were the law here. But still, I didn't know if they were criminals. Was Walid considered a Don? Gang leader? City leader?

I knew he was involved in illegal activities but I didn't know what kind. I just knew that he always carried a gun with him and people respected him and some were scared of him.

I had also heard from someone that Jalil was killed but I didn't let my mind believe it.

"That's not my story to tell. You should also know, a few days before the marriage, your father backed out. He asked me to drop it and not go on with it because he saw how it affected you." His explanation made a small bit of relief wash over me. At least my father considered not going on with it.

"Why did you still do it then?"

"I don't leave a task unfinished. I made my mind to marry you, that's how it was going to be. In the end, he didn't have a choice either. I wanted to marry you, nobody could stop me. Not even you." The greed was showing in his eyes and I gulped.

How could he be so cold and insensitive to others feelings?

"Do you kill people?" I breathed out, feeling my chest tighten only at the thought. I had seen him be violent and aggressive but I had never seen him mercilessly murder someone.

I had to find out if whatever I heard about Jalil was true or not. I needed to know. "Across from the first time when you were fifteen."

Just remembering the story he told me when he was held captive as a teenager and he had to kill everyone around him to escape together with Zaid, made me want to throw up.

"Usually, I don't." He replied.

"What do you mean usually? Do you order people to kill someone for you? Does Pasha do it for you? Isak? Zaid? Rashid?" I snapped, feeling more and more ill with just the thought of it. I didn't know what got into me. It felt like my mind had finally given me the reality check I always pushed away.

I was married to a criminal.

"Did you kill someone after that day?" I asked.

"I think you've lost your mind. Go and rest." He clearly avoided my question.

"Yes or no?" I almost yelled, making him give me a dark and intimidating look as he took a step forward.

"Who said you can ask me questions? Shut up and go back inside and sleep it off." The way he spoke so menacingly made me shiver.

I didn't even recognize the person in front of me. Was he like that when he was outside committing sins? Did he kill people mercilessly before coming home and pretending like nothing had happened?

"My father tried to save me from one monster, he didn't know he handed me over to another. You're no different than Mikael. You're all the same. You killed Jalil." My confession made him clench his fist, like he was ready to blow someone's head apart from their body. "You think I wouldn't find out about it?"

I waited for him to deny it but he didn't, making my stomach drop.

"My friends has stopped picking up my calls, they are scared. They don't want to be associated with me because they're scared they're going to end up like Simran and Mariam, getting attacked and shot. Or like Jalil, murdered."

The past month had been rough on me but I hadn't expressed my feelings to anyone except earlier to Ariana and now to him.

I noticed my friends acting different towards me after the attack on my car coming back from the fashion week and after rumors spread that Jalil was killed by Walid.

They never wanted to meet and made up excuses or barely picked up my calls. I didn't bother them anymore. They were right to be scared, I was a walking disaster with threats from every side.

Even today, it was Sarah's wedding party but I didn't attend. I had went weeks ago shopping for a dress together with my friends but I didn't attend because they didn't even call and ask me if I was coming. They didn't want me there...

"Jasmin.." He spoke in warning, closing his eyes for a while and putting his lips in a thin line before looking back at me. "It's late go to sleep we'll-"

A sudden loud ear damaging sound was heard coming from outside. I didn't know if I imagined the ground shaking or if it did shake for real. The sound was heard again and again.

My heart almost stopped beating as I flinched. I subconsciously stepped closer to Walid, fear filling my heart.

Walid wrapped his long fingers around my wrist and pulled me behind him. I could see his shoulders tense as he picked out his phone which rang just then. He pressed it against his ear and listened for a moment what the person on the other end said before putting it back in his pocket.

He walked us out to the room, which was pitch black and we stepped towards the terrace. Already from the French doors I could see the disaster happening in front of us.

Walid let go of my arm and stepped outside. I halted and felt my eyes widen as I watched the scene. I finally stepped outside and stopped beside Walid.

The once beautiful starlight view of the city lights together with the mountains at the far end was stained. There was fire and smoke coming from three big buildings scattered around the city.

It didn't take long before almost all the view was covered with smoke from the fire. I could already feel the atmosphere changing and I felt the smoke at the tip of my nose even though we were standing so far away from it.

I turned to Walid and saw him standing there looking calm and composed. However, his knuckles almost turning white from gripping the railing too hard told me otherwise.

"Walid..."

"Go inside, the smoke is not good for you." He ordered calmly.

"But-" I cut myself off when he glanced at me. He didn't have a dangerous expression but the calmness on his face scared me even more. My shoulders slumped and I unsteadily walked back inside.

~

The last couple days passed in a blur. The chaos had started to reduce and things started to go back normal. Or, as normal as it could get.

There still was a tense atmosphere in the house but it was like they were all used to what happened a few days ago and just continued living like nothing had happened.

I had stayed with Ariana since that night. I hadn't talked to Walid since. I tried to avoid him, which I'm sure he was trying as well. The only time I would see him was during dinner or when he would stroll in and out of the house.

I could see he was stressed. Apparently, the explosions on Walid's properties were a warning from Mikael.

As the days passed, the fear in my heart increased. The war between the two cities had officially started...

Sighing, I asked one of the helper if Walid had left and she replied with a yes. I went to our room and showered and got ready before praying my prayer. Once I was finished, I made my way downstairs.

The house was silent and everyone was resting before dinner. I couldn't calm my nerves so I decided to take a stroll in the garden.

I wrapped my arms around myself and almost shivered. Even though the sun was shining, the temperature was starting to decrease.

It hit me that Ariana and Rashid were getting married in three weeks. There was so much preparations to do and we still hadn't started with it.

The only thing which was done was her choosing her wedding dress. That was the most important part anyways so it was good at least that was done.

I felt bad for her. Only a month before her wedding such disaster happened...

I genuinely hoped and prayed nothing like that happened ever again.

Suddenly, I noticed Russell making his way from the driveway towards the front door. I quickly rushed towards him and blocked his way.

He rolled his eyes when he saw it was me and tried to walk past me but I held out my arm in front of him. He was tired of me by now. But he was the only man who I could take information from. He never noticed when he blurted out things he wasn't supposed to say.

"Where's Asaf?" I asked.

"In my pocket." He replied dryly.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"No, you're a ghost get away from me." He usually spoke such nonsense.

"Why is Asaf in bad terms with Kamran?" I asked the question that I had been very curious about. It was alarming how many rumors were spread daily among everyone and I couldn't help but catch up with some of them.

"Asaf is in bad terms with everyone." Russell stated and I couldn't help but agree. He hated my guts for no reason.

"He's after Kamran's life, that's different." I pointed.

The short and round shaped man scrunched his nose and gave me a look. "You're starting to get more information than necessary. Does your husband know your new profession is interviewing people?"

"Well, I just want to know because I've been thinking what if it was Kamran who was behind the explosions." I tried to save myself but he didn't seem to believe me because he narrowed his eyes and walked past me.

I sighed heavily with defeat, it didn't go so well this time. He was right, I was trying to find out things about the Aydins. But the only reason to that was to try and find out about my sister and Walid's mother. I needed to find out what happened that day.

"Jasmin." I turned and saw Ruhi making her way towards me. She had locked herself in the guest room since that day the explosions happened. I had went and checked up on her but this was the first time she left her room. "I'm so happy, my dad is back and I can finally go back home." She told me, giving me a tight hug.

"I'm happy for you, I'm sure you've missed your father." I spoke, smiling at her.

"Yes, a lot. I will never forget what you and Walid has done for me. I hope I can return the favor some day." She spoke, sadness filling her eyes.

A few days before Eid, when Walid was stabbed, her father was also injured. Her father is a close friend and companion of the Aydins. They had to take him to the intensive care and Ruhi was scared to be alone since she didn't have anyone else. That's why Walid brought her here.

Her father was thankfully out of danger and we got the news a few days ago. Now, it was time for both her and him to go back home.

"You're not leaving already, are you?" I asked, wanting her to stay for dinner at least.

"My dad will be home any second, I really want to go see him. But I will definitely visit you. Also, we'll meet at Ariana's wedding." She reminded and I nodded, understanding her feelings of wanting to go home.

"Take care of yourself." I hugged her one last time before one of the guards lead her to the car. Just then, Walid's car drove into the driveway.

I quickly turned around and stepped inside. I went to the dinning room since it was time for dinner and almost everyone was already there.

I sat down and stayed silent. I felt the familiar cologne at the tip of my nose but didn't look his way like usual when he took his seat beside me.

When everyone were seated we ate in silence until Walid's father cleared his throat, making all the heads turn to him.

"This is our reality that we are living. We can only hope nothing like that happens again. But...we should always be prepared for the worst. Now, we have to leave that behind and move on. My niece is getting married in three weeks. We don't have time for dull faces and fear. We're gonna celebrate the wedding and not let anything stop us from doing so." He finished, a small smile forming on his lips.

The family members agreed with him. "Walid, do you have anything to say." His father asked him.

"There are some rules. No one, no one will even lift a spoon without informing me first. All the preparations and plans will go through me. No woman of our family will leave this house without asking me first and no one will enter the house without my permission first. The wedding planner, florist, a friend...whoever it is, you will all come to me before booking or planning anything." His family agreed with him as well and promised to be cautions.

Not much happened after and we all retired to our rooms after dinner. Walid usually went out so I decided to go to the room and do absolutely nothing.

When I entered the room, I was surprised to see him there. His back was facing me and he was talking on the phone.

I sat down on the couch and decided to scroll through my phone until he was gone. He cut the call and soon enough, I felt his shadow hovering over me.

"I just want to inform you, you won't step out of these gates at all. Whoever tries to take you with them on a shopping spree or something, will have to face me. So don't even try." I went through a little moment of shock before looking up at him.

I couldn't leave the house? Again? How was I supposed to prepare for the wedding? I had looked forward to go shopping with Ariana for her big day...

How could he just decide over and over again to lock me inside.

"At this point, you should just put me in a dungeon. That would ease all your problems." I spoke, having the same hard expression as him.

I knew he was angry at me for comparing him with Mikael, but I didn't know who to trust anymore.

"I could do that as well, since you're already comparing me to bastards." Like expected, he was pretty mad about it.

"Why can't everyone but me leave the house?" I let out, annoyance taking over me.

"Because I said so." His eyes held no emotion and I felt distressed seeing him so distant.

"Okay, but when someone asks you about me don't tell them I'm your wife, tell them I'm a captive." I told him.

"Sure." His dry replies made my anger reach another level and I stood up hastily.

I walked up to him slowly and looked him dead in the eyes. "Who do you think you are?" I asked, staring at him angrily.

His look changed as he watched me for a moment, a dark amusing smile took over his lips.

"I don't know, you tell me." The way he uttered those words made me feel the famous sensation he could make me feel with only a glance of his.

He made me lose all my confidence and left me lost for words. "Whatever, you're not worth my time." Was all I could say as I walked past him.

I didn't even take two steps before I felt a tug on the lengths of my hair. He fisted the back of my hair rather gently and made me face him.

"Walid, let go of my hair." I warned, my hands reaching his at the back of my head, trying to untangle his fingers.

"You just love taking advantage of the patience I have with you, don't you?" He pulled me closer, making my heart race even faster. "Pressing on my buttons, knowing you're the only one who can get away with it." His words made me gulp as I continued to try get him to losen the grip on my hair. "Maybe I should start punishing you, showing you how consequences of one's actions actually looks like?"

"I'm really curious on how much more you could actually punish me." I tried to speak harshly but my shaken voice deceived me.

"Do you want to find out?" His question and the tiny distance between us didn't make anything better.

How was it possible to be affected that much by a person? A person you didn't even know existed months ago.

"Yes or no?" He asked again and I knew he was expecting an answer rather soon.

My ego didn't want him to win but he would win anyway. I knew he wanted me to say yes but even if I said no, he would still win because of the coward I would look like.

"No." I finally said, afraid of what his punishment would lead to.

A small satisfied smile formed on his lips and he finally let me go. "Good girl."

That was the last straw for me and I pushed him away with both my hands. He just raised an eyebrow at me, which angered me even more and I pushed on his chest again.

The amusement on his face made me want to scream but I pushed him again and again and he just kept stumbling back until he hit the wall behind him. He didn't even protest, he was just watching me looking very amused.

I took a heavy breath until a realization hit me and I gasped. I could feel the color drain from my face as my eyes widened.

His chest...

"What's wrong?" He asked confused.

Tears formed in my eyes and they ran down my face freely as I looked at his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Is it hurting? I forgot I'm so sorry!" I started sobbing, guilt taking over me.

How could I be so careless? He had been stabbed in the chest not even a week ago and I kept on hurting him. And why didn't he stop me!

"Stop crying I didn't even feel anything." His voice was firm as he pulled me towards him and started wiping my tears.

"You're lying, I hurt you I'm sorry. Is it bleeding again? Let me check." I panicked and wanted to see but he held my hands softly.

"You didn't hurt me, now stop crying." This time it sounded more like an order and I could see how much affect me crying had on him but I couldn't stop the big fat tears from rolling down my cheeks.

"Just let me see please." I asked and he nodded and let me unbutton his shirt and look at the bandage. Relief washed over me when I didn't see any sight of blood. "I hate you." I let out between sobs.

"I'm gonna get pills prescribed to you for bipolar disorder." He announced, making me look up at him. My hand raised to push him again but I quickly lowered them when I remembered the wound. "Bipolar disorder it is." He continued.

I felt very emotional and couldn't control the heartache I was going through. It felt like every little detail made me cry nowadays. I couldn't help it, everyday I was presented with new challenges and I had bottled so many feelings inside which resulted in me becoming an emotional wreck at the moment.

As I continued to sob, I took a step forward and rested my forehead on his chest. My arms wrapped around him and I hugged him.

"Please make this war stop. I don't want anyone to get hurt. Please make peace offering with him. Please just make it all end.." I cried, feeling my hands shaking as the paranoia took over me.

Walid wrapped his arms around me but he stayed silent. He didn't say anything.

I understood his silence. He didn't want to make me panic even more by telling me that whatever I was suggesting...was not an option.

His silence told me the unspoken words, which made me want to go to sleep and never wake up again.