LIMITLESS

Chapter XXV

"I don't believe it for a second!" Rayan's father exclaimed. It had been a few hours since Omar had came to Asad's apartment and broke the news to him. Her father came over after getting a call from Asad. "I know Rayan, she would never do that."

"I don't know, abo." Omar shrugged. "You always say that and she always proves you wrong."

"Do you know how much Rayan loves her family?" his father asked. He looked over at Asad who was walking back and forth and rocking Samiya. "She wouldn't just pack up and leave for some guy. Something must be wrong."

"Why don't we try texting her?" Omar asked.

"I already did." Asad said as he put the baby down. He pulled his phone out of his back pocket and noticed that she had already responded.

"I just need some space. I'm staying with a friend and I finally feel free. I feel like my old self again. I need to see for myself if this feeling is worth leaving you behind. Don't worry, I'll be back for Sami. I would never leave her, you know that." the message read.

"I still don't believe it." Asad shook his head.

"What does it say?" her father asked. "Read it to me." Asad read the message out loud and her father let out a loud sigh.

"I hope Rayan didn't do this." he said, clearly terrified. "I don't think this is her, Asad. And if it is, then she's definitely lost her mind. That's the only explanation that I can think of."

                                  ...

Rayan sat on the floor of the living room she was being kept in and attemped to piece this situation together. Ibrahim, Guled, and Jamal all stood around her and made sure that she didn't escape. Liban was sitting not too far behind her, watching something on his phone. Ibrahim, Guled, and Jamal all looked alike. They could have passed as brothers. If Rayan had to have guessed, she would have assumed that they were in their twenties. Some were in their late twenties and some were in their early twenties. She turned around and got a good look at Liban, he looked younger than all of them, possibly her age. Rayan put her hand on her cheek as she realized that there was only one logical explanation as to what was going on. Bayden must have set her up. She should have known better than to befriend the girl that was in love with her ex-fiance. She had been jealous of her all along and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to ruin her life. Rayan hadn't seen it all along, but it was suddenly crystal clear.

"Turn that shit off." Ibrahim said to Liban, clearly annoyed. "It's annoying." He did as he said and turned the video he was watching off. Rayan looked back at him and made eye contact for a few moments. But it was quickly broken by the sound of her own voice.

"Is Bayden behind this?" she asked.

"Shut up." Ibrahim said. "I told you not to talk."

"Can you at least tell me how long I'll be here?" she asked. There was no answer from anybody in the room. "Are you guys going to kill me?" she asked, ignoring the silence.

"Yeah, if you don't shut up."

                                ...

"Hey sis." Haya said as she came into the apartment. "How was school?"

"It was good." she said. "How was work?"

"Boring." Haya rolled her eyes and sat next to Hani on their couch. "Zaki isn't here?"

"No." Hani shook her head. "He has to be somewhere with his family tonight."

"You should have gone!" her sister exclaimed. "It would have been the perfect time to meet his rich family."