A mixture of emotions were present on their faces. Uncle opened the door, and from somewhere in the house, auntie called after him to check who it was. My teary eyes were on uncle the whole time, as he was left too stunned to reply back. Soon auntie lingered around the door and upon further inspection, the glass of water slipped from her hands.

No later than that did the remaining Mukhtar family arrive. Everyone was In a state of shock, as if they'd seen a jinn. I would've laughed at their reaction had this been in different circumstances.

Auntie was the first one to unfreeze from her stance. She grabbed my face in her hands, gently rubbing them across my cheeks. I closed my eyes to the soothing touch, and opened them. If only mama was here. I couldn't help but think.

She pulled me towards her, embracing me In a tight hug, as if I would disappear any second. Perhaps I would. Her cries reached my ears and soon, both our emotions were in harmony. We felt each others pain and grief. It was as if they'd lost a daughter of their own.

At this, I couldn't help but let out more tears. Ya Allah. Thank you for reuniting me with the Mukhtar's! Soon, Lameesa and the twins engulfed me in a hug, rendering me unbalanced. I was about to fall had Lameesa not gripped onto me tightly. Auntie stepped back, chuckling in delight.

"Never ever leave like that again!" She chastised lowly and I embraced it wholeheartedly. Never again. Never again would I endanger others lives ever again. Anything could have happened to the Mukhtar's whilst I was away. They could have been tracked down or worse, killed! Ya Allah Khair!

Auntie ushered me inside, and everyone else followed behind me. I was about to speak up, but then uncle came to stand infront of me. He blessed me with a prayer upon my arrival, lovingly patting down my hijab clad head.

"I'm so proud of you, my daughter. I cannot believe you have grown up so much" he smiled wistfully, meanwhile I was left in a state of confusion. I did not know what to think of uncle's peculiar behaviour, regarding my disappearance.

Soon enough, everyone broke from their reveiere as the doorbell rang. Lameesa went to open the door, and almost everyone was shocked to see who it was. The smile on my face faltered upon seeing Rafael stood before us proudly. Uncle ushered him inside, and as soon as the door closed shut, he made haste in hugging the man.

I would have laughed had this been an ordinary encounter with an ordinary fiancé, but it was none of that. And of course, that wasn't possible when his gun was in view.

He wrapped his arms around uncle, and I bet in that moment he wanted to do so much worse than just tighten his hold on him. His suit stretched upwards, showing the outline of his gun. I glanced at everybody in horror, hoping they didn't see the danger induced weapon.

Thankfully all of their attention was on Rafael's face. Come on people. He's not that good looking. Without a chance for anyone to wake up from their hypnosis, I mouthed for him to hide his gun, which he successfully did whilst pulling away from uncle dearest.

A sigh of relief escaped my mouth, causing the twins to glance at me.

"I'm so glad to be back!" I exclaimed in delight. Now how do I explain to everyone what really went down. Oh no. They probably think I'd been having the time of my life with my fiancé. Oh god no. I could practically feel the blood rising to my face.

Everyone walked to the guest room, with uncle and Rafael in lead. Meanwhile I stayed back and dreaded the oncoming questions. What would I say to them? Would they believe me? What about my bruises! Did they see them too? I made sure to cover them with as much concealer as possible, in the plane.

Is that why everyone was so shocked upon seeing me? A gasp of horror escaped my mouth as I instantly sprinted towards the bathroom. There, under the beaming lights did I scrutinize my job from earlier. A sigh of relief then escaped my mouth. Good. Everything was covered. Thank you, Allah!

"Laila" uncle squirmed around his seat, seemingly uncomfortable. "I don't know how to say this" he began. What was he so flustered about? Did he find out I was sold in Russia? Oh no, please not that. I wished for the last week to remain a secret.

"I was surprised to know you'd left the hospital early in the morning with your fia- husband" he cleared his throat. Husband? What did he mean by husband? I glanced at Rafael, but that proved to be a waste of time. He was as still and as calm as a rock.

Wait. What exactly happened here whilst I was gone. Did Rafael convince them we'd married. But that wasn't possible. That was supposed to happen in two months, when I'd go back to my parents. Or much to my happiness, not at all!

"W-what?" I managed to say, my voice showing I'd lost all hope by now. "Well, before you left" he paused, not white knowing how to order his sentence. Thankfully the suspense ended for me the moment auntie began to explain. But before that, she ordered the twins out of the room.

"What your uncle here is trying to say is that we were very worried when we received a call from you saying you decided to get married" I gasped, not liking where this conversation was heading. What did they mean? Did they not know I was kidnapped, or that I wasn't even in the country to call them?!

"What do you mean?" I voiced my confusion in a timid tone. "Oh Laila dear, don't you remember? You called us at around half one in the afternoon and we didn't know what to think. I mean, you wanted to get married and that too without your parents presence here. We didn't know what to think and we couldn't contact you regarding this too. Lameesa tried calling you again, but the call wasn't going through. Laila dear, don't ever do that to us again. You don't know how worried we were!" She chastised gently, and as I really looked at her face, I could tell in this past week, she'd aged ten years.

I looked at uncle with the same eyes, and safe to say, he did not look younger than the last time I'd seen them. I tried to remain strong and not cry in front of them, but I couldn't hold myself. The tears escaped without fail.

Lameesa, sat next to me, pulled me into her embrace.

"Laili, don't cry please" she tried reasoning. Perhaps she was right. The more I cried the more auntie and uncle would worry. So for their sake only, I attempted to hold back the water works, until I was in the lonely confinement of my own room.

"Shh, that's it"

"Laila. Alhamdulillah, we're so happy you are back. These last few days had been nothing but an emotional rollercoaster. We didn't know what to feel. Happiness, sadness, shock. But thankfully, by the grace of Allah, you returned home safe and sound" Uncle spoke up.

"I don't know what to say. How could I have been so foolish to leave unannounced for a week. I'm so sorry auntie, uncle, Lameesa for putting you all through worry. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again. Although, by any chance, did you tell mama and baba about this?"

"La. No, we thought it were better if you told them yourself, in your own time" auntie exclaimed. I nodded in response, not knowing what else to say.

"I'd like to also thank Mister Rey for taking such good care of my daughter" Uncle exclaimed, all signs of worry neglected from his face. He appeared happy in the presence of Rafael, for reasons unknown to me.

"It was no worried at all, and I would also like to apologise for putting you through all that worry. Laila lost her phone on the trip, otherwise we would have contacted you sooner"

"I'm glad you both are back safe and sound. Now, Laila why don't you show your husband upstairs. I'll prepare some food for your return home" auntie exclaimed in glee, which I found too hard to refuse. She was such a caring women, may god bless her.

I nodded my head, and left the room, Rafael following on behind. The amount of curse words I wanted to hurl at him were unfathomable. I would surely ruin that pretty face of his!

Once we'd entered my room, I locked the door and came face to face with Rafael. He was too busy inspecting my room, stood in the centre with his hands in his pocket, as if he owned this place.

"What did you do Rafael!" I seethed, my arms crossed infront of me. His attention returned to me, which was unsettling since he looked as if wanted me six feet under ground.

"What was right, my dear" he made movement to sit on my bed which was entirely too small for just his sitting frame. Hell, he made everything in my room look small, which otherwise was big enough for me.

"Don't my dear me-" I exclaimed annoyed at his nonchalant attitude, but I guess luck seemed to be working against me, as he immediately got off my bed, making me spring back in shock and fear. He came to stand right infront of me, as I looked up at his face.

"Don't you dare speak to me In that tone" he gritted. I was shocked to say the least, and If I hadn't hardened my resolve then and there, I'm sure there would be a puddle around me. Gosh, that trip in Russia sure did activate the sensitiveness in me.

"Ever since you were gone, I had to sort out your shit here. I clearly gave you instructions to stay at fucking home, so tell me Laila dearest, what did you not understand about that?"

"I-i" didn't know what to reply with. I know he's right, but he didn't need to announce we were married. That word sounded so foreign on my tongue that even coming to terms with it was twice as difficult. I'm sure there were many excuses his assassin mind could come up with.

"So I thought of killing two brids with one stone. On one hand, your family would be relieved to know you were not in danger, and on the other hand, I would have the pleasure of seeing you crumble. Remember this happened because you decided to follow your heart and not your mind. Just know that I don't give orders around lightly. Everything I had said to you was for your own benefit, but you refuse to see that" There were a few moment of silence following his speech. It was like I was being scolded by my lecturer for not following his orders.

"W-what happened while I was gone" I asked to his broad back, but was met with silence.

"Who hurt you" came his command. What did he mean by that? Was be referring to the well concealed bruises on my face?

"The bruises on your face, who did them?"

"One of those men" I didn't need elaboration on whom those men were, because he seemed to know exactly who I was talking about.

"Come here" he exclaimed, looking out my window. With hesitant steps, I walked over to him, unsure of what he wanted. Still, I kept my distance, not wanting to make any more contact than what was needed.

"Closer" his voice was held on the edge of a deep rumble. Scared of not knowing what was to come, I took one more step closer. In that moment, he turned around and grabbed the small of my waist in his hands.

"I want you to remove your makeup and let me see exactly what they did to you. I'm going to make them yearn for death" came the formidable promise. His face was hard, nothing friendly coming off of his features, meanwhile I was surprised to know he cared so much.

I was nothing to him, yet, he wanted those people to suffer just like I did. I did not know what to feel in the moment, but still, I gathered my mess of a feelings and located the makeup wipes. Albeit, they did a lousy job at completely removing the makeup and also hurt whenever I pressed too harshly against my face, but still, they showed what was hidden.

If it were possible, I'm sure Rafael would be shooting lasers with his eyes. When did he have such a fascination with my feelings. Could we go back to when he was indifferent towards whatever would happen to me. I couldn't stand straight before him and that in itself scared me. Why did I suddenly feel like this

Stop it Laila, these feelings you're feeling are from Shaytaan!

"I'll make them pay" he began in a rough voice, as if he was holding back his rage. I stayed fixated to the spot, fearing how with each word his steps closed the distance between us. "They'll wish for death alright, but I won't give it to them at all. For everything they've put you through, they will regret ever laying a finger on what's mine!" He all but growled in a possessive tone.

His hands encircled around my waist, ultimately pushing me against his solid frame. I gasped at the contact, my own hands acting as a barrier between us, but I doubt that did anything. His other hand caressed my face, the rough pad of his thumb gently tracing the bruises on my face. As if he was memorising them.

I couldn't help but shudder at the minuscule touch and I wished I had enough strength to hold back, as Rafael's smirk showed he'd felt it too. Red tinged my cheeks. All of a sudden shyness overtook my features, as I was no longer able to look at his face. My gaze was stubbornly fixed on his chest.

"You're so fucking responsive, my sweet, when I've barely touched you" he whispers, his head in-between my hijab clad neck. I could feel the light stubble against my cheeks, ticking and teasing the fine line of acceptance and forbidden.

"I haven't forgot you know, of your punishment" immediately dread washed over my features, and it was then I realised how wrong this was. Astaghfirullah! Laila you foolish girl. Get away!

I pushed him away from me, internally happy that he did so without a fight. "Run all you want dear. I'll always find you" a deviant gleam was set in his eyes, as his gaze roved over my figure before landing on my eyes.

My body automatically emitted a gulp, which was entirely too loud in this moment. Oh gosh! Why did my body have to betray me here of all times!

"Tomorrow, stay at home. Do not go to the hospital. I'll have my driver pick you up and bring you to me. We need to have a mature discussion" he explained, yet I couldn't focus. My mind was too preoccupied with what I let happen just moments before. I cannot be this weak again. My Imaan must be strengthened!

Nevertheless, I nodded to whatever he said and like the coward I was, I didn't bother exiting the room for the rest of the night. Rafael had left many hours ago yet I was still so disheveled. Both physically and mentally.

Get a grip, Laila! Tomorrow you will tell him what's on your mind. Tomorrow all of your problems will be solved. With some sort of comfort in my heart, only then did I get up and prepare myself for the night.

I wished the Mukhtar's a good night before once again walking back into my room. I was too tired for the day. Except, I would have waited an eternity, had I known what was to transpire tomorrow.

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