Chapter 48

This is dedicated to the 500 followers I received yesterday night, I can't thank you guys enough! It's impossible to explain how happy you guys made me. xo

-

"Shoug, shfeech etkhezeen el walad? G3day!" Dad turned around to look at me with a confused expression. Mom gave Jaber a look that said "excuse my daughter's weird behavior".

I obeyed and sat on the couch that was nearest to my parents, and furthest to Jaber's. Jaber gave me a polite smile but his eyes showed the evil he held behind that innocent smile. I clenched the pillow next to me, digging my fingers into it to calm my anger.

"Jaber has been telling us how he wants to be a business man one day." Mom said, her facial expressions showing off how proud she is of Jaber. My parents have known Jaber since he attended my high school, all of the parents knew Jaber. He was very popular with the parents, I remember how my parents always used to compare me to Jaber, always telling me I should be more like him, more hard working.

If only they knew how evil he could be too.

"Enshallah." Jaber replied innocently. Jaber was wearing a dishdasha and had his haired gelled back to show off the hardness and masculinity of his jaw bones. He looked like a man.

But looks were deceiving.

"We spoke to Jaber before you came downstairs for half an hour, I think it's time to let you two speak alone for a few minutes. Ma ra7 enkhaleekom tig3doun brou7kom, Lisa-Anne bitig3ad m3akom." Dad said as he was standing up, his hand over the arm of the couch to support himself.

Mom followed and helped Dad stand up from the couch before they walked out of the living room and went back into the safety of their bedroom, leaving me in the treacherous living room with Jaber.

Wait.. Did they say 30 minutes?! Jaber was downstairs all this time? He was whatsapping me while he was in MY house?

Lisa-Anne's serious eyes were on us, she sat where my parents sat a few minutes ago and watched us intently. Lisa-Anne looked very interested on what was going to happen between Jaber and I, even if she didn't understand much of Arabic. It was like we were her favourite Turkey series. That woman loves her Turkey series, even if she doesn't understand a word those Turkish actors say.

I stared back into Lisa-Anne's eyes, na8za to tell her to stop staring. In reply, Lisa-Anne crossed her legs over each other, looking very comfortable and continued on staring.

"Shoug.." Jaber looked a bit uncomfortable with Lisa-Anne staring at us as he spoke.

"Mmm?" I tried to avoid his eyes. Why couldn't it be S3ood? Why couldn't this man, sitting a few meters away, be S3ood?

"Don't you want to say something?" Jaber's eyes were dancing, he was waiting for the "I love you."

I stared at the stairs that were in front of us. I noticed that Lulu was lying down on the ground upstairs, trying to peek at us through the stair railings. Hawra'a and Fajer were lying on their bellies on the ground next to Lulu, watching Jaber and I.

 I tried not to laugh at their funny appearance.

"SAY IT" Lulu mouthed.

"A7bek." I forced the word out of my mouth, obeying Lulu's command.

"Look at me and say it again." Jaber's tone was playful but I knew how serious he was. I turned to look at him into his eyes.

Shoug, imagine that it's S3ood. 

It's not Jaber. 

It's S3ood. 

I pictured S3ood in my mind, in his dishdasha, looking funny and totally not serious. His hair combed back, his dimples visible and his eyes twinkling with mischief. I smiled to myself as the handsome image of S3ood swirled around in my head, causing my heart beat to race.

"A7bek mout." The words easily slid along my tongue and made it's way out of my mouth as I imagined saying it to S3ood.

"Akheeran! 7ubi ana amout 3leich!" The picture of S3ood, looking adorable and funny in his dishdasha was crushed when Jaber exclaimed his words, bring me back to reality.

It was Jaber sitting in front of me again. S3ood was gone. Jaber looked excited, his knee kept moving up and down. If Lisa-Anne wasn't sitting in front of us, I guessed that he would have grabbed me and kidnapped me away from the safety of my parents.

I heard Lisa-Anne's phone jingle out it's Celine Dion ringtone.

"Yes madam?" Lisa-Anne spoke into the phone. "Yes yes, oki. I will tell her now."

"Shoug, mama say kalas no more speak to Jaber." Lisa-Anne said, those words brought relief.

"Okay!" I happily said. Jaber looked at me, looking confused on why I was so happy. "I mean, aww." I changed my tone from happy to sad.

"I'll see you later then my love." Jaber sighed. Lisa-Anne ushered him out of the house.

The girls ran down the stairs once Jaber was gone, they practically pounced on the couch I was sitting on and looked at me with wide eyes.

"Shoug, you did it!" Lulu grabbed my arm, hugging it.

"Shoug.." Hawra'a looked shocked once she noticed the tears in my eyes. The tears clouded my vision and forced me to dig my head down into my lap, trying to hide my teary eyes.

"Shoug, shfeech?" Lulu and Fajer exclaimed.

"I don't want to marry Jaber. Ma abe Jaber!" I felt like a toddler again. I didn't feel like a 17 year old woman, I felt like a kid. I didn't want the thing I wanted most to be snatched away from me and replaced with something I hated.

S3ood is what I want. We've waited 2 long years. Wasn't that enough?

"Shoug, 7bebty!" I heard my mother's voice, it jolted me out of my childish behavior and I quickly dug my head out of my lap. The girls looked taken aback, they hadn't noticed that my mother's presence had been here all along.

"Mama ma tabeen Jaber?" Mom took a few steps closer to look into my worn out eyes.

"La2 yuma, ma abeeh." I replied, pleading to God mentally that Mom wouldn't be mad or disappointed in me for saying no to the dream guy. (He was the 'dream guy' in my parent's eyes.)

"Khala9 3yal, you won't marry him." Mom gave me a reassuring smile.

Mom's words sent relief and happiness into my bones. I could picture S3ood and I again, my dreams weren't impossible anymore.

"You won't force me?" I replied, shocked.

"Laish a8a9bich eb shay entay ma tabeena?" Mom looked confused that I'd even assume such a thing. I stood up and to grab my mother by her waist to hug her. Mom awkwardly hugged me back as she laughed, my Mom wasn't the hugging type. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Shd3wa, ma saweit shay 7bebty." Mom smiled as I let go of her.

"Khalti, entay 3ajeeba!" The girls cheered and ran up to my mother to hug her. I could have sworn that Mom's cheeks flushed in shyness as the girls attacked her with a hug.

"Bas yuma, don't tell Jaber that we won't be engaged, today." I said.

 I needed Jaber to think we were in love in order for the plan to work, or else Jaber would still have the power to ruin me. I needed the power to ruin him and I had the perfect plan in mind.

"Haw, laish?" Mom asked, surprised.

Shoug, bsr3a think of an excuse.

"Khalti, 7aram Jaber mistanis al7een. La etkharbeen 3leeh, give him some time before you tell him." Lulu butted in for me.

"Eee 9a7, yalla okay. Obouch bidig 3leeh b3ad youmein 3shan yigoula."

"Lifasaver!" I mouthed to Lulu when Mom wasn't looking.

"Shoug, tomorrow you have to meet up with him." Lulu said once Mom left the girls and I alone.

"Eee Shoug, you can't talk to him in GUST. Ask him to meet up with you tomorrow morning in Starbucks." Fajer's eyes were full of devilish emotions.

"You think it'll work?" I asked the girls, biting my bottom lip in worry.

"It will, don't worry." Hawra'a grabbed me by my shoulders, looking into my eyes to reassure me.

-

I clutched my hot chocolate hard against my hand, my knuckles turning white because of how hard I was holding onto my drink. I was seated in one of the tables in Starbucks, Jabriya.

I was wearing a fitted navy pencil skirt that reached down to my knees, a colourful tucked in shirt accompanied with a simple cardigan. I stared outside the window, watching the deserted street and the few white cars sprawled along the parking area.

It's 6:13 am, a bit chilly outside and Starbucks was empty. Literally.

Was Jaber going to show up? Is he going to fall for it?

It was as if Lulu read my mind, because in a few seconds, I received a bbm message from her.

Lojain Al-X:
Shoug, relax! The plan is going to work. TRUST ME. :*

S Al-X:
I hope so. :(

"Shoug?"

The husky voice startled me, I looked up from my blackberry screen to find Jaber in a plain white shirt and sweat pants, standing over me. His hair was a mess and it looked like he hadn't shaved this morning. I guessed that he wasn't a morning person.

"Hey." I mumbled, looking away as he sat in the chair across from me.

"Hows my future wife?" Jaber gave me a toothy smile, his eyes lighting up.

"Um good, you?" I gave him a polite smile. My eyes tried to look at anything but him.

I found something strange, I noticed a familiar looking person sitting in Pinkberry, which was right in front of Starbucks.

That person was wearing a blue Hackett shirt, white shorts and had a cap put over his soft hair.

It was S3ood.

S3ood turned around, as if he felt my eyes digging into his back. S3ood sat in one of the tables in Pinkberry, and kept his cap on in order to hide his identity. Jaber wasn't facing S3ood, he was facing the wall and so, only I could see S3ood.

S3ood pulled out his blackberry, pointing to it. Meaning, "Shoug, check your bbm."

I quickly pulled out my blackberry and read S3ood's bbm message.

S3ood Al-X:
I promised to protect you. I'm gonna be here so that a**hole won't do anything to you. I love you. :*

"Shoug?" Jaber asked, forcing me to look back up at him, not allowing me to reply to S3ood's message.

"Oh, asfa. I thought it was my Mom, I didn't want her to catch us." I lied.

"Ohhh, la 3ade she won't. Don't worry babe." Jaber gave me a wink. I cringed when he called me "babe". It was so hard to keep my face emotionless around Jaber, I wanted to show how disgusted I was of him.

"Um, so Jaber. We're finally together." I gave him a fake smile. "So tell me the answers you promised you'd tell me, how'd you get my number?"

"Oh, that's a funny story." Jaber laughed.

Start telling it, you jerk. 

"You remember Nour? How can you forget a9lan, she pretty much messed up your life in high school." Jaber laughed again, as if Nour messing up my life in high school was the funniest joke he ever heard.

"Ohh, ee 9a7, Nour. Shfeeha?" I acted like I forgot who Nour was.

"Promise you won't be mad. I don't want our love to be shattered once you find out how I planned the whole threatening you and making you fall in love with me." Jaber's eyes turned serious.

"I promise I won't be mad." I forced another smile, urging Jaber to continue. I needed this meeting to be done with already.

"7beebty entay. Okay, so first, didn't you think it was weird how Nour got so many As in her finals when she used to get Ds in high school? That's because I sold her the final exam papers, and so then, she owed me a favor.." Jaber told me every last detail of what happened between him and Nour.

Jaber didn't leave anything out.

After the long dreadful minutes of him explaining everything that I already knew, I was surprised to find that it was now 7:01 am.

"Oh Jaber, thank you for telling me. Look at the time, I have to go to class now." I was going to stand up and walk away but Jaber's hand grabbed my wrist and his touch wasn't gentle.

"Wein ray7a? W ey class b3ad? Bitig3deen m3ay." Jaber forced me to sit back into my chair, his expression changing from playful to dangerous.

"I have class Jaber." My heart beat quickened. Please let me go.

"So what? Mu ana 7beebich al7een? Lema agoulich g3day, sem3ay el kalam w la et7eneen." Jaber's fingers were still wrapped tightly around my wrist, his sharp fingernails dug into my skin, making me wince out in pain.

I didn't notice S3ood approach us until he was right in front of me, his hands clutching Jaber's shirt. Jaber looked surprised once he noticed S3ood's sudden presence.

"Let her go dipsh*t." S3ood pulled Jaber off of his seat, forcing him to stand. Jaber still held onto my wrist, forcing me to stand up with him. S3ood was right next to me, I wished I could grab onto S3ood and escape but Jaber's fingernails were still dug deep into my skin, trapping me here with him.

"Or what?" Jaber grinned, he didn't seem afraid of S3ood's threat. "What are you doing here loverboy? Shoug's with me now, deal with it."

"Shoug, did you record the conversation?" S3ood kept his eyes on Jaber but he ignored Jaber's words. S3ood watched Jaber's reaction change to shock in the next few seconds.

I grabbed my blackberry and pressed "stop recording". I clicked on the voice note file and let it play out loud after I've forwarded it to where Jaber was confessing to his cheats.

"... yeah, so I sold Nour IGCSE exams. I got the IGCSE exams. We both cheated on our exams. Nour won't say yes to it but I have the voice note on my blackberry where she said she bought the exams from me. Wait, let me play Nour's voice note." (THIS is Jaber's voice)

"I, Nour Al-X, bought IGCSE exam papers from Jaber Al-X. There, happy Jaber? Now give me the freaking exam papers, my biology final is tomorrow!" (THIS is Nour's voice)

"Haha, I had to do it so I could bribe Nour to help me with this plan to get you Shoug. Oh, yeah, I bought IGCSE papers from this guy, his name is ******** Al *******. 7bebty, tabeen ra8ma b3ad? It's ******* He can help you get exam papers for GUST too, he's a genius. Then you can come to the USA with me if you get full marks on your exams." (THIS is Jaber's voice)

NOTE (for anyone who got confused): ^ this is the voice note where Jaber is confessing to what he did and where he played the voice note where Nour confesses too. Shoug pressed PLAY on the voice note, she recorded the whole conversation.)