"You don't have to rectify anything," Manal spoke. "Don't feel obligated."

"I don't have to, but I want to." I voiced. It was true that I wasn't obligated to rectify my mistakes because I had already apologized, but I wanted to do it. I wouldn't be able to rest easy otherwise.

The past few days had got me thinking about Manal and how helpful she had been. My dad's death and how she stood by Farida when she needed her only made me realized that she was not as bad as I thought. In fact, I had started seeing a lot of good attributes in her. It was no wonder mum liked her a lot.

"That won't be necessary." She gave a small-almost non-existent smile. "Besides, we won't be seeing each other after today, so I doubt that'd be possible."

I was taken aback by how refined, yet firm she was with her words. By the looks of things, she didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. The attention she was giving me seemed forced.

I felt strange. The feeling felt alien to me. I wasn't used to be rejected by girls. Although it wasn't rejection, in this case, it was something cognate. The fact that she was avoiding me as much as possible was glaring.

I couldn't accept it.

"Why?" The question emerged from my lips before I could stop it.

She furrowed her brows. "Why?" She threw my question back at me. "Why what?"

"Aren't you Farida's best friend?" I questioned. "It's impossible for us not to see each other again... except you're planning on avoiding me forever."

"Who's avoiding you?" She asked, calmly.

"You," I replied. "It's quite obvious. Before my father passed away, I tried calling you severally and you kept ignoring." I pointed out. "And when...when dad died, I texted you, you didn't reply. Twice." For some inexplicable reason, I wanted an explanation.

"First time you texted me, I was too shock to reply and the second time you did, it was Farida that read it." She explained. "Why am I even explaining." She muttered her last sentence underneath her breath.

I guessed it wasn't meant for me to hear, but I still did. It didn't sit well with me. Why wouldn't she explain? "Alright then, I'll take that. Thanks for being there for Farida. I appreciate it more than you know."

"Farida is my friend. I did that for her. " She made sure to emphasize her last word.

I decided to shrug it off. "As her brother, I'm saying thank you. I feel indebted to you."

"If that's the case, I know of a way you can payback."

Perplexed, I waited for her to continue.

"It's about Imani." She began.

In as much as I didn't want to talk about that woman, I allowed her to continue.

"I'm pleading on behalf of her cousin, who's my friend; please drop the case about her. I know I'm asking for too much, but his family will be very grateful if you consider doing this. My friend was the one who made it possible for the police to find Imani..."

I didn't have to think long before giving her my reply. The truth was that I had thought long and hard about the case and I had decided to let her go. I decided because I still felt pity for her. She was influenced. I was hoping she'd turn a new leaf after her release. Even though that would be the case, I wanted nothing to do with her anymore. "Alright."

"Alright?" Her eyes broadened. "So easily?"

"I-"

She must have thought I wanted to change my mind for she quickly cut me off. "Thank you."

I shook my head.

She nodded. "Now that we've talked about everything you wanted to talk about and we're even, I hope I won't be getting any more calls or messages from you." With that said, she opened the door and alighted from the car.

Gobsmacked, I watched as she knocked on the gate and it opened almost immediately. Without even turning to look at me, she walked into the compound.

Manal had changed. She wasn't the girl I used to know. I remembered how she used to do everything to please and make me notice her, but the reverse was the case now. It seemed she no longer cared about those things.

In a nutshell, she was over me.

It bruised my ego.

•

After I had picked a few stuff I needed from my house, I drove back home. I didn't want to go there due to how crowded the place was. I was trying not to dwell in the pain of losing dad, but the more I stayed in the company of those people, the harder it was for me. I would have stayed at my house, but I needed to be there for mum.

When I passed my mum's room, the room was still crowded with people. I couldn't even see mum. I looked around for Farida, but couldn't find her too. I decided to look for her in her room.

As expected, the door was locked. I knocked for a while but didn't get any response.

Maybe she isn't inside.

Just as I turned to leave, I heard her voice from within.

"Who's there?"

"It's me."

Immediately, I heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

As soon as our gazes met, Farida covered her face with her hands and began to cry.

I stepped into her room and drew her into my body. Her shoulders were shuddering so aggressively and her body temperature was high.

Tears welled up in my eyes too. "It's okay, Farida. Dad doesn't need this. We just have to keep praying for him-it's what he needs."

Farida pulled back; tears streaming down her face. "Why didn't you tell me as soon as it happened?"

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I didn't tell you because I was so worried about you. I was afraid you'd do something reckless."

Farida sat on her bed and continued to sob. "Mum is so devastated."

"She will be fine."

"I don't think so, Jawaad. She hasn't even said a single word since I arrived. I'm so afraid for her." She choked on a sob. "I still can't believe dad is gone. I can't believe I'll never see him again. What are we going to do now?"

"We are going to accept what happened in good faith," I responded. "We will get through this." I sat beside her on the bed and placed a hand over her shoulder. "It's okay. Control yourself. We need to be strong for mum's sake. We're all she's got now."

•

The past two weeks had been the most difficult in my life. The visitors had drastically reduced, but nothing was back to normal. Mum had been withdrawn from us-her children. She barely spoke a word to any of us, and each time we tried to strike conversations with her, she wouldn't pay attention to us. It became a thing of great concern to me.

I felt useless. I wanted to do something that would bring her back to normal. I was ready to do just anything.

Manal.

She suddenly crossed my mind. If I could get her to be in a relationship with me, mum would be happy again.

It had been two weeks since we last conversed. After that day I went to drop her off at her house, we hadn't been in touched. I decided to respect her decision and stay away.

I didn't fancy being disrespected incessantly.

I knew trying to win her over again would take a lot of effort, especially now that she was no longer interested in me, but it was a journey I was ready to embark on. Not only for the sake of mum but because I believed she was worth it.

For starters, I decided to call Farida. She had returned to school a week ago. She was close to Manal, meaning she would be able to get me back into Manal's good books if she tried.

I dialed her number and waited for her to respond.

She did after a few rings. "Hello." Farida's voice was cold.

I could tell she was still disheartened by dad's passing. "How are you doing?"

"I'm well." She responded.

"How're studies? Have you started examinations?"

"Yes. A day before yesterday."

"Oh! Nice. I hope you aren't taking your studies for granted."

"No." She replied curtly.

I wanted to talk to her about her friend, Manal, but I didn't know how to go about it.

"How's mum?" She asked. "Any improvements?"

"No," I admitted. "She's been in her own world. I tried talking to her yesterday but she didn't respond."

"I'm getting very worried, Jawaad. Shouldn't we take her to see a doctor? I read about it on the internet and I discovered it might be a case of shock. I think she needs medical intervention."

"I think she needs something else."

"What?" She asked with raptly.

"What if I get married? It's what she had always wanted, right? If I present a girl I want to spend the rest of my life with to her, I'm sure she's going to go back to normal."

Farida hummed. "But you are not in a relationship."

"That doesn't mean I can't get into one."

"Hmm... I know it's going to work, but what about you? I don't want you making the same mistake you made with Imani. You have to be extremely careful."

"You don't have to worry, because the girl isn't anything like Imani. She's just different."

"You already have someone in mind?" Farida sounded disappointed.

"Yes," I replied. "And you know her."

"Manal?"

I wasn't surprised by her guess. She had always wanted her friend for me. "Yes."

"What?" She exclaimed. "Are you being serious right now? This is one of the best decisions you've made all your lif-" she abruptly cut herself off. "Wait...you're not planning to use her, are you?"

"Is that what you take me for? A user?" Farida's words punctured a nerve.

"No! Of course not, Jawaad. You know that's not what I'm implying. I just don't want Manal to get hurt anymore. I know I've been repeating this like a broken record, but Manal is a gem of a person. Whoever ends up with her should consider himself the luckiest. Since we lost dad, she's been nothing but supportive towards me. I don't know what I would have done without her here with me."

"I have also noticed that, and that's why I want to make a move on her now," I told her. "She's really a good person."

I might not be in love with her yet, but I was indubitably getting there...

"I'm glad you're finally seeing it too."

"Do you think she still has feelings for me?"

"She keeps denying it."

I breathed.

"But I know she's lying."

Hopeful, I asked; "How do you know?"

"I know Manal like the back of my palm. She keeps denying the fact that she loves you because she is still hurt by what she found out years ago. Now, tell me, why will she still be hurt after such a long time? It's because she still cares about you. She's angry because she hasn't been able to move on from what happened. She's just putting on a facade."

I felt relieved by her words. "Are you entirely sure about what you said just now?"

"Of course. No one knows Manal more than I do."

"Will you be able to get her to trust me again?"

"Even before you asked, I've been trying to do it." She confessed. "But now that you've asked me to do it, I won't stop till she's yours. Manal is meant to be your wife."

It felt strange hearing her say that to me-strange in a good way.

I found it unsettling that I suddenly wanted her to a great degree. It seemed almost like a spell cast on me overnight.

I am going to get her because I always get what I want.

•

Assalamualaikum/hello!

Okayyy, we're getting really really close to the end of Manal 😇 I planned to end this book a long time ago, but here we are, at chapter 85 😢

Feeling sad about Manal coming to an end? Don't be. A new book titled BETROTHED is coming immediately after 😌 or before 🤔

Back to this book 😁 what do you think about this chapter?

In your opinion, does Jawaad really want Manal or he just wants to get her because of his mother? (Poll on Instagram)

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