Chapter 47: chapter 45: honey and lemon

"let the dog chase you. in the end, you'll eventually outrun him - sarah."

Afra had been pacing up and down the living room agitatedly , her gaze landing worriedly at the large double doors every few seconds .

The oil incident proved to be too shocking and she politely refused the makeover idea Queen Basmah had suggested . She had smiled reassuredly and had gone to prepare cupcakes .

The triplets were seated — with unexpected silence — watching Dora with admiration intently .

"Ukhti , I want Dora ."

Kat stood up on the sofa , turned to face Afra who seemed to be inattentive to the kid .

"Ukhti ."

Kat jumped from the couch , ran up to Afra and pulled at her sleeve .

Afra jumped a foot in the air and staggered back a few steps before turning around . Her tensed figure relaxed a moment later when she made out a very confused Kat staring back at her.

Her face broke into a shaky smile and she walked to the girl and kneeled down on her knees .

"I'm sorry darling . Ukhti is a little jumpy and worried ."

She held onto Kat's arms and looked into her curious eyes .

"Why ? Are you not alright ?"

Afra sighed and pursed her lips in a tight smile .

"Let's just say ukhti is always worried for you all and mama ."

Kat blinked and rubbed her chin .

"Aren't you worried for Silk ?"

Afra stopped breathing for a second . Sukaaymaan . For the last few weeks , she had always been on the edge and alert when Sulaaymaan would barely cross her path . He had been mysterious , dark and dangerous . That's how she described him .

However , much to her disbelief , a new side of him was revealed to her from then on , making her question her judgement . As of now , her feelings were skeptical . But even then , she had started to feel safer around him . She was starting to believe that he was a good person .

Though she still wasn't happy with him forcing her into marrying him .

"I guess I do worry for him too ."

Kat's face broke into a large grin and she danced away to the couch . leaving Afra with a happy smile . With a sigh , Afra stood back up on her feet , still indulged in thinking about Sulaaymaan and how obscure he was .

She had started to walk again , when the large doors were pushed open and Sulaaymaan appeared .

His head was hung low and Afra felt like he was crying . His hair was stuck to his forehead and scalp while his thoub almost showed off his vest underneath .

He was dripping wet .

He dragged his feet and walked straight ahead without acknowledging anyone . Afra tried calling out to him , but her arm lay midair as he passed by .

During that short interval , she was stunned at how dead Sulaaymaan looked up close . Sure he looked worn out and fatigued when he had walked in . But he was ghastly pale at proximity .

The typically average smile that Sulaaymaan had on always was missing and in place of it , lay lips that were sealed tight .

His green irises  —  the ones as wild as the forest yet soft as the leaves —  were devoid of any emotions . They were blank , dull and......sad .

She followed her heart's clue and walked quickly behind him , stopping at a step behind him .

"Sulaaymaan I w - "

"Please leave me alone Miss Afra . Whatever you want to talk about , we can do it later . I'm too tired right now ."

He spoke from over his shoulder and dragged himself all the way as Afra watched him .

She had never been spoken to in that manner no matter how much she misbehaved with him . To think that he looked as dead as ever , made Afra have delusional thoughts . All she could bet on was that an incident for sure had occured that had rendered him speechless .

After the shock of being ignored had died down , she staggered forward with shaky legs towards the kitchen .

When she entered , the smell of sweetness engulfed her in a warm embrace . For a second she felt her heart seize with untold pleasure and she smiled .

"The smell of cakes and breads are too relaxing and soothing isn't it Queen Basmah ?"

Afra smiled warmly and stepped further into the room , making her way to the Queen who smiled back at her while setting down a tray of warm cupcakes on the island and pulling off the oven gloves .

"I wouldn't agree more Habibti ."

The Queen smiled and as she was about to start gathering ingredients for the frosting , Afra pushed her by her shoulders till the dining table and forced her to sit and relax .

Afra started to move around the kitchen , making sure to place down on the platform all of the ingredients before beginning the preparation of sweetened whipped cream .

Along the course , she felt herself contemplate on telling the Queen about how Sulaaymaan had looked very down and how much it affected her .

But she was in a dilemma .

Hearing Afra concerned over him , could get her to misunderstand and jump to the conclusion that Afra was developing a soft spot for him .

Which she wasn't .

"You know , Malika , Sulaaymaan just came back ."

She spoke softly , trying not to sound nervous or bothered .

The Queen instantly looked up at Afra .

"Oh really Habibti ? That's good . He's been out since the morning and I've been distraught about his well being . Especially since it's raining and —  "

She abruptly stopped talking and shot up in her seat .

"Did he come back wet ?! Afra Habibti , did he come back soaked ?!"

She jogged to where Afra was preparing the cream and looked worriedly into her eyes .

Afra didn't know if she seemed to give away herself and the fact that Sulaaymaan had indeed come back looking wet , her hands were shaking and her words came out stammered .

"Of...of - course...not !"

The queen's eyes narrowed suspiciously .

"Are you sure Habibti ?"

Afra gulped , feeling the tension creep into her . She could feel the queen's intense gaze and feel herself wanting to let out the truth . But for some reason she knew it could get Sulaaymaan into a lot of trouble .

Summoning all the remaining courage into her , she huffed her chest out and tried to sound as confident as possible .

"Of course ! He just went to get refreshed and I'm thinking I should serve him some chamomile tea ."

She smiled widely and hoped with a jumpy heart that the Queen would let it slide and ponder over the tea part instead .

Sure enough , her plan was successful .

"You want to present him some tea ?"

She sounded astounded while her eyes suddenly twinkled with grace .

"Yeah....no , I mean he's - "

"Say no more my child ! Such a caring young lady . Go ahead and prepare it for your would be husb - no , I mean , Sulaaymaan his tea , darling ."

Afra gulped and felt herself give the Queen a very timid smile . She was going to make sure that Sulaaymaan would pay for this humiliation .

"Thank you ."

She muttered and slipped away towards the counter before her comments could reach the sky . Unfortunately , Afra could make out the Queen muttering under her breath about how many grandchildren she'd prefer , how she'd love a boy for a firstborn and how she would appreciate it if we could bring in company for the triplets .

Afra nearly burst out into helpless cries and almost toppled the boiler with hot water over herself . Several times she made an effort over lifting the hot pan with her shaky hands that just wouldn't care to cease .

Once she had with utmost difficulty managed to get finished with the arduous task , she lifted her tray and hurriedly wished the Queen and ran for her life .

The Queen was , still , deeply entrenched in her fangirling moment .

Once out of the kitchen she calmed down her racing heart and shook her head a couple of times .

"Must never spend too much time with the Queen . The most essential rule to survive in the royal palace Afra ."

She muttered to herself in disbelief , with the Queen's words still ringing in her ears .

Sulaaymaan had dragged himself to his room and without giving much thought to his cold and numb body had fallen on his bed .

The day's events had been very unpleasant for him to digest in a few hours and the side effects were starting to make him feel nauseous and dizzy .

Perhaps the cold had begun to exert it's influence on him .

After a few minutes of struggling to calm himself down , he got up from his bed slowly as he felt the familiar pounding ache intensify in his head . Laying a palm against the side of his head , he shut his eyes painfully and absently headed in the direction of the washroom trusting his assumption .

His eyes squinted open to face the large calendar that hung on the wall beside his washroom and he stopped momentarily and gazed at the few appointments that were scrawled down on different dates . He leafed through the pages , coming to a stop on what was written in one of the boxes of October .

Haaroon's birthday .

He clenched his jaw tight and banged his fisted palm on the wall before shutting his eyes tight .

The past few days were whizzing in his head and haaroon's smile kept making its way into his vision .

"Damn you threatener ! You're going to get it from me . Believe it or not , you'll be getting it from me ."

The pain didn't make much difference as he energetically scrubbed his face and eyes and splashed the water for a few minutes . He felt a lump form in his throat when his rain soaked hair and clothes reminded him of Haaroon's love for rain .

"It's like you showered over me in the form of rain Haaroon . How cheesy !"

He changed into a fresh and clean set of pajamas and folded the soaked clothes to be preserved .

As he walked out into the room , he felt himself shudder and a chill ran up his arms and legs .

He was about to fling himself across the bed and try getting some sleep when soft , almost negligible knocks , alerted him .

"Sulaaymaan , are you there ? It's a cold and wet morning , so I decided to get you some tea ."

It was Afra . He got up from the bed and pulled at his clothes . After making sure he looked decent enough , he decided to let her in.

He hadn't talked to Afra in a while . Ever since the day he proposed to her to be precise . Unexpectedly though , she had not made it seem like it was not bothering him . She had not created any such turmoil or uproarious chaos and he was wondering if she was in some sort of denial .

Dubiously , he reached out for the handle and pushed it down to swing open the door .

"Um , hi...?"

He could hear her speak unwillingly and he returned back a forced smile . He had taken it upon himself to search for the threatener and not trouble his family . And her too . But he still didn't have the courage to face them all during the times he would be facing his inner battles .

"Hello ."

He pushed open his door and ushered her inside . She took her time taking in the room's decor . Tucked over a corner was a large desk with an even bigger chair in front of it . A large balcony lay open with the curtains swaying gently . A few pots were scattered about and the rest of the furniture lay about the other edge .

"I like your room ."

She spoke while keeping her gaze fixed over at his desk of messily strewn papers . It gave the impression that Sulaaymaan was scatterbrained — which he wasn't —  but he couldn't do anything about it now that Afra had already noticed .

She settled down the tray at his bedside table and slowly walked over to his pile of papers . Her fingers lazily brushed over the papers and she didn't give the notion that it was catching her interest .

"I'm sorry if I was bothering you earlier ." She turned around and faced his back . But when he heard her speak up , he turned around with a smile .

"No , that is absolutely —  "

"Ma always told me that it was rude and selfish to start talking to somebody who only returned home after hours of sweating away ."

Sulaaymaan's eyes flashed with reassurance and Afra knew he was being genuinely true with his words.

"I am afraid she is right ."

Afra nodded and turned to face absently at the wall beside the other side of the bed , as he walked a little closer maintaining a safe distance between them .

"But the matters couldn't be delayed and I.....didn't know what else to do ."

Sulaaymaan faced her with a frown .

"Something happened ."

"Like what ?"

"Something bad happened Sulaaymaan ."

"Like what Miss Afra ? Unless you don't tell me I don't think I'd be able to help ."

He asked again and Afra sighed with defeat .

"God , Sulaaymaan ." She jolted around and looked him in the eyes which was very rare . He could make out fear and anxiety in her words as she spoke hurriedly .

"A few hours back , Queen mother and I along with the girls had decided to get along to her room to have some makeup fun . As we were climbing the stairs , Kat seemed to be careless and try to slide down . But once encountered , her only replies were that she was slipping and hadn't done it on purpose . And.....an- and.....- "

Sulaaymaan regarded her .

"And what Miss Afra ?"

He softly whispered .

"It was oil Sulaaymaan ! There was oil on the last footstep . And that was not it ! I decided to do some quick sleuthing and found a jar of oil carelessly huddled across the railing of the third floor ."

Sulaaymaan's mouth lay agape by the time she had finished . He could understand her agony .

A tensed silence fell over them as Afra began to silently wipe away a few tears and Sulaaymaan had started to go over the events in his head .

"Did you see anyone there ?"

Afra shook her head .

"Did we have any guests come over or did anyone go out of the house ?"

She took a second to go through the day's events and finally shook her head .

Sulaaymaan hummed in thought .

"I think we need to progress with double speed ."

« Assalaamualaikum Princesses ❤ .

It's been soooo long . Missed ya all . ❤❤ . Extremely sorry for the delay but my cold has been holding me down .

I love you guys a lot and I genuinely hope you guys have been enjoying the story . ❤❤ .

It's such an honour to be able to serve you guys . ❤❤ .

ILYASM . ❤❤ .

Love ,

Me ;-) ❤»