Chapter 100 — The Answer Her Heart Gave
The car was silent.
For a full five minutes, not a single person said a word.
The girls sat unusually still, each of them seemingly lost in thought after what they had just witnessed.
Even Balkis remained quiet in the back seat.
Finally, Sulaimon couldn't take the silence anymore.
He cleared his throat.
"Why are you girls not talking?"
Nothing.
He glanced at them through the rearview mirror.
"Is my outburst really that bad?"
Still nothing.
He sighed and scratched his head.
"I'm sorry I showed you that side of me. I'm actually a very gentle guy."
His eyes returned to the road.
"I was just pissed at him for treating a girl that way."
He paused.
"Especially someone I treasure."
That finally earned him a few glances.
The girls exchanged looks.
Then, almost simultaneously, their mischievous sides returned.
They weren't going to let him off that easily.
"Oh, so now she's a girl?" Faridat asked innocently. "Not your wife-to-be?"
Sulaimon's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rayyan immediately joined in.
"Maybe after hearing her past, he'll run away."
Balkis froze.
She stared silently at Sulaimon from the back seat.
Folakemi, as bold as ever, had taken the front passenger seat.
But those words had struck something inside Balkis.
Maybe he'll run away.
Why did the thought hurt?
Why did the mere possibility bring such sadness to her heart?
She shouldn't feel that way.
Not when she hadn't even admitted that she loved him.
Right?
She looked away.
A moment later, she heard Sulaimon inhale deeply.
The car slowed.
He pulled over to the side of the road.
The girls exchanged knowing glances.
Sulaimon turned slightly toward them.
"I'd love to hear this story or whatever past you're talking about."
His voice was calm.
"But that doesn't mean I'll leave."
Balkis's heart skipped.
"I love the present her. The person I've been observing and watching for months now. The person she is today."
He looked directly at Balkis through the mirror.
"That's the woman I know."
He paused.
"And mind you, I have a past too."
The girls went quiet.
"Maybe she's the one who will leave me someday. Who knows?"
A small smile appeared on his face.
"But please, pretty…"
His voice softened.
"Don't leave me."
He looked away for a moment.
"I don't think my heart can survive without you."
The girls immediately whistled.
"Woooo!"
Balkis's face burned.
Sulaimon only laughed.
He wasn't a child.
He knew exactly what the girls were doing.
They were trying to find out whether he was uncomfortable because of Khalid.
Whether learning about Balkis's past would change how he saw her.
But Sulaimon had a past of his own.
A long one.
There had been many girls before Balkis.
He had never dated them seriously. They had merely been temporary distractions, ways of satisfying desires he never bothered to examine too closely.
Then Balkis came along.
And somehow, without even trying, she changed him.
She made him want to become better.
He smiled at the memory of their first meeting.
A girl in a hijab…
In a club.
Naïve.
Inexperienced.
Lured in by some ladies, he's not sure what they wanted or what she wanted from them.
But he knows she was tricked to come there.
She's someone...
Still untouched by the darkness of that world.
To Sulaimon, she had seemed like a blank book—open, innocent, and easy to read.
She wasn't accustomed to the club life.
She wasn't living the reckless life he had seen many young women around him embrace.
She was simply… Balkis.
And perhaps that was what had drawn him to her.
He still didn't know exactly what had happened between her and Khalid.
He knew it was something deep.
Something painful.
But when Sulaimon looked at her, he didn't see a ruined girl.
He saw purity.
He saw a clean heart.
He saw a woman whose personality had remained beautiful despite whatever someone had done to her.
And that was all that mattered to him.
Balkis felt her heart stutter as his words replayed in her mind.
I love the present her.
Did he really hold her in such high regard?
Even after everything?
Even when she had called herself impure so many times in the privacy of her own mind?
Someone could still look at her…
And see purity?
Her heart felt strangely full.
Warm.
Joyful.
The feeling came without permission, and she couldn't control it.
A small smile slowly appeared on her lips.
She didn't even realize it.
Her thoughts had betrayed her, reflecting plainly on her face.
Sulaimon noticed.
But he said nothing.
He simply smiled.
Sulaimon drove them to a high-end eatery.
The heavy atmosphere from earlier quickly disappeared.
They ate, joked, teased one another, and laughed until the incident with Khalid became nothing more than a distant memory.
Afterward, Sulaimon drove them back to school.
One by one, the girls got out.
When it was finally Balkis's turn, she reached for the door.
It didn't open.
She frowned.
She tried again.
Still locked.
She looked through the window.
Her friends were already several feet away.
They had clearly noticed that Sulaimon hadn't unlocked her side.
And, being the traitors they were, they had deliberately refused to wait.
Instead, they pointed toward themselves.
We'll wait over there.
Then they walked away.
Balkis stared after them in disbelief.
Traitors.
Sulaimon smiled happily.
"What smart friends you have."
Balkis turned toward him.
"What do you—"
"We need to talk."
He cut her off.
"And don't ask me what I want."
There was mischief dancing in his eyes.
"You can't give me that yet."
Balkis was confused at first.
Then she saw him lick his lips ambiguously, her cheeks immediately burned.
She glared at him.
Sulaimon chuckled.
"But I would like to have it soon. In the most proper and halal way."
His smile widened.
"So I'm coming to your parents' house this Sunday."
Balkis's eyes widened.
"What?!"
"I can't wait anymore."
His expression suddenly became serious.
"The longer I wait, the more some men might think they still have a chance."
He shook his head.
"So, NO."
Balkis stared at him.
"Let me think about it."
"No need."
He turned toward her.
"I've already helped you think about it."
His eyes held a restrained intensity now.
Desire.
Jealousy.
Determination.
"I can't wait anymore."
He exhaled slowly.
"I'm a man with needs. You know what my lifestyle used to be like."
His voice softened.
"But I don't indulge in that anymore. I'm a changed person."
He leaned back.
"And isn't it encouraged in Islam to hasten marriage once the decision has been made?"
"But I haven't accepted you."
"Don't worry."
He grinned cheekily.
"I've accepted it for you. Let me cover that part."
Balkis rolled her eyes.
But before she could respond, Sulaimon's expression changed.
The teasing disappeared.
"Please answer me honestly."
He looked directly at her.
"I plead with you, by Allah."
Balkis froze.
"Do you truly not love me?"
Her retort died in her throat.
She looked away immediately, staring out the window because she suddenly couldn't bear looking at him.
Her heart was pounding.
Furiously.
Traitorous heart.
How could it betray her like this?
How could her heart love him when she hadn't even decided whether she wanted to?
Sulaimon watched her carefully.
He already had his answer.
Her silence.
Her flushed cheeks.
Her inability to look at him.
Everything was telling him what she couldn't bring herself to say.
But he wanted to hear it from her.
He wanted her words.
"Please, Balkis."
His voice more gentle.
"I need to hear it from you."
She swallowed.
There was no escaping him.
So she found the only way out she could.
"Didn't you say you're coming this weekend?"
She refused to look at him.
"So why are you asking me again?"
She reached for the door handle.
"Let me out. My friends are waiting for me."
For a moment, Sulaimon simply stared at her.
Then he burst into laughter.
A deep, genuine laugh.
He couldn't help himself.
Her shy demeanor was too adorable.
"You're impossible."
Balkis glared at him one last time.
Then the door clicked open.
She immediately jumped out.
Sulaimon watched her hurry toward her friends.
He would have loved to keep her there longer.
But he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.
At least now, he had his answer.
He didn't need her to say it aloud anymore.
She loved him.
Maybe she was still afraid of admitting it.
Maybe she was still healing.
But her heart had already spoken.
Sulaimon smiled to himself.
His terrible mood from earlier had completely disappeared.
He whistled happily as he started the car.
"Time to go home."
He grinned.
"And inform Mom and Dad."
They had been pestering him about marriage for long enough.
He was certain they would be very, very happy.