Aditya smiled at me "You cant ask for that Zoya, because I cant give you that"

I wasnt sure why I wanted him to stay so badly, but I did. I wanted to know him on a deeper level and understand things about him that no one else had ever been able to understand. "But why, you said before about being back here, so you used to live here and then left and now you're back again, what are you trying to find"

He smiled, standing up "Would you believe me, if I said I was trying to find someone like you"

"Someone like me, what do you mean"

He knelt down before me "Someone nice and kind hearted, someone to make me feel good about myself, someone pure"

My heart was racing "Why would you want someone like me for" I could hear my words slurring

"Its simple habibti, you are so pure, so enclosed you want adventure and right now I can give you that, I need friendship, someone to clean my wounds, and keep me company, so make use of this time Zoya, while we are here together, I will be your friend and you will be mine" his face was now an inch away from mine

"And what happens, what happens when you leave" I gulped, my throat dry

"That all depends what you want from life Zoya, you can carry on with your life like nothing happened or" he smiled

"Or what" I needed him to answer, he was so mysterious, always so secretive and it was driving me crazy

"Or, you leave, start afresh" he spoke as if it was easy, that one day we would go our seperate ways and it wouldn't hurt

"Isnt there an option where you stay and we remain friends" I knew I was pulling on loose strings here

He laughed "Sure, in your dreams, now I hate to ruin this cute little gathering of ours habibti, but I must go"

I stood up "No, no youre not going to do this again, wherever youre going, im coming with you"

He smirked, lifting a hand to my waist, he pulled himself up from the floor, then his hand was in my hair, tugging on it slightly "Are you sure Zoya, once you see, you cannot unsee"

I exhaled loudly "Im sure" I nodded

XXX

"So, before we go in" Aditya sighed, "This is a poker event, they dont expect you to speak to them so dont, ignore them, if you run into any trouble let me know and whatever you do, do not pick up anything from the floor"

I rolled my eyes "Im not an insolent toddler that ill just pick things up from the floor, why did you make me wear a dress and why are you wearing a suit"

"Suitable attire, now come on" he got out of the car, helping me out he showed some kind of card to the man at the door who let him in

I watched the long hallway walls as I walked forward until we stopped infront of a black door, it swung open and several eyes looked our way making me feel extremely nervous

"Adi, you made it, who's the lady" one man stood up, his hand grabbing mine, then kissing it

"Nothing important" he smiled, but his hold on my hand tightened making me hiss and pull my hand away as he sat down

His words had hurt me, but I wasnt going to show him that, I glanced down at his cards, he had a seemingly good hand but I couldnt understand what they were saying, I really needed to learn Arabic

XXX

The man with the walking stick looked up at me, his stick fell to the floor and without thinking I bent down, picking it up I passed it back to him

"Thanks love, welcome to the game"

"What, I" I looked to Aditya who just glared, suddenly I remembered what he had said about picking something up from the floor

"She didn't know the rules Abbas" Aditya spoke

Abbas shrugged "She's in now, bets for the lady anybody"

I looked around as the men made their bets, then Aditya sighed "50,000 dirhams"

"Really Emir, for one woman" Abbas laughed

"Yes, for one woman, now go" Aditya huffed, pulling my chair closer to him "I told you habibti dont pick up anything off the floor, but you dont listen" his hand rested on my thigh momentarily

"Why did they call you Emir"

Abbas looked over at me "It means leader jariyah" (girl) the way he looked at me made a shudder run down my spine, I didnt trust him one bit

What bothered me more was what Aditya was the leader of, I looked on at the game, worried about the outcome, I was pulled up quickly, and shoved behind Aditya

"Come on now, I won fair play, give me the girl and my money" Abbas stood up

"No, ill pay you double, the girl is not for sale" Aditya wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to his side "Stand down Abbas, I wont ask again" his jaw clenched

Abbas pulled out a gun, making me scream, my hands flew to my mouth "Please dont shoot" I begged

I watched as the bullet hit Aditya in his left shoulder, missing me by inches, he stumbled back before throwing something sharp his way

Abbas smiled before falling to the floor, blood spilling from his neck, his mouth gurgling before he stopped shaking

Aditya turned to face me "We have to go come on" but I couldn't move, my eyes stuck on Abbas' now dead body. "Zoya, I said come on" I looked back at his body as I was dragged out of the building and towards the car. He placed his hands on my face "Zoya, I need you to drive the car, I can't drive"

More tears spilled down my face as I stared at his wound "You're bleeding, you" I stuttered "He's dead, you just killed somebody, we have to call an ambulance"

"Listen to me, I said listen" he shook me "We have to leave, that will be dealt with, but we have to go now"

I nodded, sitting in the car, but all I could focus on as I sat in the car was how a man had been killed so mercilessly and it was all my fault

Also! @dancingStellars has opened a fanfiction awards book where you can vote for your faviourate authors and books and there is a section on Adiya!:)

Don't worry, I wont ask you to vote for me, you should all vote for the stories you truly think are the best, I thank every single person who has voted for me and my stories, it made me very emotional. I feel so bad that with all my stories I dont get to read a lot so wouldn't be able to make a good enough judgment, if I had time I honestly would and I know that makes me sound terrible. Ill stop now, as im sure youre all very tired of this author note, but I love you all! The voting closes on either the 27th or 28th of July, so be quick:)

Also, I have a new OS on Adiya called The Power Of A Name, do check it out:)

WHEN WOULD YOU ALL LIKE THE NEXT UPDATE? Also, would an updating schedule be helpful?